notsanguineenough
New Member
- Joined
- May 26, 2025
- Messages
- 1
- Reaction score
- 0
Hey guys! I'm hoping for some feedback on my school list. I'm a California resident, so I'll be applying to most of the schools there in hopes of moving back. I'm just a bit worried because my application is definitely clinical/service heavy rather than research heavy, and I know many California schools are research-oriented. My personal statement is heavy on seeing patients as a multifaceted human/touching upon advocacy and human connection. Here's some info on my app:
First-time applicant from a large private school in Boston (not Harvard lol)
MCAT: 514 (130/125/128/131)
GPA: 3.99
ORM (white/asian female)
Clinical Experience
- Primary Care MA co-op. ~1000 hours. Lots of pt interaction and working with physicians. 2 LORs are coming from here.
- PCA co-op at a burn, trauma, and emergency surgery ICU/Step-down floor. ~1200 hrs. Saw a LOT at this job and worked as part of the huge hospital team.
- EMT part-time job ~220 hrs. This was my first real clinical experience. Mainly did IFTs, but some 911s.
- Patient Liaison volunteer at Planned Parenthood ~50 hrs
- FUTURE: For my gap year, I'll be working full-time as an MA at a homeless healthcare program, both in- and out-patient. Probably will have ~2500 hours
Research
- Student research assistant at an autism lab. ~400hrs over 3ish years (on and off due to my co-op program). I helped all around the lab, but mainly on 3 projects that dealt with biomarkers for autism in young children. I did data entry, helped with study visits, and did behavioral coding for one of the projects. I also helped proofread manuscripts. No publications though.
- Lmao I'm not even mentioning this in my app bc I don't think it counts but for a class I did a poster presentation at a school-wide event on an environmental toxicology publication. Not worth mentioning right?
Nonclinical volunteering/Advocacy
- Served lunch at a local women's homeless shelter ~50 hrs
- Helped prepare free meals to be delivered to those impacted by illness. We worked with nutritionists to provide tailored meals that accommodate special diets for different diseases. ~ 75 hrs.
-Director of Partnerships for a club that gathered students to teach environmental science to local elementary schools. We eventually had our lessons taught in Guatemala, which was pretty cool. I helped write curricula that were understandable to kids, reached out to elementary schools to partner with, and contacted other clubs to increase involvement. ~200 hours over 2.5 years
- I tutored grade school kids from my community for free through personal connections. Mainly helped with math and english. ~40 hours
Shadowing
- I've shadowed 5 specialties including surgery, pediatric urology, family med, neurology, and developmental-behavioral pediatrics ~90 hours total.
Other activities
- VP of the baking club. Baking's always been a type of therapy for me and has grown into a full-blown passion over the past 3 years. I started a program within the club where we partnered students with no access to kitchens to students who had kitchens so they could bake. ~40 hrs
- I did a summer surgery program in high school in which I came back as an alumni mentor. This is where I shadowed a bunch of surgeries and eventually helped teach surgical skills/run the program. ~225 hrs
- I worked at a gelato shop. Mainly milking the teamwork and collaboration/problem-solving skills part. ~440 hrs
- Part of the medical fraternity membership committee. Planned membership events, and my favorites were the health and wellness ones because I got to see neurotic premeds take a chill pill lol. ~115 hrs
Right now, my Admit.org looks like this:
Reach: UCSF, USC, UCI, Kaiser, Emory, Colorado, BU, Albert Einstein, Ohio State
Target: UCLA, UCSD, CUSM, Loyola University Chicago, Georgetown, Dartmouth??, Loma Linda, U Miami, U Pitt, Tufts, Hackensack Meridian New York Medical College, Jefferson (Kimmel), Nova Southeastern (Patel), Saint Louis,
Baseline: UCD, Loyola (Stritch), Wake Forest, Tulane, Temple, Drexel, Rush, Wayne State, Western Michigan, Rosalind Franklin, Vermont, George Washington, Penn State, Albany, TCU, Oakland University Beaumont, Quinnipiac
Any advice on schools I should remove/add? Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks!
First-time applicant from a large private school in Boston (not Harvard lol)
MCAT: 514 (130/125/128/131)
GPA: 3.99
ORM (white/asian female)
Clinical Experience
- Primary Care MA co-op. ~1000 hours. Lots of pt interaction and working with physicians. 2 LORs are coming from here.
- PCA co-op at a burn, trauma, and emergency surgery ICU/Step-down floor. ~1200 hrs. Saw a LOT at this job and worked as part of the huge hospital team.
- EMT part-time job ~220 hrs. This was my first real clinical experience. Mainly did IFTs, but some 911s.
- Patient Liaison volunteer at Planned Parenthood ~50 hrs
- FUTURE: For my gap year, I'll be working full-time as an MA at a homeless healthcare program, both in- and out-patient. Probably will have ~2500 hours
Research
- Student research assistant at an autism lab. ~400hrs over 3ish years (on and off due to my co-op program). I helped all around the lab, but mainly on 3 projects that dealt with biomarkers for autism in young children. I did data entry, helped with study visits, and did behavioral coding for one of the projects. I also helped proofread manuscripts. No publications though.
- Lmao I'm not even mentioning this in my app bc I don't think it counts but for a class I did a poster presentation at a school-wide event on an environmental toxicology publication. Not worth mentioning right?
Nonclinical volunteering/Advocacy
- Served lunch at a local women's homeless shelter ~50 hrs
- Helped prepare free meals to be delivered to those impacted by illness. We worked with nutritionists to provide tailored meals that accommodate special diets for different diseases. ~ 75 hrs.
-Director of Partnerships for a club that gathered students to teach environmental science to local elementary schools. We eventually had our lessons taught in Guatemala, which was pretty cool. I helped write curricula that were understandable to kids, reached out to elementary schools to partner with, and contacted other clubs to increase involvement. ~200 hours over 2.5 years
- I tutored grade school kids from my community for free through personal connections. Mainly helped with math and english. ~40 hours
Shadowing
- I've shadowed 5 specialties including surgery, pediatric urology, family med, neurology, and developmental-behavioral pediatrics ~90 hours total.
Other activities
- VP of the baking club. Baking's always been a type of therapy for me and has grown into a full-blown passion over the past 3 years. I started a program within the club where we partnered students with no access to kitchens to students who had kitchens so they could bake. ~40 hrs
- I did a summer surgery program in high school in which I came back as an alumni mentor. This is where I shadowed a bunch of surgeries and eventually helped teach surgical skills/run the program. ~225 hrs
- I worked at a gelato shop. Mainly milking the teamwork and collaboration/problem-solving skills part. ~440 hrs
- Part of the medical fraternity membership committee. Planned membership events, and my favorites were the health and wellness ones because I got to see neurotic premeds take a chill pill lol. ~115 hrs
Right now, my Admit.org looks like this:
Reach: UCSF, USC, UCI, Kaiser, Emory, Colorado, BU, Albert Einstein, Ohio State
Target: UCLA, UCSD, CUSM, Loyola University Chicago, Georgetown, Dartmouth??, Loma Linda, U Miami, U Pitt, Tufts, Hackensack Meridian New York Medical College, Jefferson (Kimmel), Nova Southeastern (Patel), Saint Louis,
Baseline: UCD, Loyola (Stritch), Wake Forest, Tulane, Temple, Drexel, Rush, Wayne State, Western Michigan, Rosalind Franklin, Vermont, George Washington, Penn State, Albany, TCU, Oakland University Beaumont, Quinnipiac
Any advice on schools I should remove/add? Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks!
