523 ~3.9ish NY ORM Sankey + some unsolicited advice/resources for new applicants :)
Just posting as a data point since I found these really useful!
T50 undergrad
5000ish research hours at the time of applications (sounds more intimidating than it is- 2 full gap years of research + an undergrad lab, but honestly, most interviewers did not GAF about my bench work)
500ish clinical (was worried about this! But I got no questions about my super unbalanced research: clinical hours ratio. If it is clear that you have reflected thoroughly on your reasons for pursuing medicine, and you can communicate those reasons, then a few hundred clinical hours is plenty. I think there are diminishing returns past a certain point, and your time could be better spent to bolster other parts of your app.)
100ish shadowing
600ish hours in a unique, longitudinal leadership experience (most talked about part of my app)
1 publication in CNS but low-authorship, 3 total research completed items (2 posters)- mentioned 2 papers that were in process (i.e. close to submission)
300ish non-clinical volunteering
Advice:
Please submit early and prewrite lol. At a certain point, you have to just submit your secondaries. I wasted a lot of time trying to perfect my secondaries for minimal gains. Obviously, don't rush, but generally the earlier you submit, the better. The late IIs I got came within a couple of weeks of sending in letters of interest. PLEASE DO NOT BE AFRAID TO SEND LETTERS OF INTEREST/UPDATE LETTERS. My updates were not even that substantial, but I think communicating interest is really important. These schools care about yield, and for schools that are out-of-region, or maybe not a clear mission-fit, reiterating your continued interest later in the cycle is especially important. My only two regrets this cycle are not using these letters earlier and submitting some secondaries later than I should have.
Also, love this website, but please do not obsess over cycle results when IIs start coming out.
Resources: Below are a few websites I found helpful that either a) had real examples of application materials or b) are info sessions hosted by medical school deans. I found these helpful to listen to to see what aspects/programs certain schools were proud of and picked up certain hints along the way. For example, the Einstein video on one of these websites, the dean mentions how no question is really "optional," so I used that question as an opportunity to explain how I thought Einstein fit into my career interests.
Also, found it really useful to watch in-depth analysis of people's actual successful materials, so pay particular attention to those. Michael Minh Le and "application renovation" on youtube are both helpful videos to watch. Good luck, all! Everything will work out!
Application material reviews/examples: There are so many videos out there. Look up "full AMCAS application" on youtube for more
- https://youtu.be/Xl006KMUJAw?si=N0nBWEJ-QWHUVHUC
- https://youtu.be/A8RwvsNmewE?si=56Lp1G0JYAgI-CLS
- https://youtu.be/gNxdBrctLiE?si=V8S37W2EfZBJ3OPL
- https://info.medschoolcoach.com/secondary-essays?_gl=1*1dk5225*_gcl_au*MTU1NDQ2NjkwNC4xNzc2MTM3Njcw
School Info Sessions:
- https://youtube.com/@christianessman1598?si=ERaUGOjWlNkH7edJ
- https://youtube.com/@acceptedadmissions?si=b3Gx8QAqdWNNRiZ3
