WAMC/School list help: International student, low clinical, 4.0/518

[plzletmeinnn]

Hey everyone! First time applicant here and hoping to get advice on the school list. I know I have limited experiences and maybe it’s better to wait for next cycle, but I really don't want to do gap year. I mostly want to do a MD/PhD, but honestly I’d be happy with any of MD/PhD, or MD, or DO in the US.


GPA: 4.0 (both cGPA and sGPA)

MCAT 518 (CARS127)

International student, ORM, no US green card, no US citizenship, no Canada citizenship, have Canada PR

Canada undergrad

Shadowing + volunteering dermatology clinic: 50h, in the same clinic. Also started this activity late (started last month)

Clinical: mental-health related (so not really “smelling” patients, but I do interact with them) 100h

Research: ~4000h, two publications (first author and co-first author. But impact factor not very high). Another paper planning on submitting this September

Other activities: promotion for healthcare organization (30h), ESL volunteer instructor (50h), tutor for underserved students (100h), peer mentor & orientation executive (350h), club executive (300h)

AMCAS: submitted late (submitted mid-July I know. But my reference letters are almost ready/received, and should be able to have materials ready for review by August)



My school list:

MD/PhD:
Wash U
Vanderbilt
Emory
Northwestern
Boston University
University of Virginia
Jefferson
SUNY Upstate
Dartmouth
VCU
Maryland
Mount Sinai


MD:
UCLA
Case Western
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine


DO:
MSU
WesternU / COMP
UNECOM
KCUMB
Rowan



I wonder if anyone can provide any insights on my school list, any schools I should add? Am I aiming too high/low?

I feel like I'm in a awkward position - I have limited options as a international student, I don’t know if it’s even worth applying to top schools because I surly can’t get in, and I’m not sure if the “low-ranking” schools would want to see more community service.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Also it's my first time using this forum, sorry if I did anything wrong

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[Faha]

Your lack of clinical and non clinical hours will limit your chances for interviews at MD schools. You could add these DO schools:
CCOM
AZCOM
WCU-COM
Touro-NY
NSU-KPCOM
LUCOM

 

[plzletmeinnn]

Your lack of clinical and non clinical hours will limit your chances for interviews at MD schools. You could add these DO schools:
CCOM
AZCOM
WCU-COM
Touro-NY
NSU-KPCOM
LUCOM

Thank you for the advice! I know DO schools also look for primary care/clinical experience, so do you think I should omit some of my research experiences when applying to DO schools? ie would too much research hurt my chances at DO schools?

 

[Faha]

Thank you for the advice! I know DO schools also look for primary care/clinical experience, so do you think I should omit some of my research experiences when applying to DO schools? ie would too much research hurt my chances at DO schools?

Research does not hurt your chances at DO schools.

 

[ClashRoyaleKing]

mental-health related (so not really “smelling” patients, but I do interact with them)

Can you elaborate further on your role and why you don't think you can smell them? I also work in mental health, and it is definitely clinical— and I can definitely smell them lol.

 

[plzletmeinnn]

Can you elaborate further on your role and why you don't think you can smell them? I also work in mental health, and it is definitely clinical— and I can definitely smell them lol.

My work is more online - I wasn't involved in the therapy meetings when the mental health professional sees the patient/client, but I helped follow up/continue supporting the patient afterwards. Do you think that would still be considered clinical?

 

[Fluoxetine_non]

I'm also an international student, and I know it's really hard for international students to get into MD programs. May I kindly ask how hard exactly it is for international students to get into MD programs in America? Any particular reasons? Is it because non-international students are more favoured during the applications?

Back to the topic, I think you should definitely apply to some high ranking schools, because as I know, many of them also accept international students, and your GPA is quite good, and it's amazing that you have 2 published articles with 4000 research hours. It's quite rare for undergrads from my place to have that much research hours, and I guess it must also be better than most US STEM undergrads, so definitely you should give it a try.

Any way I think your case is much better than mine. I took my undergrad in UK, so I am really struggling about how to full fill my pre-requirements. May I kindly ask if you have any suggestions on how can I full fill those pre-requirements?

Thanks a lot, and good luck for your applications!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you for the advice! I know DO schools also look for primary care/clinical experience, so do you think I should omit some of my research experiences when applying to DO schools? ie would too much research hurt my chances at DO schools?

Feel free to share your profile with the Physician Scientist forums where most of our MD/PhD experts and students hang out.

There are a few DO schools that have DO/PhD tracks:

D.O.-Ph.D. Program | MSU Osteopathic Medicine

The D.O.-Ph.D. program is for highly motivated students who have achieved excellence in research and academics.The training enables them to be physician-scientists working on basic science or disease-related problems.

osteopathicmedicine.msu.edu

Combined Osteopathic Medicine, D.O. / Medical & Biological Sciences, Ph.D. | NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine

The combined Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.)/Medical and Biological Sciences (Ph.D.) is a seven-year program designed to develop physician-scientists.

www.nyit.edu

DO/PhD Program - Oklahoma State University

medicine.okstate.edu

D.O./Ph.D. Program | Ohio University

www.ohio.edu

DO/PhD Program | School of Osteopathic Medicine | Rowan University

gsbs.rowan.edu

Dual Degree - Interdisciplinary PhD in Biomedical Sciences | Des Moines University Academic Catalog

catalog.dmu.edu

I agree that your clinical hours are lower than what I would prefer for MD/PhD applicants. Otherwise, without knowing what you wrote, you have a plausible application at least for the PhD side.

May I kindly ask how hard exactly it is for international students to get into MD programs in America? Any particular reasons? Is it because non-international students are more favoured during the applications?

1) Visa requirements and renewals.
2) Financial aid.

Finances | F-1 Doctors

Finances for International Students. Affording graduate schools. Affording medical school. Finance options in medical school. Other options available. Institution policies. Co-signer. Interest rates.

www.f1doctor.com

 

[Goro]

Hey everyone! First time applicant here and hoping to get advice on the school list. I know I have limited experiences and maybe it’s better to wait for next cycle, but I really don't want to do gap year. I mostly want to do a MD/PhD, but honestly I’d be happy with any of MD/PhD, or MD, or DO in the US.


GPA: 4.0 (both cGPA and sGPA)

MCAT 518 (CARS127)

International student, ORM, no US green card, no US citizenship, no Canada citizenship, have Canada PR

Canada undergrad

Shadowing + volunteering dermatology clinic: 50h, in the same clinic. Also started this activity late (started last month)

Clinical: mental-health related (so not really “smelling” patients, but I do interact with them) 100h

Research: ~4000h, two publications (first author and co-first author. But impact factor not very high). Another paper planning on submitting this September

Other activities: promotion for healthcare organization (30h), ESL volunteer instructor (50h), tutor for underserved students (100h), peer mentor & orientation executive (350h), club executive (300h)

AMCAS: submitted late (submitted mid-July I know. But my reference letters are almost ready/received, and should be able to have materials ready for review by August)



My school list:

MD/PhD:
Wash U
Vanderbilt
Emory
Northwestern
Boston University
University of Virginia
Jefferson
SUNY Upstate
Dartmouth
VCU
Maryland
Mount Sinai


MD:
UCLA
Case Western
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine


DO:
MSU
WesternU / COMP
UNECOM
KCUMB
Rowan



I wonder if anyone can provide any insights on my school list, any schools I should add? Am I aiming too high/low?

I feel like I'm in a awkward position - I have limited options as a international student, I don’t know if it’s even worth applying to top schools because I surly can’t get in, and I’m not sure if the “low-ranking” schools would want to see more community service.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Also it's my first time using this forum, sorry if I did anything wrong

I cannot sugarcoat this op, without the necessary clinical hours your application will be d o a