WAMC NONTRAD with 520/3.5sGPA in CA Need help with school list

[Basalganglia4life]

Hi Everyone,

I'm a non trad hoping to apply this next cycle. I have been combing msars trying to build a school list but it has been difficult with my lopsided stats.

Stats
Undergrad cGPA 3.0 (in Environmental Studies). CC Post Bac GPA 4.0.Overall cGPA: 3.48. Overall AMCAS sGPA 3.504. Overall AACOMAS sGPA 3.612

MCAT:
520 -131/128/130/131 (9/8/23)

State
CA.

Ethnicity/Race
White Male 30 y/o

Category
Nontrad with environmental studies degree from San Francisco State University . Work now as EMT.

Clinical
2500 hrs (ongoing) paid clinical as CCT emt.
500 hrs volunteer clinical as covid shot/test volunteer
100hrs (ongoing)volunteer with organization that gives medical care to people experiencing homelessness

Research
600 hrs (ongoing) orgo wet lab research (no pubs),

Shadowing
10 hrs shadowing pediatrician, Family med (working on more--but it has been really hard to find doctors willing.

Nonclinical
1000 hrs Tutor/TA (ongoing)
500 hours volunteering with local council member (ongoing)
500 hrs Teaching STEM to refugees in Ghana (study abroad in college),
4500 hrs paid managing a foodbank

other stuff about me
I'm a nontrad who initially wanted to be a park ranger. Worked full time during through college to afford school and grades suffered. After college I was on track to get hired to be a park ranger but 2016 happened, a certain person got elected, federal hiring freeze, position was dissolved etc. Managed a food bank in WA for a couple of years. I discovered a passion for medicine and moved back to CA and did 87 units at a community college and redid every prereq and got a 4.0

Preferences
I dont really care for research, but will do it. I feel like I am much more service oreinted and and deeply considering primary care.

MD School List

Rosalind Franklin

Creighton University

Drexel University College of Medicine

eastern Virgina Medical School

Emory University

Quinnipiac School of Medicine

Dartmouth

George Washington University

Georgetown University

Kaiser Permanente

USC

Temple University

New York Medical College

Pennslyvania State

University of Vermont

Rush University

tufts university

Tulane University

UC Davis

UC Irvine

UCLA

UC Riverside

UC San Diego

UC San Francisco

Virgina Tech Carlion

western michigan

Unversity of Cinncinnati

Medical College of Wisconsin

Wake Forest School of Medicine

Loyola Chicago

Thomas Jefferson University

I'd really love some guidance on my school list. Honestly just trying to get in somewhere. Can you tell me if I shouldnt bother applying to any of these places or if I am missing any potential schools? Also i'm open to criticism/feedback on any aspect of my app.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[AJS59]

What exactly was the nature of your service with the council member? And just to be clear, you were paid to manage the food bank?

Other than figuring out the non-clinical side your app looks in solid shape.

About the school list:
-Are you from Inland Empire? If not, Riverside may not be worth the application
-Rush, Loyola, Georgetown and Creighton are all schools that look for several hundred hours of non-clinical volunteering — specifically serving underserved communities. I know you mentioned several thousand hours in non-clinical BUT most of that is in the form of teaching/tutoring. The ideal type of service should be one where you are directly providing aid to communities need (i.e. through food bank, shelter, soup kitchen, tax prep., transport services, etc.). Since these schools are looking for those types of activities, they might not be good fits here.

Others may need to weigh in on the GPA stuff

 

[Basalganglia4life]

What exactly was the nature of your service with the council member? And just to be clear, you were paid to manage the food bank?

Other than figuring out the non-clinical side your app looks in solid shape.

About the school list:
-Are you from Inland Empire? If not, Riverside may not be worth the application
-Rush, Loyola, Georgetown and Creighton are all schools that look for several hundred hours of non-clinical volunteering — specifically serving underserved communities. I know you mentioned several thousand hours in non-clinical BUT most of that is in the form of teaching/tutoring. The ideal type of service should be one where you are directly providing aid to communities need (i.e. through food bank, shelter, soup kitchen, tax prep., transport services, etc.). Since these schools are looking for those types of activities, they might not be good fits here.

Others may need to weigh in on the GPA stuff

Thank you for your response. I started doing Covid related stuff with the council member. Like knocking on doors to help help people get the vaccine and Covid testing. As the pandemic faded I’ve been helping with community clean up days, community listen sessions and community events.

I currently live in Sacramento, but I spent 10 years in living in Los Angeles and Palm Springs.

You really don’t think my 2 years of full time paid work managing a food bank can be counted towards my dedication to service?

 

[AJS59]

Thank you for your response. I started doing Covid related stuff with the council member. Like knocking on doors to help help people get the vaccine and Covid testing. As the pandemic faded I’ve been helping with community clean up days, community listen sessions and community events.

I currently live in Sacramento, but I spent 10 years in living in Los Angeles and Palm Springs.

You really don’t think my 2 years of full time paid work managing a food bank can be counted towards my dedication to service?

I'm not entirely sure which is why I defer to the better experts. I think the issue was it being paid. But I would defer to the admission experts on this forum for their opinion

 

[Faha]

Virginia Tech has a small class with a regional bias. You could add these schools:
TCU
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Belmont
Albany
Quinnipiac
California University
Roseman (when it opens)
Alice Walton (when it opens)

 

[Alejandro]

To be honest, I think its a cool story. Good news is that your mcat is strong, and therefore schools won't think you're an academic liability which is important. GPA, well they shouldn't ding you for a gpa when you were going to be a park ranger (not to badmouth park rangers).

 

[Mr.Smile12]

You really don’t think my 2 years of full time paid work managing a food bank can be counted towards my dedication to service?

I think it does. We don't ask applicants to adhere to vows of poverty.

 

[Alejandro]

For me, although some people may think differently, even if you're paid, it really does matter what/where you did it more so than if it was paid or volunteer.

For example, if you were a volunteering in an affluent part of town, I think that there is less 'service' compared to being paid to work to manage a food bank. The whole idea of it is that you work and interact with those that in general, have walked a different life than you, who may have more instabilities than you have. I think being paid is a moot point- you could argue being paid is better because you have real responsibilities that you are upholding (whether or not that satisfies the service requirement). additionally, I would also argue that you couldn't easily worked somewhere else but you felt motivated to work and stay committed to a food bank. I don't get the impression that the food bank has an exorbitant budget where they'd pay their managers six figures or even high figures.