I posted (and was heavily downvoted) here a year ago about my plan to apply at 19. Super happy to finally get to make one of these! All of my interviews were between August and October and I received my A right on 10/15. Sad not to have gotten as much love as expected from my state schools and to be moving across the country, but super excited to start school in a few months!!

First I wanted to say thank you to all my friends I placed on the admissions committee for giving me my acceptance despite my low stats compared to their medium!! Truly couldn’t have done it without them and I am sure many others like me could manage this as well!

The Stats: 0.91+ GPA (0% percentile) 372 MCAT (0% score 😭😭)

ECs: Nepotism 500 hrs.

Clinical Malpractice 1200 hours

Stealing Candy from babies 210

Annoying the people I shadow 80 hrs

Publications on why climate change isn’t real (3 all in CNS)

Club against country development 100 hours

Total Research on how to make crack more addictive 2200 hours.

What really made my profile stand out was my 3 publications, my research and my extremely unique extracurricular activities, especially the nepotism adcoms really seemed to like this one. To anyone else applying this coming cycle I would highly recommend getting LESS clinical and Volunteering experience as it seemed to hurt my profile more than anything especially when they got mad at my stealing candy from babies volunteering experience (luckily I still got the A)

Remember it only takes one and good luck guys!!

A cheeky little Sankey to give back to the community. My tangible advice is to take the necessary time to form a cohesive narrative between your ECs, life, medicine, and academic accomplishments; there is always a link, you just need to find it. Ask people to read over your drafts, and ask your LOR writers to add things specific to your narrative (connections between other ECs, traits that you are trying to highlight in your whole app, etc) Also, make sure to form healthy coping mechanisms and establish strong relationships with your peers and mentors!

Here is some additional advice, unsolicited and easier said after the fact. RELAX!! Enjoy your time in undergrad, gap years, etc... maybe even party a little. The goal post of success is always moving, so take time to actually enjoy your life, gain some hobbies, make some mistakes, and breathe. You're all unique, you're all valuable, you're all enough!

Much love y'all

Some other notable things about my app:

• Strong ties to Michigan
• Rural background
• Strong will to live

I was chosen to participate in a highly selective gross anatomy course at my institutions, where only the top 10 A/PII students are accepted. It's a lab where we participate in dissection on cadavers. The participants then TA the A/P course, where we do demonstrations of anatomy on the cadavers for the students to aid in their learning (also, all of their exams are on cadavers, not models, so it's an integral part of the course).

The instructor keeps highlighting how amazing of an opportunity this is, especially for medical school. How common is this?? I'm curious now.

Edit: thank you to all who are saying it would help to have a real mcat score. I completely agree, i was mostly just interested inseeing if anyone here has experience with free resources such as this being useful or accurate.

Stats: 21F CA resident first in family to pursue graduate education or med field 3.8 ish gpa w/ strong upward trend (I'm an incoming Jr at a UC but did 3 yrs at CC to save $ and get some prereqs done with) - I've only taken an mcat diagnostic (before taking most mcat prereqs) and got a 502 but a 130 on cars (yay?) I think with some studying id like to aim for >515 - Research: maybe 500? UC addiction pharmacology wet lab. I will prob have my name on 2 pubs -Might do research at Stanford this summer (praying I crush my interview) - shadowing: 100+ I have a strong relationship with a radiologist and I've also shadowed derm (will do more) - - clinical: I recently got certified as a phlebotimist and have yet to start working. Also I volunteer in the ED at a local level 1 trauma center

• ⁠I co facilitate a support group for people in recovery from eating disorders alongside an lmft • ⁠I'm a certified nutritionist and sometimes work in that field • ⁠Volunteering: NEDA body project facilitator, animal shelter, (I prob need more hrs for all) Other: lifeguard for about a year, strong “story/theme” and first in family to pursue graduate education Lifeguarding isn't clinical technically but I've definitely had some gnarly experiences - extracurriculars: Waterpolo + swim (up until soph year of college) - avid amateur herpetologist (I love reptiles) and building vivariums - healthy recipe blog - long distance hiking/rucking

They can’t reject me if I reject them first

Hope this can provide some inspiration for those who also have a lower MCAT like me. I probably would’ve finished more MD secondaries cuz there were a few not listed that I didn’t finish, but I received my first DO A in early/mid August and lost all motivation to write more essays.

I’m so happy to only have to go through this process once and I’m stoked to become a doctor!!!

holistic review is extremely real and i think i might be one prime example. i was debating on posting this but i wanted to give all my ppl with an mcat on the “average/below average” side with fear of applying.

apologies in advance for the length of this post! any help would be much appreciated! i've been having some difficulty putting together a school list because a) im a Canadian applicant (we don't have pre-med advisors here) b) my application is somewhat "non-traditional". thanks so much!

Background: US MD re-applicant. low SES, minority status (if that matters lol) coming from a single-parent family. had to work a lot throughout highschool and beyond to support myself and my family, which interfered a lot with my studies as i was working full time and attending school full time. experienced a lot of adversity from a young age related to domestic violence and my mom losing her job during covid. had an absolutely awful first 2 years of university (stalking, harassment, boyfriend at the time broke up with me right before finals on unfortunately more than one occasion). strong upward trend gpa though! after graduating from my first degree i decided to get involved in more clinical research and then decided to go back to school to complete a second undergrad while living with my brother to save on expenses (in Canada there is an option to do a second undergrad, which is essentially 2 years long. kind of equivalent to American post-bacc).

Year in school: 5/6 years completed (graduated from my first undergrad in 2022, projected to graduate from 2nd undergrad by the end of this year).

Country/state of residence: Canada

Cumulative GPA: 3.31 (1st undergrad), 3.89 (2nd undergrad - in progress), 3.42 (all years combined)

Science GPA: 3.44 (1st undergrad), 3.92 (2nd undergrad), 3.54 (all years combined)

MCAT Scores: 506 --> 509 --> 504 --> 516 (*based on FL testing, taking the exam in june)

Research: ~3000 hours; 15 publications, 3 of which are very high-impact (3x first author, 2x 2nd author, 4x 3rd author, 1x 4th author, 3x 5th author, 2x >5th author). 7 poster presentations.

Volunteering: ~150 hours (clinical) ~600 hours (non-clinical)

Employment (clinical): ~10,000 hours (ophthalmic technician, clinical research coordinator, reception/medical assistant at urgent care/family practice)

Employment (non-clinical): ~2800

Shadowing: 50 hours thoracic surgery, 250 ophthalmology, 30 hours cardiac surgery

Non-clinical volunteering: ~700 hours

Extracurricular activities: i co-founded a biotech start-up recently but it's still in early stages. we've won 2 pitch competitions. associate reviewer for student undergraduate science journal.

my birthday is today and I've done nothing but cry so far. I actually got rejected from 3 different schools today but one of them was a top choice that I interviewed for... they kept me in the dark for 5 months just to reject me at 6 pm the day before my birthday.

I have plans with someone today that I promised I'll follow through with. and though I communicated with them that I'll be pretty sad today, I feel even more bad because I know I won't be good company.

I just want to stay in my bed and cry for the rest of the day. I tried so hard to go to this school, this application cycle has taken almost a year.. I just.. I don't know. I don't know what to do. when I think about my 25th, im going to think about the type of failure that I am.

I should've never tried this cycle, I should've waited. I fortunately got accepted to a DO school (KANSAS COM) and I'm trying to remain grateful but man.. am I hurt. I didn't want to leave my state, I want to be an MD..

Hey everyone,

I’m currently in my mid 20s with about two years left in my PhD in Computer Science. Up until recently, I was working full-time as a remote tech job (previously at FAANG, 5 YOE), earning a six-figure salary. Unfortunately, I was just laid off due to budget cuts — the tech job market is brutal right now.

Despite the circumstances, I’ve done well academically: 4.0 GPA, strong relationship with my advisor, and multiple publications. However, I’m feeling completely burnt out, overwhelmed, and honestly, questioning my life as a whole. I’m a single parent to two young kids with full custody (blessed to have a supportive family), and I feel like I’ve been stuck in survival mode — working nonstop just to keep things afloat.

I’ve been fully remote since undergrad during the start of COVID, completed both my BS and MS in CS (MS was done online while working full-time). But I’m realizing that I’m deeply unhappy. I feel like I’m on a treadmill, chasing income to support my kids and myself, but losing myself in the process. My health has taken a hit, and I don’t feel fulfilled in what I do. I feel so sick staring at a screen all day with no escape.

Medicine has always been in the back of my mind as something I wanted to pursue — a career where I could genuinely help others and feel like my work means something. I pushed it aside thinking I was “too deep” into tech and needed to go after quicker money to support my family. But now I’m wondering if I’ve sacrificed my passion for a path that’s slowly draining me. On top of all this, amid recent layoffs happening in tech — a recession proof career that offer job security.

I completed most premed requirements, minus orgo I & II, which I wouldn’t mind going back to complete. My GPA during my undergrad wasn’t as high (C’s get degrees mentality while younger) but I’m hoping my postgrad makes up for this. I also spent 3 years in health IT as a Technical Consultant, working alongside various health-related departments, physicians, etc. Besides that, I have not taken the MCAT or prepped, no shadowing experience, and just a bit of volunteering at a hospital during my undergrad. Is it too late to make the switch? Would a Special Master’s Program (SMP) with linkage to Medical School be worth it in my case?

Any honest advice or shared experiences would mean a lot. I’m trying to figure out if this is a late-phase crisis or a wake-up call.

Thank you

Hello, so I understand that volunteer hours from high school don't count for AMCAS. However, do they count if I am enrolled part time in college while in high school?

I am a dual enrollment student and I have done 31 credits in community college towards my psychology degree. This means that, although I am a junior in high school, I am also a sophomore in college based on my college credits. If have non-clinical volunteer hours from volunteering at a nursing home/assisted living home and working at a early childhood lab school, would I be able to add those? I am asking because after I graduate high school, I would be finished with almost two years of college so I am wondering if any of those hours would count.

Hi!

I was just wondering if you guys had some recommendations on which schools I should I look into for the upcoming application cycle. I know i’m looking mainly at DO schools but I was wondering which MD schools I should maybe look into. Thanks. Im gonna put all my stats, details, and ECs below.

Graduated December 2024 FL resident

GPA: 3.9 MCAT: 506 Clinical Paid Work: 360 hrs (~650 hrs at time of application) Clinical Volunteering: 200 hrs Non-clinical Volunteering: 260 hrs Research: 300 hrs (1 pub) Shadowing: 150 hrs 6 letters of rec (2 science prof, 1 non science prof, 1 from clinical volunteering, 1 from non clinical volunteering, 1 DO)

Any advice helps and lmk if you need more details, thanks!

Hey! I'm a Canadian with a PhD in neuroscience looking to apply for the 2025-2026 cycle. I'd appreciate any help with building my school list or some feedback!

Stats:

MCAT - 521 (C/P: 131, CARS: 128, Bio: 132, P/S: 130)

GPA - 3.85 Undergrad, 3.96 Grad School

Volunteering - 300+ hours in university clubs (mostly health/addiction-related), ~600 hours in hospital volunteering (non-clinical), 12+ hours (lol) in hospital research ethics board (started last Dec 2024)

Clinical hours - 300+ hours across ER dept & palliative care floors

Shadowing - 0 (!) hours shadowing (hard to do in Canada)

Research: 10000+ hours of research during PhD & undergrad, 7 conference poster presentations (4 Canadian national-level, 3 international), 5 papers (2nd-mid author, no first author pub yet - still writing the manuscripts)

School list: Currently looking at the following schools

• Columbia PhD-to-MD program
• NYU Grossman.
• Wayne State
• Duke University
• Boston
• Yale
• Dartmouth
• Harvard HST program
• Case Western
• Renaissance Stonybrook

Could anyone recommend any additional schools that are Canadian-friendly that I could add or any schools I should remove/change? Feedback and criticism is appreciated (ex. lot of top-heavy schools...). This is my first school list and I am sure that I have misconceptions and mistakes. Please let me know your thoughts!

Thanks for your help!

Hi, I received my first II and the interview is going to be an MMI. I have no clue how to prepare honestly.

I was wondering if any of you guys that have gone thru an MMI would share some tips? What was something that went wrong and was could you have done better? What would you have done differently? What was useful to you and what wasn’t?

Sorry for the crappy english, my first language is french. Love you all!

Graduated from undergrad school with a top med school and lots of research opportunities. Have done some bench research in the past but my goal going forward is to hopefully get on some pubs before I apply. Maybe things like case studies, review papers and/or retrospective studies. I currently work a full time patient care job. How can I go about getting into this kind of research and doing it on the side?

can anyone explain if these two are related or different. like you know when applying to college you were meant to have a spike in ec’s of what you wanna major in and that was like ur narrative. is that the same for med school where ur narrative are ec’s that revolve around a speciality you like or is the narrative more broad and about i want to help underserved pop, older pop, etc or whatever their reasoning is

going to keep this short and to the point. was planning to apply this cycle. mcat is scheduled for may 10th. took a couple of third party FLs as i went through content review and saw decent progress in score increases, not satisfied with the score but glad that there was progress. last week, i took the sample which translated to ≈502-3. this week on FL1, i completely dropped the fucking ball… i’m just embarrassed. scored 495 and CARS was my lowest section and it has always been my best section by far. i’m a senior graduating in 2 weeks so i was already planning on a gap year filled with more activities to beef up my application. im guessing everyone is gonna say now it’s gonna be 2 gap years? i already have a good amount of prewriting done, personal statement in the process of being finished, asked everyone for LoRs, etc. everything has been or is in the process of being polished up and the only wall i have left is the mcat… any advice is appreciated.

Has anyone attended undergrad in Canada and med school in the US? Is this a complicated process compared to attending both undergrad and med school in the US? Is it harder for US citizens who graduated from Canadian universities to get into med schools in the US?

Thanks for your help. I have a student who wants to attend undergrad in Canada but wants to goto med school. But I don’t know anyone who went this route to ask.

Sorry if I chose the wrong flair. Trying to find people with knowledge about Canadian college grads (but US citizens).

I’m guessing the answer is yes but just hoping I might be able to keep both tabs open to paste from one to the other

Around a year ago I stopped going to classes because of extenuating circumstances. Lost my financial aid because my GPA dropped too much and plan to raise my gpa but am having trouble paying my tuition. I will have to retake all the classes and don’t know how I’ll be able to do it. Thought about going to community to transfer the credits but one of my schools policies is I can’t take classes at cc if I already took it at my school. Now I’m thinking about attending as a part time student but I know med school will see part time classes as classes that are not as rigorous. I’m already off track and have to get back to school as soon as possible. Thinking about it for months now and don’t know what the best resolution would be

Rejoice. I will be releasing several of my t100 acceptances, as I have been accepted to my T5 school of choice (and it is not ranked 2,3,4, or 5). FYI my LizzyM is 86, and to my future colleagues I am single (men need not apply).

I had considered sharing this to SDN's school specific threads, but I felt it a more efficient use of my time to signal to all of you that I will be opening these spots. You're all very welcome.

Hi y'all! I am hoping to apply this upcoming cycle and would greatly appreciate any help or thought on my school list. My stats are on the lower end (let me know if I should add some DO schools onto this list)

I know my list is kinda top heavy and I would like to cut it down as I know some of these are a hugeeee reach lmao. Please let me know if there are schools to add/remove. I used admit.org and the WARS sheet to help craft a preliminary list. Thank you all so much!

State of residence: TX

Ties to other states (if applicable): N/A

URM? (Y/N): Y (Black Female)

Undergraduate vibe: Ivy (not HYP)

Undergraduate major(s)/minor(s): Neuroscience

Graduate degree(s) (if applicable): N/A

Cumulative GPA: 3.68

Science GPA: 3.50 (As and Bs except a D in Orgo I, retook and got B+, C+ in Orgo II (¯_(ツ)_/¯ )

MCAT Score(s) (in order of attempts):  just took it in March, let’s say 515 +/- 2 (i know not having an actual score isn’t optimal for making a school list lol)

Institutional actions?: N/A

First application cycle? (If no, explain): Yes 

Research experience: 1040 hours (Anesthesiology department research since freshman spring with abstract accepted to IARS conference. Freshman year research lab)

Publications?: TBD may get one in during application szn (mid author). Small poster presentation at symposium

Clinical experience: 260 (paid ophthalmic tech), ~700 (optometric tech at home, started 2021 and do it when I am home for breaks), about 70 (sitting vigil and a patient support program at local hospital) 

• Side note: don’t know if this is clinical but I work as a study coordinator for a biotech lab at my school, I recruit breast milk donors (about 170 hours by time of application) 

Physician shadowing: 110 hours, Anesthesiology, Infectious Disease, Dermatology, Pulmonology, PA (critical care)

Non-clinical volunteering: about 60 (food bank and miscellaneous volunteering at school) 

Other: Teaching assistant for writing class, intro neuro tutor,  mentor for pre-health students and freshmen researchers (about ~210 hrs all together)

LOR: 1 from Orgo professor, 1 from neuro statistics professor, 1 from biochem professor, 1 from Anesthesiologist PI from research, 1 from writing professor who I was a teaching assistant for (i think LORs will be pretty good) 

School list: All TX schools (MD), Boston, Brown, Case Western, Emory, Georgetown, Howard, Rochester, Mt Sinai, Yale, Pitt, Cornell, Michigan, UVA, Wake Forest, Meharry, Morehouse, Tufts, Indiana, UCLA, Hofstra, Vanderbilt, Mayo, Northwestern, Dartmouth, Harvard, Stanford, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, WashU, NYU, Ohio State, George Washington, USC-Keck

How to medical schools and hospitals feel about piercings and tattoos? I’m considering getting a nose piercing but I’m not sure how that would look when I’m working in such a strictly professional setting. Do any of you guys have visible tattoos and piercings (outside of ears)?

So I’m an in-state student and I’m trying to figure out which school would be best to go to, any suggestions at all would be greatly appreciated!

Neomed Pros: -Closer to family (cost of living would be significantly less) -Diverse clinical clerkship locations across Northeast Ohio (home) -P/F (attendance graded thus mandatory)

UToledo COMLS Pros: -tuition less than neomed (cost of living would be more definitively) -higher surgery match rate (not 100% sure about surgery yet however) -P/F attendance not required lectures recorded

I left the cons out bc I want to hear what you all believe the cons are for each of these institutions. Any other pros would also be appreciated thx you!