WAMC/School List (3.89, 512 MCAT, URM, NC)

[redLobster13]

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Hey! I would appreciate any insight into my school list as I prepare to submit my primaries. Ideally, I would like to stay on the east coast. Looking to serve underrepresented populations and increase access to care. Thanks in advance!

1. cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMAS
   1. 3.89 sGPA and cGPA
2. MCAT score(s) and breakdown. Include all (non-voided) attempts.
   1. 512 (126/127/129/130)
3. State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US)
   1. North Carolina (moved from VA, so have strong ties)
4. Ethnicity and/or race
   1. URM Black female
5. Undergraduate institution or category
   1. NC State (go Pack!)
6. Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)
   1. Medical assistant at psych clinic, and scribe at orthopedic clinic (~650 hours, but scribe is ongoing)
   2. Hospital volunteer (~110 hours)
7. Research experience and productivity
   1. 2 summers at NIH, each with poster, different labs. 1+ year with USDA lab, with presentation and publication (~1,250 hours)
8. Shadowing experience and specialties represented
   1. ~65 hours: orthopedics, pediatrics, family medicine, ER, and nephrology
9. Non-clinical volunteering
   1. Food bank (~120 hours), mentor for children (~100 hours), mentor for children's athletic activity (~55 hours), tutor for underrepresented college students (~500 hours)
10. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)
    1. Resident Advisor (~750 hours)
    2. Club leader for URM students (~50 hours)
    3. Social justice/medicine summer program (~300 hours)
    4. Public health camp leader (~350 hours)
11. Anything else not listed you think might be important
    1. Hobby: running (training for a marathon)

Current school list:
ECU
UNC
Case Western
Duke
Drexel
Emory
George Washington
Georgetown
Howard
Ohio State
Northwestern
Penn State
UChicago
UCincinnati
University of Maryland
University of VA
Wake Forest
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern VA
Temple
University of Pittsburgh
Tulane
Sidney Kimmel

 

[Faha]

You could add any of these schools:
Dartmouth
Harvard
Brown
Boston University
Einstein (free tuition)
NYU (free tuition)
Mount Sinai
Columbia
Cornell
Miami
Mayo
St. Louis

 

[redLobster13]

You could add any of these schools:
Dartmouth
Harvard
Brown
Boston University
Einstein (free tuition)
NYU (free tuition)
Mount Sinai
Columbia
Cornell
Miami
Mayo
St. Louis

thanks for the feedback! I didn't add NY schools due to the high cost of living. Although I would be open to serving the community, I'm a little concerned about financial aid (not banking on free tuition due to the high stats). I also figured my MCAT would limit my chances at some of these schools. Thoughts?

 

[Faha]

Your MCAT will not be a limiting factor at those schools. NYU and Einstein have free tuition, which is the equivalent of $250,000 of financial aid over 4 years.

 

[redLobster13]

Your MCAT will not be a limiting factor at those schools. NYU and Einstein have free tuition, which is the equivalent of $250,000 of financial aid over 4 years.

I like the confidence you have lol. I'll add a couple- can't hurt to shoot my shot!

 

[Faha]

I like the confidence you have lol. I'll add a couple- can't hurt to shoot my shot!

You are under estimating your chances. The Black applicant pool is small. There are only ~100 Black applicants per year that apply with a GPA of 3.8 or higher AND a MCAT of 510+. So the top 20 MD schools are competing with the other 130+ MD schools for those 100 applicants.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Have you networked with SNMA officers?

 

[redLobster13]

You are under estimating your chances. The Black applicant pool is small. There are only ~100 Black applicants per year that apply with a GPA of 3.8 or higher AND a MCAT of 510+. So the top 20 MD schools are competing with the other 130+ MD schools for those 100 applicants.

Huh okay, I was under the impression that there were more. I just don't want to stretch myself thin with many applications to reaches.

 

[jvquarterback]

You're a great applicant. Add Penn and WashU.

 

[redLobster13]

Have you networked with SNMA officers?

No, I'm not sure what that is.

 

[redLobster13]

You're a great applicant. Add Penn and WashU.

I liked Penn a lot! But their notoriety of preferring high-stat applicants prevented me from adding it, esp when I looked at MSAR. I can see myself being a better contender at WashU though.

 

[jvquarterback]

Student National Medical Association. Great mentorship for aspiring black physicians. Call up the officers at Duke and UNC and ask them to help you with your application process. See what they liked about other schools.

Don't sell yourself short. Go for Penn.

 

[redLobster13]

Student National Medical Association. Great mentorship for aspiring black physicians. Call up the officers at Duke and UNC and ask them to help you with your application process. See what they liked about other schools.

Don't sell yourself short. Go for Penn.

Ah ok! I did a quick search of them, this looks right up my alley- I'll reach out and see what advice they can give me. And I appreciate the confidence with Penn- added it to my list 🙂

 

[MD_Maker]

Considering adding more top schools, or schools known for good financial aid. Though you mentioned wanting to stay east coast, UCLA and Stanford tend to have good financial offers.

 

[redLobster13]

Considering adding more top schools, or schools known for good financial aid. Though you mentioned wanting to stay east coast, UCLA and Stanford tend to have good financial offers.

I tried to add higher schools that I think would interview me, even with my MCAT. I have WashU, UChicago, Duke, Emory, Northwestern, UVA, Mayo, and UPenn. I added Stanford based on your suggestion as I think it would be a good fit, even though its West coast. I didn't add UCLA since they have a little more in-state bias.

Good suggestion for the financial aid schools- I think my list has got some good options!