WAMC - Non-Trad CA ORM | 3.88 cGPA/3.84 sGPA/522+ on retake

[BumpSetSpike]

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Hi all,

I would love some feedback on my school list and realistic perspectives about my application. Good luck to all of y'all 😀

Stats/General Info

• ORM, Immigrant
• State: CA
• School: T40, Public
• Major: Biology related
• cGPA: 3.86
  • sGPA: 3.84
• MCAT: 513 (130/125/128/130) to 522+
• Research: 4300 Hours
  • 1600+ undergrad clinical research hours with one 2nd-author pub in a high-level journal, 1 presentation that I did myself, and 1 project was noted as a presentation in a journal
    • I was also part of the leadership team (I handled the training materials and curriculum for new interns) and a mentor to multiple interns
  • 2700 hours as a CRC at a well-known research institution
• Paid Clinical: 350 hours as a CRC at a well-known research institution (I plan on splitting the job into two entries in W&A since a majority of the time was research but the patient-facing tasks constitute the majority of my clinical experience)
• Unpaid Clinical: 30 hours at a volunteer clinic for uninsured patients
• Non-Clinical Volunteer: 160 hours
  • 80-90 hours organizing a career development conference for college students from an underserved demographic as a committee head
  • 10 hours helping with a fundraiser for a natural disaster
  • 4 hours organizing and participating in an event putting together care packages for veterans
  • 60 hours organizing and being a group leader in a career development conference for students from local underserved high schools
• Student Leadership: 140 hours as a board member of a professional student organization
• Paid Non-Clinical: 950 hours as a peer advisor (academic planning, pointing students to research/career opportunities, etc.)
  • I absolutely adored my time here, wrote about it in my PS, and listed it as one of my three most meaningful experiences!
  • LOR from here
• Shadowing: 50 hours, the vast majority of which was virtual (about 5 hours in-person)
• Hobby: Way too many hours in a sport (no D1, club, or anything like that) that has played a massive role in my life especially post-grad. If I have space I'll also include music composition.

Notes

• I am confident in my LORs; my STEM professor one is probably the weakest but I wouldn't say it is weak. I'd say they're at least a good 7.5/10 in how "glowing" they would portray me as on average
• I would say I'm a pretty good writer, so at the very least I would bet on my writing not hindering me at all
• I based my school list of of the WARS by calculating my stats, taking myself down 1 tier to account for how much more competitive it's gotten since that system was made, and using the schools each category to the best of my estimation. This means that the list might be top heavy. If you think so, please suggest a school you'd recommend I apply to and why!

School List

• Columbia
• Duke
• U Penn
• NYU
• Yale
• Stanford
• UCSF
• Einstein
• Vanderbilt
• Cornell
• Wash U
• JHU
• Northwestern
• Chicago
• Emory
• Pitt
• Mt. Sinai
• Case Western
• UCLA
• UCSD
• USF
• U Miami
• U Colorado
• Cincinatti
• Rochester
• Dartmouth
• UCI
• Kaiser Permanente
• USC
• U Virginia

Much love to all of y'all!

 

[Faha]

You are not ready to apply. Virtual shadowing has no value and you have only 5 hours when at least 40 are recommended. You also need 150+ hours of non clinical volunteering such as food bank, homeless shelter, etc. . Otherwise, you could be screened out at some schools. You also need 150+ hours of clinical volunteering with patient contact.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

MCAT: 513 (130/125/128/130) to 522+

Welcome to the forums. Please explain this MCAT. Does this mean you are projecting a 522?

 

[BumpSetSpike]

Welcome to the forums. Please explain this MCAT. Does this mean you are projecting a 522?

Thanks 😀 I have my score, it's above a 522. I didn't share the exact score because I have an unhealthy fear of being doxxed (especially as an r/premed transplant haha)

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thanks 😀 I have my score, it's above a 522. I didn't share the exact score because I have an unhealthy fear of being doxxed (especially as an r/premed transplant haha)

Good job. Again, most schools will average MCAT scores for screening, but obviously the 52x score will help you.

That said, I concur with my colleague. I need more details and clarity on how your hours show us you are prepared for medical school and that you are worthy of an interview at the schools on your list. Many of these schools will redact your metrics after they feel you have satisfied academic preparation concerns.

Virtual shadowing is going to hurt you. We haven't been in COVID lockdown for 4 years. I expect your science letters to be strong since you have a high GPA (no professor I know would write a "bad" letter, though there are ways we can tell your connection with faculty may not be so strong).

I ignore experiences with fewer than 50 hours unless it's shadowing. Peer mentoring and tutoring are academic activities where you are an expert; it does not satisfy service orientation, and since every premed has mentoring/tutoring/teaching, it gives you no value to stand out, especially with high-metrics pools.

You should go into career counseling and student affairs if your hours show you are passionate to help your peers find their careers. Why not this?