2015 Nontrad Applicants' Progress Thread

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bltng said:
Hello fellow nontrads!

I've been working on my personal statement and am hit with a dilemma that I hope you guys could help me resolve.

Would you deem it necessary to mention your undergraduate years where you were on a non-premed track? I ask because I graduated college a few years ago where I was a liberal arts major and had no desire or plans to pursue medicine. However after graduating college and being inspired from a pretty amazing clinical experience (my initial inspiration), and ultimately finding out that I have the aptitude and passion for medicine (through more experiences), I became pretty determined on my track towards medicine.

Initially I wanted to dedicate a paragraph(ish) explaining my commitment to service-oriented careers and transition that to the clinical experience I had after graduating. However the more and more I read it, the less I think it's necessary for me to include that time period (although I know adcoms will definitely be intrigued as to what I was doing during my undergraduate after all....). I feel like I have so much experiences and lessons learned that have all fundamentally helped me in my pursuit of medicine that I'd rather not waste any more character space on things that did not directly impact this pursuit.

What is your recommendation on what I should do, or how I can bridge my undergraduate years along with my post-bacc years?

Thanks!
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I only focused on the past two years in my PS. And I was pre med in college (grad 2006). Your personal statement just needs to be personal and answer the question why medicine. There's no formula.

Initially I tried to cram undergraduate in there and it just was no good. So for me I poured from the heart and it turned out much better.
 
ConsultantMD said:
How are people picking their most meaningful activities? I have significant work experience and research experience, but I'm not sure if I should put my sport (college and pro) as most meaningful or not, since it's not directly related to medicine, but was meaningful in general and is something different.
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If you can relate the skills back to medicine I think it is a good idea. How many people applying to med school can say they were a professional athlete? It'll make you super unique (in my opinion) and you can relate things such as dedication, teamwork, etc.
 
My biggest breakthrough with the PS was to scrap the draft I had been working with for the past 3 months and start over from scratch. The product of the rewrite was head and shoulders above anything I had written before and has been getting rave reviews from everyone who reads it.

$.02
 
WaterPog said:
My biggest breakthrough with the PS was to scrap the draft I had been working with for the past 3 months and start over from scratch. The product of the rewrite was head and shoulders above anything I had written before and has been getting rave reviews from everyone who reads it.

$.02
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That is exactly what I did. Best choice I made, the other one had become such a mess from working on it for so long. It said everything I wanted to say but did not flow at all. I wish I had thought of the "scrap and rewrite" weeks ago.
 
Leslie_Knope said:
Just to weigh in in case it helps: I've filled all 15 slots and had to condense some things together. I decided to list everything I've done since college. So I have two things from college (employment and athletics) then jobs, volunteering, clinical experience, shadowing, research, etc. since college.
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I did this as well, and doubled up on certain entries like shadowing, extracurriculars and volunteer- non clinical. As non-trads, we've certainly had more time to do some diverse things, so filling up all 15 and doubling up does not seem strange to me. I also used one entry for hobbies-- I've heard that admissions committees like to see activities that make you maybe a little more unique or add some depth outside of medical/volunteer/shadowing.

In terms of PS, ugh-- I'm so close, but just not there yet! Still need to cut characters as well. But, I totally agree with scrapping and rewriting if necessary! My newest draft is also stronger than my previous ones, so sometimes a blank slate is helpful.

Hope everyone's dealing with the last week prior to submission well! Is everyone planning on submitting June 3rd? I hear varying opinions about waiting a day or two or even a week as opposed to submitting the first possible day due to server crashes...
 
ConsultantMD said:
How are people picking their most meaningful activities? I have significant work experience and research experience, but I'm not sure if I should put my sport (college and pro) as most meaningful or not, since it's not directly related to medicine, but was meaningful in general and is something different.
Click to expand...

The art of this isn't that every activity you describe, even the most meaningful, correspond 1:1 with healthcare, but that you have gained experiences and skills (life skills count!) that will translate to your success as a physician. I can see many ways a career in sports could bespeak traits that would be useful to the aspiring doctor. Adcoms prize us non-trads because we bring something other than the cookie-cutter essays to the table; I think you could make a real winner with yours.
 
MedicalMomma81 said:
Yeah, I don't have any of those. I was going to stretch my time working in a hospital as somewhat of a shadowing experiance, since I worked closely with nurses and doctors every day. But, I have no research or volunteering at all.

I have: My work as a CNA/HHA at 3 places over 7 years
Deans list, every semester I qualified with enough credits
A scholarship I was awarded one year for $4,000-(renewable for up to 4 semesters as long as GPA stayed up) 1 of 8 to be chosen for it
And, the few activities I have time for: running, riding horses, inline skating.
I only have 4, so 8 sounds great to me!
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It might be a good idea for you to put together a What Are My Chances thread and post over there to solicit some advice from other experienced members and adcoms. My gut says submitting your application later, as you'd insinuated earlier in this thread, without much volunteer experience, much less research experience, might not be the wisest choice of action. However, I'm not sure how being a mother would play into an adcom member's decision, so it would be best to get some advice straight from the horse's mouth.
 
DrCharlemagne said:
The art of this isn't that every activity you describe, even the most meaningful, correspond 1:1 with healthcare, but that you have gained experiences and skills (life skills count!) that will translate to your success as a physician. I can see many ways a career in sports could bespeak traits that would be useful to the aspiring doctor. Adcoms prize us non-trads because we bring something other than the cookie-cutter essays to the table; I think you could make a real winner with yours.
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Right, I've gone ahead and stuck with it, and under the experience description I provided some doctor-esque relevance to it.

I've landed on 12 out of the 15, I don't want to have things get lost in the mix. PS is so close to being done, MCAT score comes out tomorrow. I can't believe it's already here!
 
ConsultantMD said:
Right, I've gone ahead and stuck with it, and under the experience description I provided some doctor-esque relevance.

I've landed on 12 out of the 15, I don't want to have things get lost in the mix. PS is so close to being done, MCAT score comes out tomorrow. I can't believe it's already here!
Click to expand...

Good luck with the scores!!
 
ConsultantMD said:
Right, I've gone ahead and stuck with it, and under the experience description I provided some doctor-esque relevance to it.

I've landed on 12 out of the 15, I don't want to have things get lost in the mix. PS is so close to being done, MCAT score comes out tomorrow. I can't believe it's already here!
Click to expand...

Fingers crossed and best luck wishes!
 
milski said:
The changes are done by AMCAS personnel, you don't have to do anything. There is a column on the final application sent to the medical school indicating wether the grade had to be corrected.
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dang.... so like the med schools see only the grade change (like if you accidentally put in A vs B) or they see every change? (like course classifications changing).
 
crazy87 said:
dang.... so like the med schools see only the grade change (like if you accidentally put in A vs B) or they see every change? (like course classifications changing).
Click to expand...
The schools don't see the change. They see the final decision by AMCAS and whether it was verified with or without a correction.
 
Glycereine said:
As long as I can submit within the first 2 weeks I am happy, but hoping for within 2 days (not going to try on June 3rd).
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ConsultantMD said:
Right, I've gone ahead and stuck with it, and under the experience description I provided some doctor-esque relevance to it.

I've landed on 12 out of the 15, I don't want to have things get lost in the mix. PS is so close to being done, MCAT score comes out tomorrow. I can't believe it's already here!
Click to expand...
Best of luck! June 10th for my scores =(
 
Ah crap... the PS maximum character count for AACOMAS is 4500!!! That's 800 characters less than AMCAS... =(
 
On a side note... The transcript I sent first to AAMCAS/AACOMAS was received by AACOMAS on 5/19, but never received yet by AMCAS...but all of my other transcripts have been received already by AAMCAS...should I be worried?
 
milski said:
The schools don't see the change. They see the final decision by AMCAS and whether it was verified with or without a correction.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I think I understand.
 
Inygma said:
On a side note... The transcript I sent first to AAMCAS/AACOMAS was received by AACOMAS on 5/19, but never received yet by AMCAS...but all of my other transcripts have been received already by AAMCAS...should I be worried?
Click to expand...

AMCAS usually takes some time after they receive a transcript before they associate it with your application, but you can give them a call. The people there are fairly helpful in my experience.
 
Good luck on scores!! You've done your part- the rest isn't in your hands!

Also- any Texans in here? If so- how goes the secondary trail? Still hammering out a few on my end.
 
DrCharlemagne said:
It might be a good idea for you to put together a What Are My Chances thread and post over there to solicit some advice from other experienced members and adcoms. My gut says submitting your application later, as you'd insinuated earlier in this thread, without much volunteer experience, much less research experience, might not be the wisest choice of action. However, I'm not sure how being a mother would play into an adcom member's decision, so it would be best to get some advice straight from the horse's mouth.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your ideas. I came up with a few more so I'm up to having 9 and I think I'll leave it at that. I could split up my three health care related jobs and get a higher number, but I think it looks more balanced under one heading. I wasn't thinking about how broadly the categories could be used.

I owned a sucessful business prior to changing careers and returning to school, so I added that for leadership. I am certified as a nurses assistant, a phlebotomist, and am still ACLS certified from when I worked as a tech in the ER.

I will be submitting my application on the 3rd, if the servers let me. I also moved up my MCAT to July 12th. I chose to leave out the fact that I am a mother from my PS.
 
Good luck to everyone receiving their scores in the next few days!

Inygma: I agree with juliuspepperwood-- I would definitely give AMCAS a call. They've been quite responsive and helpful in my experiences with them! Better to be safe and check in 🙂.
 
Got the email from AMCAS earlier that one of my LORs has been received, from my physician mentor at the practice I worked at for two years. I should probably do something nice for him, right?
 
akinetopsia said:
Got the email from AMCAS earlier that one of my LORs has been received, from my physician mentor at the practice I worked at for two years. I should probably do something nice for him, right?
Click to expand...
I have considered the same. I am writing hand-written thank you notes for all the people I asked for LOE/Rs from who completed them. I considered doing more but then it seems like I'm buying the recommendations.

I feel like a hand-written note definitely says more than an email though. I will however send emails to all of them if/when I am accepted to med school saying thank you again and letting them know.
 
Glycereine said:
I have considered the same. I am writing hand-written thank you notes for all the people I asked for LOE/Rs from who completed them. I considered doing more but then it seems like I'm buying the recommendations.

I feel like a hand-written note definitely says more than an email though. I will however send emails to all of them if/when I am accepted to med school saying thank you again and letting them know.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a really good idea. I wasn't planning on buying him a Montblanc pen or anything so he could lose it within a week, but definitely a handwritten note seems like a good idea, along with keeping him informed of progress over this cycle.
 
juliuspepperwood said:
AMCAS usually takes some time after they receive a transcript before they associate it with your application, but you can give them a call. The people there are fairly helpful in my experience.
Click to expand...

Well they weren't very helpful. They said they moved around the 18th, so things "might have been misplaced". There is no way to tell if they have it and it hasn't been processed yet. I guess I can spend another $30 and send another one, but now it looks like I won't be submitting on the first day!

To compound this wonderful problem, my college site is down :rage:
 
Inygma said:
Well they weren't very helpful. They said they moved around the 18th, so things "might have been misplaced". There is no way to tell if they have it and it hasn't been processed yet. I guess I can spend another $30 and send another one, but now it looks like I won't be submitting on the first day!

To compound this wonderful problem, my college site is down :rage:
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Sorry to hear that. My last transcript was mailed from CA on the 19th and still not marked as received. I guess I'll just use the extra time to neurotically go over my application over and over. Supposedly a few days won't matter. I guess if I don't get in, this will be a lesson learned for next time.
 
Leslie_Knope said:
Sorry to hear that. My last transcript was mailed from CA on the 19th and still not marked as received. I guess I'll just use the extra time to neurotically go over my application over and over. Supposedly a few days won't matter. I guess if I don't get in, this will be a lesson learned for next time.
Click to expand...

You should be fine.. Mine mailed on the 12th, and AACOMAS had it verified on the 17th. My other transcripts were mailed after that, and were all checked in at the same time.
 
Site came back up and just paid to have expedited transcripts (though it just makes them send it faster... they still use standard mail 🙁)

Hoping I am not too far behind the submit start...I know if you submit later sometimes it takes 1-2 months to verify you, which would probably kill my app this cycle.
 
Inygma said:
Site came back up and just paid to have expedited transcripts (though it just makes them send it faster... they still use standard mail 🙁)

Hoping I am not too far behind the submit start...I know if you submit later sometimes it takes 1-2 months to verify you, which would probably kill my app this cycle.
Click to expand...
You'll be fine. Even if you submit two weeks late, you'll be verified by mid July (based on data from the last year). Considering that schools start getting the primaries at the end of June you'll still be well ahead.
 
milski said:
You'll be fine. Even if you submit two weeks late, you'll be verified by mid July (based on data from the last year). Considering that schools start getting the primaries at the end of June you'll still be well ahead.
Click to expand...
Yea, my transcripts finally got put with my app last year around June 20, verified by July 27. So that might be a little slow since things were messy last year, but that's a general idea of how fast it goes around that time.
 
This might be helpful to someone - submission and verification dates from the last year verification thread (keep in mind that first day for submissions was 06/10):
10-Jun-13 10-Jun-13
11-Jun-13 27-Jun-13
12-Jun-13 5-Jul-13
13-Jun-13 10-Jul-13
14-Jun-13 11-Jul-13
15-Jun-13 15-Jul-13
16-Jun-13 15-Jul-13
17-Jun-13 16-Jul-13
18-Jun-13 17-Jul-13
19-Jun-13 20-Jul-13
20-Jun-13 23-Jul-13
21-Jun-13 25-Jul-13
22-Jun-13 26-Jul-13
23-Jun-13 29-Jul-13
24-Jun-13 30-Jul-13
25-Jun-13 1-Aug-13
26-Jun-13 2-Aug-13
27-Jun-13 6-Aug-13
28-Jun-13 8-Aug-13
29-Jun-13 9-Aug-13
30-Jun-13 12-Aug-13
1-Jul-13 12-Aug-13
3-Jul-13 16-Aug-13
4-Jul-13 19-Aug-13
5-Jul-13 19-Aug-13
6-Jul-13 21-Aug-13
7-Jul-13 21-Aug-13
8-Jul-13 22-Aug-13
9-Jul-13 23-Aug-13
10-Jul-13 26-Aug-13
11-Jul-13 28-Aug-13
12-Jul-13 29-Aug-13
13-Jul-13 30-Aug-13
14-Jul-13 31-Aug-13
15-Jul-13 3-Sep-13
16-Jul-13 4-Sep-13
17-Jul-13 5-Sep-13
18-Jul-13 6-Sep-13
19-Jul-13 9-Sep-13
20-Jul-13 10-Sep-13
21-Jul-13 10-Sep-13
22-Jul-13 11-Sep-13
23-Jul-13 12-Sep-13
24-Jul-13 13-Sep-13
25-Jul-13 14-Sep-13
26-Jul-13 16-Sep-13
27-Jul-13 17-Sep-13
28-Jul-13 17-Sep-13
29-Jul-13 18-Sep-13
30-Jul-13 18-Sep-13
31-Jul-13 20-Sep-13
1-Aug-13 24-Sep-13
2-Aug-13 24-Sep-13
3-Aug-13 24-Sep-13
4-Aug-13 24-Sep-13
5-Aug-13 25-Sep-13
6-Aug-13 25-Sep-13
7-Aug-13 26-Sep-13
8-Aug-13 27-Sep-13
9-Aug-13 27-Sep-13
10-Aug-13 30-Sep-13
11-Aug-13 30-Sep-13
12-Aug-13 30-Sep-13
13-Aug-13 1-Oct-13
14-Aug-13 1-Oct-13
15-Aug-13 2-Oct
16-Aug-13 2-Oct-13
17-Aug-13 3-Oct-13
18-Aug-13 3-Oct-13
19-Aug-13 4-Oct-13
20-Aug-13 4-Oct-13
21-Aug-13 7-Oct-13
22-Aug-13 8-Oct-13
23-Aug-13 9-Oct-13
24-Aug-13 9-Oct-13
25-Aug-13 9-Oct-13
26-Aug-13 10-Oct-13
27-Aug-13 10-Oct-13
 
milski said:
This might be helpful to someone - submission and verification dates from the last year verification thread:
10-Jun-13 10-Jun-13
11-Jun-13 27-Jun-13
12-Jun-13 5-Jul-13
13-Jun-13 10-Jul-13
14-Jun-13 11-Jul-13
15-Jun-13 15-Jul-13
16-Jun-13 15-Jul-13
17-Jun-13 16-Jul-13
18-Jun-13 17-Jul-13
19-Jun-13 20-Jul-13
20-Jun-13 23-Jul-13
21-Jun-13 25-Jul-13
22-Jun-13 26-Jul-13
23-Jun-13 29-Jul-13
24-Jun-13 30-Jul-13
25-Jun-13 1-Aug-13
26-Jun-13 2-Aug-13
27-Jun-13 6-Aug-13
28-Jun-13 8-Aug-13
29-Jun-13 9-Aug-13
30-Jun-13 12-Aug-13
1-Jul-13 12-Aug-13
3-Jul-13 16-Aug-13
4-Jul-13 19-Aug-13
5-Jul-13 19-Aug-13
6-Jul-13 21-Aug-13
7-Jul-13 21-Aug-13
8-Jul-13 22-Aug-13
9-Jul-13 23-Aug-13
10-Jul-13 26-Aug-13
11-Jul-13 28-Aug-13
12-Jul-13 29-Aug-13
13-Jul-13 30-Aug-13
14-Jul-13 31-Aug-13
15-Jul-13 3-Sep-13
16-Jul-13 4-Sep-13
17-Jul-13 5-Sep-13
18-Jul-13 6-Sep-13
19-Jul-13 9-Sep-13
20-Jul-13 10-Sep-13
21-Jul-13 10-Sep-13
22-Jul-13 11-Sep-13
23-Jul-13 12-Sep-13
24-Jul-13 13-Sep-13
25-Jul-13 14-Sep-13
26-Jul-13 16-Sep-13
27-Jul-13 17-Sep-13
28-Jul-13 17-Sep-13
29-Jul-13 18-Sep-13
30-Jul-13 18-Sep-13
31-Jul-13 20-Sep-13
1-Aug-13 24-Sep-13
2-Aug-13 24-Sep-13
3-Aug-13 24-Sep-13
4-Aug-13 24-Sep-13
5-Aug-13 25-Sep-13
6-Aug-13 25-Sep-13
7-Aug-13 26-Sep-13
8-Aug-13 27-Sep-13
9-Aug-13 27-Sep-13
10-Aug-13 30-Sep-13
11-Aug-13 30-Sep-13
12-Aug-13 30-Sep-13
13-Aug-13 1-Oct-13
14-Aug-13 1-Oct-13
15-Aug-13 2-Oct
16-Aug-13 2-Oct-13
17-Aug-13 3-Oct-13
18-Aug-13 3-Oct-13
19-Aug-13 4-Oct-13
20-Aug-13 4-Oct-13
21-Aug-13 7-Oct-13
22-Aug-13 8-Oct-13
23-Aug-13 9-Oct-13
24-Aug-13 9-Oct-13
25-Aug-13 9-Oct-13
26-Aug-13 10-Oct-13
27-Aug-13 10-Oct-13
Click to expand...

Did AMCAS open June 10th last year?
 
ConsultantMD said:
Right, I've gone ahead and stuck with it, and under the experience description I provided some doctor-esque relevance to it.

I've landed on 12 out of the 15, I don't want to have things get lost in the mix. PS is so close to being done, MCAT score comes out tomorrow. I can't believe it's already here!
Click to expand...

Have you started refreshing the scores page yet? :laugh:
 
Congratulations to @ConsultantMD ! I just stalked your profile to find out how you did. 😉

As for me, I'm just plugging away at W/A still. It's hard to describe my research. I better practice in case I get asked about it.
 
Leslie_Knope said:
Congratulations to @ConsultantMD ! I just stalked your profile to find out how you did. 😉

As for me, I'm just plugging away at W/A still. It's hard to describe my research. I better practice in case I get asked about it.
Click to expand...
Oh my I'm sooo excited guys!! I cannot believe it's here but we are applying next week! Mcat book burn party!!! Thank you!
 
Ugh, Only 3/9 on transcripts still even though several schools told me they sent them electronically a week ago...
 
Last edited:
OK I am having a really hard time with the most meaningful designations. I understand most people do not select shadowing as most meaningful, but I feel that I need to in order to fit in what I want to say about it. I have some volunteer experiences that I talked about in my PS, so I didn't want to also mark them as most meaningful. So I'm sort of at a loss now.
 
I was going to mark my time volunteering in the ER or my shadowing as most meaningful. While shadowing I got a lot better feel for what the doctor I shadowed did and I go to see a ton of cases and even talk to patients quite a bit. I ended up picking the volunteering activity, but I wouldn't have felt bad about choosing the shadowing.
 
I chose shadowing as one of my most meaningful activities because I went on a medical brigade in South America, along with other shadowing experiences in the U.S., that impacted my understanding of global health and healthcare systems in other countries. If you can speak to why it was influential in your decision to apply to medical school, then I think you should list it!
 
After waiting 10 months (!) I finally got a call from the place I wanted to volunteer, a food pantry. Woooo, I start on Friday!

Figures it's like 3 days before the application can be submitted.

Should I still put it on my application, since I have nil other volunteer work?
 
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