WAMC/School List Help (3.82, 518) - CA ORM

[Natural_Hive]

Hello,

I was born and raised in a medically underserved community. This has led to my overall career goal of working in & providing better healthcare access to underserved communities. I would like help in refining my school list. Thank you!!

1. cGPA: 3.82 (3.53 -> 3.89 -> 3.94 -> 4.0) sGPA: 3.73
2. MCAT: 518 (129|130|130|129)
3. State: CA (hometown: Riverside County)
4. Ethnicity: White
5. Undergrad: UC School - majored in Global Health
6. Clinical Experience:
   
   1. Paid
      1. [200 hours] by June 2024 - EMT (2,000 projected hours by Fall 2025)
   2. Unpaid
      1. [300 hours] - Free Clinic Volunteer (clinical role); providing free medical care to underserved patient population (100 projected hours by Fall 2025)
      2. [40 hours] - COVID Vaccine site volunteer; during initial COVID vaccine distribution
7. Research Experience:
   
   1. [2000 hours] - Lab intern / lab technician (immunology research)
      1. Wet lab immunology research on a few projects; no publications, posters, or presentations
      2. Taught and led a team of interns
   2. [250 hours] - Research intern (exercise and physical ability research)
      1. Clinical research for a few patient/participant-based studies
      2. Worked directly with patients on fitting devices for data collection and conducting trials
8. Shadowing:
   
   1. [50 hours] - Internal Med Physician
9. Non-Clinical Volunteering:
   
   1. [550 hours] - Free Clinic Volunteer (non-clinical role); lead the supply/ordering system for all of the clinic locations (100 projected hours by Fall 2025)
10. Other EC:
    
    1. [300 hours] - White water rafting guide (leadership experience)
    2. Hobbies: running, swimming, cycling
11. Relevant honors/awards:
    
    1. Eagle Scout

• School List:
  
  • UC San Diego
  • UC Irvine
  • UC Riverside
  • UCLA Geffen
  • UCSF
  • USC Keck
  • California University of Science and Medicine
  • UC Davis
  • Kaiser Permanente
  • Loma Linda
  • Stanford
  • U of Michigan
  • Icahn
  • Brown
  • Boston University
  • Einstein
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • Case Western
  • University of Chicago
  • Duke
  • Washington University (St. Louis)
  • Weill Cornell
  • Mayo Clinic
  • Drexel
  • Temple Lewis Katz
  • George Washington
  • Penn State
  • Dartmouth Geisel
  • Tufts University
  • Wake Forest
  • Sidney Kimmel
  • Georgetown
  • University of Arizona
  • Rosalind Franklin

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[Mr.Smile12]

Where was the free clinic where you worked?

On face value, you check the boxes. You should get some attention from your UC schools, especially Riverside if you grew up near there. Aside from that, what pieces of your application do you feel will capture the attention of screeners to get an interview?

 

[Natural_Hive]

Where was the free clinic where you worked?

On face value, you check the boxes. You should get some attention from your UC schools, especially Riverside if you grew up near there. Aside from that, what pieces of your application do you feel will capture the attention of screeners to get an interview?

Thank you for the response!

The free clinic is a student-run clinic spread throughout San Diego County, operated through my undergrad's medical school.

I believe my mission of working with underserved populations will be a defining factor in my application. One of my parents is a health practitioner in a community-based clinic in my hometown, this has always exposed me to the realities of underserved medicine and created an interest in such work at a very young age.

While I do have a lot of hours of research experience, I am sort of worried that the lack of productivity will hinder a few schools as options. Although I do have leadership positions in most of my activities (research & volunteering) and hope this will look somewhat favorable. Thoughts?

 

[Natural_Hive]

@Mr.Smile12 would you recommend any other OOS/private universities to add to my list? And do you think I should remove any currently listed?

Part of me thinks my school list is too top-heavy, but I would like to apply to a maximum of 30 schools.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

@Mr.Smile12 would you recommend any other OOS/private universities to add to my list? And do you think I should remove any currently listed?

Part of me thinks my school list is too top-heavy, but I would like to apply to a maximum of 30 schools.

Having all of your California schools on your list makes it tough to say your entire list is top-heavy to me.

Can you more clearly define "underserved populations"? Every medical school serves their underserved populations so it doesn't set you apart. How do you see yourself serving: in huge hospital systems, in community health centers and free clinics, in mobile clinics, in highly rural areas? The UC schools will have PRIME or similar tracks helping underserved populations: some UC schools have more than just one, and there's usually an essay and an invited interview that goes with that. That also makes a difference with lists I could suggest.

I'm stalling for the list folks. But some omissions I'm wondering about:
Vanderbilt
Northwestern
Utah

I would also check out the directory of student run free clinics.

https://www.studentrunfreeclinics.org/