WAMC/School list: NJ URM Female, 3.8x/3.7x/519

[winterjacket77]

Academics:
cGPA: 3.82 / sGPA: 3.73
MCAT: 519 (129/130/129/131)

Demographics
State of residence: In-state for NJ
Race: URM (Black female)
Undergrad: Ivy+

Experience
Clinical Experience:

• 130hrs volunteer clinical experiences
• 2000+ clinical paid projected hours, secured + signed for position as a Medical Assistant starting in the summer

Research Experience

• 1500+ hours, no publications

Shadowing Experience

• 40 hrs (primary care + specialty)

Non-clinical volunteering

• 122hrs

ECs

• Primarily 3 clubs, leadership positions in 2
• Most of my application will be centered around a specific hobby that 2 of these clubs are related to
• Other than this, work.

Honors/awards

• 1 scholarship for thesis research

Other

• Had 2 jobs for entirety of undergrad due to family financial stress. This is largely why I haven't had time to amass clinical experiences.

List of schools:

(Breakdown is from admit.org, not based on my own opinions)

SIDE NOTE: Things that are important to me in a medical school (in this order):

1. Tuition
2. Lifestyle (P/F, AOA, competitiveness, stress, etc.)
3. Being in or near a (somewhat diverse) city
4. Match rates (I am considering dermatology)
5. Diversity (particularly blackness and queerness)

REACHES

1. Stanford
2. Columbia
3. Harvard
4. Yale
5. NYU
6. UChicago
7. Northwestern
8. Hopkins
9. UCSF
10. UPenn
11. Cornell
12. WashU
13. Icahn @ Mt. sinai
14. Vanderbilt

TARGET

1. UCLA (this feels like a reach)
2. Brown (this feels like a reach)
3. Emory (this feels like a reach)
4. Albert Einstein
5. Pittsburgh
6. Case Western Reserve
7. Rutgers (Newark)
8. Boston University
9. Hofstra

BASELINE

1. USC (not sure this is baseline?)
2. Dartmouth (not sure this is baseline?)
3. Tufts (not sure this is baseline?)
4. Rutgers (Robert Johnson)
5. New York Medical College
6. Hackensack
7. Rowan / Cooper
8. Temple
9. Drexel
10. Rosalind Franklin
11. University of Vermont
12. George Washington
13. Penn State
14. Albany Medical College

Considering?

1. UCSD (In-state bias?)
2. Baylor (In-state bias?)
3. Kaiser Permanence (In-state bias?)
4. Colorado (not sure I want to live here)
5. University of Rochester (not sure I want to live here)
6. Duke (not sure I want to live here)
7. Morehouse (not sure I want to live here)
8. Howard (not sure I want to live here)

Please help me narrow down or add any that I’m missing. I feel like I’m too heavy on reaches and not enough on targets, and also feel like I have some baseline schools that I likely wouldn’t enjoy attending. But I really dream of attending a T20 school. Any advice is welcome, thank you!

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[Faha]

What is the breakdown of your 130 hours of clinical volunteering and 122 hours of non clinical volunteering? Projected hours have minimal value. When does your medical assistant job begin?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I would be more confident in your chances with more clinical hours and details on your non-clinical volunteering. Have you connected with MAPS/SNMA chapter officers? Are you connected with mentoring organizations supporting aspiring Black physicians? Have you reached out to the MSPA chapters? Did you receive an FAP?

 

[winterjacket77]

What is the breakdown of your 130 hours of clinical volunteering and 122 hours of non clinical volunteering? Projected hours have minimal value. When does your medical assistant job begin?

CLINICAL:
~90hrs in a role working with low income population in a clinic as part of their behavioural health department. This role is focused on social determinants of health, connecting patients with community resources, advocating for them in clinical settings. The role title is "Patient Care Coordinator"

~44hrs as a front desk worker in a free clinic, includes greeting patients, booking appointments, rooming patients, sometimes take vitals, etc. Both roles are a lot of face to face interaction with patients in clinics.

~5hr at a kidney screening event doing urinalysis

The total clinical hours is actually more like 140-150hrs since I have a couple weeks left. My paid clinical position starts in late June.

NON-CLINICAL:
~25hr food bank
~125hr low income student mentorship
~10hr teaching lessons in specific hobby to low income children
~6hr blood drives

Total is more like 160-170hrs.

Please let me know what you think!

EDIT: The projected hours are 2000+ ! But still minimal value, I imagine.

 

[winterjacket77]

I would be more confident in your chances with more clinical hours and details on your non-clinical volunteering. Have you connected with MAPS/SNMA chapter officers? Are you connected with mentoring organizations supporting aspiring Black physicians? Have you reached out to the MSPA chapters? Did you receive an FAP?

I am still working on my FAP application but not confident I will qualify, I am not from a low income background (more like lower middle class). I agree about clinical hours, but not sure I can get far past 150hrs total for each in the time I have left. My school does not have these chapters, but I am part of a student organisation for black pre-medical students.

Let me know what you think!

 

[Faha]

You should have 150 hours of clinical volunteering/employment before you submit your application. It appears you could have that number after your 1st week in your paid clinical position. So you could submit your application in early July. Some schools screen at 150 clinical hours. More hours at the food bank would also be helpful. I suggest these schools with your stats:
Your 3 New Jersey state public schools
Hackensack
Hofstra
Einstein (free tuition)
NYU (free tuition)
Mount Sinai
Columbia
Cornell
Boston University
Tufts
Dartmouth
Brown
Harvard
Pittsburgh
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
U Penn
George Washington
Johns Hopkins (free tuition)
U Virginia
Duke
Emory
Miami
Vanderbilt
Washington University
Northwestern
Case Western
Cincinnati
Mayo

 

[phantasmo]

You should have 150 hours of clinical volunteering/employment before you submit your application. It appears you could have that number after your 1st week in your paid clinical position. So you could submit your application in early July. Some schools screen at 150 clinical hours. More hours at the food bank would also be helpful. I suggest these schools with your stats:
Your 3 New Jersey state public schools
Hackensack
Hofstra
Einstein (free tuition)
NYU (free tuition)
Mount Sinai
Columbia
Cornell
Boston University
Tufts
Dartmouth
Brown
Harvard
Pittsburgh
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
U Penn
George Washington
Johns Hopkins (free tuition)
U Virginia
Duke
Emory
Miami
Vanderbilt
Washington University
Northwestern
Case Western
Cincinnati
Mayo

+ yale, +stanford, +ucsf.

all t20's op.

 

[winterjacket77]

+ yale, +stanford, +ucsf.

all t20's op.

You should have 150 hours of clinical volunteering/employment before you submit your application. It appears you could have that number after your 1st week in your paid clinical position. So you could submit your application in early July. Some schools screen at 150 clinical hours. More hours at the food bank would also be helpful. I suggest these schools with your stats:
Your 3 New Jersey state public schools
Hackensack
Hofstra
Einstein (free tuition)
NYU (free tuition)
Mount Sinai
Columbia
Cornell
Boston University
Tufts
Dartmouth
Brown
Harvard
Pittsburgh
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
U Penn
George Washington
Johns Hopkins (free tuition)
U Virginia
Duke
Emory
Miami
Vanderbilt
Washington University
Northwestern
Case Western
Cincinnati
Mayo

Thank you for this. Is it best to do all t20s for max chances? I'm scared of doing too many reaches compared to "safer" options. Do you guys suggest I remove any from the current list in addition to adding these? Should I not apply to "safer" (sorry if this isn't appropriate wording) schools like Albany, New York Medical College, UVM?

I should be at 150 clinical and non-clinical volunteer hours basically next week. As long as I'm at 150 by the time I apply, that's ok right? My plan was to apply once it opens, and I should be good by then.

 

[phantasmo]

Thank you for this. Is it best to do all t20s for max chances? I'm scared of doing too many reaches compared to "safer" options. Do you guys suggest I remove any from the current list in addition to adding these? Should I not apply to "safer" (sorry if this isn't appropriate wording) schools like Albany, New York Medical College, UVM?

I should be at 150 clinical and non-clinical volunteer hours basically next week. As long as I'm at 150 by the time I apply, that's ok right? My plan was to apply once it opens, and I should be good by then.

you need all t20s, then add in 3-5 or so in the t50 as "safety", and maybe an HBCU or 2.

apply to any in t21-t40 that you actually like and would be happy attending if t20s dont work out.

yes for the hours question just get past the threshold.

do not remove anything no matter what anyone tells you. you're a t10 applicant. don't get psyopped.

 

[jvquarterback]

you need all t20s, then add in 3-5 or so in the t50 as "safety", and maybe an HBCU or 2.

apply to any in t21-t40 that you actually like and would be happy attending if t20s dont work out.

yes for the hours question just get past the threshold.

do not remove anything no matter what anyone tells you. you're a t10 applicant. don't get psyopped.

Agreed for the most part. Faha is on the right track too though: waiting till you have a 2-4 weeks under your belt as an MA isn’t going to hurt your app. That and boost the food bank hours and you’re golden.

Add Chicago to the list.

 

[Faha]

Thank you for this. Is it best to do all t20s for max chances? I'm scared of doing too many reaches compared to "safer" options. Do you guys suggest I remove any from the current list in addition to adding these? Should I not apply to "safer" (sorry if this isn't appropriate wording) schools like Albany, New York Medical College, UVM?

I should be at 150 clinical and non-clinical volunteer hours basically next week. As long as I'm at 150 by the time I apply, that's ok right? My plan was to apply once it opens, and I should be good by then.

Thank you for this. Is it best to do all t20s for max chances? I'm scared of doing too many reaches compared to "safer" options. Do you guys suggest I remove any from the current list in addition to adding these? Should I not apply to "safer" (sorry if this isn't appropriate wording) schools like Albany, New York Medical College, UVM?

I should be at 150 clinical and non-clinical volunteer hours basically next week. As long as I'm at 150 by the time I apply, that's ok right? My plan was to apply once it opens, and I should be good by then.

You do not need to apply to all top tier schools. You would be better off to apply in early July when you have some Medical Assistant hours. Also, the projected hours as a Medical Assistant will be more believable since you would have already started the job and have some hours on your application. Your New Jersey schools are your "safeties".

 

[phantasmo]

You do not need to apply to all top tier schools. You would be better off to apply in early July when you have some Medical Assistant hours. Also, the projected hours as a Medical Assistant will be more believable since you would have already started the job and have some hours on your application. Your New Jersey schools are your "safeties".

this is so insanely wrong, I don't know why you are intentionally or unintentionally messing with this applicant. you know better. correct though on applying early July - OP, make sure to use the "throwaway method" (google it, lots of posts about it on sdn). it should save your app time in getting verified so you can send those secondaries in a month sooner, which is a huge deal at a lot of places.

OP, no matter what, no matter what anyone tells you, ALL t20. do NOT get psyopped here. happy to explain why in dms.

 

[YodaPineapple]

Get over 150-200 total clinical and volunteering hours to avoid getting screened out then beyond that you can go wherever you want

 

[winterjacket77]

this is so insanely wrong, I don't know why you are intentionally or unintentionally messing with this applicant. you know better. correct though on applying early July - OP, make sure to use the "throwaway method" (google it, lots of posts about it on sdn). it should save your app time in getting verified so you can send those secondaries in a month sooner, which is a huge deal at a lot of places.

OP, no matter what, no matter what anyone tells you, ALL t20. do NOT get psyopped here. happy to explain why in dms.

Thanks for the info here—I looked up the throwaway method and it actually looks helpful. But one thing: It seems like once you submit to any school, you can no longer edit the application itself (i.e. I wouldn’t be able to update hours or add new activities).

My plan was to do my actual application at the end of May since I’ll be at 150 hours then—is a couple weeks of MA work really worth submitting late?

 

[winterjacket77]

You do not need to apply to all top tier schools. You would be better off to apply in early July when you have some Medical Assistant hours. Also, the projected hours as a Medical Assistant will be more believable since you would have already started the job and have some hours on your application. Your New Jersey schools are your "safeties".

Thank you for the insights! My question: I will be at 150 hours by the time of application. Are the benefits of adding a couple weeks of MA work worth submitting almost a month later than I could otherwise? From my understanding, that month could make the difference for some schools, right?

 

[winterjacket77]

Agreed for the most part. Faha is on the right track too though: waiting till you have a 2-4 weeks under your belt as an MA isn’t going to hurt your app. That and boost the food bank hours and you’re golden.

Add Chicago to the list.

Thank you! Same question as above though: would the MA weeks help my app more than submitting a month later might hurt it?

 

[Faha]

Thank you for the insights! My question: I will be at 150 hours by the time of application. Are the benefits of adding a couple weeks of MA work worth submitting almost a month later than I could otherwise? From my understanding, that month could make the difference for some schools, right?

Most schools do not begin interviews until September. Just submit all your secondaries by early August.

 

[phantasmo]

Thank you for the insights! My question: I will be at 150 hours by the time of application. Are the benefits of adding a couple weeks of MA work worth submitting almost a month later than I could otherwise? From my understanding, that month could make the difference for some schools, right?

absolutely not - if you reach the 150-200, apply as soon as you can. the drawback for schools like mich/pitt/etc of not applying asap are extreme (maybe not for urm but why take chances) imo submit primary early to mid june, get secondaries mid july (and prewrite them), then send them in

if you can reach 150-200, just send it in, and then put projected hours - if things aren't working so great during the cycle, and it seems like you're getting filtered, send updates showing your interest and explaining that you've accrued more hours and experience.

also connect w SNMA chapters at all the schools you're interested in, they're great backdoors.

 

[hopefulsunshine45]

absolutely not - if you reach the 150-200, apply as soon as you can. the drawback for schools like mich/pitt/etc of not applying asap are extreme (maybe not for urm but why take chances) imo submit primary early to mid june, get secondaries mid july (and prewrite them), then send them in

if you can reach 150-200, just send it in, and then put projected hours - if things aren't working so great during the cycle, and it seems like you're getting filtered, send updates showing your interest and explaining that you've accrued more hours and experience.

also connect w SNMA chapters at all the schools you're interested in, they're great backdoors.

Sorry to hijack, but how do you get into contact with SNMA chapters? I’ve tried DMing some of them on instagram, but only one school responded.