MD & DO WAMC/Reapplicant & School List Help (3.3 uGPA/3.4 sGPA/MCAT 510)

[Med205]

Re-applicant. I applied for the 2023-2024 cycle to 29 MD schools. I didn’t apply to DO due to lack of funds. I did the secondaries for 27 of them, but only 1 interview at Albany Medical College. Currently waitlisted while working on my reapplication for next cycle (I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket).

• cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMAS
  
  1. 3.30 uGPA (Biology), 3.44 sGPA
• MCAT score(s) and breakdown. Include all (non-voided) attempts.
  
  1. 510 (127/127/128/128)
• State of residence
  
  1. FL
• Ethnicity, race and age
  
  1. Venezuelan/Latino, white, 27
• Undergraduate institution or category
  
  1. Miami Dade College for AA (no major)
  2. Florida International University for BS, First-gen graduate in 2022.
• Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)
  
  1. 2 years (approx. 1400 hours) working as medical scribe in cardiology, medical oncology and urgent care (Mar 2019 - Mar 2022)
  2. 1800 hours as a COVID-19 Screener
  3. 500 hours Hospital ED volunteer
• Research experience:
  
  1. Research fellow associate intern from Aug 2023 to Oct 2023
  2. Research assistant on neuro-oncology clinical trials from Oct 2023 to the present (full-time job). Potential promotion to Clinical Research Coordinator this year (if not selected by Albany Medical College, this will also provide me direct contact with patients).
  3. Potential 4th author on glioblastoma publication (still waiting for approval of publisher). I might be able to participate in more projects, possibly leading one.
  4. 300 Hrs as a volunteer lab assistant in microbial ecology and evolution at FIU (Dec 2021 to Aug 2022)
• Shadowing experience
  
  1. 100 Hours shadowing ED MD.
  2. Unofficially as a medical scribe.
• Non-clinical experience:
  
  1. 400 hours as an administration office volunteer (in the volunteers department of the same hospital I did the ED volunteering)
  2. Full-time office assistant of a group home for adults with mental disabilities from Sep 2022 to Aug 2023
  3. Part-time STEM learning assistant for A&P and chemistry classes in my community college (Grant).
• Other extracurricular activities:
  1. Currently working as a private tutor for college-level A&P, biology, and chemistry.
  2. Part of the board of directors from a startup non-profit with the aim of fighting food insecurity in South Florida, at least 30 hours since Oct 2023, but at most 100 hours dedicated to this endeavor (hesitant to put it as experience as we haven’t been able to plan a successful event yet).
  3. Recreational runner since last year, aiming to become more athletic and competitive by training for a 5K (almost there), and eventually for a 12K.
• Relevant honors or awards:
  
  1. Phi Theta Kappa Member
• Anything else not listed I think might be important (feedback and/or recommendations appreciated):
  
  1. Came to the US at 17 years old with all my family. I did the last 2 years of high school to learn English and have a US diploma (still kinda crappy but I am always looking to improve it!).
  2. Low-income household (for the first 7 years in the US, we earned less than 45,000 per year for a family of 4), but slowly improving with better jobs and connections. I still qualify for AMCAS FAP (I just got accepted this cycle as well), but I do not qualify for AACOMAS’ financial aid program.
  3. My grades are a bit rocky. Lowest grades were in Fall 2020 (term GPA 2.79) and Spring 2021 (Term GPA 2.83) while in lockdown. Tremendous stress due to lay downs, yet something else wasn’t right since I couldn’t reach my potential. I decided not to take summer classes, work full-time in scribing and COVID-19 screening, and seek professional help. Turns out I’ve got ADHD and after treatment (medicine + CBT), I had better grades on my last two semesters (Fall 2021 GPA 4.00, Spring 2022 GPA 3.72). Does this really show improvement? I don’t think I should mention my diagnosis in my application either.
  4. My ideal goal would be to attend a Florida med school that offers in-state tuition (either DO or MD). However, I don’t mind going anywhere in the US for a medical education. No Caribbean schools, there is just too much risk attached to them.

• New Experiences not included in the last application:

1. Research experience (#1, #2 and #3)
2. Non-profit membership (other EC #2, worth putting as an activity?)
3. Might start volunteering at a psychiatric research facility by the end of this month/start of June.

• List of MD schools that I applied last cycle:
  1. Albany Medical College
  2. Albert Einstein College of Medicine
  3. Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at TCU
  4. Case Western Reserve University school of Medicine
  5. Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at FAU
  6. Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science
  7. Creighton University School of Medicine
  8. Drexel University College of Medicine
  9. FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
  10. FSU College of Medicine
  11. Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University
  12. George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
  13. Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
  14. Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
  15. Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine
  16. Medical College of Wisconsin
  17. New York Medical College
  18. Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine
  19. Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
  20. Robert Larner, M.D., College of Medicine at the University of Vermont
  21. Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center
  22. Tulane University School of Medicine
  23. University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix
  24. University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson
  25. University of Central Florida College of Medicine
  26. University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
  27. USF Health Morsani College of MEdicine
  28. Wake Forest University School of Medicine
  29. Wayne State University School of Medicine

Would you recommend me re-applying to these MD schools again? Any additions or replacements of any school from this list?

Additionally, which DO schools would you recommend?

Thank you in advance!

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[Faha]

You are competitive for all DO schools with your stats and I suggest these:
LECOM-Bradenton
NOVA
BCOM (both schools)
OCOM
CUSOM
ACOM
LMU-DCOM (all schools)
UIWSOM
AZCOM
TUNCOM
KCU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
DMU-COM
CCOM
NYITCOM
Touro-NY
PCOM
I suggest these MD schools:
Florida State
U Florida
Central Florida
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
USF Morsani
Miami
Belmont
Wake Forest
Eastern Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Hackensack
Albany
New York Medical College
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Medical College Wisconsin
Rush
Loyola
Rosalind Franklin
Creighton
TCU
Alice Walton (when it opens)
Roseman (when it opens)
Arizona (Tucson and Phoenix)

 

[Med205]

You are competitive for all DO schools with your stats and I suggest these:
LECOM-Bradenton
NOVA
BCOM (both schools)
OCOM
CUSOM
ACOM
LMU-DCOM (all schools)
UIWSOM
AZCOM
TUNCOM
KCU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
DMU-COM
CCOM
NYITCOM
Touro-NY
PCOM
I suggest these MD schools:
Florida State
U Florida
Central Florida
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
USF Morsani
Miami
Belmont
Wake Forest
Eastern Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth
George Washington
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Hackensack
Albany
New York Medical College
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Medical College Wisconsin
Rush
Loyola
Rosalind Franklin
Creighton
TCU
Alice Walton (when it opens)
Roseman (when it opens)
Arizona (Tucson and Phoenix)

Thank you so much!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

That's too bad you aren't eligible for AACOMAS FAP.

Where are your service orientation activities? Your board role in the non-profit fighting food insecurity does not address the competency (it is more advocacy/fundraising as described).

 

[Med205]

That's too bad you aren't eligible for AACOMAS FAP.

Where are your service orientation activities? Your board role in the non-profit fighting food insecurity does not address the competency (it is more advocacy/fundraising as described).

You do have a point there, thank you!

Not sure if my learning assistant experience might count as that, I scheduled with student tutoring sessions for A&P and chem, as well as my tutoring (not sure if compensation makes it less valuable, but it was minimal as I actually enjoyed it haha).

I was also part of activities in the ED volunteering like helping patients with their basic and simple needs (e.g., getting blankets or just talking sometimes), and with the administration, I volunteered to helping a church with some summer events.

I do wanna try volunteering in hospice and/or a psychiatric hospital this year, even with my limited time. To be honest, not really to fill out my curriculum or to “fill out the checklist,” I’ve just been super curious about psychiatry for the last 2 years and found a contact that will help me shadow. For hospice, working with cancer research kind of woke up in me an interest in experiencing the terminal process at first hand, and see how palliative care works in practice, also see what I could do to help these patients and staff to ease these processes. But this is talking about plans, nothing concrete yet