Yosemite97
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From my own internet sleuthing it seems like statistically the numbers are not strongly in my favor, but I feel like my situation is also a little unique and I was hoping someone on here could offer some perspective. Besides the more obvious things like applying to a broad list of schools without strong instate biases and submitting my application as early as possible (will be applying May of 2026) what should I do in the next 10 months to make me the most competitive MD applicant possible?
Basic information:
- 28 year old white male
- Montana resident (WWAMI and WICHE schools seem like my best shot)
- One time MCAT taker, got a 510 with section scores of 126, 126, 129, and 129
- cumulative GPA 3.17 (science/BCPM GPA 3.34)
- 2 semesters of research + 1 summer (no pubs)
- EMT
- Good LORs (3 professors and 1 supervisor from Yosemite Search and Rescue)
Background:
I originally attended a fairly prestigious small liberal arts college in Maine in the fall of 2016 and was a biochemistry/math double major with good grades and extracurriculars. In the spring of 2019 however my 17 year old brother lost his life after falling off a 150 meter cliff while skiing in the french alps and for the next 3 years I really struggled academically. I ended up withdrawing from the spring semester of 2019 and the fall semester of 2020 when classes were completely online so have multiple W's on my transcript and this is also where my GPA began slipping dramatically. I ended up transferring schools and graduating in the fall of 2022 with just the biochemistry major. After transferring, I worked as a CNA at the local hospital full time while going to school part time from spring of 2020 to spring of 2021 and got my EMT. Since graduating I have been working seasonally doing Search and Rescue in Yosemite National Park which runs from April to November and is where I currently am. In addition to responding to a multitude of rescues all throughout the park I have been shadowing physicians at the medical clinic in the valley and will continue to do many more hours of shadowing when I am back in Montana for the winter working as an ER tech in the hospital + volunteering at a local organization that takes disabled teens on outdoor activities such as skiing, hiking and rock climbing. Working as a first responder in SAR has opened my eyes to the world of emergency medicine and was the ultimate reason for me to want to apply to med school.
I am a Montana state resident and my top choice by far is the WWAMI program through the University of Washington but I also plan on applying to the majority of the WICHE schools as well (school list included below). Because my GPA is quite a bit lower than the average for accepted MD students I was hoping to offset this with a higher MCAT score but due to a couple of different factors (mainly being out of school for several years and having to relearn a lot of the material) I got just below the average score of 511 for accepted MD students. My FL average was 513 and since a 510 is pretty close to this I realistically do not feel like I could score significantly higher on the exam if I were to retake, but if multiple people here recommend doing so I would certainly consider it before applying next spring. I know I am not competitive for top tier schools and honestly am not interested in attending those schools either but based on my background + numbers was wondering if I have a decent shot of getting in to one of the schools mentioned below. Thanks in advance for any advice or feedback!
Additionally, I was approved for the fee assistance program through the AAMC so my application fees for up to 20 schools are covered.
School List:
1. WWAMI/University of Washington
2. University of Utah
4. Oregon Health and Science University
5. University of Arizona - Tucson
6. University of New Mexico
7. University of Nevada - Reno
8. College of Medicine - Phoenix
9. University of California - Davis
10. University of California - Los Angeles
11. University of California - San Diego
12. University of Southern California
13. University of California - San Francisco
12. University of Hawaii
13. University of Vermont
14. University of Colorado - Anschutz
15. University of Colorado at CSU in Fort Collins
Any other schools people would recommend adding to the list?
Basic information:
- 28 year old white male
- Montana resident (WWAMI and WICHE schools seem like my best shot)
- One time MCAT taker, got a 510 with section scores of 126, 126, 129, and 129
- cumulative GPA 3.17 (science/BCPM GPA 3.34)
- 2 semesters of research + 1 summer (no pubs)
- EMT
- Good LORs (3 professors and 1 supervisor from Yosemite Search and Rescue)
Background:
I originally attended a fairly prestigious small liberal arts college in Maine in the fall of 2016 and was a biochemistry/math double major with good grades and extracurriculars. In the spring of 2019 however my 17 year old brother lost his life after falling off a 150 meter cliff while skiing in the french alps and for the next 3 years I really struggled academically. I ended up withdrawing from the spring semester of 2019 and the fall semester of 2020 when classes were completely online so have multiple W's on my transcript and this is also where my GPA began slipping dramatically. I ended up transferring schools and graduating in the fall of 2022 with just the biochemistry major. After transferring, I worked as a CNA at the local hospital full time while going to school part time from spring of 2020 to spring of 2021 and got my EMT. Since graduating I have been working seasonally doing Search and Rescue in Yosemite National Park which runs from April to November and is where I currently am. In addition to responding to a multitude of rescues all throughout the park I have been shadowing physicians at the medical clinic in the valley and will continue to do many more hours of shadowing when I am back in Montana for the winter working as an ER tech in the hospital + volunteering at a local organization that takes disabled teens on outdoor activities such as skiing, hiking and rock climbing. Working as a first responder in SAR has opened my eyes to the world of emergency medicine and was the ultimate reason for me to want to apply to med school.
I am a Montana state resident and my top choice by far is the WWAMI program through the University of Washington but I also plan on applying to the majority of the WICHE schools as well (school list included below). Because my GPA is quite a bit lower than the average for accepted MD students I was hoping to offset this with a higher MCAT score but due to a couple of different factors (mainly being out of school for several years and having to relearn a lot of the material) I got just below the average score of 511 for accepted MD students. My FL average was 513 and since a 510 is pretty close to this I realistically do not feel like I could score significantly higher on the exam if I were to retake, but if multiple people here recommend doing so I would certainly consider it before applying next spring. I know I am not competitive for top tier schools and honestly am not interested in attending those schools either but based on my background + numbers was wondering if I have a decent shot of getting in to one of the schools mentioned below. Thanks in advance for any advice or feedback!
Additionally, I was approved for the fee assistance program through the AAMC so my application fees for up to 20 schools are covered.
School List:
1. WWAMI/University of Washington
2. University of Utah
4. Oregon Health and Science University
5. University of Arizona - Tucson
6. University of New Mexico
7. University of Nevada - Reno
8. College of Medicine - Phoenix
9. University of California - Davis
10. University of California - Los Angeles
11. University of California - San Diego
12. University of Southern California
13. University of California - San Francisco
12. University of Hawaii
13. University of Vermont
14. University of Colorado - Anschutz
15. University of Colorado at CSU in Fort Collins
Any other schools people would recommend adding to the list?