Reapplicant: WAMC for MD?

[It costs to enroll]

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Applied 2019-2020 cycle to only MD schools. Took a gap year after undergrad to pursue research, attended one interview and was ultimately waitlisted. What are the chances for next cycle and where should application improvements be made?

White male, top 25 Undergrad school

cGPA: 3.92/sGPA: 3.89
MCAT (2018): 509
Scheduled 2nd MCAT for 6/19

~2500 research hours: 23 pubs-2 second author, the rest 3rd-4th author. 4 podium presentations at national conference; undergraduate student research leader
~100 Volunteering (non clinical): Started a donation movement; Worked at a food pantry
~180 clinical volunteering: Begin as volunteer, became student volunteer leader
~1600 Paid Employment: Lab staff, moving company/warehouse work. Money was an issue in undergrad
~65 shadowing: orthopedists, anesthesiologist, ENT. Plan to shadow internal med doc in June
~40 Fraternity exec position: Academics chair
~50 Misc: Intramural leagues, Piano, Peer tutor
~Phi Beta Kappa


Schools I applied:
Albany
CMU
FAU
Rosalind
FIU
G Wash
Indiana
Loyola
MC Georgia
MCW
NYMC
Penn state
Rush
Seton Hall
SIU
Toledo
Tulane
Arizona
U Colorado Boulder
UIC
U of Louisville
Miami
Nevada
UNC
U Tennessee
U Wisconsin
Wayne State
West Virginia

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Could you clarify what the experience hours were when you made your initial application? Boldface the improved number of hours documented that you would include when reapplying. Future hours intended after submitting your application won't count. As much detail on your activities would help with analysis.

 

[Faha]

You applied to over 10 state public schools that accept few non residents with a MCAT of 509 and no connection to the state (MC Georgia admitted 6 non residents last year). You need a better school list and I suggest these:
Rosalind Franklin
UIC
SIU
Loyola
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
TCU-UNT
NOVA MD
Wake Forest
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
George Washington
Penn State
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Seton Hall
New York Medical College
Albany
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Also apply to several DO schools and include CCOM, MU-COM and DMU-COM.

 

[It costs to enroll]

Could you clarify what the experience hours were when you made your initial application? Boldface the improved number of hours documented that you would include when reapplying. Future hours intended after submitting your application won't count. As much detail on your activities would help with analysis.

Yes, I apologize for not making it clearer.

Submitting my application last year, I had:
250 research hours working in a kinesiology lab and was appointed student lab leader halfway through
80 hours in non clinical volunteering: offering help at my local food pantry/resource center
180 clinical volunteering: Hospital volunteer/volunteer leader
1600 paid employment: Preparing laboratory experiments for undergraduate students, warehouse work, moving company, banquet hall
65 shadowing: 50/50 clinic and OR
40 Exec pos.
50 Misc: intramural softball team for 3 years, piano practice/lessons (not sure if this is relevant), tutored peers in chemistry
PBK

Improved hours:

~2250 research hours: 23 pubs-2 second author, the rest 3rd-4th author. 4 podium presentations at national conference
~20 hours non clinical volunteering: additional food pantry help; started a non-perishables and ppe collection fund for local hospitals during COVID-19 (this number will increase in the coming months)

 

[It costs to enroll]

You applied to over 10 state public schools that accept few non residents with a MCAT of 509 and no connection to the state (MC Georgia admitted 6 non residents last year). You need a better school list and I suggest these:
Rosalind Franklin
UIC
SIU
Loyola
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
TCU-UNT
NOVA MD
Wake Forest
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
George Washington
Penn State
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Seton Hall
New York Medical College
Albany
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Also apply to several DO schools and include CCOM, MU-COM and DMU-COM.

Thank you for your guidance!

 

[candbgirl]

Why are you retaking the MCAT? In my opinion it isn’t the MCAT that’s keeping you from interviews/ acceptances. A better list as suggested above might help that issue. There is nothing in your application that screams I want to be a doctor. Even with your new activities your application is more focused towards research than clinical medicine. Some reviewers/interviewers might wonder why not a PhD instead of a MD. In this whole year you didn’t include any additional clinical experiences and only 20 additional hours of nonclinical volunteering. Perhaps plan on not applying in 2020 and wait a year so you can focus on the clinical Experiences and nonclinical volunteering sections of your application.

 

[It costs to enroll]

Why are you retaking the MCAT? In my opinion it isn’t the MCAT that’s keeping you from interviews/ acceptances. A better list as suggested above might help that issue. There is nothing in your application that screams I want to be a doctor. Even with your new activities your application is more focused towards research than clinical medicine. Some reviewers/interviewers might wonder why not a PhD instead of a MD. In this whole year you didn’t include any additional clinical experiences and only 20 additional hours of nonclinical volunteering. Perhaps plan on not applying in 2020 and wait a year so you can focus on the clinical Experiences and nonclinical volunteering sections of your application.

Thank you for your response.
The position I took was a full time research assistant position, 8-5 May 2019-May 2020, so it was difficult to commit to things outside of this. On Saturday's I would assist with the food pantry's 2 hour runs in the fall semester and then delegated more time to studying for the mcat on nights and weekends beginning in January to the present. However, due to COVID-19 my test, originally scheduled for March, has been pushed to 6/19.

That being said, I was involved in many clinical aspects during my research position and was wondering if that could be broken up into separate experiences in the activities section. I would say 1/3 of this year involved clinical hospital work.

 

[Goro]

Thank you for your response.
The position I took was a full time research assistant position, 8-5 May 2019-May 2020, so it was difficult to commit to things outside of this. On Saturday's I would assist with the food pantry's 2 hour runs in the fall semester and then delegated more time to studying for the mcat on nights and weekends beginning in January to the present. However, due to COVID-19 my test, originally scheduled for March, has been pushed to 6/19.

That being said, I was involved in many clinical aspects during my research position and was wondering if that could be broken up into separate experiences in the activities section. I would say 1/3 of this year involved clinical hospital work.

What exactly did you do in terms of your clinical research? Many pre-meds make the mistake of thinking that clinical research is clinical, when the vast majority of the work is actually research.
Overall you have the application of someone who dearly wants to be researcher, not a doctor. I suggest that you take a gap year and bulk up your clinical experience, and your service to others less fortunate than yourself. Many of the schools that you will be targeting our service loving the schools

And with a 509 MCAT score, you need to have DO Schools on your list

 

[It costs to enroll]

What exactly did you do in terms of your clinical research? Many pre-meds make the mistake of thinking that clinical research is clinical, when the vast majority of the work is actually research.
Overall you have the application of someone who dearly wants to be researcher, not a doctor. I suggest that you take a gap year and bulk up your clinical experience, and your service to others less fortunate than yourself. Many of the schools that you will be targeting our service loving the schools

And with a 509 MCAT score, you need to have DO Schools on your list

Clinical experience such as speaking to patients in preop and postop not regarding research

Thank you very much for your input!
God Bless

 

[Goro]

Clinical experience such as speaking to patients in preop and postop not regarding research

Thank you very much for your input!
God Bless

So you were chatting with them? If so, how many hours

 

[It costs to enroll]

So you were chatting with them? If so, how many hours

Cumulatively 50 hours. Strength/pain, how they are feeling, any immediate needs etc. I don’t know if I could input that separate from the research exp

 

[candbgirl]

The people you were chatting with pre and post op- were they random patients you happened upon or did you know them because they are subjects in your clinical research gig?