Official 2015-2016: Oh no, I don't have a single Interview Invite thread!

[Precious]

Wait listed at the second and only other school I interviewed at.
Debating about sending a letter of intent to them. I talked to admissions and they said we're welcome to send one in.
But from what I read on SDN, LOIs are really not that helpful.
For those that have been wait listed, have y'all sent in LOIs?

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[minnie94]

Wait listed at the second and only other school I interviewed at.
Debating about sending a letter of intent to them. I talked to admissions and they said we're welcome to send one in.
But from what I read on SDN, LOIs are really not that helpful.
For those that have been wait listed, have y'all sent it LOIs?

I have. My WL school specifically said that they view people who send in updates/keep in touch more favorably so I figured I'd do anything I can to get them to pull me off the WL lol. It's my only WL school and top choice so my only hope at this point

 

[justdoit1234]

Wait listed at the second and only other school I interviewed at.
Debating about sending a letter of intent to them. I talked to admissions and they said we're welcome to send one in.
But from what I read on SDN, LOIs are really not that helpful.
For those that have been wait listed, have y'all sent it LOIs?

You got nothing to lose. Only thing it can do is help you. Send one.

 

[whatsupdr]

Wait listed at the second and only other school I interviewed at.
Debating about sending a letter of intent to them. I talked to admissions and they said we're welcome to send one in.
But from what I read on SDN, LOIs are really not that helpful.
For those that have been wait listed, have y'all sent in LOIs?

I sent one letter of intent to the school that I would for sure 100 percent drop all others for. It hasn't helped so far. Its a school that likes that sort or thing as well.

 

[aladinforever]

Wait listed at the second and only other school I interviewed at.
Debating about sending a letter of intent to them. I talked to admissions and they said we're welcome to send one in.
But from what I read on SDN, LOIs are really not that helpful.
For those that have been wait listed, have y'all sent in LOIs?

I'm sending one to my top choice as well. I don't know whether they are receptive to updates/LOIs but I figured it can't hurt. Plus I freaking love this school to pieces so I would hate to lose any chance to express this sentiment.

 

[minnie94]

I'm sending one to my top choice as well. I don't know whether they are receptive to updates/LOIs but I figured it can't hurt. Plus I freaking love this school to pieces so I would hate to lose any chance to express this sentiment.

Same lol. In every one of my updates, I write about another reason why I love the school so much and why it's a great fit for me. I could go on and on about the school haha. I literally could not have found a school that's a better fit. But maybe they don't see that like I do. I'm ready to just hear if I'm getting in or not and move on with my life

 

[bananafish94]

I sent one letter of intent to the school that I would for sure 100 percent drop all others for. It hasn't helped so far. Its a school that likes that sort or thing as well.

Nor would it be expected to help so far. Waitlist movement probably won't happen until well into May.

 

[bananafish94]

Same lol. In every one of my updates, I write about another reason why I love the school so much and why it's a great fit for me. I could go on and on about the school haha. I literally could not have found a school that's a better fit. But maybe they don't see that like I do. I'm ready to just hear if I'm getting in or not and move on with my life

Are you me?

 

[minnie94]

Are you me?

it's weird to think about how i thought it was a perfect fit, but maybe they didn't think that. i mean in the WL email they said i'd be a good fit, but if everyone on the WL is a good fit, then why'd they WL us? lol. all we can do at this point is hope they have room for us in their class!

 

[bananafish94]

it's weird to think about how i thought it was a perfect fit, but maybe they didn't think that. i mean in the WL email they said i'd be a good fit, but if everyone on the WL is a good fit, then why'd they WL us? lol. all we can do at this point is hope they have room for us in their class!

I'm praying to every god there is, and whichever one gets me into medical school will decide what religion I am for the rest of my life.

 

[Cotterpin]

How long are these updates you guys are sending in?

 

[bananafish94]

How long are these updates you guys are sending in?

Just a couple paragraphs. You don't want to come off as annoying, just succinctly describing what you have done over the past year.

 

[minnie94]

How long are these updates you guys are sending in?

mine are about 3/4 of a page. i usually write the update and what it entails and then a reason or two why i want to go there/why i think i'm a good fit. i find a different reason to put in each update (i've sent 4) so i'm not repeating myself. we'll see in a few weeks if my strategy works haha

 

[justdoit1234]

How long are these updates you guys are sending in?

I'd keep it under one page.

 

[jsham45]

mine are about 3/4 of a page. i usually write the update and what it entails and then a reason or two why i want to go there/why i think i'm a good fit. i find a different reason to put in each update (i've sent 4) so i'm not repeating myself. we'll see in a few weeks if my strategy works haha

As far as your updates go given that you've sent multiple ones, do you include a new activity/position/etc with every update?

 

[minnie94]

As far as your updates go given that you've sent multiple ones, do you include a new activity/position/etc with every update?

yep, each one has been a new update! some examples have been new volunteering gig, presented research, etc.

 

[bananafish94]

yep, each one has been a new update! some examples have been new volunteering gig, presented research, etc.

I've been doing mine wrong, then. I've been mailing them letters that say "keep it fair" with a $20 bill stapled on.

 

[tinkbetty]

I've been doing mine wrong, then. I've been mailing them letters that say "keep it fair" with a $20 bill stapled on.

Not good enough! You should have shipped "a foot in the door"

 

[Holmwood]

You know you've been a premed for too long when Mondays excite you more than the weekends, and Friday evenings fill you with dread.

Happy monday

 

[bananafish94]

Not good enough! You should have shipped "a foot in the door"

I did that once to a girl that I liked, but I got a "restraining order" and was told I had "serious issues."

 

[bananafish94]

You know you've been a premed for too long when Mondays excite you more than the weekends, and Friday evenings fill you with dread.

Happy monday

Every weekday morning I have a ritual where I go to the same coffee shop, order an iced coffee, and slowly scroll through the ~20 emails that I have in my inbox. I always have some modicum of hope that one of them will be good news, but alas they never are.

Before bed, I have a ritual where I pull a book from the bookshelf, revealing a secret room lit only by candles in which I provide a sacrifice to the High Exalted One, Dr. Rosalind Franklin.

 

[Okazaki Frag Grenade]

Every weekday morning I have a ritual where I go to the same coffee shop, order an iced coffee, and slowly scroll through the ~20 emails that I have in my inbox. I always have some modicum of hope that one of them will be good news, but alas they never are.

Before bed, I have a ritual where I pull a book from the bookshelf, revealing a secret room lit only by candles in which I provide a sacrifice to the High Exalted One, Dr. Rosalind Franklin.

If you end up having to reapply (which I hope you don't) just make your personal statement a collection of quotes from your posts on this thread. Guaranteed acceptance.

 

[bananafish94]

If you end up having to reapply (which I hope you don't) just make your personal statement a collection of quotes from your posts on this thread. Guaranteed acceptance.

If I was as good at interviews as I was at making self deprecating posts on SDN, perhaps I'd have an acceptance by now!

 

[21Rush12]

If I was as good at interviews as I was at making self deprecating posts on SDN, perhaps I'd have an acceptance by now!

Perfect for the reapplicant questions!


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[bananafish94]

Perfect for the reapplicant questions!


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Please don't say the R word.


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[21Rush12]

My apologies @bananafish94, I was merely building on Okazaki's million dollar idea for a contingency plan.

I too hope that you don't have to do the unspeakable.


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[bananafish94]

I'd really just like to know before graduation, even if I do get rejected everywhere. I just want a sense of closure before I leave college instead of having everything up in the air like it is now.

 

[bananafish94]

Today, we are one day closer to the day we get into medical school.

 

[mavric1298]

Head up banana, there are those of us using the R word because we truly didn't get a single interview. (Just had a quick meeting with my premed advisor again - and she again said she was "shocked" I didn't get any love). They can say holistic apps all the want - but literally the only deficiency on my app is my AMCAS gpa from classes 10+) years ago. I got some real BS feedback in the feedback sessions I've been able to get - IE "you didn't have enough upper level science classes for us". Uhhhh I just finished my 6th upper level bio with a 3.9 average in all of them including 4.0s in molecular bio and advanced cell bio (my major is molecular, cellular, develop bio) from one of the top bio/microm programs in the country. Or another who clearly didn't read past the first couple sentences of my PS (they talked about how I said I wanted to go into med because my fathers a physician. My entire PS is about how I specifically avoided med for my first career because I didn't just want to "follow in his footsteps" and only at the age of 26 did I discover my own passion for it)


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[summergirl]

Head up banana, there are those of us using the R word because we truly didn't get a single interview. (Just had a quick meeting with my premed advisor again - and she again said she was "shocked" I didn't get any love). They can say holistic apps all the want - but literally the only deficiency on my app is my AMCAS gpa from classes 10+) years ago. I got some real BS feedback in the feedback sessions I've been able to get - IE "you didn't have enough upper level science classes for us". Uhhhh I just finished my 6th upper level bio with a 3.9 average in all of them including 4.0s in molecular bio and advanced cell bio (my major is molecular, cellular, develop bio) from one of the top bio/microm programs in the country. F off.


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I totally agree. People always say "holistic application" when really GPA>everything.

 

[mavric1298]

And since I'm ranting. WT actual F is up with schools doing feedback AFTER the next apps are already open. OHSU makes apts in July. UW I'm on some list pending to get scheduled. Yeah it's real helpful when the apps open in a couple weeks and I will have already submitted by time you want to give me feedback on a year ago. Bah humbug


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[Holmwood]

And since I'm ranting. WT actual F is up with schools doing feedback AFTER the next apps are already open. OHSU makes apts in July. UW I'm on some list pending to get scheduled. Yeah it's real helpful when the apps open in a couple weeks and I will have already submitted by time you want to give me feedback on a year ago. Bah humbug


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I think that's why they say don't reapply right after the previous cycle. : /

 

[ifnotnowwren]

And since I'm ranting. WT actual F is up with schools doing feedback AFTER the next apps are already open. OHSU makes apts in July. UW I'm on some list pending to get scheduled. Yeah it's real helpful when the apps open in a couple weeks and I will have already submitted by time you want to give me feedback on a year ago. Bah humbug


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UA Phoenix said they were doing feedback for in state residents who were rejected. I got the email, applied for it less than an hour after it was sent out (much of the application was writing based too!) and recently received an email that they had too many applications and would not be giving me feedback. I got in elsewhere after submitting that app for feedback, but I have been so unimpressed with Phoenix as an applicant, I've worked there for the past three years and that apparently means nothing. I guess it's nice that schools even give feedback.

 

[summergirl]

I think that's why they say don't reapply right after the previous cycle. : /

People don't say that

 

[Lannister]

People don't say that

They do. Someone even posted something from a med school's website that said they highly recommend not reapplying immediately.

 

[catie_jane]

They do. Someone even posted something from a med school's website that said they highly recommend not reapplying immediately.

Yeah, I believe @gonnif usually posts excerpts from school websites advising against this

 

[Holmwood]

The one time I say an immediate reapplication is fine is if you had a higher score on the mcat, still have a solid app, and are applying to a different list of schools.
But if ECs, not stats, were what was holding you back in the initial cycle, maybe an immediate reapplication would not be wise.

 

[Precious]

Why does April 30th have to fall on a Saturday...

 

[Holmwood]

Why does April 30th have to fall on a Saturday...

It means we get to spend the weekends doing absolutely nothing but eat ice cream.

 

[Lannister]

It means we get to spend the weekends doing absolutely nothing but eat ice cream.

But I do that every weekend...

 

[mavric1298]

Which makes the fact that MCAT is only good for 3 years (not apps) ridiculous. In my situation there is absolutely no reason NOT to reapply right away. I think looking at a non-trad vs someone come straight from undergrad changes that calculation quite a bit. My app isn't going to change much if I took another year off - hundreds of hours in volunteer, shadowing, etc already, I've traveled, own a home, married, etc.

Whereas many reapps from undergrad most likely are reapplying because the lacked something major in their app - and a year would mean many new things to add, or the ability to "fill the holes" in their app


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[bananafish94]

I totally agree. People always say "holistic application" when really GPA>everything.

I disagree. I think GPA is forgivable. The MCAT > everything.
The thing about the MCAT is that it's standardized and it gives them pure, raw data. There are no trends to consider, no confounding variables, it's just a pure number. With GPA, there's all sorts of things to consider. Who can really say whether a 3.7 in chemical engineering is more impressive than a 3.9 in french? Or what about someone with a 3.4 because they got miserable grades in their freshman year? I feel like GPA is just something to prove that you are academically competent, and I suspect that above a certain threshold the medical schools don't consider differences in GPA a whole lot. Anecdotally, the people I know who got the really early interviews were the ones who had a high MCAT score, even if their GPA was sub-par. Then again, who really knows what goes on in their minds.

 

[Lannister]

I think the MCAT is really important, but I think it's even more important to have some experience that makes you stand out. I think that's what made my cycle pretty mediocre. I'm just not interesting.

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[dougy]

my opinion for what its worth GPA = MCAT in importance
GPA - shows tenacity over time, ability to sustain effort, mastery of changing situations, requirements, teaching styles, can you persevere through med school
MCAT - the great equalizer, are you smart enough, do you know enough of the required material that you were told you would need to know

 

[bananafish94]

I think the MCAT is really important, but I think it's even more important to have some experience that makes you stand out. I think that's what made my cycle pretty mediocre. I'm just not interesting.

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I consider it to be a binary state--successful or not. Yours was successful.

 

[bananafish94]

The medical schools want people are good at standardized tests because high Step 1 scores make them look better.

 

[bananafish94]

That is too absolute, one or the other.
1) Academics, whether GPA or MCAT, are important, most schools have a broad series of levels or "piles" as in piles of folders where applicants are more or less equal in terms of priority, classification etc. @LizzyM concept of staircase is perhaps the best way to look at it. Now how they get to any step initially is set in a large part of how initial academic metrics. With everything being automated, schools can use the 'sliced" GPAs (BCPM, AO, by year) with some sophistication including trends, BCPM credits per term so years can be "weighted", selectivity of schools, etc, along with MCAT in a formula to create an overall score that sets the academic level. Applicants see a single GPA number while schools see multiple GPAs that influence where you get place initially.
2) As such, GPA trends, weighting, etc, can influence an applicant's level initially to great degree. So an overall lower GPA can be supported by these underlying GPA trends weightings
3) In a purely hypothetical example match up an overall consistent Lower GPA/High MCAT applicant will likely fare worse than a overall consistent Higher GPA/Lower MCAT. The reason being a consistent GPA over a long period of time is generally a better indicator of a student's academic ability
4) Of course, many factors in the evaluation of the applicant may alter that. That is, they really do look at the entire application and applicant. Everything is much more holistic and has been in many ways for a long time than most applicant's seem to perceive.

Yes, I agree. Obviously I don't mean to say that one factor can make or break an application. I know that people with obscene MCAT scores get rejected all the time. However, based on the experience I have had with applying, through all the people I know personally and on SDN, I would argue that a high MCAT score is the closest thing to a sine qua non factor in medical school admissions.

 

[mavric1298]

Then what is the weakness in your app, experience, education, etc that needs to be enhanced to increase your chances?

Nothing that I can do anything about. I had to do gpa repair from classes 10+ years ago - and at this point it doesn't matter how many classes I take or how well I do - my gpa doesn't really move (when you have a full load of credits you don't turn a drop form in for which turn into F's really hoses your GPA)

-79% MCAT
-Top 10% at UW with a 3.72cGPA & 3.8sGPA for 3+ years while working full time
-Have hundreds of hours of community service (started a pet therapy program at our hospital and trained one of our dogs so we vol at infusion center and palliative care, among many others)
- hundreds of hours of meaningful shadowing
- worked in the OR managing a $2 mil sterile core (tissue and supply coordinator) as well as business (material and financial reporting)of med for 7 years (also super user for EPIC EMR, McKesson, and about 5 other systems, since I was an implementation consultant)
- am on the VAT (value analysis team) for the UW system (4 hospitals; UW, Harborview, northwest, and valley)
- have some research but isn't my passion
- president of 200 member premed honor society, and was an officer for all 3 years
- great LOR writers who I know well so I'm sure they were great letters
- had a first career as a photographer and freelance writer in which I was traveling the world which was amazing, and really helped me grow as a person (this is what my PS is on - how I loved and really matured from my first career but how/why I came to medicine)


The feedback I have received was from ADCOMs that I know through one way or another (family connection, met at a conference, etc). Had more than one look at my whole app, and generally the feedback from them was; AMCAS GPA is the entirety of my issue and it would come down to getting someone who would look more into my story then the initial picture. Kinda is what it is at this point. Like a said a year isn't going to do anything for me at least.


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[bananafish94]

Nothing that I can do anything about. I had to do gpa repair from classes 10+ years ago - and at this point it doesn't matter how many classes I take or how well I do - my gpa doesn't really move (when you have a full load of credits you don't turn a drop form in for which turn into F's really hoses your GPA)

-79% MCAT
-Top 10% at UW with a 3.72cGPA & 3.8sGPA for 3+ years while working full time
-Have hundreds of hours of community service (started a pet therapy program at our hospital and trained one of our dogs so we vol at infusion center and palliative care, among many others)
- hundreds of hours of meaningful shadowing
- worked in the OR managing a $2 mil sterile core (tissue and supply coordinator) as well as business (material and financial reporting)of med for 7 years (also super user for EPIC EMR, McKesson, and about 5 other systems, since I was an implementation consultant)
- am on the VAT (value analysis team) for the UW system (4 hospitals; UW, Harborview, northwest, and valley)
- have some research but isn't my passion
- president of 200 member premed honor society, and was an officer for all 3 years
- great LOR writers who I know well so I'm sure they were great letters
- had a first career as a photographer and freelance writer in which I was traveling the world which was amazing, and really helped me grow as a person (this is what my PS is on - how I loved and really matured from my first career but how/why I came to medicine)


The feedback I have received was from ADCOMs that I know through one way or another (family connection, met at a conference, etc). Had more than one look at my whole app, and generally the feedback from them was; AMCAS GPA is the entirety of my issue and it would come down to getting someone who would look more into my story then the initial picture. Kinda is what it is at this point. Like a said a year isn't going to do anything for me at least.


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What is your AMCAS GPA? The rest of your application sounds awesome. Did you apply DO?

 

[mavric1298]

Just over 3.0 and my science I think was a 3.4 (I'd have to go back and look). I didn't apply DO this last cycle but am this cycle (I have loved working in the OR and wanted to keep that option open, and DO would make that more difficult. I'm not in a rush so figured I'd give one cycle md only a shot then apply both) . I think my aacomas gpa is something around 3.5c and 3.82sGPA

If this cycle doesn't go well - I'd go back and repeat a few more of those classes holding my DO gpa down. They are weird classes (an EMT one, a criminal justice one,) so I avoided repeating at this point. I figured an associates at 3.78, then a bachelors at 3.72 would overcome those grades 2003 - but maybe not


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