MD WAMC 3.85/525 '24-25 school list help? Review appreciated :)

[intriguingcritter]

1. 3.85/3.79
2. 525 (132/131/131/131)
3. California
4. ORM Male
5. Top 5 public, Top 25 University
6. Currently working as a medical scribe full-time. Will have close to, if not more than 1000 hours by the time I apply.
   1. Clinical volunteering - 170 hours currently, from college days. Am currently volunteering at the hospital - will most likely have 300-350 hours at the time of applying .
7. Thousands of hours basic research. Work/study, was either paid or got credits. Am a co-author on a paper that will be published by the time I apply. One first-author poster presentation (published abstract at a conference) and am a co-author on 3 posters/published abstracts from a conference. LOR from PI.
   1. Clinical research - hard to say hours for this but am a co-author on 2 papers that will be published by the time I am applying.
8. Around 25 hours shadowing in a Pediatric genetics clinic. Somewhat worried about this being low/how important this is.
9. 150 hours volunteering at a Homeless shelter. Received LOR.
10. Leadership wise, I was chosen as the lead facilitator for my course to pretty much organize everything, make study tools, help new facilitators, etc. LOR from boss.
11. ECs: club sports freshman year - injured + covid D: - was not in many clubs

This is my first post here! Nice to meet all of you guys. If I did something wrong here please lmk I am quite new to this.
I honestly don't know how I fit in as an applicant - there are times when i am confident and times where I feel like I have no chance anywhere.
I am applying next cycle but wanted some input on where I should hedge my bets. I am planning on focusing on in-state schools as well as private schools.

Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Columbia, Duke, Mayo Clinic Alix, NYU, Pritzker, Feinberg, Perelman, Tufts , Georgetown, WashU, Baylor, Boston University, Case Western, Emory, Rush Medical, St. Louis, Wake Forest, Vandy, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, UCR, UCSD, UCSF, Stanford, Michigan, MSU, Wayne State, CMU, WMU. Just an intro list.

Please feel free to be real af and lmk what to add, what to remove, and also any weak points in my application that I should focus on up until May. Thank you! Cheers.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Angler]

Welcome!

Your post is fine; better than most WAMC posts.

Are you a CA or MI resident? You really can’t be both. Maybe strong ties to one, official resident of the other. This affects school list. If you aren’t an official CA resident, many of the UC’s wont look at you.

Try to get another 25 hours of primary care shadowing. Or, if your scribe duties are in an appropriate specialty, I’ve seen applicants “use” some of those hours as “shadowing.” Just subtract so you don’t double dip.

Your homeless hours are just barely ok for such a strong application. Try to get another 50 to 100+ hours of non clinical volunteering if possible.

What’s your story, though? Have you a passion? It will need to be articulated in your app. There’re a lot of 3.8ish 52x applicants. Make yourself stand out and not look boring.

Remove Rush. They like way more service than what you’ve got. But otherwise school list looks ok. You might look at Wedgedawg school list tool, if you haven’t yet.

There are some public schools which are OOS friendly, like VT & VA. You’ll get more posts from others, who are more expert than me, about your school list

Good luck!

 

[intriguingcritter]

Welcome!

Your post is fine; better than most WAMC posts.

Are you a CA or MI resident? You really can’t be both. Maybe strong ties to one, official resident of the other. This affects school list. If you aren’t an official CA resident, many of the UC’s wont look at you.

Try to get another 25 hours of primary care shadowing. Or, if your scribe duties are in an appropriate specialty, I’ve seen applicants “use” some of those hours as “shadowing.” Just subtract so you don’t double dip.

Your homeless hours are just barely ok for such a strong application. Try to get another 50 to 100+ hours of non clinical volunteering if possible.

What’s your story, though? Have you a passion? It will need to be articulated in your app. There’re a lot of 3.8ish 52x applicants. Make yourself stand out and not look boring.

Remove Rush. They like way more service than what you’ve got. But otherwise school list looks ok. You might look at Wedgedawg school list tool, if you haven’t yet.

There are some public schools which are OOS friendly, like VT & VA. You’ll get more posts from others, who are more expert than me, about your school list

Good luck!

Thank you for the response! This is really helpful. So, I currently live in California but moved here recently from Michigan. I attended high school and middle school in Michigan and many Michigan schools offer in-state residency in such cases, so I added this just in case. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Angler]

I don’t know if you would be a CA resident at the time you apply. Some states might have some time requirements for official residency. I don’t know for certain. AMCAS may have some verbiage about this.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Your in-state residency has a stronger argument for Michigan than California, but that said, your metrics say you can go for bigger fish.

Metrics-wise you have the bare minimums covered, so keep working at the homeless shelters and keep adding to your shadowing hours if you can. I'm also not exactly sure how you shadow someone in pediatric genetics, so make sure you can do something more bread-and-butter (simpler). You should shoot for 100 hours of shadowing (double the usual minimum of 50 hours) and 300 hours of non-clinical community service (food distribution, shelter work, housing rehab, job/tax preparation, transportation services) to be on par with application pools at the more competitive schools you will likely be targeting (Ivy+ and other brand names). You will want to have even more for service-oriented schools on your list (Jesuits, Rush, Northwestern, Pritzker). As it stands now, go to recruitment events and figure out if the schools will recruit you.

The issue I have is where you would best fit with your mission fit. Your background matters for the California schools, so which communities have you been closely working with while you have been in California? How much do you know about the communities around you and their specific social and healthcare needs? Have you been able to learn a little Spanish?

 

[Ajtbs06]

Am a current CA resident who went to college in CA but otherwise lived my entire life OOS. For CA specifically, you are considered a resident if you have been in CA for 1 year or more for a non-education purpose by matriculation date. For me, because I graduated in May 2023 and have been working since then, I will have been in CA for 1 year by matriculation. I also switched over my license and have a electricity/housing bill so those things help. Data point is just 1 but have received 2 UC interviews so far. By the state standards, as long as you've been in CA and have been working/living and not in school for your 2 gap years you should be a resident!

 

[intriguingcritter]

I don’t know if you would be a CA resident at the time you apply. Some states might have some time requirements for official residency. I don’t know for certain. AMCAS may have some verbiage about this.

Ok, I should definitely try to figure this out. Thanks!

 

[intriguingcritter]

Am a current CA resident who went to college in CA but otherwise lived my entire life OOS. For CA specifically, you are considered a resident if you have been in CA for 1 year or more for a non-education purpose by matriculation date. For me, because I graduated in May 2023 and have been working since then, I will have been in CA for 1 year by matriculation. I also switched over my license and have a electricity/housing bill so those things help. Data point is just 1 but have received 2 UC interviews so far. By the state standards, as long as you've been in CA and have been working/living and not in school for your 2 gap years you should be a resident!

I've been confused about this - the only real evidence I have of living here is documentation of my original hire date at the hospital, in california, which was in august. I may have been receiving mail here before that. So, if the requirement is a year before matriculation and not the time I apply - maybe I qualify? Not 100% sure though. I'm going to try to figure this out. Thanks for the tips!

 

[intriguingcritter]

Your in-state residency has a stronger argument for Michigan than California, but that said, your metrics say you can go for bigger fish.

Metrics-wise you have the bare minimums covered, so keep working at the homeless shelters and keep adding to your shadowing hours if you can. I'm also not exactly sure how you shadow someone in pediatric genetics, so make sure you can do something more bread-and-butter (simpler). You should shoot for 100 hours of shadowing (double the usual minimum of 50 hours) and 300 hours of non-clinical community service (food distribution, shelter work, housing rehab, job/tax preparation, transportation services) to be on par with application pools at the more competitive schools you will likely be targeting (Ivy+ and other brand names). You will want to have even more for service-oriented schools on your list (Jesuits, Rush, Northwestern, Pritzker). As it stands now, go to recruitment events and figure out if the schools will recruit you.

The issue I have is where you would best fit with your mission fit. Your background matters for the California schools, so which communities have you been closely working with while you have been in California? How much do you know about the communities around you and their specific social and healthcare needs? Have you been able to learn a little Spanish?

I appreciate the advice. Thanks!

 

[Ajtbs06]

I've been confused about this - the only real evidence I have of living here is documentation of my original hire date at the hospital, in california, which was in august. I may have been receiving mail here before that. So, if the requirement is a year before matriculation and not the time I apply - maybe I qualify? Not 100% sure though. I'm going to try to figure this out. Thanks for the tips!

CA relies on you for the documentation. If you were to get accepted that is when they would verify residency and ensure that you meet requirements by matriculation. I would try and accumulate more evidence than just your hire date: that should be sufficient but you want to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. An address/mail in your name, a bill, a drivers license, a car registration, voting documentation, etc. These are the items that I have chosen.

I do want to clarify though as you have yet to apply: applicants are in charge of delegating their state of residence on the AMCAS application by listing their permanent residence. You will not be able to list both Michigan and California, and so you should decide which to commit to ahead of time. Even though I was raised in NJ I put CA as my state of residence, but anecdotally also received interviews from the state schools in NJ even though I did not designate NJ as my permanent residence. Tbh this is what I had hoped for because I indicated that I was born in NJ and hoped that I would still be able to reap some "resident love". Not sure if the same thing would work for MI, so if you put CA I would be prepared to receive 0 love from MI state schools, but I was pleasantly surprised with how this worked out for me.

 

[intriguingcritter]

CA relies on you for the documentation. If you were to get accepted that is when they would verify residency and ensure that you meet requirements by matriculation. I would try and accumulate more evidence than just your hire date: that should be sufficient but you want to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. An address/mail in your name, a bill, a drivers license, a car registration, voting documentation, etc. These are the items that I have chosen.

I do want to clarify though as you have yet to apply: applicants are in charge of delegating their state of residence on the AMCAS application by listing their permanent residence. You will not be able to list both Michigan and California, and so you should decide which to commit to ahead of time. Even though I was raised in NJ I put CA as my state of residence, but anecdotally also received interviews from the state schools in NJ even though I did not designate NJ as my permanent residence. Tbh this is what I had hoped for because I indicated that I was born in NJ and hoped that I would still be able to reap some "resident love". Not sure if the same thing would work for MI, so if you put CA I would be prepared to receive 0 love from MI state schools, but I was pleasantly surprised with how this worked out for me.

oohh okk...I was hoping I could finesse the system somehow but it makes sense that they would do this. I'm def leaning towards doing the same thing you did - hopefully michigan shows some love when the time comes! Cheers!

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

What’s your story, though? Have you a passion? It will need to be articulated in your app. There’re a lot of 3.8ish 52x applicants. Make yourself stand out and not look boring.

A 3.8ish 52x applicant with passable ECs is pack fodder at top 20 schools and strong everywhere else.

 

[xNinjaBurrito1]

A 3.8ish 52x applicant with passable ECs is pack fodder at top 20 schools and strong everywhere else.

When you say pack fodder, do you mean they shouldn't apply, that they stand a slim chance, that they need to have an x factor to stand out, or something else?

 

[Angler]

When you say pack fodder, do you mean they shouldn't apply, that they stand a slim chance, that they need to have an x factor to stand out, or something else?

Pack Fodder = average, not special, not bad

 

[Mr.Smile12]

When you say pack fodder, do you mean they shouldn't apply, that they stand a slim chance, that they need to have an x factor to stand out, or something else?

Compared to those applying for T20s, strong and qualified. It's being in the front of the peloton (the pack). You all show very similar strengths and capabilities. In short, you all pretty much look and sound the same regarding your pursuit of Medicine.

Mission fit with your school list is your key to success.

Mission Fit: Key to Your Success - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

 

[lacrossegirl420]

You’re very competitive for T20 schools even with the slightly lower GPA, schools like Harvard/Stanford/NYU/Penn/Columbia might be a bit of a reach but you’re still competitive

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

Compared to those applying for T20s, strong and qualified. It's being in the front of the peloton (the pack). You all show very similar strengths and capabilities. In short, you all pretty much look and sound the same regarding your pursuit of Medicine.

Mission fit with your school list is your key to success.

Mission Fit: Key to Your Success - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

No - by "pack fodder" I meant that they were basically average compared to competitive but not stellar applicants. They're in the middle of the pack. Maybe, on a good day, they're towards the front of the pack. To extend and torture the cycling analogy further, the OP would need something extraordinary to escape being pack fodder at top-20 schools such as military service, Olympic or professional athletics, significant life adversity, world-class musicianship, a stellar publication history...something like that. Those people are in the breakaway; not even Harvard can fill its class with Olympic athletes with 3.9s and 525s.

If you're pack fodder, it's a crapshoot as to whether you'll get in - but almost by definition you're competitive. Someone that's pack fodder in a race is doing OK for themselves - not great, but not terrible either. If you're not competitive, you're not pack fodder, you're off the back, and good luck finishing in the pack! By the (stratospheric) standards of the likes of Harvard and Yale and Stanford, the OP is averagely competitive for admission there.

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

When you say pack fodder, do you mean they shouldn't apply, that they stand a slim chance, that they need to have an x factor to stand out, or something else?

Pack fodder = competitive, not stellar, not trash. They should definitely apply, but with the understanding that admission is a crapshoot and that their application's strength is middling compared to the median student at, say, Hopkins. If you're in the pack, you're not off the back, and you're doing OK for yourself. You might not win the race, but you're not the guy that gets his butt soundly kicked and perhaps shouldn't be in the race at all.

 

[opabiniafan]

Pack Fodder = average, not special, not bad

agree! great app that shows all the hard work you've put in so far, but unfortunately medicine is a highly coveted field that draws so many applicants that end up doing and excelling at the same things (especially for us trad, no gap year applicants). I wouldn't plan on any interviews/acceptances, it is a luck of the draw thing after all. However, you are a great applicant and if your goal is to be a doctor I would apply anyway - I'd be astonished if you didn't pull at least one program (and you have a high fighting chance at T20's).

 

[intriguingcritter]

Welcome!

Your post is fine; better than most WAMC posts.

Are you a CA or MI resident? You really can’t be both. Maybe strong ties to one, official resident of the other. This affects school list. If you aren’t an official CA resident, many of the UC’s wont look at you.

Try to get another 25 hours of primary care shadowing. Or, if your scribe duties are in an appropriate specialty, I’ve seen applicants “use” some of those hours as “shadowing.” Just subtract so you don’t double dip.

Your homeless hours are just barely ok for such a strong application. Try to get another 50 to 100+ hours of non clinical volunteering if possible.

What’s your story, though? Have you a passion? It will need to be articulated in your app. There’re a lot of 3.8ish 52x applicants. Make yourself stand out and not look boring.

Remove Rush. They like way more service than what you’ve got. But otherwise school list looks ok. You might look at Wedgedawg school list tool, if you haven’t yet.

There are some public schools which are OOS friendly, like VT & VA. You’ll get more posts from others, who are more expert than me, about your school list

Good luck!

I’m curious, for shadowing, what would you classify as an “appropriate” specialty? Thanks!

 

[Angler]

I’m curious, for shadowing, what would you classify as an “appropriate” specialty? Thanks!

Ideally, a specialty where there is direct patient contact. Pathology and Radiology aren't the best specialties to shadow, but sometimes applicants cannot find ideal ones. Primary care is really ideal.