WAMC - Reapplicant (2.85/512/URM/CA) School List

[3rdtimescharm]

1. cGPA & sGPA

• 2.85 and 2.77, respectively
• Post-Bacc – 3.72 and 3.84, respectively. Completed 34 units in two semesters worth of time. Four of those units were required Cohort Seminars. I missed some dates so it caused a letter drop for each semester. All A’s (A-, A) in my science classes except for a B+ in one class.
• 2011-2017 (CC), 2017-2019 (UC), 2019-2020 (Post-Bacc)

2. MCAT

• 512 (128/126/129/129) Date - 9/23
• 509 (128/125/129/127) Date - 9/20
• 506 (125/126/128/127) Date - 9/19

Retook 509 due to score expiring

3. Residence - California
4. Ethnicity - Mexican 1st Gen Male
5. Undergrad - UC Davis

6. Clinical

• 4700+ Hours as 911 EMT (FT Job)
  • Helped provide COVID and MPox Vaccine during pandemic

7. Research

• 360 Hours Summer Internship at UC Berkeley (Summer 2017)
  • Sponsored w/stipend by NIH Bridges to Baccalaureate Program
  • Poster Presentation at conclusion

8. Shadowing

• 24 Hours Shadowing at local ED department (2022)
  • It took multiple months of paperwork to be able to shadow. Asked around at all local hospitals and haven't had much luck. I was lucky because the physician I shadowed is the Associate Director.

9. Non-Clinical Volunteering

• 4000+ Color Guard Instructor (2018-2022)
  • Instructed at multiple middle/high schools in the area. Won Band Association championships multiple times (Did not add these to awards, even though I helped I did not win them, that accomplishment is theirs.) In charge of students after school and at competitions (10-20 students). I like to believe we fostered an environment that was an outlet for them, the same way it was for me. We pushed them to see what was possible even when they thought it wasn't.

10. Extracurriculars

• 4000+ Color Guard Competitor (2009-2019)
  • Traveled to multiple states and to world championships. Each year was composed of a different group. Worked together to help create a story and share it with those in attendance. Roughly two years in High School but continued through the years afterwards.
  • Captain for last year.
  • Basically, we dance and spin rifles, flags, sabers on a floor for roughly 5-7 minutes. Compete in front of thousands of people. Show can be based on a multitude of themes or ideas. There is nothing else like it I love it, the floor was my home.
  • It's a young persons game, If I could I would continue but it ages you and my body can't keep up lol
• 150 Hours Tutoring (2017,2023)
  • Tutored one school year of Intro to Biology at local CC, Paid. Currently tutoring niece in math and science.

11. Honors/Awards

• 2022 Staff Member of the Year
  • At Primary School I instructed at. It says staff but I volunteered. Instructors for color guard are often not compensated but are announced as staff at competition.
• 2018 WGI Independent World Semi-Finalist
• 2017 WGI Independent Open Medalist
• 2016 WGI Independent A Medalist
  - World championships, compete against roughly 40-50 groups in each division
• 2017 Poster Presentation mentioned in Research

12. Misc.

• Part of multiple dance productions at Davis
• 800+ Hours Photography (Amateur, Film B&W)
• Crochet, cross stitch, was top 1000 in COD 4 before the leaderboards were ruined.
• Traveled more this year
  
  - Spoke about how focused I was on med school that I neglected opportunities that may never come again​

​

Application Rough Summary

Application is based around how sometimes no matter how hard we try we will fail and knowing those instances happen all the time in medicine. Connected my appreciation in helping my community (Students) in ways that I can- via color guard. Spoke of my time as an EMT and moments where we fail but focused on how it is the small seemingly insignificant moments that matter. The issues my mother faced in finding resources and how the disparity, if alleviated, could have helped my aunt who was found in an alley due to drug overdose. My failings in instructing at first and focusing on winning instead of the students growth. The teamwork and pursuit for the unattainable perfect run in color guard, and embracing the process and time we shared together. Main point was the failure we will face and using it to learn and advance because physicians have a responsibility to not live in what ifs because there is no room for that in medicine.

About Me

30 Year Old Male, One of 9 (of 6 for majority of 0-18 years) Moved more than 20 times in childhood (mentioned in PS)
6 Years in CC thinking I knew everything. Ruined my GPA but it is who I am now and I wouldn't change it. I've met amazing people and would redo it all if given a second chance.
2 Years in UC, cGPA 2.97 at UC
Post Bacc immediately after in the Fall, finished Spring. Took multiple classes, more than recommended and did well in them.

LOR
Committee letter from Post Bacc and two additional letters. One from physician I shadowed and the other the VP of the Band Association I taught in.

SCHOOL LIST

Bold - Applied before
Underline - Interviewed
​

The lists are long, I'm sorry but I would appreciate where to narrow it down. This is my third time applying. I submitted a primary late last year but decided not to do any secondaries. If that is included then it would be the 4th time.


Primary List????

I would like to narrow it down to 25-30 but am open to any suggestions or amount. Not concerned about amount of secondaries as I have spoken to work and coworkers who would cover some of my shifts. There are a lot of reach schools but I would like to know if there is even a shot with them. The first list is what I was originally going to narrow down but after looking at some suggestions in other posts I was hoping to see if there were other schools I may not have even noticed.

Tufts	Creighton	Rush	Charles Drew
U of Cincinnati	Georgetown	Albany	Irvine
Drexel	NYMC	Hofstra	Davis
Quinnipiac	MC of Wisconsin	Sidney	UCSD
Keck	Wayne	UCLA	UCSF
Geisel	California University	Colorado	Stryker (Phone Interview MBS Prog.)
Geisinger	Michigan State	SUNY	U of Wisconsin
Wake Forest

Consideration? - Based on if they accept coursework that is from sometime ago and other posts with similar stats.

Tulane	OUWB	Rochester
St Louis	EVMS	Case Western
Emory	Hackensack	Rosalind
Temple	Pittsburgh	Einstein
Mayo	Vermont	Kaiser
Tucson Arizona	Phoenix Arizona

REACH (What If right)

Boston	Brown	Mt Sinai	Northwestern	U of Chicago
Morsani	Columbia	Cornell	Harvard	Stanford

Any suggestions at all, any criticisms. I welcome it. I'm just grateful to find a community that isn't competing against each other. I'm a long shot but it's what I've always wanted to do. Thank you regardless!

EDIT: Added undergrad timeline

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[Mr.Smile12]

I will assume you are part of the California postbac programs and MiMentor.

Are these the only items you highlight on your application? Other Impactful Experiences? Interest in PRIME programs? LMSA contacts? You are not just an older student, you have done all the usual things... except service orientation activities.

 

[chilly_md]

What is new from the last time you applied? On initial glance, the majority of it seems like it was there before when you received interviews to Charles Drew and Drexel. You will need some DO schools this time around.

Are you fluent in Spanish?

 

[3rdtimescharm]

I will assume you are part of the California postbac programs and MiMentor.

Are these the only items you highlight on your application? Other Impactful Experiences? Interest in PRIME programs? LMSA contacts? You are not just an older student, you have done all the usual things... except service orientation activities.

Never heard of MiMentor and my post bacc was under CSU EastBay PHAP. In terms of it all yes. It's an excuse but the whole color guard part with competing and instructor took up a majority of my time. Outside of that I was working throughout college to support myself. Nothing that comes to mind in terms of impactful experiences I added in my primary I was part of the Latino association at Davis and participated in a second ceremony where I was able to walk with my mother, but no contacts.

I'm interested in PRIME but there isn't much else I have to say. Only thing I could mention is how I hope to someday return back to where I was raised and help out there. My pediatrician has a building named after him, he's the catalyst to all of this. I wanted to someday work along him but hopefully someday work inside the health center in his name. I dont want people to experience what my family did and I still see it all the time.

Either way, you're correct. I haven't done any service oriented activities. Perhaps I felt as though instructing was my way of giving back.

 

[3rdtimescharm]

What is new from the last time you applied? On initial glance, the majority of it seems like it was there before when you received interviews to Charles Drew and Drexel. You will need some DO schools this time around.

Are you fluent in Spanish?

Only change is my score and my hours in clinical. My family moved away and I've been working since. I've tried asking all the hospitals in the county for volunteering or shadowing but I get redirected to a non at this moment, which is fair. I am fluent in spanish. I'm planning to add DO schools, I was concerned primarily with the timeline of this application.

Past applications were submitted around sept/oct and secondaries were submitted basically at the deadlines.

I guess if I am being honest with myself. That is what I felt was different. I waited until the very end to submit primary and secondaries. I thought doing it relatively early would help. But it is clear I lack change since last application and service oriented activities.

 

[chilly_md]

Only change is my score and my hours in clinical. My family moved away and I've been working since. I've tried asking all the hospitals in the county for volunteering or shadowing but I get redirected to a non at this moment, which is fair. I am fluent in spanish. I'm planning to add DO schools, I was concerned primarily with the timeline of this application.

Past applications were submitted around sept/oct and secondaries were submitted basically at the deadlines.

I guess if I am being honest with myself. That is what I felt was different. I waited until the very end to submit primary and secondaries. I thought doing it relatively early would help. But it is clear I lack change since last application and service oriented activities.

How big of a change in clinical? Was it already around 1000 hours beforehand?

It is fine to submit for MD still if you have already made your changes and updates to your PS and the AMCAS activities section.

 

[3rdtimescharm]

How big of a change in clinical? Was it already around 1000 hours beforehand?

It is fine to submit for MD still if you have already made your changes and updates to your PS and the AMCAS activities section.

Yeah it was already over 1000. Previous one I submitted and followed through with secondaries had ~ 1800 hours and this one is ~4700.

Every part of my PS and Activities has been updated. Of course themes are there but I rewrote everything and reflected on experiences of the past year (where applicable)

 

[chilly_md]

I suggest:

Tufts
Charles Drew
Albany
NYMC
Drexel
Davis
Quinnipiac
MC of Wisconsin
California University
Tulane
OUWB
Hackensack
Rosalind
Temple
Vermont
Kaiser
Tucson Arizona (check pre-reqs as they have unique ones)
Phoenix Arizona (check pre-reqs as they have unique ones)
TCU
Nova MD
George Washington
Penn State
Belmont
Any other new MD schools that open later this year (Alice Walton and Roseman)

Consider the Puerto Rican MD schools that accept mainlanders

For DO, try (check GPA cutoffs):

Both Westerns
Touro CA
Touro NV
PCOM
DMU
Marian
KCU
KCOM (Kirksville)
LECOM
ACOM

 

[3rdtimescharm]

I suggest:

Tufts
Charles Drew
Albany
NYMC
Drexel
Davis
Quinnipiac
MC of Wisconsin
California University
Tulane
OUWB
Hackensack
Rosalind
Temple
Vermont
Kaiser
Tucson Arizona (check pre-reqs as they have unique ones)
Phoenix Arizona (check pre-reqs as they have unique ones)
TCU
Nova MD
George Washington
Penn State
Belmont
Any other new MD schools that open later this year (Alice Walton and Roseman)

Consider the Puerto Rican MD schools that accept mainlanders

For DO, try (check GPA cutoffs):

Both Westerns
Touro CA
Touro NV
PCOM
DMU
Marian
KCU
KCOM (Kirksville)
LECOM
ACOM

Thank you for your honest criticism and list. I sincerely appreciate it!!!

 

[jvquarterback]

Gotta call physicians individually. Hospitals aren’t doctors. Check with your premed office. Seems strange your post bacc program didn’t help you set up shadowing opportunities. Go to an appointment with family or friends and ask the doctor if you can shadow. Cold call the doctors if you have to.

Do you know the process for applying to the prime programs. If not find out and call them directly.

Sign up for MiMentor and ask them for help with practice interviews.

Call the LMSA officers at UC Davis and see if they can help.

Sounds like you’ve applied four times and you’ve already submitted. MiMentor would have helped review your application. They might still be able to help review the secondaries for the prime programs.