WAMC: 3.7 cGPA 3.4 sGPA AMCAS/3.04 sGPA AACOMAS, most recent MCAT 505

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Hi yall, happy new year! I'm applying 2025 cycle hoping to matriculate 2026. I'm taking the MCAT in April so I'm hoping to bumpppp up my score to at least 515-520. Let me know if you'd need more info! I'm really interested in maternal and child health, socio-environmental wellbeing, epigenetics/generational health, and genetic/molecular messaging. My stats are approx as follows based on the posting guidelines:

1. 3.7 cGPA // 3.6 sGPA (AMCAS) // 3.04 sGPA (AACOMAS)
2. 505 MCAT on my last FL practice, studying for April aiming for 520+ (going to GRIND for this....)
3. CA Resident
4. ORM (Asian)
5. Graduated from large premed heavy UC school in 2024
6. 250 Hours as a hospital volunteer across four diff departments, 50 hours as community clinic volunteer, signed up for a few weekend community clinics so anticipating 30-40 more
7. 2 years wet lab experience, manuscript produced | 1 year dry lab/humanities/human subjects experience working with underserved communities, manuscript under peer review | Presented one poster (group project) on childhood/public health at a global health conference and campus research week
8. So far 28 hours shadowing internal/gen medicine and 4 hours shadowing urgent care with underserved communities with a fantastic DO, hoping for more in the next few months
9. 50 hours volunteering at refugee childcare org, 50 hours at an overnight camp for families with members with medical needs, working to find a regular gig with food bank or religious service near me
10. Leadership position in large cultural/religious org, volunteering in event planning and setting up events for three years | 2 years paid leadership role in educational outreach program for underserved communities/access to higher education, collabing with other campus orgs to make programs and field trips for the kids | 9 months working campus foodcourts, promoted to supervisor role | internship at childcare center working with infants and toddlers, wrote research papers related to early life development | work as a part time nanny because i enjoy working with children and families | ran for campus office and worked on covid safety and oos student support in campus govt for one year | worked as a "learning assistant" (baby TA/under TA) for a bio lab for one quarter | leadership in relatively new campus org for two years, dropped it senior year
11. Lab received a public impact in research award while I was working there, received Chancellor's service award upon my graduation, Dean's honors list for only a few quarters so I'm not sure if thats relevant to mention bc it's quite sporadic

My top choice schools are just anything in California (everybody laugh), top three ranked as UCSD, Western (SoCal), UCR. I wanted to use my gap years to relax and polish up, but clock is a-ticking! I was offered a position doing research/evaluating data and making reports for data in early childhood care including in underserved communities, but its all data work and I need to focus on buffing my MCAT and seeking clinical opportunities for the remaining gap year after. It is a costly effort. ... Lowkey if anyone has advice/exp on this, if I leave my job (at a large research hospital with lots of partner orgs across country in some studies) would I be deny listed from future research opps even in med school or looking into residency?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Let us know as soon as you have an official MCAT score. We can conjecture all we want but it's useless until the score comes in.

Where did you grow up in California? Is there anything in your profile that highlights your purpose as a physician and a mission fit with the schools? UC schools prefer applicants who come from and are committed to serving their local communities, so it's not clear to me what that is from what you have sent.

Have you done any networking with students at the schools where you want to attend? You have mentioned religious affinity, so how devout are you (looking at Loma Linda)?

You should keep building your non-clinical community service work. 150 hours is the minimum threshold for most schools to avoid getting screened out. If you are going for brand-name schools, you should have at least 250 hours and understand you will be up against applicants with hundreds to thousands more hours.

If refugee health is a key part of your mission, look up students involved with PHR and schools with student-run free clinics for asylees.

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