What are my chances?

[cheerios123]

Hi, I am a junior in college and I would like to see where people I should apply and point out weaknesses in my application. Here is a quick summary of my career goals: I would not like to be a full on physician scientist. I want to apply research so that I could improve patient care. As of right now, I will not be applying to MD/PHD or MSTP programs. Here is my application so far:

1. cGPA = 3.83 sGPA = 3.85
2. MCAT Score = 520
3. Northeast in us
4. Asian
5. Top 10
6. Hospital Volunteer for all 2 years.
7. Research experience - 2years of research in fMRI lab. 3 published papers (2 first author and 1 3rd author). Working on one more individual project. Have presented at international MRI conference.
8. 70 hours of shadowing. Interventional Radiology and General Surgery
9. Very involved in tutoring at my school. I have tutored for the past 2 years.
10. I have founded a club which works toward equitable education in my college city. I have donated uniforms, made math afterschool tutoring programs, and have lead multiple service projects at these schools. I am a director of the elementary student tutoring service in school. I have a good leadership in the math club at my school, which hosts competitions and provides math help for high schoolers that want to excel at math competitions. I have TA'd a few neuro classes. I will graduate this year, so I will use my senior year to do a service project i have been planning back in at an Asian country. It will be focused on increasing hygiene and teaching homeless people about nutrition at a homeless shelter.
11. Undergrad research awards.

Just point out some weaknesses and maybe help me determine the range of schools I should apply to. Thank you!

Schools I am considering to apply to. Will probably change:

Johns Hopkins
Harvard
UChicago
Duke
Vanderbilt
UFlorida
Wash U
UCSF
Columbia
UMiami

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[NeuroSoph75]

While volunteering in the hospital do you interact with patients? Likewise, while shadowing in those specialties do you witness doctor-patinet interactions or just procedures? If not, this is a weakness that I find in your application.

Get some exposure to the doctor-patient relationship (primary care, internal medicine, etc.) and also work in direct contact with patients. I don't think this is a big enough problem to delay your application, however, I would crank out some of those experiences this summer and you can update schools in the early fall.

Your school list looks good for your career goals, but you might want to add more mid-tiers. Also, I don't think UF accepts that many OOS students.

 

[cheerios123]

@NeuroSoph75, i just wanted to say that I just finished my sophomore year of college. During volunteering, I have had some patient interaction, but I have been mostly helping the techs with keeping everything clean. I might change my department for more patient interaction. I am thinking of shadowing some primary care doctors so that I can get more of that doctor-patient interaction.
The pre-med advisors at my school aren't very helpful with helping me determine a medical school list. I hope I am not aiming too high.

 

[NeuroSoph75]

@NeuroSoph75, i just wanted to say that I just finished my sophomore year of college. During volunteering, I have had some patient interaction, but I have been mostly helping the techs with keeping everything clean. I might change my department for more patient interaction. I am thinking of shadowing some primary care doctors so that I can get more of that doctor-patient interaction.
The pre-med advisors at my school aren't very helpful with helping me determine a medical school list. I hope I am not aiming too high.

I think your list is fine considering your stats and research, but I would get rid of OOS public schools (UF) useless you have some connection to this school. U Miami is fine because it does not give preference to in-state students. However, there are some OOS publics that would be worth an application from you because they take a good portion of their class from OOS and like top applicants (consider UMich, UVA, and UCSF). I would also add more mid-tiers as "safeties" (although keep in mind there are no real safeties in med admissions.) Use MSAR and look for OOS private schools where you are just slightly above the median. Most of these schools will have a median GPA of ~3.8 (which matches yours) and a median MCAT of ~515 (below yours, which is good). Some that come to mind:

Emory
Rochester
Case Western
Dartmouth
USC-Keck
Einstein
BU

I would also add the Mayo Clinic, this school has a focus on service and your volunteer activities sound unique/self-directed which will really stand out. Given your MCAT score I would also apply to schools that matriculate people with high MCATs: NYU, Wash U, Vanderbilt, Northwestern all have median MCATs at or above 520.

Your application looks great to me, but over the next year I would work on strengthening your clinical experiences. I think your current clinical volunteering is valuable and you have probably learned a lot about the clinical setting -- interprofessional teamwork, HIPAA, medical terminology, etc. Medical schools like to be shown, not just told, that you want to be a physician. The best way to do this is through interacting with patients and witnessing the doctor-patient relationship, so I would look for some other exposures. Is there a free clinic where you can volunteer taking vitals and visiting with patients who have faced many obstacles in obtaining healthcare? Or a hospice site where you can provide companionship to patients in their final days? Or even a PT clinic where you can help people to regain their strengthen for daily activities? These types of experiences will help you to talk about the field with passion when it comes time to write you PS and interview.

Sorry for the lengthy response and good luck!