Medical Looking for some advice going forward into med school (becoming more competitive as a med student)

[Catalystik]

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The admissions process has not gone quite the way I wanted. I am fortunate and grateful to be accepted to at least 1 MD program, but my hopes of going to a T20 school are probably not going to happen. I was interviewed by 6 T20s, waitlisted by four, rejected by one, and will likely be WL/R by the last. Here are my stats/app summary:

1. 4.0, 522, ORM, State Institution
2. 160 hours volunteering Alzheimer's Adult Day Care (plus 32 additional hours mentoring two new volunteers, so 192 total)
3. 92 hours volunteering at our local Hope Lodge (similar to Ronald McDonald House but for cancer patients)
4. 624 hours research experience (basic science neurobiology lab), manuscript just submitted, 6 poster presentations (mostly state, two others at Memphis and Asheville for NCUR), received a $1500 department level grant for research proposal
5. 76 hours total Shadowing experience (ER, OR, Cardiology, and Internal Medicine)
6. President of school's premedical chapter of medical fraternity (significant part of my college experience: some volunteering at local hospitals and nursing homes, organizing a major philanthropy event for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals that raised ~$3000, etc.)
7. Writer for Odyssey Online (online newspaper with different college communities) (for one year only)
8. TA for organic chemistry recitation (paid position, 5 hours per week)

I understand that there are some gaps in my application (could have worked for more clinical hours, worked harder during the summers, etc.) and that T20s have so many qualified applicants to choose from.

I want to state that my goal of becoming an academic physician is more important than me going to a T20 (though getting into a T20 would be quite nice and helpful to my goal). For the medical school I will likely attend (ranked in the 40s for research according to US World News), I want to become the best student and applicant I can be for residency. If there are any mistakes that I made in undergrad, I would like to improve for med school.

I know that what someone works for in undergrad to get into med school and what someone works for in med school to get to residency are different. But is there some general area you all would recommend that I could do better with in med school to improve beyond what I've done in undergrad. Should I put in more raw hours for extracurricular work like volunteering and research? Do you all think it may be interpersonal skills (I'm not the most social, but I still go out with friends every other weekend or so)?

Thank you for reading this long post! I apologize if all of this may come off as whiny or entitled. It's been a rollercoaster of a week, but at the end of the day, I just want to better myself for the future.

Residency decisions will be based on Step scores, academics or class rank, clerkship evaluations, strong LORs (two from the specialty to which you are applying), and interviews. You want your evaluations to say "works hard, knows their stuff, personable, reliable."

If you aspire to a more competitive specialty, consider strongly applying for an on-site stipended research program the summer after M1, then staying loosely involved during the remainder of med school.

You might look into whether your med school has an AOA (Alpha Omega Alpha) Chapter and what it takes to be nominated during the third or fourth years. It generally is based on academics and research, but may include other factors, like community service, that you'll want to know about ahead of time. Each chapter is a bit different in their requirements.