School list for a not-so-great applicant

[actual789]

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hi everyone! recently posted on here about appyling this upcoming cycle with less than ideal stats (for me personally). based on everyones comments on my other post, i've made a school list -- wanted to get as much feedback as possible (especially for schools that really don't accept anyone out of state / accept people with my stats).

my info:
cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMAS

• sGPA: 3.1 (failed a math class my freshman year but retook and got a B+)

• cGPA: 3.57 (including the failed class), upward trend since freshman year

MCAT score(s) and breakdown. Include all (non-voided) attempts.

• first MCAT was a 509, second MCAT was a 506 (yeahhh)

State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US)

• california resident (from LA, ties to IE and central valley)

Ethnicity and/or race

• URM (Black, African)
• first generation american - first language was not English

Undergraduate institution or category

• USC
• deans list every semester besides the semester i failed that class lmfao
• Master's degree (in the health humanities) also at USC Keck

Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)

• volunteered at hospital mainly speaking spanish (about 200) hours
• i work as an optho tech (scribing and MA role)
• worked as an MA for 3 summers
• also working in a free clinic in an administrative role + working w/ patients directly in the behavioral health and primary care sectors (about 3000+ clinical hours total across all activities at time of app)

Research experience and productivity

• i worked at a wet lab for all of my undergrad career, close to my PI (800 hours) -- 1 poster + pres and i got a grant for my research
• i have 2 clinical pubs (first author on both)

Shadowing experience and specialties represented

• shadowed 3 specialities (about 150 hours)
• GI/Hepatology (at CHLA)
• Rheumatology (CHLA)
• Dermatology (at a private practice in LA)

Non-clinical volunteering

• e-board of a pre-med club at USC that did non-clinical volunteering -- we went to schools in the south central area and taught about health/science topics to multiple age groups (about 800 hours)

Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)

• gap year activities: ophto tech job, free clinic job, getting my master's degree

Relevant honors or awards

• research grant for my wet lab
• dean's list every semester (besides the semester i failed the math class lmfao)

Anything else not listed you think might be important

• minor is kinda random (in film studies for health sciences)
• did an honors thesis in medical sociology (spatial inequality in healthcare in LA) for my major
• hold a masters from Keck (medical humanities) (4.0 GPA)
• worked as an advocate w/ ca congress + a few charities providing lifestyle info/talks/presentations to my local community (mostly spanish speaking) about health issues etc
• certified in medical spanish, fluent in 3 languages

ok so that's essentially my resume. i'm proud of my ECs but my stats are not great and i am fully aware of that. i'm applying to 10 DO schools. and although i'm prepared to go to DO school, i'd obviously really love to get into an MD program so i'll be applying to a lot and very broadly.

for context, i've already written my primary statement (getting it checked by my pre-med committee at my university + other med students and writers) and i've already made headway on over 10 secondaries because i'm paranoid about the timing with how many schools i'm applying to. planning to finish all secondaries by the end of june.

other context is my parents are insisting that i apply to every california school (besides stanford LMFAO) and are willing to help me pay for those secondaries because they don't know much about the process and want me to stay close. told them i'll crapshoot all CA schools but i'm fully aware it's not likely that i'm staying here.

here's a list of all schools i think i may be somewhat able to apply to (but definitely not applying to all of these). i want to cut this list down by at least 10. planning to apply to 35-40 schools total. which schools do you think do not want me at all? which schools do you think i should add?

|University of Arizona Tuscon
California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM)|
Kaiser
USC Keck
Loma Linda
UCD
UCI
UCLA
UCR
UCSD
UCSF
Quinnipiac
UConn
George Washington
Georgetown
Rosalind Franklin University
Loyola
Rush Medical College
University of Illinois
Indiana University
University of Kansas
University of Kentucky
University of Louisville
Tulane
U Maryland
Central Michigan University
Michigan State
Beaumont
Stryker
Wayne State
University of Minnesota
Saint Louis University
Creighton
Hackensack Meridian
New York Medical College
Albany Medical School
SUNY Upstate
Wake Forest
Ohio State
The University of Toledo
Wright State
Oregon Health and Sciences
Drexel
Geisenger
Temple University
Penn State
Thomas Jefferson University
UPitt
Thomas J. Frist
Anne Burnett
University of Vermont
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Virginia Commonwealth
Medical College of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin
+ applying to all HBCUs.

ones i didnt add that i am thinking abt due to stats/state of residence:

utah, both washington schools, FIU, stony brook, USC greenville, cincinnati, wake forest, nevada schools, iowa.

i need all the help i can get. thank you SO MUCH!!!!!!!!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Can you please reorganize your information according to the WAMC template?

How many California schools have you visited or attended recruitment evants/fairs talking with representatives or students?

Are you connected with SNMA or any other non-profit organization dedicated to mentoring aspiring Black physicians? Have you attended any of their virtual events or regional/national conferences?

If you have ties to the Inland Empire and Central Valley, I hope you have connected with their admissions teams. They do favor homegrown applicants, as would most of the UC schools. If your goal is to stay close to family, cut out all the schools that are too far away to make this comfortably/affordably possible.

Which DO schools are on your list?

 

[actual789]

Can you please reorganize your information according to the WAMC template?

How many California schools have you visited or attended recruitment evants/fairs talking with representatives or students?

Are you connected with SNMA or any other non-profit organization dedicated to mentoring aspiring Black physicians? Have you attended any of their virtual events or regional/national conferences?

If you have ties to the Inland Empire and Central Valley, I hope you have connected with their admissions teams. They do favor homegrown applicants, as would most of the UC schools. If your goal is to stay close to family, cut out all the schools that are too far away to make this comfortably/affordably possible.

Which DO schools are on your list?

I just reorganized it! please let me know if i'm missing anything.
i'm not connecting with SNMA but i'll look into it!
i've also connected with a few but not many california schools -- i am personally very okay with leaving the state and applying broadly, just applying to all CA schools for the sake of my parents haha

 

[jvquarterback]

You’re close to a perfect fit for Charles Drew. I won’t comment on the lists except to say I agree with your parents that you should apply to all the UC schools and should review their PRIME groups.

With the correct narrative you’ve got a great shot to stay local.

What’s your gpa trajectory? If your science grades look good the past few years I really like your chances.

 

[actual789]

yes i will definitely be applying to charles drew!

and i was thinking about the prime group applications to the UCs -- would applying to those hurt my chances of regular admissions to that school? if i don't get into that specific program, do i still have a shot at the UCs? i'm still struggling to understand particularly how it works

my GPA went from being pretty low freshman year to a lot of B's, to B+'s to A's my senior year -- so a gradual upward trajectory

 

[mike-sheree]

I believe your time and effort would be more fruitfully employed perusing a DO. If you are one of the folks who feel that is “lesser”, it is not. It is the practice of medicine, often with great success and satisfaction. I speak from decades and decades of experience.(U of ILL Chicago 1977).

 

[gyngyn]

Your list is already too long.
If you interview well, you should matriculate into a CA MD school.

 

[The OTC]

Dislcaimer: fellow CA applicant

u of a tucson, utah and nevada schools are a donation. Heavy heavy IS bias. Utah only holds 10-15 seats for OOS applicants. U of A Phoenix is more OOS friendly but they have been working hard to increase MCAT and GPA average, per my interview day. This being said, check your other OOS public schools to verify how friendly they are to OOS applicants.

Emphasize your IE connections to Loma Linda, UCR, and CUSM in their applications. You are a great fit for their missions

 

[jvquarterback]

yes i will definitely be applying to charles drew!

and i was thinking about the prime group applications to the UCs -- would applying to those hurt my chances of regular admissions to that school? if i don't get into that specific program, do i still have a shot at the UCs? i'm still struggling to understand particularly how it works

my GPA went from being pretty low freshman year to a lot of B's, to B+'s to A's my senior year -- so a gradual upward trajectory

Yes you will be considered for standard admissions if you aren’t accepted for prime. At least it used to be that way. Best way to find out is to call. It won’t hurt your chances for admission to the standard MD.

The application for prime is part of the secondary so call before you submit the primary and let them know you’ll be applying for prime.