MD & DO Non Trad WAMC?

[JustTryingHere]

Hey everyone, neurotic premed who's been browsing SDN for a week or so. I have an extensive profile so bear with me and I appreciate all help. I would like to know what my chances are for the NEXT cycle (not applying this cycle.) Currently a MS resident and a white/non-URM.

Undergrad c/sGPA: 3.25/3.06

• Strong upward trend. Dip was freshman year battling depression and anxiety while trying to work to pay college. One D, a C, and a C+. From then on, I made a few B's, mostly B+'s/A-'s, and quite a few A's.
  
• 2 years of research with amazing LORs from 3 different people
• Various leadership experience throughout college
• 100+ hours of shadowing in 5 different areas of medicine (3 are Primary Care)
• 250+ hours of volunteering
• 498 MCAT first time I was not prepared at all. I almost fell asleep from not sleeping enough before the exam...
• Other amazing LORs from science professors Junior and Senior year where I aced their courses and established a great relationship outside of the class

I needed time off after I graduated to reevaluate what I wanted to do (always a premed,) so I took a year off and did scientific research at a reputable medical school from where I lived most my life (not Mississippi.) Very meaningful research; I published as a first author and made great connections with LORs.

After a year there, I applied to an SMP and got in. I just finished my last class in May. I retook the MCAT in April. My new stats are:

• 3.95 GPA
• 522 MCAT (131 C/P, 130 B/BC, 129 CARS, 132 P/S)
  
• Various leadership roles
• Currently a part-time TA and doing research for $$$

So SDN, what should I put on my school list other than UMMC? I get that I have a good shot there, but I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket.

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[gyngyn]

Only 26 NM applicants matriculated OOS last year.
I'm going to guess that they were either UiM or attended an OOS private undergrad

 

[GrapesofRath]

Go talk to your SMP advisors to get a feel for which schools your SMP program has had success feeding their grads into. That's likely where your odds will be best at OOS. A number of OOS programs will look at someone who is from a state where people rarely go OOS or has this kind of MCAT as low yield. That said if a school values your SMP and the impact of a strong showing in your SMP, they may not care as much about where you are from or how big that 522 is.

Schools like that, some schools that take on people with higher MCAT's that also have their own SMP(ie Boston U Cincinnati Tufts etc) and perhaps some big name reaches that have taken on people with asymmetric stats in the past (ie CWRU as an ex) would be where I'd look to come up with an OOS list.

 

[JustTryingHere]

Only 26 NM applicants matriculated OOS last year.
I'm going to guess that they were either UiM or attended an OOS private undergrad

I'm not quite sure what "NM" and "UiM" means? I have ties to TN (especially the Memphis area,) so maybe UTHSC?

Go talk to your SMP advisors to get a feel for which schools your SMP program has had success feeding their grads into. That's likely where your odds will be best at OOS. A number of OOS programs will look at someone who is from a state where people rarely go OOS or has this kind of MCAT as low yield. That said if a school values your SMP and the impact of a strong showing in your SMP, they may not care as much about where you are from or how big that 522 is.

Schools like that, some schools that take on people with higher MCAT's that also have their own SMP(ie Boston U Cincinnati Tufts etc) and perhaps some big name reaches that have taken on people with asymmetric stats in the past (ie CWRU as an ex) would be where I'd look to come up with an OOS list.

My advisor told me "UMC will take you no problem!" Which I agree with him, since he's been there for years and knows his stuff (though he hasn't seen too many people from MS attend.) I will apply to the "parent school" but they don't guarantee any spots for our graduates. I have only seen 3 people that applied to the school get in actually.

 

[gyngyn]

I'm not quite sure what "NM" and "UiM" means? I have ties to TN (especially the Memphis area,) so maybe UTHSC?

Sorry, I read UNM instead of UMM and presumed you were a resident of New Mexico!
If you are a resident of Mississippi, the concept remains the same.
Only 35 residents of MS matriculated OOS.
They are likely to be members of groups that are under-represented in medicine (UiM) or those who have attended OOS private undergrads.

 

[GrapesofRath]

I'm not quite sure what "NM" and "UiM" means? I have ties to TN (especially the Memphis area,) so maybe UTHSC?


My advisor told me "UMC will take you no problem!" Which I agree with him, since he's been there for years and knows his stuff (though he hasn't seen too many people from MS attend.) I will apply to the "parent school" but they don't guarantee any spots for our graduates. I have only seen 3 people that applied to the school get in actually.

UIM is the same as URM, so minorities.
Only 35 people went OOS from MS last year. Considering how many URMs are in MS, there's a good chance a number of them were URMs who got into top 20 schools. Long story short it's very very rare in other words for someone from MS to not go to their state school but go OOS to the multitude of lower tiers people love to throw around on here like Drexel, GW etc. Those arent good choices for you.
Your other problem is that 498. Not only is their unpredictability in how your academic record will be looked at, the same applies to your MCAT. AAMC recommends schools average multiple MCAT scores. There's no real way to tell how people will react to two scores with this much discrepancy. At the same time, schools can still see that 522 and many schools might see someone with a 522 from a state anybody rarely goes OOS and identify them as lower yield.

Hence your odds really are best with your state school.
If you want to go OOS, look at where people from your SMP had success with, other schools with host SMP programs that take on people with higher MCATs(ie Boston U Tufts Cincinnati etc) and perhaps some reaches that have taken on people with asymmetric stats in the past(Ie CWRU). It's hard to recommend much else OOS, it's just not likely to be worth your while. Note the utility of a broad application varies. Applying broadly is not a good use of time for everybody. You are one for whom this is true.