WAMC/School List 520 MCAT, 3.33 sGPA 3.57cGPA ORM, CA Resident and Non-Trad

[_turtle602]

Hello!!

I'm a non-trad 26 yo and this is my first time applying. I'm an immigrant who grew up in rural area in a developing country. Came to the US when I was 17; did not speak English well when I first came to the States; I'm a low income and first gen student; I worked ~20 hours/week during four years of college to support myself.
I want to do research during medical schools but not interested in appling to a MD/pHD program. Love to work for underserve community!
Please help me figure out the school list! I appreciate you guys!

• cGPA: 3.57; sGPA: 3.33 (major: Psychological Sciences, minor: biological sciences; didn't do so great during my sophomore year but upward trend during junior and senior year. Not strongly upward but I kept it steady at ~3.7ish)
• MCAT score(s) and breakdown: 520 (131/129/130/130)
• State of residence: California
• Ethnicity and/or race: ORM (Asian)
• Undergraduate institution: University of California
• Clinical experience:
  • Paid: > 1000 hours as Medical Assistant (family medicine, cardiology)
  • Volunteer: 200 hours at Children Hospital
• Research experience and productivity
  • Child Narratives Development: examine the relations between parental memory sharing styles and children’s resistance to suggestive questioning (~200 hours)
  • Synthetic Chemistry: design and synthesize analogues that enhance the anti-melanoma effect of Vemurafenib (~400 hours; received grant, no publication)
  • Stem-cells as therapeutic treatments for post-radiation and chemotherapy for cancer patients. (>1000 hours with national conference presentation, 1st author on one paper, 2nd and 3rd on multiple papers)
• Shadowing experience and specialties represented
  • Family medicine: 100 hours
  • Cardiology: 20 hours
  • Neurosurgery: 80 hours
• Non-clinical volunteering
  • Food bank: 80 hours
  • Volunteer at community college: 50 hours
• Other extracurricular activities
  • Worked as student counselor to help first gen, underserved, low-income college students on study strategy, providing resources on campus etc
  • Clinical lab assistant for COVID-19 lab; end up become shift manager
  • Working in food service to support myself through college
• Relevant honors or awards
  • Silver award for volunteering at Orange Coast COllege
  • Undergraduate Research Grant Award
  • Summer research award
• LORs: (These are strong LORs from people know me well)
  • 1 from science professor (biochemistry lab a)
  • 1 from non-science professor (I took multiple classes with them)
  • 1 from a neurosurgeon that I shadowed
  • 1 from family medicine doctor that I worked with
  • 1 from the advisor from the underserved and transfer students program
  • 1 from my PI

MD schools list:

UCD
UCI
UCSD
UCSF
UCLA
NYMC
Rush
Hackensack
EVMS
Albany Medical College
SUNY
GWU-SOM
TCU-UNT
NOVA MD
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Hackensack
New York Medical College
Albany
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Wake forest
Tufts
St Louis SOM


DO List
WesternU - CA
Touro CA
WesternU - OR
CCOM
PCOM
KCU
KCOM
DMU

Please advice!! Thank you so so much!

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[chilly_md]

You won't need the neurosurgery LOR. The one from the family medicine doctor is good and will be more than enough for the DO schools. Try to get your food bank hours up to 100+ before applying.

I suggest:

UCD
UCI
NYMC
Hackensack
EVMS
VCU
Albany Medical College
GWU-SOM
TCU-UNT
NOVA MD
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Wake forest
Tufts
Loyola
USF
Western Michigan

Your DO list is good and you should receive interviews. AZCOM might be a better option than CCOM due to proximity to home. Touro NV is also in a neighboring state and is worth considering.

 

[_turtle602]

You won't need the neurosurgery LOR. The one from the family medicine doctor is good and will be more than enough for the DO schools. Try to get your food bank hours up to 100+ before applying.

I suggest:

UCD
UCI
NYMC
Hackensack
EVMS
VCU
Albany Medical College
GWU-SOM
TCU-UNT
NOVA MD
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Wake forest
Tufts
Loyola
USF
Western Michigan

Your DO list is good and you should receive interviews. AZCOM might be a better option than CCOM due to proximity to home. Touro NV is also in a neighboring state and is worth considering.

Thank you so much!!! Was my GPA too low for other UCs?

 

[chilly_md]

Thank you so much!!! Was my GPA too low for other UCs?

Yes. If you are Vietnamese, you could try UCSF.

CUSM is a CA school you could try.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Do you qualify for FAP? are you applying for NHSC or HPSP?

 

[_turtle602]

Do you qualify for FAP? are you applying for NHSC or HPSP?

Hello! I am qualified for FAP. I don’t plan to apply for either NHSC or HPSP. Should I? I don’t see myself working in the military tho…

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Hello! I am qualified for FAP. I don’t plan to apply for either NHSC or HPSP. Should I? I don’t see myself working in the military tho…

Look them both up. Reduce your debt number. Serve the underserved. We have forums here on that.

 

[_turtle602]

Look them both up. Reduce your debt number. Serve the underserved. We have forums here on that.

Thank you so much! I will take a look at these scholarships

 

[_turtle602]

Should I do a post-bacc to increase my gpa?

 

[chilly_md]

Should I do a post-bacc to increase my gpa?

It would help, but you would need to do it for a year and then apply so that the grades can show up in AMCAS.