3 rejections, no II, something wrong?

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Sean Lee

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I was complete at the 8-10 DO schools I've applied to around mid September.

So far, I got snail mail/email rejections from:

CUSOM
LECOM-B
ATSU-KCOM

No news from other schools. I have a 3.6 cGPA, 3.35 sGPA, 33 MCAT, strong/unique ECs, and robust DO shadowing/LOR. Can anyone tell me what's going on?

@Goro

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I am honestly starting to freak out.

Please don't tell me that I applied too late.
 
I was complete at the 8-10 DO schools I've applied to around mid September.

So far, I got snail mail/email rejections from:

CUSOM
LECOM-B
ATSU-KCOM

No news from other schools. I have a 3.6 cGPA, 3.35 sGPA, 33 MCAT, strong/unique ECs, and robust DO shadowing/LOR. Can anyone tell me what's going on?

@Goro

have you applied to the following schools:

Touro-NY
Touro-CA
AZCOM
CCOM

These schools are a bit MCAT obsessed so they may give you more leeway. I know CUSOM recently rejected someone with a 31 MCAT so they look for different things like service and volunteer experiences.
 
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I am honestly starting to freak out.

Please don't tell me that I applied too late.

No you didn't apply too late. Why don't you call/email the schools and ask if they can tell you why your app was rejected so that you can improve the app for the next cycle?
 
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have you applied to the following schools:

Touro-NY
Touro-CA
AZCOM
CCOM

These schools are a bit MCAT obsessed so they may give you more leeway. I know CUSOM recently rejected someone with a 31 MCAT so they look for different things like service and volunteer experiences.

I applied to 2/4 schools you listed above. But I do have plenty of clinical and community service, including DO shadowing and strong letter.

And I know my stats, though very competitive for DOs, are not that high. A 3.35 sGPA is squarely in healthy DO-territory.
 
No you didn't apply too late. Why don't you call/email the schools and ask if they can tell you why your app was rejected so that you can improve the app for the next cycle?

Thanks for the suggestion. But isn't it bad to ask schools about rejections before the cycle's over? I am still hopeful for the 8+ DO schools remaining and my MD schools as well.
 
I am going to add 1-2 more schools.
 
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Campbell and KCOM are big on fit. Very surprised at Bradenton, however. Your best bet is to make some calls.
 
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My gpa and mcat are very similar to yours and I was complete around mid september too. So far zero replies from any schools.

Given when we applied, I dont expect us to hear anything back until last week or so of october.
 
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Campbell and KCOM are big on fit. Very surprised at Bradenton, however. Your best bet is to attempt some calls.

I also applied to LECOM-E. They are completely separate from LECOM-B, right?

And you think it is a good idea to call LECOM-B? I think I just might.
 
My gpa and mcat are very similar to yours and I was complete around mid september too. So far zero replies from any schools.

Given when we applied, I dont expect us to hear anything back until last week or so of october.

How many did you apply to?
 
Interestingly, I noticed another user here with almost identical grades as yours but a 24. They actually received 5 ii's, including 2 of those schools, which kind of makes me speechless.
 
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I also applied to LECOM-E. They are completely separate from LECOM-B, right?

And you think it is a good idea to call LECOM-B? I think I just might.
Check the transcript that AACOMAS sent to the two LECOM schools for you. An error was made and students were listed as "DEFICIENT" if they were missing "recommended" classes instead of just "required" classes. AACOMAS is trying to correct the problem, but the schools may or may not be aware of the problem.
 
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Interestingly, I noticed another user here with almost identical grades as yours but a 24 MCAT. They actually received 5 ii's, including 2 of those schools, which kind of makes me speechless.

Maybe that user has super strong ECs like full-time medical employment and/or thousands of hours of volunteering.

The thing is, my personal statement and secondaries were all highly emphasized about the DO philosophy. It is clear that I have genuine interest in DO schools, or so I think.
 
Check the transcript that AACOMAS sent to the two LECOM schools for you. An error was made and students were listed as "DEFICIENT" if they were missing "recommended" classes instead of just "required" classes. AACOMAS is trying to correct the problem, but the schools may or may not be aware of the problem.

Good point. LECOM requires 6 hours of social/behavior sciences, but I only have 4 on my official AACOMAS report. BUT, LECOM explicitly states that philosophy and medical ethics courses ARE acceptable towards social/behavior sciences, and I have over 12 hours of philosophy/medical ethics. So I do qualify LECOM's requirement, even though my AACOMAS only says 4 hours of social/behavior sciences (AACOMAS does not consider philosophy as social/behavior sciences, but LECOM does)
 
Which DO schools did you apply to? Are there any red flags? Perhaps there are issues with your personal statement. Those stats (especially the 33 MCAT) should land you multiple II.

Also where are you from? Any ties to rural areas? Perhaps schools like KYCOM.
 
Which DO schools did you apply to? Are there any red flags? Perhaps there are issues with your personal statement. Those stats (especially the 33 MCAT) should land you multiple II.

Also where are you from? Any ties to rural areas? Perhaps schools like KYCOM.

I have a very minor IA that Goro (along with other ADCOMS and SDN users) claim will not hurt AT ALL.
 
I have a very minor IA that Goro (along with other ADCOMS and SDN users) claim will not hurt AT ALL.

What does IA mean? Maybe you were not a good fit for the school, or maybe they think you will get into another school and go there. I think some MD schools do that because its early in cycle.
 
Did u meet all the requirements for LOR's?? I know of someone who had good stats but didnt get in anywhere because they did not have the required number of letters for science professors. I was told that adcoms look for any reason to chuck ur app due to the volume of applicants. So if u didnt meet what they asked for... But i do think something is wrong in your app if u have those stats, no interviews and rejections this quick. What are ur EC's like? Maybe they are not as good as you think.
 
Did u meet all the requirements for LOR's?? I know of someone who had good stats but didnt get in anywhere because they did not have the required number of letters for science professors. I was told that adcoms look for any reason to chuck ur app due to the volume of applicants. So if u didnt meet what they asked for... But i do think something is wrong in your app if u have those stats, no interviews and rejections this quick. What are ur EC's like? Maybe they are not as good as you think.

I meet all the LOR requirements.

LECOM doesn't require LORs until you receive an II, so that couldn't have been an issue. As for ECs, I have 300 hours of clinical volunteering, 2 years of research, 300+ hours of community service, 150 hours of shadowing (MD and DO), and I also have a variety of non-medical related activities such as senior thesis in history, etc. ECs should be very solid.
 
Just checked my portal for LECOM-B. It says that all prerequisites have been met, so that's not an issue. However, my portal for LECOM-B still says that I am under consideration, which is weird.
 
Did u meet all the requirements for LOR's?? I know of someone who had good stats but didnt get in anywhere because they did not have the required number of letters for science professors. I was told that adcoms look for any reason to chuck ur app due to the volume of applicants. So if u didnt meet what they asked for... But i do think something is wrong in your app if u have those stats, no interviews and rejections this quick. What are ur EC's like? Maybe they are not as good as you think.
This post is making me nervous. Didn't this person receive complete emails? I only have one science LOR, but I have a committee letter, which I though was good enough to satisfy all LOR requirements. Am I wrong about that? I too have good stats (3.65/3.43/35), but I've heard nothing back from my four DO schools or any MD school, aside from one MD ii.
 
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You have been complete for less than a month. You will be fine. I bet you will have a bunch of interviews a month from now.
 
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You have been complete for less than a month. You will be fine. I bet you will have a bunch of interviews a month from now.

Thanks for the encouragement. I've been complete for 2.5 weeks now at my earliest places.
 
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This post is making me nervous. Didn't this person receive complete emails? I only have one science LOR, but I have a committee letter, which I though was good enough to satisfy all LOR requirements. Am I wrong about that? I too have good stats (3.65/3.43/35), but I've heard nothing back from my four DO schools or any MD school, aside from one MD ii.

This person I knew did not satisfy the requirements in the type of letters but they had the correct number of letters so yeah they did receive a complete status and their app went to review. But the schools asked for example 2 lor from a science prof and thats what they didnt meet. If you met the requirements of each school then u should be fine, but dont expect them to ignore there own rules because you have good states.
 
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This post is making me nervous. Didn't this person receive complete emails? I only have one science LOR, but I have a committee letter, which I though was good enough to satisfy all LOR requirements. Am I wrong about that? I too have good stats (3.65/3.43/35), but I've heard nothing back from my four DO schools or any MD school, aside from one MD ii.

You have crazy stats! I know several friends/acquaintances from my undergrad who have gotten into good MD schools with those stats. Schools like Case Western and even Emory!
 
You have been complete for less than a month. You will be fine. I bet you will have a bunch of interviews a month from now.

Totally skipped the part where OP said they were complete in mid-September... It's way too early to worry. Most schools at this point in the cycle will have you wait in excess of a month before any IIs. However, the straight up rejections are strange.
 
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To the
This person I knew did not satisfy the requirements in the type of letters but they had the correct number of letters so yeah they did receive a complete status and their app went to review. But the schools asked for example 2 lor from a science prof and thats what they didnt meet. If you met the requirements of each school then u should be fine, but dont expect them to ignore there own rules because you have good states.
did they have a committee letter?
 
Sean, I am amazed that your Inbox isn't buzzing with IIs. Is your application actually complete? Something is wrong. Have you contacted the three schools below for feedback on the rejection? With your stats, you should be getting IIs.

I was complete at the 8-10 DO schools I've applied to around mid September.

So far, I got snail mail/email rejections from:

CUSOM
LECOM-B
ATSU-KCOM

No news from other schools. I have a 3.6 cGPA, 3.35 sGPA, 33 MCAT, strong/unique ECs, and robust DO shadowing/LOR. Can anyone tell me what's going on?

@Goro
 
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I meet all the LOR requirements.

LECOM doesn't require LORs until you receive an II, so that couldn't have been an issue. As for ECs, I have 300 hours of clinical volunteering, 2 years of research, 300+ hours of community service, 150 hours of shadowing (MD and DO), and I also have a variety of non-medical related activities such as senior thesis in history, etc. ECs should be very solid.
Well, there's your problem---a senior thesis in history! Bradenton and many other DO schools really dislike non-science majors. You can tell it from their stats. While MD schools often have a quarter to a third of their students from non-science majors and welcome the diversity that those students bring, that's not true of DO schools. I would recommend applying, if you haven't already, to Des Moines, ATSU-Arizona, Western in Oregon, and the few other DO schools that welcome non-science majors.
 
Something seems off with your application then. You should have IIs.
 
Well, there's your problem---a senior thesis in history! Bradenton and many other DO schools really dislike non-science majors.

Are you serious? :(

I'm a math major; not biology, chemistry, or physics. That's still a STEM field, am I screwed? I wouldn't be applying until next year, but I have a 3.3 cGPA and a 3.28 sGPA. :thumbdown:
 
Are you serious? :(

I'm a math major; not biology, chemistry, or physics. That's still a STEM field, am I screwed? I wouldn't be applying until next year, but I have a 3.3 cGPA and a 3.28 sGPA. :thumbdown:
As a math major, your sGPA could look very different in an allopathic vs. osteopathic transcript. For allopathic schools, AMCAS includes all math classes in your BCPM science average. But AACOMAS just includes bio, phys and chem, no math. In any case, I'd look carefully at which schools really have a reasonable cohort of non-science majors (like 20% or more), and which ones "recommend" a lot of extra science classes that easily turn into requirements when they are flooded with applicants.
 
As a math major, your sGPA could look very different in an allopathic vs. osteopathic transcript. For allopathic schools, AMCAS includes all math classes in your BCPM science average. But AACOMAS just includes bio, phys and chem, no math. In any case, I'd look carefully at which schools really have a reasonable cohort of non-science majors (like 20% or more), and which ones "recommend" a lot of extra science classes that easily turn into requirements when they are flooded with applicants.

I had no clue! Shoot, then my sGPA for AACOMAS is a lot worse than that. :(

Thanks for the heads up, though! I'd rather find that out now than later.
 
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Bradenton liked me enough for an interview and I am as non-science as it gets.
 
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Sean, I am amazed that your Inbox isn't buzzing with IIs. Is your application actually complete? Something is wrong. Have you contacted the three schools below for feedback on the rejection? With your stats, you should be getting IIs.

Its also only been 2 wks since they were complete. I know some schools move fast, but many do not. It wouldn't surprise me if OP got a bunch of ii's in the next 2-4 wks.
 
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I was complete at the 8-10 DO schools I've applied to around mid September.

So far, I got snail mail/email rejections from:

CUSOM
LECOM-B
ATSU-KCOM

No news from other schools. I have a 3.6 cGPA, 3.35 sGPA, 33 MCAT, strong/unique ECs, and robust DO shadowing/LOR. Can anyone tell me what's going on?

@Goro
For the record what is your full school list?
 
If I remember correctly werent you the person who locked yourself in the school library? I would be willing to bet that is why you were rejected from those schools. Im sure you will get II's from other schools though. Med school is 10x more stressful than undergrad so maybe those ADCOMs didnt want to take a chance on someone who might not handle it well. I don't want to come across as mean, I just dont want other premeds to freak out if they have lower stats.
 
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The regional bias may be possible for CUSOM, but can't explain the other too. The not fulfilling would explain.

But I am nearly 100% sure that my pre-reqs and LORs have been complete/fulfilled requirements. LECOM-B indicates on my portal that all my prereqs are complete, and they don't ask for letters until you are invited to an interview.
 
If I remember correctly werent you the person who locked yourself in the school library? I would be willing to bet that is why you were rejected from those schools. Im sure you will get II's from other schools though. Med school is 10x more stressful than undergrad so maybe those ADCOMs didnt want to take a chance on someone who might not handle it well. I don't want to come across as mean, I just dont want other premeds to freak out if they have lower stats.

I guess you have a point. But there was absolutely no malice or moral turpitude in my IA. I basically studied too hard and didn't realize that the library has closed. And I was given probation as a result of that.
 
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I guess you have a point. But there was absolutely no malice or moral turpitude in my IA. I basically studied too hard and didn't realize that the library has closed. And I was given probation as a result of that.
Ah man, thats a bummer. Im sure a school will scoop you up this cycle eventually. I had a random probation thing too (academic probation for freshman GPA) and felt like I was screened from a couple schools despite finishing with pretty competitive stats.
 
I guess you have a point. But there was absolutely no malice or moral turpitude in my IA. I basically studied too hard and didn't realize that the library has closed. And I was given probation as a result of that.
Honestly, I think that some DO schools may be assuming that with a 33 MCAT and those grades and EC's you'll get into a lot of allopathic schools, and will just automatically choose MD. I think it's really unfortunate if they think that, because I know more and more pre-meds who are admitted to both and choose DO.
 
Ah man, thats a bummer. Im sure a school will scoop you up this cycle eventually. I had a random probation thing too (academic probation for freshman GPA) and felt like I was screened from a couple schools despite finishing with pretty competitive stats.

Looking at your profile handle, you are a medical student right now. So i am assuming that you got into a school despite having to mark that IA box. Congrats!

Did you also get some quick rejections but were able to get an II and acceptance later on?
 
Honestly, I think that some DO schools may be assuming that with a 33 MCAT and those grades and EC's you'll get into a lot of allopathic schools, and will just automatically choose MD. I think it's really unfortunate if they think that, because I know more and more pre-meds who are admitted to both and choose DO.
oh definitely, I'm sure DO schools just drool for mediocre applicants then :rolleyes:
 
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