MD WAMC/School List: 3.97/523

[alpenguin19]

Hi everyone! I'm planning on applying in the upcoming 2022-23 cycle (traditional/no gap year planned) and would greatly appreciate some feedback on my application and school list. Thanks in advance for any help!

General Stats

• cGPA: 3.97
• sGPA: 3.96
• MCAT: 523 (130,131,130,132)
• ORM/White
• KY resident (but go to school in OH)

School List: I'm trying to focus on research-heavy schools while not being too top-heavy. I'm also not planning on applying to Texas med schools but I am not opposed to it.

• Stanford
• WashU
• Chicago
• Harvard
• Duke
• Penn
• Vanderbilt
• Michigan
• NYU
• Mt Sinai
• Northwestern
• Ohio State
• UVA
• Colorado
• Stony Brook
• Hofstra
• USC-Keck
• Illinois
• Saint Louis
• Cincinnati
• Miami
• Wisconsin
• Wake Forest
• Maryland
• USF-Morsani
• Arizona (Tucson)
• Central Florida
• Quinnipiac
• Eastern Virginia
• VA Tech
• Kentucky
• Louisville

Research Experience: ~1500 hours (this might be a low estimate)

• Spent ~3 years doing undergraduate research in chemistry lab
• Will have spent two summers (2021 and 2022) working full time as undergraduate researcher (400 hours each summer)
• Worked as an intern in school’s analytics center for research projects (might put this under employment)
• Received two awards (one university-sponsored and one national)
• Soon to be 3 mid-author publications as well as posters at school’s research forum
• Will be presenting at two national conferences this summer
• I also did ~1.5 years of research at my hometown's university (in their school of pharmacy) while in high school. Is this worth mentioning on my app?

Clinical Experience (paid or volunteer): ~125 hours

• 50 hours as volunteer in local hospital’s intermediate care unit
• ~75 hours as volunteer in hometown hospital's ED + pharmacy

Physician Shadowing: ~50 hours

• Shadowed family care physician in private practice
• Hoping to shadow cardiologist at hometown hospital if timing + COVID restrictions work out (would be another 40 hours)

Non-Clinical Volunteering: ~200 hours

• Volunteered at various events for local schools in my hometown
• Worked with a local ministry to develop a website to advertise book/services

Extracurricular Activities: 200+ hours

• Founding member and president of bioethics club at my school
• Active member in school’s pre-med organization

Employment: 400+ hours

• Work semi-regularly throughout college as a private STEM tutor
• Worked as a lifeguard over multiple summers

Honors/Awards

• Two research scholarships (see Research section)
• University-sponsored pre-med scholarship
• Dean's or President's List every semester
• One undergraduate research grant
• On track to graduate magna cum laude or better
• Institutional endorsement for Goldwater and Astronaut scholarships (not sure if this is worth mentioning since I didn't end up winning either award)

LORs

• Research mentor (been in lab ~3 years; expected strong)
• Two professors from my major (had both for two semesters each; expected medium)
• One professor outside of my major (non-STEM department; expected medium-strong)
• Family practice physician (shadowed; expected medium)

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[Mr.Smile12]

Can you describe your hometown more? Kentucky schools should give you a lot of opportunities working in more rural environments, and it would definitely help you if you had familiarity through living there. This is important for me to tie it into your non-clinical community service description.

The endorsement for the prestigious scholarships won't mean a lot on an application, but why would you not be interested in a bonafide research career (PhD) or even a combined program (MD/PhD)?

 

[alpenguin19]

Can you describe your hometown more? Kentucky schools should give you a lot of opportunities working in more rural environments, and it would definitely help you if you had familiarity through living there. This is important for me to tie it into your non-clinical community service description.

The endorsement for the prestigious scholarships won't mean a lot on an application, but why would you not be interested in a bonafide research career (PhD) or even a combined program (MD/PhD)?

Thanks for the advice!

I'm from Lexington which isn't particularly rural but I've lived there my whole life (aside from during college). I've volunteered at a bunch of fairs/festivals, fundraisers, and other school events over the years at some elementary and middle schools throughout the city.

I should have mentioned this in the original post but I'm actually planning on applying MD/PhD for at least some of the schools listed (including UK). I've loved the research that I've been involved and I definitely want it to continue to be part of my career, but I want to see the impact that my research has on patients firsthand. I think I could do more good identifying a problem in the clinic and translating it into a research question/project.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Free networking advice for the research-oriented... this is how you can do it:

When you go to the national conferences, prepare by taking a good look at any abstracts from schools that you are interested in, noting the ones where the first authors are not faculty (I presume you know this). Look up any talks where anyone from labs you may be interested in are talking and develop a networking plan. Note that you shouldn't pigeon-hole yourself to believing you'll work in that field as an MD/PhD or specifically in that lab. But you want to get a sense on whether that group knows about how the MD/PhD students are supported administratively and perhaps give you other connections to MD students from the inside.

Bring your resume and a short cover letter with you (business card with a QR code with this info would suffice). That way you can highlight your past research track record and the awards/grants in a way you couldn't in your AMCAS application. Keep that URL handy for your AMCAS application and MD/PhD essay. Do your prep on clinical/translational medicine.

Good luck on your applications. Make them want you.

Also, keep building your non-clinical community service. Find something that stretches you outside your comfort zone especially in working with underresourced populations. Get off campus and if possible focus on maybe one of the church-based mission/outreach programs with more hours and depth working with others in need.

 

[Faha]

You could remove schools such as Wake Forest, Quinnipiac, Central Florida, Eastern Virginia since they will "yield protect" with your high stats.

 

[deleted314957]

Remove U of Ill if you are not a resident. Non res tuition is about the highest in the USA.

 

[chilly_md]

Add Case, Rochester, Einstein, and Western Michigan after removing the schools mentioned above. Don't apply to Tuscon, VCU either.