WAMC? Traditional Med School Applicant for 2025-2026 Cycle

[boomer2024]

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I hope you all are doing well, and I appreciate the physicians and mentors who post on here to guide aspiring physicians like myself! I would sincerely appreciate some feedback and recommendations regarding my approach to medical school applications this cycle. Here are my stats:

Current Year: Junior
Current Overall GPA: 3.907 (Science: 3.847)
MCAT: 512 with 131/124/130/127
Clinical Research: 360+ hours (two separate research projects)
Clinical Volunteering: 200+ hours
Non-clinical Volunteering: 100-150 hours (this I haven't accurately estimated yet)
Shadowing: 60+ hours (will obtain more during next quarter and summer)

I would appreciate any advice on what med schools to apply to. I would prefer to avoid taking a gap year. Thanks!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

First, let's focus on your endgame. Why is medicine your purpose? What do you want to do in a medical culture/community 10 years from now? It looks like you're still getting used to working in a hospital setting outside of a research context (which is very deep from your description). Why is patient care such an important component of your future, because I see a strong Ph.D. applicant on this description.

Here's where your dedication to serving others is falling short: you must get more experience hours in service orientation activities, and you should have plenty around you at UCLA. Food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, transportation services, and housing rehabilitation. Right now, I see nothing that qualifies, and having fewer than 150 hours by submission purs your application in peril of getting screened out at most medical schools. A certificate on DEI from DGSOM isn't going to cut it, especially if we're trying to "erase" DEI from our society by decree. Anticipated or planned hours hold no value and are ignored.

I ignore non-shadowing activities with fewer than 50 hours when I screen applications because it doesn't show commitment (you just started), so that puts your clinical volunteering at less than desirable, especially since your cancer center activity was mostly done in high school. I appreciate public education, but it's an academic activity (educate the lay public) that all prehealth students do, so it doesn't help you stand out.

So bump up your current clinical volunteering significantly (over 50 hours per activity, minimum 150 total at submission). Figure out why these activities contribute to your identity as a future physician (not necessarily specialty but what physicians should do and their impact within the community). Ramp up significantly your public-facing social service-orientation activities to 150 hours at submission ... which means, you may have to delay for an optimal profile since you are going to serve as an executive leader for student clubs which will take a lot of time.

Finally, outside of the usual suspects (UCLA and USC), what other schools have you connected with? Have you gone to recruitment events on other campuses or talked with other students? You cannot bank on staying at UCLA for medical school.

 

[Faha]

Your non clinical volunteering hours are low. You should accumulate 150 hours of non clinical volunteering such as homeless, shelter, food bank, etc. before you submit your application. Some schools screen out applicants under 150 hours. I suggest these schools with your stats:
Arizona (Phoenix and Tucson)
TCU
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Alice Walton
Belmont
NOVA MD
Wake Forest
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Hackensack
New York Medical College
Albany
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Ponce (St. Louis)
Roseman (when it opens)
Methodist (when it opens)

 

[LunaOri]

Research in HS is insignificant, because all it means is that you have parental connections; we almost never take it seriously (the exception being if you won a national level innovation competition or similar).

 

[boomer2024]

Research in HS is insignificant, because all it means is that you have parental connections; we almost never take it seriously (the exception being if you won a national level innovation competition or similar).

Thank you for your response! I did not obtain any of my research experience through parental connections. My parents have no connection to the fields of medicine/scientific research.

 

[boomer2024]

Your non clinical volunteering hours are low. You should accumulate 150 hours of non clinical volunteering such as homeless, shelter, food bank, etc. before you submit your application. Some schools screen out applicants under 150 hours. I suggest these schools with your stats:
Arizona (Phoenix and Tucson)
TCU
Rosalind Franklin
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Alice Walton
Belmont
NOVA MD
Wake Forest
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Hackensack
New York Medical College
Albany
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Ponce (St. Louis)
Roseman (when it opens)
Methodist (when it opens)

Thank you for the suggestions!

 

[boomer2024]

Welcome to the forums.

First, let's focus on your endgame. Why is medicine your purpose? What do you want to do in a medical culture/community 10 years from now? It looks like you're still getting used to working in a hospital setting outside of a research context (which is very deep from your description). Why is patient care such an important component of your future, because I see a strong Ph.D. applicant on this description.

Here's where your dedication to serving others is falling short: you must get more experience hours in service orientation activities, and you should have plenty around you at UCLA. Food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, transportation services, and housing rehabilitation. Right now, I see nothing that qualifies, and having fewer than 150 hours by submission purs your application in peril of getting screened out at most medical schools. A certificate on DEI from DGSOM isn't going to cut it, especially if we're trying to "erase" DEI from our society by decree. Anticipated or planned hours hold no value and are ignored.

I ignore non-shadowing activities with fewer than 50 hours when I screen applications because it doesn't show commitment (you just started), so that puts your clinical volunteering at less than desirable, especially since your cancer center activity was mostly done in high school. I appreciate public education, but it's an academic activity (educate the lay public) that all prehealth students do, so it doesn't help you stand out.

So bump up your current clinical volunteering significantly (over 50 hours per activity, minimum 150 total at submission). Figure out why these activities contribute to your identity as a future physician (not necessarily specialty but what physicians should do and their impact within the community). Ramp up significantly your public-facing social service-orientation activities to 150 hours at submission ... which means, you may have to delay for an optimal profile since you are going to serve as an executive leader for student clubs which will take a lot of time.

Finally, outside of the usual suspects (UCLA and USC), what other schools have you connected with? Have you gone to recruitment events on other campuses or talked with other students? You cannot bank on staying at UCLA for medical school.

Thank you for responding! I am extremely passionate about medicine, both from an academic and service standpoint. I want to dedicate my life to improving the quality of life of those struggling with illness. Not only am I fascinated by our body's intricate systems, but I highly appreciate the sacredness and nobility of medicine as an institution. I hope, as a practicing specialist (who knows, there is a good chance my preferences for particular specialties might change), to build trust with my patients, especially in a time when a prevailing sentiment of distrust has fallen upon the US healthcare system.

Most of my clinical volunteering experience has been obtained by volunteering at the same hospital for the past 4 years (I volunteered during the summers when I was home from college). The reason why each position has under 50 hours of volunteering is that I made it a priority to diversify my clinical experience in undergrad, and I spent ~4 hours/week on the weekends volunteering while doing full-time research/preparing for MCAT during the summer. I hope to obtain more clinical volunteering experience before my primaries are submitted in late May/early June.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Do what you can to get an accurate accounting of your activities and improve the impression your application could give. Work on secondary essays and continue journaling.

 

[boomer2024]

Do what you can to get an accurate accounting of your activities and improve the impression your application could give. Work on secondary essays and continue journaling.

Sounds good. Should I be concerned about my MCAT score? Do medical schools pay a lot of attention to subsection scores? I know I have been ruled out of top universities, but I just want to attend a med school with a high residency match rate.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Sounds good. Should I be concerned about my MCAT score? Do medical schools pay a lot of attention to subsection scores? I know I have been ruled out of top universities, but I just want to attend a med school with a high residency match rate.

Matching is on you. Where do you want to match? You aren't in medical school yet, so you can't have a solid answer, but since most medical schools have no issues getting strong students matched, you should focus on being in a place that will prepare you according to your expectations.

No one is going to tell you to retake a 512 MCAT. If schools focus on subscores, it may be because of insights from internal analysis. It's up to you to show your mission alignment with the schools on your list. You need to show that you care about your communities in Arizona by using the experience you got at UCLA.

If you are really worried you won't get an offer, consider the DO schools in Arizona too (AT Still and Midwestern AZ).

 

[LindaAccepted]

I hope you all are doing well, and I appreciate the physicians and mentors who post on here to guide aspiring physicians like myself! I would sincerely appreciate some feedback and recommendations regarding my approach to medical school applications this cycle. Here are my stats:

Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
State of Residence: Arizona
Demographic: Male, South Asian
Current Year: Junior
Current Overall GPA: 3.907 (Science: 3.847)
MCAT: I recently received my MCAT score (1st attempt) of 512 with 131/124/130/127. I was shocked to receive this score given that my FL averages were around 514, and I was scoring 126-128 on CARS on my practice exams. I immediately considered retaking the exam in April, but many others have advised against preparing during the school year. I hope I can make up for this by writing stellar essays and performing well on interviews.
Clinical Research: 360+ hours (two separate research projects on glioblastoma and back-on-bypass surgery patient outcomes)
- ~315 hours of glioblastoma wet-lab research conducted under a selective internship; was selected as an oral presentation finalist and presented our lab's research in front of a 200-member audience including fellow interns, company executives, and other labs conducting research in cancer/molecular biology/other fields.
- I am currently working with an esteemed physician at the Ronald Reagan Medical Center to investigate the effectiveness of multiple bypass surgeries through clinical outcomes research. I have accumulated ~45 hours so far, and this research will continue at least until June. I am also starting a new ventilation study with an anesthesiologist at Ronald Reagan.
- I have a SIGNIFICANT research background from high school with 1000+ hours of experience
Clinical Volunteering: 200+ hours
- ~102 hours of volunteering on the infusion floor at cancer center (this was during my senior year of high school; I served patients, stocked nutrition rooms, and helped minimize nurse responsibilities outside of patient care)
- ~40 hours of nursing assistance and patient support volunteering at the oncology unit
- ~37 hours of patient support volunteering, discharge, and pre/post-op sanitization at the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU)
- ~35 hours of patient support volunteering, discharge, and med bay sanitization in the Emergency Department
- ~6 hours of clinical volunteering at UCLA club-hosted free health screenings for chronic kidney disease in Los Angeles, California (41 participants screened in total).
*I hope to obtain ~40 hours of clinical volunteering at Ronald Reagan next quarter, and WILL obtain 50-100 hours during the summer while applying for medical schools
*I am including my volunteering during senior year on this list because I have had a continued relationship with this hospital and their volunteering coordinator. Would it be appropriate to list these hours on my application?
Non-clinical Volunteering: 100-150 hours (this I haven't accurately estimated yet)
- HBV awareness, educational outreach, fundraising
- CKD awareness, screenings, fundraising
Shadowing: 60+ hours (will obtain more during next quarter and summer)
- ~30 hours with hepatologist at Ronald Reagan
- ~30 hours with hematologist
Leadership: VP of Finance for student organization (hoping to become president next year, will apply for national board)
Honors/Awards: 3x Dean's Honor List, DGSOM Medical Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Certificate obtained through student program, $250 award recipient and oral presenter finalist for research internship

I would appreciate any advice on what med schools to apply to. I hope to specialize in cardiology and would prefer to avoid taking a gap year. Thanks!

I'm going to echo most of the advice you received above, with small addition:

1) Get more clinical exposure. As was noted above, most med schools do not "count" what you did in high school. And your post high school clinical volunteering is fairly limited and really didn't allow you to get a lot of exposure to any one field. Try to choose something and stick to it for your next activity.
2) Your non-clinical, post high school volunteering is very limited. It also doesn't seem to be directed at the underserved, although it could be and just isn't reflected in your post. If it isn't, make sure that in the future it is. If it is, make sure that you describe it as such in your application and continue doing it with a specific focus so that you can show some commitment.
3) You have enough shadowing hours IMO, but none if primary care. Do some shadowing in primary care specialties. Realize that some programs don't value shadowing and some value it enormously. So get it.
4) Journal about your experiences so that you have resources you can use when writing your primary and secondary applications.
5) Attend events online and off that allow you to learn about the different medical schools programs, values, and missions.

 

[boomer2024]

Matching is on you. Where do you want to match? You aren't in medical school yet, so you can't have a solid answer, but since most medical schools have no issues getting strong students matched, you should focus on being in a place that will prepare you according to your expectations.

No one is going to tell you to retake a 512 MCAT. If schools focus on subscores, it may be because of insights from internal analysis. It's up to you to show your mission alignment with the schools on your list. You need to show that you care about your communities in Arizona by using the experience you got at UCLA.

If you are really worried you won't get an offer, consider the DO schools in Arizona too (AT Still and Midwestern AZ).

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it!

 

[boomer2024]

I'm going to echo most of the advice you received above, with small addition:

1) Get more clinical exposure. As was noted above, most med schools do not "count" what you did in high school. And your post high school clinical volunteering is fairly limited and really didn't allow you to get a lot of exposure to any one field. Try to choose something and stick to it for your next activity.
2) Your non-clinical, post high school volunteering is very limited. It also doesn't seem to be directed at the underserved, although it could be and just isn't reflected in your post. If it isn't, make sure that in the future it is. If it is, make sure that you describe it as such in your application and continue doing it with a specific focus so that you can show some commitment.
3) You have enough shadowing hours IMO, but none if primary care. Do some shadowing in primary care specialties. Realize that some programs don't value shadowing and some value it enormously. So get it.
4) Journal about your experiences so that you have resources you can use when writing your primary and secondary applications.
5) Attend events online and off that allow you to learn about the different medical schools programs, values, and missions.

Thanks!