3 II, 3 WL

[920820]

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4/15/2019 edit: Since my previous edit, I obtained two more IIs and today I received my first acceptance!

2/23/2019 edit: since this thread, I've obtained 3 more IIs! I have one more to go and have continued to perfect my interview skills.

just received notice that I was placed on the waitlist for a school, leaving me with 3 waitlists over 3 IIs (interviews in September and November). I’m not surprised given my GPA but I’m definitely disappointed. My guess is that this occurred due to my clinical experience and GPA so for now, I am trying to determine my next steps.

Me:
3.5 GPA 90th+ percentile MCAT
Applied broadly and early
3 IIs, two low tier one state school
150 hours clinical experience
Lots of research (includes a lot of clinical research)
Leadership is plentiful

I’ve begun volunteering for a local nonprofit for the underserved and have completed significant projects at work (healthcare related). I’m thinking about taking classes this semester and since the gpa will help me if I need to reapply.

I highly doubt it is interviews. I worked with former adcoms in my mock interviews and they always gave me very positive feedback.

I will have to wait until the summer time to hear back but was wondering how I can improve my application and what I can mention to schools via updates.

 

[jarednogeek]

Multiple schools told me that once they give you an II they already approve of your stats. I would guess it's your interview skills.

 

[Goro]

Multiple schools told me that once they give you an II they already approve of your stats. I would guess it's your interview skills.

This. Most people are terrible judges of their interview skills, and a practice one is still different than the real thing.

Op, you didn't mention non-clinical volunteering.

Your clinical volunteering hrs could be increased.

 

[920820]

This. Most people are terrible judges of their interview skills, and a practice one is still different than the real thing.

Op, you didn't mention non-clinical volunteering.

Your clinical volunteering hrs could be increased.

Thanks for the feedback. I’d be really disappointed if it was due to the interviews because that means I received dishonest feedback on my mocks.

My nonclinical volunteering is at 400+ hours.

 

[ciestar]

Thanks for the feedback. I’d be really disappointed if it was due to the interviews because that means I received dishonest feedback on my mocks.

My nonclinical volunteering is at 400+ hours.

Not even necessarily dishonest feedback.. it could be that your evaluators differ in opinion. They all have things to judge you on

 

[altblue]

Thanks for the feedback. I’d be really disappointed if it was due to the interviews because that means I received dishonest feedback on my mocks.

My nonclinical volunteering is at 400+ hours.

The real interview is harder dude. I didn't prep for my third interview and I ended up getting waitlisted.

Just do what you can to improve your app, then send in an update.

 

[Goro]

Thanks for the feedback. I’d be really disappointed if it was due to the interviews because that means I received dishonest feedback on my mocks.

My nonclinical volunteering is at 400+ hours.

Life is not so black and white.

You may have done very well on dress rehearsals, but bombed opening night.

 

[thatdude!]

I think it’s probably your GPA that schools are hesitating on, or something else in your app. Schools do a full review of your app after the interview, so I really think that even if your interview only went fine, something else in your app can hold you back

 

[920820]

That makes sense. So it looks like, in preparation for a second cycle, my steps are to raise my GPA, increase my clinical experience, and improve my interview skills.

 

[drducky.]

Multiple schools told me that once they give you an II they already approve of your stats. I would guess it's your interview skills.

I had an interview at one of the newer DO schools. One of the interviewer was the admissions director and he wanted me explain my grades and spend a good chunk of interview time on it. I was straight rejected from this school.

 

[jarednogeek]

I had an interview at one of the newer DO schools. One of the interviewer was the admissions director and he wanted me explain my grades and spend a good chunk of interview time on it. I was straight rejected from this school.

I can’t really speak for DO schools especially the newer ones. I only applied MD

 

[Incursio]

I am honestly concerned about this too, I was fortunate enough to get 5 II this cycle (2 DOs and 3 MDs) all of which tend to be very regional mission heavy (i.e. to improve care in X area)

From what I understand, my stats are really low (specially my gpa being in the 10th percentile for these schools, but my MCAT being around their median), but the rest of my application seems to fit the schools mission in that I have a lot of involvement in my community and have some unusual experiences that could help carry out their mission.

I always had the impression that once you got a II they were ok with your stats, and it came down more of a matter of fit with the school and the interview along with other aspects of your app like your secondary and recommendations, but after getting rejected at one school and deferred for next committee decision at another, with the last school's decision pending, I am honestly confused. Do you guys think my academics like gpa are holding me back? and is it worth it to send an update with my fall semester grades?

 

[jarednogeek]

I am honestly concerned about this too, I was fortunate enough to get 5 II this cycle (2 DOs and 3 MDs) all of which tend to be very regional mission heavy (i.e. to improve care in X area)

From what I understand, my stats are really low (specially my gpa being in the 10th percentile for these schools, but my MCAT being around their median), but the rest of my application seems to fit the schools mission in that I have a lot of involvement in my community and have some unusual experiences that could help carry out their mission.

I always had the impression that once you got a II they were ok with your stats, and it came down more of a matter of fit with the school and the interview along with other aspects of your app like your secondary and recommendations, but after getting rejected at one school and deferred for next committee decision at another, with the last school's decision pending, I am honestly confused. Do you guys think my academics like gpa are holding me back? and is it worth it to send an update with my fall semester grades?

I would consider a semester of good grades update worthy. I really think it depends on the school. Some schools specifically told me the interviewers don’t even see our grades or scores because they already believe in our ability to be successful at the school academically. Maybe at DO schools where the gpa/MCAT requirements can be a lot lower they analyze it more

 

[920820]

I am honestly concerned about this too, I was fortunate enough to get 5 II this cycle (2 DOs and 3 MDs) all of which tend to be very regional mission heavy (i.e. to improve care in X area)

From what I understand, my stats are really low (specially my gpa being in the 10th percentile for these schools, but my MCAT being around their median), but the rest of my application seems to fit the schools mission in that I have a lot of involvement in my community and have some unusual experiences that could help carry out their mission.

I always had the impression that once you got a II they were ok with your stats, and it came down more of a matter of fit with the school and the interview along with other aspects of your app like your secondary and recommendations, but after getting rejected at one school and deferred for next committee decision at another, with the last school's decision pending, I am honestly confused. Do you guys think my academics like gpa are holding me back? and is it worth it to send an update with my fall semester grades?

I think an update of fall semester grades probably are beneficial for any school that take post-II updates.

Other than that, it's a toss-up I imagine. I know each of my three schools, after the interview, evaluate my entire application and not just the interview itself. Some schools focus more on the interview.

 

[freedoctor17]

Multiple schools told me that once they give you an II they already approve of your stats. I would guess it's your interview skills.

That's not totally true at every school though. I've had several schools say that they reevaluate everything all together after the interview and take your whole app into account before sending an acceptance.

 

[altblue]

That's not totally true at every school though. I've had several schools say that they reevaluate everything all together after the interview and take your whole app into account before sending an acceptance.

I dunno, I can see 1 or 2 waitlists out of 3 being a matter of stats or the new traffic rules, but 3 waitlists out of 3 is a bit on the high side

 

[freedoctor17]

I dunno, I can see 1 or 2 waitlists out of 3 being a matter of stats or the new traffic rules, but 3 waitlists out of 3 is a bit on the high side

That's a good point. I guess i just though if the interview was bad combined with their gpa getting a little lower they'd just get rejected not waitlisted. I feel like their interviews might have been good but not good enough to completely make up for the gpa?

 

[altblue]

That's a good point. I guess i just though if the interview was bad combined with their gpa getting a little lower they'd just get rejected not waitlisted. I feel like their interviews might have been good but not good enough to completely make up for the gpa?

Yeah he could have very well given an average interview with no major problems, but average might not have been quite enough for an outright accept with lower stats.

Though solid stats aren't necessarily insurance against an unspectacular interview either. Wayne State had a waitlist bloodbath of 70+ LM all on one day.

 

[freedoctor17]

Yeah he could have very well given an average interview with no major problems, but average might not have been quite enough for an outright accept with lower stats.

Though solid stats aren't necessarily insurance against an unspectacular interview either. Wayne State had a waitlist bloodbath of 70+ LM all on one day.

Yeah i definitely know first hand haha, i had one school i butchered one interview and did good in the other (from what i could tell) and this resulted in a waitlist despite me having much higher stats than their average. i honestly expected a rejection though with how bad the one interview went. I mean it was really bad lol. So maybe the stats and the second interview were enough to turn it into a waitlist instead.

 

[altblue]

Yeah i definitely know first hand haha, i had one school i butchered one interview and did good in the other (from what i could tell) and this resulted in a waitlist despite me having much higher stats than their average. i honestly expected a rejection though with how bad the one interview went. I mean it was really bad lol. So maybe the stats and the second interview were enough to turn it into a waitlist instead.

You didn't lol. They'd flat out reject you if you bungled it - I know a couple high stat applicants that this happened to.

Yeah I think my interview for the WL school went alright, but I stumbled through "why this school" and never really left the impression I wanted to attend for either interviewer that day. But who knows what the evals said exactly. *shrug*

 

[920820]

That's a good point. I guess i just though if the interview was bad combined with their gpa getting a little lower they'd just get rejected not waitlisted. I feel like their interviews might have been good but not good enough to completely make up for the gpa?

Who knows. One of the schools directly told everyone in the room "we will probably waitlist everyone unless you blow us away" (not word for word). I think only 2-3 people in this year's school specific thread posted that they got an A so far. This process is a doozy. But it's a marathon not a sprint and it's just part of the medical career grind ya know?

 

[MerYangBey]

Who knows. One of the schools directly told everyone in the room "we will probably waitlist everyone unless you blow us away" (not word for word). I think only 2-3 people in this year's school specific thread posted that they got an A so far. This process is a doozy. But it's a marathon not a sprint and it's just part of the medical career grind ya know?

I didn’t read all the posts above but I was wondering if you felt like you connected with the interviewer at all- for example in a couple of my interviews I said something and could literally feel the the demeanor of the interviewer change in a good way=acceptance
Vs average interview where nothing necessarily went wrong but nothing really was exceptional =waitlist/rejection.

I guess my question to you is did you do your research about the schools/have some individualized answers about why you would be a good fit “the why should we pick you question”
And do your answers to the other classic questions seem too rehearsed/not interesting/ generic.

Good luck!

 

[920820]

I didn’t read all the posts above but I was wondering if you felt like you connected with the interviewer at all- for example in a couple of my interviews I said something and could literally feel the the demeanor of the interviewer change in a good way=acceptance
Vs average interview where nothing necessarily went wrong but nothing really was exceptional =waitlist/rejection.

I guess my question to you is did you do your research about the schools/have some individualized answers about why you would be a good fit “the why should we pick you question”
And do your answers to the other classic questions seem too rehearsed/not interesting/ generic.

Good luck!

I do recall my interviewer's demeanor changing positively several times in my third interview, actually he changed based on my "why X school" response. The other two were MMI.

 

[MerYangBey]

I do recall my interviewer's demeanor changing positively several times in my third interview, actually he changed based on my "why X school" response. The other two were MMI.

Oh okay. I didn’t like the MMI crap.
Anyways hopefully it works out for you!

 

[LizzyM]

Schools may be very conservative this year in giving offers because they are operating with less information than they did in past years. They may make a relatively small number of offers by March and then select most of the class from the waitlist. You are wise to think about, and work on, improving your application but hope is not lost if you are on waitlists in January.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Schools may be very conservative this year in giving offers because they are operating with less information than they did in past years. They may make a relatively small number of offers by March and then select most of the class from the waitlist. You are wise to think about, and work on, improving your application but hope is not lost if you are on waitlists in January.

I was explicitly told by one school that way more people would get waitlisted by them this year due to this, and that many more people than normal would be taken off the waitlist.

 

[920820]

I was explicitly told by one school that way more people would get waitlisted by them this year due to this, and that many more people than normal would be taken off the waitlist.

That’s what I’ve been hearing a lot recently. Like what everyone says, hope for the best and expect the worst.

I’ll update this thread again around summertime on how the waitlists turn out.