2012-2013 Panic Thread

[Jas1360]

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[apr27]

first, congrats to everyone with an II.

I have not been so fortunate this cycle. I have 0 IIs. Real talk, is this this cycle over for me? should I start thinking about next year?

 

[Jas1360]

first, congrats to everyone with an II.

I have not been so fortunate this cycle. I have 0 IIs. Real talk, is this this cycle over for me? should I start thinking about next year?

Its not over, until its over. You should think about next cycle. 🙁

 

[apr27]

Its not over, until its over. You should think about next cycle. 🙁

Word.

schools say they offer interviews until April or March. would any interview at this point really just be for the last few spots or just for the wait list?

 

[Jas1360]

Word.

schools say they offer interviews until April or March. would any interview at this point really just be for the last few spots or just for the wait list?

That just depends on the school. Some would be for the wait list but is that really so bad at this point?

 

[apr27]

That just depends on the school. Some would be for the wait list but is that really so bad at this point?

Not at all. Thanks for your input. Best wishes.

 

[Jas1360]

Not at all. Thanks for your input. Best wishes.

Good luck

 

[SOMBound13]

first, congrats to everyone with an II.

I have not been so fortunate this cycle. I have 0 IIs. Real talk, is this this cycle over for me? should I start thinking about next year?

You only applied to 5 SOMs? Why?

What is your new MCAT score? It sounds like you took it again. Your GPA and listed MCAT are issues. You may need to apply more broadly. Do you have any ties to other states?

 

[matanpucla]

another tuesday.

can't wait till summer. at least then i'll know what's going on with all these silent schools.

 

[doctorwho101]

another tuesday.

can't wait till summer. at least then i'll know what's going on with all these silent schools.

Plus then I can finally tell people where I'm going to be next year when they ask! That will be nice.

 

[matanpucla]

Plus then I can finally tell people where I'm going to be next year when they ask! That will be nice.

unless i don't get in anywhere lol.

"so where are you going next year?"

"oh you know, i think I need to take another year to strengthen my application"

"what, we thought it was easy to get into med school with your stats?"

"actually no, my GPA is low, and even with an avg matriculant GPA you're not guaranteed anything"

"oh"

repeat x20 for all family members/friends lol

 

[apr27]

You only applied to 5 SOMs? Why?

What is your new MCAT score? It sounds like you took it again. Your GPA and listed MCAT are issues. You may need to apply more broadly. Do you have any ties to other states?

That's not updated. I applied to exactly 30 schools. I have ties to Illinois, Florida, and Michigan.

I agree with you. My pre med profile is an issue especially with my sub par performance in graduate school, which I'm not sure is a "kiss of death" as they say on SDN. ADCOMs have provided we no definitive answer about that.

Personally, I'm trying to put it past me, which I am not sure is so smart. I view it more like it's just something under my belt or "I passed a rigorous one year hard sciences curriculum at a top program." I'm not too keen on taking the MCAT or doing a more formal post bacc. I'm very much looking at the DO. route right now.

Thoughts?

 

[SOMBound13]

You only applied to 5 SOMs? Why?

What is your new MCAT score? It sounds like you took it again. Your GPA and listed MCAT are issues. You may need to apply more broadly. Do you have any ties to other states?

That's not updated. I applied to exactly 30 schools. I have ties to Illinois, Florida, and Michigan.

I agree with you. My pre med profile is an issue especially with my sub par performance in graduate school, which I'm not sure is a "kiss of death" as they say on SDN. ADCOMs have provided we no definitive answer about that.

Personally, I'm trying to put it past me, which I am not sure is so smart. I view it more like it's just something under my belt or "I passed a rigorous one year hard sciences curriculum at a top program." I'm not too keen on taking the MCAT or doing a more formal post bacc. I'm very much looking at the DO. route right now.

Thoughts?

DO is fine.

What is your latest MCAT?

 

[apr27]

DO is fine.

What is your latest MCAT?

hah. didn't realize that didn't update that; 27O (10/9/8)

 

[RACPITT68]

MCAT: 31, GPA: 3.53, PA Resident

Late July/Early August: Submitted and complete
Mid-Sept: I emailed an update letter with some new publications from my research.

I have current statuses that read: continue to review, under review, decision pending, and on hold/re-review from Penn State, Temple, Jefferson, and Drexel respectively.

There's no hope here, right? 🙁 I should give up anticipating any news from any of these schools? I have another acceptance already. I was just hoping for something good from one of these, but it's feeling more and more like silent rejections from all of them. What do you guys think? 😕

 

[physiologist]

MCAT: 31, GPA: 3.53, PA Resident

Late July/Early August: Submitted and complete
Mid-Sept: I emailed an update letter with some new publications from my research.

I have current statuses that read: continue to review, under review, decision pending, and on hold/re-review from Penn State, Temple, Jefferson, and Drexel respectively.

There's no hope here, right? 🙁 I should give up anticipating any news from any of these schools? I have another acceptance already. I was just hoping for something good from one of these, but it's feeling more and more like silent rejections from all of them. What do you guys think? 😕

Your stats are identical to mine. How many interviews did you get?

I'm pending at all those schools and then some - 13 in total. It's so nerve wracking!

 

[ilikevegetables]

Haven't posted here in awhile, but man, I am a nervous wreck as it's getting closer to when I'll hear back from my top choice. People keep telling me about other people they know who also interviewed there, and it just doesn't help to think that I'm kind of in competition with these people. Anyway, thought I'd join in on the panicky solidarity...

 

[cinamin]

Haven't posted here in awhile, but man, I am a nervous wreck as it's getting closer to when I'll hear back from my top choice. People keep telling me about other people they know who also interviewed there, and it just doesn't help to think that I'm kind of in competition with these people. Anyway, thought I'd join in on the panicky solidarity...

Yup tell me about it. I could hear anytime from now until like 3 weeks from now... makes me a bit neurotic at times.

 

[RACPITT68]

Your stats are identical to mine. How many interviews did you get?

I'm pending at all those schools and then some - 13 in total. It's so nerve wracking!

I got 2 interviews and 1 acceptance so far. I withdrew my other application because I hated the program after interviewing there. I'm still pending at 7 schools (including the 4 listed above) with no further status updates from them other than basically what's listed above. In addition, I got about 7 rejections from other places.

The whole thing is SO nerve wracking! The school I got accepted to was a safe school that, while I'd be happy to go there, isn't really a priority for me. I'd love the option to choose where I go. One of these 4 schools would be ideal, but I just feel like its not gonna happen. I feel like I would have heard from them by now. :-/

 

[matanpucla]

another Wednesday!!!!!

 

[doctorwho101]

Just got a very polite rejection from one of the few places I had left in my mental list as "maybe will give me a chance" schools. Must be Wednesday!

 

[physiologist]

Refused today at my state school. Huge blow. Apparently like 25% of IS applicants get an II.

Please, let one of the two schools still pending (one I just interviewed at, the other I'm interviewing at in a few weeks) accept me! It's my only hope (especially because this semester is going rather dismally).

 

[cinamin]

ugh i hate this feeling. not to mention i am beyond broke!!! i don't even know how i am gonna pay for my next flight if i end up getting an ii last minute this month!

 

[askamsky51]

Waiting on 3 interviews for my first acceptance... I know the reality is probably three WL. Though I may hear from one of them tomorrow... And if I don't it is gonna hurt. Trying not to panic but it ain't happening.

 

[txMed7]

Starting to see a trend. Most of us in waitlist limbo with decent numbers submitted our apps laughably late.

Maybe LizzyM was on to something

 

[askamsky51]

Starting to see a trend. Most of us in waitlist limbo with decent numbers submitted our apps laughably late.

Maybe LizzyM was on to something

Truthfully, it's partly due to a broken system.

 

[VisceralFlame]

Truthfully, it's partly due to a broken system.

Agreed! There should be a better way to do this..

 

[matanpucla]

andddd another Thursday!!!

 

[tarheel1408]

Truthfully, it's partly due to a broken system.

How is the system broken?

 

[physiologist]

Another rejection. Top tier private school, didn't expect much.

Now I only have 11 schools to hear back from, and I expect all of them to be rejections (It is February, after all).

But seriously my state school was a huge blow. Although all my friends with ridiculously high GPAs got rejected too. The way they pick people seems so random, especially since those who were chosen for interviews (and I only vaguely know 2 out of the 50 or so people I'm friends with who applied, and neither of those two had remarkable grades or ECs, whereas I have some friends who did awesome things and have insane GPAs who got passed over)

My state school is a top tier school so it's not like they assume those GPA powerhouses would kill their yield if they interviewed them.

 

[SOMBound13]

Starting to see a trend. Most of us in waitlist limbo with decent numbers submitted our apps laughably late.

Maybe LizzyM was on to something

Truthfully, it's partly due to a broken system.

Agreed! There should be a better way to do this..

How is the system broken?

I don't know what he means by saying that the system "is broken," unless he thinks that as long as the app deadline is met, the applicant should be on equal footing as the earlier applicants.

If that's the case, then I guess the answer is moving the primary deadline up to about June 30th, not allowing MCAT scores from past April of the same year, and not allowing med schools to look at any primaries until Oct 1st (allowing July thru Sept to verify everyone).


Or, maybe people can just apply earlier without expecting a late app to get equal consideration.

😕

 

[nabilesmail]

Another rejection. Top tier private school, didn't expect much.

Now I only have 11 schools to hear back from, and I expect all of them to be rejections (It is February, after all).

But seriously my state school was a huge blow. Although all my friends with ridiculously high GPAs got rejected too. The way they pick people seems so random, especially since those who were chosen for interviews (and I only vaguely know 2 out of the 50 or so people I'm friends with who applied, and neither of those two had remarkable grades or ECs, whereas I have some friends who did awesome things and have insane GPAs who got passed over)

My state school is a top tier school so it's not like they assume those GPA powerhouses would kill their yield if they interviewed them.

I think my biggest blow was from my alma meter. I was above their averages, and my alma meter is known for the "trojan network", always helping eachother out, etc ;/

 

[lcck]

I think my biggest blow was from my alma meter. I was above their averages, and my alma meter is known for the "trojan network", always helping eachother out, etc ;/

I think USC was protecting its yield. Being above its average probably meant to the school that you had other options. Regardless, sorry to hear about that.

 

[SOMBound13]

I think my biggest blow was from my alma meter. I was above their averages, and my alma meter is known for the "trojan network", always helping eachother out, etc ;/

I don't know what USC's averages are, but you're an ORM and you have one <10 subscore on your MCAT. That may have weeded you out. Some of the better SOMs will use a <10 subscore in the downselect process for a non-URM. That may have been "strike one"

you also applied in Aug. That may have been "strike two".

you also went to a CC first (did you do any pre-reqs there?). That may have been "strike three".

I'm just trying to make some sense out of the madness.

 

[anguisette]

I think my biggest blow was from my alma meter. I was above their averages, and my alma meter is known for the "trojan network", always helping eachother out, etc ;/

What stats are you looking at? MSAR has USC's median for accepted students at 3.7/34. You're right at their average.

 

[Nahnia]

I think the whole system is a crap shoot. How do you get an interview at a top tier then rejected by a bunch of lower ranked schools. This process makes no sense to me 😕

 

[SOMBound13]

I think USC was protecting its yield. Being above its average probably meant to the school that you had other options. Regardless, sorry to hear about that.

I doubt that. This student isn't likely significantly above USC's average. Maybe if he had a 38 or so, then USC might be concerned. However, a 34 from a Calif ORM is probably what is expected.


Edit...just saw the above post with USC's averages. You're right in their averages.

 

[SOMBound13]

I think the whole system is a crap shoot. How do you get an interview at a top tier then rejected by a bunch of lower ranked schools. This process makes no sense to me 😕

If you're talking about your own situation, there may be some subjective reason that you got an interview at a top tier school. You're an int'l, right? Perhaps you have an interesting story or experience? That subjective reason may not mean much to a lower ranked school.

That said, many of us have gotten rejected or ignored by schools with lower rankings and have gotten IIs and acceptances from higher ranking schools. It's a partly subjective process.

 

[chillaxbro]

Just got my first post interview rejection
Had very few II to begin with
No acceptances yet
Pretty bad interviewer
HNNNNNNNG

 

[nabilesmail]

I doubt that. This student isn't likely significantly above USC's average. Maybe if he had a 38 or so, then USC might be concerned. However, a 34 from a Calif ORM is probably what is expected.


Edit...just saw the above post with USC's averages. You're right in their averages.

I was using US News which reports USC's matriculating class to have an average of a 3.64/33

Though I did go to community college, MANY undergraduates of the UC system/USC come from community college, so I doubt I'm anything new, also my USC GPA has been a 3.8 (Though with only 1 year of coursework, all my prereqs were completed at USC with the exception of Biology and 1 semester of Gen-chem).

I was told, however, that my P.I. does not get along with the USC dean of admission :/

 

[physiologist]

I think my biggest blow was from my alma meter. I was above their averages, and my alma meter is known for the "trojan network", always helping eachother out, etc ;/

My state school = my alma mater, which also helps its own.

Double whammy. FML.

 

[SOMBound13]

I was using US News which reports USC's matriculating class to have an average of a 3.64/33

Though I did go to community college, MANY undergraduates of the UC system/USC come from community college, so I doubt I'm anything new, also my USC GPA has been a 3.8 (Though with only 1 year of coursework, all my prereqs were completed at USC with the exception of Biology and 1 semester of Gen-chem).

I was told, however, that my P.I. does not get along with the USC dean of admission :/

Even with a 34 MCAT, as an Asian male, you're going to be considered to be average or even below average. You're not really competing against the entire app group; you're competing against other male Asians. What is that group's avg stats for USC? MCAT 35? 36? If you were a male URM, your stats might be considered to be very strong for USC.

(Though with only 1 year of coursework, all my prereqs were completed at USC with the exception of Biology and 1 semester of Gen-chem).

I know that many CC students transfer to UCs and USC. I don't know how many go to med school without doing a glide year.

Are you saying that during your junior year at USC, you took Orgo I and II, Gen Chem II, Physics I and II, and Cal I?

 

[jemstone]

I've had three interviews this cycle and I've been wait listed at two, still waiting on the third. Should I expect to be a reapplicant at this point?

 

[Nahnia]

If you're talking about your own situation, there may be some subjective reason that you got an interview at a top tier school. You're an int'l, right? Perhaps you have an interesting story or experience? That subjective reason may not mean much to a lower ranked school.

That said, many of us have gotten rejected or ignored by schools with lower rankings and have gotten IIs and acceptances from higher ranking schools. It's a partly subjective process.

Really subjective. The schools I thought I was competitive at I was rejected whereas I got invites from schools I never really thought would interview me. The whole situation is panic inducing when you see you're up against 3.9/ 38 applicants and another day passes with med school silences.

 

[txMed7]

Even with a 34 MCAT, as an Asian male, you're going to be considered to be average or even below average. You're not really competing against the entire app group; you're competing against other male Asians. What is that group's avg stats for USC? MCAT 35? 36? If you were a male URM, your stats might be considered to be very strong for USC.

(Though with only 1 year of coursework, all my prereqs were completed at USC with the exception of Biology and 1 semester of Gen-chem).

I know that many CC students transfer to UCs and USC. I don't know how many go to med school without doing a glide year.

Are you saying that during your junior year at USC, you took Orgo I and II, Gen Chem II, Physics I and II, and Cal I?

Any stats for this? I'm not doubting the claim. Just curious.

All I found was this blurry JPG showing acceptance rates among asian, white, hispanic, and black, although the data in this graph are only tangentially related to the claim at hand-

 

[WorksInProgress]

Any stats for this? I'm not doubting the claim. Just curious.

All I found was this blurry JPG showing acceptance rates among asian, white, hispanic, and black, although the data in this graph are only tangentially related to the claim at hand-

[/QUOTE]

Combine a dollop of heightened emotions of the panic thread, a heaping of waitlisted/rejected ORM applicants, and sprinkle in AA debate for flavor. Mix and bake for 5 months at 98.7 F. Take out and you should have a cluster**** of a thread.

:troll:

srs

 

[txMed7]

Combine a dollop of heightened emotions of the panic thread, a heaping of waitlisted/rejected ORM applicants, and sprinkle in AA debate for flavor. Mix and bake for 5 months at 98.7 F. Take out and you should have a cluster**** of a thread.

:troll:

srs

I don't think anybody's debating the merits or cons of AA here. A statement was made ("The average MCAT among accepted Asian matriculants is X") and I simply wanted clarification.

 

[anguisette]

I was using US News which reports USC's matriculating class to have an average of a 3.64/33

I was told, however, that my P.I. does not get along with the USC dean of admission :/

The matriculated average isn't that far off from the accepted average in this case, but you're probably within a standard deviation of those numbers. Don't forget that accepted average is what the school wants, matriculated average is what the school gets. When I first made my school list I used the US News matriculated averages too, but several SDNers pointed out how those numbers were lower and when I used the MSAR accepted averages instead, a lot of the schools I labeled "reasonable schools" all of a sudden became reaches and all my reaches became uber dream schools. It's probably why your list is a bit top heavy.

Any stats for this? I'm not doubting the claim. Just curious.

https://www.aamc.org/download/321498/data/2012factstable19.pdf

 

[SOMBound13]

I think the whole system is a crap shoot. How do you get an interview at a top tier then rejected by a bunch of lower ranked schools. This process makes no sense to me 😕

If you're talking about your own situation, there may be some subjective reason that you got an interview at a top tier school. You're an int'l, right? Perhaps you have an interesting story or experience? That subjective reason may not mean much to a lower ranked school.

That said, many of us have gotten rejected or ignored by schools with lower rankings and have gotten IIs and acceptances from higher ranking schools. It's a partly subjective process.

Really subjective. The schools I thought I was competitive at I was rejected whereas I got invites from schools I never really thought would interview me. The whole situation is panic inducing when you see you're up against 3.9/ 38 applicants and another day passes with med school silences.

I think many of us would agree that the app process for int'ls may be more subjective than it is for domestic applicants.

Which schools did you think that you were competitive at, but they rejected you?

You're an int'l, so the situation may be very different and more subjective. How many int'ls (non Canadians) do those schools accept each year? Are any of them MD/XXX? Do the int'ls that they usually accept have god-like stats?

I have no idea how the int'l MD app process works except for the fact that many SOMs accept few or none, there is a financial concern, and that for many SOMs, they feel that their primary mission is to educate future American doctors, so giving seats to int'ls may require some kind of mental jusitification on their part (maybe??).

Just curious - as an int'l, did you have to demonstrate affordability with your application?

Who has interviewed you so far?

 

[SOMBound13]

Even with a 34 MCAT, as an Asian male, you're going to be considered to be average or even below average. You're not really competing against the entire app group; you're competing against other male Asians. What is that group's avg stats for USC? MCAT 35? 36? If you were a male URM, your stats might be considered to be very strong for USC.

(Though with only 1 year of coursework, all my prereqs were completed at USC with the exception of Biology and 1 semester of Gen-chem).

I know that many CC students transfer to UCs and USC. I don't know how many go to med school without doing a glide year.

Are you saying that during your junior year at USC, you took Orgo I and II, Gen Chem II, Physics I and II, and Cal I?

Any stats for this? I'm not doubting the claim. Just curious.

All I found was this blurry JPG showing acceptance rates among asian, white, hispanic, and black, although the data in this graph are only tangentially related to the claim at hand-

I was writing about USC. At a private univ with many high stats Californian Asian applicants, your stats may have seemed more average or below average for that group. You're competiting against a group (male Asians from Calif). These private schools understandably want diversity of region, gender and ethnicity. You're not competing against everyone, therefore you can't look at the average stats of a USC acceptee and determine that you shouldn't have been rejected because your stats were above the average.

Even if USC gives some kind of edge to Calif students (don't know if it does for state funding sake), or gives an edge to its own undergrads, you'd still be competing against too many instate or USC male Asian applicants whose stats are higher and may have a better overall application.