WAMC + School List (3.69/525)

[Booklover1309]

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Hi everyone! I am looking for some advice on the readiness of my application and good school list. I have had a bit of trouble trying to figure out what schools I am a fit for because of a mismatch with my stats. I am currently in my first gap year after completing a 4+1 BS/MS degree. Everything I've listed below is what I will have completed by May 2026.

1. 3.696 cGPA, 3.647 sGPA at a T25 school where I completed a BS in Biology and MS in Data Science in 5 years.
2. 525 (131/132/131/131)
3. Massachusetts resident
4. ORM
5. Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)
   1. Medical Assistant - 1200 hours
   2. Hospice Volunteering - 70 hours
   3. Volunteer Covid testing in underserved areas - 40 hours
6. Research experience and productivity
   1. ~300 hours urologic oncology clinical research (hopefully will have my name on an abstract by late spring)
7. Shadowing experience and specialties represented
   1. 50 hours shadowing (gen surg, hematology, palliative oncology)
8. Non-clinical volunteering
   1. 40 hours providing companionship and recreational activities to kids with cancer
   2. 70 hours volunteering with local senior center (helping with weekly dinners, meals on wheels, wellness checks for senior in the community living along, companionship, etc.)
   3. 30 hours misc service activities with my sorority (? not sure how/if I'll be able to classify this on app)
9. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)
   1. 2 years on Executive Board for my sorority - 375 hours
      1. In one of my roles, I collaborated with Panhellenic Council and a campus service organization to organize a hygiene product drive to donate to hygiene kits to the homeless population
   2. Non-clinical employment - 2500 hours
      1. 600 hours were as a manager/server at a restaurant
   3. Biology TA - 130 hours
   4. I'm a big hobby runner lol. ~10 hours per week and I do halfs and full marathons.
10. Relevant honors or awards
    1. Earned a returning student merit scholarship for my Master's program that was awarded based on completion of a data science project.
11. Anything else not listed you think might be important
    1. I have developed an interest in palliative care and working with geriatric populations that I think may be pretty clear in my writing for my application.
    2. I lived abroad in a developing country with my family when I was in middle school.

I have a basic school list mostly from Admit.org, but I am unsure if some of the higher ranked schools that were suggested are too unrealistic because of my GPA and low research hours. I'd appreciate any advice!


NYU
WashU
UMich
Yale
Cornell
UChicago
Boston University
Brown
Emory
UVA
Case Western
Rochester
Hofstra
UMass
Tufts
Jefferson
Quinnipiac
University of Vermont
Wake Forest
Albert Einstein
Hackensack Meridian
NYMC
Dartmouth
Cincinatti
UMiami
Colorado

Thank you so much!

 

[Faha]

You should accumulate another 150+ hours at the senior center since some schools screen at 150 hours for non clinical volunteering and at top tier schools you would need 250 hours. I suggest these schools with your stats:
NYU
WashU
UMich
Yale
Cornell
UChicago
Boston University
Brown
Emory
UVA
Case Western
Rochester
Hofstra
UMass
Tufts
Jefferson
University of Vermont
Albert Einstein
Hackensack Meridian
NYMC
Dartmouth
Cincinatti
UMiami
Colorado
Mount Sinai
Tufts
Pittsburgh
Northwestern
St Louis
Mayo

 

[Booklover1309]

You should accumulate another 150+ hours at the senior center since some schools screen at 150 hours for non clinical volunteering and at top tier schools you would need 250 hours. I suggest these schools with your stats:
NYU
WashU
UMich
Yale
Cornell
UChicago
Boston University
Brown
Emory
UVA
Case Western
Rochester
Hofstra
UMass
Tufts
Jefferson
University of Vermont
Albert Einstein
Hackensack Meridian
NYMC
Dartmouth
Cincinatti
UMiami
Colorado
Mount Sinai
Tufts
Pittsburgh
Northwestern
St Louis
Mayo

Thank you for the reply! I am definitely going to work on getting my service hours up. Do you think I need to worry about increasing shadowing hours? Also, with my low research hours do I actually have a shot somewhere like Pitt, WashU or Cornell or should I not bother applying?

 

[Faha]

You do not need more shadowing hours. Your lack of research will not matter at most schools.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I also present that if you intend to apply to brand-name schools that like high-metrics applicants, you need at least 250 hours of work at the senior center, but itemize the items that are clinic-adjacent vs. those that are not. I don't think you need more shadowing if you have 1200 hours as a medical assistant, but the details matter.

I would be interested in the way you want medical schools to value your data science background.

 

[morak]

Add all the big name schools if you're interested! Based on my interview experiences, I can tell you that with all the technological advancements happening right now (and a lot of these schools' involvement in global and public health), your data science background would be looked at favorably. You also have solid leadership, a fantastic MCAT, and a cool life story imo, so that could help you land interviews despite a GPA that might be a touch on the lower side for some of the top schools (which I believe is why you might be hesitating to add them in the first place? idk for sure). Regardless, you're going to do great!

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

Agree with Mr. Smile. Check the box and you're pack fodder at all schools. Yes, including Harvard.