WAMC - 4.0/524 but inconsistent non clinical volunteering

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

strawberryskies

Full Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2020
Messages
22
Reaction score
4
Hi. I have a bit of a problem...while I’m really excited about the MCAT score I received yesterday, I’m starting to get concerned about choosing what schools to apply to because I made the huge mistake of not sticking to one non-clinical volunteer experience, and not keeping track of my hours freshman year. Also, my ECs are pretty weak.

Here are my stats/info:
Female, Asian, 21, Junior at a semi decent school (one could say it’s considered an ivy reject school),
State: Delaware (Jefferson is considered our “state” school bc no med schools in DE)
GPA: 4.0
MCAT: 524 (130/130/132/132)
Clinical volunteering: 212 hours as a Child Life volunteer at a children’s hospital over the course of 3 years
Research: ~750 hours for 2 years. I also did research the summer after freshman year but I didn’t keep track of hours, yikes. My name is on a paper but it has been rejected from several journals so probably no hope for that. No presentations or awards, but I did get a stipend from the Biology dept for summer research. I’ve been working on the same independent project for a year so that’s why I haven’t presented anything; I probably would’ve been close to finishing this semester if not for COVID
Non-clinical volunteering: even bigger yikes. I probably have about 100 hours total, but they’ve been at a bunch of different organizations because I volunteered through my clubs and sorority. Some of these hours include helping disadvantaged people, but only a few. I swear it’s not because I don’t want to help...I just did whatever volunteer opportunity was available. I was also the service chair for Global Medical Brigades and my sorority, if that counts for anything. Oh yeah, I went on a brigade with GMB to Honduras, but I don’t know if I should include that because I know it looks bad. I honestly just did it bc I’m super interested in global health/public health/epidemiology
Work: student caller at my school’s call center for one semester, VarsityTutors for a couple of months (27 hrs total, but I had to stop to study for MCAT - also apparently I can’t work in DE but trying to figure that out)
Shadowing: ~75 hours: gastroenterology, general surgery, anesthesiology
Clubs: held multiple exec positions in 2 clubs (co-president of one) for 3 years, officer positions in my sorority for 2 years

I’m definitely applying for Jefferson, but I’m afraid my ECs aren’t good enough for the schools with my stats, and I’ll be rejected from mid tier schools bc my stats are too high. Honestly wish I had done worse on the MCAT, lol...I heard WashU and Penn are stat heavy schools but I still don’t think my ECs will hold up. Also my interview skills aren’t the greatest. I don’t want to take a gap year but I know it will probably help my app. Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks!!

Members don't see this ad.
 
Your low non clinical volunteering should not be an issue at many schools. In addition to Jefferson I suggest these schools:
Boston University
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
NYU
Rochester
Pittsburgh
Case Western
Cincinnati
Ohio State
UVA
Duke
Emory
Vanderbilt
USF Morsani
Miami
Washington University (almost a guaranteed interview with your MCAT of 524)
U Chicago
Northwestern
U Michigan
USC Keck
Kaiser
 
Members don't see this ad :)
If you did a medical mission, be honest about it and don't hide it. To me, hiding it suggests more that you did something rather unprofessional while there, which is a common problem in the early days of these programs. However, the key issue is that we want to know if you did anything similar within the US where the health care system here and its inefficiencies needed to be navigated.
 
If you did a medical mission, be honest about it and don't hide it. To me, hiding it suggests more that you did something rather unprofessional while there, which is a common problem in the early days of these programs. However, the key issue is that we want to know if you did anything similar within the US where the health care system here and its inefficiencies needed to be navigated.
That makes sense, thanks. We actually started volunteering locally at the Ronald McDonald House and ACS Hope Lodge in the fall after the medical mission trip; would that be something good to bring up? I know it's not exactly the same because it's not necessarily serving underprivileged communities, but to be honest these organizations were more accessible to us since they were very close to campus.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I had a 4.0/523, slightly less research with presentations and more non clinical volunteering and I got accepted at WashU. It was also my only top 20 II though
 
That makes sense, thanks. We actually started volunteering locally at the Ronald McDonald House and ACS Hope Lodge in the fall after the medical mission trip; would that be something good to bring up? I know it's not exactly the same because it's not necessarily serving underprivileged communities, but to be honest these organizations were more accessible to us since they were very close to campus.
Where did you describe this activity in your original post? That would be good to bring up, depending on how frequently you went.
 
OP

If you apply now, your best shot among T25s is with stats-oriented schools like Wash U, Vanderbilt, NYU and Northwestern. Make sure you apply to them all.

The more hoity-toity T25s (ie Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Penn, Hopkins) typically want something noteworthy in your extracurriculars - something leadership oriented/something that shows creativity/initiative. I think your paucity of clinical experience and nonclinical volunteering hurts with such schools too.

Consider taking a gap year to address such issues.

On a different note, what kind of college did you attend? (a private research university, a liberal arts college, a state flagship school, etc)?
 
OP

If you apply now, your best shot among T25s is with stats-oriented schools like Wash U, Vanderbilt, NYU and Northwestern. Make sure you apply to them all.

The more hoity-toity T25s (ie Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Penn, Hopkins) typically want something noteworthy in your extracurriculars - something leadership oriented/something that shows creativity/initiative. I think your paucity of clinical experience and nonclinical volunteering hurts with such schools too.

Consider taking a gap year to address such issues.

On a different note, what kind of college did you attend? (a private research university, a liberal arts college, a state flagship school, etc)?
Hi, thanks for the advice! I didn't see this until now. I am still planning to apply. I attend a private research university. I've held a ton of leadership positions in my sorority and other clubs, but my understanding is that these aren't considered that important. I kind of spent too much time on my clubs and not enough on volunteering. Are there any more Harvard-like schools I should avoid applying to? I have about 30+ schools I'm considering but I want to narrow it down to 25 or so.
 
Hi, thanks for the advice! I didn't see this until now. I am still planning to apply. I attend a private research university. I've held a ton of leadership positions in my sorority and other clubs, but my understanding is that these aren't considered that important. I kind of spent too much time on my clubs and not enough on volunteering. Are there any more Harvard-like schools I should avoid applying to? I have about 30+ schools I'm considering but I want to narrow it down to 25 or so.
U Chicago is another heavily stats oriented school that should be on your list.

I’m not discouraging you from applying to the Harvards, Stanfords, and Penns of the world especially if you have lots of leadership experiences under your belt. I think you should apply to them all but just realize that your chances are best with the stats heavy schools.

T10 schools more or less all want some evidence of plus leadership, creativity and initiative.
 
Top