2017 Nontrad Applicants' Progress Thread

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My school is collecting all the LORS and they will send it together with Committee letter. Do you know if in this case, the schoool will be sending the commitee letter+LORs directly to AMCS or ...what?
 
anyone applying to D.O schools? I am told to apply to 3-4 DO schools as well as they are more receptive to my story/etc. Any ideas?
 
I wanted to apply to some DO schools, but almost all of them require a letter from an MD or DO, with most preferring a DO. Seeing as I have neither, it pretty much means I'm outta luck. Throwing my hat in the ring for PCOM, but not expecting much love.
 
Well I think my AMCAS is totally done. Read, re-read, re-re-read and had someone else read all of my EC descriptions. Same with the PS. All letters received. 2/3 transcripts received. Mildly freaking out over the transcript that is not yet marked as received, but I'm pretty sure it would have gotten there on the 1st so I'm still hopeful they will mark it today.

Here we go!
 
HopefulPilot said:
I have one meaningful experience left to write. Excited to be done with it!

I know this is lazy for not looking it up myself, but AMCAS opens for submission at 12am eastern on 7 June correct?
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No. AMCAS will announce the opening of application for submission via Twitter (and Facebook???) on June 7th. It may be 12 am or 12 pm.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
HopefulPilot said:
I have one meaningful experience left to write. Excited to be done with it!

I know this is lazy for not looking it up myself, but AMCAS opens for submission at 12am eastern on 7 June correct?
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You took the MCAT right? You should know that AAMC is never that simple and forthcoming by now 😕
 
MCAT done yesterday, final transcript received today. Need to buckle down and finish everything else the next few days.

Have a question I probably already know the answer to. My bio 1 class was taught by an MD and he wrote me a letter, but I have no relationship with him in a clinical setting. This probably won't count for schools that require an MD/DO letter will it?
 
Anybody start to look at pre writing secondary essay prompt yet? Where would be the best place to look at for the promts?
 
Labrat07 said:
Anybody start to look at pre writing secondary essay prompt yet? Where would be the best place to look at for the promts?
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I've started on pre-writing secondaries. I went through the school specific forums from last year and checked out the prompts from schools I am interested in.
 
Gibbward said:
I've started on pre-writing secondaries. I went through the school specific forums from last year and checked out the prompts from schools I am interested in.
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Good idea. Thank you. I was thinking the same thing. My university has writing center and career centers. I 'm planning to make full use of them for editing and mock interviews.

If anyone want to bounce off secondaries to check for content , let me know. I cannot offer structure/grammar since English is second language. But I can offer my opinion.
 
Do any of you fine people know what time we can submit AMCAS on Tuesday? Is it at midnight?

Also going to start pre-writing secondaries after Tuesday. I have been nitpicking over my PS and EC descriptions, but at this point they are probably ready to go! How many people did you guys have read over your ECs? My advisor took a look and just told me to "make sure they are as precise as possible" but did not give any specific advice...womp womp.
 
HopefulPilot said:
I've just been going over them with my wife. I think it's important to remember that small changes to your EC description aren't going to make or break your app.

From what others have said, the app will open at some point on Tuesday and the time will be released by the AAMC twitter account.
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Thank you! So helpful.
 
Look at last years school specific threads - they will have all the prompts from last year and the generally don't change much

and @BlastedHeath , unfortunately, I don't think that letter will suffice. You can always give it a shot, but you know what the intent of the requirement is - so it might not look very good if you do. Just my opinion
 
and @HopefulPilot , I would consider thinking about some more private schools on your list, and think about not apply to CO, OSHU if you aren't residents there (I assume from your list you are a CA res). Their out of state stats are, well, not favorable - especially OHSU. If you aren't in one of the "groups" (I forget there exact name), they had like 1 or 2 matriculants. Most of the "out of state" on MSAR is heritage applicants
 
mavric1298 said:
and @HopefulPilot , I would consider thinking about some more private schools on your list, and think about not apply to CO, OSHU if you aren't residents there (I assume from your list you are a CA res). Their out of state stats are, well, not favorable - especially OHSU. If you aren't in one of the "groups" (I forget there exact name), they had like 1 or 2 matriculants. Most of the "out of state" on MSAR is heritage applicants
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I'm out of state too but am part of those special groups (high stats group). I wonder how many applicants from that group they accept...
 
Welp, here we are - 2 days before app opens. I'm staring at the MCAT date and thinking I should pass... something about 65 work weeks since early May, physics 2, and...

BUT ... le sigh. This IS my year but my gosh, I feel beat up already and haven't even taking the exam yet. growl.lll.lll.
 
Ad2b said:
Welp, here we are - 2 days before app opens. I'm staring at the MCAT date and thinking I should pass... something about 65 work weeks since early May, physics 2, and...

BUT ... le sigh. This IS my year but my gosh, I feel beat up already and haven't even taking the exam yet. growl.lll.lll.
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Come on, Old man!!! 🙂 you can do it. You'll be glad when it's over. Push it through.
 
Ad2b said:
Welp, here we are - 2 days before app opens. I'm staring at the MCAT date and thinking I should pass... something about 65 work weeks since early May, physics 2, and...

BUT ... le sigh. This IS my year but my gosh, I feel beat up already and haven't even taking the exam yet. growl.lll.lll.
Click to expand...

Right there with you; staring at the MCAT test date, staring at my books left for review (stupid behavioral sciences), and I am still completely fatigued mentally from Biochem/Immunology finals last week. Only plus side I can think of is that there isn't much about Glycolysis and the TCA cycle I don't know now (minus which AA come from which segments from of the TCA).
 
Hey guys! First time poster, long time lurker. Currently embarked on my "retake" journey at my local state University. Summer session chem has been interesting thus far. Admittedly ready for these 6 week accelerated classes to be over. Organic to follow in the fall. Best of luck to us all! There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using SDN mobile
 
Since HopefulPilot put out his list, I wanna see what you guys think about mine too! LizzyM score of 72. Really strong research background, and solid volunteering, leadership and ECs.

1. UCSF
2. UCLA
3. Stanford
4. Pitt
5. Vandy
6. Cornell
7. UCSD
8. BU
9. Tufts
10. Albert Einstein
11. Dartmouth
12. Mayo - AZ
13. Hofstra
14. UVA
15. Case Western
16. Keck (3 letters)
17. University of Vermont
18. Oakland University
19. UCI
20. Albany
21. Wake Forest
22. Quinnipiac

This list feels too top heavy but since I'm applying to a good amount of schools it might be fine? I know there's a lot of CA but I gotta do what I gotta do haha Maybe applying to one more Mid-tier (UMiami, Emory?) or low-tier (Tulane?) or should I go big and apply to one more big reach school?
 
HopefulPilot said:
@Gibbward are there any of those you're not sure of? I think UMiami is a good addition. They're very non-trad friendly and put value into life experiences.
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The only ones I'm a bit unsure about are Stanford, Mayo, and maybe Case Western. I feel less guilty about applying to Mayo even if it's pretty low yield though since they don't have secondaries. For the most part, I might be more inclined to add schools than subtract at this point.
 
Gibbward said:
The only ones I'm a bit unsure about are Stanford, Mayo, and maybe Case Western. I feel less guilty about applying to Mayo even if it's pretty low yield though since they don't have secondaries. For the most part, I might be more inclined to add schools than subtract at this point.
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I had a similar LizzyM score and got an interview at Mayo. I think they place a lot of weight on the personal statement and experience. One of the students I talked to said she got asked point blank why her MCAT was so low -- it was noticeably worse than the rest of her application. I wouldn't take it out unless you would not consider attending. I can't speak about the others as I didn't apply there.
 
HopefulPilot said:
I've been an Oregon resident my entire life. I added U of Colorado for family support reasons, but also like that they seem to do a hard screen before secondaries. I should add more private schools... but my wife and I can't agree on the possibility of living in certain places for four years 🙂
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Yeah thats the hard part. My wife has been understanding and we both are in the boat of "go wherever I get in" minus the south (we have two Bernese mountain dogs - and both aren't huge on hot weather)


Also, OR res but applying to those Cali schools??!? I might seriously, seriously, reconsider your list if thats the case.
 
I'll throw my hat in the ring since I'm killing myself with deliberation over this school list. LizzyM is 75, good volunteering/ECs, but no research. OR resident, currently living in Minnesota after finishing post-bacc this spring.

1. Albert Einstein
2. BU
3. Rosalind Franklin
4. Drexel
5. Dartmouth
6. GWU
7. Georgetown
8. Hofstra
9. Mt Sinai
10. USC Keck
11. Temple
12. Jefferson
13. Loyola
14. Mayo
15. Northwestern
16. OHSU
17. Penn
18. Rush
19. Tufts
20. UCSF
21. UCSD
22. UCLA
23. U Chicago
24. U Cincinnati
25. U Miami
26. U Minnesota
27. U Colorado

I'm really debating about whether or not to apply to Drexel and Rosalind Franklin. 15,000 applications and my GPA and MCAT are significantly higher than their medians. I love the idea of living in Chicago or Philadelphia if I can't get into OHSU, though, so am having a hard time removing them. Thoughts?
 
I'd say with a LizzyM of 75, you should definitely steer away from lower tier schools just because of yield protection. Maybe take out Rosy, the Georges, Rush (unless you have a crazy amount of volunteer hours), Drexel and Temple?

gribear said:
I'll throw my hat in the ring since I'm killing myself with deliberation over this school list. LizzyM is 75, good volunteering/ECs, but no research. OR resident, currently living in Minnesota after finishing post-bacc this spring.

1. Albert Einstein
2. BU
3. Rosalind Franklin
4. Drexel
5. Dartmouth
6. GWU
7. Georgetown
8. Hofstra
9. Mt Sinai
10. USC Keck
11. Temple
12. Jefferson
13. Loyola
14. Mayo
15. Northwestern
16. OHSU
17. Penn
18. Rush
19. Tufts
20. UCSF
21. UCSD
22. UCLA
23. U Chicago
24. U Cincinnati
25. U Miami
26. U Minnesota
27. U Colorado

I'm really debating about whether or not to apply to Drexel and Rosalind Franklin. 15,000 applications and my GPA and MCAT are significantly higher than their medians. I love the idea of living in Chicago or Philadelphia if I can't get into OHSU, though, so am having a hard time removing them. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
 
gribear said:
I'll throw my hat in the ring since I'm killing myself with deliberation over this school list. LizzyM is 75, good volunteering/ECs, but no research. OR resident, currently living in Minnesota after finishing post-bacc this spring.

1. Albert Einstein
2. BU
3. Rosalind Franklin
4. Drexel
5. Dartmouth
6. GWU
7. Georgetown
8. Hofstra
9. Mt Sinai
10. USC Keck
11. Temple
12. Jefferson
13. Loyola
14. Mayo
15. Northwestern
16. OHSU
17. Penn
18. Rush
19. Tufts
20. UCSF
21. UCSD
22. UCLA
23. U Chicago
24. U Cincinnati
25. U Miami
26. U Minnesota
27. U Colorado

I'm really debating about whether or not to apply to Drexel and Rosalind Franklin. 15,000 applications and my GPA and MCAT are significantly higher than their medians. I love the idea of living in Chicago or Philadelphia if I can't get into OHSU, though, so am having a hard time removing them. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I'm in an eerily similar situation (high stats, good ECs but no research) and I would say our lists overlap by about 50%. I wouldn't apply to Drexel or Rosalind Franklin unless you absolutely love those schools. They get a ton of applications and you are likely to be above their 90th percentiles, so they may not even bother to interview you. If you've got unlimited funds and don't mind writing another two secondaries, I would say you can go for it anyways, since you seem to have a large bunch of schools on your current list where your stats match up just fine.

Honestly, I think it's so hard for us to predict as nontrads since the "upper tier" schools are such research magnets but the "lower tiers" might think we are just using them as safeties. So my approach is to apply to a big balanced mix and then a bonus few that I would otherwise kick myself for not applying to.

It'll be interesting to go through this cycle together!
 
Is anyone else planning to submit their AMCAS tomorrow on Day 1? My applications, transcripts, and letters are all completely done but I am feeling weirdly nervous about actually hitting the submission button once we finally can!
 
HopefulPilot said:
I am. Reviewing my app right now. Already found two errors in my ec's on my aacomas... Eeek.
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Did you already submit AACOMAS? My rule for once I submit my AMCAS is no looking at it again until right before (hopeful) interviews, just to refresh my memory then. Otherwise I know I will find a billion + 1 things that I will want to fix but can't 🙂
 
libahli said:
Honestly, I think it's so hard for us to predict as nontrads since the "upper tier" schools are such research magnets but the "lower tiers" might think we are just using them as safeties. So my approach is to apply to a big balanced mix and then a bonus few that I would otherwise kick myself for not applying to.

It'll be interesting to go through this cycle together!
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Thanks for your response, and how nice to meet someone in the same boat! I definitely don't love Drexel or RF....but its hard to remove schools! We certainly are in a unique position as non-trads. Hopefully schools recognize that.


libahli said:
Is anyone else planning to submit their AMCAS tomorrow on Day 1? My applications, transcripts, and letters are all completely done but I am feeling weirdly nervous about actually hitting the submission button once we finally can!
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I was planning to submit tomorrow - PS is written, letters and transcripts are all in. However, I'm waiting for my advisor to read over my EC descriptions one more time. Somehow, those have become the hardest part of the application for me! I will likely submit tomorrow night or Wednesday morning, depending on when she gets them back. If you're ready, go for it!!!

EDIT: wow that was a lot of exclamation points. Clearly, I'm very excited to finally submit the primaries and start working on secondaries.
 
HopefulPilot said:
I did. I had the same rule, but as I was looking at the AMCAS ec's, I noticed the errors (which I had fixed in word but hadnt copied over correctly) then opened my do app :-/. Oh well haha.
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Ahh, good reason to be looking at your AACOMAS again then!
 
gribear said:
Thanks for your response, and how nice to meet someone in the same boat! I definitely don't love Drexel or RF....but its hard to remove schools! We certainly are in a unique position as non-trads. Hopefully schools recognize that.




I was planning to submit tomorrow - PS is written, letters and transcripts are all in. However, I'm waiting for my advisor to read over my EC descriptions one more time. Somehow, those have become the hardest part of the application for me! I will likely submit tomorrow night or Wednesday morning, depending on when she gets them back. If you're ready, go for it!!!

EDIT: wow that was a lot of exclamation points. Clearly, I'm very excited to finally submit the primaries and start working on secondaries.
Click to expand...

I think some schools will be like why on earth are these random people applying to us, whereas others will be like hey, cool, look at these random people applying to our school. Since we don't really know which school will be which, I agree, it's tough to cut down the list on where to apply to. If it makes you feel any better, I currently have 26 schools on the list I plan on submitting tomorrow. I fully intend on completing all 26 secondaries and attending any interviews I am invited to.

So funny re the EC descriptions - I was just thinking that they were nearly as difficult to write as was my PS! Unfortunately, I don't have a premed advisor that can read through mine but I did get them proofread by my alma mater's writing department. Plus I read through a 2015/2016 cycle successful nontrad's descriptions. So, I'm hoping that should be sufficient but a little part of me is nervous about not having anyone premed-related read through them.

And the exclamation points? I totally get them! (See, doing it myself!). It's so exciting to finally be able to say I'm a current applicant, after having been on this journey for what seems like forever.
 
libahli said:
Is anyone else planning to submit their AMCAS tomorrow on Day 1? My applications, transcripts, and letters are all completely done but I am feeling weirdly nervous about actually hitting the submission button once we finally can!
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I'm trying to decide if I should submit tomorrow. One of my letters isn't in yet, though I don't think that'll matter until secondaries anyway, so I'm leaning towards submitting.
 
Letters don't matter for tomorrow - just by secondaries which is not for some time

Mine's going in tomorrow. No waiting 6 weeks for verification this cycle for me (that was brutal)


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
Just a note for those of you applying to Mayo, they are intereted in much more than numbers. Character and fit with their values seems to be their highest priority. Last years school specific thread has great discussion on this. So if you think you fit the values and your app shows it, I say go for it. There isn't a secondary.

Also, some of you all need to quit being sissies and apply to Mayo Rochester not just AZ. 😛
You can adjust to the cold.

Good luck everyone!! :luck::luck::luck:
 
I would REALLY like it if AMCAS would mark my last transcript as received now 🙁
 
Gibbward said:
Have called them to ask about it?
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Called AMCAS? No. Do you think they'd be able to help me?

At this point I am assuming it has been lost in the mail. My school confirmed that it was mailed out May 25th, but the website says they are marking as received transcripts received on June 6th...
 
Ya that is what I'm doing. Also on hold with AMCAS now but I don't know what I am really expecting them to tell me lol.
 
ChrisMack390 said:
Ya that is what I'm doing. Also on hold with AMCAS now but I don't know what I am really expecting them to tell me lol.
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Fair point. I'm just wondering if they could confirm with you that the status you have on your application is accurate since the school said they already sent out the transcript, or maybe they would have an idea of where in the process your transcript could have been lost? Sorry to hear your transcript struggles :/
 
ChrisMack390 said:
Called AMCAS? No. Do you think they'd be able to help me?

At this point I am assuming it has been lost in the mail. My school confirmed that it was mailed out May 25th, but the website says they are marking as received transcripts received on June 6th...
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This happened to me in AACOMAS. Just get another in the mail, your timing's still fine!
 
As we move into the secondary-writing phase of application, I thought this might be helpful. I know these are all listed on SDN in the school specific forums, but I had to do a lot of digging to find them, as they're not always posted at the top of the board.

http://www.prospectivedoctor.com/medical-school-secondary-essay-prompts-database/

Has all of the secondary prompts easily accessible and nicely organized. Happy writing!
 
Mine is in as well, now just need to crank out a final today at noon, thursday at 11, then graduation on Sat! Talk about crazy timing
 
HopefulPilot said:
verified. AMCAS included all of my military courses to calculate my year in school. Looks a little strange.
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Seriously? Wow. verified already?! This makes me want to submit right now -- I just need to get off work so I can give a last edit to my ECs. Hopefully waiting until tonight / tomorrow morning doesn't slow down the verification process to much.
 
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