Thanks! That was very encouraging!
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2012-2013 Panic Thread
Started by punkedoutriffs
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Thanks! That was very encouraging!
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deleted127837
Edit...I didn't realize a whole 'nother page had been post-filled...:O
Haha, thank you! I just get off-put by a lot of the cynicism and oneupmanship on this site, and try to counter it a bit.
If I remember right, the AAMC reported that more applicants applied this year than ever before. A number of schools are reporting having received substantially more applications than usual, up to 50% more for some. People say it's due to the economy, but I think the Grey's Anatomy and House-type being-a-doctor-is-cool shows people watched as teenagers are as much to blame.
In a very real way, every year is significantly more competitive than the year before. This is especially rough for those who want to take a few years off to have fun 😛
Haha, thank you! I just get off-put by a lot of the cynicism and oneupmanship on this site, and try to counter it a bit.
If I remember right, the AAMC reported that more applicants applied this year than ever before. A number of schools are reporting having received substantially more applications than usual, up to 50% more for some. People say it's due to the economy, but I think the Grey's Anatomy and House-type being-a-doctor-is-cool shows people watched as teenagers are as much to blame.
In a very real way, every year is significantly more competitive than the year before. This is especially rough for those who want to take a few years off to have fun 😛
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I was complete mid-October and I got 4 II (out of 14 schools I heard back from)! Being late doesn't have that much of an impact. Also as you can see above my GPA and MCAT are both borderline at best. I also haven't heard from most of the low-tier, non-rural-focused schools that I feel I stand the greatest chance at.
It was doubtful that it was her lateness alone that sunk her ship. Maybe they were looking for originality? Maybe she was too cookie-cutter? Maybe there was a red flag in an LOR or PS? She should seriously go over her app with someone who knows what they're doing to see what she could improve.
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I disagree - you likely would have had significantly more II's if you were complete in June. I only say this because people buy into the idea that being late didn't impact their season for whatever reason, and it's false.
But yeah, it probably wasn't only lateness that hurt her. Something else wasn't up to snuff, or she didn't apply as broadly as she thought. A lot of high-stats applicants think applying broadly means including Brown and Mayo...but who knows. I don't know her. 🙂
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I also agree with Bear. Statistically speaking, at the beginning of the season you are competing against fewer applicants for more interview seats. Everyone can benefit from submitting on day 1, and even if you succeed by submitting late, you have no idea how you could have done if you had submitted early.
Yes there is always hope for late applicants. If there is something that makes you stand out against the 5000 other applicants it might not matter exactly when they get your application. But no one knows if they are special enough, so in future cycles it is always best to apply on day 1 because you are giving your application the best possible chance.
what school?
I agree that lateness does have an overall effect even if in the end you have some success(es). I was late, submitted at the end of July, and wasn't verified until end of Aug. Met with the Committee at the beginning of Sept and they submitted the CL mid-Sept. Even though I have had 4 IIs and at least one MD acceptance, I think I would have had better results if I had my ducks in a row early summer. For one thing, if I had done everything earlier, I wouldn't have blown-off about half of my supplementals. 🙁 I'm not complaining, I'm very happy with the acceptance and if I get one or two more, it will be the icing on the cake.
Earlier is better because it is much more forgiving.
Another rejection today, goodbye UCSF :/
On the bright side, at least they sent you a secondary. They rejected me pre-secondary.
Same. Still better than UCLA that won't send a secondary and won't reject me. Sadists.
One thing this app cycle has taught is that knowing is infinitely better than not knowing.
Agreed. Applying to medical school would be a whole lot less torturous if it were more transparent.
I think my numbers just made it automatic as I got the secondary immediately after bering verified. On another note I never got a secondary from UCLA either which sucks!
God I wish I could just get 1-2 more ii so I would have a fair shot at acceptance rather than a 30% chance from Hofstra
Agreed. I was wondering about this in a separate thread, too. I am genuinely curious about the day-to-day life in a med school admissions office... especially the quiet ones. You've gotta figure -- they have a few people working there at least from 9-5 every single day. The committees can't be meeting too frequently or for too long.... and at this point in the process, the whole "processing" part is over and a lot of invites have already been given out...... So, what exactly is happening from 9-5 every day? Why can't we tortured applicants be more in-the-loop?
I've wondered the same thing. Would it be too much trouble for a school to say;
"we put everyone's application into a big pile in a specific order/no order, and randomly/non-randomly based on _____ pull out people's applications for review by ___ reviewers ______ times a month. Please call if you have any questions and we will be happy to tell you the status of your application or where it is ranked/how long to expect until it is reviewed.
hi all, i'm back from a weekend in Tahoe where I didnt bring a computer and didn't have to check the panic thread every day, it was actually nice and relaxing.
still no more IIs or rejections though, and on the way home my friend got an II from northwestern...oh well.
still no more IIs or rejections though, and on the way home my friend got an II from northwestern...oh well.
I made a fatal mistake of applying to only 2 schools here in Oklahoma. I have an acceptance and a deferral. The acceptance is from a D.O. school, and I'm terribly nervous about the other. I'm afraid I might have to apply again next year to get an M.D. spot. I'll be applying to 20+ schools. I can't afford to do that, but it's what I have to do. Being poor this cycle has hurt me.
Stats: 3.96 cGPA, 4.0 sGPA/30M
2000+ hours undergrad research spanning 3 years
~80 hours shadowing across 5 specialties
Very strong LORs
Stats: 3.96 cGPA, 4.0 sGPA/30M
2000+ hours undergrad research spanning 3 years
~80 hours shadowing across 5 specialties
Very strong LORs
FWIW I don't think life in the admissions office is as leisurely as you make it sound. One admissions director told me 12+ hour days are common during the cycle, though of course I don't know how universal that is.
To increase transparency admissions offices would need to hire more people, which unfortunately they have no incentive to do.
yup, haven't been there in a while, i had a blast. although i was slightly disappointed the casinos didn't have low limit pai gow tables...😛
and damn thats pretty great to be there every weekend, truly a fun place to be.
It's not based on your numbers. I really think you need to stop saying that. You keep thinking you're getting rejected because of your numbers. You have a 3.8 and a 34, which alone, should get you passed any kinds of screening. Aside from your late application, I really think you have a red flag that you either don't know about or are keeping hidden for whatever reason. Good luck with the rest of your schools.
Hopefully you get into that MD school. With those numbers, you shouldn't have a problem reapplying next years. Only 2 schools? I think that's a record 😀. Good luck
I'm not sure I have a red flag as I had 3-4 people on SDN read my entire application. The only thing I am not sure about is my letters of recommendation and I simply said my numbers got me through the UCSF screen lol.
Just wondering why you applied to DO schools if you would forgo an acceptance at one just to get an MD.
Haha, you're right, my mistake. But still, with your numbers and everything else it would seem that you'd be doing a hell of a lot better this cycle. Every time I see you and Irish, I just think "Wow, these guys have such great stats, wtf is going on?" lol. I just have to think you guys must have a red flag or something, because if not, then this process is just down right crappy...Either way, I hope you have success :thumbsup:
have you went to your interview already?
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Every situation is different.
Actually, having good stats and applying a bit later might be better. Being the first application on their desk is a plus, but they know they have the whole season to pick people. On the other hand, the more open deans have said outright that the applicant pool quality drops substantially with every month - if you're a good applicant, applying later will make you stand out relative the people they're looking at, as opposed to being an average applicant surrounded by all the 4.1/46/invented surgery applicants.
That being said, your phrasing is still key: you got your interview invites despite having applied when you did, as opposed to because of it.
The more transparent they are, the more they may open themselves to lawsuits. A lot of schools won't give any feedback on your application for that reason, and it's not always because "well, we have too many asians with your stats already." Some applicants may get rejected because the school already has too many star piano players, and wants diversity, but if they say that, the applicant could lawyer up. Probably wouldn't win, but still a potential factor.
You'll do fine. Don't phrase your accomplishments in terms of hours. Not only does it reduce what you've managed to accomplish, but if you don't have publications after 3 years and 2000 hours, it makes you look terrible. Describe yourself in terms of what you've accomplished and how that makes you a great person (not applicant) and you'll be good. Improve your MCAT and you'll be golden (average matriculant is 31+ and rising).
I can look over your application and tell you (based on your mdapps) what I think you're missing, if you'd like 🙂
I just had my first interview.. little shakey at times, but otherwise good and happy with it... glad the first one is over .. crossing fingers for more! 🙂
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True - I think for most places, it causes more trouble than schools think its worth. The admissions staffs are usually as small as possible (money), which presents a problem in terms of actively notifying people, and many schools don't have an especially clean process in terms of selecting people for interviews. This is why schools tend to be very transparent post-interview, but utterly opaque beforehand. Schools like Michigan also get some backlash, such as when they decided to eliminate some interview spots.
A lot of schools' pre-admissions process consists of applications being divided up and sent out to adcom members, who then read them and pick out interviewees from their stacks. There isn't a great way to notify people about when your application was looked at, relooked at, etc. Now, some schools may have everyone review everything, or just the admissions director looking at everything, but because schools can click a button online and arrange people every which way to review people, it's unlikely people are viewed chronologically anyway.
Sorry. I probably wrote that much because I have little else to do today, haha. Another day, another empty inbox
FWIW, I have pretty much the same stats, average ECs, had secondaries complete around mid-late July (somewhat early) and applied to what I'm assuming is a very similar list of schools. I have had 1 interview at a school in the top 50 USNW, a rejection from ~12 schools, and am sitting on silence from a lot more schools. At the beginning of this cycle, I never would've guessed that this is the situation I would be in (not that our stats are something incredible, but they're definitely not bad either) but oh well. I think my (our?) biggest mistake was not applying broadly enough but who knows. Good luck with the rest of the cycle and I hope we both end up with some positive news in the coming months!
That's a good question. I originally applied with a 25Q. I planned to stay in state, and I expected that DO was my only real option with that score. I got my 2nd test scores back, and I started to lean more towards MD.
Since then, I've spent a lot of time on SDN, and it seems as though if I want to get into a competitive specialty (I do), I'm making it tough on myself by going DO.
Furthermore, all of the disrespect towards DOs on this site makes me uncomfortable about my future as a DO. I really don't want to deal with my colleagues condescending to me for the rest of my life.
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These are "average"? 😕 I don't think you really grasp this process. I'd guess Columbia from "teal" (maybe Yale? Ivies love blue) which people like to say "isn't HYP" around these parts, but it's not exactly Oklahoma State. Ivy League is not average on SDN, and definitely not in the panic thread 😛
Glad you're having a great cycle, though!
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That's a good attitude to have 🙂
I only mentioned it because the ivy league does matter to a lot of people and places - the reputation doesn't exist for no reason - and the actual difficulty of classes are irrelevant. It'd be nice if all schools were judged on their outright rigor, but for the most part they're judged on their research money and perceived wow-factor reputation. I think you know all of this, though. I've always found it interesting meeting people from our dear school in Cambridge who think that it's not a big deal and doesn't advance their standing a little bit. It's an interesting disconnect with the rest of the applicants. Benefits of removing your school's name from your name tag, haha, everyone talks to you.
/rant 😛
We need something more to talk about in here, haha. I guess we'll start finding out final results over the next few weeks, though. :O
I am glad that we will soon know which schools are absolute NOs and which ones still hold hope.
Panic, was never really the emotion I was feeling. It was more of an anxious desire to have a vague idea where I would be next fall. Even if I had to reapply I really wanted to know because it drives me crazy not being able to plan. I have a family and a house so moving across the country will be quite the task. I want to be looking at houses and apartments and pricing out moving vans. But I am not willing to waste hours and hours planning for the possibility of moving to five different locations. Instead, I anxiously wait for my list to get narrowed down, one by one.
Man, my waiting is upping my stress levels everyday but I can't imagine how non-trads with families feel. It's hard enough but to have other people depending on you? No thanks.
Man, my waiting is upping my stress levels everyday but I can't imagine how non-trads with families feel. It's hard enough but to have other people depending on you? No thanks.
Yep, families are funny like that. The added responsibility can be stressful. But having a family can also reduce stress and make things feel more meaningful or add motivation to succeed.
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Didn't mean to call you out 😛 It is what it is, though. For every person who cares for humility, there's a person notifying his/her fellow applicants that their Nobel-prize-winning boss has called ahead to guarantee their admission. I had one or two of those at my interviews. That was fun, haha
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Man, my waiting is upping my stress levels everyday but I can't imagine how non-trads with families feel. It's hard enough but to have other people depending on you? No thanks.
I just want to find a job.
Another day without any news. 🙁 after seeing you guys' comments, now I'm really worried about my submission (submitted apps early Sep because I knew one LOR wouldn't go out until later and my committee letter eventually went out mid-late Sep). Other than that, it must either be my average ECs or an unknown red flag (though I think I made a nice story out of my EC for the PS, and had people read it/fix it for 2 wks)
I guess I'll just rely on my 38R/3.7 to grab one more II out of 14 silent schools.. 🙁
I guess I'll just rely on my 38R/3.7 to grab one more II out of 14 silent schools.. 🙁
Not sure if this will help or stress people out more, but the AAMC postbac database is back up, no more pdf 🙂
https://services.aamc.org/postbac/
https://services.aamc.org/postbac/
Welp, turning 21 will most likely help with whatever type of decisions coming in the next few weeks
1 II, 5 rejections, all came before Nov. Then 2 silent months and just got 1 II last week. 14 more silent schools. So 2 II so far, but that doesn't feel safe to me. Really want to grab more II. 🙁
3.7/38 and only one interview? I'd be having a heart attack right now in fear of something being seriously wrong with my app. I know people say the application pool is competitive, but damn brother, I don't know how you slipped through the cracks. Hopefully you hear some good news real soon
