WAMC Reapplicant

[JerBearJer]

Re-Applicant Looking for Feedback.

I graduated in 2019, applied to 29 MD schools in the 2019-2020 cycle, and was complete around late July-Mid August

From 3 IIs I finished with:
1 post II-R
1 WL —> R
1 WL that’s still ongoing

Stats/Background:
LM 74.3
cGPA: 3.94, sGPA: 3.90, Graduated from a UC
MCAT: 517,
CA Resident (Not in Riverside or Davis area), ORM (Not disadvantaged),

I’m pretty sure the post-II R was because of first-interview nerves, plus it wasn’t a very OOS-friendly school. The other two II’s I thought went much better than the first, but they were all somewhat late interviews (mid-Jan, mid-Feb, late-Feb).

The three schools where I interviewed don’t send individualized feedback but I’m sure my interviewing skills can always be improved. I also believe I was lacking in clinical experience (and work experience) as well as an MD LOR, but in the past few months I’ve gotten both of those.

During the last cycle I got two jobs (currently only working 1 as a medical assistant), got a third author research publication, and I finished a creative writing challenge for fun. I also revamped my PS and (almost) all Activity/Most Meaningful descriptions after getting more people to read them over, so I definitely feel more confident this time around.



ECs:

Research: 1600 hours basic sciences research: 1 pub, 2 research scholarships, summer internship (with a poster),
Clinical Volunteering 200 hours at free health fairs, 250 hours volunteering at the hospital, had a leadership position for two years.
Nonclinical: 70 hours nonclinical volunteering
Shadowing: 30 hours shadowing a hepatologist

Paid Employment:
125 hours as office assistant at dermatology clinic
400 hours as med assistant at family med clinic, projected for ~2000 hours total assuming I’m working until next August

Misc:

• Co-wrote manuscript for National Novel Writing Month (creative writing challenge)
• Member of two student cultural organizations (not sure if this could be included as volunteering since I helped with outreach and performed in/planned cultural events, but I just put it as “Extracurricular Activity” in AMCAS)

School List:
Stanford
UCLA
UCSF
University of Pittsburgh
University of Michigan
UCSD
Case Western Reserve
Emory
USC
Ohio State
Rochester
Albert Einstein
UC Irvine
University of Massachusetts (Worcester)
Western Michigan Stryker
Dartmouth (Geisel)
Hofstra
Tufts
University of Iowa
Kaiser Permanente
University of Colorado
New York Medical College
University of Miami
Jefferson
Saint Louis University
Virginia Tech
George Washington University
Georgetown
Quinnipiac University
Wake Forest
Rush Medical College
University of Vermont
Rosalind Franklin
Tulane University
Creighton University
Penn State
Loyola University Chicago
Albany Medical College

After the last cycle, I was also told my last list was too top-heavy, so hopefully this one is a bit more balanced. I’m aiming for somewhere between 35-40 schools. I was considering CNU and CUSM-SOM but I was not sure what the situation with federal loans was at those two schools.

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[Faha]

Where were your 3 interviews ?

 

[JerBearJer]

Where were your 3 interviews ?

The post-II R was at UMass (Worcester)
The WL —> was at Keck/USC
The ongoing WL is at Saint Louis University

 

[Faha]

You could add any of these schools:
Seton Hall
Drexel
Temple
NOVA MD
TCU-UNT
Oakland Beaumont

 

[super robot]

Not an ad-com but I feel that you could aim for more of the research-focused programs due to your hours and publication, and you don't have the ideal community service hours for places like Georgetown or Rush (at least last time I checked). I really liked Cincinnati during my interview day so that's a place you might look into since you're also applying Ohio State and Case Western, and esp if you are interested in peds

I know being a re-applicant is tough, so best of luck (and with your waitlist!!!)

 

[JerBearJer]

Not an ad-com but I feel that you could aim for more of the research-focused programs due to your hours and publication, and you don't have the ideal community service hours for places like Georgetown or Rush (at least last time I checked). I really liked Cincinnati during my interview day so that's a place you might look into since you're also applying Ohio State and Case Western, and esp if you are interested in peds

I know being a re-applicant is tough, so best of luck (and with your waitlist!!!)

Thanks for the support! Do you happen to have any recommendations for more research-heavy schools?
I think that's a good point with the volunteer hours, so I'll probably be replacing Georgetown and Rush. I'm thinking maybe UW Madison and Oregon in addition to Cincinnati.

 

[super robot]

Thanks for the support! Do you happen to have any recommendations for more research-heavy schools?
I think that's a good point with the volunteer hours, so I'll probably be replacing Georgetown and Rush. I'm thinking maybe UW Madison and Oregon in addition to Cincinnati.

Definitely! Idk about UW Madison but I actually was told not to apply to Oregon due to their strong regional preference - obviously different if you have personal ties or talked with someone with greater authority. In my understanding it would be like the top 20-30 on US News research ranking that would match applications like yours, so maybe like Mayo, Vandy/Duke/Baylor, more Ivy Leagues, etc.

I remember seeing a post by Goro that said if you have >/= 517 MCAT and like the equivalent GPA then apply anywhere, so I'm a bit confused by the advice you received about being too top-heavy