2006 Non-Trad Applicants' Progress Thread

[SailCrazy]

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When I called schools that interested me to ask about whether I should apply, several of them told me that I'd need to have an excellent MCAT score to be competitive.

Boy Q, its too bad you didn't take that advice to heart! 😛

 

[AZCOMstudentdoc]

P.S. FWIW, I think that the rest of your app (ECs) is awesome. You sound like a really interesting person with a lot of neat experiences. Congrats on your acceptance. 👍

Thanks Q 🙂 Yes, I have definitely sampled some of the best from the all-you-can-eat-buffet of the world of work. The sum of my experience provides me with a certain wisdom and clarity regarding my decision to pursue medicine...after all of these years and through all of my training and professional experience, I have finally learned who I really am; and I am comitted to being true to myself...a future physician.

Unfortunately I cannot offer-up out-of-date pre-reqs as a reason for the mediocre MCAT score that could very well keep me out of my top tier school choices (It'd be best for me to get accepted in AZ anyway...obviously I'm in at 1 of 2...hope to get in at the U of A...MUCH cheaper state school...my wife has still not come to grips with my finding myself and pursuing medicine...thinks its too late and I'm being selfish...not being a man and taking care of my family in her eyes 🙁 ..she's got a great job and has been main financial contributor for years...this is a whole different thread though...lots of issues with a 16 year marriage and 2 boys, 11 and 9).

I took all my pre-reqs just before landing my MS Biochemistry program at ASU...so the material should've been fresh on my mind. I CAN say, however, that I was neck-deep in graduate coursework and beginning my research during the spring this year, and it did make it challenging to prioritize the time required to study.

I figure that I could have done better, but it was not worth the risk to have re-taken it in August. It's not a great score but it shouldn't be a deal-killer...at least in AZ.

I wonder of any non-trads out there are or have been in a similar situation.

Anyway...thanks again. This is a great forum to come to for support.

 

[QofQuimica]

my wife has still not come to grips with my finding myself and pursuing medicine...thinks its too late and I'm being selfish...not being a man and taking care of my family in her eyes 🙁 ..she's got a great job and has been main financial contributor for years...this is a whole different thread though...lots of issues with a 16 year marriage and 2 boys, 11 and 9).

Tell her that if she'll give you eight more years, you'll support her in the style she'd like to become accustomed to for the rest of her life. 😉 In all seriousness, if being a doctor is really your dream, it's not too late. Most schools have several 30+ year old students in the freshman class. One school I visited even has a guy who's in his fifties. (Sail, care to hazard a guess about where that would be???)

I think the most important thing to do is to make sure that your goals and experience match what the school is looking for....not that it's always easy to know exactly what any particular school is looking for. 😛 Some schools really rely heavily on the academic numbers, and those schools are going to tend not to have as many non-trads. But I do believe that if a non-trad were able to have a high GPA and MCAT and interests/accomplishments that match that school's mission, then a non-trad could get accepted to such a school.

One other thing that struck me from your message: I hope that you and your wife will not be driven apart by your decision to go to med school. I'm just thinking that it's going to take up a lot of your time and energy over the next four years that you might have otherwise devoted to her and your sons. Since she's not too keen on the idea to begin with, do you think she'll come around in time because she knows how much going to med school means to you? Or will the new demands being made on you as a med student only make things worse? I'm sorry you're in this position, and I hope things work out for you both. 🙁

P.S. Sail, not only are you not funny, but you're really one to talk. 🙄 😛 😉

 

[AZCOMstudentdoc]

Thanks for the feedback Q.

I will stay tuned to the non-trad forum for more insight; success stories and inspiration 😀 .

 

[MoosePilot]

"Dear Applicant;



Your application has been carefully evaluated and you have passed the initial screening. While you have not yet been invited to interview, your application is currently under consideration for interview. Each year, 1500 to 2000 applications are placed in the status Pending Invitation to Interview. Historically, approximately 35% of those applicants are later invited to interview."

Does anyone find it insulting to be addressed as "Dear Applicant"? It irritated me enough that my withdrawal letter featured the salutation "Dear Medical School"

 

[Born2BMD]

I am praying that this is not an indication of what I have to look forward to over the next couple of months:

"I regret to inform you that we cannot further consider your application for the entering Freshman Class of 2006. Wayne State University School of Medicine..... Our average GPA and MCAT for the 2005 entering class was 3.51 & 9.8 (29)"

WTF my average GPA was 3.68 & my MCAT was 9.3(28). Am I that far off that I don't even get the chance to show what I have to offer in terms of even filling out a secondary for Christ's sake! Man, I am bummed, I am not sure I even wanted to go there, but that makes it that much worse..getting regected pre-secondary to a school I may not have even wanted to attend (Granted at this point I will attend whatever school accepts me, I just want to be an MD so bad! I was just hoping I would have the choice to turn down a couple. Wishful thinking on my part I guess) Well guess I should brace myself, now I feel all that added pressure to perform well in my UA interview on Tuesday! Got my suit, done some research and almost finished with all my prep that I want to do, guess I just have to get comfy and let the real me shine through, and hopefully that will be good enough for someone, somewhere! Anyone else experience something similar with Wayne? Should I write to find out what I could do to become more competitive in the future? I think I am a pretty well rounded applicant and while a 28 isn't fabulous, I would hope if they even just perused everything else I should score some interviews and have the chance to sell myself!

 

[MollyMalone]

Does anyone find it insulting to be addressed as "Dear Applicant"? It irritated me enough that my withdrawal letter featured the salutation "Dear Medical School"

👍 Awesome!

Oh, and yes, that bugs me to no end.

 

[titoincali]

"Dear Applicant;



Your application has been carefully evaluated and you have passed the initial screening. While you have not yet been invited to interview, your application is currently under consideration for interview. Each year, 1500 to 2000 applications are placed in the status Pending Invitation to Interview. Historically, approximately 35% of those applicants are later invited to interview."

Does anyone find it insulting to be addressed as "Dear Applicant"? It irritated me enough that my withdrawal letter featured the salutation "Dear Medical School"

Hey! I recognize that email!

 

[MoosePilot]

Hey! I recognize that email!

I bet a bunch of people got it. A lot of people apply to that school. I was polite in my withdrawal, but I hope they do notice the salutation, get irritated by it, and realize the parallel.

 

[QofQuimica]

Does anyone find it insulting to be addressed as "Dear Applicant"? It irritated me enough that my withdrawal letter featured the salutation "Dear Medical School"

Moose, you're such a daredevil. I don't think I'd ever really do that, although it's fun to dream about it. 😛

Born2BMD, do you have any ties to the state of Michigan? It's hard to successfully apply to other states' schools if you can't give them a good reason for wanting to go there. Of course, some state schools accept more OOS applicants than others. But usually you have to be really stellar to be considered for acceptance as an OOS applicant. I know that here in FL, they regularly reject OOS people who have higher stats than some of the in-staters who get accepted. Anyway, it can't hurt to call them and ask. But I'd guess it was due to your residency, because your stats are on par with the school averages. Good luck with your UA interview on Tuesday.

Edit: I'm also thinking you might want to add some schools in NY, if Ithaca College is in NY and you wouldn't mind moving there.

 

[MoosePilot]

Moose, you're such a daredevil. I don't think I'd ever really do that, although it's fun to dream about it. 😛

That's sarcasm, right?

It's on the verge of passive-aggressiveness, because making a point in a withdrawal letter to a school without a huge reputation for residency programs is safe. It's like the nerd thing to do. When you get mad, you write a letter 😛

 

[QofQuimica]

That's sarcasm, right?

It's on the verge of passive-aggressiveness, because making a point in a withdrawal letter to a school without a huge reputation for residency programs is safe. It's like the nerd thing to do. When you get mad, you write a letter 😛

Who, ME? Be SARCASTIC? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. 🙄

 

[unfrozencaveman]

Hey Q- Got some good news for you, if you're claiming not to be a football fan...

Yowch!

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=253090239

 

[QofQuimica]

Hey Q- Got some good news for you, if you're claiming not to be a football fan...

Yowch!

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=253090239

lmao, that's Baylor UNIVERSITY, not Baylor COM. They aren't affiliated. 😛 Baylor COM doesn't have any undergrads, so no football, either. 👍

Edit: Poor Baylor University. They got the walls wiped with them.

 

[QofQuimica]

I was just looking at last year's applicant thread. Those guys were so much more organized than we are. 🙄

 

[unfrozencaveman]

lmao, that's Baylor UNIVERSITY, not Baylor COM. They aren't affiliated. 😛 Baylor COM doesn't have any undergrads, so no football, either. 👍

Edit: Poor Baylor University. They got the walls wiped with them.

They're not affiliated? Who knew! Even so, the med students wouldnt have fared much worse I bet. There is only so much time in a football game.

 

[QofQuimica]

They're not affiliated? Who knew! Even so, the med students wouldnt have fared much worse I bet. There is only so much time in a football game.

I bet the med students would have done better. All they would have had to do was stand still. 😉

 

[blee]

Wake Forest, in their techiness, sent me an acceptance via email this morning. 😀 I can't believe it. With one decision outstanding, I'm batting 1000 on interviewed acceptances.

 

[QofQuimica]

Wake Forest, in their techiness, sent me an acceptance via email this morning. 😀 I can't believe it. With one decision outstanding, I'm batting 1000 on interviewed acceptances.

Wow, that's fantastic, blee! You've really done great!

 

[blee]

Wow, that's fantastic, blee! You've really done great!

🙂 Thanks.

A quick story about WF. I found the admissions office and decided to use the bathroom before going in. Later on, after the director's spiel and financial aid presentation, I went again before my interviews. I finally had to go one more time before leaving for the day (must've been nervous). It was on the THIRD trip that I realized I'd already gone to the women's restroom twice! I had wondered WTF a bathroom in a modern building would have no urinals. Apparently it had no bearing on my acceptance.

 

[the brown note]

🙂 Thanks.

A quick story about WF. I found the admissions office and decided to use the bathroom before going in. Later on, after the director's spiel and financial aid presentation, I went again before my interviews. I finally had to go one more time before leaving for the day (must've been nervous). It was on the THIRD trip that I realized I'd already gone to the women's restroom twice! I had wondered WTF a bathroom in a modern building would have no urinals. Apparently it had no bearing on my acceptance.

Thanks for making me snort the milk I was drinking! 😱 Bwahahaha--now I'll obsessively check and re-check the doors of the bathrooms in future interviews.... 😛

Congrats on your acceptances! 👍

 

[QofQuimica]

🙂 Thanks.

A quick story about WF. I found the admissions office and decided to use the bathroom before going in. Later on, after the director's spiel and financial aid presentation, I went again before my interviews. I finally had to go one more time before leaving for the day (must've been nervous). It was on the THIRD trip that I realized I'd already gone to the women's restroom twice! I had wondered WTF a bathroom in a modern building would have no urinals. Apparently it had no bearing on my acceptance.

ROFL. Great story. 👍 Well, I ended up being late to one of my interviews b/c of construction traffic, and they still let me in also. I did call to say that I was running late though. 😳

 

[MollyMalone]

Wake Forest, in their techiness, sent me an acceptance via email this morning. 😀 I can't believe it. With one decision outstanding, I'm batting 1000 on interviewed acceptances.

Wow, that's amazing! Rock on!

 

[SailCrazy]

I was just looking at last year's applicant thread. Those guys were so much more organized than we are. 🙄

How so... or am I missing a joke?

 

[SailCrazy]

🙂 Thanks.

A quick story about WF. I found the admissions office and decided to use the bathroom before going in. Later on, after the director's spiel and financial aid presentation, I went again before my interviews. I finally had to go one more time before leaving for the day (must've been nervous). It was on the THIRD trip that I realized I'd already gone to the women's restroom twice!

Congrats on WF. I had heard that the bathroom thing was a test... If you take more than three tries to figure it out, you're rejected. Three or less and you're in. Well done! 😀

 

[QofQuimica]

How so... or am I missing a joke?

It's not a joke. Look at the Old Farts thread from 2005. They were very organized, like the Wall of Fame, except they did it by poster instead of by school.

 

[blee]

It's not a joke. Look at the Old Farts thread from 2005. They were very organized, like the Wall of Fame, except they did it by poster instead of by school.

I hate threads like that.

 

[unfrozencaveman]

🙂 Thanks.

A quick story about WF. I found the admissions office and decided to use the bathroom before going in. Later on, after the director's spiel and financial aid presentation, I went again before my interviews. I finally had to go one more time before leaving for the day (must've been nervous). It was on the THIRD trip that I realized I'd already gone to the women's restroom twice! I had wondered WTF a bathroom in a modern building would have no urinals. Apparently it had no bearing on my acceptance.

Hilarious. Just this morning, I was at Pitt, who even more confusingly, has a urinal in the women's bathroom. Or at least I hope they do. Maybe I was pulling a "Blee" all day.

 

[SailCrazy]

Hilarious. Just this morning, I was at Pitt, who even more confusingly, has a urinal in the women's bathroom. Or at least I hope they do. Maybe I was pulling a "Blee" all day.

bleeing could become a new word...

When you're at your interview and have to pee, make sure you don't blee! 😀

 

[blee]

bleeing could become a new word...

When you're at your interview and have to pee, make sure you don't blee! 😀

🤣 Wouldn't be the first time my name was adapted to a verb describing body functions. The first time was about 10 years ago (in fact, almost to the day) and involved a ridiculously hard chem exam, "bar night" Thursdays at the fraternity houses, and some fish I had for dinner.


...my suitemates never forgave me.

 

[unfrozencaveman]

Gah- I totally forgot to mention the best part of Pitt...

So, I had a quick interview with a woman in admissions and she was talking about how they love non-trads who have a bit of life experience under their belts. And she goes "if we have a patient who is a 27 year old woman, in a disastrous relationship, say, we would like someone who can relate to that!"

Hey!

 

[QofQuimica]

bleeing could become a new word...

When you're at your interview and have to pee, make sure you don't blee! 😀

👍

 

[NontradICUdoc]

UVM-submitted
GW-submitted
Dartmouth-submitted
UMDNJ-RWJ-submitted
UMDNJ-NJMS-submitted
NYMC-submitted
UMDNJ-SOM-submitted
LECOM-Brad-submitted
NSU-submitted
NYCOM-Waiting
PCOM-Submitted

I had a horrid MCAT-August05 score (horrid for MD, OK for DO). Where are my rejection letters? I just want this over and done. 🙁 😕

 

[titoincali]

Third acceptance...Loyola! 😍

 

[blee]

Third acceptance...Loyola! 😍

😀

 

[QofQuimica]

Third acceptance...Loyola! 😍

Awesome, tito! Congrats!

EMT2ER-DOC, good luck w/ your apps. Have you visited LECOM-Bradenton? If so, what did you think? I haven't seen it, but I did visit Nova SEACOM and it's a fantastic facility (I assume that's what NSU is?)

 

[SailCrazy]

Third acceptance...Loyola! 😍

Way to go.!!! 👍

Which one is your top choice so far?

 

[titoincali]

Way to go.!!! 👍

Which one is your top choice so far?

I have no idea. There is something about each school that appeals to me. Should I focus on ranking? Match lists? Financial aid package? Happiness? Location? I don't know.

Somehow I think deciding where to go is going to be more difficult than the actual application process!

 

[MoosePilot]

Third acceptance...Loyola! 😍

Awesome! Congratulations!

I got an interview at University of Oklahoma, my state school. It's about 30 minutes from the house I grew up in. I'm happy to have an interview there 😀

 

[fiddler]

I have no idea. There is something about each school that appeals to me. Should I focus on ranking? Match lists? Financial aid package? Happiness? Location? I don't know.

Somehow I think deciding where to go is going to be more difficult than the actual application process!

LOL. i was wondering what I was gonna do if I got more than one acceptance. I think that you like having this problem.

congrats

fiddler

 

[sweetdoc]

Hi all,

Congrads to everyone who has been accepted so far! About two weeks I finished the bulk of the secondaries I've recieved and most of the school websites say that my application is being "reviewed." Now I'm just waiting for the word on interviews.

How long is the typical wait between having a completed application and hearing about possible interviews? If anybody knows, I'd appreciate it because refreshing my gmail is getting a bit stale.

sweetdoc

 

[QofQuimica]

I got an interview at University of Oklahoma, my state school. It's about 30 minutes from the house I grew up in. I'm happy to have an interview there 😀

Congrats, Moose. 😀

fiddler, if you get more than one acceptance, hold them both until you see their financial aid packages. 👍

 

[QofQuimica]

How long is the typical wait between having a completed application and hearing about possible interviews? If anybody knows, I'd appreciate it because refreshing my gmail is getting a bit stale.

sweetdoc

There's no set amount of time. I've waited anywhere from a few weeks to a few months....or never. 😛 Good to you.

 

[fiddler]

Congrats, Moose. 😀

fiddler, if you get more than one acceptance, hold them both until you see their financial aid packages. 👍

I thought the financial aid thing was done thorugh Fafsa which means basically loans? It sounds like you are saying I may get different financial aid from different schools?

If so then that could give me serious headaches. lol. lower tier but more free money. higher but less. Just shoot me now! 😀 lol.

I think I will get decent loans. my last 3 years of Tax returns were the easiest I have ever seen. just a line of zeros going down the page.

fiddler

 

[SailCrazy]

It sounds like you are saying I may get different financial aid from different schools?

If so then that could give me serious headaches. lol. lower tier but more free money. higher but less. Just shoot me now! 😀 lol.

You definitely can! Welcome to more stress and decision making! 😱

 

[QofQuimica]

I thought the financial aid thing was done thorugh Fafsa which means basically loans? It sounds like you are saying I may get different financial aid from different schools?

FAFSA is just used to figure out how much your individual contribution is. But you can get different packages from different schools b/c a lot of schools give institutional awards (loans, grants, and scholarships), especially private schools. The ratio of loans to grants and scholarships could be different for every school. That's why I suggested waiting to see what each school's package was, unless you know that you wouldn't want to attend that school.

 

[fiddler]

You definitely can! Welcome to more stress and decision making! 😱

Now you tell me.

I was getting surgery a couple of weeks ago and the surgical resident asked me how my match was going?!? I asked her if she wanted my bed because I prefered that she be rested when she operated on me. 😛

i had a lot of fun with her. they woke her up at 2:00 AM. She had apparently just gotten home at about 12:00AM. poor thing.

fiddler

 

[fiddler]

FAFSA is just used to figure out how much your individual contribution is. But you can get different packages from different schools b/c a lot of schools give institutional awards (loans, grants, and scholarships), especially private schools. The ratio of loans to grants and scholarships could be different for every school. That's why I suggested waiting to see what each school's package was, unless you know that you wouldn't want to attend that school.

Hi Q,

I will do as you say. although Fafsa is going to be easy for me. Funny thing about 0. no matter what you do to it, it stays a 0. darn things. lol.

I can't wait to see what happens with this aid package thing. It could be like christmas.

fiddler

 

[unfrozencaveman]

Hey guys- I have a sort of ridiculous question about FA. When you apply for federal loans, do you get actual money- as in, not just a credit towards your tuition? Like, what if I get my tuition covered, but need a new computer or something, or need to pay rent. Can I use the loan money for whatever I feel like? And scholarships- are those just reduced tuition?

 

[SailCrazy]

Hey guys- I have a sort of ridiculous question about FA. When you apply for federal loans, do you get actual money- as in, not just a credit towards your tuition? Like, what if I get my tuition covered, but need a new computer or something, or need to pay rent. Can I use the loan money for whatever I feel like? And scholarships- are those just reduced tuition?

Theoretically you are only supposed to use it for "educational expenses" but in reality the money you receive beyond your tuition goes to you in a check, and you use it as you see fit.