Any advice for a third time applicant?

[Maryslittlelamb]

Hey all,
just hoping for any advice on what I should do.
This is my third cycle;
I have a 28 R MCAT, 3.93 BCPM gpa, 4.0 AO gpa.
I volunteered at a hospital for 1.5 yrs (mostly filing), I was a research assistant for a psych lab at school for 2 yrs, and am currently shadowing a doctor (since March).
I am a florida resident, went to UM for undergrad, and I applied to all of the florida schools (again for the third time),

My question is, do you think there are any other schools that I should apply to now? Any that I would have better chances at..?

And I have also been studying all summer to retake the MCAT in August, hoping for a 30+..

thank you

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[Whatyousay]

What did your school list look like before?

How are your interviewing abilities?

Has anyone evaluated the quality of your PS/ LORs / secondaries?

Did you talk to schools who rejected you in the previous cycles for feedback on your application?

 

[Deathstar]

AO gpa is what? What's your cGPA? I hope you do well on your MCAT too. Right now it's really bringing your application down.

 

[Forca Barca]

You look pretty competitive for a DO..
But if you really want MD .. you should work on your mcat..

your application seem fine to me with these current stats.. its weird that u havent gotten any secondaries or interviews

 

[Maryslittlelamb]

What did your school list look like before?

How are your interviewing abilities?

Has anyone evaluated the quality of your PS/ LORs / secondaries?

Did you talk to schools who rejected you in the previous cycles for feedback on your application?

before my list was mostly florida, plus some in TN.

I feel like I interview well, and was always comfortable with my interviews.. but I have had 4 interviews and 3 rejections/1 alternate list... so I have definetely questioned my abilities. I feel like in all of the interviews they really grilled me on why I hadnt shadowed a doctor, so i feel that that was a big reason why i was rejected. but if that was such a big deal, why give me the interview in the first place?

My advisor has said that my PS and LORS are good so I dont think that is it,
and no i have not contacted any of the previous schools that I have been rejected from.

 

[chrissyxf]

I reiterate, have you called all the schools that you haven't gotten into in the past to find out what went wrong? was it too late applying? not enough ECs? did you get to the interview portion last time? or got shut down via the secondaries?
I was able to (as were a couple of other SDN members) able to speak to the dean at UM and he was helpful plus it demonstrates serious interest. FAU is a new school through AMCAS this year- you applied there too? UCF is also new in the last 2ish years. Also throw in evms, wayne state, and a couple of other schools that are OOS friendly with lower end gpa/mcats (look them up in the msar). Make sure you use a different personal statement and answer the secondaries differently- reusing essays is kind of poor form.
good luck this cycle!

 

[Maryslittlelamb]

You look pretty competitive for a DO..
But if you really want MD .. you should work on your mcat..

your application seem fine to me with these current stats.. its weird that u havent gotten any secondaries or interviews

I dont want to go the path of DO and then not be as competitive as a resident applicant, and plus the DO in florida requires a year shadowing with a DO doctor.

And yes I have gotten secondaries and interviews, just no real acceptances. I am currently an alternate at FIU but its already late july so I am not thinking that I will be accepted.. ;_;

 

[dodobird1]

With your GPA I'd bet you could get 30+, did you read the thread here on 30+ study habits? Have you been distracted/busy while studying in the past?

 

[kpcrew]

why not apply to schools like rosalind franklin, george washington, drexel, nymc, wisconsin, penn state or tulane? i just made this list from looking at mcat scores on the msar statsheet. your mcat is a little low and you won't get your scores back until september which may not be the best situation. your gpa is really good but maybe try doing something where you get to interact with patients. i'm not an adcom but filing might not be enough for volunteer work.


i wish you luck, i feel really bad and i hope that things work out for you in the end.

 

[Maryslittlelamb]

I reiterate, have you called all the schools that you haven't gotten into in the past to find out what went wrong? was it too late applying? not enough ECs? did you get to the interview portion last time? or got shut down via the secondaries?
I was able to (as were a couple of other SDN members) able to speak to the dean at UM and he was helpful plus it demonstrates serious interest. FAU is a new school through AMCAS this year- you applied there too? UCF is also new in the last 2ish years. Also throw in evms, wayne state, and a couple of other schools that are OOS friendly with lower end gpa/mcats (look them up in the msar). Make sure you use a different personal statement and answer the secondaries differently- reusing essays is kind of poor form.
good luck this cycle!

Ok thank you I def. need to contact my previous schools.
And I was always early, AMCAS submited June 1,2, secondarys turned around in about 2 weeks..
I did apply to FAU this year when they opened up their appl, but didnt recieve an interview unfortunately. I did reapply though.

OK i will look at EVMS and wayne state, thank you so much!

And yes i have changed my PS and secondary answers, I feel like using the same essays is tacky..

 

[Person0715]

Your GPA is good. How many schools did you apply to each time?

If you applied to many schools, I suspect that it is your MCAT that is holding you back.

 

[Maryslittlelamb]

Your GPA is good. How many schools did you apply to each time?

If you applied to many schools, I suspect that it is your MCAT that is holding you back.

about 5 or 6 both of the previous times. 7 this cycle so far.

 

[Maryslittlelamb]

With your GPA I'd bet you could get 30+, did you read the thread here on 30+ study habits? Have you been distracted/busy while studying in the past?

NO i was not distracted, the MCAT was def. my number one priority; its just that i think i overanalyzed the questions..
im taking an mcat class now and trying to improve my weaknesses so i hope to do much better.
And no, i have not seen the 30+ thread, but I will check it out now.

 

[Person0715]

about 5 or 6 both of the previous times. 7 this cycle so far.

If that is the case, you should probably apply to more. Cast your net widely and apply broadly to maximize your success.

 

[Maryslittlelamb]

If that is the case, you should probably apply to more. Cast your net widely and apply broadly to maximize your success.

Ok yes thats what im thinking, thats why i asked for advice on more schools to apply to. I think I will just put all my money into this last cycle and hope for the best

and thank you to all of you that have replied to me, you dont know how much your advice means to me <3