re-app advice!

[kinhi]

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hi everyone! My cycle was rough with one II -> II-R, and I'm planning for a re-app + looking for some advice on a proper school list and what to do next. I'll preface this by saying that I really don't want to retake the MCAT (worried I'll do worse or ~equal on the retake). I'll retake if I absolutely have to, but I believe in my writing and my EC's, and I'm leaning more towards beefing up my EC's and applying way more broadly (+4-5 DOs in the 2026-2027 cycle).

I'm a WA resident, ORM? (SE Asian).
Mcat: 506 (125/124/128/130).
My uGPA: 3.74 and sGPA is ~3.34. No post-bacc.

My EC's:

• 3000-3500 hours of clinical experience as a Pediatric ICU Tech and Front desk worker at a local dental clinic (serving mainly blue-collar, low-income pt. populations). Worked throughout undergrad + postgrad during this cycle.
• 500-600 hours of non-clinical volunteering with low-no-income populations (hoping to boost this a lot more in the next few months w/ volunteering in an international clinic).
• 2100 hours of Neurology / Gene therapy Research, 2 posters, upcoming 2nd author Pub (not started yet)
• 2000 hours of leadership (Started a student org in undergrad, continued it through postgrad with multiple community workshops and presentations)
• ~150 hours of shadowing (Dental, FM & DNP (in a tribal clinic), RNs in psychiatric care facilities, EM in pediatric hospital)

I'm also making a video game with friends, was an Art major (had multiple gallery shows and magazine features), and have a strong interest in primary care serving underserved populations!

My plan + What I need advice on:
I know my MCAT + GPA are on the lower side, but I am ok with applying to low-tier MDs and DOs this upcoming cycle. Ideally, I would stay in-state (WA), but I have very strong ties to AZ. I previously applied to all the Jesuit schools and service-heavy schools because pt advocacy + community service was a huge part of my application (and using art in correlation with medicine), but didn't hear anythin,g which makes me wonder if I didn't have enough non-clinical volunteering?

Apply DO and apply earlier (I finished some secondaries after 1.5 weeks... maybe it's neurotic but I could've definitely gotten them in sooner). I would also love any recommendations for my school list!

If there's any advice on how I can otherwise improve my application for this next cycle, I'm all ears. Thank you!

 

[Med Ed]

Overall it's your sGPA and MCAT that are holding you back.

The Jesuit and service-heavy schools are still quite competitive. For example, Creighton's average GPA is 3.86 and average MCAT is 513. More volunteering won't help you.

Apply to all the private low-tier MD schools and some DO schools and you'll probably get in somewhere.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

Where did you apply and get your interview, especially as a Washington in-state? Why didn't you try PNWU? You might be a bit late, but not necessarily too late. I agree the sGPA may be an issue. You could have saved $3000 in upcoming application costs if you had included DO this time and likely received an offer.

Experience details will help; hours alone are insufficient. Volunteering in an international clinic may not distinguish you enough regarding service orientation activities. I think you have good exposure to underserved populations but the details should confirm that. I don't think your service orientation speaks to mission fit enough, and that may be why you were rejected post-interview.

 

[kinhi]

Welcome to the forums.

Where did you apply and get your interview, especially as a Washington in-state? Why didn't you try PNWU? You might be a bit late, but not necessarily too late. I agree the sGPA may be an issue. You could have saved $3000 in upcoming application costs if you had included DO this time and likely received an offer.

Experience details will help; hours alone are insufficient. Volunteering in an international clinic may not distinguish you enough regarding service orientation activities. I think you have good exposure to underserved populations but the details should confirm that. I don't think your service orientation speaks to mission fit enough, and that may be why you were rejected post-interview.

Thank you for the insight! I got a II at UWSOM. I agree that I could have definitely applied to DO, as my school list definitely burned me this cycle. Aside from school list, if volunteering more wouldn't help my app much, I guess retaking the MCAT is really my only option at improving it?

 

[kinhi]

Overall it's your sGPA and MCAT that are holding you back.

The Jesuit and service-heavy schools are still quite competitive. For example, Creighton's average GPA is 3.86 and average MCAT is 513. More volunteering won't help you.

Apply to all the private low-tier MD schools and some DO schools and you'll probably get in somewhere.

Thank you for the help!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you for the insight! I got a II at UWSOM. I agree that I could have definitely applied to DO, as my school list definitely burned me this cycle. Aside from school list, if volunteering more wouldn't help my app much, I guess retaking the MCAT is really my only option at improving it?

Breakdown that 150 hours of shadowing. How many hours with MD's or DO's?

Maybe for UW only, retaking the MCAT and getting a higher sGPA might help, but they did interview you. I would have expected WSU to interview you if you showed strong experiences with patient advocacy or community service... which tells me that your service orientation argument doesn't have as many convincing experiences for their admissions committee. We don't have a transcript to decipher that sGPA or discern any "upward trends."