Not sure where I went wrong (would appreciate feedback please!)

[jakecertain]

pls dont quote!


Hey guys! I applied this past cycle to the following schools and haven’t received a single interview this cycle yet. I was wondering if there were any flags in my application that you guys might be able to help me find. I was thinking about re-taking the MCAT but not sure what score to aim for. I submitted my application on June 6th with all secondaries done 2 weeks after receiving them. Thank you so much.


cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMAS- 3.97, 3.96
MCAT score(s) and breakdown- 513 (131/123/129/130)
Ethnicity and/or race- Indian
Undergraduate institution or category- UC Berkeley

Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer) Please be detailed and include hours *

1. Medical Intern (260 hrs):
2. Medical Assistant (1000 hrs) I worked as an ophthalmic technician engaging in practice-based learning to gain valuable technical skills and exposure, as well as furthering my candidacy for medical school.
3. Caseworker at Clinic (70 hrs)
4. Student Assistant (120 hrs): I joined a COVID-19 testing site led by where I screened over 300 patients daily via a vocal questionnaire and collected saliva samples to determine its effectiveness in detecting the virus.
5. Volunteer (40 hrs): I aided nurses in assessing patient health by performing lab runs of urine and stool samples, blood tests, and saliva swabs.

Research experience and productivity - Please be detailed and include hours

1. Clinical (150 hrs)
2. Lab (84 hrs):
3. Research Assistant (650 hrs): I worked alongside the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Director in research focusing on the integrative biology of house mice. I later co-authored a publication that is currently being prepared for submission.

Shadowing experience and specialties represented, include hours.

1. Virtual Shadowing (50 hrs: various subspecialties) / EndoMarch (24 hrs: OBGYN)

Non-clinical volunteering- be detailed!

1. Habitat for Humanity (soup kitchen coordinator, special events, build lead, PRESIDENT) (700 hrs+)

Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)

1. Honor society (25 hrs):
2. General Chemistry Teaching Assistant (60 hrs):
3. Bridging Director (230 hrs): I served as Director where I collaborated with staff by recommending teaching strategies to increase student participation, scheduling mentoring sessions, coordinating orientations, and recruiting mentors.
4. Decal Facilitator for The Housing Crisis (140 hrs)

Relevant honors or awards

1. Dean’s List: Spring 2019, Spring 2021

Schools I applied to:
Albany Medical College
Boston University School of Medicine
Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University
Drexel University
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
Robert Larner, College of Medicine at University of Vermont
Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center
Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
Stanford University
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Tufts University School of Medicine
Tulane University School of Medicine
UCLA/Drew
UCSD School of Medicine
UCSF
UMich Medical School
Univerity of Wisconsin
University of California, Davis, School of Medicine
University of California, Irvine
University of Iowa Roy J and Lucille A Carver
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
USF Health Morsani College of Medicine
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Wayne State University School of Medicine
Weill Cornell Medicine

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

1. You really ought to edit some details out of this. I could very easily find your first and last name rn with the amount of detail in here.

2. You have to either have a horrible LOR or your writing is awful. I really can't see anything else tbh. You should've gotten interviews.

 

[jakecertain]

1. You really ought to edit some details out of this. I could very easily find your first and last name rn with the amount of detail in here.

2. You have to either have a horrible LOR or your writing is awful. I really can't see anything else tbh. You should've gotten interviews.

Thanks for the feedback. I edited out some details. It is possible that I was not as competitive in California with my MCAT? that is really the only thing I see that might have been a red flag in my application because I got all of my secondaries reviewed and am close to the people who wrote my LOR!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Sorry that your application cycle hasn't gone well. I agree to recommend redacting some details.

You can't rely on virtual shadowing anymore. You need more in-person shadowing. Find a specialty where you have not had exposure to (in other words, not ophthalmology or possibly ID).

Non-clinical: Describe your responsibilities as a Case worker.

Being a student assistant at a COVID testing site may not be purely clinical... was it for public health reporting or research? I say this because I'm wondering whether your work involved inputting their results into their personal EMR's or not.

Your school list does contain a number of schools that are out of reach with a 4.0/513. I understand that being a California applicant is challenging. Regardless, I agree that you should have gotten some attention with some of the schools you listed, so I would want to know about what your wrote was your purpose in pursuing medicine and how it fit the mission of many of the schools on your list. You should not need to retake the MCAT, but if you feel you can bet on yourself and score in the 520's, then you could consider it. But I still want to know what makes you desirable by medical schools outside of the metrics.

 

[jakecertain]

Sorry that your application cycle hasn't gone well. I agree to recommend redacting some details.

You can't rely on virtual shadowing anymore. You need more in-person shadowing. Find a specialty where you have not had exposure to (in other words, not ophthalmology or possibly ID).

Non-clinical: Describe your responsibilities as a Case worker.

Being a student assistant at a COVID testing site may not be purely clinical... was it for public health reporting or research? I say this because I'm wondering whether your work involved inputting their results into their personal EMR's or not.

Your school list does contain a number of schools that are out of reach with a 4.0/513. I understand that being a California applicant is challenging. Regardless, I agree that you should have gotten some attention with some of the schools you listed, so I would want to know about what your wrote was your purpose in pursuing medicine and how it fit the mission of many of the schools on your list. You should not need to retake the MCAT, but if you feel you can bet on yourself and score in the 520's, then you could consider it. But I still want to know what makes you desirable by medical schools outside of the metrics.

Can I message you some of the details of the activities section privately? Don't want to post too many details online!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Can I message you some of the details of the activities section privately? Don't want to post too many details online!

Yes

 

[jakecertain]

Yes

messaged you! thanks!

 

[Faha]

You do not need to retake a MCAT of 513. However, you do need 50 hours of in person physician shadowing (including primary care) before you reapply. I suggest these schools when you reapply:
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Tufts
New York Medical College
Albany
Hackensack
Penn State
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
George Washington
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
Wake Forest
NOVA MD
Tulane
TCU
Creighton
Loyola
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Western Michigan
Oakland Beaumont
Belmont (when it opens)
California University
UC Davis
UC Irvine
Also apply to several DO schools and I suggest these:
WESTERN
TUCOM-CA
AZCOM
TUNCOM
KCU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
DMU-COM
MU-COM
NYITCOM
Touro-NY
PCOM

 

[Putkernerinthehall]

One or more of the following may have contributed to your lack of success this cycle:
1) One or more of your LORs may not have been strong enough
2) Your writing (SOP, secondaries) may not have adequately captured the attention of admissions committees
3) Score of 123 on CARS might have been a red flag to some schools

Undergraduates from California have an uphill battle in the medical school admissions process, especially if they want to attend medical school in CA.