@aspiringgirl, not necessarily a strict quota preference per se, but it is definitely looked at since there are so few underrepresented minorities in medicine to begin with (for a variety of reasons, including costs, etc.). So being a URM + a great CV + good standardized exam scores & academic record, will open up a HUGE amount of doors for you.
I just mentioned UMKC’s minority non-resident “scholarship” as an example, (it just brings you back down to in-state tuition rates, but still huge savings, obviously) as it covers Hispanic, Black, and Native American (which I figured you were the latter due to being in Native OKStars).
I mean in looking at the brief Youtube video they have and the very sparse description of PLTW on the website, it just seems like it’s much more trouble than it’s worth with not as much real benefit, since you already have so many of those type of things in your ECs on your CV. They don’t even really go into great detail on the website or in their Youtube video on what you guys are actually doing that would be any different than what you are doing and participating in now. It seems more like a bunch of medically oriented science experiments, although I am sure there is some problem-solving, critical thinking, analysis involved.