2017 Nontrad Applicants' Progress Thread

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Labrat07 said:
You only apply several places for fellowships, Q? I'm glad you like the program. Let us know when you get the results
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Depends on the fellowship and on how competitive you are as an applicant. I looked at half a dozen programs but only applied to three. I will probably get away with that because I'm applying in a relatively unpopular subspecialty where there are more slots than applicants, and I am targeting the least competitive region of the country. (Unless it's the Midwest - but the point still stands - just like for med school and residency apps, most people want to go to programs on the coasts.) Won't know where I'm going for a few months yet since it's a match. Will interview at and rank all three programs.
 
Applying to 50 school?!?!? What a beast :bow:

brainnurse said:
:flame: <----- Me today. Not in a black suit. You definitely showed dedication lvl 9000 today.

Update:

According to that good old spreadsheet, I have 21 secondaries done and 20 more pending, plus 9 schools that either won't send me a secondary or hasn't yet. Why did I do this again? :barf:
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QofQuimica said:
Depends on the fellowship and on how competitive you are as an applicant. I looked at half a dozen programs but only applied to three. I will probably get away with that because I'm applying in a relatively unpopular subspecialty where there are more slots than applicants, and I am targeting the least competitive region of the country. (Unless it's the Midwest - but the point still stands - just like for med school and residency apps, most people want to go to programs on the coasts.) Won't know where I'm going for a few months yet since it's a match. Will interview at and rank all three programs.
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Ah that make sense. It seem you did your researches before putting in the app for them.
 
Ummmmm I like cheese.... Can we talk about cheese instead? :help:

Ad2b said:
Sorry, I misread that but soon, that won't be a mis-read, it'll be your truth. Gotta believe. And remember, as much as we're comfortable here on SDN, and have made ourselves a spot, SDN still attracts the 3.99sGPA with 527 MCAT and 200,000 hours of shadowing "What are my chances" people... you're better than them because you're for real.

Let's GO!



If you want when I'm done with that little thingermajiggy test of mine on 8/5, I'd be happy to ask you all sorts of question as interview types; used to do it for work.

So, what do you think of ACA and how it will impact your role as a physician? How will you ensure that ICD-10 codes are implemented appropriately and help you manage your patient population?

😀 lol - okay, maybe I'm not the best person 😉
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I've been sitting on the U Miami secondary for 2.5 weeks now...such a beast! I finally wrote all the essays, but I want my editor friend to look them over before I submit (it has rapidly become one of my top choices and I want the essays to be perfect) He won't have time to get them back to me until Monday afternoon.

Do you think waiting until Monday (3 weeks post-secondary receipt) will be detrimental? I've already missed this imaginary 2 week submission deadline...so I kind of think 3 more days at this point to make them perfect is worth it. Thoughts?
 
gribear said:
Do you think waiting until Monday (3 weeks post-secondary receipt) will be detrimental? I've already missed this imaginary 2 week submission deadline...so I kind of think 3 more days at this point to make them perfect is worth it. Thoughts?
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No, Monday will be fine. You can definitely consider secondary "deadlines" to be "suggestions." That being said, don't let three weeks stretch into three months.
 
^ unless it's OHSU or....somewhere else I can't remember. They have actual deadlines, but they are 4 weeks.

Just got my home school's (UW) secondary, and since I love Seattle and don't want to deal with selling my house - which conveniently is a 5 min walk from Lightrail to take me to campus/hospital - I'm going to spend a full day working on just that secondary. It's a beast. Going to do the same thing with OHSU since I'm heritage there as well, so there goes my weekend. Those two which happen to be my top choices, by far have the hardest and longest secondaries. A little bitter about it actually. This is the first bit stress I've had in the cycle so far other then when I initially felt behind.

Lets GO
 
Last year I had a late MCAT that may have affected things.

I just recieved my last supplemental request. As soon as that's done, barring updates, all the schools will have ALL the things... in July!

Woot!
 
I'm so over writing at this point, I have zero motivation to get these last couple out the door. I have 4 left outside OHSU/UW that I was hoping to hammer out today/tonight, but I haven't got one thing typed out. GAHHHHH. I need a beer I think. Maybe that will fix my motivation issues
 
mavric1298 said:
I'm so over writing at this point, I have zero motivation to get these last couple out the door. I have 4 left outside OHSU/UW that I was hoping to hammer out today/tonight, but I haven't got one thing typed out. GAHHHHH. I need a beer I think. Maybe that will fix my motivation issues
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<3 I feel ya. Beer. Wine... tequila... 😛
 
mavric1298 said:
I'm so over writing at this point, I have zero motivation to get these last couple out the door. I have 4 left outside OHSU/UW that I was hoping to hammer out today/tonight, but I haven't got one thing typed out. GAHHHHH. I need a beer I think. Maybe that will fix my motivation issues
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Man does this ever sum up my day. I had lofty goals for today. Submitted ONE, Rosy Frank, which was super super easy. Dragging my feet!
 
so....I feel like I should be pre-writing more secondaries....but it's hard to get motivated until I actually receive it. Unfortunately, my state schools have 10,000,000,000 unique secondary essays :help:
 
gribear said:
GUYS i woke up this morning and decided to check my Jefferson portal and BOY am I ever glad I did! My status changed to "interview to be scheduled"

I am ugly crying at work and I am so, so haappy. I love this school.
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Awesome, congrats!

I just scheduled my third (and last) fellowship interview for first week of October. It's a beast: two full days at two different institutions. I don't know how people manage to go on a dozen fellowship interviews, especially if they're still residents while applying. I could have squeezed in a fourth or fifth one if I'd needed to, but ten or twelve??? Wouldn't be happening, and my schedule is much more flexible than a resident's....
 
...how much of a meanie am I for judging some of the questions on the premed school-specific threads? I'm just saying, you should be able to understand secondary questions and how to fill out these very straightforward forms if you'd like to be a physician. No?

I get that sometimes running ideas by someone is helpful, but some of these questions have me wondering if I should laugh or cry that my stats aren't nearly as good and that kid will likely get in before me. LOL 😛
 
Smash Williams said:
I've had some very stupid questions in this process, but it's down to anxiety more than anything else. I try not to judge the kids because an anonymous forum is the ideal place to ask such things, and I think it's better to ask them (even if it's just for reassurance) than worry about them in private.
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i should invoke such a kind outlook before judging.
 
I wasn't trying to make you feel bad. God knows I've looked at people who got IIs or secondaries I wanted and felt similar things. Just throw it out there that I understand where the stupid questions come from.

I'm trying my darndest not to view this as a competition against other individuals, even though I know on some level it's about being the best applicant for a certain slot. The thing that gets me through dealing with the neuroses of other people in my situations is all I can do is make sure my application is the best one possible, and that if I've done my job that way, I should get in somewhere. I am in this with the other applicants, not against them.

(Am I always able to stick to that? Heck no. But it's much better for my mental health when I try not to rage at people in this process who are just doing what they are supposed to.)
 
Smash Williams said:
I wasn't trying to make you feel bad. God knows I've looked at people who got IIs or secondaries I wanted and felt similar things. Just throw it out there that I understand where the stupid questions come from.

I'm trying my darndest not to view this as a competition against other individuals, even though I know on some level it's about being the best applicant for a certain slot. The thing that gets me through dealing with the neuroses of other people in my situations is all I can do is make sure my application is the best one possible, and that if I've done my job that way, I should get in somewhere. I am in this with the other applicants, not against them.

(Am I always able to stick to that? Heck no. But it's much better for my mental health when I try not to rage at people in this process who are just doing what they are supposed to.)
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you didn't make me feel bad. i'm genuinely glad to have the perspective. this process makes us all a little crazy so its nice to lean on others when you're (read: "I am") feeling a little annoyed by others/the process.

thanks for letting me lean on your positivity 🙂
 
If it makes you feel better, some of the questions ARE flat out stupid, and to me show peoples laziness. If you have a legitimate, but also stupid question, thats fine, we all do. But when I copy and paste your question into google and it gives the schools website and answer right there, I have no sympathy for you. It prolly took more time to post on here than to just look yourself.

I find a lot of people look for validation on here - "school such and such says they require a DO letter - do I need one?" It's like, come on
 
Yeah, a lot of the questions are answered clearly on the first page of the school's admissions site. I just assume that most of the people posting those kinds of questions are the same people who make it so that technically schools may have 10,000 applicants, but we're really only competing with like 5,000.
 
hurtem&healem said:
Yeah, a lot of the questions are answered clearly on the first page of the school's admissions site. I just assume that most of the people posting those kinds of questions are the same people who make it so that technically schools may have 10,000 applicants, but we're really only competing with like 5,000.
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mavric1298 said:
If it makes you feel better, some of the questions ARE flat out stupid, and to me show peoples laziness. If you have a legitimate, but also stupid question, thats fine, we all do. But when I copy and paste your question into google and it gives the schools website and answer right there, I have no sympathy for you. It prolly took more time to post on here than to just look yourself.

I find a lot of people look for validation on here - "school such and such says they require a DO letter - do I need one?" It's like, come on
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These are the types of questions I mean. Anything you can google, read instructions, and/or use common sense to figure out is a bit grating to see in our future physicians.

Some "questions" are clearly veiled attempts at "I know it said this but I want to do that. You guys think that's cool right?" Lol. No, sorry, I'm not going to cosign your entitlement.

But like @hurtem&healem says, it does whittle the applicant pool down some so I suppose it is a win to weed out the non instruction followers.
 
I am rewriting some of my ECs and I'm not sure how to enter my time in the army. Should I just do one for my whole time in or Should I have 1 for my deployment and 1 for time spent in the states?
 
redj said:
I am rewriting some of my ECs and I'm not sure how to enter my time in the army. Should I just do one for my whole time in or Should I have 1 for my deployment and 1 for time spent in the states?
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Hmmm I wasn't in the army but I did work in a prison for 7 years. I split my time as an officer and my time as a sergeant. If there's a transition in your status and you want the additional space to explain each, I say break them up.
 
so a SMP 3.6 and now a 509 for a complete reinvention
idk how to feel
 
I dunno how I've never see this, but it made my jaw drop
ImageUploadedBySDN1468965460.017784.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
sleepyhead22 said:
Hi everyone!! Coming here from the June MCAT thread now that I got my score back... About me:
29yo, 509 MCAT balanced score, 3.5cGPA, ~3.4sGPA, extensive research experience, otherwise avg EC's, OH resident. Hoping to get some state school love. My AMCAS and AACOMAS just got verified, so time to actually submit to all of my schools I guess.
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haha I remember you from the June thread....I was May 20th but I read the June thread to pass time while I waited for my score. I finally unwatched it after the June 2nd crew got their scores back lol.
 
sunshinefl said:
Hmmm I wasn't in the army but I did work in a prison for 7 years. I split my time as an officer and my time as a sergeant. If there's a transition in your status and you want the additional space to explain each, I say break them up.
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Ah ok I can do it that way too. Thanks for the response
 
redj said:
I am rewriting some of my ECs and I'm not sure how to enter my time in the army. Should I just do one for my whole time in or Should I have 1 for my deployment and 1 for time spent in the states?
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I also broke it down by assignments.

Sent from my SM-N910P using SDN mobile
 
The part that got me most was the use of "encouraged" to read the PS, and then again with the secondary?! I mean this might be over-extrapolation, but that would imply they don't have to even read your PS?
 
I'm starting to feel, not stressed or behind, just like excitedly anticipating that feeling of getting interviews. I'm in line for AMCAS verification, and I haven't submitted my AACOMAS yet. So it's not that I feel passed over or anxious, I just feel like I can't wait to be at that stage. Maybe I'm communicating this poorly lol....
 
Hey Guys, any word of advice.encouragement for a non-trad just working to sending her TMDSAS in next 2 days and then AMCAS shortly?

What would you say to your self a few weeks/months ago as you were submitting?


Entering the coursework stuff..now, Tedious but so necessary and cathertic! Finally I can stay goodbye to all the angusih I carried over the years (10 years to exact ) over grades and transcripts
 
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sleepyhead22 said:
I'm the same, except I'm feeling overwhelmed by secondaries. I didn't feel confident enough in my mcat score to prewrite them, so now I have to add on all my schools and it's a lot.

BTW I mostly commented to let you know that I submitted my Aacomas like a week and a half ago and it only took like 5 days to get verified - much quicker than I expected!
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Wow, that is fast! Mine is all ready except I'm waiting for 2 of my 6 LOR. I know they can receive them after you submit, but I'm unclear if the entry can be made after you submit. And I'm using interfolio, which means I need the letter in to get a letter ID, and I need the letter ID to input in the email address field. Hence I am waiting because I would like my letters packaged up with the primary for AACOMAS.

I didn't feel confident enough in my MCAT to submit my primary without it, or even write the activity descriptions (which were harder than the PS in my opinion). So I didn't get my AMCAS primary in until 7/6.

I received 3 secondaries without verification and turned them in already. I have several more pre-written. I'm just trying to work my way through and get as many ready as possible.
 
Welp, I'm officially a med school applicant. Crossing my fingers that taking so long to get my primary in won't hurt me too much. Also crossing my fingers that my English professor who promised an LOR months ago doesn't screw me over and cause me to have just wasted $616 applying. I have no idea what is going on with her. She enthusiastically agreed to write me a letter back in April, complete with a hug. Now she's over a week past the day she said she'd get it to me by, not answering my emails, and never in her office when I try to track her down. Left a note on her door and haven't heard back on that either. I know she didn't, like, die because people in the writing center have seen her around, and one is even taking a class with her.
 
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beebreezy said:
Welp, I'm officially a med school applicant. Crossing my fingers that taking so long to get my primary in won't hurt me too much. Also crossing my fingers that my English professor who promised an LOR months ago doesn't screw me over and cause me to have just wasted $616 applying. I have no idea what is going on with her. She enthusiastically agreed to write me a letter back in April, complete with a hug. Now she's over a week past the day she said she'd get it to me by, not answering my emails, and never in her office when I try to track her down. Left a note on her door and haven't heard back on that either. I know she didn't, like, die because people in the writing center have seen her around, and one is even taking a class with her.
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I know this feeling. I pretty much had to give up on one of my LOR. I know he'd write me a great one, and he enthusiastically agreed to it, but he's missed every deadline I've asked of him and takes weeks to respond to anything I send. It's weird because he's my old boss and I know he was always on top of everything. I already have the minimum LOR, so there's only so much effort I'm willing to continue to put in.
 
BlastedHeath said:
I know this feeling. I pretty much had to give up on one of my LOR. I know he'd write me a great one, and he enthusiastically agreed to it, but he's missed every deadline I've asked of him and takes weeks to respond to anything I send. It's weird because he's my old boss and I know he was always on top of everything. I already have the minimum LOR, so there's only so much effort I'm willing to continue to put in.
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Ack, it's so frustrating because they have no idea what is at stake, and I would literally write the dang thing for her at this point if she'd let me. I unfortunately need this letter just to meet the minimum requirements. Going to have to literally find what classroom she teaches in and sit outside the door or something. Just write a dang crappy letter. I don't even care if it's not a strong one at this point. You're an English professor. You've been writing things for decades. :/
 
I'm taking MCAT August 20 then doing secondaries while I wait for my scores. I'm really feeling the pressure. AMCAS and AACOMAS both verified. Started studying today earliest opportunity.
 
beebreezy said:
Ack, it's so frustrating because they have no idea what is at stake, and I would literally write the dang thing for her at this point if she'd let me.
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Maybe you should. Seriously, email her and offer to draft the LOR for her to tweak and submit.
 
QofQuimica said:
Maybe you should. Seriously, email her and offer to draft the LOR for her to tweak and submit.
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I did this for one of my letter writers. He agreed in the beginning of May, with a deadline of June 30th. When it wasn't in on 7/12, I emailed and offered a draft. He said that was a great idea and so I sent him one. Now the letter is in!
 
Thirty secondaries done. I'm just.. I'm just gonna lay here, okay? Okay. -insert dying emoji here.-

beebreezy said:
Ack, it's so frustrating because they have no idea what is at stake, and I would literally write the dang thing for her at this point if she'd let me. I unfortunately need this letter just to meet the minimum requirements. Going to have to literally find what classroom she teaches in and sit outside the door or something. Just write a dang crappy letter. I don't even care if it's not a strong one at this point. You're an English professor. You've been writing things for decades. :/
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Maybe she would. I'm on the same boat, except it's entirely my fault. I was so focused on getting clinical and science LORs that I completely forgot I needed a non-science one. Despite submitting secondaries two weeks, I'm still incomplete at some places because of that dang non-science letter requirement. 🙁
 
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