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- May 8, 2012
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So here I sit with May 15th looming, and with only wait lists to my name yet again, my hope is quickly dwindling. I was in this position last year too, and to be frank: it sucks. What is even more frustrating is that you guys might consider me a "no brainer" applicant with a LizzyM score of 76 (39 MCAT, 3.74 cGPA), with over 200 hours of various volunteer work (about 100 of which is clinical).
My first application was done in haste with a great deal of overconfidence. Coming off of a 39 MCAT and with a really high GPA, I figured I would be a shoe-in for my state school, so I applied there and Harvard, because hey why not dream? Come February, I had been to my state school interview, but hadn't heard anything back from Harvard. In retrospect it isn't a HUGE surprise, but at the time I was fairly angry that someone in the 99th percentile would be overlooked by any program at all. In the coming weeks I was accepted to my state school, and in a hot-headed decision, I withdrew the acceptance to take another crack at the ivy league. I really, really did not want to settle for a state school with my credentials. It was the worst decision of my life.
This past year I came in more determined than ever, and I had found SDN -- a secret weapon rife with tons of great information. I figured there would be no way that history would here repeat itself. Unfortunately for me, I ended up being overly anal and applying later than I should have (mid-June) and to only about twenty schools. This time around, the real killer was the secondaries. Applying to 15 schools was way too overwhelming. There were some schools that wanted me to write 2 or 3, 500 or so word essays...and THEN charge me 80 bucks for them to even look at it! Anyway, I got most of the secondaries done before their cutoffs, and in the coming weeks and months I was furious as I only heard back from 3 schools that weren't even top 20s. I attended the interviews anyways though, and became continually more furious with each wait list I received. According to the MSAR, I was at or above their 90th percentile for MCAT
So here I am...3 waitlists and about as many weeks before I'm going to have to start re-applying AGAIN. I think by now I have a good idea on what to do, so I'm not at all soliciting advice. Take this story though as a testament of how competitive medical school applications are now. Schools can afford to toss seemingly jaw-dropping applicants to the curb on a whim. So to all you pre-meds about to buck up and apply to medical school -- get ready for a wild ride, and don't be too upset if you don't get in this year, especially if you have mediocre stats like 33/3.6...I'm sure if you have good enough ECs, you'll see some interviews.
Edit: First post, be gentle!
My first application was done in haste with a great deal of overconfidence. Coming off of a 39 MCAT and with a really high GPA, I figured I would be a shoe-in for my state school, so I applied there and Harvard, because hey why not dream? Come February, I had been to my state school interview, but hadn't heard anything back from Harvard. In retrospect it isn't a HUGE surprise, but at the time I was fairly angry that someone in the 99th percentile would be overlooked by any program at all. In the coming weeks I was accepted to my state school, and in a hot-headed decision, I withdrew the acceptance to take another crack at the ivy league. I really, really did not want to settle for a state school with my credentials. It was the worst decision of my life.
This past year I came in more determined than ever, and I had found SDN -- a secret weapon rife with tons of great information. I figured there would be no way that history would here repeat itself. Unfortunately for me, I ended up being overly anal and applying later than I should have (mid-June) and to only about twenty schools. This time around, the real killer was the secondaries. Applying to 15 schools was way too overwhelming. There were some schools that wanted me to write 2 or 3, 500 or so word essays...and THEN charge me 80 bucks for them to even look at it! Anyway, I got most of the secondaries done before their cutoffs, and in the coming weeks and months I was furious as I only heard back from 3 schools that weren't even top 20s. I attended the interviews anyways though, and became continually more furious with each wait list I received. According to the MSAR, I was at or above their 90th percentile for MCAT
So here I am...3 waitlists and about as many weeks before I'm going to have to start re-applying AGAIN. I think by now I have a good idea on what to do, so I'm not at all soliciting advice. Take this story though as a testament of how competitive medical school applications are now. Schools can afford to toss seemingly jaw-dropping applicants to the curb on a whim. So to all you pre-meds about to buck up and apply to medical school -- get ready for a wild ride, and don't be too upset if you don't get in this year, especially if you have mediocre stats like 33/3.6...I'm sure if you have good enough ECs, you'll see some interviews.
Edit: First post, be gentle!