Medical What should I do for potential reapplication cycle?

[TheBoneDoctah]

Good day,

So I applied this cycle and based on the lack of IIs, am preparing for a reapplication year next year. There's a lot of things that I want to change for next time that I think I messed up this time: submit earlier (primary was ~2 weeks after opening date, secondaries turnaround btwn 5 days and 3.5 weeks), rewrite entire school list, wayyyyy more clinical experience, more volunteering in general, rewrite essays. This semester, I'm doing virtual shadowing, volunteering (clinical + non-clinical), clinical research to start. However, I would really appreciate any feedback on weaknesses/red flags that I might not have caught. Finally, I'd appreciate any feedback on reapplying this year vs. next year.

ORM, 21, just graduated from WashU undergraduate. 514 (129,126,130,129), 3.95 cGPA, 3.97 sGPA. NC resident

~900 hrs of research in a cell biology wet lab for 3 years. One poster, no publications.
~100 hrs of volunteering at Campus Kitchens Project (recover food about to be thrown from grocery stores, cook meals, deliver to food shelters) over about 2 years. Was also a shift captain for a year.
~144 hrs interning at the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America in St. Louis, a non-profit, for a summer. Have been working with them since (wrote a lot about my experiences at community health fairs and coordinating with nurses in under-supplied schools to get these schools medicine and equipment). Wrote a senior capstone on my work here.
~145 hrs volunteering at a local hospital (split between info desk and at Emergency Department) for past 2.5 years. Still volunteering here.
~35 hrs shadowing different physicians (anesthesiologists, acute surgeons, neurology)
~72 hrs working at a Call Center one summer
EC: Music (playing in a band with college friends), IM basketball, chess

School List:
UNC
Duke
UTSW
UTSA
McGovern
Brown
Emory
UCincinnati
OSU
Sidney Kimmel
WashU
UMich
Mt. Sinai
Rochester
Hofstra
USF
Miami
MCW
UVA
UWisc
Indiana

Your time of sending in your apps was fine...that wasn't your issue.

To be completely honest with you, I am not sure what your issue was. Is the list you have there the list you applied to? I have a feeling you didn't get interviews for 1 of 2 reasons:

1. The list you applied to was too top-heavy and you didn't have a good spread of schools (upper, mid, lower tier) and no DO schools.

2. You have red flags on your application that are not evident in what you have posted here. Either an IA, bad LOR, or something else in essays that has flagged you from getting invites.

My advice would be to continue your ECs, add mid to low-tier MDs and DOs to your application list. I don't think I would continue the research unless you love it. You have a good amount of hours and your time can be spent elsewhere that is more beneficial.

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[GoSpursGo]

I agree, your list was very top heavy. If you buff up your clinical hours and expand your list I think you’ll be fine.

 

[Goro]

UTSW
UTSA
McGovern
Brown
Mt. Sinai
WashU
UMich
Duke
USF
UVA
Indiana

The above were all donations. Your app timing was fine.

I think that you need more nonclinical and clinical volunteering.

Rewrite all essays and have multiple eyeballs vet them

Contact Admissions Deans and see if you can get some feedback on your rejections.

Target these schools:
U MA
SUNY-SB
Mayo (maybe)
Case (maybe)
NYU-LI
USC/Keck
Dartmouth
BU
Pitt
U WI
U Cincy
U CO
U VM
OH State
UCF
Miami
St. Louis
Albany
Albert Einstein
Rochester
Rush
Rosy Franklin
NYMC
EVMS
Wake Forest
Jefferson
Creighton
Tulane
Seton Hall
MCW
Loyola
Emory
Hofstra
Tufts
Oakland-B
Western MI
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Nova MD
UNC
Brody
Any DO program. I can't recommend ARCOM, RVU, Nova, BCOM, ICOM and LUCOM, for different reasons. MSUCOM? Read up on Larry Nasser and you decide. LMU has an accreditation warning, which concerns me. CUHS is too new and appears to be too limited in rotations sites.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Just to expound on your prior school list, you had a number of state schools that you appear to be out of state for, and unless you can demonstrate an iron-clad connection to the region (not just "I have an aunt living in San Antonio so I applied to UTSA") those apps are going to be incredibly low-yield.