3.7, 515 MCAT, no acceptances, what is wrong with my application?!!?

[enchantediris]

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I think it's grossly irresponsible to apply to less than 20 schools except under special circumstances (IE restricted to a region due to spouse career, ailing family member, etc).

That's interesting, my premed advisors (who are really not bad at all, especially considering the horror stories you hear about here) said that most people apply to 12-15. My list is around 24 right now and I'm feeling nervous about cutting it down to 18, which they suggested.

 

[begoood95]

That's interesting, my premed advisors (who are really not bad at all, especially considering the horror stories you hear about here) said that most people apply to 12-15. My list is around 24 right now and I'm feeling nervous about cutting it down to 18, which they suggested.

If you can afford it, keep the list at 24 schools. Sure, in hindsight -- after getting an acceptance -- you're going to think, "oh, I definitely could've/should've narrowed my list!" But in reality, and at this point, there's no exact way to determine with certainty that your combination of stats/ECs/volunteering/etc are "enough" to warrant trimming your list.

The simple statistical fact is that, unless you're applying for schools at which you have a 0% chance of acceptance, the more schools you apply to the more your chances of acceptance go up. Applying to less than 20, assuming there are no other real barriers (e.g., cost) to doing so, is just unwise.

 

[Gurby]

That's interesting, my premed advisors (who are really not bad at all, especially considering the horror stories you hear about here) said that most people apply to 12-15. My list is around 24 right now and I'm feeling nervous about cutting it down to 18, which they suggested.

I'm sure they are probably correct that "most people" apply to 12-15. Bear in mind that, statistically, "most people" also don't get a single acceptance to any school. Sooooo don't try to be "most people" 😛

For example, see the post we are in right now about a guy with 3.7/515, complete at 13 schools, 5 II's, no acceptances. Maybe his interview skills are poor, but maybe he would have gotten in somewhere anyways if he had gone on enough of them. You also run the risk of just plain getting unlucky if you apply to such a small number.

 

[bioboy23]

You know, this is something, at least at my undergrad, that is surprisingly rare.

I'm not exaggerating when I say this, that literally all of my pre-med friends and people I've interacted with plan to apply to at most five schools -- and the norm is usually 1-3. This is probably because our pre-med "advisors" are terrible. You should see their faces when I argue that you should apply to at least 20 well-reasoned schools...

It's crazy how uninformed most pre-meds are. A big thank you to this community for all the information it gives.

Exactly how it is at my school. All but 1 pre-med are only applying to like 3 schools and its not because of expense... so, so uninformed.

 

[mwsapphire]

Exactly how it is at my school. All but 1 pre-med are only applying to like 3 schools and its not because of expense... so, so uninformed.

What kind of schools are you guys at???

What kind of idiots tell their pre-med students to apply to less than 5 schools when most med school have single digit acceptance rates?????
I'm flabbergasted.

 

[begoood95]

What kind of schools are you guys at???

What kind of idiots tell their pre-med students to apply to less than 5 schools when most med school have single digit acceptance rates?????
I'm flabbergasted.

I go to our state school in OK. Phenomenal school otherwise, and I've had some amazing experiences here. But our pre-health advisors... yeah not the best.

 

[efle]

Most matriculants had only about a dozen secondaries and only a few interviews:

So OP applying to 13 and attending 5 is not low at all. It's only on SDN it feels low!

That said, I bet the majority of people finding success with a very short list, and very few interviews, are ending up at heavily instate-favoring public programs.

 

[Redpancreas]

Dear SDN,

long time lurker and Freaking out 🙁 I applied this cycle EARLY, submitted first day really and am still on 2 waitlists and no acceptances!!

3.7 GPA, 3.6sGPA, 515 MCAT
Asian, NJ
first generation US citizen

-Fulbright scholarship to south korea
-200 clinical hours
-200 non-clinical volunteering
-3 years TA experience
-2.5 years in lab

good letters, sociable extroverted interviewer, you name it. I spent the last year working to pay loans expecting to get in somewhere. I feel like I had a good list. Can someone help me? 🙁 Is there something wrong with my application?? im crying alone on a saturday night lol..

List: -deleted schools I didn't submit secondaries to-
Albany Medical College
Boston University SOM
Drexel
Emory
Geisel
Hofstra
SUNY Buffalo
USC
Temple
Loyola
NYMC
Penn State
Rutgers
Robert Wood Johnson
Thomas Jefferson
SUNY Downstate
SUNY Upstate
Stony Brook University
Tufts
UMiami
URochester
Virginia Tech
Western Michigan University

All comments and criticism are for the point of helping, not hurting your feelings.

Couple questions:
1. Define early?
2. Are there any state schools that may have taken a closer look at you? All the schools I was invited to interview at besides one was within my region (midwest, etc.) of the US.
3. Are you able to look at your letters if you officially become a reapplicant? I heard one scary way to sink an application is a bad LOR.

From what I can tell, you're strong and must have slipped through the cracks. A lot of these schools have high volume applicant loads I think. I can't put a finger on it but I bolded the schools I applied to who did not send me so much as an email for my application (and it they did, it was a silent rejection where I had to check my portal). Underlined are the schools where I heard things from and received good correspondence. TBH though, I don't know what to tell you.

Have you considered contacting Rutgers, RWJ, the New York Schools, etc. just to express renewed interest? I contacted a decent mid-tier school I'd heard nothing from saying I really wanted to interview there (it was one of my top 3 choices given the region, ranking, and cost) and two weeks later I got the last interview day before the waitlist started. I say if you want to go to school now, contact Rutgers and tell them you weren't accepted anywhere, would love to go to their school as you have personal connection/family in NJ, and they are your top choice. If you want to take this as a chip on your shoulder, take a year off, and apply to even better schools next year like many do, start planning that out. Also, I know they're pretty prestigious but why didn't you send your secondaries to Einstein/NYU! Come on man, every school counts and you had the summer to churn out secondaries, did you not?

 

[efle]

^ You got 5 interviews out of 13 applications. That is fantastic. There is nothing wrong with your app, certainly not a bad LoR.

 

[Jopa]

I go to our state school in OK. Phenomenal school otherwise, and I've had some amazing experiences here. But our pre-health advisors... yeah not the best.

I actually attend a state school in OK as well (Texas resident) and I can confirm that the majority of people that I encounter just plan on applying to the two schools in OK, maybe 4-5 at most. It's pretty crazy.

 

[kb1900]

All comments and criticism are for the point of helping, not hurting your feelings.

Couple questions:
1. Define early?
2. Are there any state schools that may have taken a closer look at you? All the schools I was invited to interview at besides one was within my region (midwest, etc.) of the US.
3. Are you able to look at your letters if you officially become a reapplicant? I heard one scary way to sink an application is a bad LOR.

From what I can tell, you're strong and must have slipped through the cracks. A lot of these schools have high volume applicant loads I think. I can't put a finger on it but I bolded the schools I applied to who did not send me so much as an email for my application (and it they did, it was a silent rejection where I had to check my portal). Underlined are the schools where I heard things from and received good correspondence. TBH though, I don't know what to tell you.

Have you considered contacting Rutgers, RWJ, the New York Schools, etc. just to express renewed interest? I contacted a decent mid-tier school I'd heard nothing from saying I really wanted to interview there (it was one of my top 3 choices given the region, ranking, and cost) and two weeks later I got the last interview day before the waitlist started. I say if you want to go to school now, contact Rutgers and tell them you weren't accepted anywhere, would love to go to their school as you have personal connection/family in NJ, and they are your top choice. If you want to take this as a chip on your shoulder, take a year off, and apply to even better schools next year like many do, start planning that out. Also, I know they're pretty prestigious but why didn't you send your secondaries to Einstein/NYU! Come on man, every school counts and you had the summer to churn out secondaries, did you not?

Einstein doesn't even have a secondary. It's just the cost

 

[lukeevans]

good luck OP hope someone pick ya up

 

[Redpancreas]

Einstein doesn't even have a secondary. It's just the cost

^ You got 5 interviews out of 13 applications. That is fantastic. There is nothing wrong with your app, certainly not a bad LoR.

Yeah efle is right and well notes kb1900. Been out of this game for a while. OP, sometimes people just fall through the cracks and the only reason I'm speculating is you seem like a very strong candidate otherwise. Definitely give them a call/meet with the dean/whatever and let them know your situation. If I'm not mistaken, part of their mission is to train the local pop. and your app should be very strong for them. I suspect they looked past it because they assumed you've chosen elsewhere.

 

[DrfluffyMD]

PRAISE JESUS ALMIGHTY AND THE ADCOMS READING THIS THREAD
IM IN

Congrats, now you don't have to go to school in Asia #webuildthewall

 

[pbsdrinkingwhale]

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