MD Where to apply

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Tappinfool66

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Hi everyone,

I’m posting because I’m looking for some advice. I’ll post my stats, honors, ECs, etc. first and then ask my questions after.

General Info:
-cGPA: 3.94
-sGPA: 3.93
-MCAT: 37 (10VR, 13BS, 14PS)
-Major: Spanish (Language, Literature and Linguistics)
-Elective BCMP courses: Calc III, Systems Neuroscience, Biochemistry
-Elective Humanities / non-science courses: Music Theory, Piano, Cultural Anthropology, Linguistic Anthropology, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic

Awards / Honors (I’m only planning on listing my two honors society inductions on my 15 experiences section):
-University Honors Program
-Dean’s List every semester
-Graduated with Latin Honors (Magna Cum Laude)
-Phi Beta Kappa Induction
-Sigma Delta Pi (National Spanish Honors Society) Induction

ECs / Other:
-Tutoring: ~500 hours
  • GED students ~200 hours
  • Student-athletes ~150 hours
  • First generation college students ~150 hours
-Undergrad “TA” for Organic Chemistry I: ~150 hours
-ED Scribing: ~10 months
-Shadowing: hopefully ~100 hours (I currently have about 30 and I’m hoping to get more over the course of this Spring)
-Study Abroad semester in Spain
-Service Immersion in Eastern Kentucky (Habitat for Humanity and similar organizations): 4 weeks, one week per summer for past four years
-Volunteer/tutor/mentor for an organization that helps Spanish-speaking children with afterschool tutoring ~75 hours
-Spinning: ~2.5 years (I got really into spinning over two years ago and it helped me lose some weight. I’m considering getting certified to teach courses soon and this is a tentative thing I might put on my 15 experiences section)



I’m not posting to ask what my chances of getting into medical school are, but rather to ask what kind of schools I should be applying to. I know that my stats are competitive but I don’t have any research experience and while I do have what I consider ECs that are valuable and meaningful, I feel that my ECs, when looked at as a whole, might not be the best. The best way I can explain this is that my father had three strokes when I was a freshman and, while I was still in school, there was a lot going on at home that kept me distracted so I could really only focus on my schoolwork. Then, during my sophomore year, when my dad’s condition had kind of stabilized and I had started getting into a rhythm and working on plans to volunteer and stuff like that, I had to leave after the fall semester to take care of my dad because no one else could. I took a few courses at a local CC when I was home with him and eventually got back to my university to start summer classes about a year and a half later. After that summer and the next fall semester (I started tutoring this semester), I left to study abroad in Spain for six months. I came back and tutored some more during the next year. Long story short, I feel that ADCOMs might think my ECs are kind of sporadic and not “long lasting enough.” I could be totally wrong about this, which is why I’m here asking for advice. I do feel like I’m a unique applicant with the experiences I’ve had so I guess that’ll be working in my favor but I’m not sure about where I should be applying.


Considering my stats, ECs and what I’ve just shared, these are my main questions. What kinds of schools do you guys think I should apply to? Would I be able to get into a “top 20 school?” Should I apply to mainly mid tier schools and go for one or two top schools? I’m planning on applying to about 20 schools, and at least 3 or 4 of them are going to be in Philadelphia/PA since I went to school in Philly and still live there now. I’m not really sure where else to apply, though. Any help/advice would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance (and sorry for such a long post)!

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Last edited:
Hi everyone,

I’m posting because I’m looking for some advice. I’ll post my stats, honors, ECs, etc. first and then ask my questions after.

General Info:
-cGPA: 3.94
-sGPA: 3.93
-MCAT: 37 (10VR, 13BS, 14PS)
-Major: Spanish (Language, Literature and Linguistics)
-Elective BCMP courses: Calc III, Systems Neuroscience, Biochemistry
-Elective Humanities / non-science courses: Music Theory, Piano, Cultural Anthropology, Linguistic Anthropology, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic

Awards / Honors (I’m only planning on listing my two honors society inductions on my 15 experiences section):
-University Honors Program
-Dean’s List every semester
-Graduated with Latin Honors (Magna Cum Laude)
-Phi Beta Kappa Induction
-Sigma Delta Pi (National Spanish Honors Society) Induction

ECs / Other:
-Tutoring: ~500 hours
  • GED students ~200 hours
  • Student-athletes ~150 hours
  • First generation college students ~150 hours
-Undergrad “TA” for Organic Chemistry I: ~150 hours
-ED Scribing: ~10 months
-Shadowing: hopefully ~100 hours (I currently have about 30 and I’m hoping to get more over the course of this Spring)
-Study Abroad semester in Spain
-Service Immersion in Eastern Kentucky (Habitat for Humanity and similar organizations): 4 weeks, one week per summer for past four years
-Volunteer/tutor/mentor for an organization that helps Spanish-speaking children with afterschool tutoring ~75 hours
-Spinning: ~2.5 years (I got really into spinning over two years ago and it helped me lose some weight. I’m considering getting certified to teach courses soon and this is a tentative thing I might put on my 15 experiences section)



I’m not posting to ask what my chances of getting into medical school are, but rather to ask what kind of schools I should be applying to. I know that my stats are competitive but I don’t have any research experience and while I do have what I consider ECs that are valuable and meaningful, I feel that my ECs, when looked at as a whole, might not be the best. The best way I can explain this is that my father had three strokes when I was a freshman and, while I was still in school, there was a lot going on at home that kept me distracted so I could really only focus on my schoolwork. Then, during my sophomore year, when my dad’s condition had kind of stabilized and I had started getting into a rhythm and working on plans to volunteer and stuff like that, I had to leave after the fall semester to take care of my dad because no one else could. I took a few courses at a local CC when I was home with him and eventually got back to my university to start summer classes about a year and a half later. After that summer and the next fall semester (I started tutoring this semester), I left to study abroad in Spain for six months. I came back and tutored some more during the next year. Long story short, I feel that ADCOMs might think my ECs are kind of sporadic and not “long lasting enough.” I could be totally wrong about this, which is why I’m here asking for advice. I do feel like I’m a unique applicant with the experiences I’ve had so I guess that’ll be working in my favor but I’m not sure about where I should be applying.


Considering my stats, ECs and what I’ve just shared, these are my main questions. What kinds of schools do you guys think I should apply to? Would I be able to get into a “top 20 school?” Should I apply to mainly mid tier schools and go for one or two top schools? I’m planning on applying to about 20 schools, and at least 3 or 4 of them are going to be in Philadelphia/PA since I went to school in Philly and still live there now. I’m not really sure where else to apply, though. Any help/advice would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance (and sorry for such a long post)!
Your application looks great, but like you said your limiting factor is your lack of research. Pretty much all of the "top 20" schools are heavy research schools (hence the high ranking). There has to be a way for you to get some research experience between now and July (when adcoms actually see your app). If you get that experience, I would apply to ~4 "top 20" schools and then apply broadly from there. Well done so far!
 
If you are currently in your senior year, you are looking at a "gap" year before med school. If you could look around for research experience now which could grow into a gap year job which you can put on your application, you would have the sort of application any med school would have difficulty picking holes in.
 
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I actually graduated last May so I'm in my first of two gap years now. Currently I'm working as a scribe full time to get clinical experience and I'm doing some volunteering too so unfortunately I don't think I'll really have a chance to get any substantial research experience. The other thing is that I didn't major in a science so I think it might be pretty hard to get a research position. I'll definitely keep my eyes open, though, and maybe I can find one for my second gap year. Thanks for the responses!
 
Strongly concur. I beleive in aiming high, but the lack of research is going to hurt with the top tiers.

Your application looks great, but like you said your limiting factor is your lack of research. Pretty much all of the "top 20" schools are heavy research schools (hence the high ranking). There has to be a way for you to get some research experience between now and July (when adcoms actually see your app). If you get that experience, I would apply to ~4 "top 20" schools and then apply broadly from there. Well done so far!
 
Strongly concur. I beleive in aiming high, but the lack of research is going to hurt with the top tiers.

Are there certain top tiers where research is less of a focus than the others? Or is that kind of a subjective question?
 
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