Hello all,
I've posted here before in a gap year context, but have officially decided to apply. Last years application failed for two major reasons: lack of clinical experience and applying late (not necessarily in that order). Here are my credentials, with new experiences in the past year bolded:
cGPA/sGPA: 3.64/3.68
MCAT: 35 (January 2015)
1500+ hours of research with prestigious undergraduate research award, poster presentations, and authorship in manuscript Science.
President of collegiate a Cappella group with numerous volunteering and philanthropic opportunities (1000+ hours of experience total, ~50 hours of service experience in there)
Shadowing in various specialties totaling 200 hours.
Volunteering at local Spanish immersion daycare, weekly throughout semester and post-graduation (~30 hrs).
Medical Scribe, full time job post graduation in otolaryngology clinics (200+ hours).
Graduated from top 25 undergrad with high distinction and completion of distinguished majors thesis.
I have also gotten feedback from adcom members, who have encouraged me to reapply given my academic credentials and new clinical experiences. They felt that applying on the later side is what hurt me the most, but agreed that I have also substantially addressed the gaps in my application.
I'm very confident in my LORs and essays this cycle. My new clinical experiences have helped me answer the question "why medicine" much better than I could last year, which has been reflected in my new personal statement.
And of course, my application is ready to go right when it opens on the 7th - not making that mistake again.
What I need some feedback on is my school list. I definitely applied a little reach-y last year. Following is my current school list, with bolded school being ones I am a re-applicant at.
Einstein
Boston University
EVMS
Georgetown
Loyola
NYMC
Rush
Jefferson
Miami
Tufts
Tulane
Pitt
Rochester
VCU
UVA
Wake Forest
Emory
Drexel
George Washington
Temple
Rosalind Franklin
Virginia Tech
St. Louis University
University of Southern California
SUNY
Quinnipac
Albany
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
Creighton
California Northstate
There are a fair amount of schools I will be a re-applicant at, but unfortunately some of these are private schools that are in my academic range, so I think reapplying to them is worth it. I am a Virginia resident by the way. Let me know what you all think. Should I add more lower tier, take away upper tier?
Thanks for the feedback!!
I've posted here before in a gap year context, but have officially decided to apply. Last years application failed for two major reasons: lack of clinical experience and applying late (not necessarily in that order). Here are my credentials, with new experiences in the past year bolded:
cGPA/sGPA: 3.64/3.68
MCAT: 35 (January 2015)
1500+ hours of research with prestigious undergraduate research award, poster presentations, and authorship in manuscript Science.
President of collegiate a Cappella group with numerous volunteering and philanthropic opportunities (1000+ hours of experience total, ~50 hours of service experience in there)
Shadowing in various specialties totaling 200 hours.
Volunteering at local Spanish immersion daycare, weekly throughout semester and post-graduation (~30 hrs).
Medical Scribe, full time job post graduation in otolaryngology clinics (200+ hours).
Graduated from top 25 undergrad with high distinction and completion of distinguished majors thesis.
I have also gotten feedback from adcom members, who have encouraged me to reapply given my academic credentials and new clinical experiences. They felt that applying on the later side is what hurt me the most, but agreed that I have also substantially addressed the gaps in my application.
I'm very confident in my LORs and essays this cycle. My new clinical experiences have helped me answer the question "why medicine" much better than I could last year, which has been reflected in my new personal statement.
And of course, my application is ready to go right when it opens on the 7th - not making that mistake again.
What I need some feedback on is my school list. I definitely applied a little reach-y last year. Following is my current school list, with bolded school being ones I am a re-applicant at.
Einstein
Boston University
EVMS
Georgetown
Loyola
NYMC
Rush
Jefferson
Miami
Tufts
Tulane
Pitt
Rochester
VCU
UVA
Wake Forest
Emory
Drexel
George Washington
Temple
Rosalind Franklin
Virginia Tech
St. Louis University
University of Southern California
SUNY
Quinnipac
Albany
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
Creighton
California Northstate
There are a fair amount of schools I will be a re-applicant at, but unfortunately some of these are private schools that are in my academic range, so I think reapplying to them is worth it. I am a Virginia resident by the way. Let me know what you all think. Should I add more lower tier, take away upper tier?
Thanks for the feedback!!