2013-2014 Panic Thread

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goodguygreg said:
That's almost better than getting it through email. I'm gonna call my in state.
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Yea, it definitely caught me off guard when they told me that, I wasn't even sure how to respond for a few seconds haha, but I think they had originally planned to send it before they went on break.
 
I want to go back in time and do my interviews again. My alma mater rejected me today post-interview. Not even placed in the alternate list. Does this mean that my interviewing skills are extremely poor? 🙁
I didn't do much better at the 4 other interviews I attended, and there's only one more scheduled for February.
I can't help but think that the other schools already decided to reject me! Just as many of you have expressed in this thread, I'm going through the dreadful thoughts of "what if I don't get in anywhere?"
Non-applicants need to stop saying crap like "your GPA and MCAT are so good! you'll definitely get in somewhere!"
 
kevinus said:
I want to go back in time and do my interviews again. My alma mater rejected me today post-interview. Not even placed in the alternate list. Does this mean that my interviewing skills are extremely poor? 🙁
I didn't do much better at the 4 other interviews I attended, and there's only one more scheduled for February.
I can't help but think that the other schools already decided to reject me! Just as many of you have expressed in this thread, I'm going through the dreadful thoughts of "what if I don't get in anywhere?"
Non-applicants need to stop saying crap like "your GPA and MCAT are so good! you'll definitely get in somewhere!"
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Congrats on getting the interviews- obviously your stats (or something else in your app) must have been pretty solid to receive 5 II's. In terms of interview skills I would recommend getting feedback from family/friends and actually ask them to evaluate you in a mock interview. Oftentimes you won't notice little habits or things you say that might not come off as well, but other people can pick up on it when they observe you.
 
Wonton Soup said:
Congrats on getting the interviews- obviously your stats (or something else in your app) must have been pretty solid to receive 5 II's. In terms of interview skills I would recommend getting feedback from family/friends and actually ask them to evaluate you in a mock interview. Oftentimes you won't notice little habits or things you say that might not come off as well, but other people can pick up on it when they observe you.
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That is an excellent advice, and that is exactly what I did. It's just unfortunate that in the interrogation room my mind goes blank.
 
MCAT777 said:
Sooooo I didn't use my premed committee LOR since they didn't write my letter until October. I used 3 independent LORs from professors I knew pretty well and got A's in all of their classes... Since I have not gotten any II invites yet, I am wondering if any of these letters might be weak.. Is there a way to know if this is true? Would the committee be able to comment on that? ;_;
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I believe you can still have your premed committee LOR sent to AMCAS. Professors usually write generic letters unless you shared something special with them 😛
 
MCAT777 said:
Sooooo I didn't use my premed committee LOR since they didn't write my letter until October. I used 3 independent LORs from professors I knew pretty well and got A's in all of their classes... Since I have not gotten any II invites yet, I am wondering if any of these letters might be weak.. Is there a way to know if this is true? Would the committee be able to comment on that? ;_;
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Do you know why it took them so long to write your LOR?
 
Maybe there's a red flag based on the disconnect between your MCAT score and your GPA?
 
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Friday, 13th, another rejection for my collection.:grumpy:
 
Second rejection with no waitlists or acceptances.

Particularly bummed since the last rejection was from a school with a 60%+ post-interview acceptance rate.
 
SCX1 said:
Hey guys, I don't know if this is a big "no-no" or not regarding interviewing etiquette, but at one of my interviews, I brought in with me a Starbuck coffee I just bought. I didn't think much of it since I didn't want to throw it away right after I have just bought it. Is this as bad as chewing gum during an interview?
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I always chew gum. I even offered it to someone else while we were waiting for our end of the day interviews, but it turned out I'd left it in the car. Guess that was a good thing for both of us. I missed the "don't chew gum" in the interview thread. I wonder how it would have looked if I had stuck the gum on top of the cup of Starbucks?
 
Darth Doc said:
I always chew gum. I even offered it to someone else while we were waiting for our end of the day interviews, but it turned out I'd left it in the car. Guess that was a good thing for both of us. I missed the "don't chew gum" in the interview thread. I wonder how it would have looked if I had stuck the gum on top of the cup of Starbucks?
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I actually had a professor who would throw ppl out of class over chewing gum. She was the nicest phd is ever met until she saw someone blow a bubble with their bubblicious during her lecture. It's was baaaaaaaaaad!
 
Wonton Soup said:
Just got off the phone with admissions from my IS school to ask about my status, and looks like they were about to send me an interview anyway, so we went ahead to schedule one. Huzzah!
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Congrats! You and I are hoping for the same IS school. Since we have basically the same stats I'm hoping good news for you is good news for me. 😀

Best of luck at your interview!
 
Another rejection, still no IIs, beginning to think that being complete for a while at most of these schools means they are just waiting to reject me!
 
hippiedoc14 said:
Congrats! You and I are hoping for the same IS school. Since we have basically the same stats I'm hoping good news for you is good news for me. 😀

Best of luck at your interview!
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Thanks! I'm excited to take an extra week long vacation this year hahaha. Have you tried calling them? From what it seemed like, they already knew they were going to give me an II but were just waiting till before the holidays to send them out (don't ask me why I have no idea either haha)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I just got wait listed again at the only other school I interviewed at. It was my state school and I thought it went really well when I was there. Now all of the schools I haven't heard from yet are even harder to get into. So now I am just so unhopeful.
 
drwhovian said:
I just got wait listed again at the only other school I interviewed at. It was my state school and I thought it went really well when I was there. Now all of the schools I haven't heard from yet are even harder to get into. So now I am just so unhopeful.
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Sorry to hear that. I'm in the same situation as you. Waitlisted from my state school and waiting to hear back from an OOS either this week or next. These have been my only II so far.
 
Rejection today from Rochester. Ugh. Desperately in need of good news.
 
kevinus said:
I want to go back in time and do my interviews again. My alma mater rejected me today post-interview. Not even placed in the alternate list. Does this mean that my interviewing skills are extremely poor? 🙁
I didn't do much better at the 4 other interviews I attended, and there's only one more scheduled for February.
I can't help but think that the other schools already decided to reject me! Just as many of you have expressed in this thread, I'm going through the dreadful thoughts of "what if I don't get in anywhere?"
Non-applicants need to stop saying crap like "your GPA and MCAT are so good! you'll definitely get in somewhere!"
Click to expand...

drwhovian said:
I just got wait listed again at the only other school I interviewed at. It was my state school and I thought it went really well when I was there. Now all of the schools I haven't heard from yet are even harder to get into. So now I am just so unhopeful.
Click to expand...

T3ckFr3s said:
Sorry to hear that. I'm in the same situation as you. Waitlisted from my state school and waiting to hear back from an OOS either this week or next. These have been my only II so far.
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I_know_that_feel_bro.jpg
 
mdhopeeful said:
Looks like winter break is finally here. No work for the next 2-3 weeks, which means silence =\ Happy holidays everyone. And hang in there!
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Wait shouldn't break start next week. I'm one week shy from hearing back from my latest interview :scared: bahahaha
 
Man I have resisted coming on this thread, actually resisted looking at SDN for the past 3 weeks, but since nothing has happened I finally have give in. I so wish I could prod in the minds of those adcoms and just see what they don't like about my app. Is my app average and boring? Is their a major flaw I don't know about? These are the only things I could think about why my app would not be extended an interview by any school, but then I know for a fact that this isn't true. There are no red flags in my app, I haven't looked at my app until today (the last time I looked at it was 2 months ago) just so I can kind of forget what I mentioned in my app and be as critical as possible when looking it over, but literally nothing stands out!!😡 Im tired of waiting, im sick of all the ppl saying its going to work out, well intentioned yes but everyday it doesnt work out is just another slap in the face. Man screw this process, if I ever do get into medicine and I am somehow able to obtain a position of authority in the medical admissions process late in my years I am going to somehow find a way past this *****ic and frustrating process so that future students don't suffer the way we've suffered. Till then looks like its re app/ going to carribean. oh well.
 
Well....I've been a lurker on this thread for quite some time but it's about time I post:
Complete mid-sept. 3.9/31. 2 iis. One waitlist, the other I won't likely hear from until March (unless I get rejected in Dec.). Didn't have the best interviews
Several rejections, some holds, and 2 small pools right now.
Worried about how late my application was and seeing all the ii dates extending out late in the school specific threads
 
MCAT777 said:
Is it really a good idea to call schools? I have been complete at a school I would really like to attend for over 2 months, should I call and check up? I feel like that might just backfire if they think I'm lacking patience (which I am 😛).
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From personal experience, yes, it never hurts to check up lol, especially if you haven't called recently (within the past couple months)
 
I just wanted to drop by and say GOOD LUCK GUYS! I remember when I posted on this thread a while ago panicking about no interviews and then 3 interviews and I eventually got into my state school. I know it totally sucks right now but hopefully it will get better. Just hang in there🙂
 
LuciusVorenus said:
Do you guys have songs you listen to on repeat when you panic >_>
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I listen to the Christmas station on Pandora. It calms me down and makes me slightly happier...

One more week before winter vacay/no news for a week till January (!). Fingers crossed everyone, that we'll hear something this coming week. A December miracle...a early Christmas present.....
 
hopefloatsss said:
I listen to the Christmas station on Pandora. It calms me down and makes me slightly happier...

One more week before winter vacay/no news for a week till January (!). Fingers crossed everyone, that we'll hear something this coming week. A December miracle...a early Christmas present.....
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The Christmas songs make me sadder! They make me sad I can't have a holly jolly Christmas instead of a panic-y one 🙁
 
snowys435 said:
I just wanted to drop by and say GOOD LUCK GUYS! I remember when I posted on this thread a while ago panicking about no interviews and then 3 interviews and I eventually got into my state school. I know it totally sucks right now but hopefully it will get better. Just hang in there🙂
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When did you start getting interviews?
 
xRadonV3 said:
Still nothing but rejections and holds. January is almost here and hopes are almost gone. What do you people think about MPH programs?
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I very well may do one (in chronic health epidemiology), since I find it very relevant. However, just be aware that it is, by far, not the best way to better your chances for med school (if you need to boost your stats). I've talked to a couple of med school directors, and while they think it is valuable, they think post-bacc hard science coursework is more telling and indicative of a successful admit.
 
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johnamo said:
I very well may do one (in chronic health epidemiology), since I find it very relevant. However, just be aware that it is, by far, not the best way to better your chances for med school (if you need to boost your stats). I've talked to a couple of med school directors, and while they think it is valuable, they think post-bacc hard science coursework is more telling and indicative of a successful admit.
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True, but a hard science/post bacc degree is basically useless if not for gaining entrance to medical school. A MPH, on the other hand, while it might not be the best post-bacc program with someone with really low GPA/stats, might give more flexibility/bang for the buck in the future if medical school doesn't work out.

For me, I'm still trying to be hopeful for this cycle (I have one interview at my alma mater + 1 small group pending, praising the lord for good things in January) but if not, going to have to do some serious soul-searching to see if 45k to get a post-bacc degree will be more useful than just retaking my MCAT or spending 45k to get an MPH, something I'm also interested in.

But in all other news....once again, I just facebook stalked everyone who is attending medical school on facebook and felt really bad about the idea that I'm not a doctor yet. Wahh. And it's an hour before my work place's holiday party. Why do I do this to myself. But thank god for the panic thread...otherwise I'd just mope by myself....
 
hopefloatsss said:
True, but a hard science/post bacc degree is basically useless if not for gaining entrance to medical school. A MPH, on the other hand, while it might not be the best post-bacc program with someone with really low GPA/stats, might give more flexibility/bang for the buck in the future if medical school doesn't work out.

For me, I'm still trying to be hopeful for this cycle (I have one interview at my alma mater + 1 small group pending, praising the lord for good things in January) but if not, going to have to do some serious soul-searching to see if 45k to get a post-bacc degree will be more useful than just retaking my MCAT or spending 45k to get an MPH, something I'm also interested in.

But in all other news....once again, I just facebook stalked everyone who is attending medical school on facebook and felt really bad about the idea that I'm not a doctor yet. Wahh. And it's an hour before my work place's holiday party. Why do I do this to myself. But thank god for the panic thread...otherwise I'd just mope by myself....
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Haha, I think we're in a similar spot.

I agree that a post-bacc degree is utterly useless if not for medical school. A MPH is a perfectly viable graduate degree, which is a big reason why I'm interested. I think the curriculum could teach me a whole new set of skills and allow for a new outlook on healthcare... whereas taking more hard sciences would just be a chore.

I was recently accepted to my top choice DO, so I may defer entry one year in order to do a MPH (a number of schools have accelerated programs that finish in a year). For me, it came down to whether or not I wanted to do something that would better my MD chances and then reapply, or just go with my currently accepted DO and maybe defer for a MPH. I've come to the conclusion that if this year is a bust as far as MD schools go, I'm happy with my MPH and DO as opposed to a ... MS in health sciences (or something) and MD.

Of course, everyone has different goals, but that's my opinion on a MPH.
 
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Starting to think my age is playing a role somehow. They might think I'm too young, I'm 20, which I am aware is below the average age, anyone think my age might have something to do with it?
 
medschoolmyname said:
Starting to think my age is playing a role somehow. They might think I'm too young, I'm 20, which I am aware is below the average age, anyone think my age might have something to do with it?
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Only if your experiences aren't on par with the average applicant (23-24 yrs old).

I expect that someone who's had 3-4 years longer to work, study, volunteer, etc. very likely has accomplished more (in terms of depth and breadth of experiences) unless you've been very busy or very focused on medicine since high school 😀.

So, does your age play a role? Absolutely -- but not the number itself.
 
johnamo said:
Only if your experiences aren't on par with the average applicant (23-24 yrs old).

I expect that someone who's had 3-4 years longer to work, study, volunteer, etc. very likely has accomplished more (in terms of depth and breadth of experiences) unless you've been very busy or very focused on medicine since high school 😀.

So, does your age play a role? Absolutely -- but not the number itself.
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Well said but the problem is I am sure my academics, work experiences, and other ecs are on par with the medical school expectations and my age. Ohh well I'll just try and be patient.
 
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