- Joined
- Mar 26, 2013
- Messages
- 3
- Reaction score
- 9
So...here it is: I'm a third-time reapplicant. I applied broadly the first two times but had few interviews (of the ones I had, they were to "top-tier" schools). There could be a variety of other reasons as to why I was rejected, as you'll see, but after a fair bit of reflection and consultation, I think it was my inability to "sell myself" succinctly. Now two years later, I'm looking to apply MSTP, but I'm not sure what my school list should look like.
-HYPSM, disadvantaged status, bachelors (3.45) and masters (3.75) in bio with honors, increasing trend
-36S (12/12/12)
-took 20+ units and worked 20+ hours/wk every term
-institutional action: plagiarized 9 years ago as a freshman
-clinical experience: medical interpretation; ER shadowing; significant overseas experience at several sites (built a hospital and other forms of non-physical healthcare infrastructure; did clinical research, etc.)
-extracurriculars/work experience: was a high school teacher for 2 years while holding another full-time job. did other random stuff with minor leadership roles (a cappella section leader, mentored foster children, missionary, etc. etc.). not sure if I'm going to/need to include all of it anyway on my application.
-research experience: significant. research tech for 2.5 years. two first author pubs (one is a book chapter on methods; the other is an original research paper in a very high impact journal, with an impact factor of 30+). hold a patent. 7 more pubs as a middle author, in fairly strong journals in my field, and a coauthor on 7 abstracts, which have won various awards. as an undergrad, i published two articles in student-run journals, did an honors thesis, won three grants and a few research awards.
-awards: won one of those international scholarships (i.e. rhodes, marshall), and am currently getting a graduate degree with that. otherwise, only a few other awards here and there, nothing special.
-letters: very strong. maybe not "best ever" letters, but definitely "one of the best ever" sort of letters.
Needless to say, I'm non-trad and relatively old.
So...yeah, I really don't want to go through the entire process again and come out empty. Last I applied, my pubs didn't come out yet, and I hadn't won that international scholarship, so I figure I should have a more decent shot this time. The vibe I'm getting is that though my GPA is not that high and I have that institutional action thing, people are willing to overlook that due to my research and work experience. That's what adcom people have said to me, but I'm not sure that's the case everywhere and with everyone. To anyone with a little experience on this process, what advice can you give me? What "tier" of schools should I apply, given that I want to do research? I'm also open to applying MD only first, and then applying internally for my PhD, if my chances are better that way - though I don't think that'll be the case. Please help. I have bad juju when it comes to med school apps.
LOVE,
jabba
-HYPSM, disadvantaged status, bachelors (3.45) and masters (3.75) in bio with honors, increasing trend
-36S (12/12/12)
-took 20+ units and worked 20+ hours/wk every term
-institutional action: plagiarized 9 years ago as a freshman
-clinical experience: medical interpretation; ER shadowing; significant overseas experience at several sites (built a hospital and other forms of non-physical healthcare infrastructure; did clinical research, etc.)
-extracurriculars/work experience: was a high school teacher for 2 years while holding another full-time job. did other random stuff with minor leadership roles (a cappella section leader, mentored foster children, missionary, etc. etc.). not sure if I'm going to/need to include all of it anyway on my application.
-research experience: significant. research tech for 2.5 years. two first author pubs (one is a book chapter on methods; the other is an original research paper in a very high impact journal, with an impact factor of 30+). hold a patent. 7 more pubs as a middle author, in fairly strong journals in my field, and a coauthor on 7 abstracts, which have won various awards. as an undergrad, i published two articles in student-run journals, did an honors thesis, won three grants and a few research awards.
-awards: won one of those international scholarships (i.e. rhodes, marshall), and am currently getting a graduate degree with that. otherwise, only a few other awards here and there, nothing special.
-letters: very strong. maybe not "best ever" letters, but definitely "one of the best ever" sort of letters.
Needless to say, I'm non-trad and relatively old.
So...yeah, I really don't want to go through the entire process again and come out empty. Last I applied, my pubs didn't come out yet, and I hadn't won that international scholarship, so I figure I should have a more decent shot this time. The vibe I'm getting is that though my GPA is not that high and I have that institutional action thing, people are willing to overlook that due to my research and work experience. That's what adcom people have said to me, but I'm not sure that's the case everywhere and with everyone. To anyone with a little experience on this process, what advice can you give me? What "tier" of schools should I apply, given that I want to do research? I'm also open to applying MD only first, and then applying internally for my PhD, if my chances are better that way - though I don't think that'll be the case. Please help. I have bad juju when it comes to med school apps.
LOVE,
jabba
