WAMC/School-list/Feedback for 2nd Cycle

[marobb]

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29 Male (Caucasian) Non-Traditional
Colorado Resident

Looking for feedback for my Second Application Cycle so I can start early
Also Looking for a school list MD/DO


First Application Cycle: Still have 20 schools I'm hoping to hear back from
-Slow to send Primary due to 2 jobs and full-time school (Late June)
-Slow to send Secondaries for same reason
-I think my writing could have been stronger on both

Undergrad (graduated 2018) sGPA:2.76 uGPA:3.03
45 credit Post BAC with majority of BCPM Pre Med Requirements: 4.0 GPA (Completed December 2024)
sGPA:3.34 uGPA:3.34

Clinical: 5000 Hours as EMT in busy Trauma Center (IVs, EKG, Splinting, Strokes, MI's)

MCAT: 514 (130,128,129,127). (1 Attempt)

Research: Cardio-metabolic Research Lab at Medical School as Student Assistant (projected 1400 hours)

Volunteering: guiding rock climbing for people with disabilities (100 hours) (Maybe More Hobby?
Volunteering at Clinic for underserved as Clinic Manager (200 hrs)
Volunteered to teach EMT's in training didactic coursework and skills based scenario training (200 hours)

Leadership: Elected as the President of Local EMS Club (Education & Resources for EMT’S) 2020-2021 (200 hours)

Rock climbing guide & instructor (1000 hours)

Awards: President's Honor Academic Achievement Award for Highest GPA at EMT School
Shadowing: 200 Hours ER Physicians
8 Hours IM Oncology

Fluent in medical Spanish self taught.

Areas I think I could Improve: Community Based Volunteering
Research Published

 

[Faha]

Which schools did you apply to ? Any interviews ?

 

[marobb]

Which schools did you apply to ? Any interviews ?

Sent 42 primaries received 41
Sent 25 Secondaries

1. Dartmouth (rejected pre II)
2. Hofstra (rejected pre II)
3. George Washington (rejected pre II)
4. University of Wisconsin (rejected pre II)
5. UCLA
6. Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
7. Wake Forest
8. West Virginia University School of Medicine
9. New York Medical College
10. University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine
11. Wayne State
12. Oakland Beaumont
13. Saint Louis University School of Medicine (rejected pre II)
14. Vermont
15. Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
16. University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix
17. Albany Medical College
18. Virginia Commonwealth
19. Belmont
20. University of Maryland
21. Emory
22. Penn State
23. Western Michigan-Stryker (rejected pre II)
24. Eastern Virginia
25. Tufts

No interviews

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Your postbac was DIY? How did you come up with this list?

No interviews mean you have fundamental flaws. What did you do over the past year to address them? You already named your weaknesses.

 

[Faha]

You would benefit from 150+ hours of non clinical volunteering such as food bank, homeless shelter, etc. before you reapply. Some of the state public schools you applied to admit few non residents with your GPAs and no connection to the state. With your GPAs you should also be including DO schools in your application. I suggest these MD schools when you reapply:
Colorado
TCU
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Alice Walton
Belmont
Tulane
NOVA MD
Wake Forest
Eastern Virginia
George Washington
Penn State
Drexel
Temple
Hackensack
Albany
New York Medical College
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Methodist (when it opens)
Roseman (when it opens)
For DO schools I suggest these:
AZCOM
TUNCOM
UIWSOM
ATSU-KCOM
KCU-COM
DMU-COM
CCOM
MU-COM
CUSOM
WVSOM
NYITCOM
Touro-NY
PCOM
LECOM

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Yes, rock climbing is a hobby, and helping those with disabilities enjoy rock climbing is like tutoring grade school kids to like math and science as a science major. Now maybe being a clinic manager could be considered, but your responsibilities may include important operational leadership and not necessarily direct interaction with patients. It's still clinic-adjacent and may not be enough (apparently) for service orientation.

Shadowing ER docs having been a trained EMT is great, but you aren't seeing the diversity of challenges "all" physicians face. I would prefer opportunities where you can observe doctor-patient interactions in a less emergent situation since you won't be going to more than just ED clinic rotations in your time in medical school.

 

[marobb]

Your postbac was DIY? How did you come up with this list?

No interviews mean you have fundamental flaws. What did you do over the past year to address them? You already named your weaknesses.

Post BAC was DIY (I'm assuming DIY means no set program)
Some of the List was from SDN and some was just schools I liked and thought were within reach.
I think a red flag I had was one of my most meaningful activities was research but I had minimal hours at the time (currently have 900hrs and counting).
I also think my volunteering was lacking. I put several hundred hours of volunteer work I did as a bicycle mechanic for community sustainability project in college. I am volunteering at a Men's rescue but need to up my hours there.
Maybe tone down the talk about my hobby.

 

[marobb]

Yes, rock climbing is a hobby, and helping those with disabilities enjoy rock climbing is like tutoring grade school kids to like math and science as a science major. Now maybe being a clinic manager could be considered, but your responsibilities may include important operational leadership and not necessarily direct interaction with patients. It's still clinic-adjacent and may not be enough (apparently) for service orientation.

Shadowing ER docs having been a trained EMT is great, but you aren't seeing the diversity of challenges "all" physicians face. I would prefer opportunities where you can observe doctor-patient interactions in a less emergent situation since you won't be going to more than just ED clinic rotations in your time in medical school.

There is direct patient interaction and operational stuff as well. How would you frame that?

Great Advice, Couple of Questions
- cut out rock climbing or list it as a hobby?
- are you recommending I shadow doctors outside EM? Or obtain a role in a field outside the ED?

 

[RockClimberMed]

My interviewers loved to bring up climbing hobby in all my interviews. Leave it.

 

[marobb]

My interviewers loved to bring up climbing hobby in all my interviews. Leave it.

How did you discuss it in your writing?

 

[RockClimberMed]

How did you discuss it in your writing?

I just mentioned competing in some comps, working the gym desk through college, and traveling to crags on breaks. stress reliever hobby themed pretty much

 

[Mr.Smile12]

- are you recommending I shadow doctors outside EM? Or obtain a role in a field outside the ED?

Count your hours. You're pretty one-sided on EM/EMT. You aren't going to be in the ER your entire four years of med school.

These are suggestions to address any deficiencies in your application profile, but I think you need to diversify your knowledge of "medicine."

 

[marobb]

Count your hours. You're pretty one-sided on EM/EMT. You aren't going to be in the ER your entire four years of med school.

These are suggestions to address any deficiencies in your application profile, but I think you need to diversify your knowledge of "medicine."

I appreciate the feedback!

 

[LindaAccepted]

29 Male (Caucasian) Non-Traditional
Colorado Resident

Looking for feedback for my Second Application Cycle so I can start early
Also Looking for a school list MD/DO


First Application Cycle: Still have 20 schools I'm hoping to hear back from
-Slow to send Primary due to 2 jobs and full-time school (Late June)
-Slow to send Secondaries for same reason
-I think my writing could have been stronger on both

Undergrad (graduated 2018) sGPA:2.76 uGPA:3.03
45 credit Post BAC with majority of BCPM Pre Med Requirements: 4.0 GPA (Completed December 2024)
sGPA:3.34 uGPA:3.34

Clinical: 5000 Hours as EMT in busy Trauma Center (IVs, EKG, Splinting, Strokes, MI's)

MCAT: 514 (130,128,129,127). (1 Attempt)

Research: Cardio-metabolic Research Lab at Medical School as Student Assistant (projected 1400 hours)

Volunteering: guiding rock climbing for people with disabilities (100 hours) (Maybe More Hobby?
Volunteering at Clinic for underserved as Clinic Manager (200 hrs)
Volunteered to teach EMT's in training didactic coursework and skills based scenario training (200 hours)

Leadership: Elected as the President of Local EMS Club (Education & Resources for EMT’S) 2020-2021 (200 hours)

Rock climbing guide & instructor (1000 hours)

Awards: President's Honor Academic Achievement Award for Highest GPA at EMT School
Shadowing: 200 Hours ER Physicians
8 Hours IM Oncology

Fluent in medical Spanish self taught.

Areas I think I could Improve: Community Based Volunteering
Research Published

I think you aimed a little high or at least made a mistake by not applying to DO programs. As recommended above, apply DO also.

Do discuss your rock climbing hobby and also list and your teaching it to people with disabilities. Passions and hobbies can be very helpful in an application and given your time commitment to it, it's an important part of your life.

However, those passions don't negate the need to show the experiences that schools are looking for. which would include service to the underserved and a broader view of medicine -- medical offices, different specialties, and of course primary care. Shadowing in different specialties and environments would take care of that or volunteering in a clinic that serves an underserved population. If you do apply DO, try to at least shadow a DO before you apply.

Regarding service to the underserved, if possible, you may want to highlight service to the underserved via your work as a EMT. However, even if you can do so, I still think adding community service time by volunteering in a homeless shelter, food kitchen, or clinic would strengthen your app.

Additionally, have someone knowledgeable about med school admissions review and critique this year's application and a couple of your secondaries. If you are making mistakes in presenting your experience or responding to "Why this school" questions, you want to find out about them before you apply again. so that you don't repeat them.

Finally, submitting your primary app in late June isn't so bad, but sending secondaries back slowly could hurt you. Start prewriting secondaries between the time you submit your primary and start getting secondaries. You already have some secondaries that you will want to update and improve. You might need to rewrite others from scratch and there is the possibility that some schools will change their questions, but most probably won't. And those pre-written secondaries will really help you turn around secondaries promptly, if necessary, this summer.

 

[marobb]

You would benefit from 150+ hours of non clinical volunteering such as food bank, homeless shelter, etc. before you reapply. Some of the state public schools you applied to admit few non residents with your GPAs and no connection to the state. With your GPAs you should also be including DO schools in your application. I suggest these MD schools when you reapply:
Colorado
TCU
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Alice Walton
Belmont
Tulane
NOVA MD
Wake Forest
Eastern Virginia
George Washington
Penn State
Drexel
Temple
Hackensack
Albany
New York Medical College
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Methodist (when it opens)
Roseman (when it opens)
For DO schools I suggest these:
AZCOM
TUNCOM
UIWSOM
ATSU-KCOM
KCU-COM
DMU-COM
CCOM
MU-COM
CUSOM
WVSOM
NYITCOM
Touro-NY
PCOM
LECOM

What about Dartmouth, Western Michigan, Cooper, Creighton and Georgetown?

 

[Faha]

What about Dartmouth, Western Michigan, Cooper, Creighton and Georgetown?

Cooper admits few non residents with no connection to the state or region. Creighton and Georgetown are looking for applicants with far more non clinical volunteering than you have. You could try Western Michigan and Dartmouth.

 

[marobb]

Cooper admits few non residents with no connection to the state or region. Creighton and Georgetown are looking for applicants with far more non clinical volunteering than you have. You could try Western Michigan and Dartmouth.

I did do non clinical volunteering in college as a bike mechanic for a sustainable transportation bike program. 500+ hours. Still too little? (I am concerned it was in 2017-2018 Which is why I will be doing more)

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I did do non clinical volunteering in college as a bike mechanic for a sustainable transportation bike program. 500+ hours. Still too little? (I am concerned it was in 2017-2018 Which is why I will be doing more)

It's helpful, but quite a while back... so far back you didn't include it in your app before?

 

[marobb]

It's helpful, but quite a while back... so far back you didn't include it in your app before?

I did but I think not having NC volunteering recently may have hurt me. I am grasping at straws though. My assumption is my activities or writing were my weak links but I don't know why schools like Belmont that only look at your last 60 hours of school wouldn't give me an interview considering my post bac was much improved GPA.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I did but I think not having NC volunteering recently may have hurt me. I am grasping at straws though. My assumption is my activities or writing were my weak links but I don't know why schools like Belmont that only look at your last 60 hours of school wouldn't give me an interview considering my post bac was much improved GPA.

I can't speak for the Belmont folks, but what was your pitch about becoming a Belmont med student? Reasonably, it would help that if they looked at your grades for the last 60 hours/2 years, they may also focus on what you were also doing during that period outside of class (but that's how I think).