MD WAMC/school list help! CA ORM w/average stats & ECs

[chimchime]

State/Country of Residence: CA

Ties to other States/Regions: no ties

URM? (Y/N): no, asian

Year in School: graduated dec 2021, so 2.5 gap years

Undergraduate Major(s)/Minor(s): health science major & dance minor

Graduate Degrees (if applicable): none

Cumulative GPA: 3.99

Science GPA: 4.0

MCAT Score(s): 513 (130, 125, 130, 128)

Research Experience: plant research: 260 hours, dance research: 200 hours

Publications/Abstracts/Posters: none

Clinical Experience (paid or volunteer): EMT: 2500 hours, MA: 400 hours + 1200 hours projected, clinical volunteering: 300 hours

Physician Shadowing: oncology: 80 hours, emergency med: 50 hours

Non-Clinical Volunteering: dance volunteer for underserved kids: 300 hours, STEM volunteer for underserved kids: 220 hours, dance volunteer for disabled kids: 100 hours + 150 projected

Other Extracurricular Activities: dance/dance minor: 10,000 hours, STEM internship: 60 hours, snowboarding: 1000 hours

Other Employment History: tutor & TA: 550 hours

Leadership: emergency medicine club founder & president: 140 hours

Immediate family members in medicine? (Y/N): no

Specialty of Interest (if applicable): not sure

Reach Schools:

• kaiser permanente
• ucla
• uci
• ucsd
• ucsf
• keck
• university of arizona - phoenix
• USF morsani
• stanford
• icahn (should i remove?)

Target Schools:

• uc davis (i have ties to central CA & did volunteering there)
• uc riverside (no ties but wanna stay in CA)
• cusm
• university of colorado
• creighton university
• tufts university
• hackensack meridian
• george washington
• quinnipiac university
• drexel university
• thomas jefferson university
• temple university
• rosalind franklin university
• university of vermont
• wake forest university
• nymc
• university of central florida
• virginia commonwealth university
• geisinger commonwealth
• u of miami
• florida atlantic university
• florida international university
• georgetown university
• tulane university
• university of maryland
• oakland university
• loyola university
• rowan university
• albany medical college
• tcu
• rush medical college (do i have enough nonclinical volunteering?)
• university of louisville
• 
  
• any schools that i'm missing / have no chance at?

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[chilly_md]

You have low non-clinical volunteering. Teaching dance or doing something for STEM does not really count, that leaves you with 100 actually completed hours of working with disabled kids.

Hours dancing for your minor should not count as an activity. You also have several schools that do not take out-of-state students without ties and UCR is meant for people from the IE.

I suggest:
CUSM
UCD
UCI
Colorado
Creighton
Tufts
Hackensack
George Washington
Quinnipiac
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Rosalind Franklin
Vermont
Wake
NYMC
Albany
VCU
EVMS
Saint Louis
Penn State
Nova MD
MCW
Wayne State
Oakland

 

[MyOdyssey]

OP: What do you mean by underserved kids?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

dance volunteer for underserved kids: 300 hours, STEM volunteer for underserved kids: 220 hours, dance volunteer for disabled kids: 100 hours + 150 projected

This is all related to your major and background in dance, so you're coming in as a subject matter expert in all of these situations. This doesn't optimally show your service orientation, but is more like demonstrating your expertise in science and dance.

 

[deleted1163682]

OP: What do you mean by underserved kids?

Agree that this clarification is necessary. The words "underserved" and "marginalized" are thrown around way too often. In what context are they underserved? In the higher education space? In terms of access to healthcare? Please specify OP

 

[deleted1056062]

You have low non-clinical volunteering. Teaching dance or doing something for STEM does not really count, that leaves you with 100 actually completed hours of working with disabled kids.

Hours dancing for your minor should not count as an activity. You also have several schools that do not take out-of-state students without ties and UCR is meant for people from the IE.

I suggest:
CUSM
UCD
UCI
Colorado
Creighton
Tufts
Hackensack
George Washington
Quinnipiac
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Rosalind Franklin
Vermont
Wake
NYMC
Albany
VCU
EVMS
Saint Louis
Penn State
Nova MD
MCW
Wayne State
Oakland

Why don't you have UCLA and UCSF on your list? OP has a 4.0 and 515, I don't understand how he/she couldn't be competitive (or at least apply) to those schools. I'm curious about the type of candidate who you think should apply to those schools?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I'm curious about the type of candidate who you think should apply to those schools?

As an in-state, it is reasonable to apply. I need more about mission fit to raise my confidence about getting an II, but I don't see anything other than more service orientation as a possible reason to exclude. Applicant is otherwise solid on metrics and activities IMO.

 

[chilly_md]

Why don't you have UCLA and UCSF on your list? OP has a 4.0 and 515, I don't understand how he/she couldn't be competitive (or at least apply) to those schools. I'm curious about the type of candidate who you think should apply to those schools?

They have a 513, not a 515. Not worth applying, especially with the type of non-clinical volunteering they have.