MD What Are the odds? (TEXAS)

[thatonesyrian]

Hiya!

I applied for Texas Medical Schools in 2014, and I am currently waitlisted at one school.

Here's a bit about myself:

GPA and sGPA ~3.9xx
Mcat(s): 19 (4VR-7BS-8PS) , 28 (8VR-11BS-9PS), 28 (6VR, 11BS, 11PS)

Texas Resident, white, 22 year old male.
Shadowing 80 hrs
Extracurriculars are plenty
no hospital volunteering
I worked at a durable medical equipment company during my first 2 years
Research in Chemistry for 3 semesters (I was published after I submitted my application...)

*I applied (only to Texas schools) early July of last year, and only got one interview (at utmb).

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What I think I did wrong:

-I did not apply early enough (I still had a 19 as my MCAT score).
-No hospital volunteering
-My planned courses section was left blank because my prehealth adviser did not tell me otherwise... I will refrain from bashing her even further....
-I did not apply out of state.

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What I am doing to fix myself/ my application:

-Applying early this coming may
-I have 200 hrs worth of hospital volunteering now
-I am more familiar with tmdsas and the in&outs of it.
-I will apply out of state.
-Retaking the MCAT is not an option, especially since they changed the whole thing.
-I got accepted into a research fellowship at UTSW, and my research is medically oriented.

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My Questions to the readers:

Is there anything else I am missing to boost my chances next cycle? How worried should I be about my unbalanced MCAT score? My last two scores have the same raw value, but my most recent one (VR=6) has me worried...

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[DrShephardWannabe]

The brutal truth is your MCAT score might be the deciding factor that keeps you out of MD schools. Your chances are very low at them. Still apply to all the TX schools including TCOM as early as possible (May 1st). Add OOS DO schools to increase your chances.

 

[ZX10R]

With your MCAT score your only chances are really A&M/TT/new school opening up in the south. Since those schools are not research heavy they are going to care more about community service and volunteering. You should be volunteering at undersevered areas; which will be easy while doing research at UTSW. There are various "mission" organizations in DFW that have free clinics for indigents that you can volunteer at. For your PS what did you talk about? Interest in primary care or research? Hopefully, you'll get off the waitlist for UTMB and not have to worry about this stuff.

Just for comparisons; I wasn't complete till mid-August. Got interviews at every school (including TCOM) except TT at Lubbock because I had that secondary glitch like others had where it said submitted but wasn't. I got accepted to over half of them stats MCAT(once) >33, GPA 3.9 ECs were less impressive.

You should really consider TCOM.

 

[DokterMom]

Not gonna lie, that MCAT is gonna be a problem for you -- If I saw a VR 6, I'd wonder if it was a fluke. With a VR4 and VR8 on your record, a VR6 looks pretty accurate. Is English your first language? (You may get some leeway if it isn't.)

Apply everywhere in state and for your OOS applications, apply DO. OOS MD is unlikely to be fruitful for you. The reason I suggest you skip OOS MD is that some of the TX schools have some pretty modest MCAT scores -- comparable to the popular 'safety' schools -- and their reasoning is likely to be "If the lower tier TX schools didn't want him, we probably don't either; and if they did want him, we're not gonna get him 'cause they're so much cheaper."

 

[vikingsking82]

With your MCAT score your only chances are really A&M/TT/new school opening up in the south. Since those schools are not research heavy they are going to care more about community service and volunteering. You should be volunteering at undersevered areas; which will be easy while doing research at UTSW. There are various "mission" organizations in DFW that have free clinics for indigents that you can volunteer at. For your PS what did you talk about? Interest in primary care or research? Hopefully, you'll get off the waitlist for UTMB and not have to worry about this stuff.

Just for comparisons; I wasn't complete till mid-August. Got interviews at every school (including TCOM) except TT at Lubbock because I had that secondary glitch like others had where it said submitted but wasn't. I got accepted to over half of them stats MCAT(once) >33, GPA 3.9 ECs were less impressive.

You should really consider TCOM.

Agree on the suggestion to volunteer. I don't know about the "those schools aren't research heavy" though, bc according to MSAR, % of accepted students who researched at:

TTEP- 82%
A&M- 82%
UTH-83%
TTL- 83%
UTMB- 83%
UTSA- 85%

So the "non research" and "research heavy" schools are pretty comparable when looking at the total amount of their students who had research. Also TTEP and A&M both have required research in their curriculum now so not exactly "non research heavy" lol. OP, if you don't want to retake the MCAT, I would apply May 1st, continue volunteering, shadow and get a LOR from a DO, and apply TMDSAS + OOS DO schools like others have said.

 

[Vain Brother]

i'm shocked you even applied with that brutally bad MCAT score, and it's a testament to the strength of the rest of your application that you got an interview and a wait list!

if i were you, i'd apply EARLY to all the texas schools, and maybe any private OOS MD schools that have been open <3 years, but really your focus needs to be on DO schools

 

[ZX10R]

Agree on the suggestion to volunteer. I don't know about the "those schools aren't research heavy" though, bc according to MSAR, % of accepted students who researched at:

TTEP- 82%
A&M- 82%
UTH-83%
TTL- 83%
UTMB- 83%
UTSA- 85%

So the "non research" and "research heavy" schools are pretty comparable when looking at the total amount of their students who had research. Also TTEP and A&M both have required research in their curriculum now so not exactly "non research heavy" lol. OP, if you don't want to retake the MCAT, I would apply May 1st, continue volunteering, shadow and get a LOR from a DO, and apply TMDSAS + OOS DO schools like others have said.

I mean they are more focused on making primary care doctors and are looking for those qualities. IE: if you go into an interview only talking about research and how you want to do it through med school they are going to be less enthused then by the guy spewing his profound love for community medicine. Plus, Every pre-med and there grandma does research as a tick box these days, so those statistics don't really mean much. As in probably 80% of TMDSAS applicants fill out the research portion.

As for the required research at TTEP; we had a guy over the summer that did undergraduate level research for 2 months and it counted for his credit. Take that for what it is.

 

[vikingsking82]

I mean they are more focused on making primary care doctors and are looking for those qualities. IE: if you go into an interview only talking about research and how you want to do it through med school they are going to be less enthused then by the guy spewing his profound love for community medicine. Plus, Every pre-med and there grandma does research as a tick box these days, so those statistics don't really mean much. As in probably 80% of TMDSAS applicants fill out the research portion.

As for the required research at TTEP; we had a guy over the summer that did undergraduate level research for 2 months and it counted for his credit. Take that for what it is.

That's definitely true. That's interesting about Tech Foster though haha, do you go there? I don't really understand the whole "focused on primary care doctors" though, when UTSW had 47% of their 2014 class match to primary care residencies (2nd most for a TX MD school - the highest was UTSA at 48%). I know both Tech schools have "primary care" in their schools' missions, but it looks like most students ultimately choose what they're interested in anyways, so "primary care mission", "non-research focused", or "research heavy" school designations are a little ambiguous.

 

[thatonesyrian]

Not gonna lie, that MCAT is gonna be a problem for you -- If I saw a VR 6, I'd wonder if it was a fluke. With a VR4 and VR8 on your record, a VR6 looks pretty accurate. Is English your first language? (You may get some leeway if it isn't.)

Apply everywhere in state and for your OOS applications, apply DO. OOS MD is unlikely to be fruitful for you. The reason I suggest you skip OOS MD is that some of the TX schools have some pretty modest MCAT scores -- comparable to the popular 'safety' schools -- and their reasoning is likely to be "If the lower tier TX schools didn't want him, we probably don't either; and if they did want him, we're not gonna get him 'cause they're so much cheaper."

Thank you all for the honest feedback, even if it wasn't sugar coated and pleasing.

English is sorta like a second language to me, (I did schooling overseas), but I ended up choosing English as my first language because I felt confident enough to declare it as my first language. Will it look like I'm trying to pull a fast one if for this upcoming cycle, I switch it to my secondary language? I'll have to call and see.

Other than my malignant MCAT score, anything else holding me back?

 

[gyngyn]

Will it look like I'm trying to pull a fast one if for this upcoming cycle, I switch it to my secondary language? I'll have to call and see.

People who appear to be gaming the system do not get an interview at my school.
Changing your primary language on a re-application (especially with a low verbal score) certainly gives that impression.

 

[Doug Underhill]

Here's the thing: English is actually your first language or it isn't. If it isn't, your first app was dishonest: you certainly didn't benefit from the mistake, but you still misrepresented yourself and you should send out a correction. The 6 VR is problematic: it's hard to get interviews with a score 7 or below. Even if English isn't your first language, questions will be raised: can this applicant speak English well enough to understand a patient's complex medical problem?

It's nice to see some hospital volunteering now. I feel like that will help you.

 

[thatonesyrian]

Here's the thing: English is actually your first language or it isn't. If it isn't, your first app was dishonest: you certainly didn't benefit from the mistake, but you still misrepresented yourself and you should send out a correction. The 6 VR is problematic: it's hard to get interviews with a score 7 or below. Even if English isn't your first language, questions will be raised: can this applicant speak English well enough to understand a patient's complex medical problem?

It's nice to see some hospital volunteering now. I feel like that will help you.

I wasn't schooled in an English speaking country, but I can read and write as good as anyone I suppose. A lot of the physics and bio sections on the mcat require a good amount of reading, so I think that language wasn't an issue. However, I have always had a fluctuating verbal score, and that made me doubt myself about listing English as my first language.

Like gyngyn mentioned, I'm beyond the point of no return, I'm 90% confident that English is my first language, and I'll stay committed to what I declared. However, IF I happen to get interviews, I'll make sure to bring up my scholastic circumstances to try to justify a low verbal score...

 

[Goro]

Concur, but you'll need to do your homework and target those schools that do NOT average MCAT scores. I do not think you'll get any love from UTSW or UTH.

The brutal truth is your MCAT score might be the deciding factor that keeps you out of MD schools. Your chances are very low at them. Still apply to all the TX schools including TCOM as early as possible (May 1st). Add OOS DO schools to increase your chances.

 

[thatonesyrian]

Do any of you advise I apply with my current mcat score, and re-take the new mcat during this summer? I think the last date a mcat score can
factor in is in Sept., correct?

 

[ecolik-12]

Concur, but you'll need to do your homework and target those schools that do NOT average MCAT scores. I do not think you'll get any love from UTSW or UTH.

Apparently UTH does not average MCAT scores but instead choose the latest score (source:Adcom during the reapplicant workshop)

 

[Goro]

Good to know. If true, then UT H should be on OP's list

Apparently UTH does not average MCAT scores but instead choose the latest score (source:Adcom during the reapplicant workshop)

 

[texan2414]

Good to know. If true, then UT H should be on OP's list

And I don't believe UTSW averages either. In fact, I've heard they superscore.

 

[texan2414]

With your MCAT score your only chances are really A&M/TT/new school opening up in the south. Since those schools are not research heavy they are going to care more about community service and volunteering. You should be volunteering at undersevered areas; which will be easy while doing research at UTSW. There are various "mission" organizations in DFW that have free clinics for indigents that you can volunteer at. For your PS what did you talk about? Interest in primary care or research? Hopefully, you'll get off the waitlist for UTMB and not have to worry about this stuff.

Just for comparisons; I wasn't complete till mid-August. Got interviews at every school (including TCOM) except TT at Lubbock because I had that secondary glitch like others had where it said submitted but wasn't. I got accepted to over half of them stats MCAT(once) >33, GPA 3.9 ECs were less impressive.

You should really consider TCOM.

What is this glitch at TT Lubbock - sounds really concerning

 

[Goro]

Hopefully OP will do his/her homework and find out!

And I don't believe UTSW averages either. In fact, I've heard they superscore.

 

[DokterMom]

Hopefully OP will do his/her homework and find out!

... and reply back for posterity

 

[thatonesyrian]

Update on thread:

I interviewed again this cycle, and I was only invited to UTMB. I did not retake the mcat, so I can safely say that my mediocre mcat (and verbal) scores scared the remaining Texas
schools away.
However, I DID in fact get matched at utmb, and I am simply overridden with joy to the fact that I don't have to set foot into an mcat testing center again!
The only thing I did differently this time around was re-tweek my essays and applied early enough to be amogst the first to interview.

I did meet with admissions at utmb prior to being accepted, and they mentioned that they simply take the highest/best mcat score which would be my 28 (8VR-11BS-9PS).

 

[DokterMom]

Congratulations! I'm very happy for you and wish you much success at UTMB.

 

[thatonesyrian]

Congratulations! I'm very happy for you and wish you much success at UTMB.

Thanks DokterMom. People like you on sdn that gave me sound and sincere advice really fueled me to keep on pushing forward!~