IVY League pre-med student, no interview invites

[nonStopstudying]

.....

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[TheRhymenocerous]

.

 

[Lucca]

Any red flags? What are your ECs like? Clinical volunteering? Volunteering? Did you follow all the guidelines for application? Any misdemeanors, institutional actions against you?

 

[spik]

What does MCAT 35-37 mean?

 

[godawg300]

What does MCAT 35-37 mean?

His mcat is between a 35 to a 37.

 

[spik]

His mcat is between a 35 to a 37.

I am curious why he provided the range since he lists it as a 35 in the other thread.

 

[johnnytest]

So your stats are competitive for sure. Your submission timing is great. Couple of things that could be weakening your application:
1. LORs, how well were your writers able to vouch for your candidacy
2. Lack of ECs in the sense you checkboxed instead of doing them because they were important and meaningful to you.
3. Poorly written documents such as experience descriptions, personal statement, secondaries, etc.
4. Any IAs, academic dishonesty (app-killer), criminal offenses, poor grades in the core sciences, too many withdrawals, lack of fulfilling the course requirements.

My hunch is none of the above is negatively affecting you but you know yourself best. People still say it's "early" but that depends on the institution and their interview season. I'm still waiting for my 1st II so I feel your pain.

 

[Mad Jack]

You probably have a lame PS, poor ECs, or red flags. Anything you can think of off of the top of your head?

 

[godawg300]

I am curious why he provided the range since he lists it as a 35 in the other thread.

Didn't wanna single himself out. Sometimes stats, current student and school is enough for someone to know who you are. Especially from a school like penn, although I'm sure it doesn't matter much.

 

[soccerman93]

Some schools do not review applications in the order that they receive them, I don't know any other possible explanations off the top of my head

 

[nonStopstudying]

......

 

[spik]

How many schools have you applied to?

 

[Omppu27]

If UPenn sends out letters in August, you have only been complete for just over a month or so.

 

[darkjedi]

why is ivy capitalized?

 

[spik]

If UPenn sends out letters in August, you have only been complete for just over a month or so.

I think OP still should have heard from someone by now with those stats unless he applied to a very limited number of schools.

 

[Omppu27]

I think OP still should have heard from someone by now with those stats unless he applied to a very limited number of schools.

Maybe. But if all the schools he applied to are reviewing based on when their applicants are complete, I don't think it's too farfetched that he hasn't heard back yet. However, I do feel like most schools are getting toward the end of their August compete applicants.

 

[nm825]

Maybe. But if all the schools he applied to are reviewing based on when their applicants are complete, I don't think it's too farfetched that he hasn't heard back yet. However, I do feel like most schools are getting toward the end of their August compete applicants.

Well, I applied to 17 MD throughout early and mid August and have only heard back from two (two ii). Unless I've been silently rejected at the other 15, I still don't think most schools have reached late August applications.

 

[spik]

Well, I applied to 17 MD throughout early and mid August and have only heard back from two (two ii). Unless I've been silently rejected at the other 15, I still don't think most schools have reached late August applications.

That's probably the case with OP then.

 

[lnvictus]

Hi,

So I have been pretty stressed out recently with a lack of interview invites. I am a current student a UPenn with competitive stats for admission to medical school (GPA 3.7-3.8 for science and overall) and (MCAT between 35-37). My entire application was complete in July and so far I have no interview invites yet.... right now its October, so they have had the entire two months of August and September to review my application.

I am wondering if this means there are red flags in my application, or if I am just a mediocre applicant for medical schools.

Btw... I have applied to a broad range of medical schools including the top tier such as Harvard, Penn, Stanford, and JHU. Additionally, I have applied to less competitive schools and also my state schools. I have yet to hear back from any of them.

I am getting really worried that something has gone wrong with my application.

What does "less competitive" mean? Top 20? Top 30-40?

 

[ciestar]

What does "less competitive" mean? Top 20? Top 30-40?

That's what i was wondering, did the OP apply too top heavy?

 

[nonStopstudying]

so I applied to 30-40 medical schools.

Based on U.S. News and World Report, I have applied to 20 of the top 25. And roughly 15 out of #25-#75.

 

[TheRhymenocerous]

What kind of extracurriculars do you do? What do you think your selling point is beyond the numbers?

(Also, try as hard as you can not to worry so much! You have good numbers from a good school, you probably just got unlucky and applied to some disorganized schools or something. I have total confidence that you'll get in somewhere.)

 

[nonStopstudying]

i think i have a good selling point.. don't want to discuss online for fear of specifying my app too much. I think I may have had a negative letter of recommendation. can one negative lor sink the entire application?

 

[estanton]

i think i have a good selling point.. don't want to discuss online for fear of specifying my app too much. I think I may have had a negative letter of recommendation. can one negative lor sink the entire application?

What makes you think that? Your cycle so far or were you shifty about one of them?

 

[oncemagic]

i might suggest going into career services with your personal statement in hand and ask them to look it over if you haven't already consulted with them pre-primary. i've found them to be decent judges of how strong or weak statements are.

did you receive secondaries from schools that screen?

 

[ThisCouldBeYou]

I think it's still early. Your stats are just fine, and I know how hard it is to wait, but it'll happen. You haven't gotten rejected yet either.

 

[Ismet]

i think i have a good selling point.. don't want to discuss online for fear of specifying my app too much. I think I may have had a negative letter of recommendation. can one negative lor sink the entire application?

Yes, a negative LOR can certainly sink an entire application.

I think you should just be patient though, you were not complete until August (complete = everything in, including LORs). If you don't hear anything by December, start planning a re-app and find a new letter writer.

 

[spik]

Most likely, it is still early. I doubt one of your ROL is crappy enough to bar you from getting the interviews.

 

[mimelim]

why is ivy capitalized?

Ivy refers to Ivy League and should always be capitalized in that context. Now, why the entire word is capitalized, that is another issue.

Now, why anyone would label themselves 'Ivy League pre-med', I have no idea.

 

[ciestar]

Ivy refers to Ivy League and should always be capitalized in that context. Now, why the entire word is capitalized, that is another issue.

Now, why anyone would label themselves 'Ivy League pre-med', I have no idea.

Easy. To signify that as an Ivy leaguer, it's absurd they shouldn't have an II with those credentials.

 

[V5RED]

i think i have a good selling point.. don't want to discuss online for fear of specifying my app too much. I think I may have had a negative letter of recommendation. can one negative lor sink the entire application?

I understand wanting to remain anonymous, but don't expect much help here if you won't be specific about your application.

That would be like expecting a doctor to be able to diagnose what is wrong with you based on being told that you don't feel well.

 

[noodlelover2233]

OP, I wouldn't worry yet unless you already had a strong reason to believe that you have a red flag, e.g. negative rec letter. I applied this cycle with a very similar profile (Ivy Leaguer, stats, complete date, etc.), and the 3 interview invites that I've received were from schools known for their fast turnaround times.

I wouldn't worry until mid-November or December. Your stats are good, but unless the rest of your app is very solid, my understanding is that schools won't interview you until they've interviewed their high priority applicants first.

 

[Catalystik]

i might suggest going into career services with your personal statement in hand and ask them to look it over if you haven't already consulted with them pre-primary.

Agreed. You might want to be sure that your PS doesn't relay a sense of entitlement, which can be as devastating as a negative LOR.

 

[LizzyM]

Did you use the committee letter from Penn? It tends to be a very detailed letter and its absence would be very obvious. The other possibility is that there is something negative in the letter or in one of the supporting letters. Do you have substantial clinical experience? research experience? were you a grade grubber? did you skate through a final exam because it was low stakes given your grade going into the exam? Are you quiet and do you keep to yourself? (I know that this last one could create a firestorm of protest but if you are so quiet that it warrants a mention in a letter then there might be a problem.) I've seen those sorts of things mentioned in a letter and they tend to be a turn off.

 

[pbjbanana]

.

 

[mimelim]

Did you use the committee letter from Penn? It tends to be a very detailed letter and its absence would be very obvious. The other possibility is that there is something negative in the letter or in one of the supporting letters. Do you have substantial clinical experience? research experience? were you a grade grubber? did you skate through a final exam because it was low stakes given your grade going into the exam? Are you quiet and do you keep to yourself? (I know that this last one could create a firestorm of protest but if you are so quiet that it warrants a mention in a letter then there might be a problem.) I've seen those sorts of things mentioned in a letter and they tend to be a turn off.

While this is a flag for me, at the institutions I've been at, this was something to look out for in an interview, not something to kill an application early on. Just too much variation in writers and subjectivity. Is that true for you guys as well? Strong numbers + strong ECs = interview from what I've seen. Unless personality is considered truly pathological by writers....

 

[LizzyM]

While this is a flag for me, at the institutions I've been at, this was something to look out for in an interview, not something to kill an application early on. Just too much variation in writers and subjectivity. Is that true for you guys as well? Strong numbers + strong ECs = interview from what I've seen. Unless personality is considered truly pathological by writers....

If it is just "quiet", and everything else if first rate, we may want to see for ourselves. If it is quiet plus a lack of research experience and/or clinical experience and/or grade grubbing then it might be the final nail in the coffin.

 

[alt91119]

If it is just "quiet", and everything else if first rate, we may want to see for ourselves. If it is quiet plus a lack of research experience and/or clinical experience and/or grade grubbing then it might be the final nail in the coffin.

By "grade grubbing", do you mean taking really easy classes to inflate OP's GPA, or do you mean going to a professor asking for a higher grade and subsequently using the exact same professor for a LOR?

 

[Goro]

Yes, especially with the uber-competitive schools.

Patience is a virtue!

i think i have a good selling point.. don't want to discuss online for fear of specifying my app too much. I think I may have had a negative letter of recommendation. can one negative lor sink the entire application?

It's going to a professor asking for a higher grade and subsequently using the exact same professor for a LOR. Here's a classic example: "Dr Goro, I ended up with an 86 in your course and I felt that I deserved an 87."

I actually experienced this: "Dr Goro, my final grade in your course is a 76, but by my complex series of grade calculations [which were so convoluted they bent the fabric of space-time], I actually ended up with a 78."

I thought "Jeeze, if you actually studied the material instead of spending all that time coming up with such crazy math, you would have gotten a higher grade!" This student extremely tightly wound, and ended up matching into Psychiatry; go figure.

By "grade grubbing", do you mean taking really easy classes to inflate OP's GPA, or do you mean going to a professor asking for a higher grade and subsequently using the exact same professor for a LOR?

 

[LizzyM]

By "grade grubbing", do you mean taking really easy classes to inflate OP's GPA, or do you mean going to a professor asking for a higher grade and subsequently using the exact same professor for a LOR?

I mean the asking for regrading, asking more questions about the grading than the material itself, and being focused on grades rather than on being a scholar who learns the material. Sure, good grades are required but there is a difference between someone who has a 3.7 through effort to master the material and a 3.7 that is the result of browbeating the professors for an extra point to push a B+ to an A-.

 

[altblue]

Is asking things like "will this be on the test?" a kind of grade grubbing?

 

[bbsare]

Is asking things like "will this be on the test?" a kind of grade grubbing?

I wouldn't say that's grade grubbing, just annoying..but it could demonstrate you are more concerned about tests than the material. You should assume what you are being taught is testable material unless the professor specifies you don't need to know it for a test.

 

[moop]

why is ivy capitalized?

Needs to stress his pedigree...

 

[MrLogan13]

Needs to stress his pedigree...

Is there any other reason for someone to stress they went to an Ivy League school? lol

 

[moop]

Is there any other reason for someone to stress they went to an Ivy League school? lol

We know pedigree gives a non-inconsequential bump for those with average stats, so yes, I would say that for WAMC threads, divulging that fact matters a little for everyone to give feedback on. The capitals was just funny though lol

 

[mimelim]

We know pedigree gives a non-inconsequential bump for those with average stats, so yes, I would say that for WAMC threads, divulging that fact matters a little for everyone to give feedback on. The capitals was just funny though lol

Not really. Ivy is completely meaningless and I've spent my fair share of time at Harvard.

Personal anecdote, the only people I've ever heard in ~4 years of pre-med advising/medical school admissions refer to Ivy League are people from Penn and Brown. And I know a lot more people from Harvard/Columbia than people from Penn/Brown.

 

[Lakedays]

If it is just "quiet", and everything else if first rate, we may want to see for ourselves.

What does this mean?

 

[samsunimomo]

Not really. Ivy is completely meaningless and I've spent my fair share of time at Harvard.

Personal anecdote, the only people I've ever heard in ~4 years of pre-med advising/medical school admissions refer to Ivy League are people from Penn and Brown. And I know a lot more people from Harvard/Columbia than people from Penn/Brown.

Relevant: http://theweek.com/article/index/26...reminding-you-he-went-to-an-ivy-league-school

"Rozin conducted his experiment as part of a larger study, because he had a hunch that Penn's tenuous perceived connection to the Ivy League changes how its students identify themselves with the elite circle of universities. His next experiment had research assistants ask 53 students at Penn and 54 students at Harvard to write down words or phrases they associated with their schools. Sixteen Penn students wrote "Ivy." Only four Harvard students did the same.

According to Rozin, the Penn students were showing a tendency to form what he calls "asymmetrical social Mach bands." This means that because of their school's marginal status, the students felt compelled to play up their Ivy League affiliation. It's a common impulse, Rozin says: "Individuals generally prefer to be in higher-status or more positively valenced groups, both to enhance their self-esteem and to project a more impressive self to others," he writes in the study, which was published in Psychological Science in August."

 

[darkjedi]

Relevant: http://theweek.com/article/index/26...reminding-you-he-went-to-an-ivy-league-school

"Rozin conducted his experiment as part of a larger study, because he had a hunch that Penn's tenuous perceived connection to the Ivy League changes how its students identify themselves with the elite circle of universities. His next experiment had research assistants ask 53 students at Penn and 54 students at Harvard to write down words or phrases they associated with their schools. Sixteen Penn students wrote "Ivy." Only four Harvard students did the same.

According to Rozin, the Penn students were showing a tendency to form what he calls "asymmetrical social Mach bands." This means that because of their school's marginal status, the students felt compelled to play up their Ivy League affiliation. It's a common impulse, Rozin says: "Individuals generally prefer to be in higher-status or more positively valenced groups, both to enhance their self-esteem and to project a more impressive self to others," he writes in the study, which was published in Psychological Science in August."

forget being recognized as Ivy, most laypeople still confuse Penn with Penn State

 

[TheRhymenocerous]

.