Nontrad (3.66/521) - WAMC + School List Help

[sy120]

Basically, I'm looking for both a general WAMC and some ideas of low- and mid-tier schools to add to my list, which I think is too top-heavy for my cumulative GPA, lack of pubs/posters, and low service hours. Not really interested in TMDSAS or DO schools. All advice welcome!

Background: nontrad, went to a public early-college residential program starting junior year of HS, then matriculated at a T30 undergrad in fall 2019 and graduated in fall 2020 at age 19, became a teacher (plus a pharm tech as my after-school job) before leaving the classroom last year, age 21, to take some postbacc classes and study for the MCAT while doing inpatient pharm tech work. Now I'm 22 and applying this cycle. My poor early-college GPA (80ish credit hours) is dragging down my average, and I only took 22 hours total over 2 terms as a postbacc since I was working and couldn't afford more tuition and time off.

Demographics: ORM, NC resident, grew up in KY. Physician parents.

GPA: 3.66 composite, 3.31 sGPA (upward trend: 3.33 dual credit, 3.84 undergrad, 4.0 in the seven postbacc classes I took)

MCAT: 521 (130, 130, 129, 132)

W/A (most meaningful denoted w/ asterisks):

Nonclinical/Teaching
- middle/high school teacher** - 18 months, 4000 hours
- volunteer then employed at Boys & Girls Club - 3.5 years, 670 hours

Clinical
- pharm tech - first retail** (1.5 years, 1500 hours), now hospital (1 year, 900 hours, ongoing as weekend job and anticipating 700 more)
- patient care coordinator** at PCP office (5 months so far, 400 hours, now going full-time and anticipating 2080 hours)
- shadowing (EM, IM) - 80 hours
- free clinic volunteer - just accepted and anticipating 130 hours over the next year

Extracurriculars/Hobbies
- student journalism - 3.5 years, 3400 hours (and served as editor of college paper for 8 months)
- Arabic language study - won a national study abroad scholarship, took classes taught in the language, competed in international debate competition, co-founded college Arabic Club, working toward proficiency
- hobby: singing (sang in high school/college choir, would love to continue in med school)

Research
- Sociology RA in undergrad (lit reviews/copyediting, received university grant): 300 hours
- Neuropsych lab as post-bacc (conducting psychiatric interviews, taking vitals): 220 hours this past year, 220 more anticipated


Current School List (I know it's long, but I don't mind writing):
Albany Medical College
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Boston University Aram V. Chobanian & Edward Avedisian School of Medicine
Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Creighton University School of Medicine
Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Drexel University College of Medicine
Duke University School of Medicine
Emory University School of Medicine
Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine
Medical College of Wisconsin
New York Medical College
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Ohio State University College of Medicine
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
Robert Larner, M.D., College of Medicine at the University of Vermont
Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
Stanford University School of Medicine
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Tufts University School of Medicine
Tulane University School of Medicine
University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
University of Colorado School of Medicine
University of Connecticut School of Medicine
University of Illinois College of Medicine
University of Kentucky College of Medicine
University of Louisville School of Medicine
University of Maryland School of Medicine
University of Massachusetts T.H. Chan School of Medicine
University of Michigan Medical School
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
University of Virginia School of Medicine
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
Weill Cornell Medicine
Yale School of Medicine

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[Faha]

I would remove schools where your cGPA and sGPA are below the 10th percentile.
I suggest these schools from your list:
Albany Medical College
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Boston University Aram V. Chobanian & Edward Avedisian School of Medicine
Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Creighton University School of Medicine
Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Drexel University College of Medicine
Duke University School of Medicine
Emory University School of Medicine
Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine
Medical College of Wisconsin
New York Medical College
Ohio State University College of Medicine
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
Robert Larner, M.D., College of Medicine at the University of Vermont
Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Tufts University School of Medicine
Tulane University School of Medicine
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
University of Colorado School of Medicine
University of Illinois College of Medicine
University of Kentucky College of Medicine
University of Louisville School of Medicine
University of Massachusetts T.H. Chan School of Medicine
University of Michigan Medical School
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
You could add USF Morsani, Western Michigan, TCU

 

[sy120]

I would remove schools where your cGPA and sGPA are below the 10th percentile.
I suggest these schools from your list:
Albany Medical College
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Boston University Aram V. Chobanian & Edward Avedisian School of Medicine
Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Creighton University School of Medicine
Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Drexel University College of Medicine
Duke University School of Medicine
Emory University School of Medicine
Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine
Medical College of Wisconsin
New York Medical College
Ohio State University College of Medicine
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
Robert Larner, M.D., College of Medicine at the University of Vermont
Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Tufts University School of Medicine
Tulane University School of Medicine
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
University of Colorado School of Medicine
University of Illinois College of Medicine
University of Kentucky College of Medicine
University of Louisville School of Medicine
University of Massachusetts T.H. Chan School of Medicine
University of Michigan Medical School
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
You could add USF Morsani, Western Michigan, TCU

Thank you, that helps! I don't think I'd want to go to school in TX or FL, but I'll take a look at Western Michigan. Any particular reason you took off Keck? I did my undergrad at USC, and it's one of my top choices (though I know it's low yield).

 

[Faha]

Thank you, that helps! I don't think I'd want to go to school in TX or FL, but I'll take a look at Western Michigan. Any particular reason you took off Keck? I did my undergrad at USC, and it's one of my top choices (though I know it's low yield).

Apply there since you did your undergraduate degree there.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

lack of pubs/posters, and low service hours

1) If your physician parents trained in the US and got their degrees in the US, apply to the programs they attended. If they did residency, you can choose a school that is associated with that residency program if applicable.

2) Why do you think you have low service hours?

3) Be aware of the missions of the schools on your list. For example, you may be a NC resident, but if you really want to practice in a more rural area like the eastern Piedmont, apply to ECU. Your high MCAT would make me skeptical that you really want to go to ECU, and given that you grew up in Kentucky, I don't think ECU is a good match.

What is your mission fit, and what population do you want to care for after 10 years?

 

[sy120]

1) If your physician parents trained in the US and got their degrees in the US, apply to the programs they attended. If they did residency, you can choose a school that is associated with that residency program if applicable.

2) Why do you think you have low service hours?

3) Be aware of the missions of the schools on your list. For example, you may be a NC resident, but if you really want to practice in a more rural area like the eastern Piedmont, apply to ECU. Your high MCAT would make me skeptical that you really want to go to ECU, and given that you grew up in Kentucky, I don't think ECU is a good match.

What is your mission fit, and what population do you want to care for after 10 years?

Thanks! My dad is an IMG but my parents did residency at Kentucky and Louisville, and my mom's alma mater is on my list. I don't truly love ECU, but I've been told to apply to all (both) in-state public schools. My mom's undergrad (JHU) is on my list too but certainly a reach for my stats/research.

For the service hours thing, are you asking why they're low, or why I'm of the opinion that they're low? If the former: I didn't have a driver's license when I finished college and was a full-time teacher, so I didn't have time to walk somewhere to volunteer. Teaching, post-bacc, pharm tech, and clinic work have honestly consumed all my time since college. If the latter: I honestly haven't done much service work since graduating college in 2020, and I'm not sure if that's too long ago to matter for admissions. I've seen applicants with multiple thousand volunteer hours, and I know that's not me.

I really don't know what my mission fit is; I feel like I have too little research productivity for a T20 and too little service for the Jesuit/service-oriented schools. I love teaching/education and working with people, and I really like research, even if it doesn't show through my activities section. My personal statement is about my journey from journalism to education to medicine. Most of my prewritten "big challenge" secondaries talk about moving to a new city and becoming a public school teacher at 19 during the pandemic.

In 10-20 years, I can see myself having finished an IM or med-peds residency, working as a hospitalist in an urban or suburban setting and maybe with some sort of mentoring or teaching appointment.