School List/WAMC (521/3.9X, ?mid/low ECs?)

[Wotteth]

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Hey everyone! First time on here so let me know if I formatted this right. Would love it if you could give me some info regarding my school list/chances of acceptance. I made the list with admit and then heavily edited it using MSAR data (mostly looking at yield) as well as removing most of the schools that favor research (I kept a couple, you’ve got to shoot your shot). Not dead set on a top school (although Duke would be pretty cool) and I think lower research is probably going to keep me out of most of them, so I really want to make sure I don’t go too top heavy with this thing. Thank you guys in advance!


cGPA: 3.95
sGPA: 3.9X?? (I got a B in a CNA class I took for credit, 92 on a 7-point grading scale lol)
MCAT: 521
Residence: NC (strong ties to WV/WVU medicine, I am from there and close family still lives/works there)
Race/Ethnicity: White
UG: Campbell University (B.S. Biology, Pre-Med w/ Chemistry Minor)

Clinical Experience:

• 1300 hr as a CNA doing home care for a family near school (will get great LoR)

Research:

• 250 hr (Great LoR from faculty mentor/PI. Will have a poster by app, applied to a few fellowships for the summer since my school doesn’t have a ton of research options. More hours/productivity will come senior year, so I’ll probably send an update letter)

Shadowing:

• 200 hr (ENT/FM/OBGYN, 50-80 each. The plan was to write about each separately since I have great stories from each of them… I think this is relatively uncommon so let me know what you think)

Non-clinical Volunteering:

• 2000 hr as a worship leader (Keys/MD) for my church
• 200 hr of community outreach through my church (food distribution, built movable planters for homeless, landscape/revamp for local public schools)

Teaching/Tutoring:

• 320 hr tutoring (Promoted from Peer Tutor to “Supplemental Instruction Leader”. Worked with a prof to create what is basically a group review curriculum for her orgo course (this was my idea and I initiated the whole thing, will get great LoR). Actually had a measurable improvement on grades and the department is working it into their actual curriculum for future tutors/S.I. leaders)
• 100 hr lab instructor (cell bio, offered position in anatomy lab for next year)
• 100 hr lab assistant (inorganic and an orgo research lab section)

Leadership:

• Wrote an MCAT guide for our pre-med honor society and am running for president (find out in April)

Extracurricular:

• I went to a 2-week missions' conference in Africa and learned from/worked with people from lots of professions (in my case mostly medicine), as well as spending time serving the people there (mostly in non-profit schools, counseling on college/career). Learned about the push to stop sending our docs into third-world countries to help and then leaving and instead focusing on training doctors from that country and building up their healthcare systems. Honestly, what I would like to do (far off in the future kind of goal) and why I did so much teaching.
• Owned a landscaping business in high school up until sophomore year of college. Was relatively successful (15-20k a summer split between three of us). Not sure if this is the kind of thing people usually include, but I could definitely write about how it grew me as a person and as a leader.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

I would presume WVU will knock. Do you want to work with WV communities as a health professional? I would also consider WVSOM as a DO backup.

Now let's get to the rest of your list. Do you want to live in a "big city"? Most of the schools on your Reach list are going to be larger than where your undergrad campus is located. Cost of living becomes a sticker shock. What communities have your experiences focused on? This also includes finding a faith community to align with.

I could definitely see you think about Loma Linda depending on how devout you are and whether their religious faith practices align with yours. How active are students at your listed schools with organizations like the Home – Christian Medical & Dental Associations® (CMDA) ?

 

[Wotteth]

Hello!

I will consider WVSOM, although I wasn't really planning on DO since it is a whole separate application and would cost $200 minimum just to do one schools primary (along with writing a whole new PS and W+A). Marshall is an MD (I think) in WV, could that work better as a backup? Also, I would happily stay in WV communities although, as I mentioned, a very far off in the future goal would be global medical training (although, I suppose I could learn a lot of that skillset in the more rural parts of WV).

I am not particularly concerned with where I live, but I have never really lived in a "big city" and I do like the idea of it (rural is more the norm for me and I know I would do fine in that setting as well). Most of my clinical hours come from private home care for a family near Campbell. They are rural farmers and I took care mainly of their mother with Alzheimers (completely non-mobile, no speaking, GI tube) who has recently passed away and now help their father with PT and trying to stay as independent as possible. The community outreach through my church also is mostly rural/suburban. In Africa, we were in Kenya and I spent most of the time in the slums of Nairobi (although I lived on a uni campus just outside Nairobi).

I have never heard of these organizations, but I will look into them. My faith is important to me, and I am confident I can find a community wherever I end up (whether that be in medical training or outside of it).

Speaking of the rest of my list, my main concern was that my list was too top-heavy (i.e. too many competitive/unrealistic schools). I have worked hard to make it as balanced as possible, but I am no expert. What are your thoughts?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I will consider WVSOM, although I wasn't really planning on DO since it is a whole separate application and would cost $200 minimum just to do one schools primary (along with writing a whole new PS and W+A). Marshall is an MD (I think) in WV, could that work better as a backup? Also, I would happily stay in WV communities although, as I mentioned, a very far off in the future goal would be global medical training (although, I suppose I could learn a lot of that skillset in the more rural parts of WV).

Yes, for the benefit of in-state, I would include Marshall too. I want to make sure you exercise all your in-state options if you have family in the state. Remember that WV applicants are rather rare. I'd make a play for all of your NC schools, including Duke; you have lots of opportunities with rural/underserved. I'd also add the new Cape Fear/Methodist program in Wilmington with the usual caveats of being part of a new school.

I am not particularly concerned with where I live, but I have never really lived in a "big city" and I do like the idea of it (rural is more the norm for me and I know I would do fine in that setting as well). Most of my clinical hours come from private home care for a family near Campbell. They are rural farmers and I took care mainly of their mother with Alzheimers (completely non-mobile, no speaking, GI tube) who has recently passed away and now help their father with PT and trying to stay as independent as possible. The community outreach through my church also is mostly rural/suburban. In Africa, we were in Kenya and I spent most of the time in the slums of Nairobi (although I lived on a uni campus just outside Nairobi).

If you have never lived in a big city, in-person interviews give you a sense. While you have traveled, it's a different matter living and studying in a completely different place than where you grew up. I don't know about your faith community's presence elsewhere so you would have to look up what you would do, but medical school is a completely different grind. Studying medicine in a big city has advantages but ironically can be very isolating. That's why proximity to a support system (family especially) is a strong consideration. Look up costs of living/attendance for many schools on your list and start narrowing down your list. The loan caps are no joke. (Look it up for Mt. Sinai and UCSF.)

Speaking of the rest of my list, my main concern was that my list was too top-heavy (i.e. too many competitive/unrealistic schools). I have worked hard to make it as balanced as possible, but I am no expert. What are your thoughts?

Clearly your metrics should get you attention, but your application should show your mission fit. I'm a little concerned about whether your research background is a good fit, though I also believe your international experience could be valuable.

I would look up how closely these programs work with or host AHEC programs. If you want to work in more rural, underserved communities (especially in the US), see which programs can give you experiences.

If you grew up in and around West Virginia, a few other options come into play on geography: I'd check about NEOMED. Their mission is to serve the eastern Appalachian Ohio counties, but I think they welcome WV applicants (I don't have my MSAR handy). Belmont, Vanderbilt, Louisville, and Kentucky for demographic similarity.

Over the next few months try to attend recruiting events at the programs you have some interest in. Try to connect with students at those schools (admissions ambassadors, AMSA leaders, CMDA leaders) to get an idea what you should prepare for as a student. Let the schools recruit you before you apply, and that should help you narrow your list to schools with a high chance for an interview and where you would be more satisfied as a medical student.

 

[Wotteth]

Thank you very much! I was also a little concerned about research, I "check the box" but it is definitely a weak point in my application. Hopefully the LoR will help showcase my abilities where the hours/productivity don't.

My plan is to tailor secondaries to fit mission fit as close as possible. I'm building a spreadsheet with my school list and each of their mission statements, and I think I can draw from my experiences to showcase good mission fit.

I'm not sure if I would count as a true WV applicant since I haven't lived there in a few years... I still have close ties to the state (all of my family but my immediate still lives there) and truly love it there and could easily speak to that in an application. Will that be enough that I can lean on that geographical benefit? Sorry for the extra questions, I just want to make sure I don't misrepresent myself!

I was planning on adding the Cape Fear school! Cape Fear is a good hospital system, and the hearsay is that they'll match well into some of their home/nearby community programs as they establish themselves (would obviously prefer an established program, but I think it's a good "safety" school).

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I'm not sure if I would count as a true WV applicant since I haven't lived there in a few years... I still have close ties to the state (all of my family but my immediate still lives there) and truly love it there and could easily speak to that in an application. Will that be enough that I can lean on that geographical benefit? Sorry for the extra questions, I just want to make sure I don't misrepresent myself!

IMO, if your family still lives there and pays state taxes, it's a stronger argument. See section 7.

Policies | BOG Academics Rule 2.4 - Residency Status for Admission, Tuition, and Fee Purposes

Even if you aren't classified as "in-state," if you've lived there for a while, that should help.

 

[Wotteth]

IMO, if your family still lives there and pays state taxes, it's a stronger argument. See section 7.

Policies | BOG Academics Rule 2.4 - Residency Status for Admission, Tuition, and Fee Purposes

Even if you aren't classified as "in-state," if you've lived there for a while, that should help.

Coming back here to say that I just had my interview at WVU last week (I received the II mid-July) and received an invite to interview with Marshall a month from now the next day! Cycle is going great thus far with 7 II (6 MD & 1 DO). Hopefully I can turn at least one of those into an acceptance.

Just wanted to thank you for your help, Mr. Smile, and tell you that you absolutely were correct when you predicted the interest from the WV schools!