I'm lost. WAMC. CA 3.88/516

[doctro dre]

It's getting later in the cycle and I'm losing hope for some of the target/top schools that I wanted. I submitted primary later (06/18), verified (07/21), so almost a month after some people had their secondaries in. Do I aim for my lower schools at this point?

1. cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMAS
   - 3.86sGPA, 3.91AO, 3.88 Total
   
   
2. MCAT score(s) and breakdown
   - 132/127/128/129 - 516
   
   
3. State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US)
   - CA
   
   
4. Ethnicity and/or race
   - Asian
   
   
5. Undergraduate institution or category
   - #1 CA Public School
   
   
6. Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)
   - 350 Hours at a COVID Symptomatic Testing Line, only listed experience (and the only experience I can remember unfortunately)
   
   
7. Research experience and productivity
   - Current Postbac @ NIH, Translational Science (2 years+, ~4000 hours)
   - Previous Research Internship in Taiwan (Summer, ~500 hours)
   - Previous Basic Science Research @ Insitutition (Year, ~500 hours)
   - Multiple posters here at the NIH, one at the ACS National Conference
   - 4 publications: 2 first-authorships (1 review, 1 research article). Review is COVID-related, I'm not sure if research productivity during COVID might be impressive?
   
   
8. Shadowing experience and specialties represented
   - Neurology @ NIH (~60 hours)
   - Pediatric Heme/Onc @ NIH (~12 hours)
   - Virtual Shadowing (through the Texas program, not sure how valid this is but thought I'd throw it in there for COVID's sake, was a bit more difficult to get shadowing, ~32 hours)
   - Infectious Disease @ NIH (~15 hours)
   
   
9. Non-clinical volunteering - a lot of teaching/mentorship related activities
   - OChem Tutor (Semester-long, Sophomore, 100 hours)
   - Health educator for underserved high school students (2 years, Freshman, 350 hours)
   - Science educator through under-grad org for local elementary school students (1 year, Senior, 150 hours)
   - 2 leadership positions, 1 in undergrad in helping found an organization that provides mentorship workshops and 'tracks' for a local high school, 1 currently at the NIH where we have partnered with prison reform groups to provide educational content for inmates
   
   
10. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)
    - The two leadership listed above^
    
    
11. Relevant honors or awards
    - A lot of scholarships that I won in undergrad, smaller-scale, but I talked about how I used this to pay for my education in some of my secondaries)
    
    
12. Anything else not listed you think might be important
    - First-generation lower-income student, I'm not sure how much this counts for anything, but I talked about this and my story in a couple of secondaries
    
    Here's my school list:
    
    Harvard Medical School
    Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
    Yale School of Medicine
    Weill Cornell Medicine
    Duke University School of Medicine
    Stanford University School of Medicine
    University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine
    University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine
    University of California, San Diego School of Medicine
    University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine
    UC Davis School of Medicine
    Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
    University of Michigan Medical School
    Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
    Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
    Case Western (Cleveland Clinic, Lerner)
    Boston University School of Medicine
    Albert Einstein College of Medicine
    Tufts University School of Medicine
    University of Hawaii
    Georgetown
    George Washington
    Univ. of Arizona
    University of Maryland
    Northwestern
    
    Added later:
    Wake Forest
    Dartmouth
    NYU
    Colorado
    Sidney Kimmel
    
    Chances on Stanford or Cornell? They're my reach schools right now with their emphasis on research. Also thinking of removing Penn/Yale/Duke.
    I feel like there's little hope given how late in the cycle we are. I know it's not terrible yet but it's getting there. Appreciate anything, thanks all

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[baz2020]

Its not even late in the cycle at all, I think the only schools on your list that have given interviews are Univ of Arizona and Northwestern...

 

[deleted1037524]

It's way too early to be worried about being late, Labor day is when many schools' offices kick into gear. Submit secondaries that you want within two weeks of receipt at best or before Labor day at worst.

Top-heavy list imo, you absolutely NEED more mid-tiers. Your MCAT is low for the top-tier schools on your list.

Hawaii has a strong in-state bias. Several others on your list may as well.

 

[Faha]

Your list is top heavy, especially with your lack of in person patient exposure volunteering. I suggest adding these schools to your application:
Vermont
Hofstra
Rochester
Pittsburgh
Drexel
Temple
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
Medical College Wisconsin
TCU-UNT
Tulane
USF Morsani
Miami
Eastern Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth

 

[doctro dre]

It's way too early to be worried about being late, Labor day is when many schools' offices kick into gear. Submit secondaries that you want within two weeks of receipt at best or before Labor day at worst.

Top-heavy list imo, you absolutely NEED more mid-tiers. Your MCAT is low for the top-tier schools on your list.

Hawaii has a strong in-state bias. Several others on your list may as well.

Thanks Kokoriko, do you have any mid-tiers in mind? Stony Brook? Maybe Hofstra/Drexel

Your list is top heavy, especially with your lack of in person patient exposure volunteering. I suggest adding these schools to your application:
Vermont
Hofstra
Rochester
Pittsburgh
Drexel
Temple
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
Medical College Wisconsin
TCU-UNT
Tulane
USF Morsani
Miami
Eastern Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth

Thank you Faha. I might get rid of some of my higher-tier schools then. I was banking on my publications for those, to be honest, but I might be getting ahead of myself. Thanks again

 

[candbgirl]

It’s really not too late at all. Are your secondaries submitted? If not work on them and stop worrying. You’ll be fine but you need some mid tier on your list. And IMO, there really isn’t anything in your ECs that even whispers “i want to be a Doctor.” You seem more like a lab rat looking for a PhD. Or maybe a teacher with all of that experience. But really nothing focused on medicine. If asked during interviews “ how do you know you want to take care of the sick, injured and dying for the next 35 years “ what are you going to say? The Covid Symptomatic Testing Line isn’t going to be impressive. And other applicants will have all of the expected experiences. You need to find someplace and get some direct patient care and you need to do it now. It might be hard but you need to do it. After you collect 100 direct patient contact hours you can send a nice update and if you have to reapply you’ll have a few hundred hours of clinical hours. You could also get a clinical job and get your experience and earn some money too. Good luck as you move forward.

 

[Alexxxxx]

Thanks Kokoriko, do you have any mid-tiers in mind? Stony Brook? Maybe Hofstra/Drexel



Thank you Faha. I might get rid of some of my higher-tier schools then. I was banking on my publications for those, to be honest, but I might be getting ahead of myself. Thanks again

Hofstra isn't exactly a mid-tier lol.

 

[Goro]

It’s really not too late at all. Are your secondaries submitted? If not work on them and stop worrying. You’ll be fine but you need some mid tier on your list. And IMO, there really isn’t anything in your ECs that even whispers “i want to be a Doctor.” You seem more like a lab rat looking for a PhD. Or maybe a teacher with all of that experience. But really nothing focused on medicine. If asked during interviews “ how do you know you want to take care of the sick, injured and dying for the next 35 years “ what are you going to say? The Covid Symptomatic Testing Line isn’t going to be impressive. And other applicants will have all of the expected experiences. You need to find someplace and get some direct patient care and you need to do it now. It might be hard but you need to do it. After you collect 100 direct patient contact hours you can send a nice update and if you have to reapply you’ll have a few hundred hours of clinical hours. You could also get a clinical job and get your experience and earn some money too. Good luck as you move forward.

I agree with the wise Candy. I suspect that Adcoms are underwhelmed with your COVID phone work.

Get in front and personal with real patients.

 

[doctro dre]

I agree with the wise Candy. I suspect that Adcoms are underwhelmed with your COVID phone work.

Get in front and personal with real patients.

It isn’t exactly phone work, I assist our Swabber on site, who’s usually a physician, with swabbing our symptomatic patients. I’ve been here since March of 2019 almost the beginning of the pandemic. Would this change anything? I’ll look for another clinical experience too then

 

[Goro]

It isn’t exactly phone work, I assist our Swabber on site, who’s usually a physician. I’ve been here since March of 2019 almost the beginning of the pandemic. Would this change anything? I’ll look for another clinical experience too then

Did you interact with those patients?

 

[Goro]

By the way, applications are not processed in order of chronological receipt.

 

[doctro dre]

Did you interact with those patients?

I did, I was nose-to-nose in some cases. I had to be suited up in PPE with a face shield as well. My letter of recommendation (fire marshall who runs the site) would attest to this and how I was one of the first volunteers with the testing site. I still do acknowledge my clinical experience is not as strong, but caring for patients is truly what I think will fulfill me despite my lack of experience. I think the discrepancy is 'line', it wasn't a phone line it was a car line. Do you think this might suffice? Or am I out of luck, looking to re-apply for next cycle... Thank you

 

[deleted1037524]

I did, I was nose-to-nose in some cases. I had to be suited up in PPE with a face shield as well. My letter of recommendation (fire marshall who runs the site) would attest to this and how I was one of the first volunteers with the testing site. I still do acknowledge my clinical experience is not as strong, but caring for patients is truly what I think will fulfill me despite my lack of experience. I think the discrepancy is 'line', it wasn't a phone line it was a car line. Do you think this might suffice? Or am I out of luck, looking to re-apply for next cycle... Thank you

Always prepare to reapply and strengthen your app until you have an acceptance. Listen to @candbgirl and get more patient-facing clinical experience ASAP, and update schools when you have ~100 hours or so.

How do you know caring for patients will fulfill you? I'm not asking to be mean ( I am constantly building on my own answer to that question, it's not an easy one) but you will likely be asked this at many schools based on your background. Try and find an experience that puts you out of your comfort zone: you learn to swim much quicker if you're dropped in the deep end.

 

[doctro dre]

Always prepare to reapply and strengthen your app until you have an acceptance. Listen to @candbgirl and get more patient-facing clinical experience ASAP, and update schools when you have ~100 hours or so.

How do you know caring for patients will fulfill you? I'm not asking to be mean ( I am constantly building on my own answer to that question, it's not an easy one) but you will likely be asked this at many schools based on your background. Try and find an experience that puts you out of your comfort zone: you learn to swim much quicker if you're dropped in the deep end.

Thanks, Koriko, looking into it now. If there's any recommendations on any opportunities (besides hospital volunteering) available during the pandemic would love to hear

It's a tough question obviously, but ultimately I came to the realization within the lab that the lack of seeing the fruits of my research directly in patients is excruciating unfulfilling. More experience will definitely help, thanks again

 

[deleted1037524]

Thanks, Koriko, looking into it now. If there's any recommendations on any opportunities (besides hospital volunteering) available during the pandemic would love to hear

It's a tough question obviously, but ultimately I came to the realization within the lab that the lack of seeing the fruits of my research directly in patients is excruciating unfulfilling. More experience will definitely help, thanks again

Free clinics, community health programs, rural health outreach, 'mobile' healthcare (a.la. community health program vans). My volunteer work was at one of the above and it helped me learn to talk with people different from myself. Per @Goro 's oft-cited advice, getting off-campus and out of your comfort zone is important.

Scribing is a solid way to earn money while getting patient-facing experience (a close friend of mine changed her entire outlook on patient care, to the positive, after scribing in a community ED for three months - went from desiring more of a research career to the opposite, actually!).

Talk to your prehealth advisors if you're near school, or maybe even reach out to your physician and others you/your family knows to see if they have any suggestions. Best of luck!

 

[candbgirl]

It isn’t exactly phone work, I assist our Swabber on site, who’s usually a physician, with swabbing our symptomatic patients. I’ve been here since March of 2019 almost the beginning of the pandemic. Would this change anything? I’ll look for another clinical experience too then

Uh thePandemic didn’t start until Feb 2020. Make sure your application has correct dates. Try getting some experience at a Hospice Center. This is an excellent experience.