School list help for reapplicant

[kittykat55]

Please do not quote this message:

cGPA/sGPA: 3.56/3.42 (dip in GPA last semester due to personal issues)
MCAT: 520 (131/128/130/131)
State: North Carolina but will be Maryland for next cycle
Ethnicity: White
Undergraduate Institution: Top southern college (known for grade deflation)
Clinical Experience: 620 hours (300 of free clinic volunteering over 3 years, 120 hours of hospice volunteering over 2 years although half of these were prospective when I initially applied, 100 hours of volunteering on an international medical brigade, 100 hours of working at a neurosurgery office)
Research Experience: 700 hours of chemistry research
Shadowing: 60 hours (critical care, emergency medicine, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, urology, anesthesia, wound care)
Non-clinical Volunteering: 780 (700 in leadership position/volunteering with service organization, 30 volunteering with an ESL class over the summer, 50 hours volunteering with the elderly)
Other: 4 year college choir member, 250 hours working as a tutor for high school students and teaching assistant for chemistry classes, 3500 hours of working in healthcare consulting, 2500 hours lifeguarding in high school and college (also was assistant manager)
Awards: Received grants for research and volunteer work; received an award for volunteer work with service organization
Leadership: Lab coordinator for lab volunteers at the free clinic where I volunteered (1 year); elected service chair of organization (1 year)

I am a reapplicant for the 2020-2021 cycle. I applied to 18 schools this past cycle and received 2 interviews at my reach schools (see school list below). I was rejected by one and waitlisted at the other. I have taken two gap years already working in healthcare consulting (I also continued clinical volunteering with hospice during this time). I have been getting feedback from some of the schools I applied to and my college's medical school advisor. I think I can improve my application in the following ways:

1. Apply more broadly (especially since I have a lower GPA and higher MCAT)
2. Label all of my clinical experiences as clinical (I labeled my 300 hours of free clinic experience as leadership since I held a leadership position in the organization, so I was a lot shorter)
3. Get more clinical experience (I am working as a medical assistant now and should have over 200 hours by the time I apply + hundreds more over the next year to update schools with; I will have also completed all of the hospice volunteering I had as prospective hours on my last app)
4. Rewrite my personal statement to focus more on my initial "spark" for medicine
5. Complete my application earlier (I submitted my primary in June, completed secondaries in July, but my committee letter wasn't submitted until late August due to circumstances out of my control, but I have been assured that it will be prioritized this year)
6. I will also be adding crisis hotline volunteering to my application as non-clinical volunteering which I just started (~40hours by June and will continue over the next year)

My school list from last cycle:
* indicates schools I wish to reapply to

Duke (interviewed and rejected)*
Vanderbilt (interviewed and waitlisted)*
UVA
VCU*
Virginia Tech
EVMS*
UNC (in-state)
ECU (in-state)
Wake*
USC Greenville
Tulane*
Miami*
Colorado*
Indiana
Maryland*
GW*
Baylor
Emory*

Any and all suggestions are welcome! Thanks!

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[Faha]

I suggest these schools with your stats:
Maryland
Duke
Vanderbilt
West Virginia
George Washington
Georgetown
EVMS
VCU
Wake Forest
Emory
Tulane
Miami
USF Morsani
NOVA MD
TCU-UNT
Colorado
St. Louis
Western Michigan
Case Western
Cincinnati
Pittsburgh
Jefferson
Rochester
Hofstra
Mount Sinai
Seton Hall
Boston University
Tufts
Dartmouth

 

[CorgiLoaf]

I'm very surprised you only received 2 IIs. Your GPA/MCAT stats make you competitive for a lot of schools on your list and you have very solid ECs. Did any of the schools you reached out to mention poorly written essays and/or a negative LoR? I agree you need to apply more broadly and perhaps include more T30 schools (these seem to favor high MCAT and research).

Besides the last semester, was there a strong upward trend in your YoY GPAs?

 

[kittykat55]

@Archemia Thank you! I received feedback from ECU and VCU. They both said that I didn't have enough clinical experience because they only counted the hours I had labeled as "clinical" in my activities section, which were ~275 hours and 75 expected hours (100 hours at a neurosurgery clinic, 100 hours on a medical brigade in Honduras, and 75 completed hours and 75 expected hours of hospice volunteering). I have another 300 hours of free clinic volunteering, which was my strongest clinical experience, that didn't count at all because I labeled it as "leadership." This seems like a really dumb mistake on my part, but I held a leadership position at the clinic as well. The person at VCU indicated labeling these hours as clinical would significantly help. I am also working as a medical assistant now to get even more hours. Additionally, the person at VCU said that I needed to talk more about where my initial interest in medicine comes from in my personal statement. That was the only feedback I got on my PS though.

Additionally, my premed advisor reviewed my letters for me and said they were strong. Although I don't have a clinical letter, but I know this isn't necessary per se. I also don't think that I would've gotten interviews at T20 schools if my letters were bad.

My GPAs for my first 3 years were 3.55, 3.72, 3.71 and my second to last semester was a 3.5. Both schools I talked to said my GPA wouldn't keep me out though. Also, what are some good example of T30 schools? (I get confused about the tiers)

Thanks!

 

[CorgiLoaf]

@kittykat55 From what previous adcoms said, ~150hrs of clinical volunteering is usually enough. Looking at VCU/ECU, they seem to be focused on primary care and helping the underserved - ECU especially. It's probably too late but it would help if you could shadow some primary care physicians and volunteer at a soup kitchen/shelter.

Definitely apply broader. Look at each school's mission statement and apply to OOS-friendly schools. The list Faha gave is a good start. A lot of the schools you applied to last cycle have huge IS biases (Wake, Colorado, Baylor, Indiana, etc.)

Write what made you interested in medicine, then use 2-3 experiences you had that further compelled you to the field. With your stats and ECs, you definitely have a decent shot this cycle if you make a smart school list.

 

[kittykat55]

@Archemia That sounds like a good plan! I'm actually working as a medical assistant in primary care right now so I will have good exposure/shadowing through this for my next application. I have a lot of hours working with HIV-related organizations from college and am volunteering with a crisis hotline right now for more non-clinical volunteer hours, but I can definitely do some more with a soup kitchen/shelter. I also think they need help with everything that's going on right now.

I will definitely revise my list accordingly and work on my PS. Thanks for all of your help!

 

[CorgiLoaf]

@kittykat55 No problem! I'm actually in the same boat as you this cycle with high mcat/low gpa. The one thing I learned here was that good school lists are very important for people like us. Best of luck with your cycle!

Also, I am volunteering at a soup kitchen right now through the crisis. I can definitely confirm that many soup kitchens and food pantries are in desperate need of volunteers.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Could you clarify why you claimed NC residency last cycle but MD this cycle? Yes, I will agree it is rather frustrating to likely be ruled out because of accounting, but it is very important to properly classify hours. That's one of the things I really look at carefully in WAMC threads. I share your frustration as there is not too much clear guidance, but admit if there were guidance, applicants will still do what they want to do.

 

[kittykat55]

@Mr.Smile12 absolutely! I lived in NC during my gap years so I was able to claim NC residency last cycle. I just moved back to Maryland, where I am originally from and spent the first 18 years of my life haha, so I will claim MD on my next cycle. I still need to double check with the maryland registrar, but based on their website, residency is just determined off of the year before matriculation. And definitely, I wish I had realized that on my last application. I had received some advice that it was good to hit as many activity types as possible, but didn't realize I would be sacrificing valuable clinical hours.