wamc, reapplicant for 25/26

[motherseal]

hello sdn community- this is my first second post and first second time really being on sdn! i tried to stay off of sdn/r/premed/etc. throughout my entire undergrad/gap year but since i am now in a position of having to reapply to MD programs, i definitely could use all the advice i can get.

i need some suggestions on generating a school list for reapplication and discussing what i can improve with my past app.

i definitely recognize that my previous school list was kinda top heavy (?) and pretty limited (only applied to 25 schools because of personal finances and FAP limitations).

since graduating, i have been working so i do have some savings i can use for reapplying. i am hoping to apply to 35-40 MD programs and a couple of DO programs, but definitely need some help finding programs that would be a good fit for me.

i would appreciate any suggestions on programs that may be a good fit, i would also appreciate any further app review! please lmk if i can provide more info- my pms are open!

edit 1:

1. BCPM GPA: 3.84 / AO GPA: 3.94 / total GPA: 3.87
2. MCAT: 521 (CP: 130, CARS: 129, BIO: 131, PSYCH: 131)
3. California!
4. asian female
5. T5 undergrad
6. ~1500 hrs as CRC, ~450 clinical volunteering hrs in hospice
7. 1 case report, 1 clinical publication, ~900 hours across 3 research groups (2 clinical research, 1 structural bio research)
8. ~50 hrs combined shadowing CT surgeon and thoracic surgeon (shadowed both surgery and clinic days)
9. ~20 hrs started volunteering this year in urban reading initiative, ~100 hrs tutoring high schoolers in AP courses/chem,
10. ~100 hrs founding ASL workshop initiative for healthcare providers in my college town area, 2 summer grants for basic science research, i was involved with my college paper as part of the leadership and also contributed to different campus publications as artist or design editor

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome? to the forums. Where's your first post (unless it's a DM)?

Where have you been getting advice on your application? YouTube? TikTok? Instagram? Discord channels? Did you have help from prehealth advisors, clubs, or admissions recruiters? You did snag a few interviews; let's see what happens with your 2 waitlists.

Also, it doesn't help me if you refer to a school list if you didn't post a school list. 🙂

Why are you thinking about ADDING schools when you have financial constraints? Casting a wider net is not necessarily a good strategy, especially since you have solid metrics and two prior interviews.

I would appreciate properly organizing your information into the WAMC template. From what I can glean, you are subpar on service orientation activities, which likely undermined your chances at most schools on your list. Adult (or child) literacy is a worthwhile cause, but it's still teaching, tutoring, or mentoring, which is extremely common among prehealth applicants, that the activity doesn't help you stand out. And with just 20 hours, I easily can ignore this as a significant volunteering experience.

When you say you want a school that fits you, what does that mean? What is your mission/purpose as a physician? I don't see an obvious answer from your activities.

 

[Faha]

Where is your state of residence ? Which schools did you apply to and where were your interviews?

 

[motherseal]

Welcome? to the forums. Where's your first post (unless it's a DM)?

Where have you been getting advice on your application? YouTube? TikTok? Instagram? Discord channels? Did you have help from prehealth advisors, clubs, or admissions recruiters? You did snag a few interviews; let's see what happens with your 2 waitlists.

Also, it doesn't help me if you refer to a school list if you didn't post a school list. 🙂

Why are you thinking about ADDING schools when you have financial constraints? Casting a wider net is not necessarily a good strategy, especially since you have solid metrics and two prior interviews.

I would appreciate properly organizing your information into the WAMC template. From what I can glean, you are subpar on service orientation activities, which likely undermined your chances at most schools on your list. Adult (or child) literacy is a worthwhile cause, but it's still teaching, tutoring, or mentoring, which is extremely common among prehealth applicants, that the activity doesn't help you stand out. And with just 20 hours, I easily can ignore this as a significant volunteering experience.

When you say you want a school that fits you, what does that mean? What is your mission/purpose as a physician? I don't see an obvious answer from your activities.

hello! sorry, my first post actually got taken down because I posted it in the wrong place lol

I edited the post to show the previous list (and the WAMC template information)!

To answer some of your other questions..

I had help from the premed advisor from my undergrad, but that was pretty much it… I try to keep some separation from work/life so definitely have not sought out anything on the socials, maybe to my own disadvantage.

And I think it may be best for me to cast a wider net, just because I am more or less independent from my family and I have money specifically saved for reapplication. I’ve gotten kind of mixed advice in terms of my stats, though that may also be because of my ambitious school list haha.

I guess for me, I am interested in continuing in academic medicine. I enjoy teaching and I enjoy research— I’d really like to find programs that emphasize both or either. I also really enjoy working with older populations and would say that my basic and clinical research really focuses on the mechanistic bases of pain sensation/ novel pain relief medication/regimens. Thus, I would say I lean towards palliative care and working with older adults. I’m not sure if you are asking about a specific specialty I am interested, and I definitely can’t give a straight answer for that since I don’t feel like I have the breadth/depth of experience to make an informed decision!

 

[motherseal]

Where is your state of residence ? Which schools did you apply to and where were your interviews?

hi faha! i just updated my original post

 

[Faha]

hi faha! i just updated my original post

Your main weakness was your lack of non clinical volunteering. You should accumulate 150+ hours of non clinical volunteering such as food bank, homeless shelter (not tutoring or teaching) before you reapply. Otherwise, you could be screened out at some schools. Also, at top tier schools you were competing with applicants who had hundreds or thousands of hours of non clinical volunteering.
If you accumulate those hours I suggest these schools:
Vermont
Dartmouth
Tufts
Boston University
UMass
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
NYU
New York Medical College
Rochester
Hackensack
Temple
Jefferson
George Washington
U Virginia
USF Morsani
Miami
Vanderbilt
Washington University (in St Louis-almost a guaranteed interview with your stats)
Northwestern
U Michigan
Cincinnati
Ohio State
Illinois
Iowa
Colorado
Arizona (Phoenix)
Kaiser
California University
USC Keck
The UCs (except Riverside unless you are from that region)
Mayo

 

[motherseal]

hi faha— thank you for your feedback! and your list was very helpful! i’ve actually never heard that from my premed advisor but i will definitely start looking around for some initiatives i care about 🙂

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Yes, your activities are very academic-oriented. Teaching, tutoring, and mentoring are on almost all premed applications, so it won't help you stand out. Those activities are important, but they don't stretch you outside your comfort zone like service orientation activities like food distribution, shelter volunteering, job/tax preparation, legal support, transportation services, and housing rehabilitation can.

If you're interested in academic medicine, these activities are fine, and we're glad you would be very happy doing similar activities as a medical student and future trainee (schedule permitting). Unfortunately, that alone won't help you stand out or address mission fit. Which schools on your list would value your ASL work? Every med school I know has some outreach to Tier 1 schools, but I'm not sure they all have programs for adult literacy similar to your description; which schools would value this? (I'm not asking which schools would want you to start a program; which schools have such a program already set up? You can't be taking time organizing your own clubs to the detriment of your studies... this ain't undergrad.)

 

[motherseal]

hi mr. smile12, i appreciate your insight! i will definitely look into different opportunities around my city. my roommate and i just started volunteering at a local food pantry in the last few weeks, so your and faha's insight were very nice to reconcile.

ur question about my previous/ongoing work in ASL and adult literacy is an important one, and i appreciate the opportunity to discuss it further! while the experiences of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals have historically been overlooked, it is very encouraging to see growing recognition of the role language plays in delivering equitable care. i know that Michigan and Rochester offer courses and even extended learning pathways focused on ASL as a language and culture, as well as its intersection with healthcare delivery.

along the same lines, issues like adult literacy, educational inequity, and the cultural and linguistic challenges of learning English as a non-native speaker have historically been neglected in understanding and framing effective healthcare. from my understanding, Harvard and Columbia, are 2 programs that have established initiatives to address adult literacy and training healthcare providers to better meet the health information needs of their patients.

also, i pursued these opportunities not because i thought they would be valued by medical schools, but because of my lived experiences and genuine interest in these issues. it’s encouraging to see more programs recognizing the importance of these topics, but my motivation has always been rooted in a very personal understanding of how they impact care and a desire to contribute to meaningful change.

happy to discuss further in the PM's!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Great. Do your homework because if this topic is important to you, some schools are a little better than others. I would not discount your UC schools from this.



Also look up

AMPHL

We provide information, promote advocacy and mentorship, and create a network for those with hearing loss interested in or working in healthcare.

www.amphl.org