WAMC - Potential Reapplicant School List Help

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ExcellentCycle2425

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PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE THIS MESSAGE

Stats and Demographics:
4.00 (both cGPA and sGPA)
522 (132/127/131/132)
ORM Texas Resident
Q1 Casper last cycle, didn't take Preview

Undergrad: T50 State School

Clinical Experience (Will have ~320 hrs by end of May 2025; should have clinical job in June 2025)
  • Hospital volunteer
    • Aug 2023-Present
    • Will have ~160 hrs (had 80 hrs last cycle)
  • Hospice volunteer
    • Dec 2023-Present
    • Will have ~160 hrs (had 100 hrs last cycle)
  • No paid clinical experience as of now, but will be getting a clinical (MA or patient care assistant or clinical research assistant) job after graduating in May 2025
Research Experience (~Total 900 hrs from 2 labs by May 2025, 3 posters currently, will get another one in April 2025)
  • Undergrad Lab
    • Jan 2023-Present
    • Will have ~500 hrs by end of May 2025
    • Productivity: 2 posters so far; presented 1 of them at 2 events; will have one more poster by May 2025
  • Summer Research Program @ a med school
    • May 2024-July 2024
    • ~400 hrs
    • Productivity: 1 poster; presented at 2 events

Shadowing (~120 hrs total from last cycle; no new shadowing)
  • Primary Care: 40 hrs
  • Anesthesiology: 40 hrs
  • Neurosurgery: 40 hrs
Nonclinical volunteering
  • Religious organization
    • Since June 2022 (I'm assuming you can't count before that since I was in high school)
    • ~600 hrs by end of May 2025
  • Shelter for homeless
    • Feb 2025-Present
    • ~100 hrs by end of May 2025
  • Projected: Not sure where, but will find somewhere to volunteer in my gap year (after applying) for 3-4 hrs/week
Leadership:
  • Tutor: ~375 hrs
  • Another tutor position: 20-30 hrs (not sure if I should include since it isn't a big time commitment)
  • Peer Mentor: ~60 hrs
  • TA: ~110 hrs
  • Student orientations job: ~100 hrs
Hobbies:
  • Sport, not on a competitive level: ~3 hrs/week
  • Not sure if it counts, but I tutor a family member for 2-4 hrs/week
  • Watching a sport and some TV shows (again not sure if I should include)
Relevant honors or awards
  • Dean's List for one semester
Anything else not listed you think might be important
  • Am graduating a year early
  • Used AP credits for gen chem and physics, so am not considering schools that won't accept them.
LORs:
2 science profs, 1 non-science (psychology), 1 supervisor
Can't get a strong physician LOR

Results from last cycle:
TMDSAS: Baylor, UTSW, Long, McGovern, Texas A&M, Dell, UTMB, TTUHSC Lubbock, UT Tyler, UH
AMCAS: NYU, Einstein

Only 1 II @ a TX school and didn't match (maybe due to lack of mission fit). Pre-II R from everywhere else.
Applied to Roseman and waiting to hear back, but not expecting much since I don't have ties to Nevada.

School list for 2025-26 cycle (using admit.org):
  • Reach (8): Harvard, Hopkins, NYU, UPenn, Columbia, Vandy, Duke, Mayo Clinic
  • Target (3 IS+ 11 OOS =14): Baylor, UTSW, Long, Pitt, Mt Sinai, Emory, Case Western, University of Virginia, USC, Hofstra, USF Morsani, UChicago, University of Arizona (Phoenix), Einstein
  • Baseline (9 IS + 9 OOS = 18): McGovern, Texas A&M, Dell, UTMB, TTUHSC Lubbock, Foster, UH, UT Tyler, UTRGV, University of Colorado, Hackensack Meridian, Dartmouth, Sidney Kimmel, Drexel, Temple, Virginia Tech, VCU, Wayne State
I have AAMC FAP for 2025-26, so I'll get 20 free primary applications. Please suggest which schools I should add and/or remove from my list.

I'm not sure if I should also apply to SHSU and TCOM (TX DO schools which are included in the TMDSAS primary fee) or any other DO schools? I want to be able to get into any specialty I choose down the line.

I was told by an adcom that I was low on clinical hours and community service, and my personal statement wasn't too good. I know my personal statement plays a huge role in decisions, so am working on it and should be much better this time.
 
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ExcellentCycle2425 said:
I was told by an adcom that I was low on clinical hours and community service, and my personal statement wasn't too good. I know my personal statement plays a huge role in decisions, so am working on it and should be much better this time.
Click to expand...
If you got this advice, you need more experiences before you apply again. That should help your PS and other essays/interviews. Your metrics are too good to make such an obvious mistake. Do the work... you deserve it.

What is your purpose and why the mission mismatch?
 
Mr.Smile12 said:
If you got this advice, you need more experiences before you apply again. That should help your PS and other essays/interviews. Your metrics are too good to make such an obvious mistake. Do the work... you deserve it.

What is your purpose and why the mission mismatch?
Click to expand...
I have experiences I can talk about, but wasn’t able to do it in my personal statement.

It’s just that I don’t have an insane number of clinical hours. Would ~350 hours (2x what I had last cycle) still be considered low?

My purpose is that I want to help patients overcome their conditions by both interventional and informative means. I have personal experiences but didn’t talk about them in my personal statement last cycle due to fear of being cliche.

The mission mismatch was because the school I interviewed at (TTUHSC) is focused on West Texas populations and I have no ties to that region.
 
ExcellentCycle2425 said:
It’s just that I don’t have an insane number of clinical hours. Would ~350 hours (2x what I had last cycle) still be considered low?

My purpose is that I want to help patients overcome their conditions by both interventional and informative means. I have personal experiences but didn’t talk about them in my personal statement last cycle due to fear of being cliche.
Click to expand...
Do you think 350 hours gives you enough insight to confirm your purpose? What do you mean "overcome their conditions" (that's vague) by "interventional and informative means"? How do doctors help hospice patients "overcome their conditions" by "interventional and informative means"? Primary care okay, but that's only 40 hours, but anesth and neurosurg (80 hours) don't really fit your stated purpose. You probably do as much with your faith community to help others "overcome"/adapt to their conditions through interventional (but non-medical) or informative means.

Here's an exercise for you to think like a marketer. Can you come up with a different "purpose" that makes sense of your experiences and resonates with the schools you feel you deserve to get offers from? In other words, can you come up with a better, more authentic/evidence-based purpose?
www.studentdoctor.net

Charting Your Purpose by Writing Your Professional Oath | SDN

Premeds dream of reciting the Hippocratic Oath dressed in their new white coat embroidered with the crest of their medical school. The White Coat
www.studentdoctor.net www.studentdoctor.net
 
A bit of a side note, but for your awards, based on your GPA you should've been on Dean's list every semester and graduated summa cum laude.
 
sapforquin said:
A bit of a side note, but for your awards, based on your GPA you should've been on Dean's list every semester and graduated summa cum laude.
Click to expand...
My college only gives Dean's List if you've taken 15 or more credits for a particular semester. I only had 1 semester with 15 or more credits.
Valid point about summa cum laude though. Didn't put that since I haven't graduated yet
 
Please be careful relying on admit.org rankings. For example, some public medical schools have 2 campuses, one urban and another rural. They don’t break down matriculant stats by campus. Matriculants to the urban campus will mostly have higher stats than those to the rural campus but such schools will be ranked lower because matriculant stats have significant weightage in any rankings and the rural campus will bring down the median/average stats of such public medical schools. Most private MD schools are located in urban locations and don’t have this problem.

USNWR ranks medical schools in Tiers instead of giving each school a numerical ranking, which is a sound approach imo.
 
ophthoaspirant said:
Please be careful relying on admit.org rankings. For example, some public medical schools have 2 campuses, one urban and another rural. They don’t break down matriculant stats by campus. Matriculants to the urban campus will mostly have higher stats than those to the rural campus but such schools will be ranked lower because matriculant stats have significant weightage in any rankings and the rural campus will bring down the median/average stats of such public medical schools. Most private MD schools are located in urban locations and don’t have this problem.

USNWR ranks medical schools in Tiers instead of giving each school a numerical ranking, which is a sound approach imo.
Click to expand...
Do you have any suggestions for my school list?
 
1. "I was told by an adcom that I was low on clinical hours and community service, and my personal statement wasn't too good. I know my personal statement plays a huge role in decisions, so am working on it and should be much better this time."

2. "The mission mismatch was because the school I interviewed at (TTUHSC) is focused on West Texas populations and I have no ties to that region."

My comments on these:
1. Believe the feedback, most "good applicants by stats" who get rejected from the Texas schools have little or no community service or face to face contact with the people who will be their patients. Even now as you consider reapplying right away you have less than 100 projected hours.
If you reapply with the same numbers, you will get the same results.
Your personal statement must describe your aims and motivations for being a physician. It can't be some theoretical thing about how you are going to fix the medical system.
2. Your mismatch is : not showing that you know what your service to others will be as a doctor.
3. Watching TV and watching sports on TV are not hobbies you should list on a resume
4. You need a complete rewrite of your 3 major essays for TMDSAS.
5. You are most likely to get in to a Texas school so don't waste time on those highly competitive OOS schools.
 
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wysdoc said:
1. "I was told by an adcom that I was low on clinical hours and community service, and my personal statement wasn't too good. I know my personal statement plays a huge role in decisions, so am working on it and should be much better this time."

2. "The mission mismatch was because the school I interviewed at (TTUHSC) is focused on West Texas populations and I have no ties to that region."

My comments on these:
1. Believe the feedback, most "good applicants by stats" who get rejected from the Texas schools have little or no community service or face to face contact with the people who will be their patients. Even now as you consider reapplying right away you have less than 100 projected hours.
If you reapply with the same numbers, you will get the same results.
Your personal statement must describe your aims and motivations for being a physician. It can't be some theoretical thing about how you are going to fix the medical system.
2. Your mismatch is not showing that you know what your service to others will be as a doctor.
3. Watching TV and watching sports on TV are not hobbies you should list on a resume
4. You need a complete rewrite of your 3 major essays for TMDSAS.
5. You are most likely to get in to a Texas school so don't waste time on those highly competetive OOS schools.
Click to expand...

1. By low on community service, I mean that the adcom wanted to see more than one community service experience (I had hundreds of hours for one, which didn't involve underserved communities). Since TMDSAS considers hours until October as "current," I'll actually have a lot more than 100 hours. 100 is just what I estimated till May 15, 2025.
2. Is online community service looked down upon? I'm thinking of Crisis Text Line or tutoring low income students online.
3. I didn't write the "optional" essay last time for TMDSAS because I didn't know it wasn't truly optional.
4. From what I've noticed, OOS schools tend to be less focused on quantity of experience and more focused on the quality than TX schools. I'd rather get in this cycle and pay more tuition OOS than have to take 2 gap years to get into a TX school for the cheap tuition.
5. I will get a clinical job after graduating, so projected clinical hours hopefully shouldn't be a problem.
6. I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you meant by "Your mismatch is not showing that you know what your service to others will be as a doctor."
 
I think the reason the OP is thinking about OOS options is due to AMCAS FAP eligibility. Consequently I think the OP wants to dream big.

As we are saying, boost your FACE-TO-FACE (not online) experiences (more homeless shelter work?! leverage connections through your faith community to do more with a specific non-profit??) and reflections first. It will drastically improve your application and your chances.

The various lists we give you should act as starters for your research, but you must have an idea of what you want from your medical education. Again, you should have a purpose and a mission how you want to serve others and be a community inspiration as a physician.

The analogy I have often used in advising is on purchasing a house. If all you are looking for is a working toilet, every option you see from a 400 square foot studio to a Beverly Hills mansion will look good. With your stats, you should have more criteria to help you.

It's not undergrad where the world is your oyster as long as you have a great student culture and fantastic resources to get you to your degree and career goals.

If you want to pick based on strict stats where other Texas applicants tend to go, we can come up with some suggestions (Tulane). If you want a Christian-supportive university, you can pick from the Jesuit schools and Loma Linda (we'll see with BYU if they hit preliminary accreditation).

Read the Purpose article I shared.
 
I think the reason the OP is thinking about OOS options is due to AMCAS FAP eligibility. Consequently I think the OP wants to dream big.
Click to expand...
That's right. I might lose eligibility for AAMC FAP next cycle since I'll be working full-time instead of part-time (which I do now since I'm a full-time student). I won't have the motivation to apply OOS after seeing all the application fees later on, and I don't want to be overly dependent on TX schools to accept me irrespective of how good my application is 2 years later. I also don't retake my MCAT just because I waited too long to apply and it expires.

As we are saying, boost your FACE-TO-FACE (not online) experiences (more homeless shelter work?
Click to expand...
Noted. Will be working on that. I'm not Christian and unfortunately the religious organization I volunteer at isn't partnered with any nonprofit.

Again, you should have a purpose and a mission how you want to serve others and be a community inspiration as a physician.
Click to expand...
I want to attend a research-oriented school, but almost all the Texas schools are community service oriented. This is another reason I'm looking OOS.

Thanks!
 
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ExcellentCycle2425 said:
1. By low on community service, I mean that the adcom wanted to see more than one community service experience (I had hundreds of hours for one, which didn't involve underserved communities). Since TMDSAS considers hours until October as "current," I'll actually have a lot more than 100 hours. 100 is just what I estimated till May 15, 2025.
2. Is online community service looked down upon? I'm thinking of Crisis Text Line or tutoring low income students online.
3. I didn't write the "optional" essay last time for TMDSAS because I didn't know it wasn't truly optional.
4. From what I've noticed, OOS schools tend to be less focused on quantity of experience and more focused on the quality than TX schools. I'd rather get in this cycle and pay more tuition OOS than have to take 2 gap years to get into a TX school for the cheap tuition.
5. I will get a clinical job after graduating, so projected clinical hours hopefully shouldn't be a problem.
6. I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you meant by "Your mismatch is not showing that you know what your service to others will be as a doctor."
Click to expand...
I am being very direct here because you don't need to hear "you're great, everything's great, you should have gotten in"
Online volunteering is less valued than face to face.
Online tutoring likewise.
Those OOS research oriented schools will still look for evidence in your essays that you know that medicine is a service profession.
Your communication style on this thread is a bit argumentative and arrogant; if your essays sound like that too it's a problem.
 
wysdoc said:
I am being very direct here because you don't need to hear "you're great, everything's great, you should have gotten in"
Online volunteering is less valued than face to face.
Online tutoring likewise.
Those OOS research oriented schools will still look for evidence in your essays that you know that medicine is a service profession.
Your communication style on this thread is a bit argumentative and arrogant; if your essays sound like that too it's a problem.
Click to expand...
Sorry for the way my posts sound. I'm just fed up of having to deal with this unpredictable process. I understand medicine is a service profession, but I don't understand the expectation of quantity.
 
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ExcellentCycle2425 said:
Noted. Will be working on that. I'm not Christian and unfortunately the religious organization I volunteer at isn't partnered with any nonprofit.
Click to expand...
Many different faith communities also connect with non-profit organizations or have a community-serving mission/project. Whatever your group does (if you align with such a community).

ExcellentCycle2425 said:
I want to attend a research-oriented school, but almost all the Texas schools are community service oriented. This is another reason I'm looking OOS. If you don't mind, can you look at my personal statement (which I completely rewrote for this cycle)? My mission might make more sense if you read my personal statement. It's my first draft, but I believe it gets the point across.
Click to expand...
Many Texas schools have research programs. You're right they have a community-oriented charge, and as public institutions reliant on state funds, they better be. Look at Dell/UT Austin for example: very "innovation" oriented. Texas A&M EnMed as well (though you need to have a more of an engineering background. You can't tell me Baylor doesn't have a strong research program, or any of the schools related to the Houston medical complex. UTSW and UTSA have lots of research going on. If you want to do research, their MS/PhD programs are going to be solid if their NIH/NSF/DOD funding holds up.

I suppose one can get a sense from your PS (which you likely have to rewrite as a reapplicant), but you have the talent to articulate your purpose as a physician concisely. We also live in a time where we want sound bites or short video clips of 10 seconds or less. Also, having us all give you feedback on your PS for a potential rewrite is rather bold. 🙂

P.S. What about your other TMDSAS essays?
 
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P.S. What about your other TMDSAS essays?
Click to expand...
The adcom member I talked told me to fix my PS, but didn't really say anything about the TMDSAS personal characteristics essay. I never wrote the "optional" essay (bad move, I know, but didn't realize until it was too late)

The document I shared is my new PS. I was hoping for feedback because I don't really know anyone who specializes in essays. The doctors I shadowed have been out of school for decades. I am genuinely lost and even a little bit of direction would be very helpful. Part of me says that it is possible to fix the issues from last cycle in time for the 2025-26 cycle and part of me thinks I should wait for the 2026-27 cycle.
 
ExcellentCycle2425 said:
The adcom member I talked told me to fix my PS, but didn't really say anything about the TMDSAS personal characteristics essay. I never wrote the "optional" essay (bad move, I know, but didn't realize until it was too late)

The document I shared is my new PS. I was hoping for feedback because I don't really know anyone who specializes in essays. The doctors I shadowed have been out of school for decades. I am genuinely lost and even a little bit of direction would be very helpful. Part of me says that it is possible to fix the issues from last cycle in time for the 2025-26 cycle and part of me thinks I should wait for the 2026-27 cycle.
Click to expand...
Did you message any of the volunteer readers? I also have appointments available (see signature).
 
ExcellentCycle2425 said:
Where can I find volunteer readers?
Click to expand...
Moko

Forum Members Thread '*~*~*~*~*~*Official Personal Statement Guide and Reader List 2025-2026*~*~*~*~*~*'

It's that time of year again! This thread is for applicants who are writing, revising, and polishing their personal statement for the 2025-2026 application cycle! Like in prior years, this thread will be self-regulated. When volunteering as a reader (or contacting a reader for assistance), please refer only to the most recent post for a list of our current available volunteers!

Other helpful resources: Official Personal Statement Guide thread, Alejandro's Personal Statement Advice, and Depakote's Personal Statement Guide/Tips.

If you...
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Mr.Smile12 said:
Moko

Forum Members Thread '*~*~*~*~*~*Official Personal Statement Guide and Reader List 2025-2026*~*~*~*~*~*'

It's that time of year again! This thread is for applicants who are writing, revising, and polishing their personal statement for the 2025-2026 application cycle! Like in prior years, this thread will be self-regulated. When volunteering as a reader (or contacting a reader for assistance), please refer only to the most recent post for a list of our current available volunteers!

Other helpful resources: Official Personal Statement Guide thread, Alejandro's Personal Statement Advice, and Depakote's Personal Statement Guide/Tips.

If you...
  • Like
  • Love
Click to expand...
Thanks for all your help and advice!
 
ophthoaspirant said:
I would take a couple of NY schools and Harvard and replace with MCW, Iowa and UIChicago. As a re-applicant with a gap year, your chances improve significantly. Many adcoms will value your persistence.
Click to expand...
I haven't started my gap year yet. I'll remove Harvard and maybe some other reaches. For UIChicago, MSAR says the tuition is ~85k for OOS, which seems way too high. Is it still worth applying?
 
ExcellentCycle2425 said:
I haven't started my gap year yet. I'll remove Harvard and maybe some other reaches. For UIChicago, MSAR says the tuition is ~85k for OOS, which seems way too high. Is it still worth applying?
Click to expand...
A lot of private schools on your list are ~75k. But definitely $85k OOS tuition is very high. However, it is best to compare COA. Living expenses in Chicago are not as high as in NYC or Los Angeles or San Francisco.
 
ExcellentCycle2425 said:
That's right. I might lose eligibility for AAMC FAP next cycle since I'll be working full-time instead of part-time (which I do now since I'm a full-time student). I won't have the motivation to apply OOS after seeing all the application fees later on, and I don't want to be overly dependent on TX schools to accept me irrespective of how good my application is 2 years later. I also don't retake my MCAT just because I waited too long to apply and it expires.


Noted. Will be working on that. I'm not Christian and unfortunately the religious organization I volunteer at isn't partnered with any nonprofit.


I want to attend a research-oriented school, but almost all the Texas schools are community service oriented. This is another reason I'm looking OOS. If you don't mind, can you look at my personal statement (which I completely rewrote for this cycle)? My mission might make more sense if you read my personal statement. It's my first draft, but I believe it gets the point across.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
If you want a research oriented school, why not consider applying to MD/PhD? Even if OOS tuition is high in that case, it won’t matter.
 
ophthoaspirant said:
If you want a research oriented school, why not consider applying to MD/PhD? Even if OOS tuition is high in that case, it won’t matter.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I thought I replied to your comment, but apparently I didn't. I don't want to do research as a physician, just want to have research opportunities available when I'm in med school. MD/PhD doesn't align with my career goals.
 
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