MD WAMC - Unconventional Nontrad

[polymerization]

Hi everyone,

Please do not quote this post. I’m preparing my application for this cycle, the culmination of nearly a decade of experiences in clinical care, research, and policy. My journey hasn’t been linear, but each step has reinforced my commitment to medicine.

• cGPA and sGPA: 3.52/3.5, strong upward trend (3.9 over last ~60+ credits)
• MCAT score(s) and breakdown: 506 (126/126/126/128)
• State of residence or country of citizenship: FL
• Ethnicity and/or race: Afro-Caribbean; fluent in Spanish
• Undergraduate institution or category: State school, BS Neuroscience, Summa Cum Laude
• Clinical experience(volunteer and non-volunteer):
  • Clinical supervisor in interventional cardiology ~1800h
  • Clinical trainer in family medicine ~2600h
  • Surgical assistant in dermatology (Mohs) ~2500h
  • Patient counselor (navigator role for telehealth company serving immunosuppressed during COVID) ~3640h
  • Clinic tech in pediatric genetics (involved craniofacial cases/severe disfigurement) ~1050h
  • Clinic tech in orthopaedic surgery (hand) ~2000h
  • Scribe in emergency medicine ~1500h
• Research experience and productivity
  • Intern in cognitive neuroscience at NASA, led to a coauthorship + presentation at an international conference ~400h
  • Presented work on improving neuronal imaging through a crosslisted course with Max Planck FL ~100h
  • Worked on a project in drug discovery/bioinformatics in a collaboration between Max Planck FL and Scripps FL ~170h
  • Acknowledged in two publications for work as a research assistant in infectious diseases/moonlighting as a program admin for a global health program attached to a US medical school ~2500h
• Shadowing experience and specialties represented
  • Emergency medicine, ~200h, during a natural disaster—discussed in a recommendation
• Non-clinical volunteering
  • State-appointed government official involved in disability legislation impacting millions; raised 13M in new funding last year ~1200h
  • Contributor of LGBTQ+ health articles and essays to a local newspaper and magazine ~50h
  • Student peer reviewer for a small academic journal for articles listed in biochemistry, neuroscience, and psychology ~50h
• Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)
  • On several advisory/selection/conference committees in different areas (research/academic)
  • Worked as a legislative assistant for a poverty alleviation nonprofit as a Global Leadership scholar
  • Editor-in-chief of a global health newsletter for the medical school while I was working there
  • Peer mentor/volunteer notetaker for the disability services office
  • Clinical research coordinator (CRC) credential from state training program
  • Credentials in fine/studio art from vocational training program
  • Worked in many foundations: from strictly scientific/research oriented to clinical/patient advocacy in rare genetic disorders, neglected diseases/tropical medicine... etc
• Relevant honors or awards
  • Phi Kappa Phi, Golden Key, Tri-Alpha + other institutional honors/scholarships
• Anything else not listed you think might be important
  • URM/FGLI/LGBTQ
  • Neurodivergent
  • Experienced housing insecurity, lack of access to very basic needs/services
  • Left college in my junior year due to a financial inability to continue, returned ~8 years later
  • Learned to leverage social services to hoist myself out of poverty
  • Strong social mission in writing that makes a case for being unconventional: the combination of strong patient care with innovation/technology and leveraging policy to make those translational insights available to all — computational psychiatry focus
  • Making an argument that the next generation of physicians can't afford to be just physicians, but stewards of the profession—protecting health through not only patient care, but research/innovation, patient advocacy, and dispelling medical misinformation
  • Strong disability angle from both sides as patient and advocate at the state level
  • Weird hobby: I'm a paid reviewer of professional and consumer medical products at Amazon under the Vine Voices program. It's not really an accomplishment per se—but it's fun sending myself little presents every day. Most recently, I'm testing a smart ring that tracks basic vitals; and a vein-finder translumination device that actually worked better than I expected!

Psychiatry resonates with me because it sits at the intersection of medicine, technology, and policy. I’ve worked with diverse patient populations, explored computational psychiatry, and engaged in policy reform. My journey—marked by adversity, exploration, and resilience—has prepared me to be a physician who not only treats patients but also drives systemic change.

What say you? Where should I apply?

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[polymerization]

(Fixed!)

 

[Mr.Smile12]

First, great job. I think we gave you advice previously, so I hope you have done the suggested networking. Going to SNMA? Got a mentor with MSPA?

Second, do you want to stay in Florida? Why (yes or no)? The current atmosphere against equitable education and access has intensified in Florida (and you would know better than me). I don't know if any of this will push against you or admissions committees considering you. Hence, I hope you have done the suggested networking.

Third, what do you see yourself doing 10 years from now (presuming funding and mentoring is not interrupted)? Is it just to work in psychiatry? Is it to become more engaged in policy and community health?

We can't be sure of any lists until you get your MCAT scores back. Kill it as best as you can.

 

[polymerization]

First, great job. I think we gave you advice previously, so I hope you have done the suggested networking. Going to SNMA? Got a mentor with MSPA?

Second, do you want to stay in Florida? Why (yes or no)? The current atmosphere against equitable education and access has intensified in Florida (and you would know better than me). I don't know if any of this will push against you or admissions committees considering you. Hence, I hope you have done the suggested networking.

Third, what do you see yourself doing 10 years from now (presuming funding and mentoring is not interrupted)? Is it just to work in psychiatry? Is it to become more engaged in policy and community health?

We can't be sure of any lists until you get your MCAT scores back. Kill it as best as you can.

You have, and I continue to be deeply grateful for your assistance. 🙂

I've been trying to reach out to these affinity groups for a couple of years now, but I haven't made headway. I have a mentor at Project SHORT, and am part of MiMentor, which has a Hispanic focus, but they are not very active. Currently working with my SHORT mentor on pre-writes for secondaries.

I am open to any and all opportunities available to me. I share your urgency: the last few weeks have appeared to rock academia, and FL has been leading the pack in regressive policy in the areas I care about most deeply. In that way, I'm ambivalent. I can be in an ostensibly more comfortable progressive environment in another state, where I do not need to concern myself with what's happening back home. That said, my journey has shown me that I am drawn to the places where I can make the most significant impact—and I've shown I can do that, even here in the most intense of milieu. I will apply to all of my state schools, and would be proud to attend any one of them. It's a challenge I welcome.

While I am certainly partial to psychiatry as a neuroscience major, I'm very open to exploring more specialties as a medical student. I hesitate to say that my contribution must certainly be in psychiatry, I have learned over the last several years that I'm drawn to tough, interdisciplinary challenges—the hard questions. Whatever the specialty, I know that my angle always lies at the intersection of practice, innovation, and policy. I could lean Mohs and work on bringing advanced diagnostics to darker skin tones through advances in imaging, like I did at Max Planck—and specialize in working with those patients as a surgeon. I could see myself tackling mental health in an increasingly digital world, where much of our reality is virtual—like I did studying emotions at NASA. It's hard to say without donning the white coat for the first time and occupying that space.

 

[polymerization]

So, it's a 506. I knew it wasn't going to be stellar seeing as I was quite ill the morning of the exam and was hoping for something around my last FL, a 514... but I really have no desire to retake this exam. I'm disappointed I didn't get to put my best foot forward in that respect.

So I guess the question becomes more about which schools are most holistic, or if my stats will close most doors.

 

[Faha]

I suggest these schools with your stats and ECs:
U Florida
Florida State
Central Florida
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
Miami
USF Morsani
NOVA MD
Howard
Meharry
Morehouse
Charles Drew
Emory
Tulane
Belmont
Alice Walton
Roseman
TCU
Rosalind Franklin
Rush
Loyola
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Indiana
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
Wake Forest
George Washington
Georgetown
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Pittsburgh
New York Medical College
Albany
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Dartmouth
Brown

 

[polymerization]

I suggest these schools with your stats and ECs:
U Florida
Florida State
Central Florida
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
Miami
USF Morsani
NOVA MD
Howard
Meharry
Morehouse
Charles Drew
Emory
Tulane
Belmont
Alice Walton
Roseman
TCU
Rosalind Franklin
Rush
Loyola
Medical College Wisconsin
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Indiana
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
Wake Forest
George Washington
Georgetown
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Pittsburgh
New York Medical College
Albany
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Dartmouth
Brown

Thank you so much for your response, Faha. I'm a little choked up to finally see your list, and very grateful for your help identifying schools.

To the room: I've received some conflicting advice today—some have told me that Ivies will not even read my application. Some have said Ivies don't have anything to prove and there is a lot about my profile that is widely strategic specifically for the tippy-top.

While I don't care at all for prestige (if I'm honest, Faha's list feels optimistic in light of my expectations at a 506), I do know I have been flirting with an academic career for the last several years, where a prestigious path could be more advantageous, which begs the question...

If I start now, is it worth it to add all the Ivies, even if it is just a donation? Is there a Hail Mary to be played here?

 

[Faha]

Thank you so much for your response, Faha. I'm a little choked up to finally see your list, and very grateful for your help identifying schools.

To the room: I've received some conflicting advice today—some have told me that Ivies will not even read my application. Some have said Ivies don't have anything to prove and there is a lot about my profile that is widely strategic specifically for the tippy-top.

While I don't care at all for prestige (if I'm honest, Faha's list feels optimistic in light of my expectations at a 506), I do know I have been flirting with an academic career for the last several years, where a prestigious path could be more advantageous, which begs the question...

If I start now, is it worth it to add all the Ivies, even if it is just a donation? Is there a Hail Mary to be played here?

Dartmouth and Brown like non traditional applicants so you could receive interviews there. The other Ivy league schools are unrealistic with your MCAT of 506.

 

[polymerization]

Dartmouth and Brown like non traditional applicants so you could receive interviews there. The other Ivy league schools are unrealistic with your MCAT of 506.

I had been targeting Dartmouth and Brown in particular because of their strong social missions, so that is reassuring to hear. Thank you for your help, again.

 

[polymerization]

OP, the most important thing you can do to help your application is to apply early (take it from a late applier)

For “Anything else not listed you think might be important”, pick the most important parts to you and focus on them. I’d be especially careful about how you write about items 7 and 8. Make sure you prioritize highlighting your direct experience and briefly on lessons learned (don’t focus on making an argument)

Hi, thank you for bringing that up, I think that is an extremely important point and, in retrospect, maybe argument wasn't the best choice of words.

What I mean is that a lot of medical schools have thematically aligned with this idea of it not being OK to "just be a doctor" anymore.

I know how that sounds—and yes, it is perfectly OK to just want to graduate and work a clinical job. However, any medical school will give you the barebones medical education you need to pass the boards and move on to residency. The schtick that medical schools actually have to draw students are all of the add-ons: their environment and value orientation; their patient populations; their curricula and joint programs.

As I've started to write secondaries, I've noticed each school plays into this idea and hopes to foment something specific. Even schools that are regional primary care strongholds, like Florida State, does not explicitly go out and say that everyone who goes there must apply FM at the end of medical school. They're interested in building community physicians with a population focus within the context of preventative care, like Stanford foments health-tech wizards, and Penn, physician-entrepreneurs. I think my varied and integrative experiences make it a lot easier to cater to those archetypes in a flexible and authentic way, which I think a lot of other students struggle to do.