WAMC - Reapplicant (2 T20 IIs : 1 R and 1 WL->R last cycle) - 3.77/522

[huas1234]

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Hi everyone!

Applied in the 23-24 cycle and got two T20 II's which led to 1 R and 1 WL->R. (Looking for gap year advice as a reapplicant).

As this gap year comes to an end, I wanted to get your opinions on my chances this 25-26 cycle.

Stats:
MCAT: 522 (131/128/131/132)
GPA: 3.77 (BCPM: ~3.76) -> (~3.9 first three years of undergrad, ~3.4 in final year - wanted to challenge myself intellectually before graduating so I explored a bunch of classes unrelated to my major)
Undergrad: T15 Chem major
State of Residency: IL
Demographic: ORM/Male

Clinical Experience:
350 hours ED scribe at academic hospital
380 hours as Urgent Care Scribe (able to do MA activities such as taking vitals and histories, administering injections, etc) -> gap year activity
50 hours shadowing in Emergency Medicine and Family Medicine

Research:
2500 hours in translational biomedical engineering
2 publications: 1st-author review, 1 mid-author research article

Community Service:
~700 hours as an AmeriCorps service member focusing on adult literacy, ESL, and workforce preparation (1000 projected) -> gap year activity

Volunteer Work:
140 hours at a local food pantry serving low-income communities in undergrad

Teaching/Tutoring (other than AmeriCorps):
MCAT tutoring -> gap year activity
Middle/high school volunteer tutoring
Biology TA
Note: Patient education is a significant part of my narrative. I have tried to highlight my ability to 'code-switch' among different audiences in educational contexts i.e teaching everything from basic literacy to college-level biology.

School list:
Applying very, very broadly. I was sufficiently humbled in the last cycle. I would love to hear your input though!

 

[Faha]

I suggest these schools with your stats:
U Illinois
Southern Illinois
Rosalind Franklin
Northwestern
U Chicago
Carle Illinois
Western Michigan
U Michigan
Iowa
Washington University (in St. Louis)
St. Louis
Colorado
Vanderbilt
USF Morsani
Miami
Duke
U Virginia
Georgetown
George Washington
Johns Hopkins (free tuition)
Pittsburgh
Jefferson
Cincinnati
Case Western
Hofstra
Einstein (free tuition)
Mount Sinai
NYU (free tuition)
Columbia
Cornell
Vermont
UMass
Tufts
Boston University
Dartmouth
Brown

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Previously:

H

Thread 'Looking for gap year advice as a reapplicant'

Jul 17, 2024

Hi SDN folks,

I applied as a junior last year and while I was able to get 2 T20 II, I didn't end up getting in anywhere this cycle unfortunately. I am currently thinking of applying again in the 25-26 cycle and am looking for things to do over my gap year. To give you guys a better picture of my app:

1. T10 undergrad, 3.78 GPA, 522 MCAT -> 3.87 GPA at time of application, admittedly had some senioritis this past year :\
2. 2000+ hours as an undergrad RA, 2 pubs (1 first-author, 1 co-author) -> ~1700 hours, no pubs at time of application
3. 300+ hours as an ED scribe
4. ~150 hours of...

• huas1234
• Replies: 9
• Forum: Pre-Medical (MD)

You might need more food pantry hours? In the high-stats pool, you should have 250 hours to keep pace with your peers. Wait... What did you do with Americorps?

Did you forget to list shadowing? Your clinical exposure feels a little light???

As for the two rejections, how did you prepare for interviews, and why do you feel you were rejected?

We have previously asked but did not see your school list. Where were you interviewed?

 

[huas1234]

Previously:

H

Thread 'Looking for gap year advice as a reapplicant'

Jul 17, 2024

Hi SDN folks,

I applied as a junior last year and while I was able to get 2 T20 II, I didn't end up getting in anywhere this cycle unfortunately. I am currently thinking of applying again in the 25-26 cycle and am looking for things to do over my gap year. To give you guys a better picture of my app:

1. T10 undergrad, 3.78 GPA, 522 MCAT -> 3.87 GPA at time of application, admittedly had some senioritis this past year :\
2. 2000+ hours as an undergrad RA, 2 pubs (1 first-author, 1 co-author) -> ~1700 hours, no pubs at time of application
3. 300+ hours as an ED scribe
4. ~150 hours of...

• huas1234
• Replies: 9
• Forum: Pre-Medical (MD)

You might need more food pantry hours? In the high-stats pool, you should have 250 hours to keep pace with your peers. Wait... What did you do with Americorps?

Did you forget to list shadowing? Your clinical exposure feels a little light???

As for the two rejections, how did you prepare for interviews, and why do you feel you were rejected?

We have previously asked but did not see your school list. Where were you interviewed?

Hey Mr. Smile12,

1. Taught adults to read, trained job seekers in math and physics for skilled trades professions, and taught ESL. Mostly working with urban underserved population.
2. I have 50 hours of shadowing in Emergency Medicine and Family Medicine. ~750 hours of scribing + direct patient experience through MA duties at UC.
3. I think I did alright. No significant red flags but no very compelling responses perhaps. Didn't have much time to reflect on my 'why' or flesh out my narrative then.
4. Columbia and UCSD. R at the former. WL->R at the latter.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

So #1 sounds more like you were teaching, which as I point out counts as an academic competency for many adcoms. It does not address "service orientation" nor does it stretch you out of your comfort zone. Did you get a teaching certification before or after this activity? I think Americorps is extremely useful, but I'm not sure if the activity showed this ability to be comfortable when you are uncomfortable. (It could be the hours, but did you talk about your impact?)

2. Thanks... shadowing wasn't mentioned so I wanted to make sure, even though you have enough with scribing. I'm wondering if you need more exposure to hospital settings? I would think your scribing is sufficient? @LindaAccepted suggested more primary care exposure outside of emergency medicine. How much family med did you have? Would you consider other specialties like geriatrics, peds, pain med rehab (PM&R), or ENT?

3. While you don't have to doxx yourself here, I'm wondering why you say you didn't have much time to reflect on "why" or your narrative. For many applicants, the issue isn't coming up with their "why"/narrative, but the reflections that consistently support their reason for their purpose. I can only surmise what you disclose here since I don't have your AMCAS + secondaries (+ letters).

What did you say was your purpose as a physician?

Finding Your Purpose as a Health Professional - SDN

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

www.studentdoctor.net

 

[huas1234]

So #1 sounds more like you were teaching, which as I point out counts as an academic competency for many adcoms. It does not address "service orientation" nor does it stretch you out of your comfort zone. Did you get a teaching certification before or after this activity? I think Americorps is extremely useful, but I'm not sure if the activity showed this ability to be comfortable when you are uncomfortable. (It could be the hours, but did you talk about your impact?)

2. Thanks... shadowing wasn't mentioned so I wanted to make sure, even though you have enough with scribing. I'm wondering if you need more exposure to hospital settings? I would think your scribing is sufficient? @LindaAccepted suggested more primary care exposure outside of emergency medicine. How much family med did you have? Would you consider other specialties like geriatrics, peds, pain med rehab (PM&R), or ENT?

3. While you don't have to doxx yourself here, I'm wondering why you say you didn't have much time to reflect on "why" or your narrative. For many applicants, the issue isn't coming up with their "why"/narrative, but the reflections that consistently support their reason for their purpose. I can only surmise what you disclose here since I don't have your AMCAS + secondaries (+ letters).

What did you say was your purpose as a physician?

Finding Your Purpose as a Health Professional - SDN

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

www.studentdoctor.net

Hi Mr. Smile12,

Thanks again so much for getting back to me!

1. Yes, it was a lot of teaching. I think it was quite different from previous teaching experiences I have had. For one, I have had to gain the trust of adults much older than myself (30 year olds wanting to change jobs, 60 year olds wanting to learn to read after never getting the chance as children, etc). Leading group settings with 20+ adult learners as a young 20-something has been a new experience! Also, many of our students have either had poor experiences with schooling as children and/or have some learning difficulties, so navigating that has also pushed me out of my comfort zone. Will be writing about my experiences along these lines rather than just teaching. Would this still not be considered service?

2. I have some family med shadowing experience. Will be looking into some specialty shadowing experience before apps are due in June. Perhaps nephro - this just depends on whether I can get the opportunity. How much of a priority is this?

3. I don't want to disclose too much but agency/empowerment is my primary theme. Have had some experiences in my life where I have reclaimed agency and want to help others do the same through my specific passions.

 

[LindaAccepted]

Hi everyone!

Applied in the 23-24 cycle and got two T20 II's which led to 1 R and 1 WL->R. (Looking for gap year advice as a reapplicant).

As this gap year comes to an end, I wanted to get your opinions on my chances this 25-26 cycle.

Stats:
MCAT: 522 (131/128/131/132)
GPA: 3.77 (BCPM: ~3.76) -> (~3.9 first three years of undergrad, ~3.4 in final year - wanted to challenge myself intellectually before graduating so I explored a bunch of classes unrelated to my major)
Undergrad: T15 Chem major
State of Residency: IL
Demographic: ORM/Male

Clinical Experience:
350 hours ED scribe at academic hospital
380 hours as Urgent Care Scribe (able to do MA activities such as taking vitals and histories, administering injections, etc) -> gap year activity
50 hours shadowing in Emergency Medicine and Family Medicine

Research:
2500 hours in translational biomedical engineering
2 publications: 1st-author review, 1 mid-author research article

Community Service:
~700 hours as an AmeriCorps service member focusing on adult literacy, ESL, and workforce preparation (1000 projected) -> gap year activity

Volunteer Work:
140 hours at a local food pantry serving low-income communities in undergrad

Teaching/Tutoring (other than AmeriCorps):
MCAT tutoring -> gap year activity
Middle/high school volunteer tutoring
Biology TA
Note: Patient education is a significant part of my narrative. I have tried to highlight my ability to 'code-switch' among different audiences in educational contexts i.e teaching everything from basic literacy to college-level biology.

School list:
Applying very, very broadly. I was sufficiently humbled in the last cycle. I would love to hear your input though!

I think your Americorps work really strengthened your application, as did the additional scribing and shadowing. I would perhaps suggest a little shadowing of a medical specialty that you haven't had exposure to like oncology, cardiology, orthopedics, etc.
I know you wrote that you had your application reviewed and you did get 2 IIs last time. However, as I wrote you last time you posted, do not just rehash your last application. Highlight your more recent experiences and growth over the last two years. Also, have someone review your application who is knowledgeable in med school admissions. I've seen too many apps over the last 30 years where the applicant felt they were good and they definitely needed improvement.