WAMC/ School List Advice (3.8, 522)

[MyCabbages]

*** Please do not quote the body of this message, except for my school list ***

Thank you for taking the time to look at my app!

Some info has been removed for privacy

• cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS
  • ~3.8 sGPA (not verified yet)
  • ~3.77 cGPA
• MCAT score(s) and breakdown
  • 522 (130/131/131/130)
• Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)
  • 1300 Hours - 2500 Gap Year
• Research experience
  • 250 Hours in Evolutionary Biology (project ended due to COVID, no other productivity)
• Shadowing experience and specialties represented
  • 60 Hours Heme/Onc, 50 Hours EM, 100 Hours between Derm, Ophtho, and OR surgical observations
• Non-clinical volunteering
  • 500+ hours with various orgs
• Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)
  • 1300 Hours - summer job
  • 2500 Hours- College Music Performance
  • 1000 Hours - Biology TA for 5 semesters
  • Program Director Student Service Org
  • 2 year Ecclesiastical Mission
  • Number of other music and athletic hobbies
• Relevant honors or awards
  • Just your regular dude school scholarships
• Anything else not listed you think might be important
  • My biggest worry is research. I goofed and thought I would hate research, so I didn't start until my senior year. I genuinely am interested in researching during med school, but have very little on my app that can show that at all, and I wasn't able to do any for my gap year.
  • I am looking for feedback on the competitiveness of my tentative school list. Any input is appreciated.
  • I am possibly looking at adding more schools, since if there was ever a time to cast a wide net, it would be now
    • @Goro @Faha I would appreciate your wise advice
• SCHOOL LIST:
  • UW WWAMI
  • Utah
  • Yale
  • Columbia
  • UChicago
  • WashU
  • Penn
  • Harvard
  • UCSF
  • NYU
  • Northwestern
  • Vanderbilt
  • Mayo
  • Cornell
  • Mt. Sinai
  • Case Western
  • Michigan
  • Pitt
  • Virginia
  • Kaiser
  • Rochester
  • Ohio State
  • Cincinnati
  • Hofstra/Northwell
  • Boston U
  • Western MI
  • TJU Sidney Kimmel
  • St. Louis
  • Iowa
  • Creighton
  • U Colorado

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[Goro]

• • UW WWAMI
  • WSU
  • Utah
  • Yale
  • Columbia
  • UChicago
  • WashU
  • Penn
  • Harvard
  • UCSF
  • NYU
  • Northwestern
  • Vanderbilt
  • Mayo
  • Cornell
  • Mt. Sinai
  • Case Western
  • Michigan
  • Pitt
  • Virginia
  • Rochester
  • Ohio State
  • Cincinnati
  • Hofstra/Northwell
  • Boston U
  • Western MI
  • TJU Sidney Kimmel
  • St. Louis
  • Iowa
  • Creighton
  • U Colorado
  • Emory
  • Dartmouth
  • U VM
  • U WI
  • UCLA
  • Baylor
  • Einstein
  • Keck
  • Stanford
  • UCSD

My suggestions above. Nothing wrong with aiming high

 

[woofer23]

Nice username

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

You're a rock star!

 

[MyCabbages]

My suggestions above. Nothing wrong with aiming high

Thank you for the school list suggestions! I also forgot to mention that I took 5 years for my undergrad (Switched from CS major after 3rd year and needed to do prereqs), and that I had 2 W's from chemistry classes (retook for A's). I'm worried that those things might hurt my chances.

You're a rock star!

Thank you! I would have to humbly disagree. I'm no rock star, but at least I'm a band geek

 

[Goro]

Thank you for the school list suggestions! I also forgot to mention that I took 5 years for my undergrad (Switched from CS major after 3rd year and needed to do prereqs), and that I had 2 W's from chemistry classes (retook for A's). I'm worried that those things might hurt my chances.

Won't matter one iota.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

There's really nothing qualitative that you provided (I'm guessing privacy reasons) that makes you stand out to me, especially with your non-clinical volunteering since you haven't described anything here. If I compare you against other applicants for which a 2 year mission is part of your adult maturation, how do you really stand out?

 

[MyCabbages]

There's really nothing qualitative that you provided (I'm guessing privacy reasons) that makes you stand out to me, especially with your non-clinical volunteering since you haven't described anything here. If I compare you against other applicants for which a 2 year mission is part of your adult maturation, how do you really stand out?

I did originally include more descriptions of my specific activities, but edited them down after receiving some initial feedback to protect my privacy. There are a number of activities, hobbies, and jobs that I think would make interesting and unique conversation points, but I don't know if I have anything that sets me apart specifically through academics, research, or volunteering.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I did originally include more descriptions of my specific activities, but edited them down after receiving some initial feedback to protect my privacy. There are a number of activities, hobbies, and jobs that I think would make interesting and unique conversation points, but I don't know if I have anything that sets me apart specifically through academics, research, or volunteering.

So the question is whether you actually have anything that would compel me to want to interview you. You think so, but I've had the opportunity to review hundreds of applicants similar to you who sometimes think talking about their mission is a ticket to checking off the "service to others" box. It's not always the case if I know you all have to do it. So what else do you have that really makes you stand out? That's the issue that I'm limited to what you offer to give you any additional insight in hypothetically screening your application. Metrics don't mean everything. Sure your life reset is important, but you haven't broken down your activities since your reset for me to make any call.

 

[MyCabbages]

So the question is whether you actually have anything that would compel me to want to interview you. You think so, but I've had the opportunity to review hundreds of applicants similar to you who sometimes think talking about their mission is a ticket to checking off the "service to others" box. It's not always the case if I know you all have to do it. So what else do you have that really makes you stand out? That's the issue that I'm limited to what you offer to give you any additional insight in hypothetically screening your application. Metrics don't mean everything. Sure your life reset is important, but you haven't broken down your activities since your reset for me to make any call.

My mission service was from 2014 to 2016. That was a long time ago and is hardly the focal point of my application. All of my clinical and volunteering experiences are after that time period. I feel you have the assumption that I am trying to showcase my missionary service as something more than it is. I know that people often are prone to overestimating their own experiences. Because of that, I really have tried to make other parts of my application stand out. However, I don't feel comfortable including all of that information on this forum for privacy reasons. But I am confident in the spread and depth of my activities that help differentiate me from only being perceived as a mormon missionary, which is something I surely hope admissions committees can be open-minded enough to understand.

Also it's a gross misunderstanding if you believe mission service is something we "all have to do," as if that negates my personal decisions. Plenty don't go, and regardless of who you are or what you believe, it is never an easy process to go through.

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

There's really nothing qualitative that you provided (I'm guessing privacy reasons) that makes you stand out to me, especially with your non-clinical volunteering since you haven't described anything here. If I compare you against other applicants for which a 2 year mission is part of your adult maturation, how do you really stand out?

Even if we treat the mission like it never even happened, OP's still got 1300 hours of clinical experience, 600 hours of nonclinical volunteering, and great stats. That sounds like it's enough for a shot at a top school - and would make him a strong applicant anywhere else.