2014 Nontrad Applicants' Progress Thread

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Hey all I use to have an account here last year but deleted it for privacy concerns. Mid 20's married guy who didn't discover medicine until after graduating. The nontrads forum has been a source of inspiration and hope for me so I decided I would contribute as well.

3.7+ GPA, 28-31 MCAT, unique EC's (in my opinion).

Applied to 7 MD and 1 DO school. 2 MD II's and 1 DO II so far.

Good luck everyone!
 
SN12357 said:
The love is coming! it must be.

I could have written this post too, albeit with slightly lower stats (although still respectable for top schools). First II yesterday and that took a major load off, but still....it's hard to see everyone else getting interviews. But this game is about patience. We waited this long, we can wait a little longer....
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Congrats on you first II! As has been discussed earlier in this thread, the first II brings some relief... though, judging from my own experience, only temporarily :laugh:
 
After a lot of procrastination I finally submitted to AMCAS on 8/24. Yes, I know that is rather late but I cannot change it at this point. We'll see how bad it affect me.
 
milski said:
After a lot of procrastination I finally submitted to AMCAS on 8/24. Yes, I know that is rather late but I cannot change it at this point. We'll see how bad it affect me.
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good luck milkski
 
also, amy, hang in there. perhaps they're savoring your application!
 
Captain Sisko said:
didn't mention it anywhere else but I'm a pilot too. good to see fliers here!
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Interesting, it seems that there are more of us that I thought. Did you do it full time? Where did you fly? I've never flown as a full time job but I do have about thousand hours of dual given plus some fun on my own.
 
milski said:
Interesting, it seems that there are more of us that I thought. Did you do it full time? Where did you fly? I've never flown as a full time job but I do have about thousand hours of dual given plus some fun on my own.
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got my private a while ago, stopped a few years after that. just recreational stuff, but sounds like you were a pro. awesome for you- that'll you stand out!
 
milski said:
After a lot of procrastination I finally submitted to AMCAS on 8/24. Yes, I know that is rather late but I cannot change it at this point. We'll see how bad it affect me.
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Last year, I submitted to AMCAS on October 12, just before the Oct. 15 deadline. I only applied to 3 schools and my stats were mediocre, but I got an interview. Obviously, I didn't get in, but there's certainly hope for you.

Oh, and please don't flame me for being dumb about apps last year, it was kind of a late decision to even apply, I was going to wait another year, but thought "what the heck, why not give it a go". I never had a pre-med adviser telling me how to go about this very complicated process..
 
I just realized that nowhere in my application I mention that I volunteered between 2002- 2007 for a Children Foundation yearly fundraiser.

Should I just forget about it, since it was a while ago? or is there anywhere I can add it?

The downside of being older and applying... having to remember all of out activities
 
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Brpremed said:
I just realized that nowhere in my application I mention that I volunteered between 2002- 2007 for a Children Foundation yearly fundraiser.

Just i just forget about it, since it was a while ago? or is there anywhere I can add it?

The downside of being older and applying... having to remember all of out activities
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Do you mean you have already submitted your AMCAS without including this activity? I don't think it's a big deal, as long as you have listed other activities.
Some secondaries provide you with an opportunity to rehash your activities (questions like "what have you done since graduation" or "what kind of volunteering have you done"). For most people this will be a repetition of their AMCAS activities, but I think it's great if you can add something "new" on your secondaries.
 
Brpremed said:
I just realized that nowhere in my application I mention that I volunteered between 2002- 2007 for a Children Foundation yearly fundraiser.

Just i just forget about it, since it was a while ago? or is there anywhere I can add it?

The downside of being older and applying... having to remember all of out activities
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Lol. I managed to forget an entire (non-clinical) job I did during undergrad. Oops.

There will be some secondaries where you can add it in, but I wouldn't worry about it much. The fact that you forgot it kind of indicates it's not something that will make or break your application.
 
Amygdarya said:
Do you mean you have already submitted your AMCAS without including this activity? I don't think it's a big deal, as long as you have listed other activities.
Some secondaries provide you with an opportunity to rehash your activities (questions like "what have you done since graduation" or "what kind of volunteering have you done"). For most people this will be a repetition of their AMCAS activities, but I think it's great if you can add something "new" on your secondaries.
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I did submit my AMCAS without, and have already complete most of my secondaries. 🙁

But you are right, it is not a big deal!
 
good luck my fellow non-trads!!!
i am breaking out the pom poms to cheer you all on!!!!

:luck::luck::luck::luck::luck:
 
Hey nontrads! 31yr old dad here, just got an acceptance! I loved the school so will be cancelling my scheduled interviews.

3.1/31/no research but a lot community service

You can do this...it's just a long grind (3yrs for me)
 
sb247 said:
Hey nontrads! 31yr old dad here, just got an acceptance! I loved the school so will be cancelling my scheduled interviews.

3.1/31/no research but a lot community service

You can do this...it's just a long grind (3yrs for me)
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Woohoo! Congrats on your acceptance! Always great to see a fellow nontrad get into his or her top choice school.
 
sb247 said:
Hey nontrads! 31yr old dad here, just got an acceptance! I loved the school so will be cancelling my scheduled interviews.

3.1/31/no research but a lot community service

You can do this...it's just a long grind (3yrs for me)
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Awesome!! Congratulations!!! :luck::luck::luck::luck:
 
sb247 said:
Hey nontrads! 31yr old dad here, just got an acceptance! I loved the school so will be cancelling my scheduled interviews.

3.1/31/no research but a lot community service

You can do this...it's just a long grind (3yrs for me)
Click to expand...

Awesome!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4
 
sb247 said:
Hey nontrads! 31yr old dad here, just got an acceptance! I loved the school so will be cancelling my scheduled interviews.

3.1/31/no research but a lot community service

You can do this...it's just a long grind (3yrs for me)
Click to expand...

Congratulations!!! It's only the end of August and you are already ACCEPTED! 🙂
Very inspiring because you didn't have a 4.0/40.
What school did you get into?
 
CW 2010 said:
Congratulations!!! It's only the end of August and you are already ACCEPTED! 🙂
Very inspiring because you didn't have a 4.0/40.
What school did you get into?
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I'm going to Cambell. I think it did help that I'm obnoxious about preparing. Started my personal statement in january and gave plenty of time for 3-4 of my creative writing and english major friends to proof read. Also, pounded out my primary crazy early so I could hit submit in the first few hours it was open. All secondaries got turned around in less than 48hrs. I also spent significant space mentioning that I want to do rural primary care. It's a need, I noriced that, and I made sure i used it since it's true.
 
Received my 3rd MD II, putting the total at 4 interviews now. Strange this is transitioning from "I can't imagine I'll get any interviews, maybe 1 if I'm lucky" to "oh s@!# I better get in gear and start prepping for interviews". It's going to be a good weekend!
 
I received an invite to one of my dream schools this week, bringing my total to two interviews. I was complete in mid or late August for all my schools so I am very very happy at the responses so far.

One less happy thing is that I'm starting to worry about missing work and juggling everything so that my boss doesn't get unhappy with me...it's going to be really hard. Plus I'm taking my last prereq, which is a lab class! Ack. Here's hoping things don't fall apart at the end.
 
SN12357 said:
I received an invite to one of my dream schools this week, bringing my total to two interviews. I was complete in mid or late August for all my schools so I am very very happy at the responses so far.
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Congrats!
If I understand correctly, fast turnout means the school is really interested in you.
SN12357 said:
One less happy thing is that I'm starting to worry about missing work and juggling everything so that my boss doesn't get unhappy with me...it's going to be really hard. Plus I'm taking my last prereq, which is a lab class! Ack. Here's hoping things don't fall apart at the end.
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I know exactly how you feel. I work in clinical research, and because of some funding cutbacks I'm literally the only person in the lab now - so if I'm not here, study participants' specimens can't be processed, which basically means that every one in my research unit gets a day off 🙂 My colleagues have been very supportive and understanding about my application process, but I still have to space my interviews... which is not a problem considering that I only have two so far 😀
And, just like you, I'm also taking my last lab prereq (o-chem), which adds a little to the pressure. (To be sure, I did take o-chem before, I actually have BS in Chemistry, but from a different country, so I had to retake all my physics and chemistry classes... Never mind that I have PhD in biology and tons of biomedical research - I had to retake undergrad biology, too!)
 
Got my third II today, at Georgetown! I love the DC area, so I'm very excited. Getting very nervous now though...I have to start prepping. I've been reading up on the ACA, and I guess I'll start prepping for common interview questions next.
 
Pose said:
Got my third II today, at Georgetown! I love the DC area, so I'm very excited. Getting very nervous now though...I have to start prepping. I've been reading up on the ACA, and I guess I'll start prepping for common interview questions next.
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Congrats! Don't worry about the interviews- the med schools want you so just be yourself and have a good time. I had my first interview this week and was blown away by the school. Amazingly friendly people and an environment designed to foster great relationships. My interviewer, upon learning that I volunteer in an ER, gave me a personal tour of the hospital and introduced me to an ER resident who showed us the trauma center! What a great experience. It's nothing like a job interview, honestly it was more like a first date.

Here's hoping my next interview will be just as awesome.
 
Amygdarya said:
Congrats!
If I understand correctly, fast turnout means the school is really interested in you.
Click to expand...

I certainly hope so!

Amygdarya said:
I know exactly how you feel. I work in clinical research, and because of some funding cutbacks I'm literally the only person in the lab now - so if I'm not here, study participants' specimens can't be processed, which basically means that every one in my research unit gets a day off 🙂 My colleagues have been very supportive and understanding about my application process, but I still have to space my interviews... which is not a problem considering that I only have two so far 😀
And, just like you, I'm also taking my last lab prereq (o-chem), which adds a little to the pressure. (To be sure, I did take o-chem before, I actually have BS in Chemistry, but from a different country, so I had to retake all my physics and chemistry classes... Never mind that I have PhD in biology and tons of biomedical research - I had to retake undergrad biology, too!)
Click to expand...

Oh man, as bad as missing work can be for me at least I'm not a bottleneck point! Good luck to you. I actually got a third interview invite today (yaaaaaay) and my boss is...well, happy for me, but clearly didn't expect things to move this quickly. I'm just going to have to take it one day at a time. At least I have a TON of vacation time banked.

Yeah, my final prereq is something hilariously basic that most premeds take as a freshman. I cursed for a good long time when I found out that by neglecting to get the AP credit placed on my transcript, I'd have to take the class over again. So it goes.

Good luck!!
 
SN12357 said:
I actually got a third interview invite today (yaaaaaay) and my boss is...well, happy for me, but clearly didn't expect things to move this quickly. I'm just going to have to take it one day at a time. At least I have a TON of vacation time banked.
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Congrats with your new interview!
Yeah, I have a ton of vacation time saved up as well (I only took 3 days off in almost two years), which does not mean I can easily use it 😀

Well, good luck to us all! :luck:
 
Is anyone burned out by secondaries yet?
 
Hi everyone ! I remember I read somewhere around this forum that someone is taking these classes online this fall 2013. I was wondering if anyone that has taken these courses or is currently in this classes could tell me if its a good program? I'm thinking to enroll now, even though I know I'm a little late since the courses have already started this week but I can catch up (hopefully). If anyone could give me some feedback, it would be appreciated. Thanks !
 
I have one more MD app to to do (Wayne), and 2 DO applications. I've been sitting on the DO apps for about a month now - I know how horrible that is. I'm just so burnt out...
 
sitting on four. cms, rush, brown, and rwjohnson. I've decided to withdraw my app from penn and uconn because of probabilities
 
That reminds me...I wasted so much money designating schools on AMCAS that I never should have.
 
^ Yeah, I think I wasted $300 on about eight schools.
 
docelh said:
I wonder if secondaries is a way of forcing us to limit the number of schools we apply to. Myself personally, I've eliminated a dozen schools. The 25 - 30 school strategy is just not realistic.

Good luck to you guys on completing these beasts.

I've been sitting on some secondaries for two months. Per the advice of my school, I completed AMCAS early. I should've not designated any schools until later in the process.

Had two interviews with two U Texas schools. Interview with UCSD next week.
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I cut some schools from my list (pre-AMCAS submission) if I vehemently strongly disliked their secondary questions (luckily--or maybe it's not coincidence--none of my dream schools fell into that category). No regrets. The 24 schools I applied to were more than enough.

You guys can do it!

I thought I was pretty much done with secondaries but then Vanderbilt sent me theirs today, lol....feels good to pass their screen, though. Guess I do just one more.
 
So far I have only made a list of all the secondaries that I have to write. It looks unpleasantly long and it seems that there is only so much that can be reused. At least AMCAS is slow enough with the verification, so I still have time to finish them.
 
picked up my sixth interview invite of the cycle this afternoon. i suspect that my run of good luck might end soon. still happy and grateful though. i only need one acceptance!
 
So before I start off, I'm going to say that I think I may be overreacting, and I know not all 21 22 year olds are getting all the interviews, or that they haven't had it worse than I have. And I may be premature in this reaction, but hey, hi, hows this for an introduction 🙂.

I'm starting to feel like this whole process is f***ed. If all schools care about is grades from when I was 17, then what the hell have I been doing for the last 4+ years working to show them that I'm more than that?

21, 22 year olds just graduating from college, 90% of them have nothing on me in terms of research and clinical experiences, and yet they're the ones sitting on the invites, they're the ones who had the luxury of taking the summer off to fire off those secondaries, or had their parents to give them the application fees, were able to pay for MCAT courses etc etc.

Its just starting to feel like all schools care about is two little numbers; my potential to be a physician is moot if I can't go back in time and fix mistakes I made because I didn't have parents or teachers teaching me any better. Its a miracle that someone in my situation even made it through college, but that doesn't matter, because I didn't do it well enough to satisfy adcoms. It really feels like a stacked deck and that if you weren't born with the life situation to get you in, there's absolutely no way in.

Things I wish my 17 year old self knew.



I'm going to go read more of ya'lls success stories in this thread, so I don't feel like such a giant pile of poo.
PS: if you read this, thank you
 
lall said:
So before I start off, I'm going to say that I think I may be overreacting, and I know not all 21 22 year olds are getting all the interviews, or that they haven't had it worse than I have. And I may be premature in this reaction, but hey, hi, hows this for an introduction 🙂.

I'm starting to feel like this whole process is f***ed. If all schools care about is grades from when I was 17, then what the hell have I been doing for the last 4+ years working to show them that I'm more than that?

21, 22 year olds just graduating from college, 90% of them have nothing on me in terms of research and clinical experiences, and yet they're the ones sitting on the invites, they're the ones who had the luxury of taking the summer off to fire off those secondaries, or had their parents to give them the application fees, were able to pay for MCAT courses etc etc.

Its just starting to feel like all schools care about is two little numbers; my potential to be a physician is moot if I can't go back in time and fix mistakes I made because I didn't have parents or teachers teaching me any better. Its a miracle that someone in my situation even made it through college, but that doesn't matter, because I didn't do it well enough to satisfy adcoms. It really feels like a stacked deck and that if you weren't born with the life situation to get you in, there's absolutely no way in.

Things I wish my 17 year old self knew.



I'm going to go read more of ya'lls success stories in this thread, so I don't feel like such a giant pile of poo.
PS: if you read this, thank you
Click to expand...

I am in a much worse situation than you in terms of medical school hopes - quite possibly hopeless. Regarding the bolded, if you allow yourself to believe and focus on that (however true that may be), you will waste an exponential amount of energy and time that could be used to continue and fight the battle. Even if you were to only spend a few minutes dwelling on that observation, it would be a complete wast of time. Your mind should be focusing on what actually is and not on something that isn't, like how much easier life would have been if born in another situation. After all - it is absolutely impossible to know how your life would have panned out if you were in that situation. Battle through, stay focused and positive, and never give up. What is the point of doing or wasting time on anything else? Good luck going forward.
 
lall said:
So before I start off, I'm going to say that I think I may be overreacting, and I know not all 21 22 year olds are getting all the interviews, or that they haven't had it worse than I have. And I may be premature in this reaction, but hey, hi, hows this for an introduction 🙂.

I'm starting to feel like this whole process is f***ed. If all schools care about is grades from when I was 17, then what the hell have I been doing for the last 4+ years working to show them that I'm more than that?

21, 22 year olds just graduating from college, 90% of them have nothing on me in terms of research and clinical experiences, and yet they're the ones sitting on the invites, they're the ones who had the luxury of taking the summer off to fire off those secondaries, or had their parents to give them the application fees, were able to pay for MCAT courses etc etc.

Its just starting to feel like all schools care about is two little numbers; my potential to be a physician is moot if I can't go back in time and fix mistakes I made because I didn't have parents or teachers teaching me any better. Its a miracle that someone in my situation even made it through college, but that doesn't matter, because I didn't do it well enough to satisfy adcoms. It really feels like a stacked deck and that if you weren't born with the life situation to get you in, there's absolutely no way in.

Things I wish my 17 year old self knew.



I'm going to go read more of ya'lls success stories in this thread, so I don't feel like such a giant pile of poo.
PS: if you read this, thank you
Click to expand...

As silly as it sounds, just try to stay positive. I feel like going into this process as a non-trad you have to maintain some kind of belief that it's not all about the numbers. Being an older, and non-traditional student makes you more well-rounded, and gives you a larger view of how the world actually works. Maybe that doesn't matter, but I like to think that it will make my future self a better doctor. One who is more understanding and compassionate to my patients because I've had to struggle, and know how complex life outside of undergrad can be. I also hope that it will make my application stand out: I didn't major in science and I worked previously in whole different field.

My freshman-self was really dumb, and didn't know she wanted to be a doctor, and got some crummy grades...if that is really the most important thing to all these schools I'm applying to...that's super depressing! And I've wasted a lot of money on application fees! Hopefully it's not the only thing they look at, despite the perspective that SDN can sometimes give that people need a 3.9/38 to get into med school and the process is only about statistics. All kinds of people get into med school. Apply broadly, apply early and work hard on your applications, that's pretty much all you can do.

Also, if you makes you feel better, you could be waiting in verification purgatory like me (couldn't do the apply early thing this cycle). Seems like AMCAS is taking forever! Definitely will be a while before interviews are coming my way. Just try to keep your head up in the mean time, this process is long...and it's only the first week of September. 🙂
 
Hey fellow non-trads,

I'm just going to share with you guys some things that were apparent to me.

First, these schools really want to showcase the variety of their class. They like saying we have people between 21 - 50, all states, a variety of majors. Granted, most of their students fall into a small sliver of 3.7+, 28+ MCAT, science major, 21 year old, and from the home and nearby states. That's because those are the majority of applicants. I really do believe medical schools want to be able to select from different groups just because they rarely have the chance to do so.

Second, the interviewers hinted to me that they run into the same type of cookie-cutter applicant (3.7+, 28+ MCAT, science major, 21 year old) with the same activities, same essays, and same motivation for entering medicine. You can see how this gets monotonous for them. If you're different from that, it will be a like a breath of fresh air in an otherwise repetitive day.

But at the end of the day, they have to be confident you can finish medical school. Each seat is at a premium, a huge investment really.

Stay positive and carry on.
 
lall said:
So before I start off, I'm going to say that I think I may be overreacting, and I know not all 21 22 year olds are getting all the interviews, or that they haven't had it worse than I have. And I may be premature in this reaction, but hey, hi, hows this for an introduction 🙂.

I'm starting to feel like this whole process is f***ed. If all schools care about is grades from when I was 17, then what the hell have I been doing for the last 4+ years working to show them that I'm more than that?

21, 22 year olds just graduating from college, 90% of them have nothing on me in terms of research and clinical experiences, and yet they're the ones sitting on the invites, they're the ones who had the luxury of taking the summer off to fire off those secondaries, or had their parents to give them the application fees, were able to pay for MCAT courses etc etc.

Its just starting to feel like all schools care about is two little numbers; my potential to be a physician is moot if I can't go back in time and fix mistakes I made because I didn't have parents or teachers teaching me any better. Its a miracle that someone in my situation even made it through college, but that doesn't matter, because I didn't do it well enough to satisfy adcoms. It really feels like a stacked deck and that if you weren't born with the life situation to get you in, there's absolutely no way in.

Things I wish my 17 year old self knew.



I'm going to go read more of ya'lls success stories in this thread, so I don't feel like such a giant pile of poo.
PS: if you read this, thank you
Click to expand...
Eh I know how you feel. It just doesn't seem fair. I keep telling myself,"Man if I had been a science major and taken the MCAT right after taking those courses, it would be a piece of cake. But none of us will ever know that so it's a pointless thought.

Something to make you feel a little better. The TMDSAS application for Texas schools closes Oct 1 and I'm still not done. I'm taking my MCAT next Wednesday (don't even get me started on how scared I am about that). I did 2 years of dental school where I was miserable and probably the worst person in my class of 100 with regard to my handskills. I fought it until the end, but I knew it was over. The didactics were fine but I was failing all my lab courses...basically the parts that were dentistry. 2 years in and I'll never get that DDS.

I was dismissed June 26 and was determined to get apps in for this cycle, despite the minimal time. Again, no school and no job SHOULD mean I can easily get it done but studying information from classes I took 8 years ago blows.

Also, it really sucks to have to do the apps twice...especially because it is for a different program so I have to modify a lot of that work to the point where it's easier to just write new essays.

I feel for you. And it sucks. And it's bull****. But all we can do is keep trying. And hey...at least your apps were done long before mine will be. 🙂
 
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