School List Advice Please (3.79/520/URM)

[SwishRico]

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Hello everyone, I am struggling to finish my school list so any input would be appreciated!

I’m wondering if anyone has any input regarding school admin supporting students, curricula that integrate STEP 1 prep, and clerkships that begin before third year. I would also love schools in urban areas! I’m drawn to NY and the bay area, but really any big city. I appreciate any input, be as blunt as you need.
Additional info: I submitted primaries but withdrew it in 2021 before submitting many secondaries. I will show up as a reapplicant for some schools.

State: TN
Other Ties: Montreal
School: Public
URM? Yes
Major: Cognitive Science
GPA: cGPA: 3.79; sGPA: 3.41 (yikes)
MCAT: 520
ECs:
Research

• 1800 hours from undergrad and first year after grad, one poster.

Medical/Clinical Paid

• 545 hours as Community Health Worker (social worker adjacent), MME. Projected 600 more.

Medical/Clinical Volunteering

• 650 hours in a first responder club as undergrad, MME
• 777 hours with Peace Corps Guatemala (left early due to necessary surgery), MME
• 40 hours with medical nonprofit in Guatemala, projected 40 more
• 280 hours as first responder trainer

Non-clinical Paid

• I’m realizing my research was a lab job that could fit a lot of hours here… I’m going to email the schools I apply to explaining the mistake. This will cut down research hours to 300?
• 300 hours as Barista/Waiter

Non-clinical Volunteering

• 40 hours with school free taxi club
• 20 hours ESL class, projected 20 more

Shadowing

• 70 hours across 5 specialties (neuro, cardiology/radiology, orthopedics, pediatrics, PCP), MME (speaking to seeing possibility as URM)

Hobbies

• Fitness (boxing, soccer, basketball)
• Making music

LORs:

• I can’t really speak to content, but I got my PI, doctor I shadowed over many years (MME), a volunteer experience, a prof from my major, a humanities prof from my minor, and my current boss (MME). The weakness is no true science letter aside from my PI.

School List in no particular order:

1. UofM
2. Columbia
3. Stanford
4. Vandy
5. Yale
6. UCSF
7. UCLA
8. UCSD
9. Icahn Sinai
10. Rush
11. Duke
12. Harvard
13. Case Western
14. NYU (no chance but it's free)
15. University of Tennessee
16. Miami (patient population is very appealing to me)

ideas but i'm not sure
Emory
GWU (maybe not because so low yield)
chicaco div of bio
Einstein
Dartmouth (loves non trad, thats kinda me)
SUNY downstate

 

[Faha]

Which URM community are you from ? If you are Hispanic, are you fluent in Spanish ?

 

[SwishRico]

Which URM community are you from ? If you are Hispanic, are you fluent in Spanish ?

hispanic and yes

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Have you contacted LMSA chapter officers at the schools on your list? Are you involved in any mentoring programs for aspiring Latinx physicians, such as MiMentor?

My concern is you have a lot of activity outside the United States. I'll give you credit for being in the Peace Corps, but I'm concerned some schools want to see more domestic person-to-person service orientation activities. What were you doing in PC Guatemala that you list it as clinical exposure?

 

[SwishRico]

Have you contacted LMSA chapter officers at the schools on your list? Are you involved in any mentoring programs for aspiring Latinx physicians, such as MiMentor?

My concern is you have a lot of activity outside the United States. I'll give you credit for being in the Peace Corps, but I'm concerned some schools want to see more domestic person-to-person service orientation activities. What were you doing in PC Guatemala that you list it as clinical exposure?

I think I'll need to split Peace Corps into clinical and non clinical too. I was working with the nutritionist, a lot of which involved his appointments (measuring kids, discussing their symptoms, tracking on growth charts), but not all of the hours I listed were that. Other hours were clearly non-clinical.

I have not contact LMSAs, so I'll do that tonight. And I'm not, I've never even heard of MiMentor. As for domestic stuff, does my current job as a community health worker at a nonprofit health center not count as person-to-person service oriented just because it's paid?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

As for domestic stuff, does my current job as a community health worker at a nonprofit health center not count as person-to-person service oriented just because it's paid?

Community health worker can count, depending on the responsibilities. You list it as clinical, and clinical experiences naturally have service orientation included. Is it really clinical or non-clinical?

 

[SwishRico]

Which URM community are you from ? If you are Hispanic, are you fluent in Spanish ?

Just kiddin my type of latino is not URM!

 

[SwishRico]

Community health worker can count, depending on the responsibilities. You list it as clinical, and clinical experiences naturally have service orientation included. Is it really clinical or non-clinical?

Sometimes I am literally in the clinic room taking retinal pictures, but usually I am calling patients and asking questions based off the PRAPARE form (Protocol for Responding to and Assessing Patient Assets, Risks, and Experiences) and connecting them with social services or resources in my city. That's my main role. And then other stuff kinda gets lumped onto my plate by my boss like scheduling patients, following up on their referrals to specialists, or taking patient satisfaction surveys and compiling the data (but I do enjoy my extra responsibilites).

I feel like it's all very service oriented no?

 

[SwishRico]

also I'm not sure if this changes anything I went to McGill for undergrad? I apologize for so many changes, it's my first time posting and boy have I scuffed it

 

[Faha]

I suggest these schools with your stats:
U Tennessee
East Tennessee
Vanderbilt
Washington University (in St. Louis)
Emory
USF Morsani
Miami
TCU
Creighton
Mayo (Arizona)
Northwestern
U Chicago
Western Michigan
U Michigan
Pittsburgh
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Hackensack
Hofstra
Einstein (free tuition)
Mount Sinai
NYU (free tuition)
Columbia
Cornell
Rochester
New York Medical College
Vermont
Dartmouth
Brown
Boston University
Tufts
Quinnipiac
Yale
Harvard
Georgetown
George Washington
Case Western

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Sometimes I am literally in the clinic room taking retinal pictures, but usually I am calling patients and asking questions based off the PRAPARE form (Protocol for Responding to and Assessing Patient Assets, Risks, and Experiences) and connecting them with social services or resources in my city. That's my main role. And then other stuff kinda gets lumped onto my plate by my boss like scheduling patients, following up on their referrals to specialists, or taking patient satisfaction surveys and compiling the data (but I do enjoy my extra responsibilites).

I feel like it's all very service oriented no?

Customer service is "service oriented," but that's not what the definition is about. Most of your work is administrative. I can give a little credit to referring patients to social services or resources, but I just say that the other items don't necessarily address "meaningful contributions that meet the needs of communities." What is your emotional connection to the community of patients you are serving? The description sounds like being more of a medical assistant, so it's not going to make the same impact compared to someone who is working in civil service connecting others to social services (community residents, not patients).

 

[SwishRico]

I suggest these schools with your stats:
U Tennessee
East Tennessee
Vanderbilt
Washington University (in St. Louis)
Emory
USF Morsani
Miami
TCU
Creighton
Mayo (Arizona)
Northwestern
U Chicago
Western Michigan
U Michigan
Pittsburgh
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Hackensack
Hofstra
Einstein (free tuition)
Mount Sinai
NYU (free tuition)
Columbia
Cornell
Rochester
New York Medical College
Vermont
Dartmouth
Brown
Boston University
Tufts
Quinnipiac
Yale
Harvard
Georgetown
George Washington
Case Western

Thank you so much!