School List Help: 3.66 GPA, 517 MCAT

[rose1101]

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Hey everyone, I wanted to ask for some advice about my application/school list with my updated MCAT.

I'm a reapplicant, and I applied early decision to NJMS this year but got deferred. I know I got advice on here previously to get more non-clinical volunteering outside of my comfort zone, and I recently started volunteering for a free clinic. Is there anything else about my application that is a red flag? Are there any more schools I should add?

Thank you in advance!

Stats:

1. cGPA: 3.66 sGPA: 3.55
2. MCAT: 508, retake 517 (129/129/129/130)
3. NJ resident
4. Asian
5. Public Uni
6. Clinical experience:
   1. 500 volunteer (EMT)
   2. 200 hrs: medical scribe
7. Research:
   1. neuroscience research in med school connected to my uni: 1000 hours, no pubs
   2. publication connected to another neuroscience lab: 80 hours
8. Shadowing experience and specialties represented
   1. 15 hrs: neurosurgeon
   2. 8 hrs: endocrinologist
   3. 16 hrs: obgyn
9. Non-clinical volunteering
   1. volunteer chair at my HS: 40 hours
   2. Peer mentor: 35 hours
   3. Literacy volunteer: 80 hours- projected hours 160
   4. Free clinic: 10 hours- projected 60 hours
10. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)
    1. 300 hours as a peer mentor for HS students
    2. Marketing coordinator for club: 220 hours
    3. 120 hrs: speech instructor -projected 1,000 hrs (I'm not sure if this counts as clinical hours? I work with children with developmental disabilities and help them learn how to read and visualize)

School List:
Reapplying to

1. Albany
2. Cooper
3. Drexel
4. Quinnipiac
5. Hackensack
6. Temple
7. New York Medical College
8. Penn State
9. Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
10. Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
11. SUNY Downstate
12. SUNY Upstate
13. Pittsburgh
14. Rochester
15. Geisinger
16. Jacobs

Added

1. Albert Einstein
2. George Washington
3. Vermont
4. Tufts
5. Rosalind Franklin
6. Virginia Commonwealth
7. Eastern Virginia
8. Virginia Tech
9. Nova Southeastern University
10. University of Miami
11. Carle Illinois
12. Emory
13. Georgetown
14. Icahn Mount Sinai
15. Cornell

 

[Faha]

Your lack of non clinical volunteering will limit your chances for interviews at top tier schools. The SUNYs admit few non residents with no connection to the state. Carle Illinois is looking for applicants with an engineering background. You could add these schools:
Belmont
Alice Walton
Roseman
TCU
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
Medical College Wisconsin
Methodist (when it opens)

 

[Mr.Smile12]

MD Thread 'WAMC for the rest of the cycle? 3.59/508'

Dec 9, 2024

Hey, I haven't gotten any IIs yet this cycle and I'm preparing to reapply/retake the MCAT. Is there still hope for me? What else should I focus on improving? Thanks for the advice 🙂

1. cGPA: 3.59 sGPA: 3.50
2. MCAT: 508 (125/125/126/132)
3. NJ resident
4. Asian
5. Public Uni, graduating this December
6. Clinical experience:
   1. 500 volunteer (EMT)
   2. 200 paid (medical scribe)
7. Research:
   1. neuroscience research in med school connected to my uni, 1000 hours, no pubs
   2. publication connected to another neuroscience lab, 80 hours
8. Shadowing experience and specialties...

• rose1101
• Replies: 5
• Forum: What Are My Chances? WAMC Medical

 

[wysdoc]

"I know I got advice on here previously to get more non-clinical volunteering outside of my comfort zone,"

This was good advice given to you back in late 2024, from folks who know what they are talking about.
It's still going to hold you back this year I'm afraid. You probably thought your increased MCAT score would make everything work out?
Keep building the volunteer hours now as a top priority so that you will have something to talk about in your secondaries and a more substantial number of hours accumulated in the next few months.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I'm a reapplicant, and I applied early decision to NJMS this year but got deferred. I know I got advice on here previously to get more non-clinical volunteering outside of my comfort zone, and I recently started volunteering for a free clinic. Is there anything else about my application that is a red flag?

Adding to @wysdoc:

Not following through on advice is your other red flag. Schools don't want to admit students who fail to execute expected advice. Students who don't show significant improvement tend to be ones who fail remediation plans and get dismissed from medical school.

 

[rose1101]

Adding to @wysdoc:

Not following through on advice is your other red flag. Schools don't want to admit students who fail to execute expected advice. Students who don't show significant improvement tend to be ones who fail remediation plans and get dismissed from medical school.

Thank you for the feedback. Before applying ED, I spoke with the dean and shared my application stats. He did not raise concerns about my hours and recommended applying if I was able to significantly improve my MCAT score, which became my focus along with my two ongoing volunteer commitments. I’m currently gaining more volunteer hours, but for now I’m mainly looking for feedback on my school list. Are there any additional schools in my MCAT/GPA range that are OOS-friendly that I could add?