WAMC? School list help (3.97, 516, ORM)

[iluvstickers]

cGPA and sGPA: 3.97
MCAT: 516 (129/130/128/129)
State of residence: Georgia
Ethnicity and/or race: Indian female
Undergrad category: state school, psych and bio double major, spanish minor
Clinical experience: 200 hours volunteering in neurology, nephrology, ED, anesthesia, 500 paid hours working as a MA at a ophthalmologist office (I am taking a gap year where I will continue working so I expect this number to increase)
Research Experience: 450 hours in a psychology research lab (I will also be researching during my gap year, so I expect this number to increase as well), 1 first author poster (presenting at national conference and university conference), currently working on a protocol manuscript that may be published but definitely not before application cycle ends.
Shadowing experience: 50 hours with infectious diseases specialist, 60 hours in Peru study abroad (OBGYN, internal medicine, oncologist), might shadow an anesthesiologist next semester
Non-clinical volunteering: 100 hours serving homeless population, 1000 hours for Doctors Without Borders (this is a club at my school but we get Presidential Volunteer Service Award every year, so not sure if I should include it here or in leadership or awards)
Extracurricular: Director of development (helped plan fundraisers) for a student-led organization that works to serve the homeless population across southeast US, treasurer of my university’s chapter of Doctors Without Borders, undergraduate TA (UTA) for general chemistry for 3 semesters and biochem for another 4 semesters, lead UTA for 3 semesters
Relavent honors:
- Presidential Volunteer Service Award x4
- Scholarship for outstanding achievement in academics throughout undergrad
Anything else: proficient in 3 languages (English, Hindi, Spanish), LORs from doctor I work with, professor I research with, genetics professor, and professor I am a UTA for


I don’t know whether I’m being too optimistic with my school list or how many schools I should apply to, and appreciate any feedback. Thank you!


School list:

1. Medical College of Georgia
2. Emory
3. U Chicago
4. Stanford
5. UCSF
6. Harvard
7. Johns Hopkins
8. Colombia
9. WashU
10. Vanderbilt
11. Duke
12. UMich
13. NYU
14. UPitt
15. Baylor
16. Northwestern
17. UNC
18. UMiami
19. Temple
20. Keck
21. Boston University
22. Loyola

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[Mr.Smile12]

I don't get what you are doing with Doctors Without Borders since you aren't actually a doctor going to a war zone. So I suspect it is for fundraising, and fundraising doesn't carry much weight regarding service orientation. I would have at least 150-250 hours with your homeless shelter work to make your application more viable. That said, you should be in a good position for your in-state programs and some programs where there is clear mission fit, but I'm not sure you have enough work serving underserved communities in your back yard.

 

[iluvstickers]

I don't get what you are doing with Doctors Without Borders since you aren't actually a doctor going to a war zone. So I suspect it is for fundraising, and fundraising doesn't carry much weight regarding service orientation. I would have at least 150-250 hours with your homeless shelter work to make your application more viable. That said, you should be in a good position for your in-state programs and some programs where there is clear mission fit, but I'm not sure you have enough work serving underserved communities in your back yard.

Thank you for the advice! Yes, a lot of the hours with DWB is fundraising, but we also volunteer at soup kitchens and such around our community which is why I thought to include it in volunteering. I am continuing my volunteering at the homeless shelter though, and am estimating to have around 200 hours by the end of the year. How can I change my current school list to be more suited to my profile?

 

[Faha]

Remove Loyola since they expect far more non clinical volunteering hours than you have. UNC and Baylor admit few OOS applicants with no connection to the state. You list is top heavy with your MCAT of 516. I suggest adding these schools:
Mercer
USF Morsani
George Washington
Jefferson
Hofstra
Rochester
Tufts
UMass
Cincinnati
Western Michigan
Iowa
Colorado
Arizona (Phoenix)

 

[mike-sheree]

Don’t focus so much on THE medical school, but rather A medical school where you are comfy. I used to be very intimately associated with hiring physicians as a partner in a very large (for pathology) single specialty practice. By the time an individual was applying for such a position, with RARE exception, WHERE you went to med school was almost like being concerned about where you went to college. Med school is pretty much like getting your visa stamped. Get into (pretty much any) med school and kick butt. Y’all are looking at trees rather than the forest.
Me- retired physician, U of ILL Chicago 1977.

 

[iluvstickers]

Remove Loyola since they expect far more non clinical volunteering hours than you have. UNC and Baylor admit few OOS applicants with no connection to the state. You list is top heavy with your MCAT of 516. I suggest adding these schools:
Mercer
USF Morsani
George Washington
Jefferson
Hofstra
Rochester
Tufts
UMass
Cincinnati
Western Michigan
Iowa
Colorado
Arizona (Phoenix)

Thank you so much!

 

[iluvstickers]

Don’t focus so much on THE medical school, but rather A medical school where you are comfy. I used to be very intimately associated with hiring physicians as a partner in a very large (for pathology) single specialty practice. By the time an individual was applying for such a position, with RARE exception, WHERE you went to med school was almost like being concerned about where you went to college. Med school is pretty much like getting your visa stamped. Get into (pretty much any) med school and kick butt. Y’all are looking at trees rather than the forest.
Me- retired physician, U of ILL Chicago 1977.

That's great advice. Thank you! It's definitely easy to lose sight of the big picture, and I always welcome the reminder to take a step back. It honestly lifts a lot of the stress off my shoulders of getting into the best of the best.

 

[iluvstickers]

@Goro I would love your input on my school list as well if you have the time!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you for the advice! Yes, a lot of the hours with DWB is fundraising, but we also volunteer at soup kitchens and such around our community which is why I thought to include it in volunteering. I am continuing my volunteering at the homeless shelter though, and am estimating to have around 200 hours by the end of the year. How can I change my current school list to be more suited to my profile?

Thanks for the clarification... the description is important since I don't want to fall into assumptions based on "where" you were working (to provide a fairer review).

You have received some good advice on schools to apply to from your profile, but I wanted to get a sense of what you want to do, according to your activities. Do you want to do emergency/disaster medicine, similar to what MSF/DWB physicians do? Are you more interested in street medicine?

 

[Goro]

Agree with Faha.
Get in more service to others less fortunate to yourself, and off campus and out of your comfort zone.