WAMC/School List Help: 524, 4.0

[biocrux]

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[theoceanman]

Do you have any community service that targets specific populations and have you done that for at least 150 hours in a meaningful way? Things like this can include Salvation Army, Food Bank, local community service opportunities, etc. If you don't have 150 hours, you will get screened out at most schools, especially T20 schools, given your high MCAT and GPA stats. Places such as UF, FIU, UMiami, and FSU may also screen you out as they highly value community service coming from the fact that their mission is to provide care for the underserved in their respective regions. Is there any way you can get 150 or even 100 hours of community service for a specific population you want to serve in the future as a physician before May? It may be extremely difficult, but it's the only way to avoid being screened out at schools that fit your stats.

I would have to refer to @chilly_md for additional aid and input.

 

[chilly_md]

What’s your ethnic background and do you speak Spanish?

Cubans are not underrepresented in medicine but fluency in Spanish would still help.

 

[chilly_md]

It would be good if you could immediately start volunteering at a food bank, soup kitchen, with your local homeless shelter etc and accumulate as many hours as possible before submitting in June.

Add:
WUSTL
Arizona Phoenix
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Case
Dartmouth

Remove Wake and Georgetown as they won’t think you will attend. Chicago and UCLA will likely expect significantly more service.

You could submit to Baylor and UTSW as well on TMDSAS.

 

[chilly_md]

Thank you, so much, for this! I will make some changes to the school list. Admittedly, I am a bit stressed and worried about the non-clinical volunteering, as my time throughout May will be somewhat limited due to working. However, I will try my best to gather some valuable, quality hours. Would you suggest any other/different schools if I am not able to reach a significant number of these hours by the end of May?

If it helps, I am also FGLI.

It’s the same ones I suggested as well as several on your list already (like Hofstra and UVA).

WUSTL likes high stat scorers and interviews the majority of them. One of your in-state schools, USF, was known for trying to get higher MCAT scorers these past several years too. I would prioritize Harvard, Yale, Columbia and Hopkins less than other schools when doing secondaries.

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

@Goro, @LizzyM: this applicant seems like a straight up platinum grade rock star. They might have one weakness in lacking clinical volunteering, but they've got almost 2,000 hours of clinical employment. They seem like a strong candidate even by top-20 schools' stratospheric standards.

 

[LizzyM]

Yes, Cuban, and I am fluent in Spanish.

Be still my heart. You are going to have more interviews than you know what to do with. Good luck. Hope I meet you on the (virtual) interview trail.