WAMC - Need Help with School List and Feedback (3.80cGPA 518 MCAT)

[WhatsUpDoc824]

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[Faha]

Your complete lack of clinical volunteering/employment will limit your chances for interviews at top tier schools and schools that value clinical exposure. I suggest these schools:
Boston University
Tufts
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Albany
New York Medical College
Rochester
Hofstra
Einstein
Seton Hall
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
George Washington
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
Wake Forest
NOVA MD
USF Morsani
Miami
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
Central Florida
TCU-UNT
Medical College Wisconsin
Western Michigan
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
U Michigan
Cincinnati
Case Western
Ohio State
Kaiser
California University
Loma Linda
UC Davis
UC Irvine
USC Keck
UCSD

 

[WhatsUpDoc824]

Your complete lack of clinical volunteering/employment will limit your chances for interviews at top tier schools and schools that value clinical exposure. I suggest these schools:
Boston University
Tufts
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Albany
New York Medical College
Rochester
Hofstra
Einstein
Seton Hall
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
George Washington
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
Wake Forest
NOVA MD
USF Morsani
Miami
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
Central Florida
TCU-UNT
Medical College Wisconsin
Western Michigan
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
U Michigan
Cincinnati
Case Western
Ohio State
Kaiser
California University
Loma Linda
UC Davis
UC Irvine
USC Keck
UCSD

Thank you!!! I appreciate the feedback. Does the fact that I'm starting a clinical job (scribing) and doing research with the same team put me on the track to possibly get an interview at schools like UCLA, UCSF?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you!!! I appreciate the feedback. Does the fact that I'm starting a clinical job (scribing) and doing research with the same team put me on the track to possibly get an interview at schools like UCLA, UCSF?

Too early to say, but I am not that confident. You'll be in a pool with people who have more than the expected clinical experience hours that you don't have. If you had already had those hours in the book by the time you applied (and have a letter?), I'd be a bit more confident.

That said, I'm also not that impressed with the non-clinical volunteering as you have described. There's no activity where I can see you truly immersed yourself in the challenges facing vulnerable populations, especially those whose background is not the same as yours. You had more hours as a chemistry tutor than you did in your non-clinical volunteering activity.

 

[Faha]

Thank you!!! I appreciate the feedback. Does the fact that I'm starting a clinical job (scribing) and doing research with the same team put me on the track to possibly get an interview at schools like UCLA, UCSF?

Applicants they interview at those schools often have hundreds of hours of clinical volunteering/employment and hundreds of hours of non clinical volunteering AND high stats.

 

[WhatsUpDoc824]

Too early to say, but I am not that confident. You'll be in a pool with people who have more than the expected clinical experience hours that you don't have. If you had already had those hours in the book by the time you applied (and have a letter?), I'd be a bit more confident.

That said, I'm also not that impressed with the non-clinical volunteering as you have described. There's no activity where I can see you truly immersed yourself in the challenges facing vulnerable populations, especially those whose background is not the same as yours. You had more hours as a chemistry tutor than you did in your non-clinical volunteering activity.

Thanks for the input. I didn't mention it in my post (my mistake) but much of the Medical Humanities certificate had to do with underserved populations and social medicine. I even took a seminar course titled "underserved medicine". The tutoring I often did was for students are were going through some tough times whether it was financially, socially, or family issues. I mentioned a story about it in my personal statement.

However, I am aware that these schools are still reaches and I'm being pretty optimistic. Hard to compete with those who can rack up all the hours in their gap years. Do you agree with the list that Faha made?

Thank you for taking the time to reply 🙂

 

[WhatsUpDoc824]

Applicants they interview at those schools often have hundreds of hours of clinical volunteering/employment and hundreds of hours of non-clinical volunteering AND high stats.

Good point. Thank you for replying. I was generally under the assumption that shadow experience (especially in the wake of COVID-19) can mask some of the clinical volunteering/employment, but I definitely see how the latter is weighed stronger.

I appreciate the feedback. If you have any more advice please let me know 🙂

 

[paimei42]

No point in applying to UW as an OOS

 

[WhatsUpDoc824]

@Mr.Smile12 sorry to spam your tag, however, I'd like to ask an AMCAS question. Is it okay for me to include my future scribing and clinical research in the work & activities section if I have the position locked-down already? I will be starting either later this month or early July. If so, do you have any suggestions on how I should write about it? I hear many stories of people doing this, but I also hear people say you shouldn't. Please let me know.

Thank you 🙂

 

[squids82]

@Mr.Smile12 sorry to spam your tag, however, I'd like to ask an AMCAS question. Is it okay for me to include my future scribing and clinical research in the work & activities section if I have the position locked-down already? I will be starting either later this month or early July. If so, do you have any suggestions on how I should write about it? I hear many stories of people doing this, but I also hear people say you shouldn't. Please let me know.

Thank you 🙂

I would look/post this in the W/A thread as I believe there are questions similar to this one, but asking there would also give a better idea for your situation

 

[WhatsUpDoc824]

I would look/post this in the W/A thread as I believe there are questions similar to this one, but asking there would also give a better idea for your situation

Thank you for letting me know

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

I can't recommend applying with no clinical experience whatsoever. That is a big handicap. If you're lucky and send updates you might be accepted by a midtier school but you might well be shut out with a flaw like that. You have to at least check the box; I'd recommend a gap year to get that experience. With it, plus maybe some more nonclinical volunteering, you could be competitive for top 20s.

 

[WhatsUpDoc824]

I can't recommend applying with no clinical experience whatsoever. That is a big handicap. If you're lucky and send updates you might be accepted by a midtier school but you might well be shut out with a flaw like that. You have to at least check the box; I'd recommend a gap year to get that experience. With it, plus maybe some more nonclinical volunteering, you could be competitive for top 20s.

Thank you for the input. I was always under the impression that shadowing is enough, just so you see the clinical side. What I'm learning is that it's not enough. I'm going to include the scribing job in my w/a section just so they'd see I'm at least doing it.

 

[SarahC42]

Thank you for the input. I was always under the impression that shadowing is enough, just so you see the clinical side. What I'm learning is that it's not enough. I'm going to include the scribing job in my w/a section just so they'd see I'm at least doing it.

If your job begins in July, you can't put it on your primary app. I believe the W/A only allows you to fill in activities you already started before submitting.
You could put this in secondaries though

 

[WhatsUpDoc824]

If your job begins in July, you can't put it on your primary app. I believe the W/A only allows you to fill in activities you already started before submitting.
You could put this in secondaries though

I included it for June as I will be starting near the end of this month.

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

Still, just shadowing is not enough. You need to at least have the boxes checked. You do not, now. This will be a significant handicap. With your GPA and MCAT you would have a puncher's chance at top schools and be a solid mid-tier candidate...if only you had 200 hours of clinical volunteering or work. As you are now, top schools are off the table and mid-tiers are going to be very much an uphill battle.

You are shooting yourself in the foot here unless you have some kind of unusual circumstance where you absolutely have to apply this cycle. In that case, I'd recommend adding a few DO schools to the list.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Documentable hours count more than intended hours. Be mindful of that in timing your submission.

 

[WhatsUpDoc824]

@Mr.Smile12 @BlackMathMajor I'd rather not wait another year to apply and be 2 years removed from undergraduate when I actually start medical school. I understand I haven't had clinical experience (although I did volunteer at hospitals in my senior year of high school), but maybe my shadowing can hold me up, and then I can talk about my clinical experiences in secondaries and interviews? What can I do to better my chances this cycle?

 

[CorgiLoaf]

@Mr.Smile12 @BlackMathMajor I'd rather not wait another year to apply and be 2 years removed from undergraduate when I actually start medical school. I understand I haven't had clinical experience (although I did volunteer at hospitals in my senior year of high school), but maybe my shadowing can hold me up, and then I can talk about my clinical experiences in secondaries and interviews? What can I do to better my chances this cycle?

Another issue is how will you address "why medicine" in your personal statement without anecdotes from clinical experiences. With 800 research hours and 0 clinical, you look like a PhD applicant. At this point, there really is no way to increase your chances this cycle.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

@Mr.Smile12 @BlackMathMajor I'd rather not wait another year to apply and be 2 years removed from undergraduate when I actually start medical school. I understand I haven't had clinical experience (although I did volunteer at hospitals in my senior year of high school), but maybe my shadowing can hold me up, and then I can talk about my clinical experiences in secondaries and interviews? What can I do to better my chances this cycle?

Network with students and admissions recruiters about your application chances.

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[WhatsUpDoc824]

Another issue is how will you address "why medicine" in your personal statement without anecdotes from clinical experiences. With 800 research hours and 0 clinical, you look like a PhD applicant. At this point, there really is no way to increase your chances this cycle.

My feedback so far is that my personal statement does a pretty good job at doing that. I still have 100 hours shadowing, I was able to talk about clinical experiences in my personal statement and I made it a most meaningul experience. I'm banking on update letters and secondaries to showcase what I learned scribing.

 

[WhatsUpDoc824]

@Mr.Smile12 I took your advice and spoke to many other current med-students and ex adcom members. Some say I should withdraw and apply next cycle and most say I won't get into any top tiers, but I should go with it and just broaden my school list to include many mid-tiers. With as much as I tried to stress my clinical experience (spoke about it in my personal statement and made it a most meaningful experience) do I have a good chance at landing a mid tier, or the schools on Faha's list above? Please let me know. I'm having a very tough time deciding what to do. If I keep it, I will be working with an ex-adcom member on my secondaries and interviews to make sure I do everything right.