WAMC App Review Texas Resident

[medicinemindset01]

PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE THIS MESSAGE

Hi everyone! As I am working on my medical school application, I can't help but feel like my application is lacking/is like any other application. Texas schools are becoming increasingly competitive to get into so I'd love any advice on what I can improve on. Here's what I got so far...

Non-trad Applicant
22F in Texas
Race/Ethnicity: Asian

Stats

• MCAT: 508
• cGPA: 3.75 (2C's & 2 W's)
• sGPA: 3.5 (no upward trend unfortunately)
• graduated May 2023 with BS in Public Health from a 4 year public university

Clinical Experiences

• Scribe: 450 hours
• Hospital Volunteering: 75 hours

Leadership

• Student Senate: 2 years
• Class Officer: 3 years
• Magazine Writer & Editor: 1 year
• VP of Marketing & Communications for Healthcare Club: 6 months

Non-Clinical Experiences

• Student Athlete Tutor: 300 hours
• Freshman Peer Mentor: 80 hours
• Community Volunteer: 500 hours
• Campus Food Pantry Volunteer: 50 hours

Gap Year Activities

• Studying for MCAT 2nd attempt
• Crisis Text Line: 100 hours
• Adult ESL & GED Class Tutor: 50 hours
• Medical Assistant: 500 hrs
• Shadowing
  • Endocrinology: 12 hours
  • Plastic Surgery: 20 hours
  • Pediatric Cardiology: 16 hours
  • Virtual Shadowing: 26 hours

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[Mr.Smile12]

Tell us more about this.

Community Volunteer: 500 hours

Hospital Volunteering: 75 hours

What is your mission fit? Why should a school want you as a student? Why not DO?

 

[medicinemindset01]

Tell us more about this.




What is your mission fit? Why should a school want you as a student? Why not DO?

Thank you for your response! I'd be happy to explain further.

I was a volunteer with a big organization on my college campus for 4 years. The organization's mission is to say "thank you" to the surrounding neighborhoods and residents in my college town by recruiting as many college students as possible for a one day service event in March. As a volunteer, I would drive out and talk to residents about what they wanted done (painting fences, cleaning gutters, building a garden, etc.), how many students they would need for the job, and vet each site for hazards/red flags. Each volunteer is given 20 sites to scope out, fill out paperwork, keep in touch with until March, and write/send thank you cards. I had amazing conversations with several residents and this experience exposed me to people from all different walks of life. From a busy single mom just wanting some help cleaning her house, to elderly residents looking for someone to crochet and puzzle with.

I volunteered in the Emergency Department at a hospital in my college town. It was a 3 hour shift each week through the summer and fall semester of my senior year. I learned several skills and garnered a lot of meaning experiences that I plan on writing about in my application. I had to cut back on volunteering as I decided to focus on scribing, finals, and graduating during the spring of my senior year.

The overarching theme of my application is education/advocacy as I gravitated towards those kinds of activities for the past few years. I hope that my passion for medicine, contribution to education, commitment to diversity and inclusion, and my dedication to service are highlighted through my experiences and are why schools would want me as a student. And I am open to both MD and DO schools

Hope that answers what you're looking for. Any advice on how to further improve my application?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you for your response! I'd be happy to explain further.

I was a volunteer with a big organization on my college campus for 4 years. The organization's mission is to say "thank you" to the surrounding neighborhoods and residents in my college town by recruiting as many college students as possible for a one day service event in March. As a volunteer, I would drive out and talk to residents about what they wanted done (painting fences, cleaning gutters, building a garden, etc.), how many students they would need for the job, and vet each site for hazards/red flags. Each volunteer is given 20 sites to scope out, fill out paperwork, keep in touch with until March, and write/send thank you cards. I had amazing conversations with several residents and this experience exposed me to people from all different walks of life. From a busy single mom just wanting some help cleaning her house, to elderly residents looking for someone to crochet and puzzle with.

I volunteered in the Emergency Department at a hospital in my college town. It was a 3 hour shift each week through the summer and fall semester of my senior year. I learned several skills and garnered a lot of meaning experiences that I plan on writing about in my application. I had to cut back on volunteering as I decided to focus on scribing, finals, and graduating during the spring of my senior year.

The overarching theme of my application is education/advocacy as I gravitated towards those kinds of activities for the past few years. I hope that my passion for medicine, contribution to education, commitment to diversity and inclusion, and my dedication to service are highlighted through my experiences and are why schools would want me as a student. And I am open to both MD and DO schools

Hope that answers what you're looking for. Any advice on how to further improve my application?

You are fortunate that the town-gown relationship was generally positive. Often these gestures are not viewed so positively.

It shows me you can be a good neighbor, but not necessarily anything about being a good physician to those who are in serious distress. Many of the things you did are important, but that's not going to sway a lot of faculty who want to see you outside your comfort zone. Maybe I am missing your point of advocacy or a group whose needs you will champion from the description given. You do not describe yourself as a healer.