Any 27-29 MCAT with interviews????

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I don't know if I ever posted here, maybe once... anyway, so far 2 interviews: GWU and Temple. Waitlisted at GW... haven't heard from Temple yet, but absolutely loved the school!

If we applied early, do you think the application season is pretty much over for us? I really haven't heard from any other schools, other than being rejected from Georgetown and BU (of course 🙂).

Good luck everyone and have faith!
 
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What do you guys think about my chances of getting an acceptance are?

My stats/info:

TMDSAS Submitted: 9/16/2009
Submitted Secondaries for Texas Schools: 9/16-20/2009
TMDSAS Transmitted: 10/14/2009
Received by most schools: 10/14/2009 - 10/31/2009 (as per emails/websites)


MCAT: 29R
cGPA: 3.87
sGPA: 3.74
Degree: Biology (BS) and Psychology (BS) in 4 yrs from Texas State. Graduated 2009.
Lots of research, moderate ECs, low-moderate shadowing.
Currently, 23 yrs old, white, female, married Texas resident.

This is my 2nd year applying, retook MCAT (25P) after applying last year and getting one interview at UT-Houston somehow 😉 (Probably only got that interview because I did research with them for 5 summers from high school to college). Obviously, did not get in but am enjoying my year off from school A LOT. Blessing in disguise... seriously, because I'm newly married (5 months!) and it's been great being at home and working and spending time with my new hubby!

I've gotten 3 interview invitations so far--
UTMB: received invite 10/28 for 11/13 interview (2nd interviewer gave me his business card + CD of a lecture he enjoyed attending and told me to "look him up" if I went to UTMB-- that can't be bad right??:xf:)

Tx Tech-Lubbock: received invite 11/12 for 12/4 interview

A&M: received invite 11/18 for 12/3 interview, but rescheduled to 12/10 because of Lubbock interview conflict.

Now I'm just hoping/praying for an acceptance :luck: What do you guys think, likelihood wise based on my stats/interviews.
 
DrHiner said:
What do you guys think about my chances of getting an acceptance are?
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Welcome to the boards. There are some other "what are my chances" threads you might get more info in. However, I think you have a great chance. Your stats sound good to me, much like my own stats and I got two acceptances so far. I think had you applied early, you would have had much more success this time. Your late application is probably the one thing that is hurting you most. However, with your stats I wouldn't be surprised at all to see you on here talking about your acceptances!! Good luck!
 
To forget about Dre is to not be serious about going to medical school; pre-meds! check yo'self b4 you wreck yo'self.

sustentacular said:
👍 Thank you. I've been thinking about this for a while.. in theory an average means half the scores are above and half are below. Although, I believe the MSAR reports median mcat scores.

... and the mother****ers act like they forgot about dre.
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my friend bob sacamano got into Princeton School of Medicine with a 21. Dare to dream!
 
SCI GPA - 3.95
GPA - 3.4 AMCAS (3.7 UGRAD)
MCAT - 28M

Research, volunteer experience, leadership exp and clinical experience


11/19/09 ::::3 MD/PhD Invites:::::0 MD invites

not bad, eh ?
 
Not bad at all considering your high gpa. 28 is not low my friend. Now if you had scored a 24 and produced the same result, then it be different.

Frodo7 said:
SCI GPA - 3.95
GPA - 3.4 AMCAS (3.7 UGRAD)
MCAT - 28M

Research, volunteer experience, leadership exp and clinical experience


11/19/09 ::::3 MD/PhD Invites:::::0 MD invites

not bad, eh ?
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I just got accepted to my first medical school!! It can be done with a lower MCAT! Good luck!
 
I made a 29N

Got accepted to UAB and Wake Forest...
Interview at Loyola coming up...

The way it was explained to me is that your GPA and MCAT just get you an interview. Your Interview gets you accepted...

Its obviously a bit outdated advice, but fow any up and comers number one advice is get your application submitted as early as possible!!😉
 
bleargh said:
the truth is far from this IMO. in my experience, i was helped TREMENDOUSLY in both college and beyond from the lifetime of advantaged learning i received. college is can't make up for this difference. i took a class on a related subject and here's some food for thought - when controlled for socioeconomic status, african americans still score SIGNIFICANTLY less on the SATs than white students. VERY interesting phenomenon.
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I agree. I grew up white in the suburbs, but had to drop out of college to help my mother when my little brother ended up in the hospital when we had no health insurance. We lived just above the poverty line, and she was too damn proud to accept "charity," and it derailed my first attempt to get my bachelor's degree. I'm not at all bitter, because my brother and the rest of my family are doing really well now, and I have to believe that everything happens for a reason.

Still, there's no controlling for complicated situations. While my mother worked incredibly hard to keep us in a school district that sent basically everyone to excellent universities, we were still at a disadvantage simply because my mother was not equipped to work miracles.

I can only place faith in ADCOMs to really look at each applicant as an individual and not just a synthesis of numbers. Schools that don't do that are probably not a good match for me, anyway. My GPA is good...I haven't crunched the numbers recently, since my grades are from three different schools, but it's at least a 3.6 or 3.7. I still have to take my MCAT. I don't expect special consideration for being non-traditional, but I hope they look at my 10 years of clinical experience, and the fact that I'm doing this on my own because I want to do it, and I've already taken a tremendous risk to pursue medicine.

It may be "unfair" to give URMs and non-trads an "advantage" in terms of numbers, but I don't think they do so lightly. I know we all have millions of stories about friends and people we've known who have or have not gotten into schools, so forgive me for sharing this one, but it's real and it's poignant.

I have one friend who is black and had a 3.3 GPA and 29 on her MCAT who grew up in a similar situation to mine. I always admired her tenacity...she had to help her mother and younger siblings, but managed to stay on track...she did it all. She was president of some honors society, a volunteer in a local cancer center from the time she was 16 until she graduated at 22, and worked nearly full-time to supplement her mom's income. She was accepted at NYU, Penn State, UPenn, and SUNY Downstate and Upstate, as well as a few others, I think. She chose SUNY Upstate because they offered her a full ride.

I have another friend (from high school) who is also black but grew up with two professional parents who saved enough for her to attend an Ivy League school. She went to Dartmouth, earned a 3.6 GPA and 32Q MCAT, and had great recommendation letters and plenty of pre-med activities. She had no problem getting into medical school, but it wasn't like they rolled out the red carpet for her. Listening to most stories, you would think the process is biased, but she didn't have any advantage over anyone else.

For all we know, she was rejected in favor of another black student who came from a disadvantaged background. Point is, we DON'T know, and we should have some faith that someone is really looking into who we are before making decisions about our fate in their school.
 
scurred09 said:
Bro, you have close to a 4.0 gpa. why are you shock?
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My 7 in verbal was making me feel a bit uneasy about getting outright accepted, but overall it was just a shock for me to realize that I will have the opportunity to pursue my lifelong dream...i still can't believe it!
 
reidmike said:
My 7 in verbal was making me feel a bit uneasy about getting outright accepted, but overall it was just a shock for me to realize that I will have the opportunity to pursue my lifelong dream...i still can't believe it!
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I hope you are done being in shock and celebrating instead!😛

You deserve it!
 
I don't understand, I feel I fit the profile of the somewhat low MCAT/ high GPA and I haven't gotten a single allopathic interview. I have a 3.974 GPA with a 30O MCAT and haven't heard anything yet. I am a Chicago resident and really only applied to schools in the midwest. I worked at a hospital for two years, shadowed a lot, have my EMT license, was on a sports team all four years, involved in plenty of campus organizations/clubs, and received quite a few awards/honors. Anyone have an idea why I haven't gotten any interviews thus far? Thanks.
 
I just created a new user name today because the old one sort of gave my identity away. So this might look like my first post but I've been a member for a while. Anyway I have a 27 MCAT, and I have received 10 interviews..!!!!!! yaaaayyyyyyy and may be more will follow. I've been to 3 so far, and just waiting to go on the rest , and also to hear back from the one's that I went to. I am super excited and so proud.. I wish you all the best!!!!!!! I really do 😀
 
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Wildebeest said:
I don't understand, I feel I fit the profile of the somewhat low MCAT/ high GPA and I haven't gotten a single allopathic interview. I have a 3.974 GPA with a 30O MCAT and haven't heard anything yet. I am a Chicago resident and really only applied to schools in the midwest. I worked at a hospital for two years, shadowed a lot, have my EMT license, was on a sports team all four years, involved in plenty of campus organizations/clubs, and received quite a few awards/honors. Anyone have an idea why I haven't gotten any interviews thus far? Thanks.
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When did you submit your application? That can be a factor into when you hear back about interviews.

I hope you hear something soon👍 Good luck!
 
Thank you....I remember when I told my non-minority friends that I was applying the "you will get in you are a minority" response was common. I know minorities from my graduate program that did not get an interview, and I met minorities that had to go to Carribean schools because of this. I also know some that just changed career paths because of this.The fact is that Medical Schools do not have alot of qualified African Americans to choose from because there aren't many applying or due to grades, MCAT or whatever they are not looked at. If you work hard you will get in because of this small pool of candidates. In hindsight the process was much easier than I expected it was more stressful waiting, doing the secondaries, and AMCAS. The interviews were easy because you should be able to sell yourself. I was told I was considered a minority in various groups did it help me maybe, but if I did not have the numbers to match I being a minority would not have helped.






riverjib said:
I agree. I grew up white in the suburbs, but had to drop out of college to help my mother when my little brother ended up in the hospital when we had no health insurance. We lived just above the poverty line, and she was too damn proud to accept "charity," and it derailed my first attempt to get my bachelor's degree. I'm not at all bitter, because my brother and the rest of my family are doing really well now, and I have to believe that everything happens for a reason.

Still, there's no controlling for complicated situations. While my mother worked incredibly hard to keep us in a school district that sent basically everyone to excellent universities, we were still at a disadvantage simply because my mother was not equipped to work miracles.

I can only place faith in ADCOMs to really look at each applicant as an individual and not just a synthesis of numbers. Schools that don't do that are probably not a good match for me, anyway. My GPA is good...I haven't crunched the numbers recently, since my grades are from three different schools, but it's at least a 3.6 or 3.7. I still have to take my MCAT. I don't expect special consideration for being non-traditional, but I hope they look at my 10 years of clinical experience, and the fact that I'm doing this on my own because I want to do it, and I've already taken a tremendous risk to pursue medicine.

It may be "unfair" to give URMs and non-trads an "advantage" in terms of numbers, but I don't think they do so lightly. I know we all have millions of stories about friends and people we've known who have or have not gotten into schools, so forgive me for sharing this one, but it's real and it's poignant.

I have one friend who is black and had a 3.3 GPA and 29 on her MCAT who grew up in a similar situation to mine. I always admired her tenacity...she had to help her mother and younger siblings, but managed to stay on track...she did it all. She was president of some honors society, a volunteer in a local cancer center from the time she was 16 until she graduated at 22, and worked nearly full-time to supplement her mom's income. She was accepted at NYU, Penn State, UPenn, and SUNY Downstate and Upstate, as well as a few others, I think. She chose SUNY Upstate because they offered her a full ride.

I have another friend (from high school) who is also black but grew up with two professional parents who saved enough for her to attend an Ivy League school. She went to Dartmouth, earned a 3.6 GPA and 32Q MCAT, and had great recommendation letters and plenty of pre-med activities. She had no problem getting into medical school, but it wasn't like they rolled out the red carpet for her. Listening to most stories, you would think the process is biased, but she didn't have any advantage over anyone else.

For all we know, she was rejected in favor of another black student who came from a disadvantaged background. Point is, we DON'T know, and we should have some faith that someone is really looking into who we are before making decisions about our fate in their school.
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My strategy come application time was:
(1) Apply early (I submitted first day)
(2) Apply to as many as I can afford (applied to 40 on the primary AMCAS)
(3) Fill out as many secondaries as I possibly can (I filled out 30 secondaries, decided not to complete some based on stats, location of school, and length/number of secondary essays)
(4) Never let a secondary sit for longer than a week before completing it and submitting it
(5) Go on as many interviews as you can afford and keep scheduling them until you get an offer

Summary: Numbers don't count for everything. Medical schools really look BEYOND the numbers to discover the unique aspects that you have to offer the medical school and greater medical community. How do you communicate your uniqueness and passion? Like anything else, REPETITION - develop a theme that you repeat, repeat, and repeat throughout your activities, personal statement, secondary essays, and most importantly, the interview!!!
 
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Like many other SDNers, I was often discouraged by reading through these forums and hearing of applicants with GPAs or MCAT scores that were much higher than mine or reading stories of applicants who had to apply several times before gettting accepted. I was under the impression that unless you had stellar scores, the only chance for medical school was to apply to DO schools or Caribbean schools. Luckily, I found that this is not true whatsoever and had 4 interviews with 3 acceptances so far. I had pretty good ECs, work/volunteer experience, personal statement, study abroad , etc.. that really made the difference in my application.

My Stats:
cGPA: 3.68 science GPA: 3.48
MCAT: V:11, B:9, P:8 Total: 28
Biology Major

TMDSAS Verified 8/3

Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine Interview 9/12
Texas Tech Paul L. Foster-El Paso Interview 9/24
Texas Tech-Lubbock Interview 10/9
Texas A&M Interview 11/19

I pre-matched at TCOM, Texas Tech-Lubbock, and Texas Tech-El Paso. I interviewed at A&M after the pre-match so I'm still waiting to hear from them. Anyways, I hope this can encourage others who are in the same shoes I was in! 🙂 Good luck everybody!
 
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29 MCAT, 11 interviews. Numbers don't tell the whole story!
 
Sillyshoes said:
When did you submit your application? That can be a factor into when you hear back about interviews.

I hope you hear something soon👍 Good luck!
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My AMCAS was verified July 10. And my secondaries were all complete by mid Oct.
 
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hey, so my secondaries were totaly complete by mid-november, I know Im kicking myself for not doing them earlier 🙁. Are my chances completely blown then with a 29Q MCAT and 3.5GPA, 3.0science? Does anyone know around when I should expect to be getting a response from schools ie rejections/interviews? Thanks
 
twila said:
hey, so my secondaries were totaly complete by mid-november, I know Im kicking myself for not doing them earlier 🙁. Are my chances completely blown then with a 29Q MCAT and 3.5GPA, 3.0science? Does anyone know around when I should expect to be getting a response from schools ie rejections/interviews? Thanks
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where did you apply?
 
Wow I find this thread incredible to believe. I had the volunteer work, 3.75 cuml. GPA, publications, the whole 9 yards and absolutely COULD NOT get 1 interview anywhere with a 28 MCAT (not a URM). I applied 3 times, and never got an interview once. I broke down, studied, and blasted a 35 on the MCAT on my next try, and FINALLY on my 4th cycle of applying I got some interviews. Well it only cost me about $20,000 just to apply to med school. Feels like such a waste.
 
I think the people that post on this represents a pretty small percentage of what really happens with a lower MCAT. Some of them have really great GPAs as well. I also know of 4-5 people with below 30 MCAT and 3.5 and lower GPAs that couldn't get any interviews. I think it is important to read about where these applicants live and their other factors. Or else it would seem really unfair that someone with similar stats could get 11 interviews and others with none. This whole process is so fickle sometimes. But keep dreamin!
 
28M. Non-trad. 3.77 GPA (3.78 Sci). Just interviewed at UMass the other day. But besides that....3 pre-interview rejections so far and still waiting for a word either way from 5 other schools.
 
29P; Nontrad; Cum 3.47; BCPM 3.6; Accepted EDP.
 
usaf88233 said:
cumGPA 3.4, sciGPA 3.2. Check my MDapps profile to see the interviews. But they included some good schools, Case Western, BU, GW, Jefferson, etc.
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Just my opinion, but seems kind of strange. I have a 30 mcat, with a 3.97 gpa, good health care exp and ECs, and didn't even get a single allopathic interview, and here you get into schools like Rush. I really don't understand this process sometimes. I mean, I noticed you're an URM, but does that play that big of a part in getting accepted? I don't intend to be mean if you take it as such, I just feel I should have gotten something more than nothing at all! Congratulations though, you got into some good schools!
 
johnnydrama said:
I don't know precisely what she got, but I'm pretty sure it was sub 30. She's a pretty incredible girl though, probably close to a 4.0 at a top school and a generally good and motivated person. She got into better schools than I will get into with an MCAT 10 points higher... JHU, Yale, etc... If your score is sub 30 and reflects your general ability, then you're in trouble, but if you know and it's obvious to others that you are better than that then you can still be alright. You can also always take it again.
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Really? The only person I've ever heard of getting into Yale with a sub 30 was a high school biology teacher (former classmate of mine) who lost her young child to cancer, and started volunteering to spread awareness about his type of leukemia. She became so involved in bench and clinical research that she ended up a second author on a paper published in a major medical journal fairly recently. She decided to pursue oncology without worrying too much about the formalities of pre-med. I think her MCAT was a 28, but given her passion and ability to turn tragedy into momentum (and the inherent intelligence required for this), who could say no?

I know a 3.98/ 29 MCAT applicant who did some very cool research, and had a very cool attitude. She applied at the tail end of rolling admissions last cycle, and was invited for an interview at Einstein last May, and had a PI who nudged the ADCOM to consider her at the last minute. She probably would have gotten into Einstein even if she had a 30. Fortunately, she's an MS-1 now at our state school.

I know plenty of people who are in med school with MCATs under 30, but they're rare at JHU and Yale.

To the OP...very nice!! It's not all a numbers game, thankfully. Med schools *do* care about your character!
 
Wildebeest said:
Just my opinion, but seems kind of strange. I have a 30 mcat, with a 3.97 gpa, good health care exp and ECs, and didn't even get a single allopathic interview, and here you get into schools like Rush. I really don't understand this process sometimes. I mean, I noticed you're an URM, but does that play that big of a part in getting accepted? I don't intend to be mean if you take it as such, I just feel I should have gotten something more than nothing at all! Congratulations though, you got into some good schools!
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probably helped that they attended a Top 10 school.....and like I said in another thread, the more URMs, the better (look at how many URMs and foreign grads staff Mayo, one of the best clinics on the face of the planet👍).


perhaps your PS/Secondaries sucked? You do sound a bit entitled.
 
Alwaysbehopeful said:
I think the people that post on this represents a pretty small percentage of what really happens with a lower MCAT. Some of them have really great GPAs as well. I also know of 4-5 people with below 30 MCAT and 3.5 and lower GPAs that couldn't get any interviews. I think it is important to read about where these applicants live and their other factors. Or else it would seem really unfair that someone with similar stats could get 11 interviews and others with none. This whole process is so fickle sometimes. But keep dreamin!
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I agree. My 27 MCAT could have been the end for me, but my high GPA, EC's & LORS had some schools looking beyond the MCAT. I feel really blessed!
 
27 MCAT, 3.3 GPA,

Interviews at Georgetown, UT Memphis
Accepted at Georgetown and UT Memphis

High GPA and MCAT reflects you as a student but they're still looking at the complete package. Some of the smartest people make ****ty docs or have no personality whatsoever. Just be ready to paint yourself as a complete person during the interviews.
 
Wildebeest said:
Just my opinion, but seems kind of strange. I have a 30 mcat, with a 3.97 gpa, good health care exp and ECs, and didn't even get a single allopathic interview, and here you get into schools like Rush. I really don't understand this process sometimes. I mean, I noticed you're an URM, but does that play that big of a part in getting accepted? I don't intend to be mean if you take it as such, I just feel I should have gotten something more than nothing at all! Congratulations though, you got into some good schools!
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I know you aren't trying to be mean, it's just frustrating when this process doesn't make any sense. Having been on the fortunate side of interviews and acceptances with low stats, I believe that numbers are only a small part of the admissions process if your essays, letters of rec, and EC's are superb. If you have enough substance there that they are interested to meet you (ie invite you to interview) you can certainly bring it home if you are a great interviewer. At that point, the numbers aren't that big of a deal. What I will say, is that my being Hispanic has helped in ways I won't ever fully understand. Also, know that my ECs are top notch with a few years working in a level one trauma center as an ED Technician, also working 911 as an EMT etc. I got great recs from Attendings who knew me and also a ton of patient care experiences to talk about in my essays. Overall, is it fair? Probably not at all. I'm sorry, we all just have to put our best foot forward and then cross every hair on our body that things will work out.
 
usaf88233 said:
I know you aren't trying to be mean, it's just frustrating when this process doesn't make any sense. Having been on the fortunate side of interviews and acceptances with low stats, I believe that numbers are only a small part of the admissions process if your essays, letters of rec, and EC's are superb. If you have enough substance there that they are interested to meet you (ie invite you to interview) you can certainly bring it home if you are a great interviewer. At that point, the numbers aren't that big of a deal. What I will say, is that my being Hispanic has helped in ways I won't ever fully understand. Also, know that my ECs are top notch with a few years working in a level one trauma center as an ED Technician, also working 911 as an EMT etc. I got great recs from Attendings who knew me and also a ton of patient care experiences to talk about in my essays. Overall, is it fair? Probably not at all. I'm sorry, we all just have to put our best foot forward and then cross every hair on our body that things will work out.
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Completely agree. The problem is that sooo many premeds think the formula is: (4.0 GPA)+(MCAT of 30+)+(Standard ECs) = Auto MD Acceptance. They think there is a "trick" to getting in, but really its a combinations of factors.
There is NO FORMULA for getting into med school. The system is soo subjective and sometimes people who seem like great candidates just don't shine on paper or in person!

Good luck to those still waiting on acceptances! :luck::xf:
 
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I had my first MD interview about a week ago at UT Houston. 29 MCAT and a 3.82 cgpa 3.69 sgpa. Although, for the TX schools, my cgpa was 3.96 and sgpa was 3.89 because they don't count plusses or minuses (all my A-'s became A's). I'm also an OOS applicant there, and have no family/relatives living in TX. Although I do know some friends living there. I'm really really hoping for good news from them, the school was great. :xf:
 
usaf88233 said:
I know you aren't trying to be mean, it's just frustrating when this process doesn't make any sense. Having been on the fortunate side of interviews and acceptances with low stats, I believe that numbers are only a small part of the admissions process if your essays, letters of rec, and EC's are superb. If you have enough substance there that they are interested to meet you (ie invite you to interview) you can certainly bring it home if you are a great interviewer. At that point, the numbers aren't that big of a deal. What I will say, is that my being Hispanic has helped in ways I won't ever fully understand. Also, know that my ECs are top notch with a few years working in a level one trauma center as an ED Technician, also working 911 as an EMT etc. I got great recs from Attendings who knew me and also a ton of patient care experiences to talk about in my essays. Overall, is it fair? Probably not at all. I'm sorry, we all just have to put our best foot forward and then cross every hair on our body that things will work out.
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I agree with you too, but I feel I did have a good complete package (at least I thought so!). I also was an EMT in the ED at my local hospital and had a good LOR from a physician there. My secondaries were read by quite a few people/faculty and I know my PS was probably only average. I always knew a good gpa/mcat wasn't the only factor in getting in, which is why I started early in my volunteering and becoming active. I guess that's why I'm so frustrated. One thing that could have hurt me was that my 30 mcat was not distributed very evenly, my verbal was pretty low, and I know a few schools only interview candidates with 8's/9's across the board, and my verbal was a 7. So even though my total was above it, I might have been screened out because of that. Anyone think that would be a reason?
 
Wildebeest said:
I agree with you too, but I feel I did have a good complete package (at least I thought so!). I also was an EMT in the ED at my local hospital and had a good LOR from a physician there. My secondaries were read by quite a few people/faculty and I know my PS was probably only average. I always knew a good gpa/mcat wasn't the only factor in getting in, which is why I started early in my volunteering and becoming active. I guess that's why I'm so frustrated. One thing that could have hurt me was that my 30 mcat was not distributed very evenly, my verbal was pretty low, and I know a few schools only interview candidates with 8's/9's across the board, and my verbal was a 7. So even though my total was above it, I might have been screened out because of that. Anyone think that would be a reason?
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I'm sure I got screened out of a good number of schools with my 7 in verbal. That said, I am not URM & managed to get 5 interviews to this point, one acceptance, one high priority waitlist and no rejections:xf:. Who knows what they look for. When I got an interview at Einstein, I was floored!!
 
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Wildebeest said:
I agree with you too, but I feel I did have a good complete package (at least I thought so!). I also was an EMT in the ED at my local hospital and had a good LOR from a physician there. My secondaries were read by quite a few people/faculty and I know my PS was probably only average. I always knew a good gpa/mcat wasn't the only factor in getting in, which is why I started early in my volunteering and becoming active. I guess that's why I'm so frustrated. One thing that could have hurt me was that my 30 mcat was not distributed very evenly, my verbal was pretty low, and I know a few schools only interview candidates with 8's/9's across the board, and my verbal was a 7. So even though my total was above it, I might have been screened out because of that. Anyone think that would be a reason?
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I think your frustration is valid, especially since other people, with similar stuff, are getting interviews/acceptances. The hardest thing to predict is how someone is going to view your application when they are reading it. These people read tons and tons of essays/applications and if something doesn't jump out at them immediately, they wont have any reason to give someone an interview. I think a strong PS makes a big difference. I know mine was kickass (sorry if that sounds arrogant) and I think it helped a lot. Also, I tried to play up the things I knew made me unique, like being a professional musician with 2 all original CD's produced during college. There are simply so many people that have good stats, shadowing, even EMT experience, and some other hobby that its hard to separate them in the adcoms mind. If I had any advice to give people planning to apply for medical school it would be to find what makes you stand out the most, and play it up hardcore. It also isn't too late. Of the schools you haven't heard from, figure out which ones you want to go to the most and send an update/letter of interest stating exactly why you think you'd be a good fit. At this point, it's worth pulling out all the stops, right? I still think things will work out for you it just might not happen as early as some of these SDNers have been fortunate to experience. Just try to keep as hopeful as possible and realize the more you try to make sense of this process, the more frustrated you'll become. It simply doesn't make sense! And constantly reading SDN doesn't help haha. I'd try and take a break from it. We're all too neurotic on here. Sorry again and good luck Wildebeest!
 
Interview at Rochester with a 27 on MCAT. BS=10 VB=9 PS=8
 
usaf88233 said:
We're all too neurotic on here.
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I agree with this statement. By and large, I think medical schools do a good job of assessing the candidate, and not the MCAT score. Imagine if you were running a medical school; would you want someone like you admitted? If you're honest with yourself and say yes, then I think you have a pretty good shot of getting in somewhere.

I think this is a great post to remind us that not everyone has a 32+ on SDN. Scouring these forums would sure make you think otherwise.
 
usaf88233 said:
I think your frustration is valid, especially since other people, with similar stuff, are getting interviews/acceptances. The hardest thing to predict is how someone is going to view your application when they are reading it. These people read tons and tons of essays/applications and if something doesn't jump out at them immediately, they wont have any reason to give someone an interview. I think a strong PS makes a big difference. I know mine was kickass (sorry if that sounds arrogant) and I think it helped a lot. Also, I tried to play up the things I knew made me unique, like being a professional musician with 2 all original CD's produced during college. There are simply so many people that have good stats, shadowing, even EMT experience, and some other hobby that its hard to separate them in the adcoms mind. If I had any advice to give people planning to apply for medical school it would be to find what makes you stand out the most, and play it up hardcore. It also isn't too late. Of the schools you haven't heard from, figure out which ones you want to go to the most and send an update/letter of interest stating exactly why you think you'd be a good fit. At this point, it's worth pulling out all the stops, right? I still think things will work out for you it just might not happen as early as some of these SDNers have been fortunate to experience. Just try to keep as hopeful as possible and realize the more you try to make sense of this process, the more frustrated you'll become. It simply doesn't make sense! And constantly reading SDN doesn't help haha. I'd try and take a break from it. We're all too neurotic on here. Sorry again and good luck Wildebeest!
Click to expand...
QFT. Serious i couldnt say it better myself. For those like myself and reidmike with <30 mcats you have to play up something else about yourself that makes you stand out or so good or at least so interesting that they could care less about the mcat. For me I know that the reason im doing well despite my <30 mcat is because i played up the one part of my application that I know could really set me over the top. I didnt think it would help me as much as it did, but i mean from my PS to my secondary, i tried to tie in these few experiences and things to really set me apart.

Also just wanted to hopefully give someone some hope in that i just got my 1st acceptance despite my mcat! Hope to see more of you guys doing well and while i know its impossible, certainly keep your hopes up. As this thread shows mcat is not everything.
 
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