34 MCAT no interviews? Please help

[jasonx]

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i'm asking for a friend who seemed to have good stats

34 MCAT bio 12 Physical 11 verbal 11

3.6 Degree and science gpa, pharmacology major

decent resume... research, volunteer work

He applied to a wide range of schools after the Aug MCAT, in oct.

So far no interviews and several rejections at columbia, nyu, suny stony brook, albert einstien,

what gives? shouldn't he get interviews at suny downstate or umdnj at least?

any explanations welcome.

 

[Cegar]

All signs point to a poor personal statement, secondary responses, or letters of recommendation.

You should advise your friend to send correspondence to the schools he applied to requesting any advice they may have for him in future cycles. I know that many schools have policies for such requests that can be found on their web pages.

 

[Perrotfish]

He also applied late, and it sounds like he applied to fairly competitive schools. The applications are due the first day they can be turned in, whatever AMCAS might say. But yeah, have a pre-med advisor read over those recommendations and essays.

 

[jasonx]

when do most people apply? isn't oct/nov still early? you guys think it must be his secondaries then?

Suggestions for next cycle?

 

[Boojeee]

We cannot guess what is wrong with his app. It could be a combination of applying late/poor EC's/poor personal statement/poor letters of rec/bad choice of schools (looks like too many reach schools?). Without detailed info, no one on this forum can really find out what is wrong...

 

[Myuu]

Late application is the big killer, I think. I've got somewhat similar stats (37, 3.5 with strong upward trend, etc), applied to a similarly narrow range of schools at about the same time, and have only two interviews (and two subsequent waitlists) to show for it.

 

[xiaoyi666]

Late application is the big killer, I think. I've got somewhat similar stats (37, 3.5 with strong upward trend, etc), applied to a similarly narrow range of schools at about the same time, and have only two interviews (and two subsequent waitlists) to show for it.

I know someone who has 3.7/3.7 33 mcat, good ECs. sent out most of 2ndaries in late november and december (~applied to 10-15 or so schools). So far, 6 interview invites, went to 3, accepted at 2 (last 1 class is temp full). not URM, dont need to bring that up. Don't think the late application is the reason.

 

[Cegar]

A late application wont help, but the friend's application was not late enough to warrant such little interest.

Their personal statement should be peer reviews and they should have a discussion with their LOR writers to see how they went.

 

[mfrizzo3]

Apply earlier...and have your friend join SDN himself.

He can't apply early and can't use the tremendous resources on SDN. 👎

 

[ColKurtz]

when do most people apply? isn't oct/nov still early? you guys think it must be his secondaries then?

Suggestions for next cycle?

October is on the late end, especially when most people have probably submitted their stuff by August. It seems like submitting your primary after September or so is the kiss of death.

 

[Myuu]

October is on the late end, especially when most people have probably submitted their stuff by August. It seems like submitting your primary after September or so is the kiss of death.

I can confirm that. 👎laugh:

 

[Textuality]

Eh, I wouldn't say September is the kiss of death, I know a lot of schools (including my own) that have convoluted committee processes that won't get your packet together August at the earliest. I did ok with a mid-sept application. But October is probably pushing it a little.

 

[postbacker]

I smell a troll, cuz if jasonx is a "medical student" he is pretty clueless for someone who has purportedly successfully navigated the med school admissions process...oct/nov has NEVER been early...

 

[jasonx]

not a troll, nor am I medical student... i don't understand why it says that. i'm also not pre-med, so yes i'm clueless. Just inquiring for a friend.

 

[mfrizzo3]

not a troll, nor am I medical student... i don't understand why it says that. i'm also not pre-med, so yes i'm clueless. Just inquiring for a friend.

Huh??? Not a med student or pre-med, tell your lazy friend to come here himself.

 

[postbacker]

not a troll, nor am I medical student... i don't understand why it says that. i'm also not pre-med, so yes i'm clueless. Just inquiring for a friend.

Umm, then what made you think Oct/Nov is pretty early, friend-o? Just a wild guess?

Fly away, little troll, and tell your interviewless friend to come here himself and submit to my scrutiny.

Oh, and the SDN account you just set up YOURSELF within recent days if not hours - you might want to edit your profile which YOU set to "medical student" when you registered.

 

[ColKurtz]

I smell a troll, cuz if jasonx is a "medical student" he is pretty clueless for someone who has purportedly successfully navigated the med school admissions process...oct/nov has NEVER been early...

A good troll would have used the "pre-optometry" label, and broken english.

 

[Perrotfish]

Huh??? Not a med student or pre-med, tell your lazy friend to come here himself.

Maybe his friend is too discouraged. I actually have a post exactly like the OPs on a PhD forum. My friend won't post because 'they don't want me so I give up forever', basically.

Yeah, early application means June, and then you have to turn the secondaries around within a week or two of getting them.

 

[jasonx]

i'm sorry, no need for the hostility, just looking for advice. I didn't say it was early, i just assumed it was not late. Obviously, I don't know much about the process, just worried about a friend who's been depressed because of it. he's not the type to join the board, and i was just looking for some feedback. I'm honestly just concerned. Thank you for those that replied. Any additional feedback would be appreciated on this situation.

 

[mfrizzo3]

i'm asking for a friend who seemed to have good stats

34 MCAT bio 12 Physical 11 verbal 11

3.6 Degree and science gpa, pharmacology major

decent resume... research, volunteer work

He applied to a wide range of schools after the Aug MCAT, in oct.

So far no interviews and several rejections at columbia, nyu, suny stony brook, albert einstien,

what gives? shouldn't he get interviews at suny downstate or umdnj at least?

any explanations welcome.

i'm sorry, no need for the hostility, just looking for advice. I didn't say it was early, i just assumed it was not late. Obviously, I don't know much about the process, just worried about a friend who's been depressed because of it. he's not the type to join the board, and i was just looking for some feedback. I'm honestly just concerned. Thank you for those that replied. Any additional feedback would be appreciated on this situation.

You seem to know enough about the process by giving EC's, Applying Broadly etc...Tell your *FRIEND* it is not the end of the world if he does not get in this time. He can apply next year, and tell him complete earlier.

 

[dizzyorange]

i'm sorry, no need for the hostility, just looking for advice. I didn't say it was early, i just assumed it was not late. Obviously, I don't know much about the process, just worried about a friend who's been depressed because of it. he's not the type to join the board, and i was just looking for some feedback. I'm honestly just concerned. Thank you for those that replied. Any additional feedback would be appreciated on this situation.

A good way to think of it is that about 70-80% of people submit their applications before October. So, you are not submitting in the last 10%, but it's close. Applying early is so crucial that it can be considered just as important as GPA, MCAT, EC's, letters, or personal statements.

That being said, I am one of those who applied extremely late, even later than October (complete November-January), near or at the deadlines of most schools. I applied to 19 schools, and received 10 interviews. My stats were very similar to your friends.

I think what convinced admissions committees to give me interviews was an unusual and perhaps slightly caustic personal statement. My motivations for going into medicine stem from rather negative feelings, and I expressed that honestly in my statement. Unlike the advice of others, I didn't have anyone peer review my personal statement. I am sure most would have asked me to change it to be more positive. However, it was the truth and it worked for me.

Advise your friend not to give up, to carefully plan out a year of intense activity, and to apply early next year. It's critical that he/she have an excellent explanation of how pharmacology led to medicine. A somewhat unfortunate trend in admissions is that students with majors completely unrelated to health-care are given a free-pass, but those who have shown prior interest in a non-medicine health field (such as pharmacology or nursing or dentistry) are absolutely grilled about their motivation to practice medicine.

And most importantly, be dead honest in your personal statement. For every admissions officer it turns off, it'll spark the interest of 3 others who are tired of reading the same crap.

 

[jasonx]

what would be a good range of schools for someone with those stats... if he hasn't had an interview yet, is it pretty much over? he had a request from downstate to fax fall grades, which he sent... any hope there?

i have been reading the board trying gage the process, so yes i am picking up on some things.

umdnj was his safety but he has had no response. i'm just worried about him, we all thought he was a very competitive candidate with his scores, so this result is surprising.

 

[dizzyorange]

what would be a good range of schools for someone with those stats... if he hasn't had an interview yet, is it pretty much over? he had a request from downstate to fax fall grades, which he sent... any hope there?

i have been reading the board trying gage the process, so yes i am picking up on some things.

umdnj was his safety but he has had no response. i'm just worried about him, we all thought he was a very competitive candidate with his scores, so this result is surprising.

As has been said before, there are no real safeties. Best bet is to write Downstate a detailed letter of why it's a good fit for you, if it actually is a good fit for you.

 

[Law2Doc]

All signs point to a poor personal statement, secondary responses, or letters of recommendation.

You should advise your friend to send correspondence to the schools he applied to requesting any advice they may have for him in future cycles. I know that many schools have policies for such requests that can be found on their web pages.

Agree with this post. Many people with seemingly good stats tank themselves on the essays. Often they come off too arrogant, too poorly thought out, too cliche/formulaic, or just unable to string together a decent sentence. When schools are getting 10,000 applications, they are really looking for any reason to reject an applicant. Sometimes it is based on numeric stats, but just as often it is due to non-numerical things like essays, LORs. You need to put your best foot forward in all aspects of the application. Sounds like OP's friend didn't manage to do this despite having adequate numerical stats.

 

[jelly476]

hrm i applied later in the application cycle with a stronger GPA but lower MCAT than your friend and I got 6 interviews and 2 acceptances so far, so I think that its something wrong with the application rather than the numbers. Like pervious posters, i'd have to go with the essay.

 

[searun]

I find the old "I am asking for my friend" thread to be rather annoying. If it is you, then just man up, and ask the question yourself. And people will respond. If it truly is your friend, then tell him to grow a pair, and ask the damn question himself. Are you going to go tell him what folks on SDN said because it is too painful for him to deal with the answers himself? Or are you just having an identity crisis? Oh well, I just find these threads annoying.

 

[drlook]

I don't know how much a "late" application would have affected your friend's chances. I applied late oct with similar stats and I had 5 interviews, three acceptances, one waitlist and I'm still waiting to hear from the last school.

My feeling is it's your friend's PS or LORs or secondaries. Applying broadly helps, but every medical school is pretty selective. LIke others said, your friend should call in over the summer and find out why schools didn't like his/her application. I went to a med school fair and they had a panel discussion about this - all the med deans advised waiting at least another year before applying and not to jump into the next cycle. They usually reject you again - you have to show you will fix what was lacking in your application.

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

i'm asking for a friend who seemed to have good stats

34 MCAT bio 12 Physical 11 verbal 11

3.6 Degree and science gpa, pharmacology major

decent resume... research, volunteer work

He applied to a wide range of schools after the Aug MCAT, in oct.

So far no interviews and several rejections at columbia, nyu, suny stony brook, albert einstien,

what gives? shouldn't he get interviews at suny downstate or umdnj at least?

any explanations welcome.

MCAT's good.

GPA's fine, not super strong but ok.

I'll take the decent resume at face value since we don't have it.

October application is a bit late. Probably not the only reason but always apply super early.

Since it sounds like some rejections were post secondary and some post interview, I'm going to guess the reason is lackluster essays and interviews. Might not be out and out bad...just be a very expressive person and it's easy to pass him over because he's humdrum. I'd suggest having somebody look at them as well as doing mock interviews to get some objective evidence.

 

[rwessinger23]

i'm sorry, no need for the hostility, just looking for advice. I didn't say it was early, i just assumed it was not late. Obviously, I don't know much about the process, just worried about a friend who's been depressed because of it. he's not the type to join the board, and i was just looking for some feedback. I'm honestly just concerned. Thank you for those that replied. Any additional feedback would be appreciated on this situation.

If I remember correctly, the AMCAs started accepting completed applications like the first of june maybe? I would seriously try to have it done and completed by the time it opens up or soon after if your friend is applying to very competitive schools... Then, soon as he/she gets the secondaries, try and complete those and get them back as soon as possible. Your friend should definitely make getting applications in and done soon as possible a top priority. I'd also say, as others have, have someone look over his personal statement etc.

 

[civilleader]

i have trouble believing that only a late app got to him...there must be something else going on.

 

[vicinihil]

i have trouble believing that only a late app got to him...there must be something else going on.

What undergrad did he go to? I find that in this application cycle, it was the major breaker. Look at my MDApp profile to see. Friends of mine from Harvard applied late Oct/early Nov and got interviews at Columbia and Yale without as high a MCAT or gpa and I didn't get either and I applied September.

 

[novastorm]

If I had to throw my conjecture into the mix I would say that the OP is a bright person, certainly smart enough to get into medical school, probably even do well. Their application/interviews are probably mediocre without a well reasoned understanding of why they want to go into medicine and/or lack motivation.

Only the 4.0/40 people get in without motivation...you usually have to want it a little when you come down into reality with the rest of us.

 

[BrainBuff]

Some of you people need to chill. I am amused by the fact that so many of you spend so much energy in accusing the OP as a troll and even took the time to "analyze" his profile, etc. If you find the "i have a friend" introduction annoying, that 's your problem..Just move on an do not reply!...Jeezz

To the OP, medical school admissions can be some what unpredictable. There is not a single thing that will make you or break you. However, in view of good GPA and MCATS, the selection of the schools, recs and lack of an EARLY application seem to be the factors here.

 

[mfrizzo3]

not a troll, nor am I medical student... i don't understand why it says that. i'm also not pre-med, so yes i'm clueless. Just inquiring for a friend.

If I had to throw my conjecture into the mix I would say that the OP is a bright person, certainly smart enough to get into medical school, probably even do well. Their application/interviews are probably mediocre without a well reasoned understanding of why they want to go into medicine and/or lack motivation.

Only the 4.0/40 people get in without motivation...you usually have to want it a little when you come down into reality with the rest of us.

The OP is not in medical school, nor is he even applying.

 

[RapplixGmed]

What undergrad did he go to? I find that in this application cycle, it was the major breaker. Look at my MDApp profile to see. Friends of mine from Harvard applied late Oct/early Nov and got interviews at Columbia and Yale without as high a MCAT or gpa and I didn't get either and I applied September.

Hmmm I was afraid that the higher end schools would be snobbish. Good luck on the schools that you are waiting on vicinihil! btw, I know you and you know me.

 

[Blade28]

Need to apply earlier, and more broadly.

 

[gplex86]

Kiss of death? Not so.

I submitted my PRIMARY app on December 1 (secondaries Dec 15) and got interviews at:

Yale (rejected post-interview)
GW (no response yet)
Touro-CA (accepted)
Touro-NV (withdrawing)
SLU (withdrawing)

Still waiting on more interviews, I hope.

My stats are: 3.45 GPA, 30O, lots of research and outrageously good EC's. It can be done, but I know I stood out.

 

[veaselhaufen]

Umm, then what made you think Oct/Nov is pretty early, friend-o? Just a wild guess?

Fly away, little troll, and tell your interviewless friend to come here himself and submit to my scrutiny.

Oh, and the SDN account you just set up YOURSELF within recent days if not hours - you might want to edit your profile which YOU set to "medical student" when you registered.

haha you are so lame. What compells you to treat people like this/ think that youre so cool?

Why do people respond to threads if all theyve got is cynicism

GROW UP

(embarassed that I belong to SDN) 🙁

 

[nawla18]

when do most people apply? isn't oct/nov still early? you guys think it must be his secondaries then?

Suggestions for next cycle?

Hey,
I applied in September last year and it was still super late. Similar stats, 34 MCAT, 3.76 GPA. Got 1 interview, for a waitlist. This year, same stats, a little more research, and did MUCH better. Late app will kill you 🙁

Next year, apply super early. And don't take your year off to screw around; schools will want to know what meaningful things you did.

Good luck, I know that the thought of doing this whole process again sucks.

 

[Leiflet]

"34 MCAT no interviews? Please help"
Ha! I had a 38 and barely got the courtesy interview from my state school (the dean went into detail about it being a bit of a fluke👎). Luckily I do well in person. Of course, the rest of my app. sucked but one is all you need.👍

Everyone already gave good advice, I was just responding to the title of the thread, not being helpful.