WAMC, sGPA 3.77, cGPA 3.89, MCAT 519, no interviews

[cassonade]

Hi everyone, as i'm sure you all know we're pretty late into the application cycle and I have had no luck getting interviews from any of the schools I applied to. I still haven't heard back from Emory, Tufts, Yale or University of Arizona so fingers crossed but i'm not sure if im cooked or not. Here's my profile...

1. sGPA 3.77 cGPA 3.89
2. MCAT 519 (CP 130, CARS 128, BB 130, PS 131)
3. I have a US green card and can show residency in Arizona but I am a Canadian citizen
4. Indian
5. Neuroscience major at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
6. Crisis Text Line (30 hours), EMT training (168 hours)
7. 712 hours in a biochemistry research lab with 1 publication, 250 hours of clinical research, 117 of patient facing research
8. 200 hours shadowing physicians in Arizona primarily treating uninsured and underserved patients
9. Community tutoring (~40 hours), Mentoring students in my School's health science program + outreach to high school students (250 hours)

COVID and having to move countries during the pandemic kinda messed me up and there weren't an overwhelming amount of opportunities in Ann Arbor so I know i'm probably lacking in lots of aspects but I'd really appreciate any feedback

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[chrshug]

The first thing that jumps out to me is clinical experience. What was marked as medical/clinical on your app? Not an EMT so I'm not sure but is the training treating patients or is it just learning skills? If it's the latter I'd imagine it does not count. That would mean the 117 hours of patient facing is your non-shadowing clinical experience.

Your stats are great and so is your research! If you find yourself in the position of looking for something to do I would consider jobs like CNA, medical assisting. If you got certified as an EMT could you do that? More nonclinical volunteering could also help. Something with low commitment yet serving the underserved could help your app. Best of luck!

 

[Faha]

Which schools did apply to ? It is your minimal non clinical and clinical volunteering hours that resulted in no interviews.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I really don't get this "cooked" slang, but if we want to go far with the analogy... (channeling my Paul Hollywood).

Your application looks great but doesn't have great flavor. You didn't take enough time with clinical and nonclinical experience, so your application is raw. You have way too many shadowing hours to compensate your lack of other experiences, so the application is unbalanced. It actually accentuates the lack of other experience. Everything should be in balance so that your dish isn't just cooked, it's worth getting seconds.

And you can't say that Ann Arbor has no opportunities. Plenty of Michigan students get into medical schools everywhere, and they all have the ideal balance of clinical experience and community service you don't have.

I also suspect your school Iist was off. Where did you apply?

 

[chrshug]

And you can't say that Ann Arbor has no opportunities. Plenty of Michigan students get into medical schools everywhere, and they all have the ideal balance of clinical experience and community service you don't have.

I didn't want to be the first one to bring this up but Mr.Smile is completely correct here. The university sends out a plethora of resources to gain every single kind of experience you need (through newsletters, blog postings, you name it). I think on average ~800 UM alums apply to medical schools every year and have a higher acceptance rate than the national average. I'm sorry that this cycle didn't work out, but blaming the city/school for not having opportunities is not the way to go here.