3.8cGPA, 37 MCAT Only one interview?

[mlb2358]

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[gyngyn]

If you are a NY resident there are 4 (maybe 5) schools on this list where you have a fair to good chance at an interview.
Your stats are too good for some and your EC's are too weak for the others.
Hopefully you will get interviews at all 4 and get in.

 

[mlb2358]

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[gyngyn]

Forgot to mention that I'm a PA resident.

The numbers turn out to be the same (the schools differ).
No Jefferson?

 

[VeeSee]

Yeah, he did apply to Jefferson

 

[mlb2358]

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[mlb2358]

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[gyngyn]

Sorry to double post, but should I have altered my list? I thought it was relatively balanced. I would like to stay in the Northeast US and I think I applied to most of the schools in the area.

It's not a bad list given your situation. With any luck and good interview skills you may get in this cycle.

 

[PugsAndHugs]

Just want to clarify - you only have a month of hospital volunteering before applying?

You started scribing after you graduated this year (~June 2015)?

If it's a yes for both of them, this could be really bad.

 

[mlb2358]

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[WedgeDawg]

Give it another month before you freak out. One interview is better than none.

 

[VeeSee]

If 3.8 and 37 MCAT is not good enough to get more than one interview then all of these "schools" should just be burned down

 

[mlb2358]

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[WedgeDawg]

I don't mean to whine, but most pretty much all of data I have looked at tells me I have like a 90% chance of getting in so how are my odds "fair to good"? I understand that I don't have as many ECs as some, but I think I have enough to understand the job. As far as research goes, its not like I'm interested in MD-PhD programs. Again, I don't mean to sound like a whiney brat, but its frustrating to know that I worked hard and did really well (as far as I'm concerned) at an Ivy League school and my odds of being accepted are still so uncertain.

Just wait a bit and see. Remember, you're the one who came here asking why you only had one interview. gyngyn told you that your stats will turn off half the schools on your list, but the other half may not be impressed by your ECs. However, several schools on your list, he said have a fair to good chance of giving you an interview. No applicant is a shoe-in for an interview at any particular school (maybe at their home school if they're a stellar applicant, but your home school also happens to be one of the best in the nation), but the aggregate probability is higher.

Chill out a bit and see what happens. The interview part of the cycle is still early. There's nothing you can do at this point to change your trajectory, so just wait it out.

 

[Lawpy]

If 3.8 and 37 MCAT is not good enough to get more than one interview then all of these "schools" should just be burned down

/sarcasm

 

[VeeSee]

/sarcasm

No. I'm serious.

 

[Lawpy]

No. I'm serious.

should've stuck with sarcasm. Three words: Stats aren't everything.

 

[VeeSee]

should've stuck with sarcasm. Three words: Stats aren't everything.

Stats are nothing

Stats are everything

Everything BS

I'll stick with the third option

 

[WedgeDawg]

Stats are nothing

Stats are everything

Everything BS

I'll stick with the third option

Thank you for your contribution.

Stats are generally necessary but rarely sufficient. No schools are obligated to give interviews to any particular applicant. There are plenty of 3.8/37 applicants to go around so they have to be distinguished in other ways, hence the not sufficient part.

 

[VeeSee]

Thank you for your contribution.

Stats are generally necessary but rarely sufficient. No schools are obligated to give interviews to any particular applicant. There are plenty of 3.8/37 applicants to go around so they have to be distinguished in other ways, hence the not sufficient part.

Well, nobody is perfect.

Know of people who get accepted through "backdoors" who are not necessarily the best candidates

But I'd be pretty pissed if I had a 3.8/37 and only got one interview so far. Extracurriculars are EXTRA curriculars after all.

Politics, BS, dishonesty, and general unfairness involved in every area.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Well, nobody is perfect.

Know of people who get accepted through "backdoors" who are not necessarily the best candidates

But I'd be pretty pissed if I had a 3.8/37 and only got one interview so far. Extracurriculars are EXTRA curriculars after all.

I don't think you have a very foundational grasp on how this process works...

 

[GCS-15]

Well, nobody is perfect.

Know of people who get accepted through "backdoors" who are not necessarily the best candidates

But I'd be pretty pissed if I had a 3.8/37 and only got one interview so far. Extracurriculars are EXTRA curriculars after all.

Politics, BS, dishonesty, and general unfairness involved in every area.

Lol, extracurriculars are required, buddy. In no way are they "extra". Also- no school if entitled to give you an interview. Maybe they just didn't like your personal statement, maybe you lacked enough volunteering, maybe they just thought that you wouldn't be a good fit. When people apply, they should be hopeful, but not entitled, even with high stats.

 

[VeeSee]

I don't think you have a very foundational grasp on how this process works...

It's just a game, my friend.

They could dislike your name and that is reason enough.

 

[mlb2358]

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[WedgeDawg]

It's just a game, my friend.

They could dislike your name and that is reason enough.

I think there is a law that prohibits that.

Don't mean to interrupt this lovely conversation, but what schools from my list do you guys think I still have a shot at? Are there any schools I should have applied to, but didn't? Just trying to get a better idea of things.

You have a good list and a shot at all of those schools, just be patient.

 

[Lawpy]

Stats are nothing

Stats are everything

Everything BS

I'll stick with the third option

Well, nobody is perfect.

Know of people who get accepted through "backdoors" who are not necessarily the best candidates

But I'd be pretty pissed if I had a 3.8/37 and only got one interview so far. Extracurriculars are EXTRA curriculars after all.

Politics, BS, dishonesty, and general unfairness involved in every area.

It's just a game, my friend.

They could dislike your name and that is reason enough.

Could you provide some thoughts on how you think the application process works?

 

[VeeSee]

I think there is a law that prohibits that.



You have a good list and a shot at all of those schools, just be patient.

Who says they don't break laws?

And it's still early. Things really don't heat up until next month or so.

Lol, extracurriculars are required, buddy. In no way are they "extra". Also- no school if entitled to give you an interview. Maybe they just didn't like your personal statement, maybe you lacked enough volunteering, maybe they just thought that you wouldn't be a good fit. When people apply, they should be hopeful, but not entitled, even with high stats.

That's actually what I meant. Yes they are required and important but they don't supplant the two most important factors. They are supposed to be there enough to add depth and to show that there is something beyond just numbers.

But the point is that I'd be pissed if I had aa 3.8/37 and some kid with a 3.6/35 was admitted over me because of a sight edge in ECs.

 

[VeeSee]

Could you provide some thoughts on how you think the application process works?

Wish I could but it's snack time.

 

[Lawpy]

Wish I could but it's snack time.

Take your time, but do try to respond at your earliest convenience.

 

[Faha]

You should receive several more interviews with Drexel, Temple, Jefferson, Penn State, NYMC and Commonwealth the most likely.

 

[Doug Underhill]

Some of those schools have 90th percentile MCATs of 35. Boston, Emory, Einstein, Penn St. and Rochester were good picks, as was Hofstra. Maybe you should add USC, Ohio St. and Miami to complete the mid-tier lineup?

At any rate, one II in September sounds like you're doing good thus far.

 

[Goro]

Patience is a virtue, the need for instant gratification is not.

Give the schools some time to wade through the 7-14000 apps they get, will ya?

Hello Everyone,

I don't know if I'm freaking out unnecessarily (probably am), but I'm going to ask this anyway. I have a 3.8 cGPA, 3.76 sGPA, and a 37 MCAT (14P/12V/11B). I did not have the most impressive list of ECs after graduating, but I decided to take a gap year and have been working as a scribe and volunteering in a clinical research program. As an undergraduate at Penn, I did about a month of hospital volunteering and shadowed 2 different physicians for a week each. I also worked as a research assistant during my last year as an undergraduate. I don't have any publications and honestly learned more laboratory skills and techniques than did actual research of my own. So far, this cycle I have only been offered one interview at Hofstra. I was marked complete on all of my secondaries on the 31st of July. I would have been done earlier, but this is the date my committee letter was received. The question I have is am I freaking out for no good reason at this point, or is there some flaw in my application which will prevent me from getting many more interviews? Here is the list of schools I applied to this cycle:

Georgetown, Drexel, Case Western, Temple, the Commonwealth, Harvard, Penn State, Lyola, Mount Sinai, Einstein, NYMC, Hopkins, Columbia, Emory, Boston, Hofstra, Tufts, Cornell, NYU, UPenn, Pitt, and the University of Rochester.

Thanks

 

[mlb2358]

II at Temple just now! Patience does pay off. Thanks everyone!

 

[mlb2358]

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[Doug Underhill]

Getting the II at Temple is a good sign: I would have thought a 3.8/37 from Penn would get yield protected there.

 

[thelinusaurus]

Hello Everyone,

I don't know if I'm freaking out unnecessarily (probably am), but I'm going to ask this anyway. I have a 3.8 cGPA, 3.76 sGPA, and a 37 MCAT (14P/12V/11B). I did not have the most impressive list of ECs after graduating, but I decided to take a gap year and have been working as a scribe and volunteering in a clinical research program. As an undergraduate at Penn, I did about a month of hospital volunteering and shadowed 2 different physicians for a week each. I also worked as a research assistant during my last year as an undergraduate. I don't have any publications and honestly learned more laboratory skills and techniques than did actual research of my own. So far, this cycle I have only been offered one interview at Hofstra. I was marked complete on all of my secondaries on the 31st of July. I would have been done earlier, but this is the date my committee letter was received. The question I have is am I freaking out for no good reason at this point, or is there some flaw in my application which will prevent me from getting many more interviews? Here is the list of schools I applied to this cycle:

Georgetown, Drexel, Case Western, Temple, the Commonwealth, Harvard, Penn State, Lyola, Mount Sinai, Einstein, NYMC, Hopkins, Columbia, Emory, Boston, Hofstra, Tufts, Cornell, NYU, UPenn, Pitt, and the University of Rochester.

Thanks

You have applied to a lot of top schools on that list, if you want more interviews you should consider applying more broadly by adding a few less competitive schools.

 

[md-2020]

I would have thought a 3.8/37 from Penn would get yield protected there.

Penn bones its own UGs b/c school admin wants Perelman and Wharton (UG) to compete with the Harvard/Stanfords of the world in order to pull USNWR rankings up.


With that said I think OP will get a home field II.