WAMC/Help with school list and EC improvement?

[Astridbelt4108]

Hi everyone! Just wanted some feedback on what everyone thought about my app so far and if there are any things I should try to focus on more and overall school list recs. Theme-wise, I think a theme in my app is an interest in mental health + spreading education but also that might just be me overthinking since I've been trying to figure out a way for my app to have a theme. Would love any feedback for my ECs like if I should do more in something and also what schools I should apply for! Thank you!

cGPA: 3.97
sGPA: 4.0
MCAT: 520

State of residence: Missouri but undergrad in Maryland
Race: ORM asian female
Undergrad institution: T10

Clinical Experience/Volunteering:
- Hospice Volunteer (150 hrs)
- Hospital Volunteer (200 hrs)

Research + Productivity:
- Psych lab focus on racial disparities and youth-police - 1000ish hrs, 1 2nd author pub, 1 1st author pub
- BME lab on neuroish spinal stuff - 300ish hrs, 1 mid author pub
- Gastric cancer lab basic science - 500ish hrs, 1 mid author pub in good journal

- Other random research things - 4 mid author pubs (1 neurosurgery, 2 gastroenterology, 1 genetic), 1 abstract pub (genetics), 3 poster presentations at undergrad symposium (1 first author poster presentation + presented, 2 mid-author, did not present, should I even mention this?)

*my research is lowkey all over the place & also not sure if I want to put all my labs down so would love feedback on that, also should I mention the poster presentations?

Shadowing:
100ish hrs (gastroenterology, anesthesia, ortho, psychiatry, radiology, dermatology, neurosurgery, genetics)

Non-clinical Volunteering:
- Crisis Text Line (200 hrs) - text counselor for helping individuals in crisis and helping mental health
- Editor in Chief of international journal (1000ish hrs) - basically provide neuroscience curriculum to students across the world and teach them about writing for academic journals
- Create Circles (150 hrs) - meet with elderly who are lonely + isolated and spend time with them to reduce mental health strain
- Jail volunteering (150 hrs) - volunteer to go to teach jail inmates to help them get their GED

Other leadership experience/hobbies:
- TA for psych, chem, bio (200ish hrs total)
- TEDx - leadership position, giving people a voice to talk about the lessons they learned and sharing with others (100 hrs)
- global leadership conference leadership position - (100 hrs) teach high schoolers about global health and medicine through setting up global health conference + writing for our review

Awards:
- University merit scholarship
- Dean's List all semesters
- Undergrad research grant
- Undergrad scholarship for research
- Totally random but got an Honorable Mention in NYT Student profile writing contest and award from Penguin Random House summer of freshman year for writing?

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[BoctorBro]

I don't think you'll have any trouble getting into any school you want lmao

 

[chilly_md]

You can leave off undergrad research symposium posters. List all 3 labs though since you seem to have published in all 3.
You should receive multiple interviews if you apply to the following:

Johns Hopkins
Maryland
WUSTL
Saint Louis
Missouri Columbia
UMKC
Michigan
Harvard
Boston
Tufts
Yale
Dartmouth
Iowa
Mayo
UVA
Hofstra
Rochester
Einstein
Columbia
Cornell
NYU
Sinai
Penn
Jefferson
Pitt
Duke
Vanderbilt
Miami
Baylor and UTSW (you would have to fill out TMDSAS though)

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Theme-wise, I think a theme in my app is an interest in mental health + spreading education

You have a very strong application profile, so let's focus on the theme because it's too broad. You have a great general exposure to communities that are especially hard-hit with mental health challenges (incarcerated, elderly, youth/crisis line).

As a future physician, teaching will be part of your professional duties and competencies, so how are you spreading education? An alternative course is going to social work, teaching, or -- in the case of your interest in mental health -- going into clinical psychology.

Not all of your patients want to be your students, and you probably know that it is especially challenging since we know so little on mental health.

Which schools on your wishlist have activities similar to the ones that you document? How many programs give you a chance to work with incarcerated individuals' mental health needs? Are there programs running similar community-building opportunities with other geriatric patients or in hospice? There is also concern about health professional burnout and mental health, so what schools on your list do you think do a great job addressing and managing this issue, in your experience? Are there specific medical school faculty doing things you want to be doing when you get to be in their position in 20 years, and can you be mentored by them?

There's a list, but you still have a little more work to do to show your fit with a program... not because you won't get interviewed, but because you need to not find yourself overwhelmed with so many opportunities but no clear path to do what you want to do.

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

Yeah, seconding Mr. Smile. You are a solid applicant at top-20 schools and well above average anywhere else.

 

[MaryAccepted]

Hi everyone! Just wanted some feedback on what everyone thought about my app so far and if there are any things I should try to focus on more and overall school list recs. Theme-wise, I think a theme in my app is an interest in mental health + spreading education but also that might just be me overthinking since I've been trying to figure out a way for my app to have a theme. Would love any feedback for my ECs like if I should do more in something and also what schools I should apply for! Thank you!

cGPA: 3.97
sGPA: 4.0
MCAT: 520

State of residence: Missouri but undergrad in Maryland
Race: ORM asian female
Undergrad institution: T10

Clinical Experience/Volunteering:
- Hospice Volunteer (150 hrs)
- Hospital Volunteer (200 hrs)

Research + Productivity:
- Psych lab focus on racial disparities and youth-police - 1000ish hrs, 1 2nd author pub, 1 1st author pub
- BME lab on neuroish spinal stuff - 300ish hrs, 1 mid author pub
- Gastric cancer lab basic science - 500ish hrs, 1 mid author pub in good journal

- Other random research things - 4 mid author pubs (1 neurosurgery, 2 gastroenterology, 1 genetic), 1 abstract pub (genetics), 3 poster presentations at undergrad symposium (1 first author poster presentation + presented, 2 mid-author, did not present, should I even mention this?)

*my research is lowkey all over the place & also not sure if I want to put all my labs down so would love feedback on that, also should I mention the poster presentations?

Shadowing:
100ish hrs (gastroenterology, anesthesia, ortho, psychiatry, radiology, dermatology, neurosurgery, genetics)

Non-clinical Volunteering:
- Crisis Text Line (200 hrs) - text counselor for helping individuals in crisis and helping mental health
- Editor in Chief of international journal (1000ish hrs) - basically provide neuroscience curriculum to students across the world and teach them about writing for academic journals
- Create Circles (150 hrs) - meet with elderly who are lonely + isolated and spend time with them to reduce mental health strain
- Jail volunteering (150 hrs) - volunteer to go to teach jail inmates to help them get their GED

Other leadership experience/hobbies:
- TA for psych, chem, bio (200ish hrs total)
- TEDx - leadership position, giving people a voice to talk about the lessons they learned and sharing with others (100 hrs)
- global leadership conference leadership position - (100 hrs) teach high schoolers about global health and medicine through setting up global health conference + writing for our review

Awards:
- University merit scholarship
- Dean's List all semesters
- Undergrad research grant
- Undergrad scholarship for research
- Totally random but got an Honorable Mention in NYT Student profile writing contest and award from Penguin Random House summer of freshman year for writing?

You have really strong experiences that range beyond "achievements." Your story, personal statement, MMEs, secondaries, need to stay grounded in your growth rather than more achievement. I am very interested in your choices for non-clinical volunteering and the TEDx leadership - is there a narrative/story that reveals how these choices helped elucidate becoming a physician? Are there connections?