WAMC CA ORM 3.84, 515, no research

[H775]

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Hi folks! I'm looking for feedback on my app and school list, planning on applying this cycle.

Californian ORM (Asian)
3.84 cGPA (3.82 sGPA)
515 (126/129/129/131)
900+ Clinical hours (500+ hospital volunteering, over half in the ED, about 400 as an EMT)
No research. I feel like MSAR paints a pretty grim picture about that.
40 hours of shadowing (32 hours neuropathology, 8 hours nephrology)
~150 Non-clinical Hours: (about 96 hours Meals on Wheels, 36 hours volunteering on an endangered bird species conservation project, and about 20 hours on a conservation project and trail patrol at a forest reserve)
600+ hours as a chemistry tutor

I've tried to curate my school list based on my stats, percent OOS accepted, and those with lower percentages of matriculants with research (which is still around 90%). I'm looking for things I should know about these schools, or whether to add or drop certain schoools. Here are the schools I'm considering applying to:

MD:
UNC (I know it's not feasible given both my stats, ECs and only 14% OOS, but my partner is in the area so it would be nice)
Wake Forest
UCSD (I'm from SD, but that research sits at 95%)
UCR (I'm concerned about not being from the IE, don't know if it's worth applying anyways)
UCD (I've heard they have some regional bias but not as severe as UCR?)
Virginia Commonwealth
California University of Science and Medicine
University of Vermont
Albany
Western Michigan Stryker
Jefferson
Drexel
Temple
Rosalind Franklin
Quinnipiac
Medical College of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin (26% oos)
University of Arizona
Wayne State
Geisinger Commonwealth (32% oos)
Tulane

These are the MD schools I'm considering applying to which have over 95% of matriculants with research, though I'm close or surpass the median OOS (or IS, for the CA schools) gpa/mcat for:
UCI (96% )
UCLA (98%)
USC Keck (96%)
Kaiser (97%)
Oakland Beaumont (98%)
NYMC (96%)
Pennsylvania State (97%)

DO:
Campbell University (CUSOM)
Touro University California (TUCOM)
Edward Via Virginia (VCOM Virginia)
Western University (WesternU)
West Virginia (WVSOM)
Michigan State (MSUCOM)
Philadelphia (PCOM)

I feel like there's a lot of schools on this list (35), so I feel like I should trim it down somewhat, but am otherwise not sure.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Faha]

Some schools screen at 150 hours of non clinical volunteering and you have 96 hours in activities schools are looking for. I suggest these schools with your stats:
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Albany
New York Medical College
Hackensack
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Geisinger
George Washington
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
Wake Forest
Methodist (when it opens)
NOVA MD
USF Morsani
Belmont
TCU
Alice Walton
Roseman
Ponce (St. Louis)
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Western Michigan
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Arizona (Phoenix)
California University
Kaiser
Loma Linda (if you fit their mission)
The UCs (except Riverside unless you are from that region)
For DO schools I suggest these:
WESTERN
TUCOM-CA
AZCOM
KCU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
DMU-COM
CUSOM
NYITCOM
PCOM
Touro-NY

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

Let's set aside the MSAR's grim picture about research. Why don't you have a research experience? Have you met with a prehealth advisor, or have you been involved with your peers in prehealth or major-focused clubs/activities? Every university I know pushes research for all students, so why did you avoid taking steps to do research? Your analysis reflects naivety about the process.

I would really like more descriptions of what you did. I also want to know why you wouldn't be interested in other health professional fields: perhaps as a physician assistant or similar? I don't know if you have had exposure to primary care outside of being in the emergency room.

What does your partner do in North Carolina? If it's serious, move and establish residency in the area. Get involved in service orientation activities: food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, legal support, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation) for at least 150 hours before applying.

 

[H775]

Welcome to the forums.

Let's set aside the MSAR's grim picture about research. Why don't you have a research experience? Have you met with a prehealth advisor, or have you been involved with your peers in prehealth or major-focused clubs/activities? Every university I know pushes research for all students, so why did you avoid taking steps to do research? Your analysis reflects naivety about the process.

I would really like more descriptions of what you did. I also want to know why you wouldn't be interested in other health professional fields: perhaps as a physician assistant or similar? I don't know if you have had exposure to primary care outside of being in the emergency room.

What does your partner do in North Carolina? If it's serious, move and establish residency in the area. Get involved in service orientation activities: food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, legal support, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation) for at least 150 hours before applying.

Thanks for your response!

I graduated a couple years ago. I went to a smaller local state school that I don't recall pushing research that hard, if at all. When I was in school, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do. I was lined up for a position in a lab on campus, but covid hit right around when I was going to start and nothing materialized after that until I graduated. Towards the end, I was exploring options and that's why I ended up pursuing a volunteer opportunity at a hospital near me to gain a bit of exposure.

My hospital volunteering aside from restocking rooms also allows us to help with basic care like taking vitals, feeding, and cleaning patients. That program allows us to rotate throughout different departments, so I've volunteered on a number of different floors including the ICU, PACU and medsurg besides the ED. Volunteering at the hospital has given me exposure to nurses, NPs, PAs and some doctors, and it's nurses that I'm most frequently helping out when volunteering at the hospital. After I graduated I went to EMT school following a couple medical incidents in my life in which I felt I wasn't able to do much about, then began working as an EMT to gain more experience in the medical field. Around that time I explored the PA and paramedic routes, but some of my experiences during EMT work and shadowing inspired me to pursue higher level capability and training so that I could expand my scope and provide a greater impact. From what I've seen, I know one of the things I'm interested in is working with patients to prevent or mitigate preventable chronic conditions. The bulk of my experiences working and volunteering I'd say are with poorer, elderly folks which is part of why I looked for a program like Meals on Wheels (food distribution) to volunteer at.

Hopefully that answers some of your questions, thanks in advance.