5 interviews..

[ammallu]

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[armybound]

It will come down to your interview performance. With a good performance (be relaxed, answer the questions well) you should get in at least somewhere, I'd imagine.

 

[Lshapley]

Explain the bad grades succiently and accurately, but do not dwell there. Make sure to explain what you have learned from that and how you have grown. I don't think that you really need to go into the details about your high school, for instance, just saying you went to a rural high school with little funding would be enough of an explanation of that.

 

[brsboarder]

I think you are a fairly strong candidate, and if you have done other things, some volunteer work, etc you'll be more than fine. Your 5 interviews by Sept 11th is testament to that. Aim high and hope for a reach school

 

[MassTransport]

Take the number of people matriculating and multiply it by 2 to get a rough estimate as to how many people are accepted. For very good schools, multiply it by 1.5 or so. For lower tier ones, you can get away with almost 3. This is my system, and not at all proven.

 

[Phoenix.]

My general rule of thumb is about a 60% chance if you're in-state vs. around 30% chance if you're OOS. This doesn't always hold true (it's more accurate for mid-tier schools), of course.

I have an invite to RFU too, and it's a 65% chance of acceptance post-interview for both in and out of state applicants. Good luck.

 

[Revenant]

Just a question how widely did you apply....given that you have an excellent MCAT and decent GPA

 

[Daydreamer2008]

Hi! Congratulations to everyone on their interviews, that's so impressive! I was really excited to find out I have interviews at Midwestern Osteopathic (9/24), Rosalind Franklin (9/26), University of Cincinnati (10/1), Medical College of Wisconsin (10/5), and NYMC (10/18). I'm hoping for at least one acceptance and I present myself well, but I know that there are a lot of other well-qualified, articulate people applying. The schools didn't provide info on how many interviewees are accepted, so I was wondering if anyone knew what my chances would be of being accepted to at least one school out of these 5...

Also my grades are my weak point (3.42 overall, 3.27 BCPM, with 3 C's total) but my MCAT's 37R. I'm sure I'll be asked why my grades are low, and I'm planning to explain how my high school in rural central Cali was not able to provide me with a strong science background (For example, 8 of us AP Bio students sharing one teacher in one class period with 35 Freshman Bio kids, the last few kids used to sit on the lab counters) and how I worked hard to overcome not being initially prepared for college science courses and maybe briefly mention a couple science classes that fascinated me and I did well in. Would that be okay? Because it's the truth but I don't want it to seem like I'm making excuses.

Thank you so much..best wishes to everyone!

Ya, I'm in the same boat with the GPA, and they asked me about it at both of my interviews last week (which they should). Your explanation is valid, and I think ad coms understand that some of us just don't have everything together when we are 18-20. Anyways, just be honest, and good luck!

 

[bullishMD]

Hi! Congratulations to everyone on their interviews, that's so impressive! I was really excited to find out I have interviews at Midwestern Osteopathic (9/24), Rosalind Franklin (9/26), University of Cincinnati (10/1), Medical College of Wisconsin (10/5), and NYMC (10/18). I'm hoping for at least one acceptance and I present myself well, but I know that there are a lot of other well-qualified, articulate people applying. The schools didn't provide info on how many interviewees are accepted, so I was wondering if anyone knew what my chances would be of being accepted to at least one school out of these 5...

Also my grades are my weak point (3.42 overall, 3.27 BCPM, with 3 C's total) but my MCAT's 37R. I'm sure I'll be asked why my grades are low, and I'm planning to explain how my high school in rural central Cali was not able to provide me with a strong science background (For example, 8 of us AP Bio students sharing one teacher in one class period with 35 Freshman Bio kids, the last few kids used to sit on the lab counters) and how I worked hard to overcome not being initially prepared for college science courses and maybe briefly mention a couple science classes that fascinated me and I did well in. Would that be okay? Because it's the truth but I don't want it to seem like I'm making excuses.

Thank you so much..best wishes to everyone!

no offense but there are a lot of pre meds that didnt take any APs and were still able to get A's or even B's in their college science courses. I am just saying this because i dont think that is a good reason (your hs story) to state in an interview. you may think that is the truth but I think you really need to think hard about why you got C's. Just trying to help not trying to be mean or anything.

 

[Revenant]

no offense but there are a lot of pre meds that didnt take any APs and were still able to get A's or even B's in their college science courses. I am just saying this because i dont think that is a good reason (your hs story) to state in an interview. you may think that is the truth but I think you really need to think hard about why you got C's. Just trying to help not trying to be mean or anything.

But if your high school sucks at teaching basic sciences then the excuse is valid...

 

[ina1220]

no offense but there are a lot of pre meds that didnt take any APs and were still able to get A's or even B's in their college science courses. I am just saying this because i dont think that is a good reason (your hs story) to state in an interview. you may think that is the truth but I think you really need to think hard about why you got C's. Just trying to help not trying to be mean or anything.

how'd you do on the AP test? if you scored 3 or above, then i would rethink your excuse for poor grades in college....

here's something else to think about: if your hs education is to blame, then how were you able to do well in your other science classes?

not trying to be harsh... just a little bit of devil's advocate...
best of luck!

 

[mvenus929]

But if your high school sucks at teaching basic sciences then the excuse is valid...

I don't necessarily think that you should lay the blame completely on your hs, though (and by you, I mean the general you, not the specific you). I mean, my state college has tons and tons of resources for students to take advantage of if they're struggling. My biochem professor is the head of the science learning center, and boasts about how people who use it have a B average, over the C-D average that those who don't use it have.

Even people that don't have that, though, can always form up study groups, go talk to their professor during office hours, even hire a tutor, etc. There's more to a low grade in a science class than just bad preparation.

 

[hermit]

I don't necessarily think that you should lay the blame completely on your hs

Concur. I learned everything I needed to do well in General Chemistry, Biology, & Physics in the college course itself - not from things I recalled from high school. I also think that the blame game may rub some interviewers the wrong way. Your call, just something to think about.

 

[FlowLimited]

In general, it's a bad idea to explain lapses in your grades by placing the blame on a professor or a school. As has been said, it tends to rub ADCOMs the wrong way and they may be left thinking that you're incapable of taking responsibility for your shortcomings.

If you do use your reasoning, don't be surprised if they ask you why you didn't seek extra help outside of class and why you chose not to remedy a bad situation.

 

[ammallu]

a

 

[pinkblue]

I think your high school prep is a very valid reason for struggling during college. If you dont have a good high school education, you were probably behind ur peers in develoipng study skills and basic science knowlege. As long as you had an upward trend in GPA and w/ your great MCAT score, I think you've proven that you rise to the challenge and made up for that.

I'd imagine part of the Ad com members' job is to "sell" that a good med school makes good residents/doctors. I think theyll understand that a poor high school education can hold you bakc.

Maybe you could discuss how this experience has helped you realize the value of a good education, learn study skills, and helped you figure out what you wanted in a med school.

 

[Kiara08]

Hi! Congratulations to everyone on their interviews, that's so impressive! I was really excited to find out I have interviews at Midwestern Osteopathic (9/24), Rosalind Franklin (9/26), University of Cincinnati (10/1), Medical College of Wisconsin (10/5), and NYMC (10/18). I'm hoping for at least one acceptance and I present myself well, but I know that there are a lot of other well-qualified, articulate people applying. The schools didn't provide info on how many interviewees are accepted, so I was wondering if anyone knew what my chances would be of being accepted to at least one school out of these 5...

Also my grades are my weak point (3.42 overall, 3.27 BCPM, with 3 C's total) but my MCAT's 37R. I'm sure I'll be asked why my grades are low, and I'm planning to explain how my high school in rural central Cali was not able to provide me with a strong science background (For example, 8 of us AP Bio students sharing one teacher in one class period with 35 Freshman Bio kids, the last few kids used to sit on the lab counters) and how I worked hard to overcome not being initially prepared for college science courses and maybe briefly mention a couple science classes that fascinated me and I did well in. Would that be okay? Because it's the truth but I don't want it to seem like I'm making excuses.

Thank you so much..best wishes to everyone!

do u mind me asking when u were complete at mcw and if ur IS or OOS, im waiting to hear from them and i'm IS

 

[xrevision]

I went to a highschool where very few AP classes were offered and many students were using different editions of the textbooks... I honestly went into college not knowing JACK. To me... that high school thing seems more like an excuse rather than a reason.

 

[ammallu]

a