WAMC 3.78 GPA, TBD MCAT, CA ORM

[Kirbs]

I am a Junior looking to apply this cycle and wanted to get advice on my stats to see where I stand. I understand not having a definitive MCAT score makes it tougher to truly rate my chances, I ask for understanding.

1. cGPA: 3.78 | sGPA: 3.71 (upward trend from Freshman: 3.55/3.46, Sophomore: 3.7/3.61, to now)

2. MCAT: TBD (Most recent AAMC FL was 510 (125/129/125/131), testing 5/3, I know I can definitely boost my CP and BB by at least 2 points by the time of test by identifying key weak areas)

3/4. CA ORM, White Male

5. Mid-Tier UC

6. Clinical Experience
- Hospital Volunteer (550 hours)
- Scribing Position Expected (Starting midway through May, of the belief that this will have little weight on the application due to actual hours completed)

7. Research
- Neuroscience lab, one 5th-author publication, one university poster presentation, additional 4th-author publication submitted for publication

8. Shadowing
- Trauma Surgery / EGS (25 hours)
- Orthopedics Surgery (8 hours)
Note: Concerned about lack of family med shadowing, have been trying to schedule some for before applications open

9. Non-Clinical Volunteering
- Food Bank Volunteer (180 hours, ~200 at time of application)
- Senior Visiting Program (260 hours) | Paired up with two seniors and have visited them continuously for past 2 years every/every other week
- Summer Program Volunteer (Teacher's Aide) for low-income students | 50 hours (Concerned with it being a one-summer activity, but still including it)

10. Extracurricular / Non-Clinical Work / Leadership
- Non-Clinical Paid: Sports Referee (4,270 hours (2500 hours before college, 1770 during) | Have worked state championships, and have helped with mentoring and outreach through assisting registration clinics and youth outreach events
- Non-Clinical Paid: Student Government Food Security Directory (300 hours) | Hosted workshops and initiatives, distributing over $5,000 of food and fundraising ~180 meals for food-insecure students on campus
- Leadership: Club Sport President & Safety Officer | 500 hours

School List (Assuming a score in the 510-513 range, will have to reevaluate when I receive it in June):
All CA schools (even though their stat profiles are quite high)
Vermont
Hackensack
Drexel
Temple
UMass
Quinnipiac
Jefferson
Penn State
George Washington
Virginia Commonwealth
Wake Forest
Western Michigan
Medical College Wisconsin
Illinois
Tulane

I'm not too attuned to the DO schools, so what would be recommended. And since I prefer MD, should I wait for feelers from MD schools til August to submit AACOMAS

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[Mr.Smile12]

If you want a list that isn't based on your metrics, describe your purpose as a physician.

 

[Kirbs]

If you want a list that isn't based on your metrics, describe your purpose as a physician.

While I wouldn't mind a metrics-based list, I understand not having a definitive MCAT score is holding me back in that aspect.

As for being a physician, based on personal experiences having to advocate for family members' care and struggles, I want to help translate medicine's complexities into clarity, ensuring patients are able to understand and feel empowered in helping decide their care. I would like to go to a school that focuses on blending medical care with addressing social determinants of health like food insecurity.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

While I wouldn't mind a metrics-based list, I understand not having a definitive MCAT score is holding me back in that aspect.

As for being a physician, based on personal experiences having to advocate for family members' care and struggles, I want to help translate medicine's complexities into clarity, ensuring patients are able to understand and feel empowered in helping decide their care. I would like to go to a school that focuses on blending medical care with addressing social determinants of health like food insecurity.

You could be a medical journalist or writer with that mission. You don't have to be a doctor. Every school is going to show you how social determinants and access affect health outcomes, but you shouldn't apply to 100+ schools. You could do public health first. So what is your mission fit?

 

[Kirbs]

You could be a medical journalist or writer with that mission. You don't have to be a doctor. Every school is going to show you how social determinants and access affect health outcomes, but you shouldn't apply to 100+ schools. You could do public health first. So what is your mission fit?

You raise a valid point. In response, I'd like to say I want to be the one holding the stethoscope, not just the pen, to play a direct role in patient care. Being a medical journalist, it won't allow me to experience the face-to-face interactions I want to have, and for public health, it lacks the clinical depth and direct impact I want to play in patient care. Unlike both these fields, once again, medicine lets me treat individuals directly and help tackle disease at its roots, not just through communication/policy.

So targeting schools that have structured programs that embed community health into clinical training, such as GWU's community/urban health track or Tuft's Maine Track program. I hope this addresses your question.

Unrelated to your question but related to my submission, I have confirmed that I qualify for FAP.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

You raise a valid point. In response, I'd like to say I want to be the one holding the stethoscope, not just the pen, to play a direct role in patient care. Being a medical journalist, it won't allow me to experience the face-to-face interactions I want to have, and for public health, it lacks the clinical depth and direct impact I want to play in patient care. Unlike both these fields, once again, medicine lets me treat individuals directly and help tackle disease at its roots, not just through communication/policy.

So targeting schools that have structured programs that embed community health into clinical training, such as GWU's community/urban health track or Tuft's Maine Track program. I hope this addresses your question.

Unrelated to your question but related to my submission, I have confirmed that I qualify for FAP.

There are many MDs, MS's, and PhDs who do medical writing. I'm sure you could also be a PharmD or PA and write for the public. I'm just saying your purpose doesn't help you resonate strongly with schools (as you have written this so far). TL/DR: you don't stand out, and you could sound either cliche or naive. Not all physicians attack root causes of diseases; the ones I tend to interact with tend to punt because patients are too complex. Welcome to direct patient care when you can't do anything. That happens much more than the Hollywood perfect endings. They also seldom show authorization denials...

Are you looking into DO programs (since we don't have an MCAT)? How about NHSC or HPSP? Show me how committed you are, and that others believe you are capable.

 

[Kirbs]

There are many MDs, MS's, and PhDs who do medical writing. I'm sure you could also be a PharmD or PA and write for the public. I'm just saying your purpose doesn't help you resonate strongly with schools (as you have written this so far). TL/DR: you don't stand out, and you could sound either cliche or naive. Not all physicians attack root causes of diseases; the ones I tend to interact with tend to punt because patients are too complex. Welcome to direct patient care when you can't do anything. That happens much more than the Hollywood perfect endings. They also seldom show authorization denials...

Are you looking into DO programs (since we don't have an MCAT)? How about NHSC or HPSP? Show me how committed you are, and that others believe you are capable.

I agree that what I've said can sound quite naive/cliche, given that I haven't really gone into concrete examples of why medicine in my prior responses, compared to my PS that I've expounded more in detail and grounded as such.

As for your questions, at the moment where I am at as a 3rd-year in college, I'm still of the opinion that I want to apply MD-only at first, and if my MCAT is not up to par, wait until the next cycle while strengthening other portions of my application. Or potentially if I get a good MCAT score when I test next week, but I'm not getting any feelers from MD programs when the cycle is a few months in, I may apply to DO schools then, I just wanted to get an idea now.

I've looked into NHSC and HPSP pathways, my parents are both on the older end and while 4 years of medical school away would be okay, potential military residency and subsequent service at locations out of my choosing would put me in a situation where I may not be able to be close if anything is needed when the time comes, so as of now I'm not considering HPSP.

As for NHSC, I know that you have more say in where you practice, however I'm still not set on primary care and have interests in a few other specialties (neurology being one), so I wouldn't apply this cycle either. I'm still looking to get experience by shadowing some local Primary Care Docs, private equity buying clinics and not allowing shadowing has been a huge obstacle but one I am getting past as I think I found one I am able to shadow.

In short, I made this thread because I wanted to know, given that I am a 3rd year and haven't taken any gap years, whether or not my application outside of my MCAT score was strong/competitive enough for MD applications. Thank you for your time in reading this.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I agree that what I've said can sound quite naive/cliche, given that I haven't really gone into concrete examples of why medicine in my prior responses, compared to my PS that I've expounded more in detail and grounded as such.

As for your questions, at the moment where I am at as a 3rd-year in college, I'm still of the opinion that I want to apply MD-only at first, and if my MCAT is not up to par, wait until the next cycle while strengthening other portions of my application. Or potentially if I get a good MCAT score when I test next week, but I'm not getting any feelers from MD programs when the cycle is a few months in, I may apply to DO schools then, I just wanted to get an idea now.

I've looked into NHSC and HPSP pathways, my parents are both on the older end and while 4 years of medical school away would be okay, potential military residency and subsequent service at locations out of my choosing would put me in a situation where I may not be able to be close if anything is needed when the time comes, so as of now I'm not considering HPSP.

As for NHSC, I know that you have more say in where you practice, however I'm still not set on primary care and have interests in a few other specialties (neurology being one), so I wouldn't apply this cycle either. I'm still looking to get experience by shadowing some local Primary Care Docs, private equity buying clinics and not allowing shadowing has been a huge obstacle but one I am getting past as I think I found one I am able to shadow.

In short, I made this thread because I wanted to know, given that I am a 3rd year and haven't taken any gap years, whether or not my application outside of my MCAT score was strong/competitive enough for MD applications. Thank you for your time in reading this.

I'm just helping you think about what your application outside of your MCAT score too. Your chances depend on your mission fit with your school list, so if you haven't thought about your purpose or mission, you won't do as well as you would like to. These are serious questions to discern whether this path to medicine is one you want to be on for the next 30 years with your accumulated education debt. That's what will ultimately impress adcoms (in your writing), not your stats.

To this point, I think there are a few programs, but I don't know how you want to apply the concepts of SDH outside of a classroom. A significant fraction of programs have free clinics, so do you want them in rural or urban areas? How interprofessional? Refugee/asylee clinics? Indian health service clinics? Military missions? How much training do you need as a first-year student?

How do you want to learn about communicating with patients effectively? Standardized patients? Simulations via computer/AI? Small group discussions or clubs? Mentoring/shadowing before clerkships? Do you mind watching yourself and handle criticism? Which professors on each of your schools focus on communication and professionalism?

Your profile for now isn't perfect, but that's not the goal. Do you have a personal purpose that medicine is what you are looking for? Do your experiences back it up? In the absence of a score, or even assuming you have a solid score like 515, you have future experiences that could help you when you start scribing or more food bank work. That exposure may be critical to your success.

You gain little advantage by starting medical school immediately after graduation; so many more of your classmates will have taken gap years that you may wish you had taken the time.