On 2 WL from last cycle.

[buckoh24]

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So Im sitting on 2 WL right now afteand both take applicants up until mid August. I decided to reapply due to the significant improvements I have made to my app and from talking to admissions officers. I can add more detail later on but my rough app is:

OH resident, non URM, going into 2nd gap year
cGPA 3.61, sGPA 3.45 (both with a steep upward trend)
MCAT 505-->511 (applied with the 511 last cycle)

1600 hours clinical research, 1 abstract, 2000 more projected (0 on primary last cycle)
230 non clinical volunteering, mostly youth/LGBT+, 100 projected (15 on primary last cycle)
350 clinical volunteering, mostly disadvantaged/at risk groups 100 projected (170 on primary last cycle)
85 shadowing (15 on primary last cycle)
Leadership mostly from work positions as team trainers and clinical research lead
Intercollegiate athletics
Disadvantaged rural upbringing

School list:
U Mich
VCU
Pitt
Georgetown
Tulane
GW
Wayne State
Case
Loyola
Indiana
Rochester
Wake Forest
UCSF
Keck
UCLA
OSU
Jefferson
Einstein
Cinci
Vermont
Geisel
Oakland
Mayo
UArizona-Tucson
Temple
EVMS
Emory
Drexel
Tufts
Wright State
Brown
Western Mich
NYMC
Colorado
Rush
Toledo
Utah
NEOMED
Rosalind Franklin
UWashington

Have some heavy reach schools in there hoping my reinvention story will help since my stats arent quite there. Any other schools that value reinvention stories? I am trying to do mostly cities because I want to work with urban underserved. Also its safer for us LGBT+ folks (I have extensive volunteering in the community and its part of my mission). If I were to make cuts it would probably be: Mayo, UCSF, Rush, UWash, Brown, Case, UW, Utah, UCLA, Keck, UArizona

 

[buckoh24]

Bump because Im writing secondaries. Done with about 18 for: OSU, Mayo, Mich, Pitt, Tulane, Wayne, Keck, Jefferson, Cinci, Geisel, Mayo, Temple, Emory, Drexel, Tufts, Wright State, Colorado, RFU.

For anybody who has reapplied or is currently reapplying to the same schools, how are you approaching the secondaries? I have re written the majority of my essays but some of them like "why our school" are going to be the same theme. Did you just copy the old essay and adjust it? Some essays I missed the mark on that question where I basically talked about all the stuff they have at the school and not so much about me (showing how I would fit).

 

[TheRealCookieMonster]

Bump because Im writing secondaries. Done with about 18 for: OSU, Mayo, Mich, Pitt, Tulane, Wayne, Keck, Jefferson, Cinci, Geisel, Mayo, Temple, Emory, Drexel, Tufts, Wright State, Colorado, RFU.

For anybody who has reapplied or is currently reapplying to the same schools, how are you approaching the secondaries? I have re written the majority of my essays but some of them like "why our school" are going to be the same theme. Did you just copy the old essay and adjust it? Some essays I missed the mark on that question where I basically talked about all the stuff they have at the school and not so much about me (showing how I would fit).

I dumped the entire thing and started over. I used new experiences for the "why us". I think you have to talk about you and/or the patient in almost every question. IMO they don't want to hear about themselves, it's not a research question unless you are intimately connected to the school.

 

[THEBACKANDFORTH]

You need a cpl DO schools. That sGPA isnt doing you favors. UWASH, MAYO, Brown, dartmouth etc is just wasting money.

EDIT: applying to UCLA is borderline delusional

 

[buckoh24]

You need a cpl DO schools. That sGPA isnt doing you favors. UWASH, MAYO, Brown, dartmouth etc is just wasting money.

EDIT: applying to UCLA is borderline delusional

The ones Im considering cutting tend to be the ones like you mentioned where I threw them in just to see what would happen. UWash, Brown, and UCLA are top 3 on my cutting block (keeping UCSF for a couple personal reasons). Im trying to stay midwest/east coast and avoid the south (some of the areas arent too kind to LGBT+ folks).

 

[THEBACKANDFORTH]

MCW, Creighton, would be good schools to add. MCW does have Casper. UMN may be worth an app even if OOS numbers aren’t high.

And for what it’s worth, any school attached to a large university will be fairly LGBT friendly, even if the surrounding town is close minded. A campus community will never be bigoted. May then consider some big southern schools to that list.

Add a few good Midwest DO schools too—DMU, KCU, etc. It may be reasonable to wait one more cycle to apply DO, but I wouldn’t.

You’ll probably get in MD, but maybe not. Your stats just don’t warrant elite schools. Spend money on low/middle tier MD apps with higher OOS.

 

[buckoh24]

MCW, Creighton, would be good schools to add. MCW does have Casper. UMN may be worth an app even if OOS numbers aren’t high.

And for what it’s worth, any school attached to a large university will be fairly LGBT friendly, even if the surrounding town is close minded. A campus community will never be bigoted. May then consider some big southern schools to that list.

Add a few good Midwest DO schools too—DMU, KCU, etc. It may be reasonable to wait one more cycle to apply DO, but I wouldn’t.

You’ll probably get in MD, but maybe not. Your stats just don’t warrant elite schools. Spend money on low/middle tier MD apps with higher OOS.

Thanks for the feedback! I have MCW on my list but forgot to list it for some reason. And had UMN but saw the low OOS and thought otherwise. But i just gave the axe to some schools so I may add it. The feedback I got from schools who gave me a consultation about my last app was that my ECs killed me with no research, very little community volunteering, and lack of leadership which were all things with major improvement on this app (I included job training positions this time that I thought they wouldn't care about). Im shooting for 30 realistic schools and then 5ish that are like Pitt, Mich, Case where my stats are lower but still over the 10% but Im def trying to make it heavier with schools ranked 30+ but will be happy with any of the schools on my list right now (afaik I will. Wont know about the culture until I interview).

 

[THEBACKANDFORTH]

If you’re doing schools ranked 30+, I would read their mcat requirements to make sure they take highest score and don’t average. I still think your sGPS is too low with a past 505 mcat to make this the best strategy, but good luck! Be memorable in interviews. Consider adding some more safety schools! Ohio is a good state to be in.

 

[deleted787552]

Just fyi, jefferson and cinny apparently average mcats

 

[buckoh24]

Just fyi, jefferson and cinny apparently average mcats

Oh boooo. Im only doing cinic because Im in state for them. Didnt know that about Jefferson tho. I may keep them in just because I am finished with the secondary and really like philly.

 

[deleted787552]

Oh boooo. Im only doing cinic because Im in state for them. Didnt know that about Jefferson tho. I may keep them in just because I am finished with the secondary and really like philly.

Ya I'm in the same scenario. Your score would be a 508 which while not bad is pretty under Jefferson's 514 and Cinny's 517ish median

 

[MareNostrummm]

You need to be very realistic with your list. Schools like Mayo are a waste of time.

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

I think Goro mentioned that JHU and UChicago both consider LGBT to be URM. You should def add those two to the list

 

[mdphdNYC]

It's worth having some high reaches to "see what happens" on your first try, but on your second time around especially with that MCAT and GPA I would recommend really homing in on your matches and putting all your effort into those. I would reconsider UMich, Pitt, Georgetown, UCSF, UCLA, Geisel, Mayo, Brown, UWashington (very few OOS) as you have no realistic chance at any of them. Likewise, JHU and UChicago are not realistic even a hook like being LGBTQ. I would choose at most one or two of these to apply to.

 

[MareNostrummm]

It's worth having some high reaches to "see what happens" on your first try, but on your second time around especially with that MCAT and GPA I would recommend really homing in on your matches and putting all your effort into those. I would reconsider UMich, Pitt, Georgetown, UCSF, UCLA, Geisel, Mayo, Brown, UWashington (very few OOS) as you have no realistic chance at any of them. Likewise, JHU and UChicago are not realistic even a hook like being LGBTQ. I would choose at most one or two of these to apply to.

Also some of those schools have very long secondary essays which would take your focus away from the schools that actually matter.

 

[buckoh24]

Also some of those schools have very long secondary essays which would take your focus away from the schools that actually matter.

Yeah I limited it to Geisel, UCSF (mentor works there), Pitt (maybe, still iffy), and Georgetown. I am on 2 WL from last cycle so only sent to like 20ish schools I knew 100% I was going to apply to but gave the cut to UCLA, Mayo, Keck, etc and switched them with VCU, MCW, and Netter. Figured since my GPA and MCAT are whats holding me back the most, Ill just make sure I hit the ground running and not play catch up like I did in undergrad (went from a 3.2 avg cGPA first 2 years to like 3.85 last 2 which would have been a lot easier if I had 3.85 the whole time)