WAMC 4.0 519? Not sure what schools to apply to with some low EC's

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Abrahima7

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Certain things (holes) in my app were cut short hard because of covid so not really sure where I stand anymore and really in need of some advice :(

Stats
State of residence: NV
GPA: 4.0 Neuroscience
MCAT: 519
Junior but graduating early Dec 2020.


Extra-curriculars:
Clinical Volunteering: 80 hours at hospital doing discharges, helping nurses, etc. freshman year. 100 hours hospice volunteering 9/19-3/20, cut short because of covid and I sense little chance it will start up again for a long while, as it was usually visiting patients in group homes and things. too much risk to them. total 180.
Non clinical Volunteering: big hole. started volunteering in elementary school with children with special needs, but got cut short hard and fast. got ~20 hours. Now have a role in fresh organization from march to current helping pair at risk people with volunteers who will get groceries for them because of covid, role as state coordinator and social media representative, ~30 hours at time of submission. total will just be measly 50 hours oof.
Clinical Experience: ~250 hours as an in home caregiver to elderly and disabled people. Act as kind of hybrid CNA/companion in terms of role. This was supposed to be more but also got cut down in terms of hours, although this is something I am still doing currently (down to 4 hr a week). EMT certified, took class Summer 2018 and went on ridealongs and had ED shift, but work in my area is very sparse, so i eventually went into caregiving as above.
Shadowing: ~30-40 IM, I was planning on doing some clinic based shadowing this semester which obviously also did not pan out :(
Leadership : ~700 hours of student government, senator for my college for 2 consecutive terms, lots of student initiatives and events and policy making/meeting with faculty.
Research: ~600 hours in an insect lab, 1/18-current, No presentations or publications, but did use my own preliminary project results to apply for a university award but that isn't decided for months..
Teaching: ~100 hrs as mentor for group of incoming freshman in bootcamp type setting, two years in a row, help adjust them to college as well as actually help teach them chemistry, biology, etc.
Awards: nothing really. dean's list/merit scholarships?idk.
Other: study abroad experience in italy learning italian Summer 2019? member of premedical fraternity that has raised money for children's hospitals. hobbies are videography and photography. not sure if this is too relevant,

Is my lack of non clinical volunteering an app killer? I have no big dreams of going to T20. I just want an MD acceptance somewhere haha, although a mid tier would definitely be nice. Any help would be appreciated regarding what schools to apply or if some of my EC are just too lacking and a gap year would really be suggested? Again, any MD school is fine, but I'm also not sure how to build a list to avoid yield protection
 

mvsrocks

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I really don't think your non clinical volunteering will be killer. I was in a similar situation but with low clinical volunteering (40 hours total at time of application, oof), applied to top 30 schools, somehow got 4 II (two at T10 schools somehow). I was WL'd at all schools though and wasn't too surprised.

But in your case, you have plenty of other activities so I think you will be fine, especially w/ your clinical experiences.
 
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Faha

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I suggest these schools with your stats:
Your Nevada state pubic schools
Vermont
Tufts
Boston University
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
Rochester
Pittsburgh
Jefferson
Case Western
Cincinnati
Ohio State
George Washington
Miami
USF Morsani
NOVA MD
Tulane
TCU-UNT
Washington University
Western Michigan
 
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Abrahima7

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I really don't think your non clinical volunteering will be killer. I was in a similar situation but with low clinical volunteering (40 hours total at time of application, oof), applied to top 30 schools, somehow got 4 II (two at T10 schools somehow). I was WL'd at all schools though and wasn't too surprised.

But in your case, you have plenty of other activities so I think you will be fine, especially w/ your clinical experiences.

Thank you very much! Any suggestions on where to apply?
 

Abrahima7

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I suggest these schools with your stats:
Your Nevada state pubic schools
Vermont
Tufts
Boston University
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
Rochester
Pittsburgh
Jefferson
Case Western
Cincinnati
Ohio State
George Washington
Miami
USF Morsani
NOVA MD
Tulane
TCU-UNT
Washington University
Western Michigan
Thank you! I have about half of these saved on MSAR as of right now but I will look into and add the rest and removes the low yield schools I had
 

mvsrocks

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Thank you very much! Any suggestions on where to apply?
On top of those already suggested:

UVirginia
Emory
Dartmouth
UCincinnati
Kaiser (Free tuition)
UCI
USC
UCSD

And whatever other top schools you'd like to apply to, depending on how many secondaries you think you can handle. I wouldn't suggest many other OOS state schools since they are pretty low yield for OOS applicants (UWashington, Utah).
 
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Abrahima7

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On top of those already suggested:

UVirginia
Emory
Dartmouth
UCincinnati
Kaiser (Free tuition)
UCI
USC
UCSD

And whatever other top schools you'd like to apply to, depending on how many secondaries you think you can handle. I wouldn't suggest many other OOS state schools since they are pretty low yield for OOS applicants (UWashington, Utah).
Thank you again, will add those. Quick side question--obviously there are questions like "why our school" that have to be individually tailored every time, but after what point do secondaries usually get semi redundant to the point that you're able to copy paste for some of the prompts?
 
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mvsrocks

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Thank you again, will add those. Quick side question--obviously there are questions like "why our school" that have to be individually tailored every time, but after what point do secondaries usually get semi redundant to the point that you're able to copy paste for some of the prompts?
I applied to 28 schools. I would say that after the first 10-12 schools, I started recycling a lot more material (especially the diversity, adversity essays). This depends on the specific schools though and the order you receive secondaries. Some schools have no secondary essays, while others have essays longer than your personal statement.

The first 1.5 weeks of secondaries will be tough but it should get easier. If you want to start prepping, you should definitely pre-write the diversity essay. It's probably the most used prompt.
 
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Abrahima7

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I applied to 28 schools. I would say that after the first 10-12 schools, I started recycling a lot more material (especially the diversity, adversity essays). This depends on the specific schools though and the order you receive secondaries. Some schools have no secondary essays, while others have essays longer than your personal statement.

The first 1.5 weeks of secondaries will be tough but it should get easier. If you want to start prepping, you should definitely pre-write the diversity essay. It's probably the most used prompt.
Thank you for the insight, I will try to get on that!
 

Mr.Smile12

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Yes, your non-clinical volunteering hours are light, but you at least have two different populations you've worked with. You also have a whole lot more clinical exposure that hopefully you can talk about the needs of vulnerable populations as a whole. Find out which schools may value that experience in a way that doesn't penalize you for not having a lot of community service outside the clinic.
 
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Abrahima7

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Yes, your non-clinical volunteering hours are light, but you at least have two different populations you've worked with. You also have a whole lot more clinical exposure that hopefully you can talk about the needs of vulnerable populations as a whole. Find out which schools may value that experience in a way that doesn't penalize you for not having a lot of community service outside the clinic.
Thank you for the feedback! Definitely have a good deal to write/talk about, thankfully :)
 
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