WAMC + Application Review 3.5/524 ORM

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[Mr.Smile12]

If your transcript supports your upward trend with rigorous biomedical coursework, you have a strong argument with a good mission fit. Keep working on your experience hours so you can be on par with the applicant pools at high-stats programs you want to attend. You don't need more shadowing hours (presuming your 120 hours are all in-person).

You can be more picky, but you have listed schools that are going to yield protect you unless you show a strong geographic or mission fit (looking at Wayne State, Tulane, USF, SLU, Rosalind Franklin, VCU). You don't have enough community service hours for many of the service-focused schools like Loyola and Rush.

If writing is an important facet you want to keep in your education, search "medical humanities" and writing among the schools on your list. Find schools that sharpen students' ability to write (narrative medicine).

Narrative Medicine: Every Patient Has a Story

Patient experiences go beyond the symptoms they bring to a doctor’s office. Drawing out these narratives can provide a helpful context for physicians.

www.aamc.org

https://reflectivemeded.org/2023/04/04/1490/

The empathetic power of narrative medicine - The DO

Patient narratives require an empathic investigation. Tony Errichetti, PhD, shares how physicians can learn to "read" their patients.

thedo.osteopathic.org

Columbia is most well-known but other schools have their own departments too. Iowa also has a very well-established program, though I'm not sure you want to go to Iowa (The Examined Life Conference – Exploring the intersections between medicine and the arts).

 

[Faha]

I suggest these schools from your list:
Columbia
Duke
UMich
Pitt
Mount Sinai
Emory
Case Western
BU
URochester
Brown
U of Cincinnati
Einstein
UMiami
Dartmouth
USF-Morsani
Tufts
GWU
Sidney Kimmel
Hofstra
Temple
Saint Louis University
NYULI
NYMC
Tulane
plus my four in-state schools RWJ, NJMS, Cooper and Hackensack.
You could add any of these schools:
Western Michigan
Kaiser
Northwestern
Washington University (in St. Louis-they like high MCAT scores)

 

[albuterolhfa]

If your transcript supports your upward trend with rigorous biomedical coursework, you have a strong argument with a good mission fit. Keep working on your experience hours so you can be on par with the applicant pools at high-stats programs you want to attend. You don't need more shadowing hours (presuming your 120 hours are all in-person).

You can be more picky, but you have listed schools that are going to yield protect you unless you show a strong geographic or mission fit (looking at Wayne State, Tulane, USF, SLU, Rosalind Franklin, VCU). You don't have enough community service hours for many of the service-focused schools like Loyola and Rush.

If writing is an important facet you want to keep in your education, search "medical humanities" and writing among the schools on your list. Find schools that sharpen students' ability to write (narrative medicine).

Narrative Medicine: Every Patient Has a Story

Patient experiences go beyond the symptoms they bring to a doctor’s office. Drawing out these narratives can provide a helpful context for physicians.

www.aamc.org

https://reflectivemeded.org/2023/04/04/1490/

The empathetic power of narrative medicine - The DO

Patient narratives require an empathic investigation. Tony Errichetti, PhD, shares how physicians can learn to "read" their patients.

thedo.osteopathic.org

Columbia is most well-known but other schools have their own departments too. Iowa also has a very well-established program, though I'm not sure you want to go to Iowa (The Examined Life Conference – Exploring the intersections between medicine and the arts).

I'd say I had a decently rigorous courseload during my last 2 years - I was basically only taking upper division biology courses to finish up my major, plus physics and a few electives here and there. I struggled with chemistry throughout undergrad (pretty much all B's), but I retook Gen Chem last fall at a 4-year institution and got an A, so hopefully that shows that I can perform better than the rest of my transcript shows with my current study habits and mindset.

I knew Rush had a service focus but didn't know Loyola was the same, so I'll be taking that off for sure. Are there any schools you'd recommend I replace Wayne State, Tulane, VCU, etc with?

I honestly had no idea narrative medicine was a thing, so thank you for pointing that out to me! I'll definitely do more research into it myself, it sounds like something that I would actually really enjoy. I'm pretty sure Iowa also runs Iowa Writers' Workshop, so that's not surprising to hear. Don't know if I'd prefer to go there, but I'll look into the program more for sure and add it to my list! Thank you so much for your detailed response, it's definitely given me a lot to think about!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I knew Rush had a service focus but didn't know Loyola was the same, so I'll be taking that off for sure. Are there any schools you'd recommend I replace Wayne State, Tulane, VCU, etc with?

I think my main point is find your niche and your fit. Better to have a smaller list of schools where you can see yourself excel than spread yourself too thin with a shotgun approach. You said you wanted to narrow your list to a max of 40. 🙂

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

my grades each year of undergrad were 3.1/3.4/3.7/3.9 (cGPA).

That's a solid upward trend - you didn't do great as a freshman but every year you were a better and better student. And the MCAT seals it. Congrats. Your GPA might keep you out of top 20 schools but then again it might not; you're a midtier level applicant who should apply to at least a half dozen top 20s. Someone's got to be in the bottom 10 percent.