WAMC/School List - 525 MCAT, 3.86 GPA

[comfyhoodies9]

Hello! I am applying this cycle and I would love any feedback on my application and help building a school list. Thank you so much for taking the time to look at this, I really appreciate it!

1. scGPA and cGPA: 3.86
2. MCAT: 525 = 132/130/132/131 (1 attempt)
3. FL resident
4. ORM, female
5. FL public university
6. Clinical: 560 hours
   1. 442 hospital volunteer
   2. 68 free clinic volunteer
7. Research: 2000 hours, 1 publication + 1 publication pending review
8. Shadowing: 100
   1. IM: 70
   2. Neurosurgery: 15
   3. Cardiology: 15
9. Nonclinical Volunteering : 227
   1. 162 food banks
   2. 42 volunteering with homeless with things other than food
10. Other extracurriculars: leadership in 2 university clubs (one for 1 year, one for 2 years)
11. Honors in 1 international and 1 national math competition
12. Math Major, gap year

For schools, I would prefer a more relaxed and less competitive environment. Would prefer to stay east coast or midwest.

List so far:
UF
FSU
USF
UCF
FAU
FIU
U Miami
Nova MD
Wash U
Yale
Columbia
NYU

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[Faha]

You could add any of these schools to your application:
Emory
Vanderbilt
Duke
Johns Hopkins (free tuition)
Einstein (free tuition)
Cornell
Hofstra
Mount Sinai
Harvard
Boston University
Northwestern
U Chicago
U Michigan
Pittsburgh

 

[comfyhoodies9]

You could add any of these schools to your application:
Emory
Vanderbilt
Duke
Johns Hopkins (free tuition)
Einstein (free tuition)
Cornell
Hofstra
Mount Sinai
Harvard
Boston University
Northwestern
U Chicago
U Michigan
Pittsburgh

Thank you so much! Are there any target schools you would recommend? Or are any of these targets?

 

[Faha]

Thank you so much! Are there any target schools you would recommend? Or are any of these targets?

With your stats there are no real reaches. Vanderbilt and Washington University will like your MCAT of 525.

 

[comfyhoodies9]

With your stats there are no real reaches. Vanderbilt and Washington University will like your MCAT of 525.

Wow, okay! It's nice to know that I have a shot at these schools; thank you so much for your time.

I hear of applicants with stats much better than mine not getting in anywhere and I would rather not take another gap year. I'm especially concerned because my GPA seems to be in the 10th percentile for accepted students at many of these schools. I know there are no true safeties, but are there any schools you recommend that I have a higher chance of being accepted at? Is there anything I can do to ensure I have the highest chance of acceptance at all of these schools?

 

[Faha]

Wow, okay! It's nice to know that I have a shot at these schools; thank you so much for your time.

I hear of applicants with stats much better than mine not getting in anywhere and I would rather not take another gap year. I'm especially concerned because my GPA seems to be in the 10th percentile for accepted students at many of these schools. I know there are no true safeties, but are there any schools you recommend that I have a higher chance of being accepted at? Is there anything I can do to ensure I have the highest chance of acceptance at all of these schools?

You have 7 schools in Florida that give preference to Florida residents and your stats are well above the median for all of those schools.

 

[comfyhoodies9]

You have 7 schools in Florida that give preference to Florida residents and your stats are well above the median for all of those schools.

Thank you!

 

[comfyhoodies9]

@Goro @Mr.Smile12 @wysdoc I would love to know if you have any thoughts on this. Updated GPA is 3.92 cumulative and 3.89 science. Are there any gaps in my application / areas to work on? What schools would you recommend for my profile?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

@Goro @Mr.Smile12 @wysdoc I would love to know if you have any thoughts on this. Updated GPA is 3.92 cumulative and 3.89 science. Are there any gaps in my application / areas to work on? What schools would you recommend for my profile?

Thank you in advance!

The given school list is solid based on general trends from your metrics. Keep building your non-clinical volunteering with the homeless shelter to get the sum above 250 to keep pace with other applicants in the high-metrics pool.

So if you are angling for additional schools, I need to know why and what your mission fit would be with those schools. What is your purpose of being a physician, and what opportunities will help you get closer to that vision?

Consequently, this goes into the "narrative" argument. What is it? Why do your list of activities matter to a future patient or their caregivers? What value do those activities bring to discussions among students and faculty? You keep key details from this profile which I would expect get expanded in your application and letters. This is where many high-metrics applicants fail to secure interviews or offers.

 

[Goro]

Nothing wrong with aiming high!

I suggest:
Columbia (
Cornell
Duke
Harvard
JHU
Mayo
Northwestern
NYU
U Chicago
U Penn
U VA
Vanderbilt
WashU
Yale
Case
Hofstra
Stanford
Baylor
BU
Pitt
Sinai
U MI
USF Morsani and ALL other FL schools (except NovaMD...you can do better)
UTSW
Brown
Kaiser (only 50 seats!)
Rochester
SUNY-SB
USC/Keck
Albert Einstein
Dartmouth
Emory
NYMC
Ohio State
U Cincy
U IA
U MA
UCSF
Creighton
Gtown
Hackensack Meridian
Jefferson
Miami
NYU-LI
SLU
Tufts
U CO
U VM
UCLA [likes disadvantaged]
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
VCU
Western MI

Yes, it's a long list. Your job is to cull it down, based upon your needs/interests.

 

[comfyhoodies9]

The given school list is solid based on general trends from your metrics. Keep building your non-clinical volunteering with the homeless shelter to get the sum above 250 to keep pace with other applicants in the high-metrics pool.

So if you are angling for additional schools, I need to know why and what your mission fit would be with those schools. What is your purpose of being a physician, and what opportunities will help you get closer to that vision?

Consequently, this goes into the "narrative" argument. What is it? Why do your list of activities matter to a future patient or their caregivers? What value do those activities bring to discussions among students and faculty? You keep key details from this profile which I would expect get expanded in your application and letters. This is where many high-metrics applicants fail to secure interviews or offers.

I'm not necessarily angling for more schools; just trying to improve my odds of having a successful app cycle. I would prefer not to share my narrative, but will keep the importance of it in mind as I apply. Thanks for your help!

 

[comfyhoodies9]

Nothing wrong with aiming high!

I suggest:
Columbia (
Cornell
Duke
Harvard
JHU
Mayo
Northwestern
NYU
U Chicago
U Penn
U VA
Vanderbilt
WashU
Yale
Case
Hofstra
Stanford
Baylor
BU
Pitt
Sinai
U MI
USF Morsani and ALL other FL schools (except NovaMD...you can do better)
UTSW
Brown
Kaiser (only 50 seats!)
Rochester
SUNY-SB
USC/Keck
Albert Einstein
Dartmouth
Emory
NYMC
Ohio State
U Cincy
U IA
U MA
UCSF
Creighton
Gtown
Hackensack Meridian
Jefferson
Miami
NYU-LI
SLU
Tufts
U CO
U VM
UCLA [likes disadvantaged]
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
VCU
Western MI

Yes, it's a long list. Your job is to cull it down, based upon your needs/interests.

Thank you for taking the time to compile such a comprehensive list. I will research each of these; this helps a lot.

 

[wysdoc]

I'm not necessarily angling for more schools; just trying to improve my odds of having a successful app cycle. I would prefer not to share my narrative, but will keep the importance of it in mind as I apply. Thanks for your help!

Read about the various schools on that long list over the next few weeks.
You said you don't want any that feel intense/high pressure, you should be able to figure out which ones those are.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I'm not necessarily angling for more schools; just trying to improve my odds of having a successful app cycle. I would prefer not to share my narrative, but will keep the importance of it in mind as I apply. Thanks for your help!

Then don't miss the obvious advice.

Thread 'Mission Fit for your School List Q&A - April 13, 2025 at 9:00 PM Eastern'

Mar 27, 2025

Join SDN and Emil Chuck, PhD as we discuss assessing your mission fit with health professional programs. Learn how to determine which schools have a mission that resonates with your personal values and goals as a future healthcare professional.

Post your questions for this livestream below!

• WildWing
• Replies: 6
• Forum: Expert Advice Live

• 

Mission Fit: Key to Your Success - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

You don't need to share your narrative, but it needs to be good enough for schools to want to recruit you. Otherwise you're no different than other over-achieving high-metrics premed.

 

[comfyhoodies9]

Then don't miss the obvious advice.

Thread 'Mission Fit for your School List Q&A - April 13, 2025 at 9:00 PM Eastern'

Mar 27, 2025

Join SDN and Emil Chuck, PhD as we discuss assessing your mission fit with health professional programs. Learn how to determine which schools have a mission that resonates with your personal values and goals as a future healthcare professional.

Post your questions for this livestream below!

• WildWing
• Replies: 6
• Forum: Expert Advice Live

• 

Mission Fit: Key to Your Success - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

You don't need to share your narrative, but it needs to be good enough for schools to want to recruit you. Otherwise you're no different than other over-achieving high-metrics premed.

This sounds perfect for me; thank you so much.