WAMC/School List, High Stats, Low Research

[Careful-Classroom]

I have a semi-unbalanced application and would love help with my MD school list.
Dems: ORM (white), GA resident with strong connections to Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, Male, 21. English only language
Undergrad: Decent-sized D2 school in Michigan
MCAT: from 2022 (only time): 523 (130/132/129/132)
GPA: cGPA: 3.91 sGPA: 3.90
Research:
Ballparked to 50 hours, only was able to get in for one semester
Clinical experience:
Working as a scribe in Adult and Peds ERs, 250 hours.
Volunteered for a hospice care group, 75 hrs (most meaningful).
Shadowing:
60 hours with a neurosurgeon, 8 with a Pediatric EM doc
EC’s/Accomplishments:
3000 hrs varsity collegiate swimming (most meaningful)
150 hours Habitat for Humanity
1 year of monthly meetings for a student-athlete leadership committee
275 hours in a special mental health liaison program within the athletic department (most meaningful)
275 hours lifeguarding
couple hundred hours of fishing and bass guitar playing as hobbies
LOR’s:
One from an MD who I scribe for. 3 science profs, 1 non-science prof, 1 from the assistant swim coach at my university. Getting a committee letter.
School List:
Emory
Lewis Katz (Temple)
Medical College of Georgia
Mercer (maybe)
Western Michigan
Wayne State
WVU (strong connection)
Albany
Rosalind Franklin
Sidney Kimmel
Brown
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Texas (John Sealy)
Indiana
Texas A&M
East Tennessee State (within 250 miles so considered to have connection via MSAR)
Texas Tech (Foster)
UTSA
Eastern Virginia
Creighton
Saint Louis
George Washington
Rush
Toledo
Pitt
Hofstra

Any and all edits to the list are appreciated, and happy to answer questions. Looking for a few more schools to add since I'm OOS for the Texas ones.

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[Faha]

Some of the schools on your list will "yield protect" with your stats. Rush expects far more clinical and non clinical volunteering hours than you have. I suggest these schools:
Medical College Georgia
Emory
Mercer
Vanderbilt
Washington University (in St. Louis)
St. Louis
USF Morsani
Duke
U Virginia
Jefferson
Pittsburgh
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
NYU
Cornell
Columbia
Tufts
Brown
Dartmouth
Case Western
Cincinnati
U Michigan
Western Michigan
Northwestern
Kaiser
Baylor
UTSW

 

[Careful-Classroom]

First of all, I greatly appreciate you taking the time to give me some feedback. I just have some concerns that most of these T20-level schools will see my obvious lack of research and toss my application out immediately. Should I be worried about that?

 

[Faha]

First of all, I greatly appreciate you taking the time to give me some feedback. I just have some concerns that most of these T20-level schools will see my obvious lack of research and toss my application out immediately. Should I be worried about that?

No. It may matter at some schools but there are few applicants with your stats and stats matter much more than research.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

If I could address items I think could hold you back:
1) Work more at hospice. You only have 75 hours but it's more meaningful than 250 hours of scribing... if you had more parity in these hours, your application will appear stronger.
2) Shadowing: more primary care would make your app stronger. 60 hours in neurosurg vs. 8 hours of ped emergency med??? For your own sake, get more traditional primary care hours. You may have some overlap with geriatric care with hospice if that happens, but regular internal med/family med would be fine. Get that number closer to 25.

Did you live in the Appalachians (connections with ETSU and WV)?

 

[Careful-Classroom]

If I could address items I think could hold you back:
1) Work more at hospice. You only have 75 hours but it's more meaningful than 250 hours of scribing... if you had more parity in these hours, your application will appear stronger.
2) Shadowing: more primary care would make your app stronger. 60 hours in neurosurg vs. 8 hours of ped emergency med??? For your own sake, get more traditional primary care hours. You may have some overlap with geriatric care with hospice if that happens, but regular internal med/family med would be fine. Get that number closer to 25.

Did you live in the Appalachians (connections with ETSU and WV)?

Yeah I’m volunteering at hospice still for 6-8 hours a week, I plan on sending update letters as the cycle progresses. I just think it’s been more meaningful because of how it’s changed my view on death more broadly. I’ll definitely try to get some more primary care later in the summer and include that in an update as well (my focus is on prewriting secondaries and turning those around right now). As for my connections, most of my family lives in the Appalachia area of SW PA, and one of my parents is a WVU alum. Spent a lot of time in Appalachia and would love to end up practicing there. As for ETSU they kinda just say that they consider closer than 250 miles from your home address to ETSU as being a connection… which qualifies for me. Thank you for taking the time to respond and advise, I really appreciate it )))

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Yeah I’m volunteering at hospice still for 6-8 hours a week, I plan on sending update letters as the cycle progresses. I just think it’s been more meaningful because of how it’s changed my view on death more broadly. I’ll definitely try to get some more primary care later in the summer and include that in an update as well (my focus is on prewriting secondaries and turning those around right now). As for my connections, most of my family lives in the Appalachia area of SW PA, and one of my parents is a WVU alum. Spent a lot of time in Appalachia and would love to end up practicing there. As for ETSU they kinda just say that they consider closer than 250 miles from your home address to ETSU as being a connection… which qualifies for me. Thank you for taking the time to respond and advise, I really appreciate it )))

Well, good luck. Please note we always tell people update letters do not move the needle on one's application at most schools. You cannot rely on updating your application to help you. That is why anticipated hours don't count for much.

 

[Careful-Classroom]

I have a semi-unbalanced application and would love some help with my MD school list. I've made some major edits since the last time I posted here and would greatly appreciate any feedback on this current list.
Dems: ORM (white), GA resident with strong connections to Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, Male, 21. English is my only language. Strong interest in practicing in Appalachia but not necessarily primary care.
Undergrad: Decent-sized D2 school in Michigan
MCAT: from 2022: 523 (130/132/129/132)
GPA: cGPA: 3.91 sGPA: 3.90
Research:
Ballparked to 50 hours, only was able to get in for one semester
Clinical experience:
Working as a scribe in Adult and Peds ERs, 250 hours.
Volunteered for a hospice care group, 75 hrs (most meaningful).
Shadowing:
60 hours with a neurosurgeon, 8 with a Pediatric EM doc
EC’s/Accomplishments:
3000 hrs varsity collegiate swimming (most meaningful)
150 hours Habitat for Humanity
1 year of monthly meetings for a student-athlete leadership committee
275 hours in a mental health liaison program within the athletic department (most meaningful)
275 hours lifeguarding
couple hundred hours of fishing and bass guitar playing as hobbies
LOR’s:
One from an MD who I scribe for, 2 science profs, 1 non-science prof, and 1 from the assistant swim coach at my university. Getting a committee letter.
School List:
Emory

Medical College of GA

Mercer

Western Michigan

Wayne State

WVU

Jefferson

Brown

Both Texas Techs

UTMB (Sealy)

Texas A&M

McGovern

UTSA

Creighton

Saint Louis

Pitt

Hofstra

Baylor

Mayo

Cornell

UVA

Case Western

University of Michigan

USF Morsani

UTSW

Rochester

East Tennessee State (within 250 miles so considered favorably even though I'm OOS, per their website)

Penn State

I have some worries that I may get my application thrown out for lack of research at most of the schools in my target stats range so I've got a good amount present that are below that. Any and all edits to the list are appreciated, and I'm happy to answer questions.

 

[deleted1163682]

Yeah you need more research experience for the top schools. If you really want T20, try Northwestern as they have a thing for athletes.

 

[Careful-Classroom]

Yeah you need more research experience for the top schools. If you really want T20, try Northwestern as they have a thing for athletes

Hm... Thanks for the feedback! Might have to give NW a shot.

 

[chilly_md]

OP’s WAMC threads have been merged.

 

[alwaysrunning]

If you are looking for one to cut, I would suggest ETSU. They take a small number of OOS applicants and have a strong bias for applicants that grew up in appalachia or attended undergrad in Tennessee. If you are from N GA, like Hiawassee or Rabun Gap, I think you have a good chance, but if you're from the N Atlanta suburbs your time is better spent somewhere else.

 

[theoceanman]

Your lack of primary care shadowing and research may hold you back from T20 schools. Despite this, your GA residency and strong ties to 3 other states will help you get into their state MD schools, which are usually fantastic options regardless. Yield protection may exist, but just write your secondaries well and you should receive several II’s