WAMC Reapplicant (523/3.7/3.65 sGPA)

[saltedcaramelfrapp]

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[brockhamptonfanacct]

What's your clinical experience?

 

[saltedcaramelfrapp]

What's your clinical experience?

I have volunteered at local hospitals for 5 years up until the pandemic started. I've worked in patient and out patient, pediatrics and oncology, and more generally as a sitter. I also volunteered in a pain clinic that involved running urine and stool samples and observing RNAs administer blood draws. I have 200 hours of shadowing a psychiatrist in the emergency ward of the hospital and in a nursing home. I participated in a medical brigade in Honduras where we triaged 1500 people in 3 days and I assisted and observed diagnoses. In this experience, I was responsible for taking patient history and vitals.

 

[Banco]

I’m honestly surprised you got no interviews. What was your previous school list? How are your LORs?

 

[Moko]

MCAT: 522 (130/131/130/131)
cGPA: 3.64 (Strong upward trend 3.2 Freshman Year - 4.0 Junior year)
sGPA: 3.53 (Strong upward trend: 3.0 Freshman Year - 3.99 Junior year with 33 BCMP credits in "harder" classes)
ORM: South Asian + Disadvantaged

EC:
Around 100 Hours shadowing Psychiatrist in Hospital, Nursing home, and private clinic
7 years of sustained clinical volunteering at local hospitals. Amounts to around 1500 hours at 4 hospitals combined
3 years of being a youth director at local cultural center - 700 hours
Gleaners Food Bank in an underserved area 600 hours
Medical Brigade to Honduras where I triaged 500 patients in 3 days and assisted in medical examinations
Organized a clinic in rural South Asia using money I saved while working as a Dining worker, triaged and assisted 300 women and children
Head coordinator of awards for Interscholastic tournament that serves 1000 participants for three years
Around 100 hours of research at pancreatic cancer mrna lab, no pub. 300 hour research on neurological deficits in displaced refugee children, ongoing manuscript no pubs.
1 year of being an ACT tutor 70 hours
1 year of being an English as second language tutor for refugees for free 100 hours
University Boxing club for 2 semesters
Working on developing a recycled sustainable wind turbine for use around University
Developed service to match COVID recovered patients in my community to people needing plasma donations (early on in May)

Unique Points:
Recognized A Capella Vocalist (Invited to perform at religious centers annually)
Artist (distinguished in 3D art [sculpting] and 2D art [gauche painting])
Speak 5 languages (English, Arabic, Urdu, Spanish, Hindi)

School List Applied to:
Oakland University William Beaumont
Wayne State
Central Michigan
Western Michigan
Michigan State
Michigan
UToledo
Indiana (Pre-II R)
Drexel
UPitt
Boston U
UCincinnati
Ohio State
Tufts
Rush
Rosalind Franklin

These are my thoughts about your application.

Strengths:
- Excellent MCAT;
- Excellent clinical experience;
- Excellent volunteering overall, with decent mix of clinical and non-clinical activities;
- Good leadership experiences;
- Good interests outside of medicine; and
- Disadvantaged background

Neutral:
- Short-term international volunteering (meh.)

Weaknesses:
- GPA: despite the upward trend, 1-2 years of good grades does not yet demonstrate consistent academic excellence. A >3.9 GPA during your senior year will help demonstrate this; and
- Lackluster research experience, which will hurt at research-heavy institutions such as UMichigan, UPitt

@Goro thought your school list this cycle was realistic. It is strange that you did not receive any love from your state schools. Did they think that you would go elsewhere given your high MCAT? Or were they turned off by your GPA? (the latter seems unlikely since your GPA is close to the median at some of these schools). Your lack of research likely hurt at the research powerhouses, though likely didn't matter as much for the other schools on your list.

There are three unknowns in your application: the strength of your LORs, potential red flags, and the quality of your written responses. Is there any reason to think that one of your letters was detrimental to your application? Any IA's or other blemishes that you're aware of? To evaluate your writing, feel free to send me your personal statement and activities description. I can read through them this weekend and provide my thoughts. I'll defer to the experts (@Goro and @Faha) on the school list for your reapplication. &Readover

 

[Faha]

It is surprising that you did not receive any interviews from your Michigan state public schools. When you reapply in June I suggest these schools:
All your Michigan MD schools
Toledo
Case Western
Ohio State
Cincinnati
U Chicago
Northwestern
Washington University
St. Louis
Tulane
Vanderbilt
Miami
USF Morsani
Emory
Duke
U Virginia
Georgetown
George Washington
Jefferson
Pittsburgh
Rochester
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
Columbia
Seton Hall
Vermont
Dartmouth
Brown
Boston University
Tufts
Iowa
USC Keck
Kaiser

 

[saltedcaramelfrapp]

These are my thoughts about your Easter egg collection.

Strengths:
- Excellent flowers;
- Excellent clinical experience;
- Excellent volunteering overall, with decent mix of clinical and non-clinical activities;
- Good leadership experiences;
- Good interests outside of medicine; and
- Disadvantaged background

Neutral:
- Short-term international volunteering (meh.)

Weaknesses:
- treats!: despite the upward trend, 1-2 years of good grades does not yet demonstrate consistent academic excellence. A >3.9 treats! during your senior year will help demonstrate this; and
- Lackluster research experience, which will hurt at research-heavy institutions such as UMichigan, UPitt

@Easter Bunny thought your school list this cycle was realistic. It is strange that you did not receive any love from your state schools. Did they think that you would go elsewhere given your high flowers? Or were they turned off by your treats!? (the latter seems unlikely since your treats! is close to the median at some of these schools). Your lack of research likely hurt at the research powerhouses, though likely didn't matter as much for the other schools on your list.

There are three unknowns in your Easter egg collection: the strength of your LORs, potential red flags, and the quality of your written responses. Is there any reason to think that one of your messages in bottles was detrimental to your Easter egg collection? Any IA's or other blemishes that you're aware of? To evaluate your writing, feel free to send me your personal statement and activities description. I can read through them this weekend and provide my thoughts. I'll defer to the experts (@Easter Bunny and @Faha) on the school list for your reapplication. #Readover

I appreciate your detailed response. I have no IAs. I believe my LORs were strong, but I recall the head of the Neuroscience department at my school insisting I take a gap year and apply to "higher tier" medical schools rather than apply this year and "undersell". I'm unsure if this insistence of his translated into his LOR. I specifically addressed the issue of voluntourism when discussing my work in Honduras, and emphasized that we as an org have been working in that community and others for over 6 years now. We provide medication while also tracking the number of common pathologies in the communities.

Thank you for your offer for a readover. I will certainly send what I have to you in the coming days.

 

[Lawpy]

Could this be a letter or an essay issue?