Medical Waitlisted years two admissions cycles. How can I improve my application?

[Mr.Smile12]

Hello,

I will start off with a bit about my current situation. For the 2018-2019 Application cycle I applied to about 10 schools in August 2018. I received interviews at Emory, Hofstra, and University of MN-Twin Cities. I am a Minnesota resident. All 3 waitlisted me and eventually rejected me. While waiting, I applied to public health school and am currently enrolled in an MPH program. I have loved public health for years and was considering getting an MPH/MD dual degree and did not want to wait, especially given I could be waitlisted again.

I decided to reapply for the 2019-2020 cycle given my MCAT was taken in 2017 and will expire for many schools in the 2020-2021 cycle and I really do not want to have to retake it. I received interviews at UMN-Duluth, UMN-TC and Case Western. I am still waiting to hear from UMN-TC, but the other 2 have again placed my on their alternate lists.

This year, I did multiple practice interviews with trained staff at the scribe company I work for and I thought they went much better than last year. I have an alcohol related institutional action from when I was 19 and had my explanation read over by my pre-health advisor, and I feel I explained this well. No one even asked me about it at any of my interviews.

My stats:
MCAT 518: 130/129/130/129
GPA 3.86, science 3.8x something
Major in Microbiology, Minor in Global Health

Experiences:
Research, about 1000 hours
Volunteering, clinic 250 hours undergrad with leadership ex
Tutoring 100 hours
Shadowing 70 hours, largely rural family med
Global Health Field experience in Thailand
A couple coffee shop jobs in college to pay bills

The above is what I had for my application in 2018
Since then, I added:
ED scribing 1000+ hours, full time
Currently scribing in ENT clinic--started in July
Volunteering at local nonprofit 4 hours a week, started last April
and I enrolled in an MPH program and doing an internship with this.

I am looking for feedback for possible reasons I keep getting waitlisted and ways to improve my application. I am a bit frustrated and wondering if it is related to my current enrollment in a 2 year program? I picked it because it has flex and online options so I would not request to defer admission to medical school. I explicitly stated this at my interviews as well. Any constructive feedback would be helpful.

Thank you!

You are waitlisted after interview? It's probably something in the interview day and how you engage with others. That said, you have been waitlisted so many times, something will hopefully break your way.

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[Goro]

yes, waitlisted after interview. I know my Emory interview did not go well, but every other interview I have been at has gone reasonably well. I had a great conversation at Case Western and my interviewer even ended the conversation with "it was very nice to meet you, you seem to be exactly what we are looking for". I really worked on my interview skills with the professional team available through my scribe job they 'okayed' me and the interviews this year went similarly to the practice. So I am kind of at a loss.

Interviewers are trained to be polite, and even if they love you, the entire Adcom might overrule them, alas.

Applying to only ten schools is too few.

Get in more service to others less fortunate than yourself. It's the glaring omission in your app.

Work on interview skills.

Thank you for the feedback! Since May I have been volunteering 4 hours a week at a domestic violence shelter. The clinic volunteering I did was in an Access clinic for uninsured/Medicaid patients.

I did apply to 20 this year after only 10 last year. I know interviewers are trained to be polite, I also know my interviews this year went 100x better after practicing with professionals this time around....So I was wondering what else could be "missing"

I really do appreciate your feedback