WAMC School List Help (3.85/524)

[meowmeows]

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Hello! I appreciate the help in advance, I'm trying to narrow my school list down. What schools should I be orienting towards? I know I will include my state schools, but don't know how many "top" or "high" tier schools I should apply to. The ambitious part of me wants to shoot for it, and apply to a bunch. I don't want to get bogged down by secondaries, and my current list has approx 50 schools. It's not even worth writing, because its essentially all the T30 schools + all mid-tier schools that accept OOS. How should I start making my list?

3.85 cgpa, 3.79sgpa
524 MCAT (130,130,132,132)
Washington resident
White male, type 1 diabetic since 2006
Undergrad: University of Washington
Clinical Experience: EMT-B on 911 ambulance (2100 hours), EMT supervisor at homeless shelter for monitored withdrawal (1200 hours), screening volunteer at community clinic (100 hours), medical volunteer for outdoor sobriety program (110 hours)
Research experience: 600 hours in a neurophysiology lab studying vision adaptation (1 presentation, 0 pubs)
Shadowing: 44 hours current + 35 expected (endocrinology, pediatrics, gastroenterology)
Non-Clinical Volunteering: Volunteer coordinator for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation - 200 hours (lead 200+ volunteers for event that raised 4 million), administrative lead at camp for youth with type 1 diabetes, (600 hours), homeless shelter kitchen volunteer (100 hours), founder of diabetes fundraising team - personally raised $110,000 (250 hours)
Extracurriculars: TA for undergraduate cadaver course (150 hours), recreational soccer, marathon running, fiction writing
Honors: Not really any honors or awards, dean's list only
Anything else: I'm a gay man. I haven't been a part of any programs that empower LGBTQIA+ individuals in medicine, but am thinking that I might need to find a volunteering opportunity this summer to back up my lived experiences with real experiences lol.

Here are the schools I'm sure of:

University of Washington
Washington State Elson Floyd
Columbia
NYU
WashU
Duke
UCLA
UMich
Sinai
Pitt
Emory
Brown
Cincinnati
Vermont
Einstein
U Iowa
U Colorado
U Miami
Boston U
Medical College of Wisconsin
Tulane
GWU
Georgetown
Loyola
Rush

 

[Mr.Smile12]

As far as I can tell, you have the usual suspects when it comes to metrics. It's not clear how you stack up with service orientation. I think I can see only 100 hours (shelter volunteer) while you also have lots of leadership (fundraising, volunteer coordinator, youth camp). Now EMT at a homeless shelter may give you some additional hours in this category (1200), but I'm not sure how faculty will count it (more EMT or more "shelter volunteer with clinical-adjacent work"). I'll give you credit at least for working with homeless individuals when it comes to marginalized populations, and to that end, is it your purpose to help this group? That will make a difference with your list.

You have a number of yield protecting schools. Rush and Loyola want more service orientation hours than what you have (think at least 500-700 hours). Your in-state and regional options are your best shots (UW and WSU) though you have a good chance at the usual urban Ivy programs. Do you speak Spanish fluently?

Have you connected with MSPA officers at the schools on your list, or at least reached out to students attending those institutions about how their programs handle LGBTQ+ health or inclusion? I'm not sure if state politics plays a role in your decisions or inner rankings of your schools.

 

[meowmeows]

As far as I can tell, you have the usual suspects when it comes to metrics. It's not clear how you stack up with service orientation. I think I can see only 100 hours (shelter volunteer) while you also have lots of leadership (fundraising, volunteer coordinator, youth camp). Now EMT at a homeless shelter may give you some additional hours in this category (1200), but I'm not sure how faculty will count it (more EMT or more "shelter volunteer with clinical-adjacent work"). I'll give you credit at least for working with homeless individuals when it comes to marginalized populations, and to that end, is it your purpose to help this group? That will make a difference with your list.

You have a number of yield protecting schools. Rush and Loyola want more service orientation hours than what you have (think at least 500-700 hours). Your in-state and regional options are your best shots (UW and WSU) though you have a good chance at the usual urban Ivy programs. Do you speak Spanish fluently?

Have you connected with MSPA officers at the schools on your list, or at least reached out to students attending those institutions about how their programs handle LGBTQ+ health or inclusion? I'm not sure if state politics plays a role in your decisions or inner rankings of your schools.

As far as I can tell, you have the usual suspects when it comes to metrics. It's not clear how you stack up with service orientation. I think I can see only 100 hours (shelter volunteer) while you also have lots of leadership (fundraising, volunteer coordinator, youth camp). Now EMT at a homeless shelter may give you some additional hours in this category (1200), but I'm not sure how faculty will count it (more EMT or more "shelter volunteer with clinical-adjacent work"). I'll give you credit at least for working with homeless individuals when it comes to marginalized populations, and to that end, is it your purpose to help this group? That will make a difference with your list.

You have a number of yield protecting schools. Rush and Loyola want more service orientation hours than what you have (think at least 500-700 hours). Your in-state and regional options are your best shots (UW and WSU) though you have a good chance at the usual urban Ivy programs. Do you speak Spanish fluently?

Have you connected with MSPA officers at the schools on your list, or at least reached out to students attending those institutions about how their programs handle LGBTQ+ health or inclusion? I'm not sure if state politics plays a role in your decisions or inner rankings of your schools.

Thank you, I really appreciate your response. I'm impressed by your wealth of knowledge! I've got a couple of clarifying questions.

1. What counts as service volunteering? I thought my application was relatively service oriented. The screening volunteer (100), camp volunteer (600), sobriety program volunteer (110), volunteer coordinator (200), and fundraising for research (250) are all volunteer roles oriented around service. (around 1300 total) I guess I had previously been equating service with volunteerism.

2. My purpose is to serve marginalized groups, my app is oriented towards empowering those that are misunderstood, underserved, and misrepresented. (extrapolating from being misunderstood as a type 1 diabetic/queer man towards other underserved communities -e.g. those who are unhoused and those who are struggling with substance use disorder.)

3. Which of these schools yield protect? If I get rid of them, should I replace them with more schools that have higher stats/T30? UW and WSU are definitely my best shots but I also want to shoot for the urban Ivy's if I can. Would you recommend any others that aren't on my list? I speak basic spanish, took 5 years but am not fluent or a native speaker.

4. I'm reaching out to MSPA officers as well as some queer friends who are already in medical school. To be frank, I want to get my degree. I can keep my sexuality separate if need be and am relatively straight-passing. State legislation isn't really a concern for me right now.

5. As for reaching out to current students in these programs, is there a way of going about this? SDN? Reddit? Social media?

Thank you for your help, I'm seriously astounded at your kindness! There's an overwhelming amount to learn.

Warmly,

S

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you, I really appreciate your response. I'm impressed by your wealth of knowledge! I've got a couple of clarifying questions.

1. What counts as service volunteering? I thought my application was relatively service oriented. The screening volunteer (100), camp volunteer (600), sobriety program volunteer (110), volunteer coordinator (200), and fundraising for research (250) are all volunteer roles oriented around service. (around 1300 total) I guess I had previously been equating service with volunteerism.

2. My purpose is to serve marginalized groups, my app is oriented towards empowering those that are misunderstood, underserved, and misrepresented. (extrapolating from being misunderstood as a type 1 diabetic/queer man towards other underserved communities -e.g. those who are unhoused and those who are struggling with substance use disorder.)

3. Which of these schools yield protect? If I get rid of them, should I replace them with more schools that have higher stats/T30? UW and WSU are definitely my best shots but I also want to shoot for the urban Ivy's if I can. Would you recommend any others that aren't on my list? I speak basic spanish, took 5 years but am not fluent or a native speaker.

4. I'm reaching out to MSPA officers as well as some queer friends who are already in medical school. To be frank, I want to get my degree. I can keep my sexuality separate if need be and am relatively straight-passing. State legislation isn't really a concern for me right now.

5. As for reaching out to current students in these programs, is there a way of going about this? SDN? Reddit? Social media?

Thank you for your help, I'm seriously astounded at your kindness! There's an overwhelming amount to learn.

Warmly,

S

It's what you do, not what your roles' titles are.

Remember service orientation is in every job, including positions that are highly common among premed applicants. That means clinical experience, retail customer service, camp volunteering, and teaching/tutoring have some service orientation. However, adcoms want you to be comfortable working with sick/suffering people in a position of humility and show you are comfortable working with uncomfortable situations. While many clinical and health-related in-person settings can fit this bill (hospice is our general consensus), you also should show service to your community: food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, legal support, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation.

Do not confuse actions with communities. If your purpose is to serve marginalized groups, you should do this both within a health-centered context and community-centered context. Serving marginalized groups outside your own identities is desired, even as a member of a marginalized group. You'll get separate credit there. Remember most applicants say they want to work with marginalized communities, so what that looks like is important.

Fundraising falls under leadership. Like, how many leaders do we know (especially in academia) who aren't fundraising. Coordinating or overseeing others can be construed as leadership.

Remember a WAMC is not an application, but the feedback should help you as you describe your responsibilities in your application.

 

[Faha]

Rush and Loyola will probably "yield protect" with your stats. You could add these schools:
Dartmouth
Hofstra
Northwestern
UCSF

 

[meowmeows]

Rush and Loyola will probably "yield protect" with your stats. You could add these schools:
Dartmouth
Hofstra
Northwestern
UCSF

Thank you, these are great. I'm looking to add and additional 4-5 more that aren't considered "reaches" considering my stats. What do you think these would look like?

Brown?
Case Western?
Pritzker?
Wake Forest?
Vanderbilt?

 

[meowmeows]

It's what you do, not what your roles' titles are.

Remember service orientation is in every job, including positions that are highly common among premed applicants. That means clinical experience, retail customer service, camp volunteering, and teaching/tutoring have some service orientation. However, adcoms want you to be comfortable working with sick/suffering people in a position of humility and show you are comfortable working with uncomfortable situations. While many clinical and health-related in-person settings can fit this bill (hospice is our general consensus), you also should show service to your community: food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, legal support, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation.

Do not confuse actions with communities. If your purpose is to serve marginalized groups, you should do this both within a health-centered context and community-centered context. Serving marginalized groups outside your own identities is desired, even as a member of a marginalized group. You'll get separate credit there. Remember most applicants say they want to work with marginalized communities, so what that looks like is important.

Fundraising falls under leadership. Like, how many leaders do we know (especially in academia) who aren't fundraising. Coordinating or overseeing others can be construed as leadership.

Remember a WAMC is not an application, but the feedback should help you as you describe your responsibilities in your application.

This is great, thank you. Have a lovely day!