WAMC: 4.0 / 518 / ORM / AZ + School List Help (Re-applicant)

[sn00pjazz]

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Greetings! Thank you in advance for your assistance. I am a non-trad re-applicant from the 2021 cycle. After personal circumstances and the original outbreak of COVID during the last cycle, I wasn’t ready to continue with my app so I did not submit many secondaries. Activities marked with * are new since my last app.

1. cGPA: 4.0
2. MCAT
   1. 9/2020: 506 (123/130/125/127) (during aforementioned circumstances, so did not study)
   2. 9/2021: 518 (127/128/131/32)
3. State
   1. Arizona
4. Race/Ethnicity
   1. White female
5. Undergrad
   1. Public state-school
6. Clinical Exposure
   1. Volunteered with student-run campus EMS agency for 2.5 years: ~800 hours
      1. Selected as a Captain my senior year
   2. Worked full time as a scribe at a COVID-19 vaccine clinic and later part-time in a pediatric orthopedics clinic*: 1,440 hours over 2 years
7. Research Experience**
   1. Volunteered at T20 research center, learning translational lab skills: 1,440 hours over 1 year
   2. Starting full-time position over app cycle, where I will gain further autonomy over research direction and submit a literature review for publication
   3. Late to the game in this department, but I’ve really come to love it and see it as a central aspect of my medical career
8. Shadowing
   1. 20 hours Cardiology
   2. 10 hours FM
   3. 10 hours Ortho
   4. 100 hours IM abroad in Peru
   5. 40 hours ENT*
9. Non-clinical volunteering*
   1. AmeriCorps math tutor: 800 hours
      1. Worked with underserved students
      2. Additional 300 hours over app cycle
10. Other EC’s
    1. Volunteering as a counselor for LGBTQ youth* (200 hours over app cycle)
    2. Biology TA for my university (400 hours over 1 year)
    3. Leadership position within Greek life
    4. Founded a female literary society*
    5. Collegiate tour guide
    6. Scuba Diver
    7. Runner (run 3 miles every day)
11. Awards
    1. PBK, merit-scholarships, graduated summa cum laude, Psi Chi, EMT scholarship award, leadership award in my sorority, nominated for university homecoming court
12. Anything else
    1. Considering adding pre-med club from college to honors list, but wasn’t overly involved and not meaningful to me in the long run
    2. Also considering adding my position as secretary in a service organization to honors list, but since I graduated over a year ago not sure if this is necessary

Schools List:

I think I have a strong narrative for increasing medical accessibility through research and patient education, especially for underserved individuals. Looking for schools that fit this mission where I also have a strong chance. Please let me know if I should remove or add any schools.

Stanford
Harvard*
UCSF
Mayo* - AZ
Northwestern
Cornell
UCLA*
NYU
Vanderbilt
UVA
Dartmouth
Brown
USC (Keck)
SLU
Iowa
Emory
Arizona - Phoenix*
Arizona - Tucson*
Creighton*
Louisville (2x legacy)*
Georgetown
Tufts
Loyola
Tulane
Wisconsin, Madison
Geisinger
GWU

*Originally applied 2 years ago

Note: I would prefer to apply to schools solely through AMCAS and have already paid to take AAMC Pre-view, so would prefer to not to apply schools that require CASPer.

 

[ujsc]

You need at least hundred hours of nonclinical volunteer service hours such as hospice, ER, or homeless shelter. This is really impt to your narrative as well. Some schools will average your MCAT so be aware of that.

 

[Faha]

Geisinger admits few applicants who are not from that region. You could add these schools:
Washington University (in St. Louis)
USF Morsani
Miami
Duke
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
Jefferson
Boston University
Pittsburgh
Case Western
Cincinnati

 

[Lawpy]

You need at least hundred hours of nonclinical volunteer service hours such as hospice, ER, or homeless shelter. This is really impt to your narrative as well. Some schools will average your MCAT so be aware of that.

What? OP has several hundreds to thousands of clinical and service hours through EMT, scribing and Americorps. This makes no sense

 

[ujsc]

What? OP has several hundreds to thousands of clinical and service hours through EMT, scribing and Americorps. This makes no sense

That is because maybe you don't know the difference between clinical and nonclinical, especially nonclinical service volunteer hours? Those are clinical and a math tutor won't be impressive as service. If you don't think that is important then you should ask moderators of forum who many are on adcoms. I am differentiating medical related service from other service the OP provided.

 

[Lawpy]

That is because maybe you don't know the difference between clinical and nonclinical, especially nonclinical service volunteer hours? Those are clinical and a math tutor won't be impressive as service. If you don't think that is important then you should ask moderators of forum who many are on adcoms.

If you think AmeriCorps and teaching the underserved isn’t service, I don’t know what to say other than you are wrong.

Also your examples of ER and hospice make no sense as nonclinical volunteering. Those are clinical volunteering experiences

 

[ujsc]

If you think AmeriCorps and teaching the underserved isn’t service, I don’t know what to say other than you are wrong.

Also your examples of ER and hospice make no sense as nonclinical volunteering. Those are clinical volunteering experiences

Great majority of those jobs on short notice are nonclinical. I should know as I worked at both. Americorps was tutoring and it isn't a slight. They are nonmedical related volunteering. It is very worthwhile experience but in combination with what was suggested is a more likely success route. Please don't make this personal. Read other WAMC and you will see moderators on adcoms promote this and it helped me get accepted to multiple schools.

 

[Lawpy]

Great majority of those jobs on short notice are nonclinical. I should know as I worked at both. Americorps was tutoring and it isn't a slight. It is very worthwhile experience but in combination with what was suggested is a more likely success route. Please don't make this personal. Read other WAMC and you will see moderators on adcoms promote this and it helped me get accepted to multiple schools.

I’m not making it personal. I’m saying you’re wrong and you’re giving OP bad advice. OP has a strong application and good nonclinical experiences. Your suggestions on volunteering in ER and hospice as noted below are also wrong because those are clinical experiences, which OP has plenty.

You need at least hundred hours of nonclinical volunteer service hours such as hospice, ER, or homeless shelter. This is really impt to your narrative as well. Some schools will average your MCAT so be aware of that.

I agree with Faha’s school list suggestions.

 

[ujsc]

There are many more admin jobs in short term ER and even hospice volunteering positions than working with patients. That is nonclinical medical related experience. I said it would enhance application and I am wrong? That's bad advise?

Americorps is great experience. No one downplayed that. Nonclinical medical service related volunteering would enhance application is all I said.

 

[Lawpy]

There are many more admin jobs in short term ER and even volunteering than working with patients. I said it would enhance application and I am wrong?

If OP wants to further enhance their application on the nonclinical hours, the only suggestion that fits is the homeless shelter, and that’d be much more preferable to working in admin jobs in ER or hospices. But that is not necessary, and the AmeriCorps and counselor experiences are great, which I believe are being unfairly downplayed.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Honestly,

If you’re going to apply to these, you need to add an equal amount of mid tiers to compensate. Alternatively, you could just replace them with mid tiers.

Stanford
Harvard*
UCSF
Northwestern
Cornell
UCLA*
NYU
Vanderbilt

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I'm being very mindful in light of the recent gun violence events and what teachers have to think about and go through...

Teach for America/Americorps/City Year participants are essentially working as teachers in a more engaged way than typical school-club-led tutoring. So for most admissions committees I've worked with, it will carry much more weight as community service like Peace Corps. They also have spots for immersive experience working in community health clinics, so faculty I have worked with let that pass too. Essays and interviews will disclose how much development in service orientation the OP has for schools of interest.

 

[sn00pjazz]

Honestly,

If you’re going to apply to these, you need to add an equal amount of mid tiers to compensate. Alternatively, you could just replace them with mid tiers.

Stanford
Harvard*
UCSF
Northwestern
Cornell
UCLA*
NYU
Vanderbilt

I appreciate the feedback. If you have any suggestions for any OOS-friendly mid-tiers to replace them with, I would appreciate any thoughts/insight.

Thanks again, take care.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Faha had some good suggestions so I would recommend those, although WUSTL is probably a reach (never hurts to try)

Some names come to mind

Oakland
MCW
NYU LI