School List Feedback 3.9+/516 CA Applicant

[Clostridium difficile]

PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE THIS MESSAGE

1. cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMAS: 3.9+ for both
2. MCAT score(s) and breakdown: 516
3. State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US): CA
4. Ethnicity and/or race: ORM
5. Undergraduate institution or category: UC school
6. Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer): ~500 hrs clinical volunteering by the time of application
7. Research experience and productivity: ~1.5k hrs by the time of application
8. Shadowing experience and specialties represented: at least 50 hrs by application time
9. Non-clinical volunteering: At least ~200 hrs by app time.
10. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc): ~300 hrs leadership in org; 100 hrs as a TA.
11. LORs: All are likely to be strong
12. School List:

Reaches: Mayo, UCSF, Stanford, Cornell, UMich, UCLA, UCSD, UCI, UPitt, Case, Mt. Sinai, USC, Boston, Emory
Targets: Dartmouth, Einstein, OSU, Tufts, Jefferson, USF-Morsani, St. Louis, UMiami, Cincinnati, Wayne State, University of Illinois, George Washington, Tulane, Temple, Drexel, Rush, Creighton, Vermont, Penn State, Quinnipiac

Do I have a shot at these schools? If not what can I do to make my school list/app better? Planning to apply for the 2024-2025 cycle

Thank you!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

My impressions: for your service schools on your list, you need to secure those non-clinical volunteering hours. I don't know what your responsibilities are assisting migrants at the border, but be mindful about double-dipping with leadership with your co-founded organization. Be mindful that schools will often screen the average of your MCAT scores, so what was your first attempt? Service-oriented schools will like to see at least 500-800 hours of non-clinical (including non-clinical adjacent) community service to a variety of underserved communities. I'm not sure you have that to satisfy some of the schools on your target list.

You are low on shadowing. You need to get to 50 hours. It seems like you are interested in primary care and service to underserved communities. If that's the case, be aware that you may not be a strong fit for your research-leaning schools. From your description, it doesn't seem that you have placed a strong passion in traditional bench work.

For some of your reaches, clarity in what your impact is with your community is going to be critical to getting attention. Do your networking to see if you are indeed a fit with the schools on your list. What outreach are each of those schools doing with refugees and undocumented migrants, and how would you be able to leverage your experience?

I would also check out AMMSA chapters at the schools on your list if being Muslim/Arab is important to your identity and growth.

 

[Clostridium difficile]

Hi, thanks for your reply. My OG MCAT score was a 510 and my career plan is academic medicine with an emphasis on assisting underserved populations in tandem both domestically and abroad.

I have a few follow-up questions:
- For non-clinicals, do projected hours hold any weight for the service oriented schools? I have not started my gap year yet since I am yet to graduate and my hours are lower because of that.
- Can you clarify what you mean by double-dipping in leadership for non-clinicals?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Hi, thanks for your reply. My OG MCAT score was a 510 and my career plan is academic medicine (not sure specialty though but I am interested in neurology/surgery) with an emphasis on assisting underserved populations in tandem both domestically and abroad.

Can you tell me how many underserved patients those physicians see in that specialty? What are the barriers to getting patients to see those specialists? How many people do you see in the shelters who should get help from a surgeon/neurologist?

I have a few follow-up questions:
- For non-clinicals, do projected hours hold any weight for the service oriented schools? I have not started my gap year yet since I am yet to graduate and my hours are lower because of that.

No. You will be competing with people who already have those hours (Americorps, Peace Corps, TFA/City Year).

- Can you clarify what you mean by double-dipping in leadership for non-clinicals?

What are you emphasizing: your leadership or your service? You can only choose one category on W/A.

 

[Clostridium difficile]

Can you tell me how many underserved patients those physicians see in that specialty? What are the barriers to getting patients to see those specialists? How many people do you see in the shelters who should get help from a surgeon/neurologist?

Thanks for the questions. I don’t have exact numbers but I assume that these physicians don’t see as many underserved patients on average due to barriers like insurance. But I think that actually indicates a need for physicians who go in and donate their time towards underserved patients. Patients who are underserved still do experience surgical/neurological problems. I have seen many patients in clinic who require surgical assistance be it trauma or routine who are denied assistance due to financial burdens/wait times. Furthermore, neurological care is also very important considering the wide prevalence of stroke and aging issues that such patients experience. In my opinion, more specialists who assist in targeting these patient populations can only help healthcare.

No. You will be competing with people who already have those hours (Americorps, Peace Corps, TFA/City Year).

Ok I see, thank you for the insight.

What are you emphasizing: your leadership or your service? You can only choose one category on W/A.

Thanks for clarifying.

I will implement the changes you suggested to my app (add more shadowing/possibly adding more non-clinicals). Assuming I am able to get at least 20 more hours of shadowing and get to 500+ hours of non-clinical volunteering, is my school list alright or should I add/remove any schools?

 

[Clostridium difficile]

Just want to follow up to see if anybody has any further insights to the above question

 

[Clostridium difficile]

Here is my revamped school list:

Reaches: Mayo, UCSF, Stanford, Cornell, UMich, UCLA, UCSD, UCI, UPitt, Case, Mt. Sinai, USC, Boston, Emory (14).

Targets: Dartmouth, Einstein, OSU, Tufts, Jefferson, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Wayne State, George Washington, Tulane, Temple, Drexel, Creighton, Vermont, Penn State, California University of Science and Medicine, Stryker, NYMC, Eastern Virginia, Stony Brook, Loyola Stritch (21).

What do you guys think? Do I have a shot at all of these schools? Is this a good number of schools?

 

[chilly_md]

Here is my revamped school list:

Reaches: Mayo, UCSF, Stanford, Cornell, UMich, UCLA, UCSD, UCI, UPitt, Case, Mt. Sinai, USC, Boston, Emory (14).

Targets: Dartmouth, Einstein, OSU, Tufts, Jefferson, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Wayne State, George Washington, Tulane, Temple, Drexel, Creighton, Vermont, Penn State, California University of Science and Medicine, Stryker, NYMC, Eastern Virginia, Stony Brook, Loyola Stritch (21).

What do you guys think? Do I have a shot at all of these schools? Is this a good number of schools?

A little top heavy considering many schools average the MCAT, but you can also swap out some schools like NYMC and Penn State. Try:

Mayo
UCSF
UCLA
UCSD
UCI
Case
USC
CUSM
Boston
Emory
Dartmouth
Einstein
OSU
Tufts
Jefferson
Hackensack
Miami
Rochester
St. Louis
Cincinnati
Wayne State
Oakland
Tulane
Temple
Drexel
Creighton
Vermont
Western Michigan
EVMS
VCU

 

[Clostridium difficile]

Thank you so much for your suggestions and for replying, I really appreciate it! I will take a look at each of those schools.