WAMC: ORM 3.38/514 + School List Help (Re-applicant)

[HugeHungryHippo]

1. cGPA 3.38 (post-bacc cGPA 3.7), cBCPM 3.36 (post-bacc 3.71)
   • 52 BCPM hours, 73 post-bacc credit hours overall
2. MCAT score(s) and breakdown
   • 514 (128/129/128/129)
3. State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US)
   • CA
4. Ethnicity and/or race
   • White - ORM
5. Undergraduate institution or category
   • Went to a small-ish out of state private school and completed a B.S in Psychology and Minor in Biology in 2015. After a gap year, in late 2017 I started to pursue pre-medical coursework via a DIY post-bacc at local CC's.
6. Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)
   • ~500hrs as an EMT working at a Covid testing and vaccination site
   • ~2600hrs as an EMT in Los Angeles
   • ~1200hrs as a medical scribe (8 months in Ortho, 3 months in ED)
7. Research experience and productivity
   • Started working in a neurology research lab at a UC recently for 16hrs/week (should be about 150hrs once I submit)
   • Capstone Project for my degree involved ~120 hours of work that led to a paper and poster (nothing published)
   • Completed a small psych replication project for a Grant Award in 2015
8. Shadowing experience and specialties represented
   • I'm going to divide my total Scribe work in half to say that I've shadowed for 400hrs in Orthopedics, and 200hrs in Emergency Medicine
   • Also shadowed 2 days/20hrs in Orthopedic Operating Room
9. Non-clinical volunteering
   • I created and run a small nonprofit in 2017 that has been donating jackets, clothing, shoes, etc from retailers to homeless and low-income groups in my community (1000hrs+)
   • I have spent around 100hours volunteering with a local homeless rehabilitation group to do various projects: stocking food pantry, paint/remodel houses, create donation pamphlets
   • Spent 20hrs helping retrofit an orphanage in Tijuana Mexico with am aquaponics system to supply them with vegetables several years ago
10. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)
    • I took a gap year immediately after graduating in 2015 and taught English in China for 10 months.
    • Creation of my non-profit already mentioned^. The idea came to me while working at REI (outdoor sports retailer) - I wanted to funnel excess/unsold/used/damaged gear and clothing from the retail environment I was in and channel it to local organizations that could hand it out to the homeless or low income individuals that they serviced. So far we have donated over $100K worth of merchandise.
    • I'm the site lead at the covid testing site where I work, which has proven demanding during the recent surge.
    • Guitar (1,000+ hours)
11. Relevant honors or awards
    • Deans list one year
    • Community Problem Solver Award (Grant award for non-profit; perhaps not relevant?)
    • Prosection Certificate for the dissection of a full human cadaver through a local CC
12. Anything else not listed you think might be important
    • LizzyM Score = 66.8, WARS=61
    • last cycle I applied to majority MD schools and interviewed at only CUSM and Western in Pomona. I'm currently on the alternate list at WesternU.
    • Rush and University of Arizona sent me regular interviews, maybe indicating interest, I'm unsure.
13. School list
    

    MD Tulane Creighton NOVA MD Wake Forest George Washington EVMS Virginia Commonwealth Penn State Drexel Temple Jefferson Seton Hall New York Medical College Albany Vermont Quinnipiac Oakland Beaumont Wayne State Western Michigan Medical College Wisconsin Loyola California University Kaiser UC Irvine UC San Diego UC Davis University of Arizona Rush DO WESTERN TUCOM-CA TUNCOM AZCOM KCU-COM ATSU-KCOM DMU-COM MU-COM CUSOM PCOM Touro-NY NYITCOM LECOM (all schools)

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[Mr.Smile12]

What do you remember from your Pomona interview day? Explain the interest from Rush and Arizona.

I need a reminder of what you said was your journey to the profession from past posts.

 

[HugeHungryHippo]

What do you remember from your Pomona interview day? Explain the interest from Rush and Arizona.

I need a reminder of what you said was your journey to the profession from past posts.

The Pomona interview went really well. It was just a traditional one-on-one followed by some straight-forward situational judgement acted scenarios - I felt that I excelled in both. I asked an adcom afterwards if the class was already filled and she said no, but then was placed on the alternate list.

My understanding is that Rush highly values community service and volunteering. The most unique thing about my app is that I created and have been running a small non-profit for several that channels clothing and outdoor gear to the homeless and to underprivileged groups in my community (I can DM you our website if interested so I don't dox myself). This has amounted to several hundred hours of volunteer experience and shows leadership and commitment to a cause I care about. I assume they feel that my values resonate with their own.

And I was born in Tucson, Arizona, then lived in AZ for 14 years, so perhaps they considered me as a pseudo-in-state applicant. In their secondary I mentioned my familiarity with the AZ Native American populations - I had done some volunteer work there. I'm not sure otherwise why they would be interested in me.

The pathway to medicine goes like this: in undergrad I majored in Psych and minored in Bio but didn't have a strong focus on any particular career; I fell in love with Chinese during a study abroad trip so felt invigorated to pursue Mandarin fluency after graduating, then taught English there for a year as a means to that end; I felt drawn to healthcare when I returned as it would fulfill my interest in science and desire to help people and solve problems. As I gained work experience (EMT, Scribe) and continued to take classes, I steadily realized my interest in pursuing medical school.

 

[chilly_md]

Was the school list you posted the one you used? I am surprised if you didn’t get more interviews from DO programs, but you might have only applied to Western and Touro the first time around.

You mentioned your post-bacc was a DIY one at a local CC. Were you able to take upper division science courses such as immunology, genomics, biochemistry 2, or molecular biology? Retaking mostly pre-reqs that you had from your bio minor could have limited the impact of your new grades.

Smaller but still could have been an issue was shadowing. Did you just have the 2 days of ortho shadowing on the application you submitted? It might be rather limited and imply you weren’t interested in other specialities. I would not add more hours to the extent you are suggesting. Putting down 100 hours of shadowing from your scribe position is more than enough. 600 hours won’t move the needle that much more for that category.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

The Pomona interview went really well. It was just a traditional one-on-one followed by some straight-forward situational judgement acted scenarios - I felt that I excelled in both. I asked an adcom afterwards if the class was already filled and she said no, but then was placed on the alternate list.

I feel like this is a strange thing to ask an Adcom during interview day. Were there other awkward/weird moments (or ones that could be portrayed that way) during your interview?

Im suprised that you didn’t get in because your stats are decent but I think your ECs stand out (ie creating nonprofits)

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Asking admissions if the class is full is not an issue for me. I like to tell students where things stand in the process after interviews are done and encourage followup (when I did this). Every school is different, and managing offers will change over time as the class fills up.

I can't say why you didn't get more attention. Let's hope the pending decisions work for you.

 

[HugeHungryHippo]

Was the school list you posted the one you used? I am surprised if you didn’t get more interviews from DO programs, but you might have only applied to Western and Touro the first time around.

You mentioned your post-bacc was a DIY one at a local CC. Were you able to take upper division science courses such as immunology, genomics, biochemistry 2, or molecular biology? Retaking mostly pre-reqs that you had from your bio minor could have limited the impact of your new grades.

Smaller but still could have been an issue was shadowing. Did you just have the 2 days of ortho shadowing on the application you submitted? It might be rather limited and imply you weren’t interested in other specialities. I would not add more hours to the extent you are suggesting. Putting down 100 hours of shadowing from your scribe position is more than enough. 600 hours won’t move the needle that much more for that category.

No, this is the list that has been recommended to me for this coming cycle if/when I need to re-apply. You're correct I only applied to Western and Touro last cycle.

The primary CC I attended did have several upper division courses. From your list, I took Immunology. In undergrad I took Genomics and Molecular Biology. I took Biochemistry 1 at UCSD Extension.

I think when I listed my shadowing hours I did a disservice to myself. I had 2 days of shadowing in the operating room specifically, but I feel my scribe experience overall counts towards shadowing hours. I've been told that is allowed, in which case, I have scribed/shadowed in Ortho and in the ED. I am trying to shadow different specialties right now.

 

[HugeHungryHippo]

I feel like this is a strange thing to ask an Adcom during interview day. Were there other awkward/weird moments (or ones that could be portrayed that way) during your interview?

Im suprised that you didn’t get in because your stats are decent but I think your ECs stand out (ie creating nonprofits)

I emailed the adcom who stated we could reach out with any questions after interviews concluded. There weren't really any awkward moments in my Western Interviews. With my CUSM interview there were many awkward elements out of my control lol.

I think I simply applied too late honestly. This cycle I will have everything pre-written and submitted as soon as possible.

 

[chilly_md]

How late did you apply? And what MD schools did you apply to?

The new list you have is good. UCSD might not be worth an application. UCD takes students from central and Northern CA, so don't apply there if you are from Southern California. You can set hours from your scribing aside for shadowing, but you should not cut it in half and put down 600 hours. You can add TCU, Einstein, and Dartmouth.

 

[HugeHungryHippo]

For the two schools that granted me interviews: I applied to CUSM 10/4/21, and Western Pomona 12/1/21.

That's a fair point about the UC's. Davis was actually the only school not to send me a Secondary so perhaps you're right, that could be a waste of money this cycle. I will probably apply to UCSD again since they sent me an email saying I was being considered for an interview before rejecting me soon thereafter - seemed to signal luke-warm interest, but I agree it's a reach.

Thanks for the advice on shadowing hours. Do you think I need to pursue new shadowing experiences in other specialties? I want to, just curious how necessary you think it is.

Will add those schools, thank you!

 

[chilly_md]

For the two schools that granted me interviews: I applied to CUSM 10/4/21, and Western Pomona 12/1/21.

That's a fair point about the UC's. Davis was actually the only school not to send me a Secondary so perhaps you're right, that could be a waste of money this cycle. I will probably apply to UCSD again since they sent me an email saying I was being considered for an interview before rejecting me soon thereafter - seemed to signal luke-warm interest, but I agree it's a reach.

Thanks for the advice on shadowing hours. Do you think I need to pursue new shadowing experiences in other specialties? I want to, just curious how necessary you think it is.

Will add those schools, thank you!

Yes, that is pushing it with Pomona. Applying in June should lead to better results if you have to reapply. The UCSD e-mail was likely a generic hold e-mail unfortunately.

You can shadow other specialties, especially primary care such as FM, IM, and pediatrics.

 

[HugeHungryHippo]

Yes, that is pushing it with Pomona. Applying in June should lead to better results if you have to reapply. The UCSD e-mail was likely a generic hold e-mail unfortunately.

You can shadow other specialties, especially primary care such as FM, IM, and pediatrics.

Why those specialities specifically?

 

[chilly_md]

Why those specialities specifically?

Many schools strive to increase the number of physicians in these areas. And they are some examples of practicing in more traditional clinic settings versus surgery or the ED.

 

[HugeHungryHippo]

Many schools strive to increase the number of physicians in these areas. And they are some examples of practicing in more traditional clinic settings versus surgery or the ED.

Understood, thank you!

 

[HugeHungryHippo]

@chilly_md Does it make sense to add Loma Linda SOM to my school list? Thanks

 

[chilly_md]

@chilly_md Does it make sense to add Loma Linda SOM to my school list? Thanks

Not unless you are a 7th Day Adventist or practice a similarly strict religion.

 

[HugeHungryHippo]

Not unless you are a 7th Day Adventist or practice a similarly strict religion.

Is the religious aspect heavily baked into the curriculum? I grew up Lutheran - dad is a pastor - but am pretty agnostic now. I feel like I might be able to put up with a bit of religiosity to stay local. Depends if they screen out non-religious types though...

 

[chilly_md]

Is the religious aspect heavily baked into the curriculum? I grew up Lutheran - dad is a pastor - but am pretty agnostic now. I feel like I might be able to put up with a bit of religiosity to stay local. Depends if they screen out non-religious types though...

Their secondary questions are listed here and give insight into that:

2021-2022 Loma Linda

2021-2022 Loma Linda Secondary Essay Prompts: (275 words max each) 1. What makes LLUSM particularly attractive to you? 2. Our medical curriculum integrates a spiritual, ethical, and relational issues from a Christian perspective into the practice of medicine. Weekly chapel services and...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[HugeHungryHippo]

@chilly_md Should I apply to any Texas schools via TMDSAS? Or is there heavy in-state selectivity as to make it not worth it?

 

[chilly_md]

@chilly_md Should I apply to any Texas schools via TMDSAS? Or is there heavy in-state selectivity as to make it not worth it?

It is not worth it. They are 90% in-state, with the OOS slots being for people with ties to Texas and/or high stat applicants.

 

[HugeHungryHippo]

It is not worth it. They are 90% in-state, with the OOS slots being for people with ties to Texas and/or high stat applicants.

Texas Tech El Paso has an average MCAT admittance of 509. I'm aware my GPA leaves something to be desired, but my 514 would not make me "high stat" applicant at their school? The tuition at these schools makes them attractive so I'm thinking that it may be worth it in that regard to try and apply, no?

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

High stat is generally LM score above 75 or 76. 514/3.38 is around a 67

 

[chilly_md]

Texas Tech El Paso has an average MCAT admittance of 509. I'm aware my GPA leaves something to be desired, but my 514 would not make me "high stat" applicant at their school? The tuition at these schools makes them attractive so I'm thinking that it may be worth it in that regard to try and apply, no?

No, the TMDAS schools prefer students with a high GPA even with their in-state applications. It would not make sense to go through the effort of creating an app on a different service.

 

[HugeHungryHippo]

No, the TMDAS schools prefer students with a high GPA even with their in-state applications. It would not make sense to go through the effort of creating an app on a different service.

Good to know. I appreciate the input.