WAMC 2026-2027, CA ORM 3.96/510

[SooMed26]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hey y'all! This is my first time posting on SDN, and I wanted to get some feedback about my application for the upcoming cycle, as well as my preliminary school list!

1. cGPA: 3.96, sGPA: 3.95
2. MCAT: 510 (128/126/128/128) [first attempt], MCAT practice FLs: 511, 508, 508, 513, 514
3. State of Residence: CA (SoCal)
4. Ethnicity/Race: White, MENA
5. Undergraduate Institution: UC Riverside (currently in my fourth year)
6. Clinical Experience:
   • Paid: EMT - 1000 Hours, 600 more anticipated
     • Started in 12/2024
     • First 800 hours working on an ambulance responding to IFT calls, second 800 hours will be spent working in a children's hospital in contract with my company performing CCT/IFT calls
     • Obtaining LOR from paramedic who I worked really close with and formed a close bond with
   • Volunteer: Clinic Volunteer - 100 hours, 50 more anticipated
     • Started in 01/2023
     • Work in underserved region of IE alongside nurses, PAs, physicians, documenting vitals and other pertinent patient information. Also help train new clinic volunteers with patient assessments
7. Research: 600 Hours, 200 more anticipated
   • Started in 07/2023
   • First 400 hours were part of dedicated summer research program
   • Two publications (First one co-authored, second one fifth author)
   • Oral presentation at UCR symposium
   • Obtaining LOR from PI
8. Shadowing: 50 hours
   • Started in 07/2025
   • 25 hours gastroenterology, 25 hours cardiology
     • Plan on obtaining a LOR from the GI doctor I shadowed for
9. Non-clinical Volunteering
   • Clinic Volunteering: 100 hours
     • This is the same clinic mentioned earlier, but this is time I spent when I first joined the clinic preparing hygiene kits, food, and clothing for the patients before they were seen by the street medicine team. I classified this as non-clinical volunteering even though I was working in a clinical setting, but I wanted to ask if this was valid.
   • Food Bank: 50 hours, 250 more anticipated
     • 11/2024
     • Primarily assist in food distribution and work in the pantry. I initially joined this food bank given that it was a cornerstone of where I grew up, and since then I became part of their primary advocacy team and plan to become a core volunteer for them. I also plan on participating in various events throughout the country as part of their advocacy team across the nation.
10. Other extracurricular activities:
    • Hobbies: Weightlifting
      • I've been weightlifting throughout college, and it's become one of my most enjoyable and consistent hobbies. I really enjoy being able to set goals for myself throughout the year as a break from everything else. I was even considering making it one of my most meaningful experiences.
    • Leadership: STEM Tutor
      • 09/2025
      • 300 hours anticipated
        • Help tutor organic chemistry as a part of my school's Supplemental Instruction program. Also anticipate obtaining a LOR from the professor I currently tutor for.
11. Relevant Honors/Awards
    • Dean's Honor List, Chancellor's Honor List
    • Campbell Research Award as a part of the research program I took part in
12. Anything else: Two more of my LORS are coming from another organic chemistry professor who mentored me, as well as a professor from my ethnic studies class whose class I really enjoyed. A large part of my narrative for applying to medical school is due in part to my chronic illness diagnosis in my second year. It required me to take a large portion of time off from school until I fully recovered. I believe being a patient has given me a lot of insight into why I'd like to be a physician, as well as the type of physician I'd like to be.

Tentative School List:

1. Albany
2. TCU
3. CNUCOM
4. CUSM
5. Rosalind Franklin
6. Drexel
7. EVMS
8. Quinnipac
9. Geisel Dartmouth
10. Geisinger Commonwealth
11. George Washington SMHS
12. Hackensack
13. Keck USC
14. Temple
15. Medical College of Wisconsin
16. NYMC
17. Nova MD
18. Oakland Beaumont
19. Penn State
20. Robert Larner MD
21. Sidney Kimmel
22. Tufts
23. UCI SOM
24. UCLA SOM
25. UCSD SOM
26. UCSF
27. University of Cincinnati
28. Virginia Commonwealth
29. Wake Forest
30. Wayne State
31. West Virginia University
32. Western Michigan

This is just my curated list of MD schools. I am fully open to applying to DO schools as well 🙂. Any and all tips are greatly appreciated! Thank you again for your time.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums. Where in Southern California did you spend most of your childhood?

Atm your hours hit the minimums so I would suggest getting more. I'm intrigued by the non-clinical volunteering; I'm okay with hygiene bag assembly, but make sure you build your hours with food kitchen where you can meet and talk with people in need. Also, your overall clinic hours (listed both clinical + non-clinical) are just 200 here... that seems pretty low to me based on the description.

I want to know why you have an affinity for some of the schools on this list: explain why you have...
Albany, Quinnipiac, Dartmouth, GW, Penn State, Larner, Cincinnati, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Western Michigan.

 

[Faha]

Your MCAT of 510 is not competitive for some of the schools on your list. I suggest these schools from your list:

1. Albany
2. TCU
3. CNUCOM
4. CUSM
5. Rosalind Franklin
6. Drexel
7. EVMS
8. Quinnipac
9. Geisinger Commonwealth
10. George Washington SMHS
11. Keck USC
12. Temple
13. Medical College of Wisconsin
14. NYMC
15. Nova MD
16. Oakland Beaumont
17. Penn State
18. Robert Larner MD
19. Sidney Kimmel
20. UCI SOM
21. UCLA SOM
22. UCSD SOM
23. UCSF
24. Virginia Commonwealth
25. Wake Forest
26. Wayne State
27. Roseman
28. Alice Walton
29. Belmont
30. Methodist
31. Ponce (St. Louis)

 

[SooMed26]

Welcome to the forums. Where in Southern California did you spend most of your childhood?

Atm your hours hit the minimums so I would suggest getting more. I'm intrigued by the non-clinical volunteering; I'm okay with hygiene bag assembly, but make sure you build your hours with food kitchen where you can meet and talk with people in need. Also, your overall clinic hours (listed both clinical + non-clinical) are just 200 here... that seems pretty low to me based on the description.

I want to know why you have an affinity for some of the schools on this list: explain why you have...
Albany, Quinnipiac, Dartmouth, GW, Penn State, Larner, Cincinnati, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Western Michigan.

Hello Mr.Smile,

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post! Regarding your questions...

I was born and raised in OC for most of my life, and only recently have had the chance to explore opportunities in the IE.

The non-clinical volunteering I mentioned in my post is very meaningful to me, as they actually serve a larger mission of connecting with a lot of other food banks across California to help address food insecurity. Furthermore, I grew up relying on school lunch programs as well as after school daycares due to the long hours my parents worked, making even goals like putting dinner on the table a challenge sometimes. I joined their advocacy board as a part of their Hunger Stories program, where I've so far been able to share my background and drive to congressional officials in California, and I plan to advocate further starting next year along with the rest of my colleagues.

As for my free clinic hours, these are due in part to the clinic only meeting for six hours a month, as well as needing to take a leave of absence from all my responsibilities in order to recover from my chronic illness mentioned previously.

For the schools you mentioned, I suppose the most superficial reason would be that they accept OOS students based on my metrics (or at least what I have uncovered through MSAR and other forums). More than that though, I believe that my clinical and non-clinical experiences have given me firsthand sight into not only the health inequities affecting underserved populations, but also how social determinants come into play. I believe these experiences, coupled with my own as a patient, significantly contribute to the mission statements for each of these schools.

 

[SooMed26]

Your MCAT of 510 is not competitive for some of the schools on your list. I suggest these schools from your list:

1. Albany
2. TCU
3. CNUCOM
4. CUSM
5. Rosalind Franklin
6. Drexel
7. EVMS
8. Quinnipac
9. Geisinger Commonwealth
10. George Washington SMHS
11. Keck USC
12. Temple
13. Medical College of Wisconsin
14. NYMC
15. Nova MD
16. Oakland Beaumont
17. Penn State
18. Robert Larner MD
19. Sidney Kimmel
20. UCI SOM
21. UCLA SOM
22. UCSD SOM
23. UCSF
24. Virginia Commonwealth
25. Wake Forest
26. Wayne State
27. Roseman
28. Alice Walton
29. Belmont
30. Methodist
31. Ponce (St. Louis)

Hello Faha,

Thank you for replying to my post! I haven't actually heard of the schools you mentioned here: Alice Walton, Belmont, Methodist, Ponce St. Louis. Are these relatively new schools?

 

[Faha]

Hello Faha,

Thank you for replying to my post! I haven't actually heard of the schools you mentioned here: Alice Walton, Belmont, Methodist, Ponce St. Louis. Are these relatively new schools?

Yes.