Need Advice

[cljrules]

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New to this site and hoping that someone can quell my anxiety a bit.

Disclaimer* I've basically had 0 guidance through my entire medical applications process
Also I was only at university for my junior and senior year (after a 1 year community college stint)

Community College
GPA 4.0
FSU undergraduate B.S. Biology (transfer student)
GPA 3.96
University of Oxford MSc Radiation Biology (full scholarship/stipend)
No GPA (no transcript required)

• BCPM 3.94, All other 3.97, Overall 3.95 on AMCAS
• 509 MCAT (127/127/130/125)

Thousands of hours of undergraduate and graduate research
Hundreds of hours of non-clinical volunteering (tutoring, teaching)
Consistent employment from age 16
Multiple intercultural exchanges in foreign countries
Lived abroad for a year completing graduate degree
Employed as high school science teacher

Only shadowing has been in Oxford at a local hospital
I really have lacked in the shadowing, clinical volunteering department because I simply didn't have time while balancing two jobs and coursework during college. Couldn't do summer internships due to work, etc.

Florida resident but have just moved to Manhattan in hopes of finding work at a local hospital during this time before the 2019 school-year begins.

Basically I'm highly qualified in education, lack practical clinical experience, but have strong unique qualities and diverse experiences.

I'm also LGBT

Application list:

Harvard (for funsies)
Vanderbilt
Chicago Pritzker
NYU (top pick)
Stanford

Yeah I know I should do some Florida, but I literally can't imagine living there any longer. I'm thinking of adding Columbia and Mt. Sinai simply because I want to stay in NYC.

Just submitted all my secondaries except Vanderbilt (screening) and Stanford (waiting to submit a scholarship app) and I feel that I really nailed the personal statement and essay questions in my NYU secondary.

All my letters are strong, from professors, research PI's (including Oxford) and strong character letters from employers, program leaders

With the NYU bandwagon happening (I applied way before the announcement) I'm worried about the competitiveness. I'm sure some people will say I need safety schools, but at this point I really want to go for broke.

Maybe give me some advice or well wishes?

Thanks

 

[Hi_I'mPaul]

I'm hoping you're a URM? Still... I think your list is extremely top-heavy with your veryyyy low MCAT for those schools and your statement "I really have lacked in the shadowing, clinical volunteering department"... Shadowing and clinical volunteering are very important since you're trying to go into the medical field. Not sure if it will play out well for you when you're really only applying to schools with median MCATs of like 518-521... I would advise adding more schools in line with your MCAT/GPA.

 

[cljrules]

I'm hoping you're a URM? Still... I think your list is extremely top-heavy with your veryyyy low MCAT for those schools and your statement "I really have lacked in the shadowing, clinical volunteering department"... Shadowing and clinical volunteering are very important since you're trying to go into the medical field. Not sure if it will play out well for you when you're really only applying to schools with median MCATs of like 518-521... I would advise adding more schools in line with your MCAT/GPA.

Guess I'm really just trying to have faith that I bring a lot of other positives to the table. My volunteering, research, community service, teaching and employment has been extensive. I'm holding onto the fact that my graduate degree is from nearly the top university in the world. My GPA is nearly unscathed and my subscores percentiles on CARS and Bio were really high. There's always ranges of MCATs accepted and I've never applied to a school where I didn't fall into the range accepted. I just keep having a feeling that I've got something unique for the school in my past experiences and that someone will recognize that. That's why even moved to NYC and am trying to work in a hospital until Fall 2019 to get that clinical experience, it's just with the timeline of the applications, that won't show on this current app, but I've mentioned it in writing.

 

[Hi_I'mPaul]

Guess I'm really just trying to have faith that I bring a lot of other positives to the table. My volunteering, research, community service, teaching and employment has been extensive. I'm holding onto the fact that my graduate degree is from nearly the top university in the world. My GPA is nearly unscathed and my subscores percentiles on CARS and Bio were really high. There's always ranges of MCATs accepted and I've never applied to a school where I didn't fall into the range accepted. I just keep having a feeling that I've got something unique for the school in my past experiences and that someone will recognize that. That's why even moved to NYC and am trying to work in a hospital until Fall 2019 to get that clinical experience, it's just with the timeline of the applications, that won't show on this current app, but I've mentioned it in writing.

Yes, but many people with much higher MCATs have the same research, volunteering, community service, etc but more clinical experience. If you're not a URM, then the LOW RANGE for any school should not apply to you since those low scores go to them. I think you still need to be more realistic in your school list. I wish you luck because you're going to need it with the school list..