WAMC/School List Help - NY Applicant, 522 MCAT, 3.7 cGPA/3.6 sGPA

[classeone]

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Hi everyone,

I’m finalizing my school list for the upcoming MD cycle and would really appreciate a reality check. I’m trying to figure out whether my reaches/targets/baselines make sense, whether the list is too top heavy and whether I’m missing any schools that would fit my application well.

cGPA and sGPA:
uGPA: ~3.7 cGPA / ~3.6 sGPA with upward trend
Graduate GPA: ~3.9 in a biomedical sciences master’s program

MCAT:
522 - 130/129/132/131
Only attempt

State of residence:
NY resident with strong ties to upstate NY.

Ethnicity/race:
Middle eastern (I believe white/ORM for admissions purposes)

Undergrad institution:
Community college -> private 4-year university -> master’s program at the medical school affiliated with the same undergrad institution

Background/context:
FAP recipient. Refugee background; moved to the US as a teenager with limited English. A lot of my application is centered around immigrant/refugee experiences, language access, service, and working with underserved communities.

Clinical experience:
~500+ hours between medical assistant work and medical interpreting

Research experience:
~1000+ hours. First-author review publication and one conference co-authored abstract.

Shadowing:
~60 hours total, various specialties

Non-clinical volunteering/service:
~1500-2000 hours total, mostly long-term community service (also have some hours (~50) in clinical hospital volunteering)

Mentoring/teaching:
~500 hours advising immigrant/first-gen students on college, high school planning, and testing.

Relevant honors/awards:
Phi Theta Kappa and Academic Excellence Certificate from community college.

Main notes/concerns:
I am relying heavily on the NY SUNYs for my baseline schools.

I would genuinely love to attend a school in Texas because there are large communities there that share my cultural background, but I have zero state ties. Because the TMDSAS OOS bias is so brutal, I ultimately decided to keep Texas schools off the list. Is that the right move or are there any Texas schools worth considering despite the low OOS odds?

I’m also wondering whether any schools on my list are likely to screen me out or heavily penalize me for the ~3.6 sGPA despite the MCAT, MS GPA, and upward trend. I’d also appreciate feedback on whether any of my baseline schools are known for yield protection or are low yield for applicants with my stats.

Current school list:
Reach schools:
Johns Hopkins
Duke
Columbia
NYU Grossman
University of Michigan
Weill Cornell
Northwestern
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
USF Morsani

Target schools:
University of Pittsburgh
Emory
Case Western Reserve
Dartmouth Geisel
University of Rochester
Georgetown
Hofstra
Stony Brook

Baseline schools:
University of Cincinnati
Wake Forest
SUNY Downstate
Buffalo/Jacobs
SUNY Upstate
New York Medical College
Hackensack Meridian
Quinnipiac
George Washington
Drexel
Albany Medical College

Specific questions:

1. Are any schools on this list unrealistic enough that I should remove them?
2. Is keeping Texas off the list the right move given no state ties, or is it still worth considering TMDSAS for multiple schools?
3. Is this list too top-heavy given the GPA or reasonable with the MCAT/context?
4. Are any of the baseline schools likely to yield protect or be unusually low yield for my profile?

Thank you in advance. I’m trying to be realistic and would appreciate honest feedback.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

What assistance are you getting from your SMP faculty this cycle?

I think it is hard for anyone without Texas ties to argue attending medical school in Texas. It's not impossible, but you must have done your homework to understand mission fit with their programs (through their videos/podcasts on TMDSAS in YouTube).

I am curious why you did an SMP if your undergrad science GPA was 3.6. I'm sure the SMP and university don't mind, but it seems a 3.6/522 could have gotten you to many of the schools you list without the SMP. Unless you are trying to be a gunner applicant. Were you an unsuccessful first-time applicant? What are we missing?

I would like details about your 2000 hours of non-clinical community service.

 

[Faha]

You could add Washington University (in St. Louis-they like high MCAT applicants).

 

[classeone]

Welcome to the forums.

What assistance are you getting from your SMP faculty this cycle?

I think it is hard for anyone without Texas ties to argue attending medical school in Texas. It's not impossible, but you must have done your homework to understand mission fit with their programs (through their videos/podcasts on TMDSAS in YouTube).

I am curious why you did an SMP if your undergrad science GPA was 3.6. I'm sure the SMP and university don't mind, but it seems a 3.6/522 could have gotten you to many of the schools you list without the SMP. Unless you are trying to be a gunner applicant. Were you an unsuccessful first-time applicant? What are we missing?

I would like details about your 2000 hours of non-clinical community service.

Thank you, I appreciate the questions.

For clarification, my master’s program was not a traditional SMP in the sense of being a last-chance academic repair program. It was more of an academic-enhancing biomedical/prehealth MS program at the medical school affiliated with my undergraduate institution. At the time, I had GPA concerns after seeing a lot of 3.9+ GPAs around me and I honestly didn't understand the process well enough yet. I also graduated from college in 3 years so I felt like I had not given myself enough time to build the clinical/research side of my application beyond volunteering and stuff. In hindsight, I agree that with a 3.6 sGPA and eventual 522 MCAT, the master’s may not have been strictly necessary from a pure admissions standpoint but I didn't know I would score a 522 at the time and I also didn’t realize that my GPA could still be workable for many schools with the right overall application.

That said, I do still think the program was worth it for me because it put me on track. I was pretty clueless back then and didn't have much direction. The program connected me with valuable people who helped me understand the process much better. It also helped lead me toward research and ultimately helped me build the application I have now.

I am a first-time applicant and have not applied before.

I also have letters from graduate/research faculty, including professors from my master’s program. Some of these faculty also teach med students at the affiliated medical school so they were able to evaluate me in a more medically relevant academic environment. I have also received advising through the health professions office but I wanted outside feedback on the school list because I’m trying to be realistic.

For Texas, that makes sense. My interest was mostly because of cultural/community fit but I have no Texas ties and the OOS numbers seem extremely difficult. I kept Texas off for now unless there is a compelling reason to apply broadly through TMDSAS.

For service, I have around ~1500-2000 hours of community service/volunteering through local nonprofit and cultural/community organizations, much of which I’ve been involved in since high school. This included food drives, partnering with nonprofits/churches to help local families in need, fundraising for food assistance and cataract surgery support in Africa, Thanksgiving dinners for the community, Ramadan iftars, youth/student summer camps, community outreach events, and similar service projects.

Separately, I also have ~500 hours of unpaid mentoring/advising focused on helping immigrant/first-gen students with high school, college planning, testing (SAT, APs, recently the MCAT etc.), and general academic support.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you, I appreciate the questions.

For clarification, my master’s program was not a traditional SMP in the sense of being a last-chance academic repair program. It was more of an academic-enhancing biomedical/prehealth MS program at the medical school affiliated with my undergraduate institution. At the time, I had GPA concerns after seeing a lot of 3.9+ GPAs around me and I honestly didn't understand the process well enough yet. I also graduated from college in 3 years so I felt like I had not given myself enough time to build the clinical/research side of my application beyond volunteering and stuff. In hindsight, I agree that with a 3.6 sGPA and eventual 522 MCAT, the master’s may not have been strictly necessary from a pure admissions standpoint but I didn't know I would score a 522 at the time and I also didn’t realize that my GPA could still be workable for many schools with the right overall application.

That said, I do still think the program was worth it for me because it put me on track. I was pretty clueless back then and didn't have much direction. The program connected me with valuable people who helped me understand the process much better. It also helped lead me toward research and ultimately helped me build the application I have now.

Here's the challenge though... I would need to see your master's courses, but the graduate GPA remains separate from your undergrad GPAs. You will likely still be "screened" on the 3.6 GPA. I'm unsure how other AMCAS adcoms would consider the grad GPA since there's general grade inflation with graduate GPA's (you have to try hard to get a C and fail out). AACOMAS adcoms would include your grad GPA when viewing your application, but with a 522, I'm guessing you're trying for a brand-name program.

On the surface without more details, if the program isn't a typical SMP, it could be viewed like an MPH 3.9 would be... which is without much weight at all. This is where letters from your graduate program would help a little, but most of us veteran adcoms would look at the 3.6 and wonder why you took a prehealth MS.

If this were a research biology master's or a professional science masters, the context would inform us how to view the coursework.

High school hours don't count, by the way.

 

[classeone]

Here's the challenge though... I would need to see your master's courses, but the graduate GPA remains separate from your undergrad GPAs. You will likely still be "screened" on the 3.6 GPA. I'm unsure how other AMCAS adcoms would consider the grad GPA since there's general grade inflation with graduate GPA's (you have to try hard to get a C and fail out). AACOMAS adcoms would include your grad GPA when viewing your application, but with a 522, I'm guessing you're trying for a brand-name program.

On the surface without more details, if the program isn't a typical SMP, it could be viewed like an MPH 3.9 would be... which is without much weight at all. This is where letters from your graduate program would help a little, but most of us veteran adcoms would look at the 3.6 and wonder why you took a prehealth MS.

If this were a research biology master's or a professional science masters, the context would inform us how to view the coursework.

High school hours don't count, by the way.

Thank you, that makes sense.

For the service hours, I should clarify that I am only counting post high school hours. I mentioned high school only to explain that the involvement began earlier and continued longitudinally.

For the master’s program, I agree that the graduate GPA remains separate from the undergraduate GPA and does not replace the sGPA. I am not assuming that the MS GPA fixes the undergraduate GPA and my school list was built with the understanding that I may still be evaluated or screened around the undergraduate GPA/sGPA.

The program is probably best described as SMP-adjacent rather than a traditional SMP. To answer your question, the coursework included graduate-level biomedical science courses such as pharmacology, human cell physiology, human anatomy/practicum, scientific communication, ethics, seminar, professional development, and some other biomedical electives (biostats etc.). I understand that it doesn't carry the same weight as a classic SMP where students take MS1 courses directly alongside medical students or as a research heavy thesis based biology MS. My main reason for mentioning was to give context and how the program helped me get connected to research and advising.

I understand the concern about why I did a prehealth MS with a 3.6 sGPA. At the time, I had graduated college in 3 years, had limited direction, and I didn't understand the process well enough. I was worried about my GPA and did not yet know I would eventually score a 522. Looking back, it may not have been necessary, but it definitely did help put me on track and helped me build the application I have now.

So I agree that schools will still evaluate the undergraduate GPA directly. That is why I’m trying to make sure the school list is realistic and not overly dependent on the graduate GPA compensating for it.