WAMC Non-Trad/Vet 3.48/522

[markedhornbill]

Hello SDN friends,

Currently active duty, looking to apply in the '24 cycle. Some family health issues that have developed over the past few years have me wanting to move home to the DC/Baltimore area. This is extremely important to me. I graduated from the Naval Academy a couple of years ago, I was interested in medicine in undergrad but ultimately decided to join the submarine force. Training post-graduation included Nuclear Power School, where we take a bunch of college-level science and engineering courses (e.g. physics, thermodynamics, EE, material science, reactor dynamics, and nuclear engineering) before training on an operational reactor plant. I'm planning on applying to Georgetown, UMD, GWU, and Johns Hopkins. Limited number I know, but in addition to staying around DC/Baltimore I'll be writing my primary and secondaries on deployment. I'll be able to put sufficient attention and time into four applications, I think quality would suffer as I start to add schools.

Requested information to include when creating a WAMC thread are as follows:

1. cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMAS
   
   1. 3.48, B.S. in Chemistry
2. MCAT score(s) and breakdown
   
   1. 522 (130/132/128/132) 9/9 2023
3. State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US)
   
   1. MD
4. Ethnicity and/or race
   
   1. White, male
5. Undergraduate institution or category
   
   1. Service Academy
6. Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)
   
   1. 400 hours clinical volunteering at major military hospitals, a rural hospital in Wyoming, and a VA healthcare center in my hometown. I'm confident I can get another 100 hours or so before I apply.
   2. Wilderness EMT certified
7. Research experience and productivity
   
   1. Undergraduate biochemistry research ~260 hours, two poster presentations, no pubs.
8. Shadowing experience and specialties represented
   
   1. 120 hours shadowing at a major military hospital and a large urban children's hospital. Specialties included orthopedics, emergency medicine, family medicine, ophthalmology, OBGYN, pain management, and more.
9. Non-clinical volunteering
   
   1. ~300 hours non-clinical volunteering. Tutored undergraduate chemistry 1 & 2 and introductory statistics, volunteered for a few semesters at a local elementary school as a classroom aide and student mentor, was an instructor/volunteer at my colleges rock climbing wall, volunteer with my local humane society to socialize stray cats and kittens.
10. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)
    
    1. Multiple years experience as a nuclear-trained submarine officer
    2. Heavy personal investment/involvement in alpine climbing and mountaineering. Participated in a Naval Academy expedition to climb Denali, led a week-long student-only trip through the Alaskan backcountry, led trips up Mt. Rainier. Significant time teaching/mentoring others in the outdoors.
    3. Held a couple of leadership positions in my student body in college, nothing I would consider significant enough to detail.
11. Relevant honors or awards
    
    1. Dean's list in college yadda yadda
    2. Won an essay prize in college
12. Anything else not listed you think might be important
    
    1. Wife is UMD grad, graduating from UMD system's vet school with her DVM in May 2025. She plans on taking a job in the Baltimore area with a company she's worked with extensively while in vet school.

I plan on writing a LOI to Georgetown or UMD, I'd like to interact with the schools more before deciding which might be the best fit. I have thought about applying ED to UMD but I think the extremely strict September interview timeline would be difficult to deconflict with an often unpredictable deployment schedule.

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[Faha]

It is a risky strategy to apply to only 4 schools. With your geographical preference you could add Drexel, Temple and Jefferson.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I guess USUHS doesn't fit your goals? Are you enlisted?

Medschool, Academics, EMDP2

medschool.usuhs.edu

 

[markedhornbill]

I guess USUHS doesn't fit your goals? Are you enlisted?

Medschool, Academics, EMDP2

medschool.usuhs.edu

Yeah, USUHS would be perfect if I did want to stay in. I've shadowed a lot of navy docs, many of them USUHS grads, and I just don't think its the right thing for me. I went officer route, but EMDP2 is a great program. There are a few people at my command interested in it.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

That's fair. I had to ask about USUHS just in case. Virginia schools in general seem to be very military and vet friendly. It might be a little more distance, but there are more seats in the state, and it's not that far away for you.

 

[markedhornbill]

That's fair. I had to ask about USUHS just in case. Virginia schools in general seem to be very military and vet friendly. It might be a little more distance, but there are more seats in the state, and it's not that far away for you.

Thanks, I'll check some out. I did think long and hard about USUHS and staying in for a career as a navy doc, but ultimately decided against it.

 

[Faha]

Also check out West Virginia.

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

Applying to so few schools (four? five? Eight?) is an extremely risky thing to do, even with an application of your caliber. The only thing that makes you not an unobtainium-grade rock star is your GPA; every other part of your application is stellar. If you have an upward trend, disregard this, you're beyond golden, you're platinum. All this aside, you might be better served by waiting another year or doing something so that your school list can expand. If not...maybe some of the adcoms here might be able to give you advice on how best to proceed. Would you be open to considering DO schools in the area? Only asking because you're geographically restricted; your app is solid and you could get some bites from some pretty great schools like Vanderbilt, Columbia, or Dartmouth.