School List Help? (3rd Time Applicant, IL/IN ORM Male, 3.5/514)

[Reapp97]

I am currently on WL's at a school and haven't heard back post-ii from another. I will likely be a 3rd time reapplicant this May and plan to apply the first day regardless of whether or not I have WL's. I applied to 18 schools (as an IL resident) last cycle and received 2 interviews. I am looking to apply to 30 MD schools and at least 5 DO schools this next cycle. Any help would be very much appreciated.

1. GPA's: A little unsure how ACCOMAS does it, or how schools in general look at it, but here's all the info:
Undergraduate cGPA: 3.42
Undergraduate sGPA: 3.26
Graduate GPA: 4.0
Total Cumulative: 3.5

2. MCAT:
506 --> 514 (128, 125, 130, 131)

3. Residency: A little unsure...I am legally an Indiana resident as of this last year, although I have lived in Illinois my entire life and moved back home in January for work. That being said, I will be moving back to Indiana at some point in the near future and my drivers license is Indiana, so I believe that is my legal state of residence and will be my state of residence on AMCAS (please correct me if this is not the case).

4. Ethnicity and/or race: ORM (White Male)

5. Degrees: BA in Economics from a state school, MS in Cellular and Integrative Physiology from an OOS medical school

6. Paid Clinical:
-500 Hours PCT at a city hospital in Indiana
-500 Hours as a covid screener/tester
-1200+ as an worksite medic

7. Research:
-700 hours w/ lab from the school affiliated with my graduate program, 4 Posters, 1 Publication. All of this was benchwork/hard science, not clinical.

8. Shadowing:
-Roughly 80 Hours spread across Ortho, Anesthesia, Oncology, Primary Care, Internal Med

9. Volunteering: probably my biggest weak point
-50 Hours animal shelter
-150ish in charities associated with organizations I was a part of in my undergrad (American Heart, Habitat for Humanity, etc.)
-Working on another 150 or so from a local organization that is a little more tangible, nonclinical

10. Other Activities:
-1000 Hours D1 Football
-2000 Hours D1 Rugby, 800 of which was as team captain, 600 of which was as treasurer
-400 Hours Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (hobbie, should I include this...?)
-400 Hours Lifetime Camp Counselor

11. Relevant honors or awards:
-1st Team Academic All Big Ten (Football)
-1st Team All Big Ten (Rugby)

Last Years School List:
Rosalind Franklin, UIC, Indiana (Interviewed), SUNY (Interviewed), TCU, Wisconsin, Wright State, Saint Louis, CarleCOM, Louisville, Northeast Ohio, Rush, Loyola, Wake Forrest, Penn State, Medical College Wisconsin

Ties: Illinois, Indiana, SUNY Upstate (interviewed there twice now)

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[Mr.Smile12]

I presume in your Indiana interview it was obvious about growing up nearby but staying in state I still think you might get an A after the shuffle of CYMS is underway, but you probably will need to include Marian and other DO schools.

What help or feedback have you gotten from the masters program directors on this situation? It looks like it is a SMP...

 

[Reapp97]

I presume in your Indiana interview it was obvious about growing up nearby but staying in state I still think you might get an A after the shuffle of CYMS is underway, but you probably will need to include Marian and other DO schools.

What help or feedback have you gotten from the masters program directors on this situation? It looks like it is a SMP...

I am holding out hope with Indiana. My interview was in January. I think they are done accepting direct admit as of this past week, but WL's haven't gone out yet and I am hoping to make that list. All my research was done with one of their labs and my PCT hours were completed at their hospital, so I am hoping they recognize those as a commitment to attend IUSM...I sent a letter of intent regardless.

Most of my LOR are from connections I made in the masters degree (program director, various professors etc.). The professors for the masters students teach the exact same curriculum to the medical students, so I am assuming that those letters hold some weight. Most of them told me I was a solid applicant for IUSM and didn't need to change much. Not much feedback otherwise.

 

[Reapp97]

but you probably will need to include Marian and other DO schools.

I plan on adding Marian and Midwestern for sure next cycle. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[chilly_md]

What was your graduate degree exactly? Was it an SMP since you mentioned it was at a medical school? Or was it more of a regular research-based graduate degree since it seems you collected your research hours while there? You ideally should have taken many advanced courses like immunology, genomics, nuclei acids, anatomy and what not. Otherwise, it isn’t viewed as helpful and that may be why you didn’t get many interviews.

Non-clinical as you said was another area of weakness. Habitat for humanity is good. You should have more things like that which are hands on and help those less fortunate. Try looking at a homeless shelter, soup kitchen etc if your local organization isn’t already along those lines. The animal shelter and Heart Association probably didn’t add much to an area you were weak in.

Apply to more schools as well as DOs. Of your list, Wright State, Neomed, Wisconsin and Louisville were likely donations as they don’t take many OOS students. Saint Louis, Loyola and Rush expected many more non clinical volunteering hours than you had. I am not an expert on Carle but they desire an engineering or similar background, which you lack. I may have counted wrong, but you listed 16 schools and 8 were not good options.

 

[Reapp97]

What was your graduate degree exactly? Was it an SMP since you mentioned it was at a medical school? Or was it more of a regular research-based graduate degree since it seems you collected your research hours while there? You ideally should have taken many advanced courses like immunology, genomics, nuclei acids, anatomy and what not. Otherwise, it isn’t viewed as helpful and that may be why you didn’t get many interviews.

It was an SMP, I took immunology, genomics, anatomy, advanced biochemistry, stem cell biology etc. I mentioned the graduate degree in regards to research because I met the PI through my graduate degree (he was my professor who invited me to work in his lab after gradation).

 

[Reapp97]

Apply to more schools as well as DOs.

I do think this was ultimately my downfall. Do you have any MD options in mind that I would be a good applicant for? I applied to Rush and Loyola due to the proximity of where I grew up and have family and Carle is on my undergraduate campus...otherwise I definitely wouldn't have applied there. I am definitely having trouble with a feasible list and could use any insight you may have.

 

[candbgirl]

1. GPA's: A little unsure how ACCOMAS does it, or how schools in general look at it, but here's all the info:
Undergraduate cGPA: 3.42
Undergraduate sGPA: 3.26
Graduate GPA: 4.0
Total Cumulative: 3.5

How did you come up with a 3.5 total cumulative.? I’m not aware that MD schools combine SMP grades with your undergrad grades. But maybe I’m wrong. You did a nice job in the SMP. Was there linkage, automatic interview, what is your SMP advisor saying about your lack of success? Where have other grads of your SMP been accepted? If so where?
I agree with many posters that feel your nonclinical volunteering is weak. Medicine is a service profession and you have to show your altruism to ADCOMS. You have to show that you can work with all kinds of people who are in all types of situations.

All of that being said, you still have two opportunities for an acceptance. Hopefully one will come through. Good luck and let us know what happens.

 

[Reapp97]

1. GPA's: A little unsure how ACCOMAS does it, or how schools in general look at it, but here's all the info:
Undergraduate cGPA: 3.42
Undergraduate sGPA: 3.26
Graduate GPA: 4.0
Total Cumulative: 3.5

How did you come up with a 3.5 total cumulative.? I’m not aware that MD schools combine SMP grades with your undergrad grades. But maybe I’m wrong. You did a nice job in the SMP. Was there linkage, automatic interview, what is your SMP advisor saying about your lack of success? Where have other grads of your SMP been accepted? If so where?
I agree with many posters that feel your nonclinical volunteering is weak. Medicine is a service profession and you have to show your altruism to ADCOMS. You have to show that you can work with all kinds of people who are in all types of situations.

All of that being said, you still have two opportunities for an acceptance. Hopefully one will come through. Good luck and let us know what happens.

I have no idea how schools do GPAs and there seems to be no general consensus, so I figured that it's possible some of them just take all of your grades and make one big GPA. I took the liberty of doing that and adding it here just in case someone here wanted that score, but I agree that it probably isn't useful at all.

There was no automatic interview through the school I did my SMP at, although many of us graduates did get interviews from them this cycle. I know of 2 that have been accepted from the school we did our masters at, and the majority of us are still waiting to hear back from them. Last cycle we had students get in to a bunch of places, like Louisville, Kentucky, IU, etc. My SMP advisor has since gone to a new school, but we keep in touch regularly. He is very shocked I haven't had more success and thinks I may have just slipped through the cracks at a bunch of schools (very hard to hear that).

I have been volunteering more since January as a result of my lack of interviews. Unfortunately, I am 24 and attempting to be financially independent. Clinical jobs and research positions don't offer me a whole lot of money, and as a result it's difficult to find time to volunteer. But I understand it has to be done. Any suggestions on schools to add? People keep telling me to apply broadly and to 30 schools, but all the schools I see either don't accept a lot of OOS, are overall reaches, or require me to have hundreds of volunteering hours.

 

[chilly_md]

Medicine is an altruistic profession, so you will need more volunteering hours. You did great in the SMP, so that’s a big help.

Additional schools to consider:
Dartmouth (likes non-trad and people who did SMP)
Quinnipiac
Creighton
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Creighton
Oakland
Tulane
NYMC
Albany
Georgetown
GW
Miami
Hackensack
Nova MD
Hofstra
EVMS
VCU
Tufts

For DO;
Midwestern
KCOM
PCOM
KCU
CUSOM
Marian
LECOM
DMU

 

[Reapp97]

Medicine is an altruistic profession, so you will need more volunteering hours. You did great in the SMP, so that’s a big help.

Additional schools to consider:
Dartmouth (likes non-trad and people who did SMP)
Quinnipiac
Creighton
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Creighton
Oakland
Tulane
NYMC
Albany
Georgetown
GW
Miami
Hackensack
Nova MD
Hofstra
EVMS
VCU
Tufts

For DO;
Midwestern
KCOM
PCOM
KCU
CUSOM
Marian
LECOM
DMU

This is so helpful. Thank you very much!