WAMC School List Help (3.9 GPA, 517 MCAT): I appreciate the help very much!

[iluvScriabin]

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1. cGPA: 3.99 and sGPA: 4.00
2. MCAT: 517 (130/128/131/128)
3. No state of Residency but US citizen, strong NC ties.
4. Ethnicity: Middle Eastern
5. Non-ivy or top 50 undergrad
6. Clinical experience: 150 hrs of Hospice Patient Companionship
7. Research experience and productivity: 500 hrs Smoking Cessation (2 minor author pubs), 1000 hrs Fisheries Ecology Lab (2 posters at 2 conferences).
8. Shadowing experience: 50 hrs at 3 different hospital divisions (with lab techs mostly), 15 hrs neurosurgery, 10 hrs pain management doctor
9. Non-clinical volunteering: 60 hrs Lobby Ambassador, 100 hrs homeless and sex trafficking victims' shelter.
10. Other extracurricular activities: Studied piano professionally during freshman year: 2 recitals, composed piano music uploaded on YT (they’re trash), lab tech job with leadership role (took over the aging portion for catfish ecology), I like going to the gym
11. Relevant honors or awards: departmental honors thesis in fish ecology.

School List:

Lewis Katz at Temple

Penn State

Wake Forest

Duke

Baylor

Georgetown

Tufts

Western Michigan

UNC

U Tennessee

Texas A&M

U of Texas San Antonio

U of Texas Southwestern

U of Washington

U of Kansas

U of Illinois

Wayne State

U of Iowa

UMass

Indiana U

CU Anschutz

Saint Louis

Creighton

Geisel

Hackensack

NYMC

Case Western

Drexel

Sidney Kimmel Medical College

U Pittsburgh

Vanderbilt

 

[Mr.Smile12]

If you identify as Muslim, cross-check your list against the AMMSA chapter list. Reach out to student officers.

What is your purpose as a physician, and why did you pick the schools on your list?

 

[iluvScriabin]

If you identify as Muslim, cross-check your list against the AMMSA chapter list. Reach out to student officers.

What is your purpose as a physician, and why did you pick the schools on your list?

Hey Mr. Smile,
I do not identify as a Muslim, nor have I been raised in a Muslim household. My purpose as a physician, as cliche as it sounds, is to bring care and trust through my practice. My experience doing hospice ignited a passion for being involved in people's health; even though, in this case, much cannot be done with the overall outcome, it was extremely fulfilling just being there for my patients. Lifting their spirits even through tough times is a part of practicing medicine. For context, I used to be hospitalized 2-3 times a year as a kid. I had a bad view of the healthcare field, but one physician back home changed my whole perspective. Since then, I have been curious about an eventual career in medicine.

 

[iluvScriabin]

If you identify as Muslim, cross-check your list against the AMMSA chapter list. Reach out to student officers.

What is your purpose as a physician, and why did you pick the schools on your list?

For my school list, I didn't necessarily formulate my list through school missions or fit, even though that's probably what I should do. These schools I just chose based on how my stats fair with the MSAR stats of these schools.

 

[Faha]

You have several state public schools on your list that admit few non residents with no connection to the state or region (U Washington admits less than 1% of applicants who are not from states in the Northwest). St. Louis, Creighton and Georgetown expect far more non clinical and clinical volunteering hours than you have. I suggest these schools from your list:
Lewis Katz at Temple

Penn State

Wake Forest

Duke

Tufts

Western Michigan

UNC

U of Illinois

Wayne State

U of Iowa

UMass

Indiana U

CU Anschutz

Geisel

Hackensack

NYMC

Case Western

Drexel

Sidney Kimmel Medical College

U Pittsburgh

Vanderbilt

You could add these schools:
Washington University (in St. Louis)
TCU
USF Morsani
Miami
George Washington
Virginia Commonwealth
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
Rochester
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont

 

[iluvScriabin]

You have several state public schools on your list that admit few non residents with no connection to the state or region (U Washington admits less than 1% of applicants who are not from states in the Northwest). St. Louis, Creighton and Georgetown expect far more non clinical and clinical volunteering hours than you have. I suggest these schools from your list:
Lewis Katz at Temple

Penn State

Wake Forest

Duke

Tufts

Western Michigan

UNC

U of Illinois

Wayne State

U of Iowa

UMass

Indiana U

CU Anschutz

Geisel

Hackensack

NYMC

Case Western

Drexel

Sidney Kimmel Medical College

U Pittsburgh

Vanderbilt

You could add these schools:
Washington University (in St. Louis)
TCU
USF Morsani
Miami
George Washington
Virginia Commonwealth
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
Rochester
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont

Thank you, Dr. Faha,
Do you have a reason for throwing out all the Texas schools? And do you think I should apply D.O.? Much appreciated!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you, Dr. Faha,
Do you have a reason for throwing out all the Texas schools? And do you think I should apply D.O.? Much appreciated!

Can you tell us why you are applying to TMDSAS? With your metrics, you shouldn't need to apply DO.

Bump your shelter volunteering up to at least 150 hours, or 250 hours minimum if you want to play in the sandbox with applicants going for brand names.

 

[iluvScriabin]

Can you tell us why you are applying to TMDSAS? With your metrics, you shouldn't need to apply DO.

Bump your shelter volunteering up to at least 150 hours, or 250 hours minimum if you want to play in the sandbox with applicants going for brand names.

What exactly are you considering "brand names?"

I saw some Texas schools, while only accepting sub-10% as OOS, having a low number of OOS applicants to begin with, so I thought it could be a good idea. However, I am here to be enlightened!

 

[Faha]

Thank you, Dr. Faha,
Do you have a reason for throwing out all the Texas schools? And do you think I should apply D.O.? Much appreciated!

The Texas schools (except TCU on AMCAS) have a strong instate preference). You do not need to apply to DO schools.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

What exactly are you considering "brand names?"

The 50 or so schools in the "top 20" IMO.

 

[wysdoc]

What exactly are you considering "brand names?"

I saw some Texas schools, while only accepting sub-10% as OOS, having a low number of OOS applicants to begin with, so I thought it could be a good idea. However, I am here to be enlightened!

The Texas schools, because they are state-subsidized to keep tuition low for Texans, are required to admit 90% Texans to each class. The final percentages by the end of each cycle at some schools may be as low as 5% OOS.
Who has a chance at a Texas school as an OOS applicant? With the exception of UT Tyler which wants strong ties to East Texas, you don't have to demonstrate any ties to Texas, but you do have to have a strong application and usually GPA and MCAT above the median for matriculants.

In EY 2023, there were 1670 OOS applicants to TMDSAS schools.
295 of them were offered admission (average GPA and MCAT of those accepted were 3.9 and 516)
151 OOS actually matriculated, meaning they had offers in other states they found more appealing.

If you like those odds of 17% chance of admission for strong OOS applicants, go ahead and apply to the TMDSAS schools you like, but understand that you have to fill out a completely different application portal to do so.

 

[iluvScriabin]

Thank you all for each of your thoughts.