WAMC - ORM Texas Resident, 507 MCAT, 3.76 GPA

[tapioca_pearls]

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• GPA
  • cGPA: 3.76
  • sGPA: 3.71
• MCAT: 507 (126/126/126/128) - did a retake in May but scored 506 so we're going with the original score
• State of residence or country of citizenship: TX
• Ethnicity and/or race: ORM Asian female - Parents born and educated outside of the USA, no one did medicine
• Undergraduate institution: UT Austin, neuro major
• Clinical experience:
  • 400 hours at a neuro clinic in El Paso as an MA - helped found the clinic, was a big part of my personal essay
  • 600 hours working at Dell Medicine as an EEG tech
  • currently taking a gap year: will have 1200 hours from working as an MA for a neuro clinic in Austin
• Research experience and productivity
  • 1100+ hours working with my PI on plant cell signaling research
  • No publications, but did do an honors research thesis
• Shadowing experience and specialties represented
  • ~25-30 hours shadowing mainly neurologists, pediatrics, psych
• Non-clinical volunteering
  • 55 hours: volunteering at a daycare center
  • 24 hours: (projected: 200 hours): crisis text line
  • 60 hours: volunteering with my premed org (AMSA)
  • ~70 hours doing other nonclinical events (teaching at an elementary school, drawing portraits for cancer patients, mission trips, etc.)
• Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)
  • Social officer for my premed org
  • Mentor for my research team (taught freshmen on research methods)
  • Volleyball and art for all 4 years, have an active art account with a lot of work
• Relevant honors or awards: Neuroscience Departmental honors, one summer research fellowship

I'm applying to all of TMDSAS and the two DO schools - my goals are McGovern, UH Fertitta, SHSU (DO), UTMB - I really really want to stay in the Houston area so I'm praying I get in anywhere in that area. Baylor seems like too much of a long shot so idk about applying.

I also applied MD OOS with the MSAR, just to be safe. The list of schools are below. I haven't applied DO OOS anywhere atm because I would much rather be paying in-state tuiton for DO.

[td]Alice L. Walton School of Medicine[/td] [td]Tulane Medical School[/td] [td]West Virginia University[/td] [td]University of Toledo College of Medicine[/td] [td]University of California, Davis, School of Medicine[/td] [td]Charles R. Drew College of Medicine[/td] [td]Central Michigan University College of Medicine[/td] [td]Morehouse School of Medicine[/td] [td]Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine at Belmont University[/td] [td]Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine[/td] [td]Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center[/td] [td]Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University[/td] [td]Medical College of Wisconsin[/td]

What do y'all think - do I have a shot or has my MCAT cooked me for good?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

So your two MCAT scores are within 1 point of each other.

The planned 200 hours of crisis text line is not in-person service orientation such as food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, legal support, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation. It looks like you have zero hours in this category, so your application is at risk of being screened out by most schools where you don't have a strong mission fit. Your non-clinical volunteering description does not show a consistent passion to serve or an impact on a community in need. That should worry you with your MD chances for sure, and maybe your DO chances.

What is your purpose as a physician? How do you show that with your activities? It looks research-oriented but nothing that clearly points to medicine.

I'm okay with these schools on your list: AWSOM, Belmont, CMS/RFUMS. Charles Drew are Morehouse are HBCU programs. Rush wants hundreds to thousands of hours of community service. WVU, Toledo, Davis, CMU are focused on in-state applicants (Toledo will consider Michigan applicants).

 

[tapioca_pearls]

Oh, well that's not great to hear...
Most of my experiences came with when I was employed, while volunteering was in various places - the only place I volunteered consistently was at the daycare center, because my main focus is working with kids. I didn't know this would be a big issue.