Hi everyone! I'm a current M1 at Carver. I just created this account and thought I'd share some of my info/experiences for those of you in-staters who are anxious about applying or are deciding on whether to come to Carver. (Out-of-staters I know have tougher competition so I can't say if my experiences will directly translate.) I gained a lot of reassurance from reading posts by current students when I was applying so I hope this will help at least one of you!
The first thing I will say is "relax" - you got this! I am a master procrastinator and only submitted my primary application on the night of 11/1/20 and my secondary application on the night of 12/15/20 (both the deadlines). I received an interview invite on 12/17/20 and interviewed virtually (as there was no other option last cycle) on 1/6/21. I got waitlisted and ultimately accepted on 5/2/21. This was my first year applying, I did not have strong stats (see below), and I did not submit my application early. My undegraduate major was non-science and I took a gap year to do research in a basic sciences lab. All I really had going for me were hundreds of shadowing hours and a diverse array of letters of recommendation. So my point is: You all got this! You'll do great! I will also be helping on some days to give guided tours of CCOM so if you come for an in-person interview, you just might see me! Congrats to those who are receiving their acceptances today (10/15)!!!
In-State, MCAT: 509, Science GPA: 3.80, Cumulative GPA: 3.91
Also a few notes:
- One of my friends got a 505 MCAT and is at Carver as well so don't be discouraged if your MCAT score isn't where you would like it to be! Other parts of your application can more than make up for your lower MCAT score.
- I also have a friend who got a 523 MCAT and got accepted in October 2020, before I even submitted my primary application. Think about that! There's a wide range of applicants who will make up the student body next year so just believe in yourself and go for it! You've worked so hard and I'm sure it will pay off in the end.
- Carver does still auto-send an interview offer for every in-state applicant with a 505+ MCAT and 3.5 GPA (could be 3.2 GPA - don't quote me on that).
- The interview won't make-or-break you. It's meant to weed out the people who don't have adequate people-skills (and the psychos) so as long as you don't completely bomb your interview, it won't help or hurt your application much.
- The interviews take place right next to the Learning Communities where all of us medical students (mostly M1s and some M2s) gather to socialize and study so you can take a look at the Carver experience if you would like during your downtime.
- The atmosphere at Carver is incredibly collaborative ("We are all in this together") as everyone is willing to help each other out! This may not be the same at other medical schools so if you get accepted to Carver, I'd definitely take this into consideration!
- Also, there's plenty of free food during the week and we often have college-wide events to help everyone socialize and just forget about school. I've perhaps only brought or paid for my own lunch/dinner a couple times over the last month!
Does everyone think we can trust that in-person vs. online interviews really won't make a difference in the admissions process?
