School List Help 3.98/515 VA ORM

[SickPanda]

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Hello all! I am planning to apply this upcoming cycle (depending on MCAT results) and wanted some advice on a school list and how competitive I am:

1. 3.95 sGPA, 3.98 cGPA
2. I have not taken the MCAT yet, testing in May, of the practice tests I've taken I've gotten 517 --> 514 --> 518, feel pretty confident about 515+
3. VA resident
4. ORM Asian
5. UVA
6. Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)
   • 1300 hours volunteer EMT (MME)
   • 100 hours volunteer MA/Scribe at a clinic
   • 800 hours paid PCT at a large hospital (MME)
   • 160 hours intern/EMT at summer camp for kids with special medical needs
7. Research experience and productivity
   • 850 hours in a wet lab
   • Only 1 poster presentation at school, but my PI likes me quite a bit
8. 30 hours shadowing IM
   • Might get more but unlikely, I am a bit worried if only having shadowed one doctor early on in college will hurt my chances, so am hoping my clinical experience where I got to work with a lot of doctors will help
9. Non-clinical volunteering
   • 1300 hours volunteer firefighter (MME)
   • 160 hours free clinic volunteer
   • 150 hours ED Clinic volunteer
     • + 20 hours volunteering at an elementary schools under same org
   • 10 hours Habitat for Humanity, might do some more after MCAT
10. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)
    • 250 hours preschool teaching assistant
    • 50 in over 2 premed orgs, just some fundraising and event stuff
    • Hobbies: working out, play piano/flute, drawing
11. Relevant honors or awards
    • Dean's List (not that special)
    • Employee of the month on my hospital unit (also not prestigious, but I was quite proud of it!)
12. Anything else not listed you think might be important
    • recs from my nurse manager, fire chief, PI, and biochem professor most likely, possibly a rec from orgo and/or physics professor
    • Ideally, I would like to go to a school in DC or VA (though ik VA has a weird opposite in-state bias) but anywhere that will take me I'll be happy lol
    • Prob aiming to apply to 25-30 schools, no DO unless I do worse on MCAT than expected, but at that point I might just take a gap year to retake it
    • General theme of service to my community and trying to hint at my interest for peds
    • I know I don't have an official MCAT score yet, but I am hoping to just draft a school list and get some feedback on my overall app, thanks!

School List spit out by Admit.org:

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Your backyard schools in Virginia, DC, and Maryland should be on your list anyway. In the absence of an MCAT score, I would want to know how focused you are to pursue emergency medicine, and if finding programs with trauma centers may be a consideration. That makes a difference: UVA has its Fairfax campus, and EVMS is close to the military bases. Are you going for HPSP/USUHS?

 

[SickPanda]

I'll update once I do take my MCAT, but thanks!

I def do have an interest in EM, as I've enjoyed my time as an EMT, though at the moment I'm also really interested in doing Peds. Though Peds EM would def also interest me!

I have thought about HPSP and USUHS, but the long service commitment afterwards is a bit offputting, as well as my friends that are in ROTC telling me about their experiences with the military.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

TBH, I don't get the impression HPSP is that similar to ROTC, though you have to go through officer training in the early part of your HPSP. Ask around.

 

[SickPanda]

I'll ask around! But the main thing is just the long service commitment afterward, and I'm not sure I'd enjoy being a military doc or working at a VA hospital, so if I do it it'd probably be purely financial, which I've heard is not really worth it.

Other than that do you think I'll be competitive for any T50 schools?