dibadelf
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- May 16, 2025
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Hi! I just submitted my primary to AMCAS but I'd appreciate advice on my app, school selection, as well as take any suggestions for more schools. I'm coming up on my 3rd year of post-grad life and this is my second application cycle. First cycle I applied later (Late July, didn't finish secondaries till October) and had only one interview that Im still waitlisted at. This time I applied June 10. There's gonna be a lot to read due to me trying to be transparent so sorry in advance! Looking forward to any constructive criticism. Thanks in advance!
1. cGPA: 3.58-3.62 / sGPA 3.55-3.58 (I put my final application through GPT to see what my GPA would be by AMCAS standards)
2. MCAT:
-5/11/2024 Attempt 1 509: 129/125/126/129
-5/09/2025 Attempt 2 509: 127/128/127/127
( pretty bummed about my retake score because I was scoring 513+ on practice FLs. just glad I didnt drop and kinda happy the score looks more balanced. Wont retake for now unless this cycle is looking drab. For context, I work full time and I took a community college physics class concurrently to fulfill a prerequisite this second attempt around so could have played a factor into my focus)
3. CA Born and Raised, Viet, Low SES during upbringing (Immigrant Single mother, raised 3 kids on her own while getting her bachelor's)
4. Education
-Mid Tier UC School
5. Research
-Blood Transfusion RAII, >6000 hrs, current employment for the last 3 years
-Immunology Research Assistant, ~900 hrs, During undergrad, 1 Poster
6. Clinical Experience
-Clinical Research Phlebotomist, 650 hrs, current employment/side job
-Plastic Surgery Medical Assistant, 500 hrs. During undergrad
-Volunteer Phlebotomist, 40 hrs. During Undergrad
-Covid 19 Testing Center Volunteer, 675 hrs. During undergrad
7. Non Clinical Volunteering
-Senior Nutrition Meals on Wheels, 156 hrs. Cooked meals to serve to hundreds of elderly folk in my hometown during lockdown
-Drug Rehab Center Meal Service, 140 hrs. Wake up at 6am, drive to downtown Oakland and run breakfast service with the rehab center residents and hand out surplus to the homeless encampments.
8. Other Extracurriculars
-President of a Premedical Fraternity during undergrad, ~1000hrs. Boosted numbers, conducted charity events, but most cherished achievement here was starting an academic mentor-mentee program to boost overall GPA helping brothers and friends struggling in STEM
-Tennis (Hobby), ~500 hrs. Completely new hobby for me but I found myself becoming very passionate about it. Started from scratch and now I'm keeping up with old HS Varsity players.
9. Awards
-Scholarship from Section 8 (aka low income housing program) given to 1 person out of an applicant pool of hundreds of students pursuing higher education. Wrote in primary about resilience and remembering my roots.
10. Other
-Working with underserved communities is a passion for me and my most likely angle to get into schools. Particularly urban areas with large SES inequality as that's the majority of my experience but also open to rural places like the Central Valley.
-I love languages: English and Vietnamese Proficient/Native, ASL Basic (I often look up phrases, and I can read fast fingerspelling if I need), French Basic-survival level, Spanish Basic-to-Advance (I love my hot latina gf and her familia). Def wanna learn Tagalog next after I finish Spanish Duolingo
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Here are the list of schools I have applied to so far. Shooting a little high with some of these (and for the moon with SF and LA). I'd appreciate some recommendations for MD schools that would take 509 MCAT or see me as a good mission match. Also wondering if Im too late/have a chance with Texas schools (I have family there). Thanks!
1. cGPA: 3.58-3.62 / sGPA 3.55-3.58 (I put my final application through GPT to see what my GPA would be by AMCAS standards)
2. MCAT:
-5/11/2024 Attempt 1 509: 129/125/126/129
-5/09/2025 Attempt 2 509: 127/128/127/127
( pretty bummed about my retake score because I was scoring 513+ on practice FLs. just glad I didnt drop and kinda happy the score looks more balanced. Wont retake for now unless this cycle is looking drab. For context, I work full time and I took a community college physics class concurrently to fulfill a prerequisite this second attempt around so could have played a factor into my focus)
3. CA Born and Raised, Viet, Low SES during upbringing (Immigrant Single mother, raised 3 kids on her own while getting her bachelor's)
4. Education
-Mid Tier UC School
5. Research
-Blood Transfusion RAII, >6000 hrs, current employment for the last 3 years
-Immunology Research Assistant, ~900 hrs, During undergrad, 1 Poster
6. Clinical Experience
-Clinical Research Phlebotomist, 650 hrs, current employment/side job
-Plastic Surgery Medical Assistant, 500 hrs. During undergrad
-Volunteer Phlebotomist, 40 hrs. During Undergrad
-Covid 19 Testing Center Volunteer, 675 hrs. During undergrad
7. Non Clinical Volunteering
-Senior Nutrition Meals on Wheels, 156 hrs. Cooked meals to serve to hundreds of elderly folk in my hometown during lockdown
-Drug Rehab Center Meal Service, 140 hrs. Wake up at 6am, drive to downtown Oakland and run breakfast service with the rehab center residents and hand out surplus to the homeless encampments.
8. Other Extracurriculars
-President of a Premedical Fraternity during undergrad, ~1000hrs. Boosted numbers, conducted charity events, but most cherished achievement here was starting an academic mentor-mentee program to boost overall GPA helping brothers and friends struggling in STEM
-Tennis (Hobby), ~500 hrs. Completely new hobby for me but I found myself becoming very passionate about it. Started from scratch and now I'm keeping up with old HS Varsity players.
9. Awards
-Scholarship from Section 8 (aka low income housing program) given to 1 person out of an applicant pool of hundreds of students pursuing higher education. Wrote in primary about resilience and remembering my roots.
10. Other
-Working with underserved communities is a passion for me and my most likely angle to get into schools. Particularly urban areas with large SES inequality as that's the majority of my experience but also open to rural places like the Central Valley.
-I love languages: English and Vietnamese Proficient/Native, ASL Basic (I often look up phrases, and I can read fast fingerspelling if I need), French Basic-survival level, Spanish Basic-to-Advance (I love my hot latina gf and her familia). Def wanna learn Tagalog next after I finish Spanish Duolingo
-----------------------
Here are the list of schools I have applied to so far. Shooting a little high with some of these (and for the moon with SF and LA). I'd appreciate some recommendations for MD schools that would take 509 MCAT or see me as a good mission match. Also wondering if Im too late/have a chance with Texas schools (I have family there). Thanks!
| School Name |
|---|
| Albany Medical College |
| Drexel University College of Medicine |
| Eastern Virginia Medical School at Old Dominion University |
| Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV |
| Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University |
| Michigan State University College of Human Medicine |
| Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine |
| Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center |
| University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson |
| University of California, Davis, School of Medicine |
| University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine |
| University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine |
| University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine |
| University of Colorado School of Medicine |
| University of Illinois College of Medicine |
| University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine |
