WAMC/School list for URM + former refuge 3.0 sGPA with 3.3cGPA and 523 MCAT!

[loveyabunches23]

Hello!!

After years of lurking, I have decided to make a post in a cry for help.

I am a former refugee. I came from a very poor country that was torn apart by war and famine. I came here a couple of years ago, and went to CC for a couple of years and then transferred to a top 40 school. Long story short, I fought very hard and worked many jobs to make this happen. I went homeless in the process as I had no family or support in this country. With that, it took a toll on my grades, but I have worked it back to a 3.0 for science GPA. Studied my ass off for my MCAT and did well. Now want to know what schools I should apply to and if I even have a chance. According to Reddit, I may be screwed. I do not graduate until next year (although to be clear, I did not take my MCAT “junior year” I’ve just been in school for *that* long, lol). I just want any source of guidance, and even to support anyone who is just as lost in this journey as I am.

My stats;

3.0 sGPA and 3.3cGPA
523 MCAT
URM-Black Female, very very financially disadvantaged

Non Stem Major (will not doxx myself but it’s interdisciplinary-think global health based) at a U.S. top 40 university

800 hours as a researcher on a project on women’s health through my institution that I’m supposing may lead to a publication
Founder of a Immigrant Women’s health club on campus
600 hours working in an Emergency Room and 400 hours working outpatient in Primary Care
1500 hours as math and science tutor for low income high school students
400 hours as a volunteer at a clinic that serves a predominantly Black and brown community
Also potentially starting an organization on campus that would highlight refugee women’s health!!

Any advice is taken. Thank you for your time. I always have lurked on here, but was always so embarrassed to make a comment.

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[LunaOri]

You have a great story and excellent activities to go with that top MCAT score. Have you graduated, or will you be a senior in the fall? If you have one more year to go, take a couple of upper level science classes and work on that GPA. You will definitely get looks from DO schools and some MD schools.

 

[Faha]

Where is your state of residence ? Are you an United States citizen ?

 

[senecca]

I request the moderators to pin this thread permanently at the top.

This wonderful girl single handedly shattered many falsely and forcefully held beliefs in this country.

URM
Very very poor background
Community college
No home
No family support
Worked many jobs
Refuge in a foreign country.

But, still she scored 523 on the MCAT. Influential people have been brainwashing everyone that MCAT is biased against some groups, it has no value other than predicting the family income and influence etc. This wonderful girl has proved what I have been saying is right. That is, if someone is willing to put in the effort and have innate ability, you can do very well on any standardized test I.e. SAT, MCAT, STEP etc.

On top of it, she has 800 hours of research, 1000 hours of clinical, 400 hours of shadowing and 1500 hours of community service.

It is mind blowing. Basically, all she seems to say is that you just need the desire.

Best of luck , girl. You are going to do wonders .

 

[Angler]

yeah, this is a real feel-good story, worthy of a Lifetime show. Your MCAT shows that you can easily handle Med School, and there's plenty of explanation for your GPA. Honestly, I don't think you need to apply DO; there are plenty of top "non-WUSTL" MD schools who'll interview you. You just need a really good PS (which basically can write itself).

I'm sure that the experts here will give you some good advice.

I always have lurked on here, but was always so embarrassed to make a comment

You should not be embarrassed! There are plenty of posters on SDN who really should be embarrassed for the crap they post. You're certainly not one of them.

 

[loveyabunches23]

Where is your state of residence ? Are you a United States citizen ?

CA and yes!!!

 

[deleted1163682]

Influential people have been brainwashing everyone that MCAT is biased against some groups, it has no value other than predicting the family income and influence etc. This wonderful girl has proved what I have been saying is right.

Confirmation bias? I don't think anyone needs to explain this to you, but there is so much evidence and research corresponding to disadvantaged folks facing barriers that prevent them from scoring high on these standardized tests. Do you believe in the validity of IQ testing too?

 

[senecca]

Confirmation bias? I don't think anyone needs to explain this to you, but there is so much evidence and research corresponding to disadvantaged folks facing barriers that prevent them from scoring high on these standardized tests. Do you believe in the validity of IQ testing too?

I can give you thousands of disadvantaged folks from all racial groups scoring 520+ without any tutoring and also thousands of advantaged folks students from all racial groups failed miserably on MCAT despite tutoring. It doesn’t prove anything this way or that way.

The MCAT covers topics only from AP physics , AP chemistry. AP biology, AP Psychology , sociology , organic chemistry, biochemistry and basic reading comprehension. People repeat all those AP classes in colleges again. There is free khan Academy and moderately priced UWorld. AAMC materials cost only $300 and free for disadvantaged students. So, there shouldn’t be any excuse from anyone who is honest. I can’t understand why anyone would need or benefit from purportedly expensive tutoring after studying these subjects for 7 or 8 years.

I request OP to write about how she achieved so much given her unfortunate circumstances. It may be helpful to thousands of students and open the deliberately closed eyes of millions.

This will be my last post on this thread because in America, whites and Asian American citizens are not allowed post any hard facts or truth . They will get banned if they did. That’s how the freedom of speech works here.

 

[deleted1163682]

This will be my last post on this thread because in America, whites and Asian American citizens are not allowed post any hard facts or truth . They will get banned if they did. That’s how the freedom of speech works here.

So are you not based in the US? You seem to be heavily misguided. I'm Asian and I fully support holistic admissions.

 

[senecca]

So are you not based in the US? You seem to be heavily misguided. I'm Asian and I fully support holistic admissions.

I am an Asian American citizen who lives in USA and I believe in providing only the tools needed to succeed for free and the support to ALL students from all racial groups from young age. Do not look at anyone’s skin color or their family income, they are all our kids. Do not wait until the end of the race and determine/adjust/pick the winners. Let it play out on its own. It is immoral.

Having said that I would applaud if Harvard Medical School offered a seat to this wonderful girl instead of any other student with a 4.0 and 528.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

How much networking have you done with students at the schools, especially through SNMA or MAPS? When did you arrive in the US? Have you submitted your application, or is it still under preparation? California schools do a lot of outreach so you should find recruitment events or watch various videos highlighting admissions staff or students.

Have you taken PREview?

 

[Faha]

CA and yes!!!

CA and yes!!!

I suggest these schools with your stats:
UCSF
UCLA
UCSD
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC Riverside (if you are from that region)
USC Keck
Kaiser
California University
Charles Drew
Howard
Meharry
Morehouse
Tulane
Miami
Emory
Vanderbilt
Duke
Georgetown
George Washington
Jefferson
Temple
Pittsburgh
Cincinnati
Case Western
U Chicago
Northwestern
Einstein
Mount Sinai
NYU
Columbia
Cornell
Boston University
Tufts
Brown
Dartmouth
If you are applying this year you should submit your application no later than July and submit all your secondaries by August.

 

[loveyabunches23]

How much networking have you done with students at the schools, especially through SNMA or MAPS? When did you arrive in the US? Have you submitted your application, or is it still under preparation? California schools do a lot of outreach so you should find recruitment events or watch various videos highlighting admissions staff or students.

Have you taken PREview?

Have been here for almost 10 years. Went to a California Cc and got free community college after midway after fighting to establish residency. Got citizenship at the end of CC and that was very helpful with me establishing I’m a California resident for undergrad (I go to school in California).

I know of MAPS, but am not too connected with them. Maybe that’s something I’ll look to do this upcoming school year? What I can say is that I’m very connected with professors on campus though. And I have not taken PREview yet.

 

[loveyabunches23]

Have been here for almost 10 years. Went to a California Cc and got free community college after midway after fighting to establish residency. Got citizenship at the end of CC and that was very helpful with me establishing I’m a California resident for undergrad (I go to school in California).

I know of MAPS, but am not too connected with them. Maybe that’s something I’ll look to do this upcoming school year? What I can say is that I’m very connected with professors on campus though. And I have not taken PREview yet.

also have not submitted application yet. Was thinking I should apply next year because I have one more year left and maybe to pad up GPA but not sure.

 

[LunaOri]

I suggest these schools with your stats:
UCSF
UCLA
UCSD
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC Riverside (if you are from that region)
USC Keck
Kaiser
California University
Charles Drew
Howard
Meharry
Morehouse
Tulane
Miami
Emory
Vanderbilt
Duke
Georgetown
George Washington
Jefferson
Temple
Pittsburgh
Cincinnati
Case Western
U Chicago
Northwestern
Einstein
Mount Sinai
NYU
Columbia
Cornell
Boston University
Tufts
Brown
Dartmouth
If you are applying this year you should submit your application no later than July and submit all your secondaries by August.

Add Vermont to the list