WAMC and why no MD II's?

[kuplajsan]

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Hi, I'm ORM to MD schools, and while I've been lucky to get into several DO schools, I haven't even received a single II from MDs. I know we still have some time in January, but not sure what the issue is.

cGPA: 3.74
sGPA: 3.61
MCAT: 514 (128/129/131/126)
State of residence: NY
Citizenship: United States
Ethnicity: Asian
Undergraduate Institution: Private Research University
Major: Anthropology
Graduation year: 2026

Clinical experience: 220

• Volunteered at undergrad's hospital in various units (120)
• Friendly patient visitor and patient transport as a volunteer, started this past september (100) --> sent an update letter 2 weeks ago to schools to let them know.

Research experience: ~3000 hrs (2 abstracts in ISCT, 1 award for senior thesis poster, upcoming pub in current lab)

• 1800 hours - Research assistant in a BME lab where I helped to reprogram stem cells and test out automated processing methods; poster presented at university symposium and received an award
• 1200 hours - Research assistant in a T5 lab, studying genetic risks of recurrent UTIs; upcoming publication to be submitted to Nature Genetics (also included this in an update letter to schools)

Non-clinical volunteering: 350 hrs

• 35 hours (ongoing) - Crisis Text Line counselor
• 300 hours - Held leadership positions in schools' H4H chapter to help coordinate service trips and fundraisers, and assisted in local builds.

Shadowing: 120 hrs

• Split between Pediatrics, Urology, Ortho

Leadership: Trip coordinator, fundraising chair and event coordinator of the student org mentioned above
Honors/Awards:

• Dean's honors for 6/8 semesters
• Poster award for research

Other:
- COVID IA (was in the wrong dorm with friends and received a warning)

List of Med Schools:

1. New York Medical College, Valhalla

   Albany Medical College

   Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell

   SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine (Brooklyn)

   State University of New York Upstate Medical University (Syracuse)

   Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo

   NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine (Mineola)

   Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University (Hamden)

   University of Connecticut School of Medicine (Farmington)

   Robert Larner, M.D., College of Medicine at the University of Vermont (Burlington)

   Rutgers Robert Woods Johnson

   Rutgers NJMS

   Sidney Kimmel Thomas Jefferson

   Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (Philadelphia)

   Drexel University College of Medicine (Philadelphia)

   Nova Southeastern-Patel

   Wake Forest (Winston Salem)

   University of South Carolina College of Medicine (Greenville)

   VA Tech Carillion

   Northeast Ohio Medical University (Rootstown)

   Wright State (Dayton)

   The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences

   Central Michigan University College of Medicine (Saginaw)

   Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (East Lansing)

   Medical College of Wisconsin (Milwaukee)

   Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine

   Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science

Also recently applied to Methodist b/c they're new and figured I could shoot my shot there. I'm not sure why I've not gotten a single II at all despite it being December.

 

[Med Ed]

Your app is very unbalanced. Good metrics with heavy research. Service is lacking. Clinical is borderline depending on your circumstances.

For service, crisis text line is common but fairly weak. Your H4H works appears mostly administrative. Medicine is a humanistic, service-oriented profession. Schools want people who will roll up their sleeves and work directly with the underserved and less fortunate.

Your writing could be hackneyed and quite awful.

Your school list includes a number of places that are not very friendly to OOS applicants.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Previously,

K

Thread 'WAMC for MD 2025-26'

Sep 10, 2025

Hello! Seeking some advice if possible regarding my chances of getting an MD acceptance this cycle.
23F ORM from NY

1. cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS:
   1. 3.74 cGPA, 3.61 sGPA (had a rough last semester but no C's), humanities major
2. MCAT score(s) and breakdown. Include all (non-voided) attempts.
   1. 500 (127/124/123/126) ---> 514 (128/129/131/126)
3. State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US)
   1. NY
4. Ethnicity and/or race
   1. South Asian
5. Undergraduate institution or category
   1. T75
6. Clinical experience (volunteer and...

• kuplajsan
• Replies: 10
• Forum: What Are My Chances? WAMC Medical

I was hoping that you would be a bit more successful with MD schools over the past few months, as I don't think I can add more to what I had advised at that time. We don't have your actual application to know why MD schools are giving you the cold shoulder. I see you have H4H listed though the exact breakdown of hours would have helped a bit. I don't know why it wouldn't be enough for MD's vs. DO schools.

Why not Arizona State? They should be open for applications now, and you have an engineering background (or at least a project).

 

[kuplajsan]

Your app is very unbalanced. Good metrics with heavy research. Service is lacking. Clinical is borderline depending on your circumstances.

For service, crisis text line is common but fairly weak. Your H4H works appears mostly administrative. Medicine is a humanistic, service-oriented profession. Schools want people who will roll up their sleeves and work directly with the underserved and less fortunate.

Your writing could be hackneyed and quite awful.

Your school list includes a number of places that are not very friendly to OOS applicants.

can you specify on what you mean re: circumstances?
Regarding my crisis text line service it was smth I started during my gap years just to show I was continuing to do nonclinical service. Additionally, i did write about how i helped at builds and worked with the underserved thru my H4H work as well as what I learned from it (ex: tying it to social determinants of health).
I also went to college in OH hence why I did apply to some OH schools.
I do think my writing is a likely problem, but I also did receive IIs from DO schools so not sure why MD schools arent biting?

 

[kuplajsan]

Previously,

K

Thread 'WAMC for MD 2025-26'

Sep 10, 2025

Hello! Seeking some advice if possible regarding my chances of getting an MD acceptance this cycle.
23F ORM from NY

1. cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS:
   1. 3.74 cGPA, 3.61 sGPA (had a rough last semester but no C's), humanities major
2. MCAT score(s) and breakdown. Include all (non-voided) attempts.
   1. 500 (127/124/123/126) ---> 514 (128/129/131/126)
3. State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US)
   1. NY
4. Ethnicity and/or race
   1. South Asian
5. Undergraduate institution or category
   1. T75
6. Clinical experience (volunteer and...

• kuplajsan
• Replies: 10
• Forum: What Are My Chances? WAMC Medical

I was hoping that you would be a bit more successful with MD schools over the past few months, as I don't think I can add more to what I had advised at that time. We don't have your actual application to know why MD schools are giving you the cold shoulder. I see you have H4H listed though the exact breakdown of hours would have helped a bit. I don't know why it wouldn't be enough for MD's vs. DO schools.

Why not Arizona State? They should be open for applications now, and you have an engineering background (or at least a project).

I just sent them an update letter with the 100 clinical hours and that we would submit for publication in Jan 2026. Either way, I’m just super confused and distraught that not a single MD school has offered an II for my app, I’ve been rejected by Hofstra and NYULI (fair enough) and put on pre-II hold for SUNY Upstate, which is an instate school. I’m willing to send my app over to you so that you can take a look. For Arizona State, wouldn’t it be too late? and would they have any IS bias?

 

[Med Ed]

can you specify on what you mean re: circumstances?

If someone is applying from undergrad it’s unrealistic to expect hundreds or thousands of hours of direct patient interaction. People who take gap years and scribe or work as MA’s are a different story.

Regarding my crisis text line service it was smth I started during my gap years just to show I was continuing to do nonclinical service. Additionally, i did write about how i helped at builds and worked with the underserved thru my H4H work as well as what I learned from it (ex: tying it to social determinants of health).

That doesn’t change the fact that your service is a weak part of your application, and therefore limiting.

I also went to college in OH hence why I did apply to some OH schools.

That’s a tie, but it won’t fully mitigate IS bias. UConn, Rutgers, Central Michigan, Michigan State, South Carolina Greenville, MUSC, all tough sells.

I do think my writing is a likely problem, but I also did receive IIs from DO schools so not sure why MD schools arent biting?

Overall, the application process for DO schools is more forgiving. Your MCAT is quite attractive.