2015 Nontrad Applicants' Progress Thread

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Hi, I was looking for some advice. My AMCAS application was verified end of June and the schools received my MCAT score beginning of August. Most of my secondaries were submitted mid August. My undergrad GPA is ~3.3, Grad GPA ~3.8, and post-Bac is almost 4.00. I do not have a many extracurriculars simply because they are hard to fit in with a full time job and kids. But I do have sufficient amount of shadowing experience. So far I have only received rejections and heard nothing from anybody else. It is almost end of September and I starting to get a bit disheartened. For my application timeline is it normal to not receive any interviews till after September, maybe even after October? I am getting worried that I may not get any interviews.
 
amber80 said:
Hi, I was looking for some advice. My AMCAS application was verified end of June and the schools received my MCAT score beginning of August. Most of my secondaries were submitted mid August. My undergrad GPA is ~3.3, Grad GPA ~3.8, and post-Bac is almost 4.00. I do not have a many extracurriculars simply because they are hard to fit in with a full time job and kids. But I do have sufficient amount of shadowing experience. So far I have only received rejections and heard nothing from anybody else. It is almost end of September and I starting to get a bit disheartened. For my application timeline is it normal to not receive any interviews till after September, maybe even after October? I am getting worried that I may not get any interviews.
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My MCAT score was 34.
 
amber80 said:
My MCAT score was 34.
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I am not sure about the application time and when you would hear back but i had similar stats (uGPA +2.9, gradGPA +3.8, MCAT 33). I have received one interview and about 4 rejections. I would just hang in there, you have better numbers than me so you should be fine.
 
howbaddoyouwantit said:
I am not sure about the application time and when you would hear back but i had similar stats (uGPA +2.9, gradGPA +3.8, MCAT 33). I have received one interview and about 4 rejections. I would just hang in there, you have better numbers than me so you should be fine.
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Thank you for the encouragement! Was the II from an MD school or DO school. I applied to only MD schools.
 
amber80 said:
Thank you for the encouragement! Was the II from an MD school or DO school. I applied to only MD schools.
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Decent for D.O., but w/o grade replacement M.D. will be tough with that GPA (unless you are URM). Lack of research and volunteering will also hurt. I'd throw some D.O. apps out there if you really want to start 2015. Either way the lack of volunteering might kill your app at both D.O./M.D. If you cast a wide net of low tier M.D. you might still pull an II with that MCAT! Keep your head up but maybe consider strengthening your app for the next cycle!
 
Yeah, if you don't have a bunch of volunteering and clinical hours in addition to shadowing, you might be in trouble. How many schools did you apply to?
 
I do have volunteer hours but many of them are from years ago before I was married and had kids. My more recent volunteer experiences are mostly not long term and were not done with med school in mind. To be honest with classes, shadowing, kids and a full time job it was nearly impossible to fit in anything else. But the plan is to do some research this year and take a few more upper div biology classes. I took a few upper div biology courses last year and have an A or A+ in all of them. I applied to 25 schools. Most of them with MCAT average below or at my score and some with above average.
 
amber80 said:
Hi, I was looking for some advice. My AMCAS application was verified end of June and the schools received my MCAT score beginning of August. Most of my secondaries were submitted mid August. My undergrad GPA is ~3.3, Grad GPA ~3.8, and post-Bac is almost 4.00. I do not have a many extracurriculars simply because they are hard to fit in with a full time job and kids. But I do have sufficient amount of shadowing experience. So far I have only received rejections and heard nothing from anybody else. It is almost end of September and I starting to get a bit disheartened. For my application timeline is it normal to not receive any interviews till after September, maybe even after October? I am getting worried that I may not get any interviews.
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Your GPA is fine and coupled with your MCAT they demonstrate that you are academically ready. However, the lack of extracurriculars would be the weak point in your app. Even the brightest out there 4.0/40 applicants won't snag much if they haven't been involved. I think more and more admissions are realizing that it takes more than brains to be a good doctor and have really focused on a more holistic review of an applicant. It's not so much about quantity as it is about quality but you still must demonstrate a commitment to service and your community. I also agree with howbaddoyouwantit, don't panic until thanksgiving; furthermore, some schools have only sent out one round of II's so definitely keep calm and carry on. However, now is the time to strengthen your application, the plus side is it's only going to make you a better doctor so even if you get in it's still worth it.
 
csj10 said:
Oh for sure! Sorry, didn't mean to make it sound like I didn't prep for the MMI. I just meant I didn't spend a lot of time reviewing my app as I figured there wouldn't be time for them to ask questions about anything there.

I found this site very helpful for wrapping my head around different ethical situations: https://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/
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This is phenomenal!!!! Thank you so much for posting. I recognize some of these very questions from my recent interview.
 
first post -- so, to begin, thanks for all the sage advice/entertaining commentary here!

There's been lots of talk about the abundance of early applicants this year, and interview dates in the late 2014s and early 2015s keep being mentioned. Is it likely that schools are being pickier in offering interviews (or, soon admissions) this year, or will they really fill all their slots and we stragglers will be left to the wait-lists and future cycles? My completes were delayed more than a month by a delayed (and, unfortunately, critical) LoR... complete most schools 8/26-30. Any thoughts?

Congrats to those of you who are already enjoying your first interviews!
 
astrophel_ said:
first post -- so, to begin, thanks for all the sage advice/entertaining commentary here!

There's been lots of talk about the abundance of early applicants this year, and interview dates in the late 2014s and early 2015s keep being mentioned. Is it likely that schools are being pickier in offering interviews (or, soon admissions) this year, or will they really fill all their slots and we stragglers will be left to the wait-lists and future cycles? My completes were delayed more than a month by a delayed (and, unfortunately, critical) LoR... complete most schools 8/26-30. Any thoughts?

Congrats to those of you who are already enjoying your first interviews!
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I was complete mid-late august most places and have started hearing back now. I expect to hear back from the majority of my schools over the next 2-4 weeks. I'm expecting 4-6 weeks for the 'fast' notifiers and 8-12 for the slower ones, from being 'complete' to hearing back regarding a status.
 
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astrophel_ said:
first post -- so, to begin, thanks for all the sage advice/entertaining commentary here!

There's been lots of talk about the abundance of early applicants this year, and interview dates in the late 2014s and early 2015s keep being mentioned. Is it likely that schools are being pickier in offering interviews (or, soon admissions) this year, or will they really fill all their slots and we stragglers will be left to the wait-lists and future cycles? My completes were delayed more than a month by a delayed (and, unfortunately, critical) LoR... complete most schools 8/26-30. Any thoughts?

Congrats to those of you who are already enjoying your first interviews!
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I was complete at most of my schools first week of July, and got II's from 2 state schools and 2 top 20's at the end of July-mid August. I have hit a dry spell of ~7 weeks now, hoping I get more II's because I want to explore 😀 Not quite sure what's holding me back but I suppose I'll start worrying starting Thanksgiving. I agree though having volunteering is very important nowadays, I know it must be tough but I think it has to be done. Besides, it's fulfilling if you choose the right unit and you can pick up some clinical knowledge (not as much as in shadowing by any means).

ridethecliche said:
Just got my second interview invite for Albany.
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Congratulations!!!
 
Goro said:
Sometimes crap like this happens. The stars are aligned against you, like Robert E Lee was at Gettysburg.

Your 1st interviewer may have been a substitute for someone who was sick or had an unplanned absence...kids do get sick, like my eldest is today.

And the truth is that we don't always remember you. That's the way it is.

Not all interviews go well. Some interviewers are hard-asses. The 2nd interviewer might have seen something about your doctor vs nurse commentary and wasn't satisfied; I sense he might have tried going for an explanation from several different angles, or simply wasn't satisfied with your answers, so he kept coming around.

I don't think that this rises to the level of complaining to the Admissions dean, alas. On to the next interview, and don't look back!
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TY for the feedback, Goro! Yeah I agree about the second interviewer. And maybe the stars were aligned wrong. But at least I kept positive through the actual interviews. Its out of my hands now, and fortunately I do have other interviews ahead.
 
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ConsultantMD said:
Same here. Sad because I just started working here but it was a long shot!
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They deactivated my account, so I expect the rejection email any moment now. It's exactly the same as the last year's, so they might as well not send it again. 🙂
 
Well another secondary in. Woo! And it's (IIRC) three-essays-and-this-fourth-prompt-is-extra-but-not-really. Happily, I write well in these, and this school does a lot of filtering prior to issuing secondaries, so that's great.
 
Zelda840 said:
Just had my Drexel interview yesterday and I think it went well. My state school interview is next Friday. This is my second cycle and I'm reeeeeally hoping to not have to go another round.
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Love the name and picture, also good luck! sounds like you're doing just fine
 
Can someone please drop some knowledge on me -- do schools primarily e-mail you when there's a status change, or do you just have to check on a daily basis to see if you've received an II/been rejected/etc? I've noticed that some people just log in to their schools's status page and notice an II out of the blue.
 
9iron said:
Can someone please drop some knowledge on me -- do schools primarily e-mail you when there's a status change, or do you just have to check on a daily basis to see if you've received an II/been rejected/etc? I've noticed that some people just log in to their schools's status page and notice an II out of the blue.
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You will receive and email, if you don't respond to the email most schools will even call you.
 
9iron said:
Can someone please drop some knowledge on me -- do schools primarily e-mail you when there's a status change, or do you just have to check on a daily basis to see if you've received an II/been rejected/etc? I've noticed that some people just log in to their schools's status page and notice an II out of the blue.
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Some schools notify you weeks after the actual status change (UCI being one of them) so I check that one everyday
 
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