2014 Nontrad Applicants' Progress Thread

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II #6 today, which let me send some in the area emails. Hoping those bear fruit!

Still freaking out about having to miss so much work in Oct and Nov. Yikes.
 
Mind sharing what you put in the in the area emails? I've never written one. I'm interviewing at Georgetown, and on hold at GW. Thinking it might be worth a shot.
 
Pose said:
Mind sharing what you put in the in the area emails? I've never written one. I'm interviewing at Georgetown, and on hold at GW. Thinking it might be worth a shot.
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I kept it pretty short and to the point, along the lines of: I will be in [the city] for another medical school interview on [date]. If I am under consideration, would it be possible to schedule an interview on [bordering dates]? Thank you for your consideration, I understand that this might not be possible, etc.

Hoping at least one of the schools bites....really need to try and minimize time away from work.
 
Yup! Applied to Prime! Just added UCI, thanks for the suggestion. Hoping for good news soon!!!
 
First interview done and 3 more to go. My interview day ended with "well you didn't disqualify yourself" :laugh: oh well it was a huge weight to have lifted off my shoulders. The first interviewer wasn't really interested and the second seemed just very formulaic as he read of his sheet of what to ask and he didn't seem to impressed with my answers. Coupled with it was the school I would rank near the bottom of my (paltry lol) list though I'm ok with how it went. I got a good feel for the school and now know what to expect for future interviews. Still nothing from the other schools but that's no big deal; I'm very happy with where I am now.
 
Thought I'd throw my hat into the ring.

I've completed 19 MD secondaries and am broadening and applying to 15 more. I am insane, I know. I also applied to DO schools, was verified on Monday and have received the MSU-COM secondary. Wonder why these DO schools are so freaking slow to send secondaries but okay...

GPA is low (think around 3.0), MCAT is a 30.

2 pre-interview holds (Loyola and SUNY Upstate)
2 pre-secondary rejections (University of Louisville and LSU-NO)
In play everywhere else...let's see what happens.
 
Amygdarya said:
Eh... congrats? 😉

I had my first interview today, and it was a very nice experience, though just a touch weird because I think I was the only non-trad there 🙂
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I had someone comment that they had heard about non-trads, but had never actually meet one... And, "wow, you're so awesome!"
 
TechToDoc said:
I had someone comment that they had heard about non-trads, but had never actually meet one... And, "wow, you're so awesome!"
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Amygdarya said:
That precious rare species, huh 😉
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I had someone say something like "you people get accepted really easily" and I kept thinking "what do you mean, 'you people!'"
 
ii #12 this evening... gosh it would totally suck if I didn't get in anywhere.
 
Captain Sisko said:
ii #12 this evening... gosh it would totally suck if I didn't get in anywhere.
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Congrats on your IIs! You're doing great! 👍

But... do you think people who got fewer IIs than you worry less about not getting in anywhere? :laugh:
Go back to school-specific pre-allo threads to commiserate with all the 10+ top school IIs people 😀
 
Amygdarya said:
Congrats on your IIs! You're doing great! 👍

But... do you think people who got fewer IIs than you worry less about not getting in anywhere? :laugh:
Go back to school-specific pre-allo threads to commiserate with all the 10+ top school IIs people 😀
Click to expand...

thanks 🙂

Yeah I think maybe the sweet spot is around 5-6 ii's. Wish I were back there... or do I?

I think some of the reason for the number is that I didn't really apply to a lot of top ten's, or at least the highly ranked ones that I did apply to have either rejected me (U of Chicago) or given me silent treatment so far (Michigan, Baylor, UCSF), Others like Brown and Penn I've decided to not complete secondaries, because they've told me I'd be at a disadvantage, at root cause due to my non-traditionality (old coursework, or no letters from undergrad or grad).

I think after dinner I'll have a scotch. Macallan 12, perhaps, to commemorate 🙂
 
Captain Sisko said:
Yeah I think maybe the sweet spot is around 5-6 ii's.
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Why do you think so? I think the more IIs you have, the better: it means that more schools are interested in you, so you have a higher chance of getting in somewhere.
Now, attending all these interviews, all the expenses and missing work is another story. I don't think I would be able to attend 10 interviews even if I had 10 IIs 🙂
Captain Sisko said:
I think some of the reason for the number is that I didn't really apply to a lot of top ten's
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Paradoxically, I got my IIs (and screened secondaries, FWIW) from some of the more competitive schools on my list, but haven't heard a squeak from the less competitive schools. I'm extremely lucky that I got IIs to schools I like a lot and I think I'm a good fit for, but there is so much pressure for those 4 - now 3 - interviews :scared:
Captain Sisko said:
I think after dinner I'll have a scotch. Macallan 12, perhaps, to commemorate 🙂
Click to expand...
Your dozen of IIs is certainly worth celebrating! Now go for 20, Captain! 😉
 
Amygdarya said:
Why do you think so? I think the more IIs you have, the better: it means that more schools are interested in you, so you have a higher chance of getting in somewhere.
Now, attending all these interviews, all the expenses and missing work is another story. I don't think I would be able to attend 10 interviews even if I had 10 IIs 🙂

Paradoxically, I got my IIs (and screened secondaries, FWIW) from some of the more competitive schools on my list, but haven't heard a squeak from the less competitive schools. I'm extremely lucky that I got IIs to schools I like a lot and I think I'm a good fit for, but there is so much pressure for those 4 - now 3 - interviews :scared:

Your dozen of IIs is certainly worth celebrating! Now go for 20, Captain! 😉
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You know I agree with this, the schools I have interviews at are for the most part top schools (including 2 top 20s), while the 'less-competitive' (at least, looking at stats) schools I have interviews at are schools where I have strong personal connections. In this game it's totally possible to have better chances at higher ranked schools....of course with that comes a huuuuge luck factor.

I've got six interviews so far but I welcome each one I get! I'm eyeing your numbers, Sisko, maybe I'll catch up to you by October...I think I was verified a few weeks after you 😉
 
Captain Sisko said:
thanks 🙂

Yeah I think maybe the sweet spot is around 5-6 ii's. Wish I were back there... or do I?

I think some of the reason for the number is that I didn't really apply to a lot of top ten's, or at least the highly ranked ones that I did apply to have either rejected me (U of Chicago) or given me silent treatment so far (Michigan, Baylor, UCSF), Others like Brown and Penn I've decided to not complete secondaries, because they've told me I'd be at a disadvantage, at root cause due to my non-traditionality (old coursework, or no letters from undergrad or grad).

I think after dinner I'll have a scotch. Macallan 12, perhaps, to commemorate 🙂
Click to expand...

Really? I'm non-trad and Brown was one of the first II I got. Now, this could be because I live about an hour away, so they figure I got ties to the area, but I'm surprised being a non-trad would put one at such a disadvantage at Brown.
 
Definitely been lurking around here for some time, so thought I would put myself on the list.

GPA (undergrad):
scienceGPA:2.9
allotherGPA: 3.6
cumulativeGPA: 3.2

GPA (graduate, SMP):
scienceGPA (3.65)

MCAT: 31Q (11 PS/11V/9BS)

Solid extracurriculars, research, and LOR

Applied to ~30 schools, all secondaries complete by mid August, some earlier.

3 interviews so far, 3 rejections. Silence from all others (this part is KILLING ME).
 
Welcome! Some days are harder than others, but you do get used to the waiting game. Best of luck to you
 
MedWonk said:
Really? I'm non-trad and Brown was one of the first II I got. Now, this could be because I live about an hour away, so they figure I got ties to the area, but I'm surprised being a non-trad would put one at such a disadvantage at Brown.
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Unfortunately, Brown won't accept coursework that's more than 10 years old. My degree from 13 years ago is in physics, but I was told by the admissions office I'd have to retake the intro physics sequence to be considered (despite a good MCAT), which deterred me from applying...
 
(non-trad superiority mode on)
You know what drives me nuts in school-specific pre-allo threads? People asking questions that were answered earlier in the thread, often multiple times. Like: oh, I have no idea what the secondary prompts for this school are... - They were posted a few pages earlier! Or: Oh gosh, I submitted my application eons ago and still haven't received a complete email! - This school doesn't send complete emails, check your status page (and, by the way, this fact has been mentioned in this thread like 15 times already). Etc. RTFT! Read the freaking thread before asking inane questions!
The reason this bugs me, these people are applying to medical school and expect all the information to be handed to them on a plate. I mean, sheesh, people's lives are going to depend on you - why can't you skim a 10 page thread to see if the information you need is already there?
 
Amygdarya said:
The reason this bugs me, these people are applying to medical school and expect all the information to be handed to them on a plate. I mean, sheesh, people's lives are going to depend on you - why can't you skim a 10 page thread to see if the information you need is already there?
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Maybe it's their age and general immaturity. Or maybe relative "easiness" of their lives. They didn't learn yet that you have to work to put things on your plate. 🙂
 
Amygdarya said:
(non-trad superiority mode on)
You know what drives me nuts in school-specific pre-allo threads? People asking questions that were answered earlier in the thread, often multiple times. Like: oh, I have no idea what the secondary prompts for this school are... - They were posted a few pages earlier! Or: Oh gosh, I submitted my application eons ago and still haven't received a complete email! - This school doesn't send complete emails, check your status page (and, by the way, this fact has been mentioned in this thread like 15 times already). Etc. RTFT! Read the freaking thread before asking inane questions!
The reason this bugs me, these people are applying to medical school and expect all the information to be handed to them on a plate. I mean, sheesh, people's lives are going to depend on you - why can't you skim a 10 page thread to see if the information you need is already there?
Click to expand...
Lol good point. But to be fair, sometimes there's a whole buncha freak out and nothingness in between the information you want on the school-specific threads. But very good point regardless. Living a "I haven't worked for things much" life can be hard (NOT that all trads have lived this life...but ya know)
 
CW 2010 said:
Maybe it's their age and general immaturity. Or maybe relative "easiness" of their lives. They didn't learn yet that you have to work to put things on your plate. 🙂
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Yes, that's why I filed my post under "non-trad superiority" 🙂
lall said:
Lol good point. But to be fair, sometimes there's a whole buncha freak out and nothingness in between the information you want on the school-specific threads. But very good point regardless. Living a "I haven't worked for things much" life can be hard (NOT that all trads have lived this life...but ya know)
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I agree about the "whole buncha freak out and nothingness", and I also agree that there are mature traditional students, but you know what I mean 😉
 
monkeyfeet said:
Unfortunately, Brown won't accept coursework that's more than 10 years old. My degree from 13 years ago is in physics, but I was told by the admissions office I'd have to retake the intro physics sequence to be considered (despite a good MCAT), which deterred me from applying...
Click to expand...

That sounds dumb. A solid MCAT score should be ample evidence that you still retain a sufficient amount of knowledge from the prereqs.
 
MedWonk said:
That sounds dumb. A solid MCAT score should be ample evidence that you still retain a sufficient amount of knowledge from the prereqs.
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You'd think so, right? Meanwhile, I (38 MCAT 13/12/13, BS in Chemistry, PhD in Microbiology and Immunology, a ton of research and teaching in biology - heck, I taught micro to med students at 2 med schools!) had to retake all the prereqs, including all the chemistry and - guess what? - undergrad bio! I'm not kidding. As far as med schools are concerned, it's sellers market; you will have to jump all the hoops they make you jump to get accepted.
 
Amygdarya said:
You'd think so, right? Meanwhile, I (38 MCAT 13/12/13, BS in Chemistry, PhD in Microbiology and Immunology, a ton of research and teaching in biology - heck, I taught micro to med students at 2 med schools!) had to retake all the prereqs, including all the chemistry and - guess what? - undergrad bio! I'm not kidding. As far as med schools are concerned, it's sellers market; you will have to jump all the hoops they make you jump to get accepted.
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It's really ridiculous. My situation was not quite as ridiculous as yours, but I similarly had to backtrack and retake classes I passed over in college. I could have spared myself SOME pain if I had thought to get all my AP credit added to my transcript (I didn't need the actual credit, so didn't bother as a freshman--basically just used my APs as placement tests at my uni). But it was back to the basics in all four sciences. Plus taking random english classes to...prove my literacy in a way that my writing-heavy social science background and work history do not? That made lots of sense.

But as you said, they make the hoops, and we just jump.
 
While we're at it, I love how Comp Lit courses don't count as English. I have an degree in Comp Lit. Most Comp Lit courses are taught in English; any literature that doesn't originate from an Anglophone country falls into Comp Lit instead of English. The point of the requirement as it relates to the medical profession is to be able to articulate your thoughts; does it really matter that Dickens wrote in 19th century England while Tolstoy wrote in 19th century Russia? A class on Dickens counts for the English requirement while the class on Tolstoy does not. So, I will need to take English courses before applying.

(Snarky side comment: based on the writing I see from many doctors, well, I'll just say I'm not sure the English requirement is having its intended effect anyway...)

I hope somebody on some adcom realizes just how much we want this if we're turning our lives upside down just to check a box! So different than the trad experience of going through undergrad, taking the correct courses, and applying. Not knocking them at all (I sure wish I had that clarity of foresight when I was 18; I'm impressed by them!), but you have to REALLY REALLY REALLY want it if you're going to do what we're doing. I just hope that comes through somewhere.

And with that, I have nothing more to add to an "applicant's progress" thread. Hopefully I will in about three years 🙂 Best of luck to everyone applying this cycle. Now back to studying protein structure at 10:30pm on a Friday night 🙂
 
Yeah, guys, this sucks, but we have no choice but to comply with med school requirements.
futuremddo said:
I hope somebody on some adcom realizes just how much we want this if we're turning our lives upside down just to check a box! So different than the trad experience of going through undergrad, taking the correct courses, and applying. Not knocking them at all (I sure wish I had that clarity of foresight when I was 18; I'm impressed by them!), but you have to REALLY REALLY REALLY want it if you're going to do what we're doing. I just hope that comes through somewhere.
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I certainly hope for this, too! I mean, can anyone doubt my commitment after I took 3 years worth of classes in 2 years (while working full time and doing a whole bunch of other stuff) just to, as you say, check a box?
futuremddo said:
Now back to studying protein structure at 10:30pm on a Friday night 🙂
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... and I need to get back to studying for my exam tomorrow (finishing my last prereq!) 😛
 
nyc1990 said:
Applied to ~30 schools, all secondaries complete by mid August, some earlier.

3 interviews so far, 3 rejections. Silence from all others (this part is KILLING ME).
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Wow, good luck! Hope you hear something soon. :luck:

Your stats are better than mine and I was verified 9/11 😛

I scores 94% on my MCAT trial section ... MCAT scores are out Oct 1.. WAMC?!?! :laugh:
 
Etyan said:
Wow, good luck! Hope you hear something soon. :luck:

Your stats are better than mine and I was verified 9/11 😛

I scores 94% on my MCAT trial section ... MCAT scores are out Oct 1.. WAMC?!?! :laugh:
Click to expand...

Wow... when I took the mcat way back (sarcastic here) in March, I could've sworn the trial section scores, and only were released only 3-4 days before the real ones but I guess they've moved them up. Good for you though, that's awesome. I think I scored around an 80% but got a 38. So you should pretty much be a lock for a 45 🙂
 
Amygdarya said:
Yeah, guys, this sucks, but we have no choice but to comply with med school requirements.

I certainly hope for this, too! I mean, can anyone doubt my commitment after I took 3 years worth of classes in 2 years (while working full time and doing a whole bunch of other stuff) just to, as you say, check a box?

... and I need to get back to studying for my exam tomorrow (finishing my last prereq!) 😛
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I've only found a couple schools where they had this problem, like Tufts and Brown. Tufts refused to move on the issue. I will call Brown sometime soon and make sure, because I'm getting pm's from people saying I should ask in person and not in email.

My particular gripe is that they say my physics doesn't count, even though I AP'ed out of it (took the exam in 2000), went on to get 2 bachelors' in engineering plus a masters. I then scored a 15 on the PS section of the mcat.
 
Captain Sisko said:
I've only found a couple schools where they had this problem, like Tufts and Brown. Tufts refused to move on the issue. I will call Brown sometime soon and make sure, because I'm getting pm's from people saying I should ask in person and not in email.

My particular gripe is that they say my physics doesn't count, even though I AP'ed out of it (took the exam in 2000), went on to get 2 bachelors' in engineering plus a masters. I then scored a 15 on the PS section of the mcat.
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+1
I AP'ed out of physics in 1990 and got a 15 on the PS this spring. I also took a 20th century physics class in the spring. I emailed all the schools I applied to to ask if this was sufficient, and all of them (including Tufts and Brown) except for NYU said I was fine.
 
I think the problem with non-trads is, we may have a collection of classes that is difficult for adcoms to evaluate. Ideally, they want everybody to take more or less the same classes, so they can compare people more easily. Some adcoms are willing to get out of their way and make an effort to evaluate non-standard courses, some aren't. I contacted a bunch of schools by email before applying, and of those that answered, some said that they would evaluate my courses in the background of my whole research and educational experience (i.e. they responded favorably and were encouraging), while others flat out refused to accept anything other than *introductory US undergrad* classes (heck, some schools refused to accept my US grad biochem - 2 semesters, 8 credits total! - in lieu of 1 semester of undergrad biochem they require). I understand that it's nearly impossible for adcoms to evaluate foreign courses/grades (never mind that I had my foreign transcript officially evaluated in the US and the evaluation said that my foreign BS was worth *both* US BS and MS, and that besides chemistry I had 4 semesters of hardcore calculus-based physics including quantum physics, I'm not kidding), but not accepting my US grad bio? (sigh)

My general impression is, private schools, especially top schools, are a lot more flexible about their requirements than state or lower-ranked schools. TX state schools are extremely rigid about their requirements (which, by the way, include 14, not 8 undergrad bio credits). Since I wanted to improve my chances of getting in and apply to TX schools as well as some private ones, I ended up retaking all the prereqs. Plus, TX requires at least 90 US undergrad credits - that's how I ended up with 3 years worth of classes - I'll have exactly 100 US undergrad credits (not counting 54 grad credits) when I'm done with the last prereq I'm taking now.
 
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Amygdarya said:
My general impression is, private schools, especially top schools, are a lot more flexible about their requirements than state or lower-ranked schools.
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I've been told this by reputable sources as well.
 
Just wanted to hop in and wish all the nontrads luck. It might be a long process but hopefully you guys start hearing good news soon. I don't really check the threads anymore but feel free to PM me if anyone has specific questions.

Captain Sisko and Amygdarya I'm rooting for you two! 🙂
 
anguisette said:
Just wanted to hop in and wish all the nontrads luck. It might be a long process but hopefully you guys start hearing good news soon. I don't really check the threads anymore but feel free to PM me if anyone has specific questions.

Captain Sisko and Amygdarya I'm rooting for you two! 🙂
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thanks, and thanks again for the personal statement help, it's clearly working.
 
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Thank you!
Some of us are giving an inferior complex to everybody, but I'm not pointing my fingers at anyone 😀
 
futuremddo said:
While we're at it, I love how Comp Lit courses don't count as English. I have an degree in Comp Lit. Most Comp Lit courses are taught in English; any literature that doesn't originate from an Anglophone country falls into Comp Lit instead of English. The point of the requirement as it relates to the medical profession is to be able to articulate your thoughts.

(Snarky side comment: based on the writing I see from many doctors, well, I'll just say I'm not sure the English requirement is having its intended effect anyway...)

I hope somebody on some adcom realizes just how much we want this if we're turning our lives upside down just to check a box! 🙂
Click to expand...

Makes my blood boil. Literature isn't English enough for adcom. And we are eager to have these people vie for our futures.
 
orthogenes said:
Makes my blood boil. Literature isn't English enough for adcom. And we are eager to have these people vie for our futures.
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Some schools accept "writing intensive" courses like some philosophy etc. (courses where you need to write a lot of essays).
 
First interview today. Ahhhhh.
 
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