TX resident applying with spouse (3.8/519)

[sobblesquad]

Hi all, I'm new here. Would love some thoughts/input on my school list. I'm applying with my spouse in the hopes of attending the same school, or at least schools within driving distance of each other. Worried about my low-ish non clinical volunteering... Appreciate any tips or advice!

1. cGPA: 3.83 and sGPA: 3.78
2. MCAT score(s) and breakdown. Include all (non-voided) attempts. 519 (129/131/128/131)
3. State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US): Texas with ties to Oregon, Washington, and Michigan
4. Ethnicity and/or race: ORM (East Asian)
5. Undergraduate institution or category: Small TX state school, biology major
6. Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)
   1. EMT volunteer: 1050 hrs
7. Research experience and productivity: 800ish hrs split between 2 microbio labs. One at my undergrad institution, one as a full-time research fellow at a large, prestigious institution. Resulted in one publication, one poster
8. Shadowing experience and specialties represented: 60 hrs, ED/IM/planning on OBGYN
9. Non-clinical volunteering:
   1. 30 hrs of on-campus events,
   2. 70 hrs with Project Gutenberg/American Diary Project
10. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)
    1. Captain of competitive NAIGC college gymnastics team for two years, won various awards
    2. Supervisor of college EMS agency
    3. Gap year activities: working as medical assistant full time, traveling to see family and friends, volunteering at church + community garden + coaching the gymnastics team
    4. Part of university guitar ensemble
    5. Studied abroad in SK for a semester (Asian studies minor)
11. Relevant honors or awards
    1. Received full COA scholarship for undergrad + was in honors college
    2. President’s Gold Volunteer Service Award
    3. Provider of the month for EMT agency
    4. Event + all-around medals at gymnastics meets (my best event was balance beam!)
12. Anything else not listed you think might be important
    1. Interested in primary care
    2. Applying with my spouse (Texas match oof)

Schools applying to:

• All TMDSAS schools (MD + DO)
• Central Michigan
• Michigan State (MD + DO)
• Oakland University
• U Michigan
• Washington State
• Wayne State
• Western Michigan
• WashU
• OHSU
• U Washington
• Washington State
• Geisinger
• Case Western
• Western University (Lebanon location) (DO)
• Pacific NW (DO)
• Incarnate Word (DO)

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[chilly_md]

TMDSAS is your best shot as most schools out of state know they cannot compete with the cheap in-state tuition. Many of the other schools you listed are also heavily in-state and take almost no OOS students (OHSU, Washington schools etc). A strong tie is usually graduating from undergrad in that state. You should not need to apply to any DO schools outside the TMDSAS ones.

For OOS schools (depending on your spouse's stats), you could try:

Michigan
WashU
Case
NYU
Vanderbilt
Emory
Miami
UVA
Mayo
Penn

 

[wysdoc]

There is couples matching for residency but not for med school admission; however, they won't know you are married to a fellow applicant unless you tell them.
I don't know the best time or place to do this.
You getting an interview won't be leverage for your spouse to get an interview or vice versa, but one of you ends up on a WL they will know you are likely to attend if offered, to be in the same city as your spouse.

 

[sobblesquad]

TMDSAS is your best shot as most schools out of state know they cannot compete with the cheap in-state tuition. Many of the other schools you listed are also heavily in-state and take almost no OOS students (OHSU, Washington schools etc). A strong tie is usually graduating from undergrad in that state. You should not need to apply to any DO schools outside the TMDSAS ones.

For OOS schools (depending on your spouse's stats), you could try:

Michigan
WashU
Case
NYU
Vanderbilt
Emory
Miami
UVA
Mayo
Penn

Thanks! Yeah, I tried to tailor OOS schools based off of personal ties. I grew up and graduated high school in Oregon, which I think should put me in OHSU's mission fit? And then for the Michigan schools, my spouse graduated high school in Michigan. My parents own property in Washington and file taxes there, which I was hoping was enough for UW but we'll see, haha. My spouse has pretty similar stats and extracurriculars to me (3.8/515). I appreciate your suggestions!

 

[sobblesquad]

There is couples matching for residency but not for med school admission; however, they won't know you are married to a fellow applicant unless you tell them.
I don't know the best time or place to do this.
You getting an interview won't be leverage for your spouse to get an interview or vice versa, but one of you ends up on a WL they will know you are likely to attend if offered, to be in the same city as your spouse.

Good to know - thank you!

 

[chilly_md]

Thanks! Yeah, I tried to tailor OOS schools based off of personal ties. I grew up and graduated high school in Oregon, which I think should put me in OHSU's mission fit? And then for the Michigan schools, my spouse graduated high school in Michigan. My parents own property in Washington and file taxes there, which I was hoping was enough for UW but we'll see, haha. My spouse has pretty similar stats and extracurriculars to me (3.8/515). I appreciate your suggestions!

It should help you for OHSU, but it wouldn’t extend to your spouse.

As a married, independent student, your parents paying taxes in WA is unlikely to help there.

 

[wysdoc]

@sobblesquad luckily in Texas there are several combinations of schools that will work, if you don't both get in to the same school.
In Houston you have Baylor & McGovern (on the same street, blocks from each other) as well as UH Fertitta, & SHSU DO school.
UTMB is only 30 minutes from Houston and though you might need to have separate apartments (the drive is cloggy at rush hour) you could see each other often.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Applying as a couple requires lots of discussion before applying among yourselves and with schools mutually listed/applied, preferably before you submit your application. It is great if you both matriculated together, but often one will find themselves in school before the other... are you okay with that outcome if that happens (since we don't know anything about your partner)?

The locations where you can dual apply to multiple medical schools: Boston, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles (though that's a huge area) are the usual suspects. You might be lucky at smaller places with multiple schools like St. Louis if your demographics fit. DC has Georgetown, GW, Maryland, and Howard with UVA's northern Virginia regional campus in play, but the two George schools field a very high number of applications. Atlanta has Emory, Mercer, and PCOM GA but that's quite an eclectic group to me. Nashville now has Vanderbilt, Belmont, and Meharry; Pittsburgh has UPitt and DUCOM with LECOM close. Miami has schools in close proximity, as does Detroit. In fact, it's not a far drive between Chicago and Detroit so you can probably hit most of the Michigan schools too.