WAMC/School List: CA fruity ex-entomologist, 3.86 cGPA, 3.80 sGPA, 521 MCAT

[Sky1.3]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I'm 27 years old and a career changer - people recently graduating shouldn't overthink my hours.

Stats
cGPA 3.86/ sGPA 3.80
MCAT: 521 (128/131/132/130)

Coursework
Unconventional Biology degree focused on entomology completed in 2020 from big public California university.
I took some required coursework after graduating through the local community college and UNE Online.

Demographics
CA
white
low income childhood - received pell grant, medicaid, food stamps and free lunches
male/he/him - I am transgender and transitioned young. I can hide it when I need to but I don't want to spend 4 years stealth in some hostile place.

Clinical Experience - 3720 hours total
no unpaid shadowing but lots of scribing

• 200 hours IFT EMT
• 3120 hours scribing in primary care & HIV FQHC
• 400 hours scribing in ophthalmology (ongoing)

Research Experience - 2600 hours, 2 pubs, 2 posters

• 2600 hours research across 3 interesting entomology labs plus the mosquito control district
• 2 published articles
• 1 entomology poster
• 2 grants awarded for my undergraduate research project
• 1 HIV Viral Load suppression poster from Quality Improvement job - not traditional research but also quite related

Other work experience

• 2000 hours in non-research lab doing PCR

Volunteer - 260 hours

• Crisis counselor for queer youth hotline (200 hours)
• Volunteer adult advisor mentoring youth leading the church group I was in leadership in as a teen (60 hours)
• The reality is that though I don't have that many volunteer hours, I believe I am very service oriented, but most of my service has been paid - 3 years at an FQHC. My application revolves around my experiences in the safety net.

Leadership - 3900 or 4400 hours

• Quality Improvement and Population Health Coordinator in same FQHC - 3000 hours (poster noted above)
• Board of directors for 2 years for the co-op house where I lived - 400 hours
• Governing council for youth org where I now mentor - 500 or 1000 hours - I did this through my senior year of high school to the end of my freshman year of college. Not sure if I should start counting at college or from the beginning. Because of my other work with youth I think it's important to me that it goes somewhere.

Awards/Misc

• 2 grants for thesis research
• I attended a bunch of conferences for fun in college because I was lucky to have access to a silly amount of institutional funding, not sure if these are worth mentioning if I didn't present anything
• Art of science award for painting of my pretty invertebrate research subject
• Hobbies - art, gardening, bouldering, I've been having nearly uninterrupted weekly board game potlucks with the same group of friends for 3 years straight

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Current school list - from highest to lowest 90th percentile MCAT because why not. UVermont specifically said my bio classes don't meet their requirement when I emailed them sadly.
Italicized - schools I am fond of.
Yale
NYU NYC
Johns Hopkins
Mayo Clinic
UChicago (Pritzker)
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
WashU St. Louis
Stanford University
UCSF
University of Michigan
USC (Keck)
Renaissance School of medicine at Stony Brook
UCSD
Tufts University
University of Pittsburgh
Emory
Northwestern University
UC Irvine
Creighton
Albert Einstein
Dartmouth (Geisel)
University of Minnesota
California University
UC Davis
Jefferson (Kimmel)
Wayne State University
Quinnipiac University
Temple
Drexel University
Touro California

Needs

• I probably need to cut some schools out because I'm living paycheck to paycheck and worried I'll write bad secondaries if I'm overwhelmed.
• Prefer lower tuition or chance of good financial aid
• Queer friendly location -at least locally
• Must be flexible about strange transcript
  • Pre-COVID P/F classes and independent study units from before I became a premed
  • prereqs from CC after graduating
  • online Ochem and Biochem

 

[Faha]

Remove Creighton since they expect more non clinical volunteering hours than you have. Wayne State will "yield protect" with your stats. Stony Brook admits few non residents with no connection to the state. You do not need to apply to DO schools.
You could add these schools:
Hofstra
Brown
Boston University
UMass

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Connect with officers of the MSPA especially at schools that are high on your list. Check out the UC-PRIME programs or similar.

 

[morak]

I probably need to cut some schools out because I'm living paycheck to paycheck and worried I'll write bad secondaries if I'm overwhelmed.

Be sure to apply for the AAMC FAP if you haven't done so already! It will save you a ton on primary costs (free apps to 20 schools) and many schools may also waive secondary fees for FAP recipients.

 

[Sky1.3]

Be sure to apply for the AAMC FAP if you haven't done so already! It will save you a ton on primary costs (free apps to 20 schools) and many schools may also waive secondary fees for FAP recipients.

I have FAP! Thank you 🙂 I just can't apply to too many over the 20 school limit.

 

[morak]

I have FAP! Thank you 🙂 I just can't apply to too many over the 20 school limit.

The best advice I've received for making my school list is simply considering whether you would attend that school if it was your only offer. If not, you should consider cutting it. Good luck!

 

[hommefatale]

not an expert, but genuinely so excited for your cycle! you've done so much impactful work in the queer space

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

You have plenty of service even if it's not necessarily volunteer. Be loud and proud about being trans. Good luck. You should get several interviews.