WAMC NONTRAD with 510/3.3 sGPA in CA, ORM/strong upward trend, Need Help with School List

[SubiGubi]

1. cGPA and sGPA: AMCAS
Undergrad Degree in Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience:
cGPA (3.075) sGPA ( 2.76 BCP and 3.03 SCI)
Formal PostBacc: cGPA (3.98) sGPA (3.98)

Overall AMCAS: cGPA(3.3) sGPA (3.3)
Overall AACOMAS: sGPA (3.4)

2. MCAT score(s) and breakdown
[Scheduled May 16]
Practice Scores (NonAAMC) Avg: 508


3. State of residence: CA (immigrated to US and was raised in Lakeport- small town in Northern California)

4. Ethnicity and/or race: Indian

5. Undergraduate institution or category: UC San Diego

6. Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)
[2023] 900 hours as a paid MA at Dermatology Clinic
[2021-2022] 640 hours as a Caregiver

7. Research experience and productivity
[2018-2021] 1000 hours Research Assistant, Salk Institute of Biological Studies (Published)

8. Shadowing experience and specialties represented

• (Started doing HEAL - Online shadowing should have 10 Hrs by App date)

9. Non-clinical volunteering
[2018-2021]

• (500 Hours) Tutoring kids (K-6)
• (400 Hours) Working with local kids with autism
• (50 Hours) Noah Homes Volunteering (Alzhemiers and Dementia Care Home)
• (400 Hours)Fundraising for the Ability Experience

10. Leadership

• [2018-2021] Founded Fraternity (Philanthropy Chairman)
• [2018-2021]Vice President of Circle K (Community Service Org)

10. Relevant honors or awards

• Provost Honors (Spring 2021)
• ( Expected to Receive Certificate of Completion from Formal Post-Bacc [2023] )

11. Anything else not listed you think might be important

I have strong LORs from MD, Research, Science Faculty at Post-Bacc and a Committee Letter. I am fairly confident in my Personal Statement. I Plan to apply both DO and MD but feel as if the GPA really isn’t going to cut it. Would love advice tailoring a school list so that I can take some pressure off while I gear up for the last bit of MCAT prep. Open to adding more schools, taking many off etc.. Thank you in advance, this is so nerve wracking.

School List:

Boston University
Loyola
Rush
Western Michigan
Drexel
Albany
MUCOM
CUSOM
Nova
Belmont
Tufts
Kaiser
California University
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UCSF
UCLA
UCSD
USC Keck
Washington State
Temple
Central Michigan
Anne Burnett
Morehouse
Touro
Meharry
Howard
Tulane
LSU
Rush
Charles Drew
Emory
Jacobs
Mercer

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[candbgirl]

Without a real MCAT score people can’t really help you. Come back to this thread when you get your score and people will help. I’m not sure why you predict a 515 when you haven’t come close to that on FL tests. The key is be realistic.
Good luck on your test.

 

[SubiGubi]

Without a real MCAT score people can’t really help you. Come back to this thread when you get your score and people will help. I’m not sure why you predict a 515 when you haven’t come close to that on FL tests. The key is be realistic.
Good luck on your test.

Oh sorry. I had read it as aim and not predict so I guess I was inadvertently being a little delusional. I honestly just wanted to use the thread as a base to work on my app in the background while studying, so I figured a practice score wouldn't be the worst thing to put. Thank you for wishing me luck though!

 

[Faha]

Online shadowing has minimal value. You should accumulate 50 hours of in person physician shadowing before you submit your application.
Charles Drew, Howard, Meharry and Morehouse mainly admit applicants from the African American community. Mercer does not admit non residents and Washington state only ~5 per year. Post your actual MCAT score here when available.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

You'll be able to aim for mission fit with feedback from your postbac directors/faculty. What feedback have you received from them?

Questions that come from your activities: is there a reason why you aren't interested in rehabilitation-oriented careers? Clearly you have an interest in the autism spectrum and neurodegenerative disorder patients and caregivers. Why not go for being a PT/OT, SLP/AuD, or a similar provider who works with patients for more than just 5 minutes to observe improvement?

I'll credit you with your experience working in dermatology as a contrast. What are your thoughts? What work environment resonates better with you?

 

[LunaOri]

You might want to remove the link to your paper, as your real name is in the list of authors.

 

[SubiGubi]

Welcome to the forums.

You'll be able to aim for mission fit with feedback from your postbac directors/faculty. What feedback have you received from them?

Questions that come from your activities: is there a reason why you aren't interested in rehabilitation-oriented careers? Clearly you have an interest in the autism spectrum and neurodegenerative disorder patients and caregivers. Why not go for being a PT/OT, SLP/AuD, or a similar provider who works with patients for more than just 5 minutes to observe improvement?

I'll credit you with your experience working in dermatology as a contrast. What are your thoughts? What work environment resonates better with you?

Hello, Thank you for responding.

My PostBac advisors have all mostly been pretty positive in terms of my applications but in terms of feedback I honestly haven't received much. They think that I have a solid shot at DO given that my GPA falls around their averages and that they do a more holistic approach than MDS do. I am meeting with them again later today to discuss my school list more in depth and will update this with anything else they say.

As for your second question, I enjoy working with neurodegenerative disorder patients because I've been very interested in neuroscience since I was young. This mostly stems from being in and out of hospitals when I was younger and is touched upon in my PS. I wanted to explore as many possible points of intervention that I could when I was interacting with patients who had neurological issues so to see how all the pieces of the puzzle fit. I thought that a proper understanding of the trajectory and rehabilitation of patients was important to understand how patients walk down a particular path, but it is the doctor that sets them down that path in the first place. Although it may only be 5 minutes with a patient to observe improvement, I am absolutely enamored with the skills that those 5 minutes take. Working in the Dermatology Clinic resonated better as I could see that link to the patient where within those very 5 minutes you're able to have a huge impact on both the quality of life and their trajectory.