WAMC- AR Resident/3.85 cGPA/3.91 sGPA/520 MCAT

[MedHopeful485]

1. cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMAS- 3.85 and 3.91 respectively
2. MCAT score(s) and breakdown- 520 (131, 129, 130, 130)
3. State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US)- AR
4. Ethnicity and/or race- Asian ORM
5. Undergraduate institution or category- Lower prestige state school
6. Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)- 3000 hours working as an MA (started working summer after freshman year, still continued), also volunteered for ~200 hours at my local hospital during freshman year where I stocked supplies, fed patients, and basically did what a CNA certification allows without actually working as one.
7. Research experience and productivity- ~500 hours at university, 1 poster presentation, 1 abstract, 1 2nd author pub, 1 mid author pub, and currently working on a 1st author pub that should be done by the time I apply. Research was done primarily in behavioral science.
8. Shadowing experience and specialties represented- ~110 total hours of shadowing between family medicine, radiology, anesthesiology, neurology, and neurosurgery. Majority of the hours are between neurology and neurosurgery.
9. Non-clinical volunteering- ~550 hours volunteering at food pantry that I started at my mosque, 100 hours coaching youth recreational soccer, 50 hours of spread out community service such as picking up trash at the city center, and 20 hours volunteering at a kitchen cooking food for refugees
10. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)-

-TA for organic chem (150 hours at the moment),
-Vice president of the the Muslim Student Association at my university where I take charge in setting up events at my mosque to teach youth about various topics in Islam, as well as collaborating with other groups such as Interfaith to set up events where other religions may learn about Islam, and vice versa. (400 hours)
-Black belt in taekwondo, which I've been participating in since I was 7, and still continue to do. (not sure if this has any meaning, but added just in case)

1. Relevant honors or awards- Just basic awards such as deans list, not sure if this is worth mentioning
2. Anything else not listed you think might be important

-I am a traditional applicant (fresh out of undergrad)
-Concerned mostly about my application appearing very check list like, as in I simply feel there isn't much cohesion between activities. I tried to put some focus on my interest in neuroscience and psychology as that is my major and greatest passion, but I don't feel my activities show that as much I'd like. I'm also unsure of what my narrative should be. My most plausible one I feel is one talking about my own experience with the death of loved ones during the pandemic, and how that turned my interest in science into an interest for medicine, but that seems very basic and cliche, so I'm hesitant about it.
-I also simply feel my application doesn't have any special aspect to it, as touched on above. It makes me feel I could've done more seeing other applicants here having their own startups, multiple 1st author pubs, etc- I simply feel like a jack of all trades yet master of none.

School list:
University of Arkansas For Medical Sciences
Virginia Commonwealth (interested in 3 yr md)
Penn State (3 yr md)
Case Western Reserve
Northwestern
Cornell
Vanderbilt
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Mayo Clinic
UChicago Pritzker
Ohio State
Medical College of Wisconsin
University of Colorado SOM
Hofstra
Yale
NYU
Duke
Umich
Rochester
Rush
Boston University

(Not feeling particularly confident about any T20s for the aforementioned concerns, but still going shoot my shot at some. Very open other schools as my list is probably quite top heavy.)

-Not too keen on a gap year, but I'm open to being convinced otherwise in the comments

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[Psyched*Out]

How did you go about setting up shadowing with all those specialties? Cold emailing or any prior connections?

 

[Faha]

You should receive several interviews from your list. Add Washington University (in St. Louis-almost a guaranteed interview with your stats).

 

[MedHopeful485]

How did you go about setting up shadowing with all those specialties? Cold emailing or any prior connections?

I was part of a program during high school that jumpstarted the process of building connections for shadowing and volunteering, and the program coordinator has been able to set me up with a specialty of my choice every summer even after graduating HS. Just a bit of a lucky circumstance for me.

 

[MedHopeful485]

You should receive several interviews from your list. Add Washington University (in St. Louis-almost a guaranteed interview with your stats).

Thank you for the response, I will add WashU to my list. Aside from adding WashU, do you notice any deficiency in my application or school list, such as anything else to start doing in the time I have till I apply?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I agree you have a good shot at interviews, so you need to focus on mission fit and student support. Since a lot of your volunteering hours came with involvement with your mosque, check for chapters of the AMMSA, and find those schools with active chapters. There may be other organizations not affiliated with AMMSA at other schools, but it is a good starting point to cross reference your lists, if this is important.

 

[MedHopeful485]

I agree you have a good shot at interviews, so you need to focus on mission fit and student support. Since a lot of your volunteering hours came with involvement with your mosque, check for chapters of the AMMSA, and find those schools with active chapters. There may be other organizations not affiliated with AMMSA at other schools, but it is a good starting point to cross reference your lists, if this is important.

I did some searching, and the majority of the schools on my list do have active AMMSA chapters, which is certainly great, but I am curious about whether it would be worth applying to some Texas schools, regardless of the low OOS yield? Mainly referring to Baylor and UTSW. Texas schools allow me to be relatively close to home comparative to the coastal schools, and while proximity to home isn't a dealbreaker, and I'd be happy to attend any of the schools on my list, it would definitely be a bonus.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I did some searching, and the majority of the schools on my list do have active AMMSA chapters, which is certainly great, but I am curious about whether it would be worth applying to some Texas schools, regardless of the low OOS yield? Mainly referring to Baylor and UTSW. Texas schools allow me to be relatively close to home comparative to the coastal schools, and while proximity to home isn't a dealbreaker, and I'd be happy to attend any of the schools on my list, it would definitely be a bonus.

Did you grow up in Texas? I suppose it's worth checking out but you would need to educate yourself on TMDSAS, I think.

 

[MedHopeful485]

Did you grow up in Texas? I suppose it's worth checking out but you would need to educate yourself on TMDSAS, I think.

No, I did not grow up in Texas. I do visit twice a year and have family there, but I've never held residency in the area. Perhaps my chances would be quite slim and not worth applying. On a side note however, do you think it would be worth applying to T5s such as Harvard, Penn, or JHU, or is that too much of a reach?

 

[chilly_md]

No, I did not grow up in Texas. I do visit twice a year and have family there, but I've never held residency in the area. Perhaps my chances would be quite slim and not worth applying. On a side note however, do you think it would be worth applying to T5s such as Harvard, Penn, or JHU, or is that too much of a reach?

You can send some applications to schools such as Harvard and Penn as well as Baylor and UTSW. The latter two are on TMDAS, so that is a separate application service. They do use their OOS spots on students with high stats and research like you.

 

[MedHopeful485]

You can send some applications to schools such as Harvard and Penn as well as Baylor and UTSW. The latter two are on TMDAS, so that is a separate application service. They do use their OOS spots on students with high stats and research like you.

Oh, that's good to know. Appreciate the response!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I'll agree that a balanced school list should be your goal, but you should be able to check out the schools you think are reaches before you apply.

Hope you read the article on Accelerated Pathways: Three-Year Medical School? All About Accelerated Medical School Programs - SDN . But being a traditional junior, I want you to think carefully about not rushing through school so quickly.