WAMC - potential reapp 4.0 and 515 (retook 3x - 509-509-515)

[potrait25]

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I did not expect the cycle to be this brutual but here we are. I also need help on what to do incase I need to reapp - I have lost confidence in my app.
Suggested information to include when creating a WAMC thread are as follows:

1. cGPA-4.0 and sGPA-4.0
2. MCAT score(s) - 515 (127/128/128/132) - previous two attempts are 509
3. State of residence or country of citizenship - IL
4. Asian
5. Clinical experience (volunteer) - Hospice (168 - ongoing) Clinical Volunteer - 185
6. Clinical experience (non-volunteer) - Covid Specimen Collecter - 92
7. Research experience and productivity - 1400 hours (present job atm so hours will increase - have two pubs and presented at conferences) Art Research - 92 hours with professor (for fun)
8. Shadowing experience and specialties represented - 100 hours - primary care, neurologist, pathologist and pulmonologist.
9. Non-clinical volunteering - Breast Cancer Foundation Internship (400 hours - planned a walk with team and fundraised in city), Started breast cancer awareness club at school (250 hours), Mentor in cultural club (280 hours), Taught children from underserved areas art (62 hours)
10. Other extracurricular activities - Bio Learning Assistant (135 hours), Planned service opportunities in club such as blood drive (285 hours), Volunteer at Youth Residential Center (120 hours), Laparo Research (120 hours and won an award)
11. Anything else not listed you think might be important - had my writing reviewed my medical students but maybe my personal statement was not received well. All my activities ended when I graduated college so I am worried how that will look incase I need to reapply. In my gap year, I am working as a research intern, volunteering at hospice and teaching children with chronic illness art. I have also volunteered for few events with the Breast Cancer Foundation I interned. I am trying to get some clinical hours in.

Schools I applied to
Loyola
Rush
SIU (R)
Northwestern
Saint Louis (R)
Wayne
Oakland
Ohio State
Western Mich (R)
Darthmoth (R)
George Washington (Hold and then R)
Georgetown (R)
Baylor (R)
UTMB (invite but silence after)
Dell (Long shot - R)
Mcgovern (R)
Mt. Sinai (R)
Albert
Tufts
Jefferson
Rosalind Franklin (R)
UMICH (R)
Brown
Emory
Penn State
Temple
UCLA
MCW
Umiami
UIC
Indiana (R)
Pitts (R)

Thinking of applying to AWSOM but let me know about your thoughts. I have lost confidence in my app due to the cycle being so brutual so I am looking for any post bacc programs with high admission to medical school the following year.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you. Previously,

P

Thread 'What should I do/change as a potential reapplicant for this upcoming cycle'

Feb 1, 2025

Hello
I applied this cycle and it has been very brutual. I was grateful to get one interview but I have not heard back yet. I honestly feel stuck at the moment. And I dont know how to move forward. I want to start with backup plans but I need some help. My stats are 4.0 and 515 (509-509-515) and I have hours in research, clinical and volunteering. I also worked with an MS2 and resident and also my friends and research PI for my essays. I am not sure what went wrong with my app leading to this outcome (do have low and short term clinical hours but did not expect the cycle to be this...

• potrait25
• Replies: 5
• Forum: What Are My Chances? WAMC Medical

Foundation fundraising is worthwhile, but it does not meet expectations for Service Orientation like these activities do: food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation. With zero hours of these activities, you were likely screened out at most schools. Mentoring and tutoring are academic competencies, and practically every premed has this category, so it doesn't help you stand out.

You have a relatively small number of clinical experience hours, especially compared to your research. I don't know what you did as a clinical volunteer (because you didn't say), but being under 200 hours is light. You must show comfort around uncomfortable people, and your profile does not persuade me here.

A postbac or SMP will likely not help you as much as hundreds more hours of clinical exposure and hundreds more of service orientation activities. Rush and Loyola typically interview those with hundreds to thousands of service orientation hours.

 

[potrait25]

Thank you. Previously,

P

Thread 'What should I do/change as a potential reapplicant for this upcoming cycle'

Feb 1, 2025

Hello
I applied this cycle and it has been very brutual. I was grateful to get one interview but I have not heard back yet. I honestly feel stuck at the moment. And I dont know how to move forward. I want to start with backup plans but I need some help. My stats are 4.0 and 515 (509-509-515) and I have hours in research, clinical and volunteering. I also worked with an MS2 and resident and also my friends and research PI for my essays. I am not sure what went wrong with my app leading to this outcome (do have low and short term clinical hours but did not expect the cycle to be this...

• potrait25
• Replies: 5
• Forum: What Are My Chances? WAMC Medical

Foundation fundraising is worthwhile, but it does not meet expectations for Service Orientation like these activities do: food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation. With zero hours of these activities, you were likely screened out at most schools. Mentoring and tutoring are academic competencies, and practically every premed has this category, so it doesn't help you stand out.

You have a relatively small number of clinical experience hours, especially compared to your research. I don't know what you did as a clinical volunteer (because you didn't say), but being under 200 hours is light. You must show comfort around uncomfortable people, and your profile does not persuade me here.

A postbac or SMP will likely not help you as much as hundreds more hours of clinical exposure and hundreds more of service orientation activities. Rush and Loyola typically interview those with hundreds to thousands of service orientation hours.

I can go in depth in my activities. I was an intern at the breast cancer foundation and we planned a walk for breast cancer awareness month and also fundraised for the cause. This pushed me to start my own club where we focused on spreading the importance of early cancer screenings, healthy living practices, resources for those with breast cancer in the community and we gave presentations at churches, farmers markets and such. I also was part of the service commitee and we planned cloth and food can drive but our biggest event was the blood drive. I assumed hospice fell under clinical volunteering (not sure) and for my clinical volunteering, i was a patient escort, took vital history and cleaned and disinfected rooms. Also as a covid specimen collector, I supervised/guided testing with patients and packed samples for testing (does this not come under clinical?).

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I can go in depth in my activities. I was an intern at the breast cancer foundation and we planned a walk for breast cancer awareness month and also fundraised for the cause. This pushed me to start my own club where we focused on spreading the importance of early cancer screenings, healthy living practices, resources for those with breast cancer in the community and we gave presentations at churches, farmers markets and such. I also was part of the service commitee and we planned cloth and food can drive but our biggest event was the blood drive. I assumed hospice fell under clinical volunteering (not sure) and for my clinical volunteering, i was a patient escort, took vital history and cleaned and disinfected rooms. Also as a covid specimen collector, I supervised/guided testing with patients and packed samples for testing (does this not come under clinical?).

Fundraising even for medical causes is common. I've read through dozens of applicants who organized American Cancer Society fundraiser walks (or THON dance events), even organizing fundraising teams to support the cause. Again, nothing wrong with it, but it doesn't fulfill the expectations for service orientation as described above. You lack this in your application, so you are experiencing a "brutal" cycle.

You need more experience with clinical settings. I don't know how you described these experiences in your essays, but it doesn't sound like it was convincing enough to get you as many interviews as you expected.

 

[Faha]

You should accumulate 150+ hours of non clinical volunteering such as food bank, homeless shelter before you apply again.
I suggest these schools if you accumulate those hours:
Illinois
SIU
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Western Michigan
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Iowa
Ponce (St. Louis)
TCU
Alice Walton
Belmont
NOVA MD
Wake Forest
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Hackensack
New York Medical College
Albany
Vermont
Quinnipiac
UMass
Colorado
Arizona (Phoenix)
Methodist (when it opens)
Roseman (when it opens)

 

[candbgirl]

@Mr.Smile12 really summed things up. I’ll just add two things you should keep in mind.
1. SIU takes students from a very specific geographic area. If you aren’t in that area that is probably why you were rejected. You don’t say where you are from so we have no idea where you are located.
2. Many, some, most schools average multiple MCAT scores. So instead of a 515 you might be working with a 511. That’s a big difference. 511 is a fair score but it’s not a 515.
Good luck in deciding how to proceed.

 

[potrait25]

Thank you. It took me 2-3 years to do the breast cancer internship and start the club. I just wish I knew it didn’t count as service orientation. No one really told me when I approached them either. I wish I didn’t put as much time and effort into these for it to not be service orientation. I’ll try to work on these alarming red flags in my app.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you. It took me 2-3 years to do the breast cancer internship and start the club. I just wish I knew it didn’t count as service orientation. No one really told me when I approached them either. I wish I didn’t put as much time and effort into these for it to not be service orientation. I’ll try to work on these alarming red flags in my app.

It's great leadership experience for a good cause. It also points to where your passion lies. But you don't need to be a doctor to be an effective fundraiser.