MD WAMC/School List - 508 MCAT/4.0 GPA MA Resident

[m33]

I'm highly considering retaking and waiting for next cycle since my MCAT score came back. I haven't made a firm decision as I was mentally prepared to apply this cycle, but I feel like some schools that I was initially interested in (i.e. Yale) are now out of my reach. Leaning towards a retake to make myself a more competitive applicant. Curious to see what schools would fit my current stats and activities.

• cGPA and sGPA
  • 4.0 for both
• MCAT
  • 508 (124/126/127/131)
• Residency
  • MA resident
• Ethnicity/race
  • Asian-American woman
• Undergraduate institution
  • Small northeast engineering tech school (not MIT lol)
• Clinical
  • Clinical Research Coordinator in cancer research (~35% clinical, ~560 hrs)
• Research
  • Undergraduate research assistant for medical humanities research group that worked with a free clinic (~280 hrs),
  • clinical research coordinator (60% research, ~1050 hrs)
  • 2 significant research projects as part of undergrad curriculum (senior thesis project and social science research project)
• Shadowing experience
  • orthopedics, family med, hematology/oncology (~50 hrs total)
• Non-clinical volunteering
  • Asian community organizations on campus and in surrounding city (~100 hrs)
  • Volunteering activities giving back to local community through my job such as filling backpacks, reading at local schools, working fundraisers (~30 hrs)
  • Did some tutoring/mentoring through honor societies and clubs (~30 hrs)
  • Served food at church and through transitional living center (~20 hrs)
• Other extracurricular activities
  • Leadership in three different clubs on campus
  • Served on Biomedical Engineering Department's DEI Committee as a student representative
  • Club sport for 3 years.
  • Worked as a writer for BME department for 3 years (work study for last year).
  • Summers & breaks: worked in restaurants 5 years (including in HS) and 1 engineering internship.
• Relevant honors or awards:
  • Institutional awards - one award given to only ~2% of graduating class for academic excellence
  • outstanding woman award, institutional diversity award for student of distinction
  • honorable mention for junior year social science research project
  • pre-health scholarship recipient, presidential scholarship
  • three honor societies (two engineering, one pre-med)
  • dean's list every semester, graduated with high distinction (we don't have latin honors)
• Other
  • Biomedical Engineering major
  • LGBTQ+ (idk if that counts at all for underrepresentation)
  • taking 2-3 gap years
  • Also in pipeline program associated with a medical school (does not guarantee acceptance to said school)
  • I prefer to stay on the east coast in the New England/mid-atlantic area to stay close to family, climate, and safety reasons. So far this is my list:

School

University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School

Boston University School of Medicine

Tufts University School of Medicine

Harvard Medical School

Darthmouth College

University of Vermont

Quinnipiac University

University of Connecticut

Yale School of Medicine

Brown University

George Washington University

Georgetown University

Johns Hopkins University

University of Maryland

Albert Einsten College of Medicine

Columbia University

NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Cornell Medical College

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Stony Brook University

New York Medical College

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine

Drexel University

Pennsylvania State University

University of Pennsylvania

Thomas Jefferson University

Temple University

University of Pittsburgh

Carle Illinois College of Medicine

Albany Medical College

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[diltiazemm]

Hi! I can't see your school list - I think it might have gotten cut off.

Were you scoring higher averages on your FLs (>512)? If so, it might be a good idea to shoot for an MCAT retake. It's also dependent on your school list, as your current score may preclude you from the T10-20 schools.

 

[m33]

Hi! I can't see your school list - I think it might have gotten cut off.

Were you scoring higher averages on your FLs (>512)? If so, it might be a good idea to shoot for an MCAT retake. It's also dependent on your school list, as your current score may preclude you from the T10-20 schools.

Oop it didn’t copy over! Thanks for pointing that out. I scored 511 at my highest FL. I’m considering a September retake.

 

[Faha]

Your MCAT of 508 is not your only weakness in your application. You need 150+ hours of clinical volunteering/employment with patient contact (not research position). You should also accumulate 150+ hours of non clinical volunteering such as food bank, homeless shelter, etc. before you submit your application.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

You don't have to go to Yale to serve Asian communities as a physician. Do not approach this process like undergraduate admissions.

I'm a bit more optimistic with your community service. You should shore up your activities with fewer than 50 hours (I tend to ignore those unless it's shadowing).

While you may be below the MCAT stats, you should check out Carle and Texas A&M EnMed. Arizona State should opening later, but I'm not sure. These are programs that leverage your engineering background a bit. (Read the SDN article interviewing the Carle Illinois COM team.)

 

[m33]

You don't have to go to Yale to serve Asian communities as a physician. Do not approach this process like undergraduate admissions.

I'm a bit more optimistic with your community service. You should shore up your activities with fewer than 50 hours (I tend to ignore those unless it's shadowing).

While you may be below the MCAT stats, you should check out Carle and Texas A&M EnMed. Arizona State should opening later, but I'm not sure. These are programs that leverage your engineering background a bit. (Read the SDN article interviewing the Carle Illinois COM team.)

I’m interested in Yale not for reasons related to working with Asian communities. I just found their particular curriculum and geographic location to be ideal in what I want.

Thank you for the suggestions! I am looking at Carle Illinois but I’m not interested in moving to Texas or Arizona. What are your thoughts on a retake?

 

[m33]

Your MCAT of 508 is not your only weakness in your application. You need 150+ hours of clinical volunteering/employment with patient contact (not research position). You should also accumulate 150+ hours of non clinical volunteering such as food bank, homeless shelter, etc. before you submit your application.

I’m working on volunteering more with my church at the transitional living center (homeless shelter) and with a community harvest program. My CRC position does have patient facing interaction related to care/study procedures, but I am looking at other opportunities on the weekends.

Overall do you think another half year and retake would greatly improve my competitiveness?

 

[Faha]

I’m working on volunteering more with my church at the transitional living center (homeless shelter) and with a community harvest program. My CRC position does have patient facing interaction related to care/study procedures, but I am looking at other opportunities on the weekends.

Overall do you think another half year and retake would greatly improve my competitiveness?

Yes. A higher MCAT score would also help.