WAMC/School List feedback please!

[tryingmybest12]

ORM, undergrad neuroscience major
GA resident, no family in medicine, 1st gen immigrant w/ US citizenship, T50 undergrad institution
cGPA: 3.49, sGPA: 3.10
current SMP student, consistently scoring ~ the average or slightly above mean of M1 class
I unfortunately took the MCAT before I was ready to, but will not make that mistake again
MCAT 500 (CPBS 123, CARS 129, BBLS 123, PSBB 125), plan to retake in July and expected to score much higher after grad program ends - took full length blueprint mock for diagnostic last week and scored 508, and will study intensively starting early June - goal is a 515+ score
2000+ hours clinical experience in EMS
300+ hrs volunteer, mostly nonclinical
~10 hrs shadowing MDs in various specialties
1 summer in bio research lab
LORs from SMP and committee letter
I only plan to apply to MD schools. I would prefer to be in the new england area or the east coast generally, but obviously willing to go pretty much anywhere that might take me. Here is my tentative school list... I would appreciate any and all feedback. Which might be a waste of time/money/ too much of a hail mary for me to apply to? :
*edited for privacy

Boston University

Brown University

Chicago Rosalind Franklin

Creighton University

Emory University

Geisinger Commonwealth SOM

George Washington University

Georgetown University

Geisel SOM Dartmouth

Kaiser Permanente SOM

Loyola Stritch SOM

Medical College of GA

Mercer University

Morehouse SOM

Penn State

Rush Medical College

St Louis University

Temple University

Tufts University

Tulane University

UC Davis SOM

Drexel University

UMass Chan Medical School

UNC Chapel Hill SOM

University of Maryland SOM

University of Vermont

Virginia Commonwealth SOM

Virginia Tech Carilion SOM

Wake Forest University SOM

Eastern Virginia Medical School

Thank you for your help in advance!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Faha]

You should accumulate another 40 hours of physician shadowing before you apply. A MCAT of 500 is not competitive for any of the schools on your list except perhaps Mercer. You have many state public schools on your list that admit very few (if any ) non residents with your stats and no connection to the state (UC Davis only admits 2 or 3 per year). Post your new MCAT score here when available.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

What feedback have you received from your SMP advisors?

Details needed for your nonclinical volunteering. What did you do for 300 hours? What you have might be too low for Rush and other Jesuit schools.

 

[AJS59]

Go out and crush the MCAT retake and listen to what Faha and Smile have said.

As for the list - I get the desire to stay on the east coast but applications to UNC, Brown, and Geisel would most likely hit trash bin with your combined MCAT and GPA. As others have mentioned, 300 hours (again, depending on the nature of what you did) could be too low for Rush, St. Louis, Loyola, Georgetown.

As a GA resident, I would also eliminate UC Davis, Maryland, VCU and EVMS.

 

[tryingmybest12]

You should accumulate another 40 hours of physician shadowing before you apply. A MCAT of 500 is not competitive for any of the schools on your list except perhaps Mercer. You have many state public schools on your list that admit very few (if any ) non residents with your stats and no connection to the state (UC Davis only admits 2 or 3 per year). Post your new MCAT score here when available.

I will do that, thank you. Should I remove US Davis/others from my school list perhaps?

 

[tryingmybest12]

What feedback have you received from your SMP advisors?

Details needed for your nonclinical volunteering. What did you do for 300 hours? What you have might be too low for Rush and other Jesuit schools.

My SMP advisors said that as long as I get my MCAT score up I should be fine applying for the next cycle, and have not given me much other feedback. I did ~200 hours at a family shelter creating educational enrichment for the children and social support. ~30 hours packaging/distributing food at food pantry. ~30 hours helping low vision community members with various things like checking email or reading things to them or just talking to help with loneliness. ~10 hours for various events like helping with a charity gala or a 5k for a local hospital. ~80 hours for online mental health hotline. And the bio research I did for the summer my role was technically undergrad research volunteer and it was 60 hours. Do you recommend I get more research experience too?

 

[tryingmybest12]

Go out and crush the MCAT retake and listen to what Faha and Smile have said.

As for the list - I get the desire to stay on the east coast but applications to UNC, Brown, and Geisel would most likely hit trash bin with your combined MCAT and GPA. As others have mentioned, 300 hours (again, depending on the nature of what you did) could be too low for Rush, St. Louis, Loyola, Georgetown.

As a GA resident, I would also eliminate UC Davis, Maryland, VCU and EVMS.

This is very helpful, thank you. My volunteer activities I just wrote about briefly above.

 

[Faha]

I will do that, thank you. Should I remove US Davis/others from my school list perhaps?

It depends on what your July MCAT score is .

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Do you think you have done enough for admission to your home institution where you are doing your SMP? Do you qualify for linkage interviews?That's also important to know.

 

[tryingmybest12]

Do you think you have done enough for admission to your home institution where you are doing your SMP? Do you qualify for linkage interviews?That's also important to know.

I have heard from many faculty and students there that I am a strong mission fit for the school, and I have people who would go to bat for me if I were given an interview. However, my home institution does not have direct linkage to the medical school and I was passed over for an interview this cycle (only applied to home institution). I have a strong suspicion it is due to my MCAT score. I will definitely reapply to them next cycle as I can see myself doing well there, I like the school, and I know I can handle their curriculum.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I have heard from many faculty and students there that I am a strong mission fit for the school, and I have people who would go to bat for me if I were given an interview. However, my home institution does not have direct linkage to the medical school and I was passed over for an interview this cycle (only applied to home institution). I have a strong suspicion it is due to my MCAT score. I will definitely reapply to them next cycle as I can see myself doing well there, I like the school, and I know I can handle their curriculum.

Let them tell you explicitly what you need to get higher priority for your MCAT. The SMP advisors should already know.

As you know, Jesuit schools like but don't prefer applicants based on their religious history. As you know they all favor applicants with examples of curae personalis through their community service/service orientation activities; I presume if you are at an SMP at such an institution, the SMP advisors will help you articulate that. A LOR from a Jesuit priest/minister doesn't matter; this isn't undergrad.

 

[tryingmybest12]

Let them tell you explicitly what you need to get higher priority for your MCAT. The SMP advisors should already know.

As you know, Jesuit schools like but don't prefer applicants based on their religious history. As you know they all favor applicants with examples of curae personalis through their community service/service orientation activities; I presume if you are at an SMP at such an institution, the SMP advisors will help you articulate that. A LOR from a Jesuit priest/minister doesn't matter; this isn't undergrad.

Thank you for your insight. I will make an appointment to talk to them and will update this thread after I have retaken my MCAT.

 

[everythingisonfire]

I only plan to apply to MD schools

I think you need to apply to at least a few DO schools as backup

 

[tryingmybest12]

Hello, I am updating with a new tentative school list and request your feedback. Because my MCAT date is in late July I will not have my score back before I submit my primary application. The schools with * after them are ones that were recommended by my undergrad and/or SMP institutions for typically accepting a large number of students from the respective programs. The schools with ? after them are ones that I am not sure whether to apply to or not and admittedly am not too familiar with. Some updates from last time I posted: I will be doing clinical research this summer. Upon recalculating my service hours I have 402 hours (didn't add up all the rows in my excel sheet). Any advice would be appreciated, thank you. I plan to apply to ~25 (30 max) MD schools. My advisor said I should shoot for a 510 minimum MCAT but 512+ would be excellent. (Side note: I know with my stats DO schools should be on the list as well but my ultimate goal is to graduate with an MD and practice in a large city as a hospitalist and specialize. I would even be willing to do another cycle to get into an MD school which will give me a better chance at matching into those more competitive residencies later on... ultimately it is the difference between practicing in a field I love for 49 years vs 50 years)

Boston University
Chicago Rosalind Franklin*
Creighton University*
Emory University
Geisinger Commonwealth SOM*
George Washington University*
Georgetown University*
Loyola Stritch SOM*
Medical College of GA
Mercer University
Penn State*
Rush Medical College
St Louis University
Temple University
Tufts University*
Tulane University
Drexel University*
UMass Chan Medical School*
Virginia Commonwealth SOM*
Virginia Tech Carilion SOM*
Eastern Virginia Medical School*
NYMC*
quinnipiac*
albany*
univ cincinnati*

University of Vermont?
albert einstein?*
hackensack?
Belmont?
wayne state?
Wake Forest University SOM?
u wisconsin?
hofstra?

 

[GoSpursGo]

You can be a hospitalist as a DO.

Frankly even with a 512 you’re still more likely to land at a DO school. If you would truly rather reapply than attend a DO school, that is your prerogative, but my advice would be to get into any med school first and then worry about what specialties are open to you.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

My advisor said I should shoot for a 510 minimum MCAT but 512+ would be excellent.

Improving your MCAT by +10 would get most schools' attention. Just kill it.

Your community service hours (400) may still be a bit low for Rush and the Catholic schools. Mercer is an in-state school for you, but understand they are focused on rural health and equity.

You have the throwaway strategy (select one school and add the rest once you know your MCAT result).