Very high stats, questionable EC's. Where to apply?

[slightlygifted]

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[Catalystik]

Hey SDN,

So as far as stats go I am set with a LizzyM of 80+, however as of right now my ECs could get me in trouble. And this is a valid concern, I know of LizzyM 75+ who are denied due to bad ECs. My main concern is non-clinical volunteering, I only started a non-clinical volunteering activity recently and plan to apply in June, so I am not even sure I would bother putting that activity on my application. This means I will be applying with no consistent non-clinical volunteering.

other ECs

-1+ year of quality research (don't work under a grad student, first authored a paper and third authored two others)
-2.5 years of solid clinical volunteering, have volunteered for around 4 hours per week almost every week for the last 2.5 years.
-A leadership role in a church I have attended for three years and have done many weekly activities with including some volunteering (but not consistent volunteering so I don't think I would list this as non-clinical volunteering).
-I have been a teaching assistant for multiple classes.
-I have a lot of shadowing of an internal medicine doctor and an ER doctor.

and I have done a few other EC's but these are the big ones. So my main problem is the non-clinical volunteering, which seems to be a big component at a lot of schools. So I am wondering what schools heavily focus on non-clinical volunteering that I shouldn't apply to, and what schools don't heavily emphasize non-clinical volunteering that I should apply to. Also, am white and applying right after junior year of college so those likely do not help me.

Also, I will have a letter from a DO so I will consider those schools as well.

Would any of the volunteer activities at your church fall under community service (babysitting, teaching kids, snow removal, gardening, housekeeping, services to elders, etc)? If not, I think there are enough other strengths in your application, including strong clinical volunteerism, that many schools will overlook the lack of humanistic endeavors.

Examples of MD schools that value committed, sustained service to the poor would be most of the Jesuit schools, Loma Linda, USC, and the traditionally black medical colleges.

 

[solitarius]

Actually, I think the biggest risk here is that your stats box you into a corner of having to apply to the most competitive schools.

That said, make your first cycle your best cycle. If need be, delay your AMCAS a year to bring your ECs up to a standard you are comfortable with.

 

[snowflakes]

Actually, I think the biggest risk here is that your stats box you into a corner of having to apply to the most competitive schools.

That said, make your first cycle is your best cycle. If need be, delay your AMCAS a year to bring your ECs up to a standard you are comfortable with.

+1
Yeah, I think you'll have to be looking mainly at T20s with your stats. You have good research and clinical experience which is good for the T20s. But you have to be careful of not falling into the trap of not being unique enough for the top schools but having the other schools question your likelihood of seriously considering them. Make sure you have good "Why Us" answers, and try to apply to schools you have geographic ties with (and articulate these ties!)

 

[solitarius]

Also, T-20 admissions is just in its own league of difficulty.

All applicants invited to interview will be superb, a much lower proportion of the interviewees will be admitted, and they generally have to wait longer to hear anything about their status. Not to mention, a lot of them will be rejected in the end. Very much a double-edged sword.

 

[slightlygifted]

Thanks for the replies. I think I will apply to around 7-8 top 20s and then about 20 more places that I have strong connections to or place a strong commitment to research and scholarship in their mission statements. The MSAR usually shows that 60-70% of the people accepted at most schools have non-clinical volunteering, so it definitely will hurt me not to have it. Maybe in my church activity description I will emphasize the community service I have done and see if it gets me anywhere lol. It's not that I dislike non-clinical community service....just no time!

 

[Catalystik]

T-20s often specifically mention that their aim is to train future leaders in medicine. Since your application may not support that potential from what you've shared, don't go broke applying to a lot of them without reading their mission statements first.

 

[DokterMom]

Or fix it.

Your MCAT is in the bag and you actually can afford to let your 4.0 drop to a 3.8. So spend more time on some unique, humanist ECs that show leadership. Organize something through your church, since you've already got the ties. Dive into something that's already been organized and devote some major hours. Or re-energize a worthwhile project that has languished. You've got Spring Break coming up, then summer. Could be, in your case, delaying your application for a few weeks (not months) could let you rack up a few hundred more volunteering hours.

Also look for the schools known as 'stat ******' --