WAMC: ORM, 3.95, 515 (retake mcat?)

[anonymooseee]

• Stats: GPA: 3.95, MCAT: 515 (130/125😡/129/131). 1 gap year
• Identity: Virginia, ORM, E01, first-gen, immigrant.
• Undergraduate Institution: top public undergrad
• Clinical volunteering: 1000 hrs EMT, 150 hrs volunteering in the hospital
• Nonclinical volunteering: Technical human rescue (400 hrs), Orgo and bio TA (750 hrs), 501(c)3 nonprofit org (1000 hrs)
• Leadership: Founded the nonprofit mentioned above. More than 300 members across multiple chapters in the state. Directly interact with children in need (homeless, refugees, orphans, disabilities, abuse, etc.). Has international impacts in 5+ countries. Very much aligned with my personal story.
• Research: 3000 hrs biology wet lab (second author pub in Nature), 100 hrs clinical research (1 mid-low author), 3 posters, 1 national + 1 international conference where I got to talk about my research with a Nobel laureate in the field.
• Shadowing: 100 hours in various specialties
• X-factor: A project where I interview famous people and share on social media (got a good amount of views). (350 hours)
• LoRs: Most are pretty great
• Awards: a few university awards for research, teaching, my org, and being a first-gen.
• Extra: All of my activities are still ongoing for 2-3 years now (is consistency a factor?). All of my activities can be tied back to my personal story/reason as to why becoming a doctor.

School list (for now):
Mercer
Emory
Miami
USF
UMich
Case Western
Cincinnati
U Virginia
Georgetown
Jefferson
Pittsburgh
Rochester
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
Dartmouth
Brown
Boston University

Should I even bother with T20 with my MCAT (especially CARS)? Should I retake the MCAT? I average around 518-519 in my FLs, and I feel like if I reach my FL average it would give me a good chance at top schools.

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[Faha]

Mercer does not admit non residents. I suggest adding these schools to your application:
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
West Virginia
Wake Forest
Drexel
Temple
New York Medical College
Tufts
UMass
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Western Michigan
TCU
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
You should not retake a MCAT of 515.

 

[LunaOri]

Your social media activity is not what I would consider an “X factor”.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Read

Finding Your Greatest Common Factors with Successful Students - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

Are you applying now or next cycle?

Don't take the MCAT again unless explicitly told by admissions. What is your mission? Do you feel it beneath you to go to a non brand school?

You have the metrics, but you should balance your list (see Faha's suggestions). You should also network and connect with more students at the schools you are interested in. I'm sure you can't give more information about your organization so we can't tell if that alone could be appealing.

 

[anonymooseee]

Read

Finding Your Greatest Common Factors with Successful Students - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

Are you applying now or next cycle?

Don't take the MCAT again unless explicitly told by admissions. What is your mission? Do you feel it beneath you to go to a non brand school?

You have the metrics, but you should balance your list (see Faha's suggestions). You should also network and connect with more students at the schools you are interested in. I'm sure you can't give more information about your organization so we can't tell if that alone could be appealing.

I am applying next cycle.

I had an adcom from a T5 school told me that I don't really have much chance with a 515 (he only knows about my mcat and nothing else). My mission is cancer research and working with the underserved. It doesn't feel beneath me to go to a non-brand school, it's just that some of the high-tier schools have amazing research opportunities that I can't find anywhere else. In other words, the ranking doesn't really matter to me, it just so happens that the higher-ranked school has impactful research and resources for my org.

I'll definitely apply to mostly mid/lower-tier school, but is it even worth it for me to try it out at a few T20? And I will definitely try to connect with more students. Thank you!!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

It doesn't feel beneath me to go to a non-brand school, it's just that some of the high-tier schools have amazing research opportunities that I can't find anywhere else.

Could you be more specific about this? It makes more of a difference if you are going PhD/research. No one said you can't do research at another institution. In fact, many med students do a research fellowship at NIH, and they have amazing resources.