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extravagnat

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Hey yall,
Just wanna give some of you guys some encouragement. I got a a 27 MCAT, and applied this cycle. I applied broadly as well (about 22 schools). I received 15 interviews :eek:, and only went to 6. Got accepted to 3, waitlisted at 2, and waiting on my last one. So this whole thing is more than numbers; you just have to convince adcoms that you deserve the spot more than others. I really didn't think I would make it this cycle, and that is also one of the reasons that I applied broadly/realistically. It can be done! :) Any questions, feel free to ask!
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Dude, you must have some pretty rocking EC's to get 15 interviews with a 27 :p

Congrats on your wildly successful app cycle!
 
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loveoforganic said:
Dude, you must have some pretty rocking EC's to get 15 interviews with a 27 :p

Congrats on your wildly successful app cycle!
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I really don't and that's the crazy thing. About 20 hrs of shadowing, worked in a nursing home (sort of) for over a year (paid job), and 2 semesters of research (no publication), and some hours in the ER (about 100 or so). That was it. Compared to people here on SDN my Ec'S are blahhh. But I put a lot of time in my personal statement and secondary essay's. That might have been it!
 
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extravagnat said:
I really don't and that's the crazy thing. About 20 hrs of shadowing, worked in a nursing home (sort of) for over a year (paid job), and 2 semesters of research (no publication), and some hours in the ER (about 100 or so). That was it. Compared to people here on SDN my Ec'S are blahhh. But I put a lot of time in my personal statement and secondary essay's. That might have been it!
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Are you a URM?
 
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Congratulations on your acceptance!!!

I'm kind of stuck on my PS, do you have any helpful hints about writing it? I'm trying to have a volunteer thing (because that's where most of my EC's are) but I'm having trouble not making it sound cliche "Oh I like science and I want to help people". But in my case, it's just the truth, plain and simple.

Any advice would be great, thank you!!
 
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extravagnat said:
Yep..but please don't turn this thread into a discussion about URM's!
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Not to turn it into a discussion, but that is critical information - just as important as telling us your MCAT score. To be perfectly honest, I would bet a lot of money that a non-URM with those numbers wouldn't get in, period, so people shouldn't get their hopes up. I know two friends (asian and indian) from Hopkins who had low 30s on their MCAT and didn't get in ANYWHERE, no interviews even.
 
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NYR56 said:
Not to turn it into a discussion, but that is critical information - just as important as telling us your MCAT score. To be perfectly honest, I would bet a lot of money that a non-URM with those numbers wouldn't get in, period, so people shouldn't get their hopes up. I know two friends (asian and indian) from Hopkins who had low 30s on their MCAT and didn't get in ANYWHERE, no interviews even.
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Ditto. A Caucasian guy at my school with very high 30s MCAT was rejected to about half the schools he applied to (and he applied broadly to 15) pre-interview. I think he interviewed at 5 or so places and ended up receiving 3 acceptances to mid-tier schools. His grades and ECs were excellent, best of any pre-med I've seen, so unless he spat in his interviewers' faces I have a very hard time understanding why he didn't have better luck.
 
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Alright so my MCAT breakdown is 10 10 7. I got a 7 in verbal because english isn't my first language, and I have only been in this country for 4 years. So maybe they let that 7 slide just because of that reason. I don't want to sound arrognat but how many URM's have 15 interviews. Just because you are an URM doesn't mean you have it easy, and if it helps my cum GPA is 3.8.
 
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Doodl3s said:
.... rename title to "It can be done!" for URMs.... sorry man, you werent as 'lucky' as you may have thought. this sort of story will not apply to Caucasians among others.

on any note, :thumbup:, CONGRATULATIONS dude!
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Please don't think I'm hating here (because I am also URM)...

If you weren't URM you would have got owned.

It is two different worlds... it is almost a silly post in a way because your stats wouldn't of worked non-URM.

Just reality. Don't complain about it or say it should be some other way, it is what it is.

With that said, GOOD WORK and GOOD LUCK, glad you did well.:thumbup:
 
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You don't sound arrogant but the reality is that you may have made it through the numbers cutoff because of the URM status. After that, I'm sure your essays helped you over others but for non-URMs, they simply won't even make it past the cutoff and may never have their essays even read. If a school gets 10K apps, they don't read them all and make initial cuts by numbers.

Congrats on the acceptances, I'm just saying this so other people don't get fooled into thinking they have a better chance than they really do.
 
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NYR56 said:
Not to turn it into a discussion, but that is critical information - just as important as telling us your MCAT score. To be perfectly honest, I would bet a lot of money that a non-URM with those numbers wouldn't get in, period, so people shouldn't get their hopes up. I know two friends (asian and indian) from Hopkins who had low 30s on their MCAT and didn't get in ANYWHERE, no interviews even.
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everyone knows this, no need to make the argument even. It is easily verifiable by the MCAT/GPA breakdown that AAMC has on their website.

A 3.5 with 30 MCAT is gold for URM. A 3.5 with 30 MCAT is nearly a death sentence for non URM
 
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NYR56 said:
You don't sound arrogant but the reality is that you may have made it through the numbers cutoff because of the URM status. After that, I'm sure your essays helped you over others but for non-URMs, they simply won't even make it past the cutoff and may never have their essays even read. If a school gets 10K apps, they don't read them all and make initial cuts by numbers.

Congrats on the acceptances, I'm just saying this so other people don't get fooled into thinking they have a better chance than they really do.
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Don't take offense to this, but just use what you got.

Beautiful women exploit their beauty to get $, status, jobs, etc. Make a virtue of it.
 
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No offense taken. Hell, I was trying to figure out if there's any way I can pass as Hispanic :p. I don't agree with the system but I certainly don't blame anyone for using it to their advantage.
 
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extravagnat said:
Alright so my MCAT breakdown is 10 10 7. I got a 7 in verbal because english isn't my first language, and I have only been in this country for 4 years. So maybe they let that 7 slide just because of that reason. I don't want to sound arrognat but how many URM's have 15 interviews. Just because you are an URM doesn't mean you have it easy, and if it helps my cum GPA is 3.8.
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eh.. it kind of does in terms of admissions. the gpa was obviously a plus.

Doodl3s said:
.... rename title to "It can be done!" for URMs.... sorry man, you werent as 'lucky' as you may have thought. this sort of story will not apply to Caucasians among others.

on any note, :thumbup:, CONGRATULATIONS dude!
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+1
MegaSpectacular said:
everyone knows this, no need to make the argument even. It is easily verifiable by the MCAT/GPA breakdown that AAMC has on their website.

A 3.5 with 30 MCAT is gold for URM. A 3.5 with 30 MCAT is nearly a death sentence for non URM
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bit of an exaggeration probably..
 
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bleargh said:
bit of an exaggeration probably..
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Eh, unless you have something very special, it'll be tough. The examples of my two friends from Hopkins had numbers equivalent or better with all the standard stuff and no interviews. Maybe their essays were poor, that I don't know but it certainly is an uphill battle with those stats.
 
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That's not a very high percentage but better than a death sentence I suppose. Good source btw, I forgot about those tables.
 
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Depends how you're looking at it. The national average includes people that really shouldn't apply whatsoever. Having decent stats (3.5/30) and only getting a 60% chance of getting in is still pretty low to me. Especially once you consider that 60% may only mean 1 school accepted you and for the 40%, not a single one accepted them. I'd be pretty uncomfortable with someone telling me there's a 40% chance I'll have to wait a year and try again.
 
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I am from Afghanistan, which is a ridiculously unrepresented minority. Will that help me a little? Or are there only certain designated minorities that count for URM.
 
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ThatDude said:
I am from Afghanistan, which is a ridiculously unrepresented minority. Will that help me a little? Or are there only certain designated minorities that count for URM.
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From the AAMC:

""underrepresented minority (URM)," which consisted of Blacks, Mexican-Americans, Native Americans (that is, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians), and mainland Puerto Ricans"
 
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Congratulations to extravagnat for getting into Medical School! I wish you the best in your studies!

Addressing the whole URM topic...what I say is regardless of who you are,
do your best, apply in a given cycle only if you know you've given it your
best shot, and you will be good. Just worry about doing your best...don't worry about the whole URM thing.
 
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Agreeing with everyone here. My two cents is there are sooo many more Caucasian males applying, that the stakes have to be higher because schools can afford to only take the top. As the pool shrinks for a certain demographic, the numbers change. Also, from a very early age, just the idea that many URM's can become doctors isn't something they believe in themselves or are encouraged to do. It's a totally different mindset. Many times, when URM's look in their physics or other science books at the pictures of scientists, no one looks like they do. No one they know growing up is a doctor. It probably has a profound effect on what they believe they are capable of. Image being nurtured from day one with the idea that "Of course you can be a doctor, son, just look around you!" So much psychology involved, or should I say psychiatry!! All that to say, the situation is different not only for all people, but really for all people of a recent common ancestor. Just saying. . .

Congrats on your acceptance btw! You did what you had to do to get accepted and no matter what, you will be physician one day and no one will care what you got on your MCAT. In society, a doc is a doc!
 
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MegaSpectacular said:
Remember that that 63% is inflated in that it accounts for URM and non-URM. To see their actual chances you would need to see a non-URM chart, which would need to be significantly lower to account for the rise in % from URM.
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white applicants actually have a higher rate at 64%.
 
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Looking at those tables, blacks have a 92% and hispanics have a 83% with a 3.5/30. Asians have a 63% and whites are at 64%, but it seems there are only a few hundred total applicants with those numbers that are URM while there are ~5000 applicants that are white or asian. I guess the good news is that it's not like tons of spots are being filled by URMs, at least at this particular level; only ~10% of the spots go to them.
 
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NYR56 said:
Looking at those tables, blacks have a 92% and hispanics have a 83% with a 3.5/30. Asians have a 63% and whites are at 64%, but it seems there are only a few hundred total applicants with those numbers that are URM while there are ~5000 applicants that are white or asian. I guess the good news is that it's not like tons of spots are being filled by URMs, at least at this particular level; only ~10% of the spots go to them.
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i think the point is that this is a bad thing they're trying to address.
 
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ThatDude said:
I am from Afghanistan, which is a ridiculously unrepresented minority. Will that help me a little? Or are there only certain designated minorities that count for URM.
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I'm also from that area + female would it be also considered as "Underrepresented"......
 
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NYR56 said:
Looking at those tables, blacks have a 92% and hispanics have a 83% with a 3.5/30. Asians have a 63% and whites are at 64%, but it seems there are only a few hundred total applicants with those numbers that are URM while there are ~5000 applicants that are white or asian. I guess the good news is that it's not like tons of spots are being filled by URMs, at least at this particular level; only ~10% of the spots go to them.
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If I were non URM then I would look at it like this, there are two separate worlds, the URM world and the non URM world.

The URM world competes only with URMs and the non URM competes with other non URMs. I wouldn't get upset if I bet URMs because they are in a different world and I got beat out by 90% of the non URM. So just be better than the other 90%.
 
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MegaSpectacular said:
The URM world competes only with URMs and the non URM competes with other non URMs. I wouldn't get upset if I bet URMs because they are in a different world and I got beat out by 90% of the non URM. So just be better than the other 90%.
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Not completely. Schools love to brag about their incoming class' GPA and MCAT scores, and they're always trying to show that this year's class averages are higher than the years before. The school can accept some people with stats that are less than the average, but doing so means that everyone else that is accepted needs to have higher stats in order to offset those with lower stats.

Granted, not all URM's have lesser stats than non-URM's. I've known a few that had scores that would have been perfectly competitive even for a non-URM. It's the current stereotype, though. Maybe a URM didn't take a seat from someone else directly, but by being accepted with a lower score they arguably prevented another candidate who had a low score from being accepted.

Ultimately, being accepted - regardless of your stats - means that hundreds, perhaps thousands of other people could not be accepted. That's just how it is, there's no point in getting bitter over it.
 
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Sakeena said:
I'm also from that area + female would it be also considered as "Underrepresented"......
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It's technically not a URM according to AAMC but it varies with the schools. Let me clarify:
At some point during the application cycle there's a fairly even split between girls and guys for the primaries, secondaries, and even interviews. But however when the acceptances go out ... some schools generally offer more acceptances to women than men. This is because of the fact that these schools (school x ) believe that these women will get better offers at other schools (school y) and choose not to go to school x. They're trying to off set the gender imbalance that occur in some schools.
Note that this isn't the case for all schools .. just some schools.
Well all this is according to a good friend of mine who's a med student that sits in on the application process.
 
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Drexon said:
It's technically not a URM according to AAMC but it varies with the schools. Let me clarify:
At some point during the application cycle there's a fairly even split between girls and guys for the primaries, secondaries, and even interviews. But however when the acceptances go out ... some schools generally offer more acceptances to women than men. This is because of the fact that these schools (school x ) believe that these women will get better offers at other schools (school y) and choose not to go to school x. They're trying to off set the gender imbalance that occur in some schools.
Note that this isn't the case for all schools .. just some schools.
Well all this is according to a good friend of mine who's a med student that sits in on the application process.
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Thx it is somehow inspiring...))) I also remember reading somewhere in Kaplan book that despite the fact that the number of male and female applicants are usually the same, at the end female still remains "underrepresented in medicine" especially in some specialities. Thats why some schools try to attract them to balance the stats
 
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extravagnat said:
Sorry for giving some of you non-URM's false hope. :rolleyes:
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You got in because you were a URM, sorry, but I was in a similar boat like yourself (similar MCAT/ecs/etc years ago), and I didn't get in.

Consider yourself lucky, but the rest of us have to do more to get in. Like myself, I had to get a 36 before I finally got in (Indian here).

Now don't feel too proud about your luck man, because that is what it was.
 
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study4eva said:
You got in because you were a URM, sorry, but I was in a similar boat like yourself (similar MCAT/ecs/etc years ago), and I didn't get in.

Consider yourself lucky, but the rest of us have to do more to get in. Like myself, I had to get a 36 before I finally got in (Indian here).

Now don't feel too proud about your luck man, because that is what it was.
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stop hating
 
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MegaSpectacular said:
Remember that that 63% is inflated in that it accounts for URM and non-URM. To see their actual chances you would need to see a non-URM chart, which would need to be significantly lower to account for the rise in % from URM.
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I'd be willing to bet that it wouldn't be that much lower. The key word here is underrepresented. This word wouldn't apply if there was a large pool of applicants, so as a group on the whole, their impact on the data is likely not as much you think.
 
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study4eva said:
You got in because you were a URM, sorry, but I was in a similar boat like yourself (similar MCAT/ecs/etc years ago), and I didn't get in.

Consider yourself lucky, but the rest of us have to do more to get in. Like myself, I had to get a 36 before I finally got in (Indian here).

Now don't feel too proud about your luck man, because that is what it was.
Click to expand...

It is not all about numbers Indian boy. Your PS, interview skills, and your secondary essays matter too. Chill aiight!
 
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