no match, TMDSAS application review

[eb124101]

I failed to match in the 2024-2025 TMDSAS cycle. I received 2 II from TMDSAS schools and none from the AMCAS schools I applied to. I would appreciate some feedback on where I can improve and some more sets of eyes read over my essays this cycle. I did work with a counselor last cycle but they were based in NC and somewhat unfamiliar with TMDSAS.

Stats/Demographics:
3.83 cGPA, 3.65 sGPA for TMDSAS
3.7 cGPA, 3.55 sGPA for AMCAS

512 MCAT, 127 C/P, 129 CARS, 127 B/B, 129 P/S
One attempt

Texas resident (born in Dallas, lived in San Antonio last 10 years)
Caucasian
Psychology major at Wake Forest University, with minors in Bio and Chem

Clinical Experience:
~90 hours of clinical volunteering at a Neurology and Spine center and Mobile Health Clinic providing healthcare to uninsured patients
~2000 hours of clinical research experience at UT Health SA (gap year job I currently have)
Research Experience: no publications
~150 hours in the Emotion Lab in the Psychology department at Wake Forest (running studies, writing literature reviews, analyzing data)
~2000 hours clinical research experience at UT Health SA (gap year job I currently have)
~15 hours for a research project for Psychology major course (created study, collected data, analyzed and presented it)

Shadowing Experience:
~45 hours total

• 3 hours virtual during the pandemic
• 4 hours Pediatrics primary care office
• 4 hours Dermatology
• 4 hours Surgical Oncology
• 4 hours Emergency Medicine
• 8 hours OB/GYN
• 13 hours OB/GYN Anesthesiology
• 4 hours Fertility Specialists/IVF

Non-Clinical Volunteering:
~60 hours total

• 8 hours at a Wake Forest Halloween event for children
• 6 hours delivering meals in the community
• 12 hours at a dance marathon for cancer research at Wake Forest
• 25 hours at an after-school program at a local elementary school
• 10 hours virtually tutoring

Leadership Activities:

• Event coordinator for a food and cooking club at Wake Forest
• Sorority cabinet member
• Support team for new sorority members (mentored small group of girls)

Other Activities:
~400 hours babysitting during summers and senior year of college
~350 hours retail experience during summers
~90 hours working at an on-campus tech help desk
~45 hours tutoring in the summers

No honors or awards besides Dean's List all semesters but one
I studied abroad in Copenhagen for a semester which I mentioned in the unique characteristics essay for TMDSAS
I was complete for all TMDSAS mid-July because of Casper scores

I think my interview skills are good. I am pretty personable, approachable, and friendly. I was able to talk about my current job a lot, highlight my hobbies, and talk about my personality traits.

I would appreciate advice on LOR for this next cycle. For this cycle I had one letter from the PI of the lab I worked in at Wake Forest, one from my microbiology professor and lab instructor, and one from a psychology professor. Looking back, I think the psychology professor's letter was probably generic as I did not have a close relationship with him but had done well in the class. However, I think my other two letters were strong. This time around I would like to ask either my boss who is a Phd and director of many research programs and centers at UT Health SA or an MD that I work with in the research clinic. Which would be a better person to write me a letter? Both can speak to my strengths and experiences. This letter would replace the letter from the psychology professor that was likely generic.

School List:
TMDSAS:
Long - WL
UTRGV - WL
UTMB
UH
McGovern
UTSW
Baylor
Dell
UT Tyler
TCOM
Texas Tech Lubbock
Texas Tech El Paso
A&M

AMCAS:
Wake Forest
Georgetown
George Washington
Tufts
FAU
Rush
Emory

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[ClashRoyaleKing]

Non-Clinical Volunteering:
~60 hours total

• 8 hours at a Wake Forest Halloween event for children
• 6 hours delivering meals in the community
• 12 hours at a dance marathon for cancer research at Wake Forest
• 25 hours at an after-school program at a local elementary school
• 10 hours virtually tutoring

This is probably the weakest area of your app. If you end up reapplying, increase your non-clinical volunteering and community service. Tutoring is not typically considered service nor are events that you do within your comfort zone of you college campus.

Your AMCAS list could use some tweaks next cycle if end up reapplying. Georgetown, George Washington, and Rush expect a lot more non-clinical voluntering service. FAU is a Florida public school. I would look into TCU, NYMC, Quinnipiac, Belmont, Alice Walton, Roseman, Penn State, Tulane, MCW, Rosalind Franklin, Hackensack, and Nova MD. If you increase your non-clinical volunteering substantially, you increase the number of schools that you would be competitive for, like Wayne, VCU, EVMS, Loyola, and increase your chances at all schools. You could still apply to Roseman this year for Fall 2025 entry.

Let me know if you have any other questions about reapplications and essays! Good luck.

 

[eb124101]

This is probably the weakest area of your app. If you end up reapplying, increase your non-clinical volunteering and community service. Tutoring is not typically considered service nor are events that you do within your comfort zone of you college campus.

Your AMCAS list could use some tweaks next cycle if end up reapplying. Georgetown, George Washington, and Rush expect a lot more non-clinical voluntering service. FAU is a Florida public school. I would look into TCU, NYMC, Quinnipiac, Belmont, Alice Walton, Roseman, Penn State, Tulane, MCW, Rosalind Franklin, Hackensack, and Nova MD. If you increase your non-clinical volunteering substantially, you increase the number of schools that you would be competitive for, like Wayne, VCU, EVMS, Loyola, and increase your chances at all schools. You could still apply to Roseman this year for Fall 2025 entry.

Let me know if you have any other questions about reapplications and essays! Good luck.

Thank you so much! I had no idea on campus volunteering and unpaid tutoring didn't typically count. NC was very shut down from Covid during my freshman and sophomore years making it hard to find opportunities off campus. Do you have any ideas for community service that might align with my interests more? I love mentoring, helping with kids, anything psychology related etc.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Private universities like WFU should have an office for community engagement that connects students with local non-profits. Your tuition paid for this office.

Home - Office of Civic and Community Engagement

The Office of Civic & Community Engagement is the hub of community-based activity at Wake Forest University. In the spirit of Pro Humanitate, we engage community partners, faculty, staff, and students to create meaningful social change. The Office aims to leverage resources, build capacity, and...

communityengagement.wfu.edu

What feedback did you get from your prehealth advising office before submitting an application? I think you noted they may not know as much about the Texas system; the Duke prehealth office did, and the predecessor advisor at Wake Forest I think also had insights about TMDSAS before retiring. (He just passed away.)

Service orientation activities include food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, transportation services, and housing rehabilitation. 150 hours should be completed before applying to avoid getting screened out at most schools. The more you can accumulate these hours away from the safety net of a campus organization, the better. We want you to be comfortable with uncomfortable people or situations when serving others, not as a subject matter expert or researcher. Avoid activities that are too clinically-adjacent.

Some Texas schools also have regional affinity for students who grew up close to the regional medical schools like RGV and Tyler. The more your experience has value in serving marginalized patients in these areas, the more likely your application will be considered.

 

[eb124101]

Private universities like WFU should have an office for community engagement that connects students with local non-profits. Your tuition paid for this office.

Home - Office of Civic and Community Engagement

The Office of Civic & Community Engagement is the hub of community-based activity at Wake Forest University. In the spirit of Pro Humanitate, we engage community partners, faculty, staff, and students to create meaningful social change. The Office aims to leverage resources, build capacity, and...

communityengagement.wfu.edu

What feedback did you get from your prehealth advising office before submitting an application? I think you noted they may not know as much about the Texas system; the Duke prehealth office did, and the predecessor advisor at Wake Forest I think also had insights about TMDSAS before retiring. (He just passed away.)

Service orientation activities include food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, transportation services, and housing rehabilitation. 150 hours should be completed before applying to avoid getting screened out at most schools. The more you can accumulate these hours away from the safety net of a campus organization, the better. We want you to be comfortable with uncomfortable people or situations when serving others, not as a subject matter expert or researcher. Avoid activities that are too clinically-adjacent.

Some Texas schools also have regional affinity for students who grew up close to the regional medical schools like RGV and Tyler. The more your experience has value in serving marginalized patients in these areas, the more likely your application will be considered.

Thank you! Yes, I used that website while at Wake but now am back in Texas. The prehealth advisor at Wake is great but they do more general advice and I was given a good rating by them before applying. Us Texas students were told to apply early but that was about it that was specific to TMDSAS. The counselor I referred to and who read all of my essays and was not affiliated with Wake Forest but with a smaller college in NC and who helped other students in the past with editing essays.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you! Yes, I used that website while at Wake but now am back in Texas. The prehealth advisor at Wake is great but they do more general advice and I was given a good rating by them before applying. Us Texas students were told to apply early but that was about it that was specific to TMDSAS. The counselor I referred to and who read all of my essays and was not affiliated with Wake Forest but with a smaller college in NC and who helped other students in the past with editing essays.

I'm not sure where you have returned to Texas, but I'm sure many nonprofits are around you. If you have a university nearby, you may be able to leverage their website to find opportunities even though you're not a student. I don't know if you had to do community service in high school to graduate, but rarely does one find themselves in a true community services desert unless... well ... you live in a desert.

We have had a lot of great resources and expertise here, especially for TMDSAS guidance.

 

[eb124101]

I'm not sure where you have returned to Texas, but I'm sure many nonprofits are around you. If you have a university nearby, you may be able to leverage their website to find opportunities even though you're not a student. I don't know if you had to do community service in high school to graduate, but rarely does one find themselves in a true community services desert unless... well ... you live in a desert.

We have had a lot of great resources and expertise here, especially for TMDSAS guidance.

Great idea! UTHSCSA has a community service website and I never would have thought to look there to find volunteer opportunities. Thanks again!!

 

[eb124101]

Is there any reason I might apply OOS in this next cycle? I would prefer to stay in Texas but want to maximize my chances of getting accepted anywhere.

 

[wysdoc]

Is there any reason I might apply OOS in this next cycle? I would prefer to stay in Texas but want to maximize my chances of getting accepted anywhere.

85% of Texans who get in, stay in Texas
If you need to reapply, choose a few OOS schools where your MCAT is above their median and they are OOS friendly to Texans. Or just apply in Texas to all MD and DO schools.

Everyone has pointed out that your lack of community service hours was your deficit- believe it and get more than 150 hours before submitting your TMDSAS app.

 

[eb124101]

I am a reapplicant this cycle looking for advice on the TMDSAS personal characteristics essay. I haven't found much information on this essay in any other thread and was hoping to find more information about how I can make mine better. Thank you!