WAMC 3.76c/3.77s, 512 Trad, CA Resident

[excisor]

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Hey all, thanks for taking the time to read this post. Below is the basic information for my application. I will be applying this cycle ('26-'27). I graduate in 2026, so I will be taking 1 gap year. The hours are the expected hours that will be done by the time I apply. I know that I do not have any paid clinical hours, so I am currently working on an EMT certification that I plan on being employed as during my gap year. WAMC?

Overall GPA: 3.76
Science GPA: 3.77
MCAT: 512 (129/125/129/129)
State of Residence: California

Major: Biology
Minority? No
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience:
92 hours (Anesthesia 12 hours, Neuroonc 40 hours, Rad onc 8 hours, FM Sports Med 32 hours)

Volunteering Experience:
Health Ambassador, Food Bank: ~200 hrs (community health education, nutrition outreach)
Cancer Care Center Volunteer: ~200 hrs (oncology patient support)
Free Clinic Volunteer: ~100 hrs (underserved patient intake/support)
Underserved Youth Mentor: ~100 hrs (youth mentorship)

Employment:
Maître D': ~800 hrs (hospitality leadership, staff supervision)
First-Generation High School Tutor: ~425 hrs (academic mentorship)

Research:
Neurobiology Research Assistant : ~250 hrs (rodent models, feeding/motivation)
Clinical Research Assistant: ~60 hrs (brain cancer care gaps, insurance barriers)
Visuomotor Research Assistant: ~30 hrs (stroke, eye-tracking, rehab technology)
Publications/Presentations: None listed

Other Extracurriculars:
Varsity Football Athlete (NCAA): ~2000 hrs (collegiate athletics)
Barbell Club President: ~250 hrs (student organization leadership)
Senior Choir Member (Church): ~1250 hrs (Church)
Olympic Weightlifting: ~650 hrs (athletics)

PS Narrative:
My experiences with family illness and community health work pushed me toward medicine, where I want to integrate an understanding of disease biology with nutrition-focused, preventive care that empowers patients to improve their health in realistic, meaningful ways.

School list (Used MSAR & Admit org):

• University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) — San Francisco, CA
  
  
• University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) — Los Angeles, CA
  
  
• University of California, San Diego (UCSD) — La Jolla, CA
  
  
• University of Southern California (Keck) — Los Angeles, CA
  
  
• Albert Einstein College of Medicine — Bronx, NY
  
  
• University of California, Irvine — Irvine, CA
  
  
• University of California, Davis — Davis / Sacramento, CA
  
  
• Tufts University School of Medicine — Boston, MA
  
  
• Wake Forest School of Medicine — Winston-Salem, NC
  
  
• Sidney Kimmel Medical College (Jefferson) — Philadelphia, PA
  
  
• Creighton University School of Medicine — Omaha, NE
  
  
• Nova Southeastern University (Patel) — Fort Lauderdale / Davie, FL
  
  
• Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) — Richmond, VA
  
  
• University of California, Riverside (UCR) — Riverside, CA
  
  
• New York Medical College — Valhalla, NY
  
  
• Loma Linda University — Loma Linda, CA
  
  
• Rosalind Franklin University — North Chicago, IL
  
  
• Medical College of Wisconsin — Milwaukee, WI
  
  
• Temple University (Lewis Katz) — Philadelphia, PA
  
  
• Quinnipiac University (Netter) — Hamden, CT
  
  
• Drexel University College of Medicine — Philadelphia, PA
  
  
• George Washington University — Washington, DC
  
  
• Albany Medical College — Albany, NY
  
  
• Loyola University Chicago (Stritch) — Maywood, IL
  
  
• Touro University California — Vallejo, CA
  
  
• California Health Sciences University (CHSU) — Clovis, CA
  
  
• NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYIT-COM) — Old Westbury, NY
  
  
• Western University of Health Sciences — Pomona, CA
  
  
• A.T. Still University (ATSU – SOMA) — Mesa, AZ
  
  
• California Northstate University — Elk Grove, CA
  
  
• Belmont University (Thomas F. Frist COM) — Nashville, TN
  
  
• Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine — Pasadena, CA
  
  
• Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine — Nutley / Clifton, NJ
  
  
• California University of Science and Medicine — Colton, CA
  
  
• Texas Christian University (Burnett School of Medicine) — Fort Worth, TX
  
  
• Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine — Rochester, MI
  

 

[Faha]

Schools such as Loyola and Creighton expect far more clinical and non clinical volunteering hours than you have. I suggest these schools with your stats:
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Albany
New York Medical College
Hackensack
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
George Washington
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
Wake Forest
Methodist
Belmont
NOVA MD
Alice Walton
TCU
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Roseman
California Northstate
Loma Linda (if you fit their mission)
Kaiser
UC Davis
UC Riverside (if you are from that region)
For DO schools I suggest these:
TUCOM-CA
WESTERN
AZCOM
ATSU-KCOM
KCU-COM
DMU-COM
PCOM
NYITCOM
Touro-NY
LECOM

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Keep building on your role as a food ambassador, but point out how you listen to people. You already have a lot of "teaching" where you are the subject matter expert among your activities. I worry that not showing yourself capable of being comfortable with uncomfortable people who are suffering could work against you in some file discussions.

I'm missing your clinical experiences outside shadowing. Will your EMT work be your only clinical experience?

I also don't really focus on activities where you have fewer than 50 hours (unless it's shadowing).

How do you plan to leverage your community health actions in your application profile and school choice?

 

[excisor]

Schools such as Loyola and Creighton expect far more clinical and non clinical volunteering hours than you have. I suggest these schools with your stats:
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Albany
New York Medical College
Hackensack
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
George Washington
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
Wake Forest
Methodist
Belmont
NOVA MD
Alice Walton
TCU
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Roseman
California Northstate
Loma Linda (if you fit their mission)
Kaiser
UC Davis
UC Riverside (if you are from that region)
For DO schools I suggest these:
TUCOM-CA
WESTERN
AZCOM
ATSU-KCOM
KCU-COM
DMU-COM
PCOM
NYITCOM
Touro-NY
LECOM

Okay, I will reevaluate them. Thank you!

 

[excisor]

Keep building on your role as a food ambassador, but point out how you listen to people. You already have a lot of "teaching" where you are the subject matter expert among your activities. I worry that not showing yourself capable of being comfortable with uncomfortable people who are suffering could work against you in some file discussions.

I'm missing your clinical experiences outside shadowing. Will your EMT work be your only clinical experience?

I also don't really focus on activities where you have fewer than 50 hours (unless it's shadowing).

How do you plan to leverage your community health actions in your application profile and school choice?

The food ambassador role is one of my most meaningful experiences. In the MME description, I actually mention how the inspiration to create “Food as Medicine” handouts was from an individual I met at a cooking demonstration, because I listened to her concerns about which foods could help aid her in her recovery of her condition. However, in my personal statement, I do not mention her since I already did in detail within my MME description. Should I continue to emphasize listening and being comfortable with uncomfortable people who are suffering throughout my experiences where it applies?

As for clinical experience, all I will have are the 2 clinical volunteer experiences—200 hrs at a cancer care center and 100 hours at a free health clinic. EMT would be my only paid clinical experience.

Noted on the 50 hour mark.

I was planning to leverage community health in my application mainly through impact, as a lot of my experiences involve underserved communities in which I’ve made at least 1 significant impact in them. I tried to make this clear in my experience descriptions. As for my personal statement, I do not go into a lot of further detail on my experiences—I use them as a supportive role to answer the “why medicine” question. For my school choice, I tried to find schools that preferred or attracted applicants with service themed applications. I think I’ve done a decent job on the list. Any thoughts?

I appreciate your feedback!

 

[AJ25]

I also don't really focus on activities where you have fewer than 50 hours (unless it's shadowing).

What if those 20-40 hours were spent advocating for health reform on Capitol Hill with state legislators?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

What if those 20-40 hours were spent advocating for health reform on Capitol Hill with state legislators?

OP has not listed such an activity.

 

[AJ25]

OP has not listed such an activity.

I know. I'm saying if someone has such an activity (cough) will you not look at it because it is not 50 hours?

Point being, some activities can be extremely meaningful below 50 hours.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

The food ambassador role is one of my most meaningful experiences. In the MME description, I actually mention how the inspiration to create “Food as Medicine” handouts was from an individual I met at a cooking demonstration, because I listened to her concerns about which foods could help aid her in her recovery of her condition. However, in my personal statement, I do not mention her since I already did in detail within my MME description. Should I continue to emphasize listening and being comfortable with uncomfortable people who are suffering throughout my experiences where it applies?

Great. FWIW, there is a national curriculum for culinary medicine for medical schools. How much is your plan aligned?

I am also interested in larger impact. Applicants play up the one to one connections, but it often comes at the expense of other competencies.

As for clinical experience, all I will have are the 2 clinical volunteer experiences—200 hrs at a cancer care center and 100 hours at a free health clinic. EMT would be my only paid clinical experience.

Noted on the 50 hour mark.

I was planning to leverage community health in my application mainly through impact, as a lot of my experiences involve underserved communities in which I’ve made at least 1 significant impact in them. I tried to make this clear in my experience descriptions. As for my personal statement, I do not go into a lot of further detail on my experiences—I use them as a supportive role to answer the “why medicine” question. For my school choice, I tried to find schools that preferred or attracted applicants with service themed applications. I think I’ve done a decent job on the list. Any thoughts?

I appreciate your feedback!

Many service orientation schools like to see hundreds of hours of commitment and impact (was this in AmeriCorps?).

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I know. I'm saying if someone has such an activity (cough) will you not look at it because it is not 50 hours?

Point being, some activities can be extremely meaningful below 50 hours.

Depends on the responsibilities, but civic advocacy is a newer category. In light of current events, applicants are seem very involved but sensitive to what they are advocating. I would need more details of the activities and whether a screening rubric will allow for a smaller number of hours. (In other words, I'm game but it doesn't mean my committee is.)

50 hours is still 1 hour a week for a year. You can do voter registration, canvassing, volunteering to transport voters, working as a precinct officer, or writing letters to officials. Organizing marches takes time too.

Would camping out as part of a protest count towards the hours? What if you got arrested?

Again, the rubric is very important.

 

[excisor]

Great. FWIW, there is a national curriculum for culinary medicine for medical schools. How much is your plan aligned?

I am also interested in larger impact. Applicants play up the one to one connections, but it often comes at the expense of other competencies.


Many service orientation schools like to see hundreds of hours of commitment and impact (was this in AmeriCorps?).

I did not know there was a national curriculum for culinary medicine, that's interesting! I knew that some schools like UC Riverside had culinary education as an elective, but I didn't realize it was widespread. I usually review research articles in response to different concerns from the patient populations we serve, or at the request of the nutrition center's interest of the month. I accumulate the recommendations from the research articles, and the summaries are reviewed by the administrative portion of the organization I volunteer with.

For larger impact, I emphasized how the handouts reach thousands of families because they are printed in mass to be distributed at various food distribution sites. For emphasis of competencies, I understand that you should "show" and not "tell". For these competencies, would you recommend I go over each experience description and make sure that all the competencies are included in the entirety of the experience section (maybe 1 competency for one experience, 2 competencies for another, etc.)

How much weight do expected hours hold? I plan on continuing my free-clinic and food ambassador volunteering during my gap year, and it should effectively double the amount of hours. This was not in AmeriCorps, it was with a local food bank in CA.

Thank you!

 

[excisor]

What if those 20-40 hours were spent advocating for health reform on Capitol Hill with state legislators?

ACS CAN?

 

[AJ25]

ACS CAN?

Possibly, but I was referring to actually talking to legislators and advocating for the passage of certain bills.