WAMC: 2023 Application and School List

[woktheline]

Hi y'all.

Primary was verified last month and already used throwaway to Mayo. Non-trad with lots of different GPAs and experiences. Pre-writing secondaries now but it would help to be able to finalize my school list. Not applying DO or Caribbean so please don't ask
Here are my stats:

DC resident, ORM, 29 yo;
uGPA: 3.51 - small liberal arts school, English and Philosophy
sGPA: 3.75 - strong upward trend
MCAT: 502 (123/126/124/129)

Research: thousands/somewhat beyond countable (master's, phd work and worked in wet lab)
Clinical Hours: 800 from hospice, medical reserve corps
Non-clinical: 1,200 tutoring, local-nonprofit, food bank
Shadowing: 100 across 5 specialties + primary care
Etc: Fulbright finalist (but didn't make final cut sadly); 5 publications in press (2 first author - one in Circulation/AHA) with 1 in review; parent's in medical field + early exposure to medicine; top 200 nationally ranked olympic weightlifter in weight class; born + grew up in MS in extreme healthcare shortage area; work full time as biostatistician at biotech company (would continue with this if didn't get in first go-round)

List 1.0 (in order of preference w/ connections if necessary):
1) Georgetown
2) GWU
3) Geisinger - partner's family lives up the hill from school
4) UAB - site of Master's and undergrad in Birmingham
5) Tulane - 2 yrs PhD coursework and father completed residency here
6) Miami/Miller
7) VCU - uncle and proximity to DC area
8) UT Memphis - born in Memphis, mother lives in TN + her family all from TN
9) Louisville - other side of partner's family lives here
10) MUSC Charleston - fraternity brother an IM resident (does this matter?)
11) UCLA
12) Thomas Jefferson
13) Maryland - some postbacc work here
14) FIU
15) UC Davis
16) Rush

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[Faha]

The GPA-MCAT grid shows you have less than a 20% chance for a MD acceptance. Your school list is unrealistic. The majority of the schools on your list have a strong preference for instate residents and admit very few (if any) non resident applicants with a MCAT of 502. For example, UC Davis admits only 1 or 2 non residents each year. @Goro, your opinion.

 

[Goro]

Hi y'all.

Primary was verified last month and already used throwaway to Mayo. Non-trad with lots of different GPAs and experiences. Pre-writing secondaries now but it would help to be able to finalize my school list. Not applying DO or Caribbean so please don't ask
Here are my stats:

DC resident, ORM, 29 yo;
uGPA: 3.51 - small liberal arts school, English and Philosophy
sGPA: 3.75 - strong upward trend
MCAT: 502 (123/126/124/129)

Research: thousands/somewhat beyond countable (master's, phd work and worked in wet lab)
Clinical Hours: 800 from hospice, medical reserve corps
Non-clinical: 1,200 tutoring, local-nonprofit, food bank
Shadowing: 100 across 5 specialties + primary care
Etc: Fulbright finalist (but didn't make final cut sadly); 5 publications in press (2 first author - one in Circulation/AHA) with 1 in review; parent's in medical field + early exposure to medicine; top 200 nationally ranked olympic weightlifter in weight class; born + grew up in MS in extreme healthcare shortage area; work full time as biostatistician at biotech company (would continue with this if didn't get in first go-round)

List 1.0 (in order of preference w/ connections if necessary):
1) Georgetown
2) GWU
3) Geisinger - partner's family lives up the hill from school
4) UAB - site of Master's and undergrad in Birmingham
5) Tulane - 2 yrs PhD coursework and father completed residency here
6) Miami/Miller
7) VCU - uncle and proximity to DC area
8) UT Memphis - born in Memphis, mother lives in TN + her family all from TN
9) Louisville - other side of partner's family lives here
10) MUSC Charleston - fraternity brother an IM resident (does this matter?)
11) UCLA
12) Thomas Jefferson
13) Maryland - some postbacc work here
14) FIU
15) UC Davis
16) Rush

A 502 MCAT score is circling the drain for MD schools. I agree that you have some killer ECs.

Beggars can't be choosy; if you want to be a doctor, you need to have DO schools on the list. As the wise Faha pointed out, most of the schools on your list heavily disfavor OOS applicants, and so they don't need to donations.

You grew up in MS, why isn't U MS on your list? That's your best chance for MD.

I suggest:
U MS
Temple (maybe)
Hackensack Meridian
Loyola
WVU
Drexel
Albany
U VM
Netter
Tulane
SLU
Albany
MCW
Rush
NYMC
Loma Linda (only if you are SDA or a very devout Christian)
Rosy Franklin
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Any DO program. Include UNECOM. I can't recommend LMU, ARCOM, RVU, BCOM, ICOM and LUCOM, for different reasons. Avoid those new schools that haven't graduated a class yet, if at all possible.

 

[woktheline]

A 502 MCAT score is circling the drain for MD schools. I agree that you have some killer ECs.

Beggars can't be choosy; if you want to be a doctor, you need to have DO schools on the list. As the wise Faha pointed out, most of the schools on your list heavily disfavor OOS applicants, and so they don't need to donations.

You grew up in MS, why isn't U MS on your list? That's your best chance for MD.

I suggest:
U MS
Temple (maybe)
Hackensack Meridian
Loyola
WVU
Drexel
Albany
U VM
Netter
Tulane
SLU
Albany
MCW
Rush
NYMC
Loma Linda (only if you are SDA or a very devout Christian)
Rosy Franklin
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Any DO program. Include UNECOM. I can't recommend LMU, ARCOM, RVU, BCOM, ICOM and LUCOM, for different reasons. Avoid those new schools that haven't graduated a class yet, if at all possible.

@Goro thanks for this. Appreciate being thorough. Crafted much of the list before I got my MCAT.

Re: MS, despite numerous and repeated attempts to ask them about this, I am literally unable to submit my application to them. They won't accept unless I am a current resident, despite my parents living up the street. Not sure what's going on there but I haven't been able to reach anyone there who could answer this question.

Thanks for the constructive feedback!

 

[BritainKittenMittens]

Oof, low MCAT (below DO average) and not willing to give DO a chance isn't pleasant to see. And it seems from your post history of past MCAT practices that the score is not an anomaly.

I don't know if anyone can help you with an MD only list since you're rolling the dice with pretty much all of them. Maybe EC's can pull you through, but it's gotten so competitive now that there are plenty of impressive people with incredible EC's AND good scores.

If you are adamant on not considering DO (which I get, although I would not be as adamant with your scores), I'd consider sitting this year out and retaking the MCAT for the highest chances. This year, you risk not getting in and re-applying. Another strategy I'd consider is to go for the low stats schools this time around and save up for the high stats if you don't get in and can get a higher MCAT. If you do re-take the MCAT, how confident are you that you can improve? It seems like you took multiple practice exams and were scoring around the low 500's (consistently struggling to break mid 500s puts you at a greater risk of not being able to handle med school curriculum, by the way).

As a side note, it's been a while since I've been in the admissions loop, but does someone know if it's advisable for this person to talk about being in an area with medical shortage (I assume this is for the disadvantage essay)? I thought that shed light on why they might not have opportunities in medicine (which is not the case here if you have early exposure through parents in the medical field) or it's a signal for being underprivileged (which does not seem to be the case with parents in the medical field).

 

[woktheline]

Oof, low MCAT (below DO average) and not willing to give DO a chance isn't pleasant to see. And it seems from your post history of past MCAT practices that the score is not an anomaly.

I don't know if anyone can help you with an MD only list since you're rolling the dice with pretty much all of them. Maybe EC's can pull you through, but it's gotten so competitive now that there are plenty of impressive people with incredible EC's AND good scores.

If you are adamant on not considering DO (which I get, although I would not be as adamant with your scores), I'd consider sitting this year out and retaking the MCAT for the highest chances. This year, you risk not getting in and re-applying. Another strategy I'd consider is to go for the low stats schools this time around and save up for the high stats if you don't get in and can get a higher MCAT. If you do re-take the MCAT, how confident are you that you can improve? It seems like you took multiple practice exams and were scoring around the low 500's (consistently struggling to break mid 500s puts you at a greater risk of not being able to handle med school curriculum, by the way).

As a side note, it's been a while since I've been in the admissions loop, but does someone know if it's advisable for this person to talk about being in an area with medical shortage (I assume this is for the disadvantage essay)? I thought that shed light on why they might not have opportunities in medicine (which is not the case here if you have early exposure through parents in the medical field) or it's a signal for being underprivileged (which does not seem to be the case with parents in the medical field).

I apologize if it seemed snarky or anything regarding DO. I have immense respect for it and any DO. I regard them as equal. But for whatever reason, however intangible, I cannot bring myself to apply to it. It’s highly irrational and intangible and I acknowledge that.

I made my list before knowing my MCAT so I know it is shortsighted. Definitely willing to work on my weak areas and come back stronger.

I know it is not a great score, and it’s likely I will push to the next cycle.

Not sure what your point is in the last paragraph. It’s from a standard template used on Reddit and on SDN for extracurricular. Happy to clarify if needed.

Thanks for feedback.

 

[BritainKittenMittens]

I apologize if it seemed snarky or anything regarding DO. I have immense respect for it and any DO. I regard them as equal. But for whatever reason, however intangible, I cannot bring myself to apply to it. It’s highly irrational and intangible and I acknowledge that.

I made my list before knowing my MCAT so I know it is shortsighted. Definitely willing to work on my weak areas and come back stronger.

I know it is not a great score, and it’s likely I will push to the next cycle.

Not sure what your point is in the last paragraph. It’s from a standard template used on Reddit and on SDN for extracurricular. Happy to clarify if needed.

Thanks for feedback.

Delaying another year might be a good call if you think you can improve on the MCAT and want the best chance of MD, especially if you want higher tier programs.

I didn't know you were following a template for the purposes of a WAMC post, and thought that you'd be filling out a disadvantaged essay on being in area underserved in medicine. I don't think the underserved area is like a check mark on the application and you definitely have to talk about it. If you don't personally feel disadvantaged by it, I would not write about it because admins can sometimes tell if you're overstretching.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

If your partner's family lives within walking distance of Geisinger/GCMC, have you actually gone to any of their recruitment events? They also will recommend taking PREview, but they have had experience with it since I thought they had one pilot cohort (at least).

I think you need to reflect very honestly if you don't want to do DO because you are not looking at a quick solution to getting into an MD program. Not being patient leads to wasting time and money on this process that can prey on your anxiety. Think strategically about giving your best application profile, not about the outcome of just getting into medical school... there are better goals to set for yourself than just getting an offer.

 

[JolieFleur]

Miller does not interview anyone with an MCAT score below 504. This is stated in the MSAR.