Improving Application Advice + Potential SMP

[pinkflamingos]

Hi everyone! Looking for advice on how to put my best foot forward for this upcoming AMCAS cycle. For this next year, I am also thinking about enrolling in a SMP program, if anyone has recommendations about certain programs.

1. MCAT: 495, 494, 499 (124/124/124/127)
2. BCPM GPA is 3.65 and Overall GPA is 3.87 (upward trend mostly)
3. State of residency: IL
4. Ethnicity and/or race: ORM
5. Undergraduate institution or category:
   1. State school in IL
   2. Graduated with Bachelor of Science, with highest honors. Business minor.
6. Clinical experience:
   1. NICU volunteer: 92 hours (started fall 2024); hours when AMCAS submitted is 135 hours total
   2. Outpatient Lab & Hospital Volunteer: 140 hours
   3. Personal care assistant: 495 hours; project hours after AMCAS submitted is 150 hours
   4. Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Intern: 90 hours
   5. Free Healthcare Clinic Volunteer: 70 hours
7. Research Experience:
   1. Research project coordinator: 3240 hours; hours when AMCAS submitted is 3640 hours
   2. Poster presentations: Presented 1 poster at 2 conferences
   3. Undergraduate Research Assistant: 125 hours
   4. Publication in review process at journal (2nd author)
8. Shadowing Experience:
   1. Neonatologist: 13 hours
   2. Interventional Cardiologist: 5 hours
   3. Nephrologist: 5 hours
   4. Family Medicine: 3 hours
   5. Internal Medicine: 4 hours
   6. Radiologist: 30 hours
   7. Virtual shadowing, Ophthalmologist: 2 hours
   8. Clinical Observation for Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists: 70 hours
9. Non-clinical volunteering:
   1. Crisis Text Line volunteer for 240 hours, 150 texters supported
10. Paid employment:
    1. Photographer: 200 hours
    2. Teaching assistant for undergraduate students: 300 hours
    3. Swimming Instructor and Lifeguard: 200 hours
11. Other extracurricular activities:
    1. Executive Board of College’s Student Council: 100 hours
    2. President of University’s sports team: 200 hours
    3. Dance: 3300 hours
12. Honors and awards:
    1. Dean’s list
13. Anything else not listed:
    1. LORs:
       1. Science professor 1: Chemistry professor, had 1 class with them
       2. Science professor 2: Physics professor; had 1 class with them
       3. Non science professor: Kinesiology professor whom I took 3 classes with; Formerly my college advisor
       4. PI of current research project
       5. Person I was a personal care assistant for
    2. Specialties interested in: Neonatology, PM&R, Radiology, Pediatric anesthesiology

School List from 2024-2025 cycle

1. Albany Medical College
2. Albert Einstein College of Medicine
3. Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic
4. University Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science
5. Drexel University College of Medicine
6. Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
7. Florida State University College of Medicine
8. Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
9. Indiana University School of Medicine
10. Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
11. Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine
12. Medical College of Wisconsin
13. Meharry Medical College
14. Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
15. Morehouse School of Medicine
16. Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
17. Robert Larner, M.D., College of Medicine at the University of Vermont
18. Rutgers, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
19. Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
20. University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson
21. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine
22. University of Illinois College of Medicine
23. University of Kansas School of Medicine
24. University of Kentucky College of Medicine
25. Wayne State University School of Medicine
26. Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine

For 2025-2026:

• Thinking of applying to Rosalind Franklin University’s Masters in Biomedical Sciences (BMS), CWRU, and Rutgers SMP programs
• Reapplying in May 2025 AMCAS for 26/27 cycle
• Retake MCAT (I know it is low 🙁, but aiming for at least 10 pt increase and studying hard rn)
• Should I apply to Roseman University for their inaugural class?
• Am I lacking hours in any area?

Thank you in advance for your feedback! I really appreciate your time and thought.

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[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

Clarify, is this a WAMC for SMP's? Your sGPA seems to be high that I'm unsure an SMP is worthwhile. You need to look for a strong MCAT prep component, and if you are willing to pay thousands for an SMP, you can pay thousands for a test-prep consultancy. (Check out the Test Prep subforum and shop around.)

Your Achilles heel is your lack of service orientation activities. I'm glad you have a number of clients you have helped with CTL (most people don't give that estimate so kudos), but you need in-person experiences where you can apply that knowledge. Typical activities include food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, legal support, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation. You must have 150 hours when you submit your application or your app is at risk of getting screened out at most schools. If you are going for brand-name schools, you need to go for 250 hours at submission. Many other schools want much more.

 

[pinkflamingos]

Welcome to the forums.

Clarify, is this a WAMC for SMP's? Your sGPA seems to be high that I'm unsure an SMP is worthwhile. You need to look for a strong MCAT prep component, and if you are willing to pay thousands for an SMP, you can pay thousands for a test-prep consultancy. (Check out the Test Prep subforum and shop around.)

Your Achilles heel is your lack of service orientation activities. I'm glad you have a number of clients you have helped with CTL (most people don't give that estimate so kudos), but you need in-person experiences where you can apply that knowledge. Typical activities include food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, legal support, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation. You must have 150 hours when you submit your application or your app is at risk of getting screened out at most schools. If you are going for brand-name schools, you need to go for 250 hours at submission. Many other schools want much more.

Thank you for your response and the welcome!

More so, I was curious to know what aspects of my medical school application could be improved. I will look into a MCAT prep company and appreciate the feedback about service hours. It makes sense that this would be an area that needs to be focused on as some schools screen for this.

In regard to the SMP, I am only looking at programs that have linkage to a medical school or have a guaranteed interview. It would be ideal if I received an acceptance in the next cycle. However, the SMP program with linkage would be the backup option.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you for your response and the welcome!

More so, I was curious to know what aspects of my medical school application could be improved. I will look into a MCAT prep company and appreciate the feedback about service hours. It makes sense that this would be an area that needs to be focused on as some schools screen for this.

In regard to the SMP, I am only looking at programs that have linkage to a medical school or have a guaranteed interview. It would be ideal if I received an acceptance in the next cycle. However, the SMP program with linkage would be the backup option.

You should reach out and have a potential SMP faculty/director give you feedback on your application profile. They have a good idea whether you have the right things to make it easy for a guaranteed interview with their articulation programs (if it exists). I just mention you need to find a program with an opportunity to get your volunteering experience (not tutoring, you'll have peer tutoring the entire time) so you don't have an adcom wonder where your service orientation activities are.. It is in their best interest to admit as many students who get into medical school, and if something is a glaring weakness, they need to know if they can help you address it before you start, including MCAT prep.