WAMC school list help (ORM, 507, 3.88)

[leobagel1133]

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[Mr.Smile12]

When did you move to the United States? Yes, you need community service in the US. I do discount international experiences that you did "at home" (shadowing through a relative who works in healthcare, for example) or "as voluntourism." I'd like to see you do similar shelter work in the US. You said you started at a food bank, so that's going to help you, but most schools will rule on the snapshot of your primary application; updates and promised hours don't matter.

What advice did you get from your prehealth advisor or prehealth peer advisors? Not all schools screen applicants before handing out secondary applications (i.e., they need your secondary fee to pay for delivering your rejection letter... back when they used USPS to do this).

 

[leobagel1133]

When did you move to the United States? Yes, you need community service in the US. I do discount international experiences that you did "at home" (shadowing through a relative who works in healthcare, for example) or "as voluntourism." I'd like to see you do similar shelter work in the US. You said you started at a food bank, so that's going to help you, but most schools will rule on the snapshot of your primary application; updates and promised hours don't matter.

What advice did you get from your prehealth advisor or prehealth peer advisors? Not all schools screen applicants before handing out secondary applications (i.e., they need your secondary fee to pay for delivering your rejection letter... back when they used USPS

Thank you for your response. I immigrated to the United States in 2017 right after high school and have been living here since then. The orphanage volunteering was something I did regularly while I was still in my country, so it was not voluntourism or arranged only for the application.

I understand your point about schools preferring service that is based in the United States, and I am glad I have been able to start volunteering at the food bank and hospice recently to build that part of my application.

For context, I worked multiple jobs to support myself before starting at a community college and later transferred to UCLA. I did not have a formal prehealth advisor, so I had to figure things out on my own. That is part of the reason I am posting here and I really appreciate the feedback and perspective.

 

[Faha]

The majority of schools you applied to are unrealistic with a MCAT of 507. I suggest adding these MD schools today:
Roseman
Alice Walton
Belmont
TCU
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
NOVA MD
Eastern Virginia
Also consider adding these DO schools:
AZCOM
TUNCOM
UIWSOM
KCU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
DMU-COM
CCOM
CUSOM
PCOM
NYITCOM
Touro-NY

 

[Stuaccount]

It sounds like you volunteered at the orphanage as a high school student, which is another reason it may not be sufficient to show your service inclination. Plus it being 8 years ago would also be an issue.

 

[leobagel1133]

The majority of schools you applied to are unrealistic with a MCAT of 507. I suggest adding these MD schools today:
Roseman
Alice Walton
Belmont
TCU
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
NOVA MD
Eastern Virginia
Also consider adding these DO schools:
AZCOM
TUNCOM
UIWSOM
KCU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
DMU-COM
CCOM
CUSOM
PCOM
NYITCOM

Thank you Dr. Faha! I appreciate you sharing this list, I’ll definitely take it into consideration.

 

[leobagel1133]

When did you move to the United States? Yes, you need community service in the US. I do discount international experiences that you did "at home" (shadowing through a relative who works in healthcare, for example) or "as voluntourism." I'd like to see you do similar shelter work in the US. You said you started at a food bank, so that's going to help you, but most schools will rule on the snapshot of your primary application; updates and promised hours don't matter.

What advice did you get from your prehealth advisor or prehealth peer advisors? Not all schools screen applicants before handing out secondary applications (i.e., they need your secondary fee to pay for delivering your rejection letter... back when they used USPS to do this).

Hi Mr. Smile12,

I would really appreciate your advice on my gap year direction. Based on my background and experiences, do you think there are certain activities I should prioritize? I plan to retake the MCAT next year if I don’t hear back from schools by December, but in the meantime I want to make the most of my time. Since I don’t have formal research experience yet, would it be more valuable to focus on getting into a research position while also continuing to do community service? Or is there another area you think would strengthen my application more at this stage?

Thank you so much for your guidance.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Hi Mr. Smile12,

I would really appreciate your advice on my gap year direction. Based on my background and experiences, do you think there are certain activities I should prioritize? I plan to retake the MCAT next year if I don’t hear back from schools by December, but in the meantime I want to make the most of my time. Since I don’t have formal research experience yet, would it be more valuable to focus on getting into a research position while also continuing to do community service? Or is there another area you think would strengthen my application more at this stage?

Thank you so much for your guidance.

Here's the deal... how long do you have FAP benefits? How long can you have access to your MCAT prep materials?

I don't know if formal research is going to help in a short year prior to application. Research is a long-term journey; maybe if you did an NIH Postbac IRTA or a similar postbac at a medical school, but those are for people driving towards a PhD. Basically, I don't know if research is going to help you if you're trying to apply next spring.

Always keep building clinical experience and service orientation community service (food bank, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, legal support, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation). You need to have around 150 hours in each before applying, and you should be able to accumulate more hours since you graduated.

The only other activity I would encourage is networking with admissions officers at the schools you want to attend. Connect with students who attend those schools.

 

[leobagel1133]

Here's the deal... how long do you have FAP benefits? How long can you have access to your MCAT prep materials?

I don't know if formal research is going to help in a short year prior to application. Research is a long-term journey; maybe if you did an NIH Postbac IRTA or a similar postbac at a medical school, but those are for people driving towards a PhD. Basically, I don't know if research is going to help you if you're trying to apply next spring.

Always keep building clinical experience and service orientation community service (food bank, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, legal support, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation). You need to have around 150 hours in each before applying, and you should be able to accumulate more hours since you graduated.

The only other activity I would encourage is networking with admissions officers at the schools you want to attend. Connect with students who attend those schools.

Thank you for your advice, I really appreciate it. My prep materials are valid until the end of next year. I decided to apply this year since I won’t qualify for FAP next cycle, and I wanted to take my shot while I still had the support.

I understand your point about research not making a big difference in just one year. I’ll prioritize more on non-clinical volunteering and networking.