High stat possible reapplicant 522 sGPA 4.0 ORM

[mvsrocks]

Very sorry for the long post..
CURRENT CYCLE PRIMARY APP:

GPA: cGPA 3.97, sGPA 4.0
Major: Biochemistry/Chemistry
MCAT: 522 (132/127/132/131)
Undergrad: T20 premed power(slaughter)house
Race: Asian
State Residency: OH
Recs: UG committee letter, PI, biochem professor, inorganic professor

• Clinical Volunteer: 40 hrs hospital volunteer
• Nonclinical Volunteer: 50 hrs teaching kids (miscalculated, actually ~180 hrs w/ preparation time), 18 hrs HS chem tournament volunteer
• Research: 700 hrs (no pubs, posters, presentations)
• Leadership: 65 hrs club sport exec member
• Shadowing: 44 hrs various specialities (primary care, surgery)
• Other: 85 hrs on two club sport team (~40 hrs each)

______________________________________
SCHOOL LIST (submitted secondaries in July)
-Case Western (and Cleveland Clinic)
-UChicago
-UPitt
-Boston University
-University of Alabama
-University of Wisconsin
-Stanford
-Vanderbilt
-Northwestern
-University of Cincinnati
-Cornell
-Brown
-Johns Hopkins
-Icahn
-University of Utah
-UPenn
-University of Virginia
-Yale
-Emory
-Harvard
-Columbia
-WashU
-SLU
-Ohio State
-Albert Einstein
-Tufts
-University of Maryland
___________________________________________________
UPDATES: I sent two updates to schools

8/6/19: completed summer research program (abstract, presentation), +20 hrs shadowing, 140 hrs total hospital volunteer, began hospice volunteering

11/7/19: Updated Total Hours
-20 hrs hospice volunteer, 165 hrs hospital volunteer, 40 hrs HS chem tournament volunteer, 240 hrs teaching kids (corrected and explained), 15 hrs health clinic at homeless shelters, 120 hrs club sport exec, 800 hrs research

I simply devoted more time to the activities that were most meaningful to me and started a couple more activities that I wish I started sooner (hospice, homeless shelter clinics).
__________________________________________________________
INTERVIEWS:
1. Columbia (II 8/15, WL 3/2): got destroyed in one of two interviews, somehow got WL'd instead of R
2. WashU (II 9/9, sent LOI, awaiting response but probably WL): thought interviews went well, with interviewer saying my responses were good
3. SLU (II 9/18, WL 11/15): interview went okay
4. Ohio State (II 10/11, Deferred in December): interview went well, one interviewer was touched by my story (in thank you letter response)

I have generally been mediocre at interviews, but I thought (with exception of Columbia) my interviews went well. I also practiced frequently with friends (who had much more successful cycles) and two mock interviews with my undergrad's career center (which went very well).

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[mvsrocks]

REAPPLICATION: If I need to reapply this June, here will be my new app

GPA: cGPA 3.98, sGPA 4.0
MCAT: 522

• Clinical Volunteer:
  • 220 hrs hospital volunteer
  • 70 hrs hospice volunteer
  • 50 hrs homeless shelter health fair volunteer
• Nonclinical Volunteer:
  • 330 hrs teaching kids (including time spend creating presentations. I've done this for 3 years)
  • 150 hrs HS chemistry tournament volunteer (joined question writing committee)
• Research:
  • 1300 hrs (mid author pub possibly by end of summer, abstract, presentation)
  • includes research program
• Leadership:
  • 250 hrs club sport exec member and photographer
• Shadowing:
  • 100 hrs various specialties (primary care, surgery, ER)
• Other:
  • 85 hrs on two club sport team (~40 hrs each)

_____________________________________________________________
I've wanted to become a doctor since 5th grade, and even more so after starting shadowing and hospital volunteering in middle school and through high school (not included in app). I realized that, in college, I put too much emphasis on school work and not enough on my activities that show compassion. After all, at its core, medicine isn't about being smart; it's about being compassionate. As a current senior, I now spend most of my time on the activities I love. I got a lot out of my new experiences and have many more stories to tell, which I wish I had going into this cycle.

I will be rewriting all essays (already have a much better PS due to new activities) and 5 rec letters (PI, pchem professor, pchem lab professor, hospice volunteer coordinator, lab mentor). Gap year plan: scribing and volunteering

My Questions:
1. I've always heard that after II, your interview performance gets you in. Is this really true? Some of my interviews went well, others badly, but they all resulted in WLs. I also have a feeling that my ECs were a big reason for WL (my OSU interviewer hadn't even seen my updates at all).
2. Given the changes I've made over the last year, would I be okay to reapply this June if needed?
3. What schools should I add/remove from my list? (so far, removing Brown and state schools that highly favor IS, adding UMich, Dartmouth, and Univ. Rochester)


Thank you, and any help is appreciated!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

REAPPLICATION: If I need to reapply this June, here will be my new app

GPA: cGPA 3.98, sGPA 4.0
MCAT: 522

• Clinical Volunteer:
  • 220 hrs hospital volunteer
  • 70 hrs hospice volunteer
  • 50 hrs homeless shelter health fair volunteer
• Nonclinical Volunteer:
  • 330 hrs teaching kids (including time spend creating presentations. I've done this for 3 years)
  • 150 hrs HS chemistry tournament volunteer (joined question writing committee)
• Research:
  • 1300 hrs (mid author pub possibly by end of summer, abstract, presentation)
  • includes research program
• Leadership:
  • 250 hrs club sport exec member and photographer
• Shadowing:
  • 100 hrs various specialties (primary care, surgery, ER)
• Other:
  • 85 hrs on two club sport team (~40 hrs each)

_____________________________________________________________
I've wanted to become a doctor since 5th grade, and even more so after starting shadowing and hospital volunteering in middle school and through high school (not included in app). I realized that, in college, I put too much emphasis on school work and not enough on my activities that show compassion. After all, at its core, medicine isn't about being smart; it's about being compassionate. As a current senior, I now spend most of my time on the activities I love. I got a lot out of my new experiences and have many more stories to tell, which I wish I had going into this cycle.

I will be rewriting all essays (already have a much better PS due to new activities) and 5 rec letters (PI, pchem professor, pchem lab professor, hospice volunteer coordinator, lab mentor). Gap year plan: scribing and volunteering

My Questions:
1. I've always heard that after II, your interview performance gets you in. Is this really true? Some of my interviews went well, others badly, but they all resulted in WLs. I also have a feeling that my ECs were a big reason for WL (my OSU interview hadn't even seen my updates at all).
2. Given the changes I've made over the last year, would I be okay to reapply this June if needed?
3. What schools should I add/remove from my list? (so far, removing Brown and state schools that highly favor IS, adding UMich, Dartmouth, and Univ. Rochester)


Thank you, and any help is appreciated!

Networking with any students or admissions recruiters before applying? You still need to work on your interviews and articulate your fit with their community and curriculum. Add DO schools only if you aren't in the first wave of acceptances in October/November. You may still get in. Your metrics are too tempting for someone to reject you off the waitlist unless something really was a red flag.

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[mvsrocks]

Networking with any students or admissions recruiters before applying?

Thank you for your advice. What exactly do you mean by networking? Does this mean just reaching out to people and asking about the school? I established a pretty good relationship with a WashU resident and we talked a lot about business and research opportunities.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you for your advice. What exactly do you mean by networking? Does this mean just reaching out to people and asking about the school? I established a pretty good relationship with a WashU resident and we talked a lot about business and research opportunities.

Good start. Who else? Health care and medical education is pretty complex and involve a lot of people.

 

[pianoguy123]

You didn't get in because of your school list and you only had 40 hours of "hospital volunteering." Looks like you racked up a bunch of hours as a reapplicant, congrats! If you just want to get into medical school you should apply to some mid tiers (you have virtually none). If you want to get into a top school, it might take a little luck and soul searching to find the "secret sauce." Consider UCSF's information on application selection: "UCSF students must have demonstrated the ability to perform at a very high level in their prior academic pursuits. Among the MANY APPLICANTS who meet this essential criterion, the school seeks to create a student community that is characterized by diversity in background, extra-curricular talents, academic interests, and career aspirations." This statement implies that just having top scores will not get you in. Schedule a ton of mock interviews and good luck!