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This can definitely be arranged - just let us know when you're coming, and we'll make sure you get to meet with some students! We're always looking for a coffee break, anyway.
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2010-2011 Mayo Clinic Application Thread
Started by ksmi117
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This can definitely be arranged - just let us know when you're coming, and we'll make sure you get to meet with some students! We're always looking for a coffee break, anyway.
Wait, Nerday, what is this I hear about all interviewees getting to go on coffee dates with you?
...crossing fingers for interview.
I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Wait but really....
🙂
...crossing fingers for interview.
I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Wait but really....
🙂
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Interview invite this morning!! Scheduled mine before that oh-so-important Oct 15.
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Congratulations afob!
Mayo really likes to reward their interviewees, and a date with me is pretty much the holy grail of life. Just kidding. Wait but really...
Haha, but seriously people, if you want to meet students let me know! I am all up in the social business of the classes here.
I got the interview invite this morning. I was complete on 7/23. I was really worried.
Congrats!
Interview Oct 1st!! LOR received 7/23.
So excited!!
So excited!!
Dilly, Ed, afob and others- for those of us who haven't heard back yet and are trying to read the tea leaves, can you share your mcat, gpa, and ec's or other particulars that you think mayo liked?
Thanx!
High GPA, mid30s MCAT, CA
My numbers are solid but many with higher have received rejection letters and many with lower have been invited. I have a *lot* of faith in some of my letter writers. What may stand out, off the top of my head, is an LOR from a music professor (I'm a bio major). Otherwise, my personal statement is decent. I submitted early, my letters were in early. I think I am a well-rounded candidate, but I don't particularly "stick out."
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Rejected from Mayo 8/15. Rejected pre-LOR request. 🙁
Fee request/paid: 7/3 Fee received email: 7/6
Fee request/paid: 7/3 Fee received email: 7/6
For those of you looking to compare MCAT/GPA/etc, you are probably wasting your time. While Mayo wants decent stats, they are much more concerned with WHO you are than what you scored (which is not the case at many schools, regardless of what they say). We have people in our class who scored above 40 on the MCAT, but we also have people who scored in the 20's. I don't know who got what, and frankly it doesn't matter. Every student in our class has done special things with their lives, and that is what matters. Mayo builds a class that is cohesive, interesting and bound-to-be-successful. Just have faith in yourself, don't worry about the numbers, and let the cards fall where they may. Stress increases levels of cortisol, which wreaks havoc on all organ systems so, for your own health, go have a beer or a piece of chocolate and relax ;o)
If you are lucky enough to have Nerday as your student host, you might just get beer AND chocolate😀
what is the typical turn around time after your primary app has been verified? I was verified 2 weeks ago..any ballpark range?
Good Luck to all
Good Luck to all
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congrats guys!
Im worried, I was complete 7/23 as well, and no word. Guess I'll be hearing about a rejection soon 🙁 crap
This sounds very similar to me. The only things that might make me stick out from other qualified applicants is that I spent 2 years in Taiwan as a missionary and I'm already married with a kid at age 23.
me too!
I was completed early too (completed july 14) so I had basically thought I was out of consideration.
date set for oct 1st; see you there dillydally
lol.. I like how all the people that say scores aren't as important are ones who scored 34+ on the MCAT....
I got a 33 - and a 9 on the BS, so if the numbers are important, I would have been tossed.
I think that most of my LOR's are exceptional - although I only had 3 science professors to pick from, so one of those two letters is probably pro-forma.
Since I am a lot older than other applicants, I have had more time to do interesting things. You can see some of them on my profile.
*sigh* Sage advice. Had me a couple Fat Tires last night.
A 33 is still a very good score.. no offense.. and even a 9 is not that bad.. now if someone with a sub 30 said "Yay! I got interviewed/accepted despite a sub-par MCAT!" I would be more like, "yeah scores are not so important" and besides the median for Mayo in MSAR is a 34 so a 33 is pretty darn close... none the less congrats on your interview and good luck!
lol.. I like how all the people that say scores aren't as important are ones who scored 34+ on the MCAT....
Hey, try to keep the negativity down. Scores are very important at some schools, but like I said, not nearly as important at Mayo. Isn't our average MCAT score a 33 or something? Those of us with high scores didn't get in on that alone. Mayo requires personality/conviction. To give you evidence that I'm not full of you-know-what, my Mayo interviewer was much more interested in discussing my singing experiences than my MCATing. He actually made fun of my numbers, saying I needed to get out more. This is a more laid back school that turns out great physicians, so don't worry about the darn scores!
I'm not being negative.. I was making an ironic observation. I thought it was funny that people who are saying scores don't matter had very good or excellent MCAT scores (33+ etc). Irony=funny to me. And the median score is 34, which is definately above the average accepted of 31/32.
I am so with you.
An average of 34 at Mayo is not the same thing as an average of 31 at a local state school - the pool of applicants is not the same. Mayo accepts about 85+ applicants and only 30 to 40 go somewhere else. That would not be true at any but a top-line school.
At the non-elite schools, they may accept 300 applicants to get their 150+ class. The top score people then get accepted at one of the elite schools - dropping the stats at the state school.
Mayo doesn't have this dynamic happening. A 40-mcat applicant has an equal chance of preferring John Hopkins or Mayo - depending on personal reasons. So the acceptance stats will approximately equal the attendance stats.
Also, there is another dynamic. Fewer sub-30 would have the confidence to even apply to Mayo.
Finally, no one said that stats don't matter to Mayo at all - only that the school is not a stat-*****. From what people who post here say - Mayo uses the stats for initial screening and then de-emphasizes them after the LOR requests are made.
At least that's my hope. I would prefer not to spend a lot of time explaining that BS score - I am embarrassed by it.
Ok, I can't help myself, I have to explain - I started my first biology class in January of last year. Before that I didn't know what RNA was, believed in Creation, and thought that babies came from Cabbage seeds (well, maybe not that last one).
Alright, alright. Joke taken. It just seemed like a stab. But understand that all of you will be so much less stressed as soon as you get that first acceptance. Then you too will be able to talk about the experience pretty objectively, based on your personal experiences and those of your friends. Just because I (or anybody else) am doling out advice doesn't mean I personally experienced something, but having watched many friends and classmates go through the same process, I do have a broader experience base to pull advice from than you are giving me credit for. I hope you all get exactly what you want out of this process, but don't go making assumptions about schools when their students tell you otherwise. We are not trying to deceive; quite the contrary, we want people to come to Mayo who can understand why a school might use scores for one initial screen and then never look back. Mayo is much more LOR-heavy - my interviewer quoted information from almost every one of my 8 recommendations during the interview. They want to know who you are, how you work with other people (group work is huge here, both at the school level and at the institutional level of the Mayo Clinic), and if you're full of it. Just be yourself, be confident in your application, and don't let any rejections get to you. A lot of this process is random, and you will likely get in somewhere, hopefully somewhere you love.
Over and out,
Nerday
Oh my God 8 letters? wow I have a committee letter do you think I should add more to it?
No, don't worry! I had a committee letter, but it was made off of the 8 letters that I had submitted (I didn't want so many, but different schools required letters from different sources, e.g. Research P.I.'s, non-science professors, science professors, service stuff, etc). Usually a committee letter is sent with full copies of each letter that was used to compile it. If your school just does one letter anyway, then I'm sure that's fine. Medical schools have seen it all, so you will not be at any sort of disadvantage. Don't psych yourself out. Just follow the instructions from whoever is taking care of the committee letter.
Ya I only had 4 letters in my package and all are from science teachers. my school has a limit of 5 letters you can submit to them. I am just worried cuz all my letters are from science teachers, so much for diversity huh. I can get one from someone now but it will be too late to include in the packet do you think mayo will accept one that is not included in the packet?
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Unless the school specifically asks for letters from particular people, then all science recommenders is fine. If you have a particular rec you want to add that you didn't get a chance to, just send it separately with an explanation. But don't do it just to appear "balanced" - if science is what you do, work it. Most of mine were science too.
Thanks for the advice. I think i will let it go and pray on it. science is what I do but I did a whole lot more than that with club activities so I wanted a person from student life to write me one. But i will stop freaking out and work with what I got.
Thanks so much
Im sorry to hear that. So since they say that after LOR request the letters play the most important role, how many did you have and how diverse were they? science/non science?
Hey guys, Mayo received my fee on 7/19 but I still haven't heard anything...is that weird or should I expect to wait long?
Ya you should still wait they received my fee on 7/6 and I heard back about letter request on 7/31 so the later it is the more backed up they become so patience
I had five letters. Two from science faculty, one from a volunteer coordinator I have worked with for 5 years, one from the director of my honors program, and one from a poli sci ex-senator who helped write a healthcare brief for our state legislature.
Tough crowd up there at Mayo.
Also, it was exactly a month since my lors were received (I added an lor after i got the complete email on 7/20). So if you are coming up on a month from your lor received date, be afraid.
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Im not afraid, not just yet my letters are not in yet so i can relax. Wow your letters sound pretty good ... well good luck everywhere else and good luck to me
Some pretty intense discussion about scores and letters, though honestly all our class has been discussing lately seems to be soccer...wonder why that is... 🙂
The fact is that the people in 2014 come from very diverse backgrounds. Some had super high scores, others did not. Some had 14 letters and a phone call from government officials (OK, probably not. I think.), others not so much.
As far as numbers, one of our deans has been quoted as saying "we look to make sure that people have the horsepower to handle the workload and don't think about it at all after that." And this was the dean who actually takes the committee-recommended applicants and chooses the final list, so I think it means a lot coming from her.
Everything else, whether you have a crowd of supporters or just a few voices speaking on your behalf is all a part of a bigger "who you really are" picture.
If you are interested in Mayo, go for it. The worst that will happen is that they will say no. The best that will happen is well worth the anxious wait that is the application process.
everyone!
The fact is that the people in 2014 come from very diverse backgrounds. Some had super high scores, others did not. Some had 14 letters and a phone call from government officials (OK, probably not. I think.), others not so much.
As far as numbers, one of our deans has been quoted as saying "we look to make sure that people have the horsepower to handle the workload and don't think about it at all after that." And this was the dean who actually takes the committee-recommended applicants and chooses the final list, so I think it means a lot coming from her.
Everything else, whether you have a crowd of supporters or just a few voices speaking on your behalf is all a part of a bigger "who you really are" picture.
If you are interested in Mayo, go for it. The worst that will happen is that they will say no. The best that will happen is well worth the anxious wait that is the application process.
everyone!Some pretty intense discussion about scores and letters, though honestly all our class has been discussing lately seems to be soccer...wonder why that is... 🙂
The fact is that the people in 2014 come from very diverse backgrounds. Some had super high scores, others did not. Some had 14 letters and a phone call from government officials (OK, probably not. I think.), others not so much.
As far as numbers, one of our deans has been quoted as saying "we look to make sure that people have the horsepower to handle the workload and don't think about it at all after that." And this was the dean who actually takes the committee-recommended applicants and chooses the final list, so I think it means a lot coming from her.
Everything else, whether you have a crowd of supporters or just a few voices speaking on your behalf is all a part of a bigger "who you really are" picture.
If you are interested in Mayo, go for it. The worst that will happen is that they will say no. The best that will happen is well worth the anxious wait that is the application process.
probs because you all are -in-. 😉
eek! this is so exciting though. i hope to hear something soon!
What makes you say that Mayo weights the LORs really heavily? Also, how important the PS is for them?
Yeah, much easier on this side of the fence, but if you look back at the Mayo thread from last year you'll find I pretty much had the same outlook even before I knew I got in.
Maybe that's why I got in.
Anyhow, we remember the suckiness that is this process. Just go with the flow and roll with the punches. They're coming whether you do or not.
I would say that they consider them important since they have a specific portion of the process that is for LORs and PS alone. Not many other places have a "request for letters" like Mayo does once they have checked your scores and the like pre-interview.
There are other places that follow a similar system, but there are also those (Michigan is a blatant example) that just look at your numbers and make a decision to interview. This is not the case at Mayo.
Wait. Do they look heavily at your personal statement before they request letters or after?
That's so depressing.
I see a lot of screwed up things in this world, and especially in the united states, but that is disturbing. I can't believe how competitive medical school applications are.
What's even more depressing is you could probably walk into any one of the top 3 law or business schools, graduate #1 in your class in a fraction of the time it would take to become a doctor and chances are make around the same amount of money you would as a doc.
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That applicant will get into plenty of schools. If you read anything on this thread you'll see that Mayo is not obsessed with numbers. Personality, personal statement and LORs are more important here.
Calm down, bro. It's not like he just got killed while going to visit his aunt with cancer.
I second Nerday. He and others who have been rejected from Mayo will most likely get in somewhere. Y'all shouldn't think of rejection from Mayo as the end of the world. It's not. Really. I promise. Mayo is an amazing place as y'all already know, but there are plenty of other great schools out there. In the end, people who are passionate about becoming a physician will become one (no matter the school they attended). Just remember the end goal is to become a physician (the best one that you can be). Med school is just one stepping stone along the road. So (as a many people have already told you), try not to freak out or get depressed every time someone gets rejected or hears from the admissions office before you. Knowing others' stats or how many rec letters they sent in is not going to help you anymore than not knowing. None of us knows exactly what the formula is for getting admitted, so when we say they look closely at your PS and rec letters over stats, take it with a grain of salt. They do pay more attention to them than your stats, but what exactly they're looking for? We don't know. They could see it in your PS and one letter you sent, or they could see it in the 6 letters you sent. Thus, as I said, knowing stats or the number of recs someone sent in, isn't going to help you out much. So.....
Be easy! You'll get there. Besides, the best things happen when you're not paying attention or waiting for them to happen. (At least that's how it's worked for me.)
Laissez les bon temps rouler!
Beignet
I disagree. You should look at the average person who graduates from law school compared to the average person who goes to medical school.
The average law school graduate is much more likely to make 40K in this economy. The average resident makes more than that.
Also, we have repayment for public service which is much easier to get than for law grads.
Lastly, the average physician jobs are paying a lot more than the average law salary.
There will be some people who make vast sums of money in law, but more are likely to wind up deeply in debt. Not to mention that they are struggling for employment.
At least, we are all going to get a residency somewhere in something.
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