Any 27-29 MCAT with interviews????

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Gandy741 said:
Thanks!

Still waiting on MD II's though. It seems like a lot of people are just getting the silent treatment.
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It's still early man. I'm sure your state schools will interview you at least. In most cases the superstars are getting interviews now and the regular stat folks will get interviews later on.
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golfman7 said:
It's still early man. I'm sure your state schools will interview you at least. In most cases the superstars are getting interviews now and the regular stat folks will get interviews later on.
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I hope. Otherwise I wasted a ton of time and money on an AMCAS and MD secondaries.
 
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Gandy741 said:
I hope. Otherwise I wasted a ton of time and money on an AMCAS and MD secondaries.
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Well without applying to MD schools you'd have never known whether you actually stood a chance or not. It's understandable why youd see it as a huge waste of money, but I'm pretty sure you still would have tried for MD schools in the end, unless if you somehow knew for sure that you stood no chance at all. Plus, it's only been 1-2 months since secondaries have been sent out. And you've still got at least another 6 months or so left in the application cycle.
 
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MrTaco92 said:
Well without applying to MD schools you'd have never known whether you actually stood a chance or not. It's understandable why youd see it as a huge waste of money, but I'm pretty sure you still would have tried for MD schools in the end, unless if you somehow knew for sure that you stood no chance at all. Plus, it's only been 1-2 months since secondaries have been sent out. And you've still got at least another 6 months or so left in the application cycle.
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Well there is a limit to it. If I had a 27 and a 3.5, I would never apply MD unless I was a URM applicant.

When I called Oakland about why I got rejected, they told me my MCAT/GPA were fine. She said I had really good EC's, and the only thing she could suggest was that I needed to "stand out more" in my primary application.

Considering how little space there is to write about your meaningful experiences its hard to stand out with 700-1300 characters of info. This is why the personal statement and secondaries are important. She also stated that my personal statement and secondaries were written very well and that my personal statement in particular stood out. She stated that the patient interactions I put in the secondaries "were outstanding".

Honestly, its all just a giant crapshoot. Which is why its so frustrating.

The only way you can have a high chance of getting a MD acceptance is by having many meaningful experiences (which I have), and having a very very high MCAT (which I dont have) and GPA. (GPA is fine). Also you have to be able to interview well. Honestly, I thought I would be bad at interviews but I guess I'm alright at them. So my main problem then is this accursed standardized test that this support thread was made for.

If you dont have all of the above, its a crapshoot. If you are URM, you are given lots of leeway on this so what I'm saying doesnt really apply to URM applicants.

All that being said, I would still have no regrets going DO as the upper tier DO schools are great medical schools. MD just puts you in a better position for the future.
 
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Gandy741 said:
When I called Oakland about why I got rejected, they told me my MCAT/GPA were fine. She said I had really good EC's, but that I needed to "stand out more" in my primary application.

Considering how little space there is to write about your meaningful experiences its hard to stand out with 700-1300 characters of info. This is why the personal statement and secondaries are important. She also stated that my personal statement and secondaries were written very well and that my personal statement in particular stood out. She stated that the patient interactions I put in the secondaries "were outstanding".

Honestly, its all just a giant crapshoot.
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There's gotta be something beyond a subpar primary application that's making these schools hesitant about you. It just sounds weird to me that the woman you spoke to at Oakland said you need to stand out more while at the same time saying that you stood out a lot. Maybe you need to ask someone on the admissions staff at a school who will be more brutally honest with you about your application. If you're a good writer I'd imagine you could write a compelling enough description of your activities on a primary application.
 
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MrTaco92 said:
There's gotta be something beyond a subpar primary application that's making these schools hesitant about you. It just sounds weird to me that the woman you spoke to at Oakland said you need to stand out more while at the same time saying that you stood out a lot. Maybe you need to ask someone on the admissions staff at a school who will be more brutally honest with you about your application. If you're a good writer I'd imagine you could write a compelling enough description of your activities on a primary application.
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I even went through all the potential "red flags" on my application such as being non-traditional applicant, being out of school for a couple of years, and my poor first MCAT score.

I literally listed all my potential red flags, and she said they dont care about those particular things...

I'm thinking to myself like................................................... errr ok?

The thing about Oakland is they dont tell you why they actually rejected you which would help a ton. They just tell you how to "improve through an admissions counselor" and then thats the end of it.

You are left to speculate the rest. So you can understand why after this MD application cycle fiasco I keep blaming the 29 MCAT (its balanced too so thats not it) score because I literally cannot deduce what is going on. Hell maybe its just bad luck? 20 schools on silence, 2 rejections and 1 hold.

Oh get this, the other rejections was with WVU right. You say I need to directly speak with someone on admissions. Well I did. I directly talked to the Dean of WVU on the phone.

Here is what she said. "I think you are overall a strong applicant, but we have limited spots for Out of Staters. I dont think there is anywhere where you could improve." I then asked her about my low 29 MCAT score and if thats where I should improve. She said "thats our average".

So there you go taco. Deduce what you will. Because I'm more confused than I was during the Physical Sciences portion of the MCAT.
 
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xyphr said:
@Gandy741 hey man, I don't know for sure, but it can't be your mcat. I took the mcat 3 times and the highest score I got was a 28 and got interviews. If I had to guess, something about your personal statement must have made them question if you really were going to be a good fit for their school. I just don't see it being the mcat because this thread has at least 50+ people who have gotten MD IIs with Mcats lower than yours (myself included). It just sucks calling schools to find out why because most of them don't want to hurt your feelings and try to keep the same cliche politically correct advice "you will still make a great doctor and this rejection does not question your competence as a physician."
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Right, I see where you are coming from. But just as I said its all speculation. Oh well, cant throw in the towel yet. Its September. I'll probably go into panic mode (I guess it wont truly be a panic mode since I already got accepted to a DO school, so I guess it would be more of a disappointment mode) in November if I dont have IIs by then.

20 opportunities still afloat. I'm just speculatiing right now as I am extremely confused.
 
cj_cregg said:
I agree with @xyphr here.

I'm not trying to give you a hard time, I'm just trying to show you that there is clearly something going on with your application that nobody's telling you, and it's NOT the MCAT. I was in the same position as you claim to be: ORM, strong GPA, lots of meaningful experiences, and interviewed well, but an MCAT below 30. I got five acceptances and got scholarships at more than one. It's not all about the MCAT. You're missing something in your application - maybe a LOR that makes you come off a little lackluster, maybe your essays or ECs aren't as good as you think/people are telling you.

Also, maybe talk to another school that rejected you besides OU. Oakland is notorious for selecting people who are a good fit for the "culture" there, so despite what would be a strong application for any other MD school they may have just felt your application didn't show the specific personality characteristics they were looking for.

And you already have a DO school acceptance? That's awesome! Beyond the money you spent on MD schools, who cares whether you get accepted to an MD school at this point? No matter what happens with your MD cycle you're going to be a doctor, and there are lots of people on this thread who can't say that yet. There's no reason to worry about it if you already have an acceptance at a school where you can succeed and ultimately end up with your dream career.
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Right, well I'm just speculating. I dont actually know what is wrong with my application. Thing is there are so many variables as you say so its really hard to tell when everyone is saying that your application is fine lol. The only reason I am saying MCAT is because its the only t hing that I can blatantly pick out of my application. I guess everyone just has way better EC's, LORs, and/or essays than I do. Thats my only conclusion then.

Thanks. Yea I do have a DO acceptance, which I am pretty happy about. My DO cycle has been going pretty well so definitely what I look forward to when i start thinking about my MD cycle.
 
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On a side note this thread seems to be moving very slowly.

A lot of applicants are experiencing what I would call "deafening silence", but still people havent posting here as of late.
 
xyphr said:
This post does a great job of summing up all of my thoughts. Like he said, you have a DO acceptance! That in itself is a huge accomplishment, and one that many people would dream of. Always see the glass as half full!
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Indeed. Well, what about you. How goes your cycles?

You didnt apply to DO schools right?
 
xyphr said:
I haven't heard back from schools in a while. Still 2 II's, 5 rejections, and 22 silence. And I didn't apply to DO so I really have no choice but to hope one my interviews go well. It's coming up this Friday!!
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Oh nice. You interviewed at Riverside right? Or wait is that the one thats this friday?
 
@Gandy741 Bro, you're going to be doctor! Why are you even on SDN???
 
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xyphr said:
Nah man, I haven't heard a thing from Riverside yet but I spent like 4 days on that monster of a secondary so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that one! Honestly its probably my top school. But yeah this Friday is the first one!
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Nice. Well good luck!
 
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[QUOTE="Gandy741 said:
I hope. Otherwise I wasted a ton of time and money on an AMCAS and MD secondaries.
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But, at least in my case I would have regretted not trying 30 years from now. Plus we may be surprised about our results when this is all over.
 
xyphr said:
I haven't heard back from schools in a while. Still 2 II's, 5 rejections, and 22 silence. And I didn't apply to DO so I really have no choice but to hope one my interviews go well. It's coming up this Friday!!
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Good luck! Your there in an early interview group so you have a good shot at getting in.
 
xyphr said:
@Gandy741 hey man, I don't know for sure, but it can't be your mcat. I took the mcat 3 times and the highest score I got was a 28 and got interviews. If I had to guess, something about your personal statement must have made them question if you really were going to be a good fit for their school. I just don't see it being the mcat because this thread has at least 50+ people who have gotten MD IIs with Mcats lower than yours (myself included). It just sucks calling schools to find out why because most of them don't want to hurt your feelings and try to keep the same cliche politically correct advice "you will still make a great doctor and this rejection does not question your competence as a physician."
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To be honest I think fit is just as important to schools as are stats. If schools don't think you will fit their vision but your otherwise qualified then they won't interview you. That's why it's good to apply widely to get best results.
 
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just wondering, Riverside, that's a California school right? What made you guy(s) apply there?
 
MedBlue515 said:
just wondering, Riverside, that's a California school right? What made you guy(s) apply there?
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Its instate only Cali school with much lower stats than the other california schools.
 
xyphr said:
Yeah I'm from CA! To answer your question @MedBlue515, the reason I'm interested in Riverside is because the class size is small, they really seem to really emphasize community outreach, and most importantly, the city is in great need for physicians who will serve the local population. Over 26% of the population lacks health insurance which is almost twice the national average, so there are lots of ways I can help the community there. In the future, I would like not only to be a doctor, but also a community leader. I feel like I could really accomplish this in a community like Riverside because they need the help, and I want to help them!
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I was going to apply there. But later I looked at the "OOS Interviews" for last cycle on the MSAR.

It said "0". I laughed and deleted the school off of my AMCAS.
 
Gandy741 said:
I was going to apply there. But later I looked at the "OOS Interviews" for last cycle on the MSAR.

It said "0". I laughed and deleted the school off of my AMCAS.
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hahaha exactly! that's why I was confused about why you both were talking about it, I thought @xyphr was from the midwest as well. It sounds like a great school though!

Between the three of us we have both coasts covered and the midwest. Anyone from the south want to chime in? lol
 
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MedBlue515 said:
hahaha exactly! that's why I was confused about why you both were talking about it, I thought @xyphr was from the midwest as well. It sounds like a great school though!

Between the three of us we have both coasts covered and the midwest. Anyone from the south want to chime in? lol
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Hey thats true!
 
Been a lurker on here for a while, giving my $0.02.
-The people posting here who have passed EVMS OOS screen- they screen for 30+ MCAT. You are defeating the purpose of this thread.
-My stats: to ~23 schools, 3.6gpa, 30 mcat. 1 pre-secondary rejection from WVU, silence elsewhere :( Complete Aug 20
 
jattitude said:
Been a lurker on here for a while, giving my $0.02.
-The people posting here who have passed EVMS OOS screen- they screen for 30+ MCAT. You are defeating the purpose of this thread.
-My stats: to ~23 schools, 3.6gpa, 30 mcat. 1 pre-secondary rejection from WVU, silence elsewhere :( Complete Aug 20
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Welcome to the life of like 60 percent of us.
 
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I take back my complaining about silence. I'd much rather have that than the rejections I got in the last couple days :depressed:
 
@MedBlue515 haha its okay, I got rejected from Albany, Meharry, and some other school all on the same day on Friday lol.
 
xyphr said:
@MedBlue515 haha its okay, I got rejected from Albany, Meharry, and some other school all on the same day on Friday lol.
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UGH Albany was the last one I got, and Rosalind Franklin as well.

Considering not checking my email for the 2 days leading up to my interview this week...I'm in such a bad mood now lol
 
1 II, 3 rejections, only rosalind franklin hurt, the others I mostly expected. Just one or two more II would be nice! I feel like there are a lot of II and rejections coming.. hopefully the former!

Applied all MD
 
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Fidgety said:
1 II, 3 rejections, only rosalind franklin hurt, the others I mostly expected. Just one or two more II would be nice! I feel like their are a lot of II and rejections coming.. hopefully the former!

Applied all MD
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You know what former/latter are but you don't know the difference between their and there? :eek:
 
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jattitude said:
Been a lurker on here for a while, giving my $0.02.
-The people posting here who have passed EVMS OOS screen- they screen for 30+ MCAT. You are defeating the purpose of this thread.
-My stats: to ~23 schools, 3.6gpa, 30 mcat. 1 pre-secondary rejection from WVU, silence elsewhere :( Complete Aug 20
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Sorry. You're wrong about EVMS. I have a <30 MCAT and was invited for an interview (OOS). Veteran, though.
 
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24 MCAT 3.5 cgpa here. Applied to 2 MD schools and 2 DO. I have an II for one of the MD schools and still waiting to hear from the DO's. Non URM btw
 
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HumphreyBogartMD said:
24 MCAT 3.5 cgpa here. Applied to 2 MD schools and 2 DO. I have an II for one of the MD schools and still waiting to hear from the DO's. Non URM btw
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wat??? Would you mind sharing which two MD schools you applied to and which one gave you an II? Do you have a very unique/compelling story? Crazy good EC's? Just curious since your case sounds very unusual.
 
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Ha I figured it would garner curiosity. So my cgpa is 3.5, my sgpa ~3.8 and as I said my mcat is 24. I'm an older applicant, late 20s. I won't divulge my story as it's really personal but I have a ton of experience in healthcare (I've worked in the field for almost six years). I have done work with infection control including research to reduce postoperative infection rates for cardiothoracic procedures, telemedicine experience, work done with vets post-deployment, hundreds of clinical hours, community service including food banks and health education for children. I'm in Az and applied to all schools here and my II is from UA Tucson. I believe it's due to my experiences and goals aligning with the school's mission.
 
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HumphreyBogartMD said:
Ha I figured it would garner curiosity. So my cgpa is 3.5, my sgpa ~3.8 and as I said my mcat is 24. I'm an older applicant, late 20s. I won't divulge my story as it's really personal but I have a ton of experience in healthcare (I've worked in the field for almost six years). I have done work with infection control including research to reduce postoperative infection rates for cardiothoracic procedures, telemedicine experience, work done with vets post-deployment, hundreds of clinical hours, community service including food banks and health education for children. I'm in Az and applied to all schools here and my II is from UA Tucson. I believe it's due to my experiences and goals aligning with the school's mission.
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Congrats on the II
 
Up to 4 rejections here as well! They definitely hurt, but with a low mcat I kind of expected a bunch of em anyway
 
HumphreyBogartMD said:
Ha I figured it would garner curiosity. So my cgpa is 3.5, my sgpa ~3.8 and as I said my mcat is 24. I'm an older applicant, late 20s. I won't divulge my story as it's really personal but I have a ton of experience in healthcare (I've worked in the field for almost six years). I have done work with infection control including research to reduce postoperative infection rates for cardiothoracic procedures, telemedicine experience, work done with vets post-deployment, hundreds of clinical hours, community service including food banks and health education for children. I'm in Az and applied to all schools here and my II is from UA Tucson. I believe it's due to my experiences and goals aligning with the school's mission.
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Pretty unique/compelling.
 
Thank you everyone for the support. Solidarity! I have one hold as well which I count as a delayed response.
 
3 rejections, 1 interview, couple holds and silence from the rest. Hopefully the next couple months brings more movement for us 27-29 MCATs.
 
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huge amount of radio silence lately has me moderately worried. Hopefully October the ball gets rolling in the right direction!
 
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