WAMC/School List Help (523/3.98) Viet Reapplicant

[MechEDuck]

1. cGPA: 3.98
2. sGPA: 4.00
3. MCAT: 523 (132/129/130/132)
4. State of residence: CO
5. Ethnicity and/or race: Vietnamese American
6. Undergraduate institution or category: Private Institution known for research, not T-20
7. Clinical Experience:

Hospital Volunteer in a Cancer Center - 90 hours over a year
Hospital Volunteer in Emergency Room MME- 250hrs over 2 years, also a leadership position in teaching new volunteers and running volunteer shifts. I also got an award for this position.
Vaccine clinic volunteer? - 25 hours, It wasn't really in a clinical capacity since I wasn't in the vaccination area and was just directing people to areas or towards resources about vaccines
Patient Transporter (Paid) MME - ~1400hrs over 2 years( 500 are new this cycle)

8. Research experience and productivity

Lab 1 - 550 hrs, 1 poster, got a summer fellowship with $3k
Lab 2 - >800 hrs, 1 poster at national conference (new this cycle), 1 presentation at national conference (new this cycle), summer fellowship with $3k, my name will be on papers but no plans for publishing until end of this year

9. Shadowing experience and specialties represented

Emergency Med - 40 hours
Ortho Surgery - 25 hours

10. Non-clinical volunteering

Biomedical Engineering Volunteer- 26 hours, helped clean and test hospital machinery for donation and shipment to another country that had a natural disaster. This was done under the supervision of a very qualified biomedical engineer.
Community Garden Volunteer (New this cycle) - 50 hours, helping cultivate vegetables for a nonprofit that spread nutritional awareness and distributes the food to underserved families, also helping children in these neighborhood learn value of food nutrition
Food distribution network volunteer (New this cycle) - ~20 hours, helped distribute food donations to qualifying underserved families

I included the vaccine clinic here last attempt, may rethink that depending on what y'all think.

11. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)

TA - 50 hours
Peer Tutor - 174 hours
Jiu Jitsu Club Treasurer and President (MME) - 600 hours, some are new. Basically revived the club after COVID to a healthy, popular club and we've since had successful events and competitions. I've also competed in Jiu Jitsu tournament at a national expo.
Powerlifting - >1600 hrs, I've been doing this for years, Came back from a tendon surgery to continue powerlifting (500lb squat post) and Jiu Jitsu
Frat Treasurer - Leadership position, stabilized frat after declining membership

Other:
I'm also a mech E if that gives anyone any insight




School List From 23-24:

UCSF

CWRU

U colorado

USC Keck

Cinn

USF Health Morsani

UPenn

Wash St.Louis

Albert Einstein

Boston uni

Donald and Barbara Zucker SOM @ Hofstra

Emory

Geisel SOM at Dartmouth

Ohio State University

U Virginia

NYU Grossman

Johns Hopkins U SOM

Mayo Clinic Alix

Yale

UMich

Vanderbilt

Uchicago

Duke

Kaiser

Rochester

Last Cycle Results
2 interviews->2 waitlists (Mayo and Rochester)

I think a big issue of mine was this school list. I decided that I would go "Boom or Bust," and y'all can see how that went. I'd really like some help with a new school list as well as some suggestions to DO schools. I've also been doing some nonclinical volunteering which was a weakpoint of mine last cycle. I also got burntout and turned in secondaries both late and subpar, so I'm going to re-evaluate how I'm going to set time aside for writing. Please be as brutal as you like. Thank you!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

You're not done with 2 waitlists, but you need to self-reflect on a reapplication.

Areas of opportunity: your non-clinical volunteering doesn't have as much service orientation experience. Food distribution and community garden work should combined be above 150 hours to avoid getting screened out at most schools, and that may be what is holding you back compared to others. If you only added 70 hours though... that does not show significant improvement. Furthermore, your application should be on par with the rest of the applicants in your group with similar metrics; usually the hours for the "cannon fodder" average applicant is 250-300 in service orientation activities.

Interestingly, schools on your list with strong connections with their engineering programs didn't give you interviews (Duke, Virginia, Hopkins, WashU, CWRU). Only Rochester sent you an invitation and they could be playing a waiting game to see if you are still available nearer CYMS reveal day to protect their yield on offers. (Would you go to Rochester if you got an A from the other schools I listed hypothetically?)

You list more hours powerlifting than the total of your clinical exposure hours.

 

[AJS59]

Agreed with Mr. Smile; if you're thinking about re-applying, you really should jump on getting those non-clinical hours increased and increased quickly. A little bit more time in shadowing — particularly primary care, would also not be a bad idea.

As for the school list - I am somewhat surprised U Colorado didn't give you an interview since you're in-state, but it happens, I guess. I'd maybe contemplate removing schools that are particularly service oriented since your app isn't the strongest there (I'm thinking of BU in particular, and maybe UChicago?). Otherwise I would look into removing a few of the T20's and add some more outside, people like Faha can help you scheme up a good list.

 

[Faha]

Your low non clinical volunteering hours were a factor in your lack of interviews. Accumulate another 100+ hours in the food distribution network before you reapply. You can include the Covid volunteering hours under non clinical volunteering.
If you reapply I suggest these schools:
Colorado
Washington University
St. Louis
Mayo
Rochester
Northwestern
Carle Illinois (you fit their profile)
U Michigan
Case Western
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Vanderbilt
USF Morsani
Miami
Duke
U Virginia
Georgetown
Johns Hopkins
U Penn
Pittsburgh
Jefferson
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
Columbia
Cornell
NYU
Dartmouth
Brown
Boston University
Tufts
UMass
Kaiser
Apply in June and submit all your secondaries by July

 

[KaiBuzz]

Are you still in school? If not, what is your gap year job? Trying to determine any significant improvements since your last application cycle.

 

[MechEDuck]

You're not done with 2 waitlists, but you need to self-reflect on a reapplication.

Areas of opportunity: your non-clinical volunteering doesn't have as much service orientation experience. Food distribution and community garden work should combined be above 150 hours to avoid getting screened out at most schools, and that may be what is holding you back compared to others. If you only added 70 hours though... that does not show significant improvement. Furthermore, your application should be on par with the rest of the applicants in your group with similar metrics; usually the hours for the "cannon fodder" average applicant is 250-300 in service orientation activities.

Interestingly, schools on your list with strong connections with their engineering programs didn't give you interviews (Duke, Virginia, Hopkins, WashU, CWRU). Only Rochester sent you an invitation and they could be playing a waiting game to see if you are still available nearer CYMS reveal day to protect their yield on offers. (Would you go to Rochester if you got an A from the other schools I listed hypothetically?)

You list more hours powerlifting than the total of your clinical exposure hours.

250-300hrs for, I'm assuming you mean average, applicant is far more than I expected but fair enough. And based off the impressions I've gotten, yeah I'd pick Rochester over the ones you listed aside from CWRU. Also, powerlifting has been going on since I was in middle school, and I was under the impression that activities before college but carried on through college should be included.

Thank you!

 

[MechEDuck]

Your low non clinical volunteering hours were a factor in your lack of interviews. Accumulate another 100+ hours in the food distribution network before you reapply. You can include the Covid volunteering hours under non clinical volunteering.
If you reapply I suggest these schools:
Colorado
Washington University
St. Louis
Mayo
Rochester
Northwestern
Carle Illinois (you fit their profile)
U Michigan
Case Western
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Vanderbilt
USF Morsani
Miami
Duke
U Virginia
Georgetown
Johns Hopkins
U Penn
Pittsburgh
Jefferson
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
Columbia
Cornell
NYU
Dartmouth
Brown
Boston University
Tufts
UMass
Kaiser
Apply in June and submit all your secondaries by July

Do you mean that I should try and get another 100 hours and then apply this summer (2024)? Or are you suggesting taking a cycle off? Regardless, thank you for the list and advice.

 

[MechEDuck]

Are you still in school? If not, what is your gap year job? Trying to determine any significant improvements since your last application cycle.

Yeah, I graduate this May. I'm stuck in that pre-graduation panic of when should I begin applying for jobs/deciding to go full time at the hospital in May. I have some leads, but I think I'm being indecisive.

 

[Faha]

Do you mean that I should try and get another 100 hours and then apply this summer (2024)? Or are you suggesting taking a cycle off? Regardless, thank you for the list and advice.

100 hours before you reapply in June