WAMC School List + Should I apply this cycle

[SpriteCranberry]

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PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE THIS MESSAGE
1) cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMAS

• sGPA: 3.31 / cGPA: 3.54

I had a very rough transition into college as you can probably tell from my gpa. I was not used to the fast pace and got very sick freshman year. It took a year to acclimatize, but I pulled semesterly GPA’s of above 3.7 for the rest of my time in undergrad after that first year.

2) MCAT score(s) and breakdown. Include all (non-voided) attempts.

• 521 MCAT: 131/131/130/129 (second attempt, 2025)
• 509 MCAT: 127/130/124/128 (first attempt, 2024)

3) State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US)

• n/a - Illinois resident

4) Ethnicity and/or race

• Asian

5) Undergraduate institution or category

• Ivy League

6) Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)
Volunteer:

• Hospice (116 hours)
• Currently looking for a clinical job for my gap year

7) Research experience and productivity

• Wet Lab: 1996.5 (hours) + Science paper co-author
• Clinical Research: NICU (240 hours) + Poster presentation at conference

8) Shadowing experience and specialties represented

• 80 hours in NICU, orthopaedic surgery, pediatric orthopaedic surgery, dermatology, ENT, internal medicine combined

9) Non-clinical volunteering

• Providing blood pressure screenings and free clinic information at churches: 75 hours
• Youth Program Mentor: 30 hours
• Free tutoring underserved kids: 70 hours

10) Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)

• Marching Band and Marching Band Board: (505 hours)
• Hospital Club Treasurer: (40 hours)
• Organic Chemistry Lab TA: (100 hours)

11) Relevant honors or awards

• Dean's List every semester beginning sophomore year

12) Anything else not listed you think might be important

LOR's from my research supervisors, one who is a physician, as well as from two science professors.

schools:

• Carle Illinois College of Medicine
• Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science
• Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine
• Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center
• Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
• University of Illinois College of Medicine
• University of Chicago Division of the Biological Sciences The Pritzker School of Medicine

I think I have very low clinical hours (unless that clinical research can be construed as clinical), and am considering if I should apply or take another gap year to get some more. I would like to know if it's a completely terrible idea to apply this cycle, and for some more mid/lower tier MD schools to apply to. I'm very open to any suggestions or advice, thanks!

 

[Faha]

You are not ready to apply this cycle. You need a minimum of 150 hours of clinical volunteering/employment. Otherwise, you will be screened out at most schools. You also need 150+ hours of non clinical volunteering such as food bank, homeless shelter, etc. (not tutoring or mentoring). Loyola and Rush are looking for applicants with many hundreds or thousands of hours of clinical and non clinical hours. Carle is looking for applicants with an engineering background.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

OP: You spent more time with the marching band than community service.

You must address this before you submit an application.