If we assume a 2% acceptance rate at NYU, the following shows an example of total applications to acceptances. (Find the As for acceptances - all the rest tried, but didn’t make it.)
X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X A X
X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X X X
X A X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X X X
You have to be you. If you read through those and possibly google some others think about how you’d fit in. In the class of 2021, my guy was the juggler. He also had a double major, did dance, ASL, a Christian club (leaders of all at some point), paid research, volunteered, was an RA in dorms and had the requisite good grades + MCAT score (highest possible category on AAMC’s data sheet). We wondered if he ever slept TBH.
You have to be good at school plus busy with medical and non-medical things (an interesting person) and do it all well. It shows you’re likely to be able to handle the physical, academic, and mental demands of med school and a career as a physician.
It’s definitely not impossible, but it’s a good work commitment.