WAMC/School List: 525 / 3.99 cGPA / 3.96 sGPA / CA resident / re-applicant

[dipsybonner]

Hi! I am a re-applicant, I did not receive any interviews this past cycle. I'm thinking to apply more broadly (I know I was overconfident), but have also received feedback that I should have good chances at the schools I applied to with better essays/secondaries etc. Only additions to application would be the full-time research and more shadowing, I don't know if there's anything more I can do now. I'm planning on applying with a research focus, and am looking for advice on some target schools with good research programs that I could feasibly get accepted into, maybe MD/PhD also. Thanks!

• cGPA: 3.98. sGPA: 3.96
• 525 132/130/131/132
• CA
• Asian
• T-30 undergrad, CS/Biology Major
• Phi Beta Kappa

Clinical Experience:

• 80 hours clinical hospital volunteering

Research Experience:

• 240 hrs: summer NIH, poster presentation
• 1000+ hours: one year full-time clinical research. Poster presentation, one publication in progress (would be first author)

Shadowing:

1. ~35 hours: Orthopedic surgery, Intensive Care, Adult psychiatry (autism), Palliative care

Non-clinical volunteering:

• 70 hours covid vaccine clinics, 250 hours summer teaching

Extracurriculars:

• Leadership for Asian students club

Previously applied:

1. Albert Einstein College of Medicine
2. Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
3. Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
4. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
5. Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
6. Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
7. NYU Grossman School of Medicine
8. Northwestern University The Feinberg School of Medicine
9. Ohio State University College of Medicine
10. Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
11. Stanford University School of Medicine
12. University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine
13. University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine
14. University of California, San Diego School of Medicine
15. University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine
16. University of Chicago Division of the Biological Sciences The Pritzker School of Medicine
17. University of Michigan Medical School
18. University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
19. University of Virginia School of Medicine
20. Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
21. Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
22. Weill Cornell Medicine

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[SpideyMD]

Tbh bro pack the sunscreen at this point

I’m sorry OP I had to lmao. Your app is amazing I can’t advise but I wish you the best of luck this coming cycle

 

[Frigidcold]

I would focus on getting some more clinical experience.

One year of full-time work should be 2k hours.

Got any hobbies?

 

[dipsybonner]

I would focus on getting some more clinical experience.

One year of full-time work should be 2k hours.

Got any hobbies?

I was considering now getting a part-time job in a hospital (medical assistant) in addition to my research, but people mostly tell me that the benefit wouldn't be worth the 20 hrs/week, also considering that it would mostly be after the primary is submitted.

At the time of application it would be 1000+ hours but I'm going to keep working, total about 3k hours.

Hobbies I included were chess and rock-climbing. Chess I taught and played at school, rock-climbing just for fun.

 

[Faha]

It was your low clinical volunteering and shadowing hours and low non clinical volunteering hours that resulted in your poor cycle.
You need another 20 hours of physician shadowing (preferably primary care)
You also need another 100+ hours of clinical volunteering with patient contact. If you started that medical assistant job in early April you could accumulate over 200 hours by late June.
You also need 150+ hours of non clinical volunteering besides teaching (homeless shelter, food bank,etc)
If you can accumulate those hours by late June you could reapply in June. If not, then you should wait until June 2024.
When you reapply I suggest these schools
Tufts
Brown
Dartmouth
Yale
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
Cornell
Columbia
NYU
Rochester
UPenn
Jefferson
Johns Hopkins
Cincinnati
Ohio State
Case Western
U Michigan
Western Michigan
Northwestern
Washington University
Vanderbilt
USF Morsani
Miami
Duke
U Virginia
Colorado
Kaiser
USC Keck
UCSD
UCLA
UCSF
UC Irvine
UC Davis
UC Riverside (if you are from that region)
If you decide to wait another year and accumulate 1000+ hours as a medical assistant you could add more schools such as Boston University, Harvard, U Chicago, Georgetown, St. Louis

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

Another gap year would do a lot for you if the MCAT won't expire. You've got almost no clinical or volunteering with the less fortunate experience. You're not meeting the bare minimums on either, you're probably getting screened on hours despite your stats.

 

[dipsybonner]

Thanks for the responses everyone, I agree the clinical experience and volunteering is not ideal. I think I will be applying this cycle anyways, if there were any programs that look for more research and would not mind having less clinical hours (Is there a school list that would fit these goals?). For getting those hours now, I'm not sure about the 60+ hr weeks and applying later June, if the benefit is worth it when I need to also work on essays. I'll consider applying next cycle also, but at this point I will take any acceptance I can get. 1 year of that schedule is doable but I don't know if I could keep up with 2.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thanks for the responses everyone, I agree the clinical experience and volunteering is not ideal. I think I will be applying this cycle anyways, if there were any programs that look for more research and would not mind having less clinical hours (Is there a school list that would fit these goals?). For getting those hours now, I'm not sure about the 60+ hr weeks and applying later June, if the benefit is worth it when I need to also work on essays. I'll consider applying next cycle also, but at this point I will take any acceptance I can get. 1 year of that schedule is doable but I don't know if I could keep up with 2.

Yes. Straight-up Ph.D. programs, especially those biomed Ph.D.'s run at medical schools! You'd be great in those programs. You could even check out the NIH GPP's. I don't get why you are so hung up on becoming a doctor when you don't really have a lot of insight or observation. All those hours teaching show you are really interested in being an academic professor on the Ph.D. side (if that were the only thing you would be qualified to do as a Ph.D., which it isn't).

Your hours show where your priorities and your passion are. If you really need to become a doctor, consider giving up doing any more research and spend time immersed in community service (including significant non-clinical) and more front-line primary care.

 

[chilly_md]

Thanks for the responses everyone, I agree the clinical experience and volunteering is not ideal. I think I will be applying this cycle anyways, if there were any programs that look for more research and would not mind having less clinical hours (Is there a school list that would fit these goals?). For getting those hours now, I'm not sure about the 60+ hr weeks and applying later June, if the benefit is worth it when I need to also work on essays. I'll consider applying next cycle also, but at this point I will take any acceptance I can get. 1 year of that schedule is doable but I don't know if I could keep up with 2.

You already applied to those schools and had too little clinical experience even for them. WUSTL usually interviews the majority of their high stat applicants.

If those 1000 hours of clinical research were not listed on your last app (or were only projected), then that could help you, especially if they involved a lot of patient interaction.

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

You got sunk by your lack of volunteering. Failure to check the boxes there is lethal. Come back with more volunteering, check the boxes, and you are likely to have a much better cycle.

 

[dipsybonner]

Hi! I am a re-applicant, I did not receive any interviews this past cycle. I'm thinking to apply more broadly (I know I was overconfident), but have also received feedback that I should have good chances at the schools I applied to with better essays/secondaries etc. Only additions to application would be the full-time research and more shadowing, I don't know if there's anything more I can do now. I'm planning on applying with a research focus, and am looking for advice on some target schools with good research programs that I could feasibly get accepted into, maybe MD/PhD also. Thanks!

• cGPA: 3.98. sGPA: 3.96
• 525 132/130/131/132
• CA
• Asian
• T-30 undergrad, CS/Biology Major
• Phi Beta Kappa

Clinical Experience:

• 80 hours clinical hospital volunteering

Research Experience:

• 240 hrs: summer NIH, poster presentation
• 1000+ hours: one year full-time clinical research. Poster presentation, one publication in progress (would be first author)

Shadowing:

1. ~35 hours: Orthopedic surgery, Intensive Care, Adult psychiatry (autism), Palliative care

Non-clinical volunteering:

• 70 hours covid vaccine clinics, 250 hours summer teaching

Extracurriculars:

• Leadership for Asian students club

I thought I'd give an update and try to get some last bits of feedback. These hours are up to the end of June. If there's any advice for balancing a later submission for more hours versus early submission with less hours, please let me know, I'm planning on continuing everything into the next year.

For my application I am going to add:

• ~60 hours Crisis Text Line volunteering
• ~55 hours at a shelter volunteering (serving/preparing food)
• ~35 hours food bank volunteering (distribution)
• ~100 hours scribing (clinics: Neurology, Cardiology, etc)
• Plus everything I had described before (wasn't able to get any MA jobs so far)

My school list I came up with so far, roughly ordered. I'm trying to avoid aiming too high like last time:

1. Stanford
2. UCSF
3. NYU
4. Columbia
5. Pitt
6. Kaiser
7. Mt Sinai
8. UCSD
9. USC
10. UCI
11. UVA
12. OSU
13. Dartmouth
14. Tufts
15. Cincinnati
16. Jefferson
17. Rochester
18. Western Michigan
19. Colorado
20. Brown
21. Miami
22. Would add if I can JHU, UChicago, Cornell, Albert Einstein, WashU, Case Western, UPenn, UMich, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin

Please if anybody had comments on if these additions make any difference, about the school list, about application timing for the hours, or anything at all, please help!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Good job!

Keep building those in-person volunteer hours, and I hope you have good answers for their meaningfulness, even if they were not "most meaningful."

 

[Faha]

Those extra clinical and non clinical volunteering hours will help. You could add Washington University, Vanderbilt, Cornell, U Michigan, Einstein and also consider Hofstra and USF Morsani.

 

[lacrossegirl420]

I’m pretty surprised at your lack of interviews even with low clinical experience (e.g. some people in my med school class definitely had less clinical than you), I would suggest re-thinking your essays/LORs from last cycle as well