School List Feedback/Advice

[wxc_waluigi]

I'm getting ready to submit my application for this upcoming cycle in June. I've been taking a gap year and this will be my first application cycle. I've heard people say the quality of your med school list is an often overlooked aspect of the application so any advice would be much appreciated.

My biggest concern at the moment is that my list feels pretty top heavy. If it seems unreasonable, please don't hesitate me a reality check. Any schools you think I should consider adding or any I should remove... As long as the school isn't in the middle of nowhere, I'm happy to add it to my list.

cGPA and sGPA: 3.85 cGPA / 3.78 sGPA
graduate GPA: 3.50 (integrated studies program)
MCAT: 519 (129/127/132/131)
State of residence: CA (bay area)
ORM (white male, first-gen child of immigrants/refugees from eastern europe)

Major/Minor: Anthropology w/ minors in Chemistry and Spanish
Graduate: Bioethics (CWRU SOM in my senior year)
Undergraduate: Case Western Reserve Univ.
Languages: Fluent in English, Serbocroatian, and French. Good in Spanish.

Clinical experience
- UCSF Clinical Research Coordinator: (~1,200 hrs so far) paid position from Sep 2022 - present
*regular contact w/ patients and their families when recruiting for studies
- Volunteer Ski Patrol: 150 hours (Nov 2022 - Apr 2023, planning to continue next winter)
*volunteered after getting certification in OEC (outdoor emergency care) on weekends over the winter
- Pediatric Hospital Volunteer: 170 hours
* hours split between two hospitals at home during the summers and at college during the school year

Research experience (no publications)
- UCSF Clinical Research Coordinator: (~1,200 hrs so far) paid position from Sep 2022 - present
*department of anesthesia worked primarily on studies w obstetrics and critical care
- Psychiatry Research Assistant: (450 hours) with Columbia/NYSPI during part of juinor and senior year
*qualitative phone interviews w patients in NYC hospitalized w COVID for mental health research
- CWRU Chemistry Lab: (250 hours) half of freshman year and sophomore year until pandemic
*pretty basic involvement running western blots and cell cultures for ophthalmology research

Shadowing experience and specialties represented
*graduate program included clinical rotations shadowing various practices:
- 160 hours in anesthesia, obstetrics, urology, neurology, oncology, pediatrics...

Non-clinical volunteering
Refugee Resettlement Intern: (100 hours) planned for summer 2020 but w/ pandemic involvement was p minimal
*since world shut down, we just focused on getting resources to recently relocated immigrants (e.g. laptops and wifi for remote school)
Meals on Wheels: (120 hours) delivering meals to isolated seniors during the pandemic
Students for Refugees: (50 hours) paired with middle school refugee students for tutoring and support

Other extracurricular activities
Undergraduate Mock Trial - (~1,500 hrs) weekly practices, tournaments, exec board meetings
*several awards at national tournaments
Supplemental Instructor - (600 hrs) hosting weekly practice problem sessions and answering student emails
*worked for chemistry class one semester and physics class for three semesters
Assistant Swim Coach - (150 hrs) lead morning workouts for masters swim team over two summers
Crossword Puzzle Enthusiast - just a hobby lol but have made my own puzzles and submitted a couple to NYT
*if this is too silly to add to my application let me know not really sure if I'll include this

Miscellaneous
- Personal statement speaks to my experience caring for my aunt during her cancer treatment as a teenager and planting the seed for my interest in medicine and the followup with stories from my volunteering and clinical research positions confirming this is the path for me.
- Composite Packet for letters of recommendation including:
- chemistry prof and physics prof (worked as their SI)
- spanish prof (close relationship)
- anesthesia MD (journal club mentor and PI)
- mock trial coach (close relationship)

Current School List:
Ideally, I'm looking to apply to 25-30 schools...

Boston Univ
Case Western
Columbia
Duke
Emory
Georgetown
Icahn Mt Sinai
Kaiser
Keck USC
Mayo
Northwestern
Ohio State
Stanford
Alpert Brown
Tufts
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC Los Angeles
UC San Diego
UC San Francisco
Univ Chicago Pritzker
Univ Michigan
Univ Pittsburgh
Univ Virgina
Weill Cornell

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[gyngyn]

to WAMC.

 

[Goro]

Good list, OP. Swap out Tufts and GTOWN for Einstein and Pitt

 

[Faha]

You could add Hofstra, Einstein, Cincinnati, Jefferson and Washington University (in St. Louis).

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Personal statement speaks to my experience caring for my aunt during her cancer treatment as a teenager and planting the seed for my interest in medicine and the followup with stories from my volunteering and clinical research positions confirming this is the path for me.

So what do you see yourself doing in 10 years? Do you want to do oncology? What special populations do you feel most passionate about, as you have a number of choices? (Why) are you sidestepping your bioethics training?

 

[wxc_waluigi]

So what do you see yourself doing in 10 years? Do you want to do oncology? What special populations do you feel most passionate about, as you have a number of choices? (Why) are you sidestepping your bioethics training?

I’m not dead-set on any one speciality but I’m drawn to oncology and anesthesiology from my experiences and shadowing. I’ve also really enjoyed volunteering with peds patients, so perhaps some sort of pediatrics sub-specialty?

As for particular populations, I’m passionate about working with refugees and immigrants. Global health programs would definitely be a plus in a med school for me.

My bioethics degree was a great way to get shadowing experiences in the wake of COVID restrictions. It was an interesting program but I want to be more directly involved in patient care than a clinical bioethicist.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

As for particular populations, I’m passionate about working with refugees and immigrants. Global health programs would definitely be a plus in a med school for me.

Cross-reference your list with schools on this list. Network.

Student Run Asylum Clinics

Student run asylum clinics across the US directly affiliated with Physicians for Human Rights.

www.phrstudents.com

 

[wxc_waluigi]

Cross-reference your list with schools on this list. Network.

Student Run Asylum Clinics

Student run asylum clinics across the US directly affiliated with Physicians for Human Rights.

www.phrstudents.com

This is incredibly helpful thank you!