2008 Non-Trad Applicants' Progress Thread

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Got Pritzker's this afternoon and cranked it out already.

UIC's comes out tomorrow per the secretary at the office.

I need MCAT scores for more that have sent me e-mails saying I'll get their secondaries once I have an MCAT score 🙁

I guess that's one way of pacing myself!
 
I'm also wondering when CCOM, DMU, KCOM, KCUMB, and MSUCOM send their secondaries...
 
GoSouthernGo said:
Got Pritzker's this afternoon and cranked it out already.

UIC's comes out tomorrow per the secretary at the office.

I need MCAT scores for more that have sent me e-mails saying I'll get their secondaries once I have an MCAT score 🙁

I guess that's one way of pacing myself!
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Which schools said they wanted to wait until you have an MCAT score before they send you a secondary?
 
Wow. AMCAS verified yesterday, received *four* more secondaries today: Cornell, Downstate, Buffalo, and Pitt... That didn't take them long at all.. That makes seven already.. aye!

Congrats to Captain Fantastic, and good luck to Quix on AACOMAS :luck: and to all of us with the coming onslaught :luck::luck::luck:

Gonna be a busy summer for the non-trads..
 
yeah the non-screening school secondaries came quickly. I expect an onslaught of more once my MCAT rolls in, too.

So many schools just need a score before they give you a secondary. Picky, picky 😛
 
Good job whirly bird!

Got Des Moines COM today - pretty easy, just the typical questions, no essays.
 
AMCAS is finally ready for review! It took ages...

I have already completed the NJMS secondary and have mostly completed the Boston University secondary. I'll finish that one up today after I proof my essays and decide what photo I should send over. Let the rest of those secondaries pour in!
 
phoenix1 said:
Which schools said they wanted to wait until you have an MCAT score before they send you a secondary?
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Apparently UIC is one of them. They said they wanted to see my MCAT score before sending a secondary. 10 days to go....

I hope all May 31st non-trads who got their scores back on Friday did well! Looked like a beast of a VR curve from the posts in the MCAT forum.
 
Sent off Univ. Michigan, GW, MCW, Jefferson, JHU, Yale and Columbia this weekend. Sweet.
UMass secondary arrived today.
 
AMPed said:
Sent off Univ. Michigan, GW, MCW, Jefferson, JHU, Yale and Columbia this weekend. Sweet.
UMass secondary arrived today.
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Yeah, I never thought I'd have so many secondaries by only early July without an MCAT score. My secondary status is:

8 submitted
2 I got but put on hold (pending MCAT)
2 put me on hold (pending MCAT)
14 to go
 
VCU sent an e-mail this morning, but no secondary. They're reviewing apps now and will send out invites in a few weeks.
 
Captain Fantastic said:
Was that a tumble weed I just saw rolling by? 😛

Did the non-trad fortunes dry up? For me, things have been quiet. I'm already tired of waiting. I'm afraid it's going to be a long application cycle. 👎
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*looks out from under pile of secondaries*

huh? wha? who said that? oh, wait, uh, *clearing throat* I want to go to Captain Fantastic SOM because.... :barf:

.....oh

*goes back under pile*
 
Ditto st0w...

Got lots of secondaries so far and am even at the point where I'm going to forgo some of them.

Also studying for MCAT in September. My scores from May are ok for DO schools but I want to be competitive at MD schools, too.
 
I go on vacation this Sunday, so the secondaries will be out this week:

PSU (assuming they fix their site), Georgetown, Jefferson, and Temple - I've been waiting for a cash infusion before I submit them, which will be Thursday.

In other news, I finished the data collection for my study on comorbid affective disorders, so I can actually take Sunday's off now. The preliminary results: depression and anxiety occur with significantly larger frequencies in intensive care than in the general population (30%/42% dep/anx in ICU's vs. 10%/7% in the gen pop; p<.0001), and nurses are slightly better psychological proxies for depression, but these disorders go undiscovered *far* too frequently (p<.05). Writing this up and submitting should be interesting. 🙂

Next up - writing the grant to pay for Phase II (tracking outcomes). Yee-hah.

I'm actually going through a small crisis of motivation at the moment. I interviewed for a research coordinator gig about two weeks ago, and I came across two ethics jobs at the NIH yesterday for which I'll be applying. The NIH jobs pay *a lot* better than anything I've had to date, and there is something to be said for paying off student loans and enjoying a nice salary while I'm still young.

I think I need a dramatic renewal of purpose. 🙄
 
Fired off 8 for secondaries this weekend, working on 4 more. All I do is work and write. I think my wife's getting pissed and my daughter doesn't recognize me anymore:laugh:

I can't wait for my credit card bill:scared:
At least I'm racking up the FF miles
 
HA! Well I'm actually on vacation RIGHT NOW and am still working on these %^&*$#! 😡 🙄

Plan: Fun during the day, secondaries and MCAT study by night while my brother and his friend drink scotch and beer and smoke cigars. I'm way too girly for that **** anyway. :meanie:

Quix- if you don't know it, listen to Avenue Q(uix). One of the subplots is about finding your purpose. 😀
 
pingouin said:
HA! Well I'm actually on vacation RIGHT NOW and am still working on these %^&*$#! 😡 🙄

Plan: Fun during the day, secondaries and MCAT study by night while my brother and his friend drink scotch and beer and smoke cigars. I'm way too girly for that **** anyway. :meanie:

Quix- if you don't know it, listen to Avenue Q(uix). One of the subplots is about finding your purpose. 😀
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Ironic, in that "Purpose" is the worst song on the album. I've got the soundtrack and love it, but hate that song.
 
Turned 41 on June 18. MCAT July 13. AMCAS submitted July 17. TMDSAS submitted July 18. 33 schools. WA resident. Wish me luck.

S. Alabama
Colorado
GWU, Georgetown
Miami
Hawaii
Kentucky, Louisville
Tulane
Boston, Tufts
WVU
Dartmouth
Einstein, Mt. Sinai, NYMC, NYU, Downstate
OHSU
Drexel, Jefferson, Temple
Ponce
Galveston, Houston, San Antonio
EVMS, VCU
Vermont
UW
MCW, Wisconsin
Wake Forest
 
Not five minutes ago I hit "Submit". I am strangely less nervous about that than about the interminable 33 day wait for MCAT scores that ended yesterday.

Schools applied to:
U. of Miami
Loyola
Brown
NEOUCOM
Ohio State
U. of Cincinnati
U. of Toledo
U. of Michigan
Wright State
Wake Forest
U. of Kentucky
U. of Louisville
Oregon HSU
West Virginia U.

My 36th birthday is Monday. I hope I get a secondary or two by then...
 
FYI - I talked to EVMS about their graduate school letter requirement, and they said that since I've been out of grad school for 8 years and my school (law) didn't have an advisor or thesis advisor, that I could just submit a letter from the registrar/dean that I was in good standing. They did, however, want it to be accompanied by their LOR form available on their web site. Also, the 30 day deadline that they set forth in the email with the secondary isn't a hard and fast deadline for all materials (which it says it is). They said it was just to try to get people to get their materials in in a timely manner.
 
pingouin said:
DrMidlife and OGG- happy birthdays, congrats on submitting, and :luck:
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Thanks! Now if I could just stop checking my email for the unscreened secondaries to show up...

This whole process is just going from one waiting game to another, isn't it? I'm not talking just application here, but the whole shebang. Once we're in then there will be the USMLE tests, then boards, then.... I'd thought about it before, but now that I'm actually applying it is hitting home.
 
A little early, but I was thinking about getting a new suit for interviews and I was wondering what people thought about interview attire. Would it be a mistake to be "wild "and wear something other that blue/black/gray? I was thinking olive would be conservative, but help me stand out just enough. Any thoughts for a fashion-impaired guy?
 
AMPed said:
A little early, but I was thinking about getting a new suit for interviews and I was wondering what people thought about interview attire. Would it be a mistake to be "wild "and wear something other that blue/black/gray? I was thinking olive would be conservative, but help me stand out just enough. Any thoughts for a fashion-impaired guy?
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From what I've seen, the simple ability to WEAR a suit is going to stand out way more than color. The roomful of candidates-in-waiting is all itching and scratching and readjusting. If you look good in your suit (meaning: tailored), and it doesn't make you awkward or jittery, and you can move smoothly and confidently in it, then that's a huge advantage. So whatever you buy, start wearing it around, and learn to love it. Go on some group dates or to some events and have the people around you teach you.

With suit color, if you're conventionally good looking, you can do anything. The suit is going to be background. If you're overweight or have acne or you have visible tattoos or big hair, you want the suit to balance that visually, and conservative navy/gray/black is better. Bling of any kind is a big distraction.

You don't want the adcom to remember you for your suit - that won't get you through. But if your suit helps you to portray your personality and capabilities memorably, then you're golden. So get a suit you love to be in. Smooth and confident.

Don't buy a suit from a place you heard of on TV - you'll have to find out where reasonably selective men go in your area. You need - you NEED - a good suit salesman/woman who is in it as a career. You need someone whose eyes aren't on your face for more than a minute before they're evaluating your body for fit and structure. You want somebody who hasn't made up their mind about what you'll look good in until they've seen you in a few suits. That way, if in their expert opinion, something like olive is a reasonable choice, they're open to it without being a pushover or stalwart. They're not going to push a $2500 olive suit that isn't right for you. And they can recommend a good tailor.

Have fun with it if you can. Good luck!
 
I concur. My husband has a few suits from Men's Wearhouse and looks damn hot in them. For the gals - you can get a nice suit from say Macy's, Nordstrom's, Carson Pirie Scott, etc. and they usually do tailoring for free with purchase of the suit.

A word to the wise - if you are interviewing north of St. Louis in the wintertime, buy a lined wool suit for Nov-March interviews. And girls, wear the pants. You'll thank me when it's -20F.
 
In other news, I've been MIA studying for my MCAT retake, although even with my pitiful score I've received plenty of secondaries and am now complete at a few. What a busy summer this year!

Next year my hubby and I are taking a motorcycle vacation, unless of course I'm doing this again 😱
 
Quix said:
What do you do, with a BA in English?
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Same thing you do with a BS in social work- go back and get your masters so you can actually earn a living wage. :meanie:

In other news, I'm up to about 20 secondaries now. 😱 Am behind on getting them in what with being out of town.. trying to fill in the parts I can and will deal with the essays after I get home.
 
Has anyone out there had a committee interview with your undergrad pre-med committee for a LOR? I'm off to one tomorrow and I'm curious as to the types of questions they're going to ask. I'm guessing it'll be similar to a med school interview, but just not school specific. Any advice?
 
AMPed said:
Has anyone out there had a committee interview with your undergrad pre-med committee for a LOR?
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Yeah. They did ours in January-March, so it was a while ago, but I do remember it. Questions like why medicine, what makes you suited to it, things you've done well, things to emphasize, etc. It probably won't be quite as challenging as a med school interview, as the goal of the letter is to provide ample material for the creation of a letter that paints you in the best possible light.

And also, importantly, they'll ask you about any discrepancies or negatives on your application. Ideally in great detail. This is an excellent place to address/deal with mistakes you've made, as the third-party inquiry provides some sort of validity to it all. So be prepared to talk about anything negative in a way that shows you've learned from it, and that it won't happen again.
 
Thanks st0w,
I wasn't thinking about using this to help address deficiencies. That'll be very helpful.
 
Hi all,

I'm non-traditional in the sense that I've been out of UG for 2 years in the working field and am applying to med school now. Any thoughts on my MDapp would be appreciated: http://mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?myid=08532

Retaking MCATs Aug 20 to improve my dismal verbal score.

If I'm too traditional for this thread, my apologies, but just in case anyone has a thought, I figured I'd post.

Best of luck to all of you!
 
I'll finally hop onto this thread, even if a bit late. i submitted to 14 schools and was verified two weeks ago. Will be quite a long shot for me this year but my husband encouraged me to apply and hope for a small miracle :laugh:
As it is, I got my first rejection this week (VCU). They didn't even want me to fill out a secondary. On the one hand I appreciate them not taking my $100 and then rejecting me, but on the other I wish they would have taken a better look.

Either way - good luck to you all. Remember to keep your chin up during the process and know that if you really want to do this, you will find a way.
 
BananaMonkey said:
Hi all,

I'm non-traditional in the sense that I've been out of UG for 2 years in the working field and am applying to med school now. Any thoughts on my MDapp would be appreciated: http://mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?myid=08532

Retaking MCATs Aug 20 to improve my dismal verbal score.

If I'm too traditional for this thread, my apologies, but just in case anyone has a thought, I figured I'd post.

Best of luck to all of you!
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Um, dismal is a 23 (like mine). But hey, we're both in the same boat! :luck: to you too.
 
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