WAMC/School List: (3.82, 514) URM, NJ Resident

[barbieandbrainsmd]

Hi guys! I could really use help with creating my list! Currently don't feel like it is balanced enough bc of my stats (3.82 cGPA, 3.67 sGPA, 514 MCAT), and I'd love to if y'all think I should remove any schools on here and/or add any other schools.

Undergrad: T10 (Ivy-League university)
Major: Health and Societies: Race, Gender and Health
GPA: 3.82 cGPA, 3.67 sGPA
MCATs: 502, 514 (128/128/129/129)
Home State: New Jersey, went to undergrad out of state
Ethnicity: URM (Black woman)

Clinical Paid:
800 hours as a pediatric medical assistant

Clinical Volunteering:
160 hours as a shift leader and volunteer with a group providing clinical screenings and van clinics to the unhoused
100 hours as a volunteer MA at van clinics in schools in historically underserved areas in the city (still continuing)
100 hours as a clinical volunteer at a community health center distributing COVID vaccines and tests (early 2021)

Research:
1400 hours (and continuing) as the co-founder and lead of a research program focussed on conducting a community health needs assessment of a underserved population in the city, and creating a community health worker program with community organizations to take actionable steps from the needs assessment results

Non-Clinical:
1500 hours (paid, full-time gap year position) as a Community Outreach Coordinator at a lab focussed on the impact of built environment on health and wellness
480 hours on the board for the Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students (MAPS)
480 hours as a student advisor for an academic linkage program connecting low-income middle schoolers to academically challenging day and boarding schools
420 hours as a project associate for an org providing grief counseling for children
200 hours TA for global health class

Shadowing:
35 hours total (Family Med, Internal Med, Pediatrics)

Presentations/Posters:
One poster presentation, one oral presentation (both at national conferences)

Other/Hobbies:
5000 hours of dance (was on dance team in undergrad and took classes in high school)
1010 hours theatre: was a performer but also a Producer, DEI Chair and Consultant, and on E-board
200 hours TA for public health class

Mission of app and communities of interest: underserved communities, health policy, community engagement, and health equity AND justice (not the same!)

I want to apply to MAX 30 MD schools. I also really would prefer to stay in a city, as I would like to continue my work with underserved communities in urban environments. However, my end goal is to be a physician, so I do have some schools on here that are not in cities. Any tips or suggestions on what to cut or add would be greatly appreciated.

List is ordered by median MCAT, not preference:

NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
Northwestern University The Feinberg School of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
University of Michigan Medical School
Boston University School of Medicine
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Emory University School of Medicine
Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine
University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Tufts University School of Medicine
Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
Rutgers, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine
Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
Drexel University College of Medicine
Tulane University School of Medicine
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
University of Illinois College of Medicine
George Washington University School of Medicine
Rush Medical College
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
Howard Univeristy College of Medicine
Meharry Medical College
Albany Medical College

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[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums!

My usual question: how many of the schools on your list were recommended through your MAPS/SNMA networking? Have you chatted with SNMA officers representing the schools? More interestingly, depending on how connected you are, did you ask them what their second-choice or next-preferred school would be (in other words, what other school would they think they also would be happy attending)?

I'm not so worried about a medical school campus being in a city or not, as long as there is ample parking on the non-urban campuses that won't cost you parts of your own anatomy . Whatever you do, your SNMA connections should help you find opportunities at other schools so you won't stay completely out of the loop. The question is how much pre-clerkship experience in community medicine or outreach you want to do. And whether you want to go someplace different that requires a car.

Define for yourself what experiences you want to add or grow so that you can narrow your list. Shelter work (which subgroups?), free clinics (geography/neighborhood), etc.? It's easy to continue doing what you know, but growth doesn't happen without some change of scenery or opportunity. And your options should be limited because your chief goal should be to pass your classes (or else you don't do the other work).

While I warn that schools average MCAT scores for screening, your +10 improvement will draw attention to your activities and your focus/purpose as a physician. Perform well in any required SJT's and you should be getting invitations. Go get 'em, rockstar, and make the schools recruit you.

 

[Faha]

You have a good list and should receive many interviews.