20-year-old male, South Asian, U.S. citizen raised in Canada, Canadian undergrad.
Major: Health Sciences
cGPA: 3.88
MCAT: 508 (127/125/128/128), retaking late June
Unique situation: I’m a U.S. citizen but have lived in Canada most of my life and attend undergrad in Canada. Not sure if schools view me as OOS, international-adjacent, or simply a U.S. citizen with a Canadian degree.
Clinical Hours:
Clinical research assistant in surgery: 500+ hours
Chart review, patient recruitment, REDCap work, EHR extraction, perioperative outcomes research
Research:
1000+ hours
Multiple clinical research projects, AI/medical education work, oncology/QOL work, and dementia-related research
First-author manuscript submitted
First-author poster presentation
Second-author oral presentation
Several manuscripts/projects in progress
Shadowing:
Internal medicine in Arkansas: 100 hours
Additional OR/clinic shadowing: ~50+ hours
Total: ~150+ hours
Nonclinical Volunteering:
~300–500 hours
Community service, meal preparation/distribution, winter essential supply drives, humanitarian fundraising, and outreach
Leadership/Teaching:
Teaching assistant for multiple university courses
Student leadership/club executive roles
Mentorship, grading, research coordination, and presentation experience
Other:
First-generation physician applicant in my family
ORM
Canadian undergraduate degree, but U.S. citizen
School list admit.org suggested:
Reach:
Jefferson
Georgetown
Wake Forest
Creighton
VCU
Wayne State
Saint Louis
Medical College of Wisconsin
Temple
Tulane
Vermont
Penn State
George Washington
Western Michigan
Eastern Virginia
Drexel
Quinnipiac
Loyola
Albany
Virginia Tech
West Virginia
Target:
Rosalind Franklin
Rush
University of Washington
Baseline / Safety:
LECOM Erie
LECOM Bradenton
WCU COM
Nova Southeastern (DO)
VCOM
Marian
ATSU Kirksville
Campbell
Des Moines
Midwestern Chicago (CCOM)
NYITCOM
Questions:
- How competitive am I for U.S. DO with my current profile?
- Should I apply early with my 508 and tell them I'm retaking? Or should I not mention that, so they still look at my app but update my score later
- As a U.S. citizen studying in Canada, do schools basically treat me as OOS everywhere?
- Does this school list make sense, or are there schools I should remove/add?
Side question: For AMCAS (MD) apps, if I mention i'm retaking, does my primary still get processed
Thank you!!