3.8 GPA 35 MCAT, says stanford:"you are not one of the 3000 to receive a secondary."

[i hate stanford]

okay, i worked my BUTT off for 4 years at UCLA to earn a 3.8 GPA at UCLA majoring in biochemistry. I've worked in a structural biology lab for 40 hrs/week ever since my second year. i volunteered at a clinic by house. and, i scored a 10/13/12/S on my MCATs and was not offered a secondary from Stanford. How could they not even give me a chance????????????? this is making me lose faith in the application process. my roommate, god knows i love him, is a minority with a 3.1 GPA, 27 MCAT and he got a secondary. he's been jumpin up and down laughing at me for the last 48 hours. i have absolutely no problem with affirmative action, but i believe the system has failed in a big way today.

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[Mango]

Dude, was your essay laced with Nazi propaganda or something?

If I were you, I'd get on the horn with them and ask (politely) why you were rejected. They should tell you that.

Just wondering, was Stanford your #1 choice? Because I have a feeling you will be accepted to another school!

 

[arlene]

OK...Stanford screwed up. Big time. Now...you can be miserable, b/c they screwed up...or you can get into another school, and make them sorry they didn't welcome you with open arms. Don't you *dare* let them be right, kid, and don't you dare let them ruin this for you. Good luck, let us know where you get in.
arlene

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[gower]

For what its worth, probably not enough to assuage your feelings, Stanford has a small class of 86; in 97-98 they interviewed 523 out of 6,391 applicants. How they chose those 523, only Stanford knows. Probably each year the total interviewed is about the same, give or take.

 

[Oceandust]

When did the original poster take the MCAT? the August one? If indeed s/he took the April one, does the post imply Stanford has sent out all the secondaries it cares to dole out?

Ie, has anyone with an August MCAT received a Stanford secondary?

 

[Hmmrstrength]

That just stinks. Stanford screwed up!!! Coming from UCLA with those stats, you should have received secondaries at least. My condolences on the Stanford app, but screw them. Go to another top school and excel. YOU HAVE THE STATS, EXPERIENCE, AND INTELLIGENCE TO DO IT.

Best of luck,
The Hammer

 

[VAD]

I Hate Stanford,

I think it would be worthwhile for you to consider how many other students with your profile were rejected from the Stanford applicant pool without a secondary. I am SURE that you are not alone, given the thousands of other applicants. I think it's easy for students to feel "entitled" to something, especially when they know that they have put forth their best effort. However, the fact of the matter is that the Admissions Committees don't always agree with our opinions of ourselves. It may simply have been an issue of the type of student the Committee was looking for; you may or may not have fit that profile, in spite of your superior qualifications. May I suggest that you recognize that the admissions process is a crap shoot, but with your background and experience, you have a much better chance of acceptance, though not guaranteed, than the average applicant. I'm sure that as you redirect your energy into your remaining applications you will gain an acceptance somewhere.

Good Luck!

VAD

 

[chi-chi]

Oceandust,

My girlfriend and I both took the August MCAT and got our seccondary for Stanford on Saturday. We both went to Stanford for undergrad, had 3.6-3.7 overall gpas, 3.85-3.95 science gpas, and 37 MCATs, and have each done a bunch of volunteer work. I hope this info is useful.

Good luck to you all!

Has anyone who too the August MCAT heard from UCLA or UCSD yet?

 

[Vi Carious]

I have a sneaky suspicion that your personal essay must be uninspiring -- so much so, that they bombed you. Otherwise, a secondary should have been automatically forthcoming. It seems bizarre though. On a more positive note, I wouldn't think more than twice about it anymore. Look at it as a story to tell your grandchildren. I am sure that you will receive multiple acceptances. Good luck.

 

[lilycat]

I agree 100% with VAD, and I don't think I could've said it any better. I know it's not much of a consolation, but the process is very arbitrary. By the way, my roommate who applied in '99 received a rejection letter (post-secondary) and then received an interview request a few weeks later. Don't ask--I assume they're completely disorganized. I know one surgeon on the AdComm, and several students who read applications & here might be some points to consider: 1) They are super big on community service. Extreme dedication and leadership are pretty key (i.e., being intimately involved with the same organization all 4 years of undergrad or so). I'm not saying that you haven't done this, but just mentioning that they LOVE the community activist type. 2) They really pore over the personal statement--you obviously can't change that now, but it might be something to consider for other secondaries (i.e., how you are presenting yourself, what aspects you are concentrating on, etc.) 3) Stanford does make a very concerted effort to recruit and admit URMs, even if they occasionally have less than stellar numbers (esp. if they make up for it with community service or work experience). From what I hear, this is in part due to the perceived hostility towards URMs in California universities post-passage of Prop. 209.

Rejection always smarts, but I'm sure in a few days you will realize again what an extremely competitive applicant you are. And, if its any consolation, we could always start a "Top Ten Reasons Not To Go To Stanford" topic. I can come up with three good ones already... Good luck with the rest of the process!

 

[med2001]

Before you decide to jump on the "anti-affirmative action" band-wagon, I suggest that you examine more closely at how your stats offer ZERO diversity to the application pool. That's not to say that you didn't work very hard or that you don't deserve to get in to Stanford or elsewhere. The sad fact is that you are just like thousands of other bright applicants on paper. If you decide to apply to Stanford again, try some new and different experience to make you stand out from the rest.

Best of luck to you and your career.

Originally posted by i hate stanford:
okay, i worked my BUTT off for 4 years at UCLA to earn a 3.8 GPA at UCLA majoring in biochemistry. I've worked in a structural biology lab for 40 hrs/week ever since my second year. i volunteered at a clinic by house. and, i scored a 10/13/12/S on my MCATs and was not offered a secondary from Stanford. How could they not even give me a chance????????????? this is making me lose faith in the application process. my roommate, god knows i love him, is a minority with a 3.1 GPA, 27 MCAT and he got a secondary. he's been jumpin up and down laughing at me for the last 48 hours. i have absolutely no problem with affirmative action, but i believe the system has failed in a big way today.

 

[Pikevillemedstudent]

ZERO diversity to the applicant pool???? Are implying that because he is not an URM he doesn't have anything to add to the diversity? Just like thousands of other bright applicants on paper??? What are you talking about? If these stats are right, this person AT LEAST deserves a secondary.

 

[ChrisSteffen]

ADCOMS don't like cookie-cutter applicants. Try separating yourself from the pack next time around.

 

[VAD]

Pikeville,

How can you say that this person "deserves" a secondary? I think we could all look at our profiles and the effort we have put forth and say that we "deserve" consideration. However, it's not up to us, but the admissions committees. In terms of diversity, I don't agree with the poster that said the student added zero diversity, but when you have several candidates with the same statistics/profile, if there is nothing that stands out it becomes easy to overlook that candidate for someone with more unique experiences and qualifications. I think many schools want a diverse class, not a homogenous class. And diversity pertains to background, major, race/ethnicity, traditional/non-traditional, experiences, etc.

VAD

 

[lizard]

Chrissteffen: Separating from the pack is easier said than done. I feel like I meet so many applicants who have great grades, great MCATs, great activities, great life experiences, great personalities, etc. The pack looks awfully similar, because we're all trying to get to the same place. I empathize with the person who posted the original response because I think we all feel a bit frustrated on some level--we work so hard, but will it pay off?

[This message has been edited by lizard (edited 11-02-2000).]

 

[BigSkyDreams]

Howdy IHS,
Stanford just saved you the secondary fee, rejoice! Think about it, if this is the way that they choose to send out secondaries, then what would the interviews and then the acceptance be like?



------------------
BSD
______
Work under the assumption that you will be happy one day

 

[bhenchod]

hahahahahahaha you suck-worked your butt of for 4 years and then got dicked. Sounds like a loser to me.

 

[Hmmrstrength]

Again, I said this on another thread when you belittled someone else for no reason. Blockhead or whatever the **** your name is, your an dingus. You obviously receive satisfaction from others misfortune. But I can relate, because I would receive satisfaction from your misfortune of meeting me in a dark ally.

 

[ned]

HEY!

Before this gets into a big debate:

I just want to say to the original poster:

It is indeed possible that stanford made an error with your application. Last year I had a friend with ridiculous stats like you that didn't get a secondary from Duke. He called, and they said that his MCATS were entered into their system as a "22" instead of a "32." He was able to get an interview. I don't know if Stanford weeds people out via computer, but it seems possible. YOU SHOULD CALL AND FIND OUT WHETHER THIS IS SO!!! Maybe you could get your premed advisor to call -- you might get a warmer response that way.

Then again, who knows? I don't want to give you unnecessary hope, but LOTS of mistakes happen every year.

ned

[This message has been edited by ned (edited 11-04-2000).]

 

[Pikevillemedstudent]

Originally posted by VAD:
Pikeville,

How can you say that this person "deserves" a secondary? I think we could all look at our profiles and the effort we have put forth and say that we "deserve" consideration. However, it's not up to us, but the admissions committees.

VAD

VAD,
This is simply my opinion. I know it is not up to me, but in my opinion, I think this person deserve consideration. That's all I was trying to point out. Geez

 

[ruhig]

"okay, i worked my BUTT off for 4 years at UCLA to earn a 3.8 GPA at UCLA majoring in biochemistry. I've worked in a structural biology lab for 40 hrs/week ever since my second year. i volunteered at a clinic by house. and, i scored a 10/13/12/S on my MCATs and was not offered a secondary from Stanford."

LIAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that you DID NOT work 40 hours/week (full time) and still maintain a 3.8 in biochemistry(of all majors).
If you did, then UCLA must be a horrible institution.

What are your real stats?
How many hours a week did you really work? Did you really volunteer at the clinic?

You know - stanford was saving you the time, effort, money, and humiliation. In their secondary, it asks you to list the phone numbers of the people that can back up your work/ec story. They must have received a lot of fraudulent claims.
You would have never made it past that part.

 

[Cobragirl]

Ruhig,
I find your comment absolutely disgusting! Really! There ARE people out there that can work 40 hours a week and still pull off a great GPA...I happen to be one of them also! I'm a little bit older so I didn't have to waste valuable study time chasing the opposite sex or getting drunk at parties. How dare you accuse someone of lying just because YOU didn't manage to pull off the same feat! Some of us out there have BILLS to pay and want to make sure that not only do they get paid now, but want to insure that we do well enough in school to be compensated well (in whatever field) after we graduate! And yes, I DO have a life outside of school and work...I'm just choosy about what I spend my spare time on!

 

[caffeinegirl]

Don't worry about it. I am sure you will get into other schools. If it makes you feel any better, a friend of mine with your similar credentials got a rejection from Stanford not long ago. AND...he just went to Harvard Med for an interview.

 

[Hmmrstrength]

Ruhig,

Please read my previous post on this thread. It applies to you too, then, just give me a time and a place.

 

[tonem]

Is threatening posters...no matter how obnoxious...really necessary?

 

[Hmmrstrength]

Yes.

 

[Eleusia]

To the original poster,

Whoever said that Stanford may have made a mistake is right. You do have the right to appeal their decision, and with your stats, you should at least call and see what happened. On the other hand, the Ivy League schools are notorious for an admissions process that boggles the minds of students, advisors, and everyone else on the planet. I have known many people to have every single quality you could want in an applicant, including minority status, and the don't get in, or they get into, say, Harvard, but not Yale. Give them a call and make sure everything was correct. If you still don't get in, screw Stanford. Some other school will get an excellent student, and in years to come you may look back and decide that Stanford did you a favor. Good Luck.

 

[lilycat]

I don't think it's just the Ivies who have a baffling admissions process...

 

[Oceandust]

So what was the outcome of all this "i hate stanford"? I'm sure you got your secondary if you called.

Bestoluck.

[This message has been edited by Oceandust (edited 11-13-2000).]

 

[dwstranger]

Stop whining! So you didn't get a secondary from Stanford -- big deal! As others have pointed out, you've got good numbers, so you'll undoubtedly get into a US school somewhere.

As my mutha always says, "Beggars can't be choosers." If you are able to get one of those prized positions in US med school, count your blessings. Some of us weren't quite so fortunate, and resorted to other means to achieve our goals. I don't regret having gone foreign, but I'd give it up in a minute if I was offered a position in even the WORST school in the US.

This post is not to belittle you, but to point out that you have achieved much, and should be proud of your accomplishments. NOW MOVE ALONG!

 

[MedIan]

I Hate Stanford,

I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience, but I'm not sure that Stanford in particular stands out from the crowd when it comes to odd admissions decisions. Despite my 4.0 and 37, Northwestern and Hopkins rejected me without the benefit of a secondary. Stanford, Harvard, and Mayo rejected me without the benefit of an interview. But I get the last laugh...I'm off to a to damn good school next year.

My point is, just relax. With your background, you'll get in somewhere. Stanford is under-funded anyhow! Best not to attend a school that almost lost its accreditation a couple of years ago. All will work out in the end.

 

[kk]

MedIan,

I thought Hopkins sends out a secondary application to every applicant. Just out of curiosity, with your high stats, which lucky school will you be matriculating at?