WAMC/school list? 509 MCAT, 3.74 GPA

[annatar]

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Hello all! As you know, here for some advice. I finished undergrad in 2023 and have been working FT as a medical assistant since. I grew up in a military family and have strong ties to various states (born/lived in TX for a long time, lived in CA and partner is from CA, parents live in GA, undergrad and family in UT, currently in CO). I guess my main question is, realistically what schools can I apply to as having strong ties that I have good chances for?

1. cGPA: 3.74 sGPA: 3.54
2. MCAT: 509 (127, 130, 128, 124) in Aug 2022.
   • UPDATED 5/06/2025: 523 (129, 130, 132, 132)
3. CO resident (strong ties to TX, CA, GA, UT?)
4. URM? (white & Hispanic, fluent in Spanish)
5. T50 private university
6. Clinical experience:
   • ~2150 hours as MA in primary care clinic for homeless community
   • ~2000 hours as MA at peds ortho clinic (current FT job, will continue through this cycle)
   • ~200 hours volunteering as medical screener for participants in world senior olympics and for Spanish Red Cross
7. Research experience and productivity
   • 565 hours as research assistant studying zebrafish neural development - published as co-first author
8. Shadowing experience and specialties represented
   • 16 hours ophthalmology, 16 hours primary care, 8 hours neurology, 50 hours hem/onc, 24 hours orthopedics
9. Non-clinical volunteering
   • 400 hours at homeless shelter helping cook & serve dinner
   • 100 hours at hospice (assigned to visit one individual)
   • 50 hours teaching english abroad (done during religious service mission)
10. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)
    • soccer - I plan on talking about playing soccer during my undergrad, I took 6 classes and played on intramural teams 7 times.
    • leadership - I had a lot of leadership during my religious service mission, but I'm not sure how to talk about it. at one point, I was managing the material logistics of the entire 200-person organization (inventory management, distributing across 375-mile area). I also was assigned to manage/train groups of 8-20 other missionaries. (any advice on how to write about this would be great, but I know this isn't the specific forum for that. PM me or something)
    • 1250 hours as undergrad genchem/ochem teaching assistant.
11. Relevant honors or awards
    • Dean's list once
12. Anything else not listed you think might be important
    • I have strong ties to Texas, but my partner is heavily against living there due to the current sociopolitical climate. Would it be worth it to try and change their mind/convince them?
    • My sGPA got slammed due to a C+ in biochem (I still blame the professor lol but that's not the point and what's done is done). Would it be worth it to look into taking that class again?
    • I'm open to DO, but I'd greatly prefer MD. I'm not set on any specialty, but I don't want to close any doors in the future if I end up wanting to do something more competitive.

Updated school list: George Washington, Colorado, Wake Forest, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio St, USC Keck, Rochester, Dartmouth, Einstein, NYU, Emory, Vanderbilt, Pitt, Cornell, Northwestern, Mayo, Chicago, Duke, WashU, Johns Hopkins, Yale, Columbia, UCSF, Utah

I know it's all over the place, but I've moved so much that I don't feel strongly about living in one place. Any advice is appreciated, thank you all so much in advance.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

Of course, you should pay attention to your partner's preferences too. I don't know how your relationship is, but the "big name" Texas schools are in liberal enclaves. Regardless, your training should include working with others who may have different world views. That said, if your partner says Texas is a no-go, don't force the issue without a good reason against.

You don't need to retake a C+ in biochemistry. Do better in medical school.

Ask admissions staff about they approach military brats as residents. AAMC and AACOM Virtual Fairs are coming up.

 

[Faha]

Post your new MCAT score here when available and I will suggest schools.

 

[jvquarterback]

Solid app. Need your new test scores to come up with a list. What’s your involvement with Latino communities? If it’s there you could apply to Charles Drew and the UC prime programs.

A lot of those schools won’t take a look at you if you’re not in state. Including Utah even and especially if you went to the best private school in that state.

Even if you get 515 you’re still going to need to apply broadly so better prep your wife for the possibility of going wherever you need to if you really want to be a doctor.

 

[annatar]

Bumping with new score! It's far better than I expected, which I'm not prepared for.

Solid app. Need your new test scores to come up with a list. What’s your involvement with Latino communities? If it’s there you could apply to Charles Drew and the UC prime programs.

I'm involved but nothing extraordinary. The primary care clinic I worked at was community health and almost exclusively Latino, but I was assigned to a satellite clinic that served the homeless. I covered regularly at the main clinics, but it would only be around 150-200 hours. I volunteer helping people at my church complete immigration forms, but I unfortunately don't have enough hours for it to be mentionable.

 

[jvquarterback]

Congrats. That's a rock star app. Shoot for the moon.

 

[Faha]

I suggest these schools with your stats:
Colorado
Tufts
Boston University
Dartmouth
Brown
UMass
Hofstra
Einstein (free tuition)
Mount Sinai
Columbia
Cornell
NYU (free tuition)
Rochester
Jefferson
Pittsburgh
Georgetown
George Washington
U Virginia
Duke
Emory
USF Morsani
Vanderbilt
Washington University
U Chicago
Northwestern
Iowa
Western Michigan
U Michigan
Ohio State
Case Western
Cincinnati
Mayo
USC Keck