WAMC - School list for a "re-inventor" applicant, (3.4 cGPA, 3.7 sGPA, 521 MCAT) - strong upward trend. TX RESIDENT.

[ElderJones]

Don’t have my app in front of me, so hours are rounded to what I can remember.
1. cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMAS

TMDSAS : 3.4 cGPA, 3.7 sGPA
AMCAS + AACOMAS : 3.39 cGPA, 3.69 sGPA

2. MCAT score(s) and breakdown

521: (130, 131, 131, 129)

3. State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US)

TX

4. Ethnicity and/or race

White as a sheet

5. Undergraduate institution or category

Private, religious institution. No pre-med committee, and very limited research opportunities due to no grad programs and zero funding/accommodation for professors to do research.

6. Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)

About 800 hours of ER Scribing at time of application, about 1400 at time of matriculation.
1100 hours as Surgical orderly.
No volunteer clinical experiences. Had to work throughout school for financial reasons.

7. Research experience and productivity

50 hours of very basic microbio lab work (inoculation, growth plates, streak plates, PCR). No posters or presentations.

Just began on a new research team involved with cell cultures. Likely at least 100 hours by October.

8. Shadowing experience and specialties represented

50 Hours shadowed - Orthopedic surgeon.

I was told I would not have to focus too heavily on this because of my jobs.


9. Non-clinical volunteering

50 hours habitat for humanity
40 hours local charity bike shop
45 hours food pantry volunteer


10. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)

Student Government Member at my university - about 150 hours

Co-founder and president of local chapter of international non-profit focused on providing medical care to impoverished areas globally.
Did this as a Telehealth activity during COVID, and currently planning an in-person service event. Around 200 hours.

Founded and currently running Non-profit that collects, repairs, and donates bikes to underprivileged in local area of state. State recognized NP, soon to be 501-3c. Only about 50 hours so far.
(I know what you’re thinking, but I did not just make this in time for my app. A friend and I were going to start it right before COVID hit, and it got postponed until now.)

(Intramural) College lacrosse team captain and champions.

MCAT Tutor for my Altius prep company.

Lab TA for 2 semesters.


11. Relevant honors or awards

None really


12. Anything else not listed you think might be important

Strong “reinvention” narrative, and very high upward trend. Close to 4.0 average for my Junior and Senior years. I had a life changing moment in which I went from getting F’s in business classes to getting 4.0’s in science heavy semesters. Theme is present in all my essays.

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I really have no idea where to start with my school list. I went ahead and sent in TMDSAS to every single Texas MD/DO since it's all one fee, but I would still like to apply in a strategic manner to OOS schools just in case. Here are a few I have written down at some point or another and I'm not 100% sure why.

Rush
Wake Forest
UNC Chapel Hill
Tulane
Albany
U of Illinois
U of Mich - Ann Arbor

My weird stats make it hard to use MSAR for this. I've heard that certain high-teir schools like NYU and Vanderbilt are rewarding for "reinvention" people, but I don't know if I actually fit this bill or not. I'm open to any and all suggestions and criticism.

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[chilly_md]

Most OOS MD schools know that TX residents will stay in-state if they can based on historic experience. You could try Tulane, Duke, Vanderbilt, Columbia, Sinai, WUSTL and NYU. Tulane has gotten a good number of TX residents since they are a nearby private school and rest are open to reinventors/high MCAT scorers. They are also likely ones that you would consider choosing over a cheaper in-state option.