2009 Non-Trad Applicants' Progress Thread

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I'm going to start a Non-Trad Applicants LACK of Progress Thread, so I can post on it.

OOH!! Sign me up!! :thumbup::thumbup:

Or maybe we can post here on progress we've made outside of the med school app. process. For example, I've made SO much progress on growing my hair out that it's time to get it cut again! :laugh::p

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Look at THAT! More progress! I just got us to the top of the 6th page! :horns::soexcited::horns:
 
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OOH!! Sign me up!! :thumbup::thumbup:

Or maybe we can post here on progress we've made outside of the med school app. process. For example, I've made SO much progress on growing my hair out that it's time to get it cut again! :laugh::p

:laugh: Ooh, ooh, my apartment has made progress on its journey into squalor! (Has anyone else let everything else slide during this process? At least outside of what's absolutely required?)

Congrats JW!
 
:laugh: Ooh, ooh, my apartment has made progress on its journey into squalor! (Has anyone else let everything else slide during this process? At least outside of what's absolutely required?)


That's a big YES! I figured it would be good to start training my husband into picking up my slack now. :idea: He's not biting, though. :rolleyes:
 
That's a big YES! I figured it would be good to start training my husband into picking up my slack now. :idea: He's not biting, though. :rolleyes:

Yeah, good luck with that one. :eyebrow: If you do manage to bring him around, please send me a detailed template of your process. :p
 
I'm going to start a Non-Trad Applicants LACK of Progress Thread, so I can post on it.

I would be a good candidate to post on that thread as well. I got screened secondaries from Wayne State and OHSU, and all the usual unscreened sec's, but no interview invites yet.
 
I would be a good candidate to post on that thread as well. I got screened secondaries from Wayne State and OHSU, and all the usual unscreened sec's, but no interview invites yet.

Yeah, I got screened secondaries from Toledo and Kansas (be still, my heart!), but nothing from Loyola, VCU or EVMS so far. (Or Tulane, for that matter, but they don't screen--I think they're just slow.)
 
Word in from my late LOR. I feel pretty confident that she will actually get it in on time! :)
 
Hey non-trads,

I was wondering if anyone has any tips on writing update letters to schools. I just started a new tutoring job part time and I have also started teaching self-defense again. I figured the schools I applied to would like to know what I have been doing. If any one has any tips that would be great.
Congrats and good luck to everyone who has received and interview/acceptance news, or is still waiting on an interview. I am haven't heard back from anyone yet :(
 
Yeah, I got screened secondaries from Toledo and Kansas (be still, my heart!), but nothing from Loyola, VCU or EVMS so far. (Or Tulane, for that matter, but they don't screen--I think they're just slow.)

Good job, man. I haven't gotten any from Toledo or EVMS so far. They both put me on hold. I guess that's bad. I did get one from Tulane. I don't believe they screen. It might just take a while. And VCU rejected me. So it goes. I remain staunchly optimistic.

Good luck to you and to everyone.
 
Yeah, I got screened secondaries from Toledo and Kansas (be still, my heart!), but nothing from Loyola, VCU or EVMS so far. (Or Tulane, for that matter, but they don't screen--I think they're just slow.)

Congrats on passing the screens! Step 1 down, only 2 to go...
 
Haven't post much on here but I have two acceptances so far and some interviews. I have been accepted by Case and U of Toledo. Go Ohio!!!
 
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Haven't post much on here but I have two acceptances so far and some interviews. I have been accepted by Case and U of Toledo. Go Ohio!!!

From your name, it sounds like you're in the Cleveland area. Congratulations on getting in to Case. Their acceptance rate is something like 7 percent?
 
Congrats on passing the screens! Step 1 down, only 2 to go...

I did them the SAME DAY I got them, because I'm not messing around here ... I'm currently finishing up the last of the 8 secondaries I've gotten. But I haven't even gotten an email from 3 of the last 4 schools (EVMS, Loyola and Tulane); I'm wondering whether I should call them or not.

P.S. Here's a new definition of "slow": I was complete at 2 of the NEW schools (UVM and SUNY Upstate) before 2 of my original schools (NYMC and SUNY Downstate).
 
I would be a good candidate to post on that thread as well. I got screened secondaries from Wayne State and OHSU, and all the usual unscreened sec's, but no interview invites yet.

Word in from my late LOR. I feel pretty confident that she will actually get it in on time! :)

I am haven't heard back from anyone yet :(

But I haven't even gotten an email from 3 of the last 4 schools (EVMS, Loyola and Tulane); I'm wondering whether I should call them or not.

P.S. Here's a new definition of "slow": I was complete at 2 of the NEW schools (UVM and SUNY Upstate) before 2 of my original schools (NYMC and SUNY Downstate).

I love this little community we have going here! :love: It's so good to hear that there are others waiting for that first interview and finishing up on secondaries. I'm certainly in the same boat and was feeling in the minority (SDN will do that to you, I guess!). My screened secondaries have come from Kentucky and Louisville (both pain-in-the-arse apps, I might add) . . . and I love that I got those before a whole bunch of my unscreened sceondaries (student1799 - I second you on the "slowness" comment - what is up with some of these schools? I am in love with Cincinnati because on the same day I got their app, I submitted it, submitted my recs via Interfolio, and was marked complete - it was a BEAUTIFUL, efficient thing!). I'm still waiting on screened secondaries from OHSU and VCU. I'm not too down about OHSU yet because I've heard they're slow (but I'm DESPERATE for that one! Portland sounds like a great place to live!) I have a feeling VCU is a rejection, though. I wish they'd just pull off the band-aid already instead of toying with me like this. :(

Anyway . . . cheers, everyone - we'll get there eventually! :luck:
 
Haven't post much on here but I have two acceptances so far and some interviews. I have been accepted by Case and U of Toledo. Go Ohio!!!

Congrats on the Case and UT acceptances! I'm a fellow Ohioan. Just got my first MD acceptance from U of Toledo. (post-interview hold from Case).
 
Pre-interview hold at Drexel. First decision of the cycle--and not a good one. :(
 
Pre-interview hold at Drexel. First decision of the cycle--and not a good one. :(

My first decision of the cycle was a hold as well... at SUNY Upstate. That was followed today by 2 rejections -- one from Boston U and one from U Pitt. :( I'm really hoping things turn around in the following weeks/months.
 
Keep going guys. Still in the thick of things.

Oh yea, Drexel sucks. Didn't even include them this cycle.
 
"Final decision pending" at NYU--another rejection in the making. I'm not exactly surprised, but damn, this is no fun.
 
It'll be a nice trip down memory lane. Grew up in Cincinnati and haven't been back in almost ten years.
 
It'll be a nice trip down memory lane. Grew up in Cincinnati and haven't been back in almost ten years.

:thumbup:. Good luck with the interview--you'll probably rock it because you already have an acceptance under your belt.
 
Final LOR FINALLY in!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!

Now, I wait three months.
 
Finally got a secondary from EVMS. (But still nothing from those lordly creatures at VCU, and no word from Loyola either.)
 
Thanks! A little nervous about the MMI format though. 8 interviews in 80 minutes. Sounds like speed dating.

Oh, good luck! I didn't realize schools outside of Canada were doing that now. It does sound kind of freaky in some ways, but also kind of fun (at least if it's like they do at McGill with the puzzles etc).
 
Just got my first interview: SUNY Upstate. I am SO HAPPY. It may be up in the North Pole, but it's a med school!
 
Finally got a secondary from EVMS. (But still nothing from those lordly creatures at VCU, and no word from Loyola either.)

I just got the VCU secondary. w00t! I thought I was a goner for sure there. Keep the faith, and I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya on that one! :luck:

Oh, and a total w00t on your interview at SUNY Upstate!! :clap: That is more than half the battle, which is AWESOME!
 
"Final decision pending" at NYU--another rejection in the making. I'm not exactly surprised, but damn, this is no fun.

FYI, someone on the NYU thread has reported getting an interview after seeing this message.
 
FYI, someone on the NYU thread has reported getting an interview after seeing this message.

Wow, I didn't know that. Thanks for telling me--there still may be some hope, then. (I'm not holding my breath, though.)
 
Wow, I didn't know that. Thanks for telling me--there still may be some hope, then. (I'm not holding my breath, though.)

I'm not holding mine for them either, as my MCAT is a bit low and I was only complete sometime in mid-late Sept because of a late letter.

I did get an interview at AECOM, which came literally like a week after I mailed the application. I've seen a bunch of people with much better numbers post that they were complete a lot earlier and got interview offers much later or not at all.

I don't think any of us will ever fully understand this process.
 
I love this little community we have going here! :love: It's so good to hear that there are others waiting for that first interview and finishing up on secondaries. I'm certainly in the same boat and was feeling in the minority (SDN will do that to you, I guess!). My screened secondaries have come from Kentucky and Louisville (both pain-in-the-arse apps, I might add) . . . and I love that I got those before a whole bunch of my unscreened sceondaries (student1799 - I second you on the "slowness" comment - what is up with some of these schools? I am in love with Cincinnati because on the same day I got their app, I submitted it, submitted my recs via Interfolio, and was marked complete - it was a BEAUTIFUL, efficient thing!). I'm still waiting on screened secondaries from OHSU and VCU. I'm not too down about OHSU yet because I've heard they're slow (but I'm DESPERATE for that one! Portland sounds like a great place to live!) I have a feeling VCU is a rejection, though. I wish they'd just pull off the band-aid already instead of toying with me like this. :(

Anyway . . . cheers, everyone - we'll get there eventually! :luck:

Culture Doc,

I doubt you are in the minority here. I am still waiting on my first interview and finishing up secondaries as well. Some of them are wicked long. Hang in there, guys.
 
christ... i am a doofus.

I just committed (and they do warn you a couple times that it's final) to a 11/13 interview at duke. problem is that they don't ask for recommendations until they invite you.

there is absolutely no chance that the recommendation service at my school will manage to get my letters to them within 10 days.

i can't believe how dumb i am. duke isn't even rolling admissions...

just sharing.

Maybe if you call up your school and really sweet-talk the lady in the premed office, you can get them to hurry up for you. Explain that you committed to this interview, that it can't be changed, but that means you REALLY need your letters by then--is there any way they can help you out? If you're honest, sincere and polite, you'd be surprised how nice people can be sometimes.

P.S. I wouldn't worry too much anyway--you really seem to be on a roll with those interviews and acceptances. Great job on Brown!:thumbup:
 
christ... i am a doofus.

I just committed (and they do warn you a couple times that it's final) to a 11/13 interview at duke. problem is that they don't ask for recommendations until they invite you.

there is absolutely no chance that the recommendation service at my school will manage to get my letters to them within 10 days.

i can't believe how dumb i am. duke isn't even rolling admissions...

just sharing.

I hate your school's letter service, on your behalf. Mine offers 4 levels of speed in delivering letters.

I suggest that TODAY you pursue getting your letters transferred to Interfolio or Virtual Evals so that you aren't blocked further. This transfer took me about 2 weeks to accomplish - it was hard for my school's service to understand why they should do it, and hard for Interfolio to understand why they should accept letters from my school instead of from letter writers.

Best of luck to you.
 
I just took a look at the pre-allo forums and I feel completely demoralized. I haven't heard back from any schools yet and I'm starting to think that I am destined to be a skilled manual laborer for life. Sorry to be such a downer, but I think today I feel more scared, anxious, sad, etc. Just venting I guess, congrats to everyone and goodluck to everyone who is feeling the same way as me.

p.s. Sorry again for being such a downer. I can only vent here, In my real life I put on a face of confidence that I'm on my way to medical school. :oops:
 
I just took a look at the pre-allo forums and I feel completely demoralized. I haven't heard back from any schools yet and I'm starting to think that I am destined to be a skilled manual laborer for life. Sorry to be such a downer, but I think today I feel more scared, anxious, sad, etc. Just venting I guess, congrats to everyone and goodluck to everyone who is feeling the same way as me.

p.s. Sorry again for being such a downer. I can only vent here, In my real life I put on a face of confidence that I'm on my way to medical school. :oops:

Serves you right for spending too much time over there! :)

In all seriousness, extended visits to the pre-allo forum are probably not the best thing for a nontrad's sanity. For starters, many pre-allos freely admit to being neurotic and paranoid--who needs to catch that disease? And second, our lives and challenges are so different from theirs that it would be stupid to compare the two, which suggests that it doesn't make a lot of sense to compare our med school admissions prowess to theirs either.

For example, there are plenty of posts in pre-allo from people lamenting that they have "only 3 interviews" or even "only one acceptance" so far. Just two days ago, I saw a post from a student who has had 8 (!) interviews already, but claims to be afraid that she blew them all and won't get in anywhere. For my own part, I got my first (and so far only) interview invite last week, and I'm thrilled that I'm no longer at zero! And there are plenty of nontrads over here with multiple interviews, and I haven't heard a word of complaint, lamentation or paranoia. We actually have that thing called "perspective." That's why nontrads have our own applicant progress thread, interview thread and acceptance thread: we understand that our achievements are different, and we want to celebrate them here, where people will understand what they mean to us. And even for those who don't have "official" achievements to post yet, I think that we're all celebrating the fact that we're in there trying.

Yes, we all have our moments of feeling down from time to time. (I went through a really big one several weeks ago, but I vented here and the others helped me get out of it and start moving forward again.) Yes, this application process would make anyone feel like two cents. But the LAST thing you need is to compare yourself to a bunch of college kids and think you're a slouch because you didn't get 3 acceptances on October 15th like some of them did (or say they did).

I would hasten to say that I've met a few really nice, friendly pre-allos, but I think the overall atmosphere in that forum, especially in the height of application season, is such that nontrads should definitely take it in small doses.

Good luck with your apps. If you want to tell us about your story or get specific advice about your situation, feel free.
 
Today has been a good day. Got my first acceptance to Loyola this morning--and then got an interview invite to University of Illinois (my state school) this afternoon. Yes, today has been a good day.

Good luck everybody--and keep those spirits up.
 
Today has been a good day. Got my first acceptance to Loyola this morning--and then got an interview invite to University of Illinois (my state school) this afternoon. Yes, today has been a good day.

Good luck everybody--and keep those spirits up.

Congrats BambiMD!
 
Ditto on the congrats to Bambi and on the advice and support to Pacman - don't be bummin'! There are a lot of us in the same (or similar) boat. I haven't heard anything yet either, but I keep reminiding myself that this is a marathon not a sprint and that all it takes is one . . . and that one can happen at ANY time. Once you're in, it will not matter AT ALL whether it happened in October or next July (or whether you got in to 1 or 10 schools)! It's nice to have early good news and early interviews, but they're not a must for success, so don't get too stressed out about it! This process is a long, horrible one, but we're in it together, and the non-trads are a great, supportive bunch! (Definitely concur on minimizing time on pre-allo. It's scary over there! :eek:)

If you've been complete for a while, maybe it's time for some update letters/letters of interest? You never know what might be that extra "push" to get you an interview. (just ask student1799!)
 
First interview- Western U! Hopefully the first of many
I'm still retaking my MCAT Jan 31st and have been doing very well on my practice exams. good luck to you all
 
First interview- Western U! Hopefully the first of many
I'm still retaking my MCAT Jan 31st and have been doing very well on my practice exams. good luck to you all

:thumbup: on your interview!

I'm also retaking the MCAT on Jan 31st. Good luck to us both! :luck:
 
I just got the VCU secondary. w00t! I thought I was a goner for sure there. Keep the faith, and I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya on that one! :luck:

Just got it today. :D I'm 2 for 2 with the Virginians, secondary-wise. But I'm going to grow old waiting for Loyola and Tulane (slowest non-screening school on earth ...).
 
First interview invite at SUNY Downstate. :)
 
I just wanted to say thank you to 1799, Culturedoc and everyone in the Non-trad forum. You are all so helpful and encouraging. I will try my best to keep positive. Hopefully I will be seeing many of you non-trads at future interview dates! Keep up the good work everyone with those acceptances and interviews. Thanks Again!!!!!:D
 
I'm glad twenty hours of driving weren't in vain. Thank you , Drexel. And thanks for all the encouragement, nontrads!
 
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