Was this a poorly constructed school list?

[ChemEtoMD23]

.

 

[m1redsox]

It is an okay list. You have a few schools that do not accept many OOS applicants like UAB, WVU, and Louisville, but they may still look at you if you are regional (which I suppose TN is).
How did your cycle go? Have you not received any IIs? Is that why you’re asking?

The only clear weakness I see is that your non-clinical volunteering is under 100 hours, which is a minus, but I am surprised that you don’t have an acceptance despite your low hours. If you didn’t get many IIs, it could be that your essays were poorly written. In addition, many of the top schools on your list are looking for researchers, and the one poster is not as much as some of their other applicants have.

 

[ChemEtoMD23]

It is an okay list. You have a few schools that do not accept many OOS applicants like UAB, WVU, and Louisville, but they may still look at you if you are regional (which I suppose TN is).
How did your cycle go? Have you not received any IIs? Is that why you’re asking?

The only clear weakness I see is that your non-clinical volunteering is under 100 hours, which is a minus, but I am surprised that you don’t have an acceptance despite your low hours. If you didn’t get many IIs, it could be that your essays were poorly written. In addition, many of the top schools on your list are looking for researchers, and the one poster is not as much as some of their other applicants have.

Thanks, I appreciate your input. I’ve had 3 IIs so far, but no As yet (2 WLs and haven’t heard from the third school yet). I don’t think my essays were poorly written (I had at least one other person read and critique every single one of them, and I’ve reread a few them after submitting and didn’t see any obvious ways I could improve them), but I could be wrong.

If I have to take a gap year, I’ll get more involved in community volunteering while working a clinical job. I agree, my lack of hours in community volunteering is probably my biggest weakness.

 

[Nucleophile1]

I think it's a good sign that you have had three interviews so far, you could still get accepted to one of the schools you interviewed at.

If you had to reapply, I would definitely say that you should aim to get more clinical and non-clinical volunteering before applying. I would also add some less research heavy schools. 300 hours (or even 600) with one poster really isn't a lot for the research heavy medical schools. The top tier medical schools such as Harvard, WashU, etc. generally want the full package (high scores, solid research, a good amount of volunteer work, etc.).

Out of curiosity, why didn't you apply to UTHSC? It appears to favor heavily in-state and you are definitely competitive for them. For the entering class of 2020, their average MCAT was 511 and their average GPA was 3.70. From their list of top ten home cities, it looks like all ten of them are in Tennessee. Unless I am missing something, you would have had a solid chance at this school.

 

[ChemEtoMD23]

I think it's a good sign that you have had three interviews so far, you could still get accepted to one of the schools you interviewed at.

If you had to reapply, I would definitely say that you should aim to get more clinical and non-clinical volunteering before applying. I would also add some less research heavy schools. 300 hours (or even 600) with one poster really isn't a lot for the research heavy medical schools. The top tier medical schools such as Harvard, WashU, etc. generally want the full package (high scores, solid research, a good amount of volunteer work, etc.).

Out of curiosity, why didn't you apply to UTHSC? It appears to favor heavily in-state and you are definitely competitive for them. For the entering class of 2020, their average MCAT was 511 and their average GPA was 3.70. From their list of top ten home cities, it looks like all ten of them are in Tennessee. Unless I am missing something, you would have had a solid chance at this school.

Thanks for your advice! And it was for a personal reason that I’d rather not go into that I didn’t apply to UTHSC this year. I knew it would lower my chances of getting an A this cycle, but I accepted that risk. I might end up losing on that gamble, but such is the nature of this process.

 

[Goro]

West Virginia University School of Medicine

Wake Forest School of Medicine of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

University of Alabama School of Medicine

Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine

University of Louisville School of Medicine

Eastern Virginia Medical School

East Tennessee State University James H. Quillen College of Medicine

Above schools were most likely to have resource protected you out.

It's your low ECs that were lethal. Take a gap year and bulk them up.

 

[ChemEtoMD23]

Above schools were most likely to have resource protected you out.

It's your low ECs that were lethal. Take a gap year and bulk them up.

That makes sense. Do you think it would be enough for me to work for a year in a clinical setting and volunteer on the weekends (I’m not sure where yet; maybe Habitat for Humanity, Second Harvest, or something similar) and apply next cycle (2021-2022)?

 

[Nucleophile1]

Thanks for your advice! And it was for a personal reason that I’d rather not go into that I didn’t apply to UTHSC this year. I knew it would lower my chances of getting an A this cycle, but I accepted that risk. I might end up losing on that gamble, but such is the nature of this process.

You're welcome. Was your poster presentation at your school, regional conference, or national conference?

 

[ChemEtoMD23]

You're welcome. Was your poster presentation at your school, regional conference, or national conference?

It was just at my school.

 

[deleted1060978]

Pardon my confusion, but as someone who pretty much only browses/reads stuff here once in a while, I'm a little confused about the whole research situation. Among different threads, the same people have said "research or overrated and often meaningless" and "publications are irrelevant" even for research-heavy schools in regards to your decision, while subsequently saying that national-level presentations and publications are necessary for research heavy schools in different threads. So what's the consensus on this?

It pretty much just seems like people with minimal research get the first response while people who have more heavy research commitments get the more scrutinized—is this how it works?

 

[Nucleophile1]

It was just at my school.

That might also be part of it. Research powerhouses might prefer to see a thesis or a regional presentation. And I think it's more in combination with the lower volunteer hours.

 

[Goro]

That makes sense. Do you think it would be enough for me to work for a year in a clinical setting and volunteer on the weekends (I’m not sure where yet; maybe Habitat for Humanity, Second Harvest, or something similar) and apply next cycle (2021-2022)?

Yup!

 

[ChemEtoMD23]

Yup!

Awesome, thanks!

 

[Goro]

Pardon my confusion, but as someone who pretty much only browses/reads stuff here once in a while, I'm a little confused about the whole research situation. Among different threads, the same people have said "research or overrated and often meaningless" and "publications are irrelevant" even for research-heavy schools in regards to your decision, while subsequently saying that national-level presentations and publications are necessary for research heavy schools in different threads. So what's the consensus on this?

It pretty much just seems like people with minimal research get the first response while people who have more heavy research commitments get the more scrutinized—is this how it works?

There are definitely schools that are research wh...um, sex workers. That said, there are people who can get into them with no research. The trick is having something massive in their ECs that make counterbalance the research lack.

 

[Putkernerinthehall]

I think you're seeing yield protection at some schools and your insufficient volunteer hours hurting you at others. And at T20 schools that love the high stats, your limited research maybe holding you back. T20's generally like high stats AND a lot of research. It's totally fixable though given your high stats. I'd do a combination of research and volunteering in your gap year with an emphasis on the latter.