WAMC- Advice for Potential Reapplicant

[lilybolt_32]

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[Faha]

Your low non clinical hours were a major factor in your lack of interviews since many schools screen out applicants at 150 hours. Accumulate 150+hours such as food bank, homeless shelter, etc. before you reapply. You also need a better school list. I suggest these schools if you have 150 hours of non clinical volunteering:
Washington State
U Washington
Roseman
TCU
Ponce (St. Louis)
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Illinois
Western Michigan
Alice Walton
Belmont
NOVA MD
Methodist (when it opens)
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Hackensack
Albany
New York Medical College
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Also apply DO schools and I suggest these:
PNWU-COM
TUCOM-CA
TUNCOM
AZCOM
KCU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
DMU-COM
CCOM
MU-COM
CUSOM
PCOM
WVSOM
NYITCOM
Touro-NY

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Questions:

1. With my new ECs + hours above, should I try to reapply this upcoming cycle or take a year off and reapply in the 2026-2027 cycle?
2. Any thoughts on using paying for help with PS/secondary writing through companies like Med School Insiders?
3. Should I get a more “hands-on” clinical job like CNA/phlebotomist/EMT/MA? Most if not all MA jobs in WA State require certification (which can take up to 1 year to get). I like scribing and feel I get a lot more patient interaction from it than I would get in other roles.

Welcome to the forums.

1) As Faha noted, you need 150 hours minimum of service orientation activities (food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation) to avoid getting screened out at most schools. Dog walking for 6 hours is not worth mentioning here (sorry dog owners).

Clinical hours are also low when you submitted. I hope the derm MA position helps you.

2) SDN has a corps of volunteer readers who will be activated soon for the 2025-2026 cycle. I help those enrolled in Becoming a Student Doctor (gold member level or scholarship eligible). You should use the free resources at your school or here.

3) A hands-on job is helpful, but you may be overqualified with a bachelor's degree. Read

Community College and Vocational Certifications for Prehealth Applicants | SDN

Higher education has seen a demographic shift, with more high school students or graduates taking community college coursework before entering

www.studentdoctor.net

 

[stew_md]

Hey, UW grad here, although I'm a bit non-trad. I got accepted at UW-Seattle. I know for a fact that UW offers mock interviews through the career center in Mary-Gates Hall, if you live in the Seattle area and graduated recently, hit them up and they may be able to help you prep for interviews. Definitely revisit your writing and beef up those volunteer hours.

UW especially likes applicants who have a demonstrated interest in serving underserved populations, so it would be wise to lean into your food bank activity. This will also help you market yourself to many other schools on your list. Of course, get some feedback from UW at your exit interview and incorporate that feedback into your next application. I suspect they will tell you to increase non-clinical volunteering though.

I'd be happy to look over your PS or UW secondaries if you want.

 

[lilybolt_32]

Your low non clinical hours were a major factor in your lack of interviews since many schools screen out applicants at 150 hours. Accumulate 150+hours such as food bank, homeless shelter, etc. before you reapply. You also need a better school list. I suggest these schools if you have 150 hours of non clinical volunteering:
Washington State
U Washington
Roseman
TCU
Ponce (St. Louis)
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Illinois
Western Michigan
Alice Walton
Belmont
NOVA MD
Methodist (when it opens)
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Hackensack
Albany
New York Medical College
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Also apply DO schools and I suggest these:
PNWU-COM
TUCOM-CA
TUNCOM
AZCOM
KCU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
DMU-COM
CCOM
MU-COM
CUSOM
PCOM
WVSOM
NYITCOM
Touro-NY

Sounds good, thank you for the advice and school list.

What is your thought on reapplying this upcoming cycle (will be able to hit the 150 minimum) vs waiting to reapply in 2026-2027 (so I can have more non-clinical hours + ED volunteer hours). I'm also thinking about changing jobs possibly to get more "hands-on" clinical experience (like a registered MA position).

 

[lilybolt_32]

Welcome to the forums.

1) As Faha noted, you need 150 hours minimum of service orientation activities (food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation) to avoid getting screened out at most schools. Dog walking for 6 hours is not worth mentioning here (sorry dog owners).

Clinical hours are also low when you submitted. I hope the derm MA position helps you.

2) SDN has a corps of volunteer readers who will be activated soon for the 2025-2026 cycle. I help those enrolled in Becoming a Student Doctor (gold member level or scholarship eligible). You should use the free resources at your school or here.

3) A hands-on job is helpful, but you may be overqualified with a bachelor's degree. Read

Community College and Vocational Certifications for Prehealth Applicants | SDN

Higher education has seen a demographic shift, with more high school students or graduates taking community college coursework before entering

www.studentdoctor.net

Thank you for the advice! Good to know that SDN has free resources for writing help. Will look into that definitely.

Also, I'm not too sure how 1100 hours of clinical experience when submitting my app is viewed as being low...

 

[lilybolt_32]

Hey, UW grad here, although I'm a bit non-trad. I got accepted at UW-Seattle. I know for a fact that UW offers mock interviews through the career center in Mary-Gates Hall, if you live in the Seattle area and graduated recently, hit them up and they may be able to help you prep for interviews. Definitely revisit your writing and beef up those volunteer hours.

UW especially likes applicants who have a demonstrated interest in serving underserved populations, so it would be wise to lean into your food bank activity. This will also help you market yourself to many other schools on your list. Of course, get some feedback from UW at your exit interview and incorporate that feedback into your next application. I suspect they will tell you to increase non-clinical volunteering though.

I'd be happy to look over your PS or UW secondaries if you want.

Yeah, I saw that the career center offered mock Interviews and will use that to my advantage as its relatively easy for me to get to campus (if I can get an II, lol).

Thank you for offering to review my PS + UW secondaries, I greatly appreciate the help! (being unsure if my writing sucked is slowly eating away at me...). I will send you a DM.

Also congrats on getting accepted to UW-Seattle!

 

[Faha]

Sounds good, thank you for the advice and school list.

What is your thought on reapplying this upcoming cycle (will be able to hit the 150 minimum) vs waiting to reapply in 2026-2027 (so I can have more non-clinical hours + ED volunteer hours). I'm also thinking about changing jobs possibly to get more "hands-on" clinical experience (like a registered MA position).

You are fine to reapply this June to the schools I listed if you have those 150 hours of non clinical volunteering.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Also, I'm not too sure how 1100 hours of clinical experience when submitting my app is viewed as being low...

You didn't have 1100 hours when you applied the first time, correct?

 

[lilybolt_32]

You didn't have 1100 hours when you applied the first time, correct?

Yes I did have those hours when I applied (this is my first app cycle).

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Yes I did have those hours when I applied (this is my first app cycle).

Let us know what your feedback session reveals about your experiences and whether you had enough community service experience when you applied last year. The value of your experiences need to be recognized by the screeners and file reviewers.

 

[lilybolt_32]

I just got an interview invite!!! Still going to continue to prep to reapply just in case, but SO excited!!! Does anyone know of any good resources for MMI prep?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I just got an interview invite!!! Still going to continue to prep to reapply just in case, but SO excited!!! Does anyone know of any good resources for MMI prep?

You can use the Casper/SJT resources and look for the 50 sample scenarios (for Casper) to help. We also have articles and forum posts about MMI prep you can search for (or it's on a sidebar).

 

[ophthoaspirant]

Hi everyone,

I applied for the first time this cycle and have received 0 IIs + 1 II hold (still have to hear back from 21/32 schools). I wanted to get advice on what I could improve in case I need to reapply. Here are the stats + ECs I applied with:

Submitted primary June 21st. Secondaries were completed from August to mid-September.

1. 3.65 cGPA, 3.55 sGPA (with an upward trend, ended my last quarter with a 4.0)
2. 514 MCAT (126/127/132/129)
3. Residence - WA
4. ORM Female
5. Undergraduate - UW (main campus in Seattle)
6. Clinical Experience (paid) - 1100 hours scribing across 1.5 years (mainly dermatology + some primary care)
7. Research - 2200 hours across 2.5 years (No pubs or posters but was able to assist in a lot of cool projects/experiments throughout my time)
8. Shadowing - 30 hours (dermatology + internal medicine PCP + family medicine PCP)
9. Non-clinical volunteering - 6 hours as a dog walker at local humane society, 63 hours at my university's food pantry (restocked + checked out visitors + gathered food from dining halls across campus)
10. Leadership - 200 hours total from 2 positions in my sorority (standards/bylaws committee + vice president of academic development)
11. Scholarship/Awards - Annual Dean’s list x2 (got Dean’s list 3 quarters in a row) + academic scholarship through health care facility my parent works for
12. Miscellaneous - 336 hours in clothing retail, hobbies (cooking + weightlifting/sports)

School list (MD only):

• UWSOM (that R hurt), will apply for application review/advice next month
• UICOM (grandfather went to dental school there, so I was able to note that in the secondary portal)
• UCLA David Geffen
• Quinnipiac
• Rosalind Franklin
• Central Michigan (have family that live near the school)
• MCW
• Vermont
• UWSOMPH
• Virginia Tech
• Hackensack Meridian
• Toledo
• Wright State Boonshoft
• Drexel
• Temple
• NYMC
• Albany
• Penn State
• Colorado
• USC (Keck)
• UC San Diego
• GWU
• OUWB
• Tufts
• T.H. Chan (UMass)
• U Minnesota (have family that live there)
• Stryker (Western Michigan)
• Virginia Commonwealth
• WVU
• Geisinger Commonwealth
• Sidney Kimmel
• Wake Forest

Thoughts on my cycle:

• I definitely could have made a better school list (I regret applying to so may OOS unfriendly schools + not applying to WSU as a WA resident…). I was rushing to make a list after taking my MCAT in April 2024, so I focused more on how my stats compared to matriculants at schools vs. mission fit.
• I understood that my volunteering hours were low, but I felt that the experience I got with my food pantry activity was enough to write about in secondary.
• I had my PS looked at by a family member + physician I work with, and both thought it was good/authentic. It did not have any secondaries reviewed by others.
• Somewhat later primary submission + did not get all of my secondaries sent within 2 weeks of receiving (not sure of how many but probably ½ were completed within 2 weeks).
• I did not have much time to think about applying to DO schools, so I held off on applying as I was unsure of how comfortable I would be getting a DO A and wanted to do more research to see if I was okay with potentially being a DO. I am more willing/comfortable applying to a couple of DO schools the next time around as I'm not interested in going into a super competitive specialty at this time.

What I’ve added to my application:

• 70 hours from dog walking (maybe look to see if I can start training new volunteers in this role).
• 970 hours of scribing (dermatology).
• 15 hours shadowing a plastic surgeon (planning on shadowing an OB/Gyn, EM physician, and pathologist soon).
• 45 hours at my city’s food bank where I check in visitors, help restock, and answer questions regarding our system. I am interested in doing more work with the homeless/populations with high levels of food insecurity by volunteering with organizations like Meals on Wheels. Many visitors are ESL (specifically only speak Spanish), so I was looking into online services where I can teach English + learn Spanish.
• I also started volunteering in the ED at my local hospital this past month (12 hours) where I help with cart/room stocking + round with patients while in rooms. Will become more hands-on with time.

Questions:

1. With my new ECs + hours above, should I try to reapply this upcoming cycle or take a year off and reapply in the 2026-2027 cycle?
2. Any thoughts on using paying for help with PS/secondary writing through companies like Med School Insiders?
3. Should I get a more “hands-on” clinical job like CNA/phlebotomist/EMT/MA? Most if not all MA jobs in WA State require certification (which can take up to 1 year to get). I like scribing and feel I get a lot more patient interaction from it than I would get in other roles.

Any and all forms of advice + support are welcome, and I thank you for taking the time to read my post.

Your LizzyM is on the lower end for an ORM. Yes, some other parts of your application may have some easily addressable weaknesses but unless you improve your MCAT score, your chances won’t improve much at Tier 1 and Tier 2 schools. I recommend you concentrate on Tier 3 and Tier 4 schools (MD and DO)