What are my chances? 510 MCAT 3.79 GPA

[Zeyfer]

Hey everyone, I just applied this year as an international applicant and I didn't hear anything other than 1 II (applied to 15). I am applying again for MD as a permanent resident in 2020 and would like some help finalizing a school list. Let me know what schools I would be competitive for, and any possible holes in my application. Here is my info:

Demographic:

• Latino/White
• Male
• US permanent resident

Stats:
cGPA: 3.79
sGPA: 3.72
MCAT: 510 (127/126/128/129)
*Upward GPA trend*



Clinical:

• ~100+ hours volunteering in a children's hospital with patient contact also acting as a translator
• ~60 hours shadowing
• ~60 hours volunteering in a foreign hospital

Nonclinical :

• TA for neuroanatomy lab
• Leadership:
  • executive board member of graduate school
  • co-founder of student organization during undergrad
  • 3-year board member (vice-president) for emergency preparedness community response

Research:

• 5000+ hours in research lab (Research assistant in undergrad from 2013-2015 - Phd student 2016-current) - Same lab
• Finishing a Ph.D. at the end of this year (GPA 3.6)
• Currently with 8 publications (2 first authors) with another first author to come
• Over 25 poster presentations
• 4+ Awards from conferences including international conference (New investigator Award)
• American Heart Association predoctoral fellow

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[Goro]

ECs are too research heavy.
Need more off campus nonclinical volunteering
The overseas volunteering will be treated as "medical tourism"
Get in 50-100 hrs more of clinical exposure here in the US.
Which Latino community do you represent? And don't say ""The Bronx".

I suggest:
Rochester
Albert Einstein (maybe)
UCF (maybe)
U Toledo
U VM
Miami
Tufts
George Washington
Georgetown
SLU
Albany
Rush
Rosy Franklin
NYMC
MCW
VCU
EVMS
Wayne State
Wake Forest
Netter
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
Creighton
Tulane
Loyola
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Oakland-B
Seton Hall
Nova MD
CUSM IF you're from CA
Kaiser if you’re from CA
TCU/UNT
Your state school.

Any DO program. I can't recommend Touro-NY, Nova, Wm Carey, LUCOM and BCOM, for different reasons. MSUCOM? Read up on Larry Nasser and you decide. LMU has an accreditation warning, which concerns me. CalHS is too new and has a too small a rotations base, it seems.

 

[Zeyfer]

ECs are too research heavy.
Need more off campus nonclinical volunteering
The overseas volunteering will be treated as "medical tourism"
Get in 50-100 hrs more of clinical exposure here in the US.
Which Latino community do you represent? And don't say ""The Bronx".

I suggest:
Rochester
Albert Einstein (maybe)
UCF (maybe)
U Toledo
U VM
Miami
Tufts
George Washington
Georgetown
SLU
Albany
Rush
Rosy Franklin
NYMC
MCW
VCU
EVMS
Wayne State
Wake Forest
Netter
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
Creighton
Tulane
Loyola
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Oakland-B
Seton Hall
Nova MD
CUSM IF you're from CA
Kaiser if you’re from CA
TCU/UNT
Your state school.

Any DO program. I can't recommend Touro-NY, Nova, Wm Carey, LUCOM and BCOM, for different reasons. MSUCOM? Read up on Larry Nasser and you decide. LMU has an accreditation warning, which concerns me. CalHS is too new and has a too small a rotations base, it seems.

Thanks for your suggestions,

I am Brazilian with some family in Uruguay. I was actually born there and came here for college. I am currently still volunteering at the children's hospital, I dont have that much more time to volunteer since I am finishing my Ph.D. but I appreciate the tips and help. Thanks

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Hey everyone, I just applied this year as an international applicant and I didn't hear anything other than 1 II (applied to 15). I am applying again for MD as a permanent resident in 2020 and would like some help finalizing a school list. Let me know what schools I would be competitive for, and any possible holes in my application. Here is my info:

Demographic:

• Latino/White
• Male
• US permanent resident

Stats:
cGPA: 3.79
sGPA: 3.72
MCAT: 510 (127/126/128/129)
*Upward GPA trend*



Clinical:

• ~100+ hours volunteering in a children's hospital with patient contact also acting as a translator
• ~60 hours shadowing
• ~60 hours volunteering in a foreign hospital

Nonclinical :

• TA for neuroanatomy lab
• Leadership:
  • executive board member of graduate school
  • co-founder of student organization during undergrad
  • 3-year board member (vice-president) for emergency preparedness community response

Research:

• 5000+ hours in research lab (Research assistant in undergrad from 2013-2015 - Phd student 2016-current) - Same lab
• Finishing a Ph.D. at the end of this year (GPA 3.6)
• Currently with 8 publications (2 first authors) with another first author to come
• Over 25 poster presentations
• 4+ Awards from conferences including international conference (New investigator Award)
• American Heart Association predoctoral fellow

So why are you switching out from a research path? What faculty have you interacted with in collaborations or meetings? Why not a postdoc or industry position?

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[Zeyfer]

So why are you switching out from a research path? What faculty have you interacted with in collaborations or meetings? Why not a postdoc or industry position?

Sent from my SM-N960U using SDN mobile

I feel that I have always been more interested in medicine. I have considered becoming a post-doc but I am far more interested in talking to patients and people instead of running gels and westerns. Volunteering in a hospital nearby really made this clear to me in the past year. As for the faculty, I know quite a lot of faculty in the field of cardiovascular cerebral ischemia. I have a couple of letters from faculty from different institutions which should help.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I feel that I have always been more interested in medicine. I have considered becoming a post-doc but I am far more interested in talking to patients and people instead of running gels and westerns. Volunteering in a hospital nearby really made this clear to me in the past year. As for the faculty, I know quite a lot of faculty in the field of cardiovascular cerebral ischemia. I have a couple of letters from faculty from different institutions which should help.

Great. I think you should be able to use that network to help you gain more experience about clinic life/work challenges. They should also be able to get you more experience in clinical settings outside of internal medicine/cardiology since you'll be doing more in your rotations. Finally, having some familiar faces at a medical school who can vouch for your potential as a physician at their institutions can be a plus. Be reasonable in choosing your schools according to your metrics, but you should leverage your network for a good set of schools that hopefully you have a reasonable shot for.

 

[candbgirl]

Your shadowing is fine(as long as you have some primary care shadowing), your clinical experiences are weak and your nonclinical volunteering to those less fortunate than yourself seems to be nonexistent. Your hours scream LAB RAT. Nothing on your app says you want to be a physician. You have checked some boxes when convenient but your focus is the lab. You will probably have to address this issue.
You indicated you got an interview this cycle. How did it go and what was the outcome?

 

[Zeyfer]

Your shadowing is fine(as long as you have some primary care shadowing), your clinical experiences are weak and your nonclinical volunteering to those less fortunate than yourself seems to be nonexistent. Your hours scream LAB RAT. Nothing on your app says you want to be a physician. You have checked some boxes when convenient but your focus in the lab. You will probably have to address this issue.
You indicated you got an interview this cycle. How did it go and what was the outcome?

I am doing more shadowing currently and volunteering at a children's hospital. As I mentioned I also volunteered in a hospital in Brazil which was severely understaffed and in overcapacity, this was really meaningful to me and I stated that in my experiences. I had daily interactions with patients in a really impoverished area in my hometown. However, you are correct my clinical experiences are lacking and I am trying to address that currently. As for my nonclinical experiences, I was a part of a community emergency response team that had me organizing multiple community volunteer events within the nearby community (~140 hours as a volunteer). We had monthly events at various locations (i.e. volunteer at an orphanage). With the clinical volunteer that I am currently undertaking, I don't think I will have time to do some non-clinical volunteer work.

My interview is scheduled for March which is extremely late and so I am planning on applying next year.

I appreciate the feedback. I would also appreciate if you could give me some suggestions on how to improve on my application. I have been trying to cut down on my lab hours but I am still not done with my Ph.D. (should be done rather soon, hopefully).

Thanks

 

[candbgirl]

I am doing more shadowing currently and volunteering at a children's hospital. As I mentioned I also volunteered in a hospital in Brazil which was severely understaffed and in overcapacity, this was really meaningful to me and I stated that in my experiences. I had daily interactions with patients in a really impoverished area in my hometown. However, you are correct my clinical experiences are lacking and I am trying to address that currently. As for my nonclinical experiences, I was a part of a community emergency response team that had me organizing multiple community volunteer events within the nearby community (~140 hours as a volunteer). We had monthly events at various locations (i.e. volunteer at an orphanage). With the clinical volunteer that I am currently undertaking, I don't think I will have time to do some non-clinical volunteer work.

My interview is scheduled for March which is extremely late and so I am planning on applying next year.

I appreciate the feedback. I would also appreciate if you could give me some suggestions on how to improve on my application. I have been trying to cut down on my lab hours but I am still not done with my Ph.D. (should be done rather soon, hopefully).

Thanks

I hear you about the Ph.D.. With an increase in shadowing and clinical experience you will at least have made an effort to have”significantly improved” your application. I hope you explained your nonclinical volunteering like you did in your response.
Good luck on your interview. You only need one interview to get the A. Sell yourself and why the school needs you in the next class.

 

[Zeyfer]

I hear you about the Ph.D.. With an increase in shadowing and clinical experience you will at least have made an effort to have”significantly improved” your application. I hope you explained your nonclinical volunteering like you did in your response.
Good luck on your interview. You only need one interview to get the A. Sell yourself and why the school needs you in the next class.

Thanks! I hear you, I will do my best.