WAMC + School List Advice (3.82/517)

[rainedonparade]

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Hello, I'm curating a school list for the upcoming 2027 cycle and would love some advice and insight on my profile! Thank you so much.

1. GPA: 3.82 cGPA, 3.65 sGPA
   
   
2. MCAT: 517 (128/130/127/132)
   
   
3. Location: CA resident, ties to Illinois and Indiana
   
   
4. Race/Ethnicity: Asian American female
   
   
5. School: University of California school
   
   
6. Clinical hours:
   1. Volunteering: 350 hrs serving low income older immigrant populations taking medical history and basic health measures, connecting them with low cost/free clinics/health insurance resources, followed up with calling clients and asking for information on healthcare access
   2. <50 hrs basic hospital volunteering, trying to get into a program caring for elderly patients
   3. No paid clinical, trying to get MA job
      
7. Shadowing experience and specialties represented: 30-40 hrs across cardiology, pediatrics, cardio-electrophysiology, planning on shadowing primary care, neurology, and developmental-behavioral pediatrics
   
   
8. Non-clinical volunteering:
   1. 320 hrs leading online social group for nonverbal/limited verbal adults with disabilities for nonprofit (I've been doing this for ~5 years spread over high school and college but I didn't count the hours from high school)
   2. Applying to volunteer teaching children and teens with disabilities social skills through theater and improv
      
9. Other extracurricular activities:
   1. 150 hours paid online teaching daily life skills + school subjects to adult with disabilities
   2. 100 hrs reading papers on epigenetic manipulations linked with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and Fragile X syndrome and presenting on them/discussing with them with a researcher
   3. 1000 hours performing in theater and acting in short films
      
10. Relevant honors or awards: Scholarship award for autism research
    
    
11. Anything else not listed you think might be important:
    1. Grew up in the special needs community and main goal is to increase healthcare access for adults with special needs by becoming a physician with disability-informed care, or neurologist specializing in epilepsy. I am a strong writer and I am approaching the personal statement with an angle on empathy/connection with others through acting + medicine.

School List So Far:
UCSF
UCLA
UCSD
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC Riverside
USC Keck
Kaiser
Albert Einstein
Hackensack
NYMC
Sidney Kimmel
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Dartmouth
Wake Forest
Carver (Iowa)
Geisinger
CUSM
Quinnipiac
Penn State
EVSM
Rosalind Franklin
Tufts
Oakland
Wayne State
Temple
University of Vermont

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

You have some interesting activities, though I would like to know other activities beyond the focus on individuals with disabilities. Medical education can do a lot better on this topic, so finding a school that is "progressive enough" (lacking a better term) is going to unlock some doors. So, cross-reference the schools on your list with MSDCI or if they have a chapter.

As you know, California schools are hard to get into for in-state applicants unless you have a strong mission fit with the communities they serve. I don't know if that's a big challenge, but it is something to consider for Davis, Irvine, and Riverside.

The schools on the lower end of your list seem less aligned with where you want to go, but your metrics may remain desirable. I don't know why you have Temple and not Drexel. I don't know the appeal of Iowa, Penn State, Ohio State, and Cincinnati offhand (unless they have MSDCI chapters?). Would you be interested in HPSP if you wanted more experience with disabled individuals and veterans (including maybe a VA HPSP)?

 

[rainedonparade]

Welcome to the forums.

You have some interesting activities, though I would like to know other activities beyond the focus on individuals with disabilities. Medical education can do a lot better on this topic, so finding a school that is "progressive enough" (lacking a better term) is going to unlock some doors. So, cross-reference the schools on your list with MSDCI or if they have a chapter.

As you know, California schools are hard to get into for in-state applicants unless you have a strong mission fit with the communities they serve. I don't know if that's a big challenge, but it is something to consider for Davis, Irvine, and Riverside.

The schools on the lower end of your list seem less aligned with where you want to go, but your metrics may remain desirable. I don't know why you have Temple and not Drexel. I don't know the appeal of Iowa, Penn State, Ohio State, and Cincinnati offhand (unless they have MSDCI chapters?). Would you be interested in HPSP if you wanted more experience with disabled individuals and veterans (including maybe a VA HPSP)?

Hello, thank you so much for your advice! I'll check out MSDCI! I didn't put Drexel on because I thought it was one of the more service-heavy schools (like Rush, Loyola, etc.) and I didn't think I had enough non-clinical hours for that. I chose Iowa, Penn State, Ohio State, and Cincinnati purely based on median stats but I'll look more into their missions.

As for activities beyond focusing on individuals with disabilities, I have clinical interactions with immigrant populations, but I do want to get an MA job at a primary care clinic or add on a nonclinical volunteer position that focuses on the community at large. May I ask if there are other ways to improve my profile?