Yarida
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2023
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Hello, this is my 3rd cycle for MD and my first cycle for DO. I'd like your opinions on my chances this cycle, suggestions for schools, and what I should do during the cycle.
Stats/Info:
Primary and secondaries were reviewed by multiple people with adcom experience with good reception.
Why do I think I'm on my third cycle?
TLDR: lack of clinical hours
For the first cycle, I had a post-II rejection in April 2022 from Albany. I was busy being a caregiver for family members during the first cycle, so I applied for jobs throughout May. I'm guessing it's because I just started working as an MA at the beginning of June, so I didn't have many clinical working hours by the time I submitted my primary. I debated if it was worth reapplying this cycle, but my reapplicant advisor (who was an adcom) recommended I reapply while my MCAT was still good. Post II feedback in July said my interview was good but wasn't as "higher scoring" as others and that they also really wanted to see me with more patient interaction hours. Everything else they said about my app was strong and they really liked how I started my job as an MA. I hit the 1k working hours in February but no interview invites. People recommended I send an update letter for the 22/39 schools that didn't respond yet. 16 of them accepted the update letter (maybe sending it in Feb was too late). Currently waiting on 12 schools to respond, but it's already the middle of March. So here I am.
Retaking the MCAT?
I've been told that my score is more than enough for MD and that I have more than enough schools to apply so dedicating the next 3 months to studying for the MCAT for a marginal increase or possible decrease in the score and a bigger school list may not be worth it.
What should I do going forward to help my app? *biggest question*
I feel like I want to experience something different besides my current job working as an MA for an ENT specialist. I'm considering working in a clinical research-based job this year and would like to know if that would help round out my application along with some type of volunteering on the side.
My other option was entering a master's program with conditional acceptances (someone vouched for NYMC's AMP because of good experiences). I'm nervous about my MD chances this year, and I'd prefer MD over DO because I want to keep my door open for competitive subspecialties. The aforementioned program does allow me to apply to other schools, I just have to go to their school if they do accept me and I'm not picky about MD schools at this point.
I want to know what's the best thing to spend my cycle doing for MD acceptance.
School list (limited by schools accepting 2020 MCATs):
3rd Reapp
UC Irvine
UCSD
California Univ Sci & Med-SOM
Albany
Tufts
2nd Reapp
Tulane University
Hackensack Meridian SOM
George Washington SOM
Robert Larner, COM
Frank H Netter MD Quinnipiac
Sidney Kimmel MC
U of Miami Leonard M. Miller
Emory SOM
Rochester
Donald and Barbara Zucker
New schools
Wake Forest SOM
Wayne State University SOM
Oakland University SOM
Nova Southeastern
Saint Louis U SOM
U of Pittsburgh SOM
U Mass Chan SOM
Ohio State U COM
Case Western Reserve U SOM
DO schools (list tbd, looking for ones that accept 2020 MCATs)
I'm open to suggestions for my school list!
Stats/Info:
- 515 MCAT (129/126/130/130) from September 2020
- 3.71 GPA/3.60 sGPA (low GPA freshman year during family emergency followed by strong upward trend)
- Biochemistry major from T20 public state school
- ORM - (Thai)
- Location: California
- LOR: 4 solid letters of rec (1 science prof, 1 language professor who I studied for 3 years with, 1 PI/MD, 1 MD) + 1 letter I'm planning to get from the MD I'm working with and +1 from another science professor I'm trying to contact
- AAMC PREview: 5, Casper: 3rd quartile
- 500 hours of undergrad Ophthalmology research (no pubs, poster presentation at undergrad and co-author for poster presentation at ARVO 2022)
- 80 hours of research at the National Cancer Institute - Thailand
- 100 hours volunteering at health fairs for disadvantaged communities
- 100 hours of volunteering with the Thai Red Cross Mobile Eye clinic (a portion of the time was shadowing ophthalmologists in the OR)
- +1,000 hours currently working as a part-time medical assistant at an ENT and dermatology clinic since June 2022. A lot of direct patient and physician interaction.
- 60 hours volunteering with a program targeted at preventing hypertension among disadvantaged communities
- 25 hours volunteering with a program teaching disadvantaged families how to cook affordable and healthy meals
- 320 hours involved in organizing my school's yield program to support incoming Southeast Asian students
- 500 hours co-founding a visual arts club at my school which I was president for several years. We provided art resources for students and participated in several community volunteer projects.
- 220 hours participating in various student-run cultural night production
- 1,000 hours of martial arts (boxing and muay thai)
- 3,500 hours in illustration, currently also a source of income through commission-based work I do for clients
- A scholarship for rising college students of Thai descent for their excellence in representing their community and Dean's list from Fall 2018 to Spring 2021
Primary and secondaries were reviewed by multiple people with adcom experience with good reception.
Why do I think I'm on my third cycle?
TLDR: lack of clinical hours
For the first cycle, I had a post-II rejection in April 2022 from Albany. I was busy being a caregiver for family members during the first cycle, so I applied for jobs throughout May. I'm guessing it's because I just started working as an MA at the beginning of June, so I didn't have many clinical working hours by the time I submitted my primary. I debated if it was worth reapplying this cycle, but my reapplicant advisor (who was an adcom) recommended I reapply while my MCAT was still good. Post II feedback in July said my interview was good but wasn't as "higher scoring" as others and that they also really wanted to see me with more patient interaction hours. Everything else they said about my app was strong and they really liked how I started my job as an MA. I hit the 1k working hours in February but no interview invites. People recommended I send an update letter for the 22/39 schools that didn't respond yet. 16 of them accepted the update letter (maybe sending it in Feb was too late). Currently waiting on 12 schools to respond, but it's already the middle of March. So here I am.
Retaking the MCAT?
I've been told that my score is more than enough for MD and that I have more than enough schools to apply so dedicating the next 3 months to studying for the MCAT for a marginal increase or possible decrease in the score and a bigger school list may not be worth it.
What should I do going forward to help my app? *biggest question*
I feel like I want to experience something different besides my current job working as an MA for an ENT specialist. I'm considering working in a clinical research-based job this year and would like to know if that would help round out my application along with some type of volunteering on the side.
My other option was entering a master's program with conditional acceptances (someone vouched for NYMC's AMP because of good experiences). I'm nervous about my MD chances this year, and I'd prefer MD over DO because I want to keep my door open for competitive subspecialties. The aforementioned program does allow me to apply to other schools, I just have to go to their school if they do accept me and I'm not picky about MD schools at this point.
I want to know what's the best thing to spend my cycle doing for MD acceptance.
School list (limited by schools accepting 2020 MCATs):
3rd Reapp
UC Irvine
UCSD
California Univ Sci & Med-SOM
Albany
Tufts
2nd Reapp
Tulane University
Hackensack Meridian SOM
George Washington SOM
Robert Larner, COM
Frank H Netter MD Quinnipiac
Sidney Kimmel MC
U of Miami Leonard M. Miller
Emory SOM
Rochester
Donald and Barbara Zucker
New schools
Wake Forest SOM
Wayne State University SOM
Oakland University SOM
Nova Southeastern
Saint Louis U SOM
U of Pittsburgh SOM
U Mass Chan SOM
Ohio State U COM
Case Western Reserve U SOM
DO schools (list tbd, looking for ones that accept 2020 MCATs)
I'm open to suggestions for my school list!
