Anyone else driving themselves crazy? :scared:

[Lacheln]

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I'm applying this year, and have a pretty funky, inconsistent app. Great in some ways, questionable in others. Recent schoolwork great, undergrad terrible. 3 years of research, but not since '98. About 250 hours of recent clinical work, but no shadowing. Good mcat overall score, but skewed in the sections thanks to technical probs during administration. And I have been working for 10 years in a completely medically unrelated field, not good.

I'm driving myself nuts trying to sort through the (often conflicting) advice I've gotten regarding these various issues, judge where I stand, that sort of thing. One day I feel confident, the next I wonder if I should even waste my money applying. I'm starting to freak about how to pay for school too. My passion for medicine is still there, I guess I'm just getting nervous. I will be SO GLAD when this process is over and there's a decision one way or another! Anyone else want to vent about this? Misery loves company, after all. 😳

 

[sunny1]

So I know this is more of a venting or stressing thread than a what are my chances, but I wanted to say that I think your postbacc GPA is awesome and your MCAT score is good.

I know it's easier said than done, but there's no point in stressing now. You done a great job of getting yourself to this point once you decided on it. The best thing you can do now is to add schools to your list in my opinion. You have some serious stats-****** in your list 😉. (Harvard, UCSD, etc.) I would go ahead and add more lower and mid-tier schools just to be safe. Might as well shell out the extra cash and hope for even more interviews and acceptances to choose from! And of course, apply early.

Just take it one day at a time and give yourself a pep talk now and then. If I were you, I would tell myself - there has to be some school out there that will want me and appreciate my past, present, and potential future accomplishments. But you will only find them if you apply broadly to many schools. At the very least, this can help to ease some anxiety about dealing with uncertainty of the application process.

 

[Lacheln]

Just take it one day at a time and give yourself a pep talk now and then. If I were you, I would tell myself - there has to be some school out there that will want me and appreciate my past, present, and potential future accomplishments. But you will only find them if you apply broadly to many schools. At the very least, this can help to ease some anxiety about dealing with uncertainty of the application process.

Thanks for the encouragement Sunny. It's nice to vent and have someone listen. 🙂 It might sound pathetic, but I do give myself a daily pep talk. Usually while I am running, that way I can kill two pep-talks with one stone. 😛 And I say almost exactly what you said...too funny. Maybe there's a manual for pep talks somewhere. "I'm good enough, smart enough, and doggonit, people like me."

I'm definitely still working on the school list. I threw those up there as the first batch of ones I'm familiar with and might be interested in, but I met with my advisor on monday, and have more ideas for "safety" schools. Although, my advisor was kind enough to firmly and repeatedly emphasize that there is no such thing. Tough love. No, that's not contributing to my anxiety at ALL. 🙄 I'm only going to apply to 12 (15 at the absolute most) unfortunately because I can't afford any more.

I guess the majority of the expense lies in interviewing, and you can't get the interviews without applying, but I'm definitely not one of the people who is going the 20-30 route, I just can't. And realistically, I have gotten fairly consistent advice that doing that can hurt you because your attention is so divided amongst the secondaries. Thoughts on that?

 

[DrMidlife]

I applied to too many schools, and WAY too many reach schools. The only problem with that is the wasted money and the pile of rejections. I hadn't really understood that I was a mercy admit until I got admitted...

Secondaries aren't distracting: they bring economies of scale. All the essays feed each other - you'll develop the ability to explain how special you are and how you'll add diversity to a program, on cue. The fun ones require you to account for what you've done since high school in 500 words or less. Yikes, for us non-trads. You have to re-list all your activities, and re-explain any academic deficiencies, etc, but really it's just filling out forms. And writing checks / making online payments.

I did 15 years as a software engineer, and that was well received during interviews. Tech savvy doctors are in demand, apparently, which makes sense given how frustrating clinic and hospital systems are. I'd argue that this background is what got me accepted - Nova, in particular, seemed gaga.

Make sure your LORs and PS are killer. KILLER.

I benefited in interviews from reading the NYT health section every day (online) and a bunch of books on public health, health policy, medical history, etc.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Blade28]

I'm definitely still working on the school list. I threw those up there as the first batch of ones I'm familiar with and might be interested in, but I met with my advisor on monday, and have more ideas for "safety" schools. Although, my advisor was kind enough to firmly and repeatedly emphasize that there is no such thing. Tough love. No, that's not contributing to my anxiety at ALL. 🙄 I'm only going to apply to 12 (15 at the absolute most) unfortunately because I can't afford any more.

There's no way to apply to more than 12? I agree that there's no such thing as a "safety" med school, and I always advise even those with average stats (e.g. a GPA of 3.65) to apply widely and early. Your undergrad GPA was low but you've done well bringing it up via your post-bac work.

12 schools is way too few, IMHO. But if you can't afford it, you can't afford it, I guess. 🙁

 

[Lacheln]

I'm po' and in debt up to my eyeballs due to family stuff. It's really unfortunate, and is a huge part of the stress. Of course I waver constantly - do I just apply to the safe(r) schools, or do I still shoot for some reach ones? I've gotten a ton of advice about this, and although a lot of it is conflicting*, I think my take-home is that I will apply to a few reach schools even though it decreases my overall chances, and if I don't get in this year, that is ok. I don't like it, but it will give me a year to retake the mcat and get the score I should have gotten the first time, get some more clinical exposure, and save $$ for the next round. It's all about plugging up the holes.

*Strangely it seems like the general applicants' take seems to be apply to as many as possible, whereas the general advisor/admissions take is that above 15 is overkill. I know there are so many stories about good applicants only applying to 15 and not getting in anywhere. I am waiting for some genius to come up with a fool-proof algorithm which accurately judges LOR/PS/interviewing/EC values and lets us bypass this whole crappy wondering phase.

 

[gman33]

I can understand money limiting the number of schools to which you apply. 15-20 schools might be enough for anyone, but you need to choose the right 15-20. I see too many apps where people apply to this number, but half of them are reach schools. I saw a reapplicant a while ago, who had good stats, applied to 15 schools and only got one interview. When I looked at his list of schools, I would have guessed he would have only gotten one interview. So now he's applying again this year.

Think of it this way. I'd rather spend another $1k this year, than go through the whole process again next year.

Again, please drop the Harvards and add a SUNY Downstate if you are going to limit the schools you apply to.

Not trying to be harsh, just want to see you get in. 👍

 

[Lacheln]

I'd rather spend another $1k this year, than go through the whole process again next year.

I hear ya, but sometimes all the money you've got is all the money you've got. You are totally right about skewed app lists though. I'm using the lizzy score thing to get a general idea about how competitive I am at various schools, and will definitely be doing 50%+ at schools I'm solidly above as far as that goes. Then a couple of middling schools just above me, and a couple of WTF reaches.

One of the reaches will be UW, because I'm from the pacific northwest and would love to get back there and be near some family. The other? Harvard - all it will cost me is $85 since I live in the area, and I've been told that if I can get an interview I actually have a shot since I have an...umm...interesting life story. But mostly those are my money down the drain shots.

Not trying to be harsh, just want to see you get in. 👍

Totally cool with the candor, I want to see me get in too. 🙂

I definitely appreciate all the advice, but what I'm really jonesing for is commiseration. Is nobody else stressing right now?!!? Hmm? Other people in the same stage as I am, are y'all sleeping like babies at night? I can't be the only one going through this at the moment. 😳 "Don't wanna be aaaaaall by myseeeeeeeeeeeyahelf"

 

[Nanon]

Consider yourself commiserated. I look like this 😎 on the outside, but the sunglasses are hiding the twitch I developed in my right eye last month that will not. go. away. My stats suck so much harder than yours. I have so much riding on this, it isn't funny. And the money thing... jesus.

Sigh.

S.

 

[QofQuimica]

My suggestions:

First of all, forget this talk about retaking the MCAT. You've got a 35 total with a 12 in VR and your lowest section score is a 9. There's absolutely nothing to be gained by retaking, and you run the risk of going down. Not worth it when you're already in the top 5% of all test-takers. That MCAT score is competitive for any school in the country.

Unless they've changed their residency requirements in the past year or two, drop U Wash for sure. You're a Mass. resident, and they don't take residents of your state unless you're applying MSTP. It's not "quite a stretch" for you to get in there; it's impossible, because they only take Washington residents or residents of WWAMI states for their MD program. So you can save yourself one guaranteed presecondary rejection off the bat.

Check Oregon's requirements in the MSAR; I don't know what their policy is for OOS students.

You have way too many coastal schools; you're probably going to do a whole lot better if you hit the Midwest and South harder than you are and don't concentrate your efforts on the schools that are located in cities where most people would like to go. For example, I'd probably drop either Boston or Tufts if not both of them. These two schools get zillions of apps based on location alone; they're way more competitive than most people appreciate. Ditto for schools in DC, desirable parts of NYC, and CA, so I'd forget USC also. If you really want to try for Harvard, leave it on there as a "dream school," but it's not the best use of your money either. I actually think Emory is a good choice for you. U Mass is of course your best bet since it's your state school, so definitely keep those two on the list.

Like others have said, it's worth spending a few hundred dollars more this year so that you don't have to go through this all again next year. I think 15-20 schools would be reasonable; there's no need to apply to 30 schools. Other schools I'd consider if I were you:
Creighton
Tulane
Case Western
Pittsburgh
Rosalind Franklin
Rush
Indiana
Iowa
Ohio State
Wayne State
St. Louis
MCW
Miami

If you are dead set on only applying to 15 schools max, here are the ones I'd pick from your list:
U Mass
Dartmouth
Drexel
New York
Temple
Emory
Loyola
Oregon (if they take OOS residents)

That's still five from the NE and one from the west coast, which is more than enough. Pick the rest of your schools from the middle of the country. 15 schools can definitely be enough if you choose them more wisely than you're doing right now. Best of luck to you. 🙂

 

[gman33]

Great advice from Q.

You said you wanted some commiseration. Let me give it a shot.
I'm not in you position, but when I was I was scared sh!&less.

I had sold my house, quit my job, convinced my wife to put up with all this nonsense about wanting to become a doc. I started out in a well known postbacc program, and what did I do, I did pretty poor in my first 3 classes. I wondered if I would ever get into any school. I spent my time looking into a bunch of options that I didn't really want to pursue.
I switched schools to a place that was a better fit for me, stopped working and started doing well again. My app, was competitive, but not a slam dunk.
From the day I submitted my app, to the day I got an interview, I couldn't think about anything else. My interview went really well, and for some reason I knew I would get accepted. I was basically told that by the person I interviewd with. Even so, when you have so much of your future hanging in the balance, it's hard to think rationally. I applied EDP, so I really didn't have much to fall back on if I didn't get in. It would have been a made scramble to start applying other places.

Well in the end, I got in and it worked out for me.

I really think it will work out for you as long as you pick the right mix of schools. You have a good mix of experience that a younger student does not. Apply to the right schools and you will get interviews. Once you get an interview, this is your time to shine by demonstrating how your experience will add to the med school class.

 

[nu2004]

I'm applying this year, and have a pretty funky, inconsistent app. Great in some ways, questionable in others. Recent schoolwork great, undergrad terrible. 3 years of research, but not since '98. About 250 hours of recent clinical work, but no shadowing. Good mcat overall score, but skewed in the sections thanks to technical probs during administration. And I have been working for 10 years in a completely medically unrelated field, not good.

I'm driving myself nuts trying to sort through the (often conflicting) advice I've gotten regarding these various issues, judge where I stand, that sort of thing. One day I feel confident, the next I wonder if I should even waste my money applying. I'm starting to freak about how to pay for school too. My passion for medicine is still there, I guess I'm just getting nervous. I will be SO GLAD when this process is over and there's a decision one way or another! Anyone else want to vent about this? Misery loves company, after all. 😳

I would suggest adding Case Western to your list. They seem to be pretty friendly to non-trad applicants. When I was at 2nd look, I met a woman who was 30, had worked in a non-medical field for several years, and who was considering a move from the Northeast (sound like anyone you know? 🙂). As an aside, I was a non-trad (4 years out of college), my numbers were extremely similar to yours, and I did fairly well in the application process (22 schools applied, 7 interviews, 3 of which I declined... 3 acceptances, 1 waitlist).

The "process" is going to be happening for the next year or so, so probably best to find a way to deal with the stress now. Once you've pressed that "submit" button on AMCAS, just focus on the positive aspects of your applications. Believe me, it was totally demoralizing to have to go back through my undergrad transcript and input all my grades by hand. It took me close to 3 hours, because I kept stopping and saying to myself, "how the heck did I get a B in that class? I loved that class."

Admissions committees are composed largely, if not exclusively, of adults. Adults, as you know, have some perspective on the folly of youth. Your post-bacc GPA is awesome (mine wasn't that good) and your MCAT is fine - don't even think about retaking it. Get a few people that you trust to look over your most important essays (PS and any "big" essays for schools you really want). You'll be fine!

EDIT: it's funny, I also got a 9 in PS (took July 07 CBT), in part because there was a whole section of discreet questions following the last passage... i saw "passage 7 of 7" and went through it really slowly to try to do it well. then i pressed "the finish" button only to see the screen that says "hey buddy, you didn't do a bunch of questions." i frantically went to the screen and, with about 4 seconds left in the section, clicked A on all of them. just saying, I understand "technical difficulties" on the MCAT.

 

[Luxian]

I would suggest adding Case Western to your list. They seem to be pretty friendly to non-trad applicants. When I was at 2nd look, I met a woman who was 30, had worked in a non-medical field for several years, and who was considering a move from the Northeast (sound like anyone you know? 🙂).

Huh! I wonder if you met me or if you met the other woman in about the same situation. Anyway, just wanted to add my commiseration. My app was definitely mixed: good MCAT/mediocre GPA, years of kind of related experience, but not patient experience, etc. I don't have much to add beyond what others have said there. However, I was surprised the response I got. Of the 16 I applied to, I got four interviews at high to middle ranked schools. Both the top (JHU, Harvard, UCSF) and the bottom ignored me, and I ended up right in the middle where they are willing to give non-trads a chance.

Good luck, and keep us updated on your success!

 

[mcclesm]

Breeak--how/why did you determine your pre-reqs were too old?

 

[Lacheln]

Howdy everyone,

Lots to respond to here. Q - I really do appreciate the time you took with your thoughtful response, but I'm not looking for advice per se, more commiseration, life stories, etc. Part of my stress is coming from getting so much advice, and although I've lurked on SDN for years and gotten a ton of great information, I don't necessarily feel that direct evaluations of where I should apply etc make sense since y'all don't really know the story. It's so difficult to quantify, and I've done what I can on my own as far as scoring gpa and mcat. So ,the advice I'm taking is more from people who know the ins and outs of the gestalt me. 😛 It's still conflicting a lot of the time, depending on the source, but I have to draw the line. Anyway, I don't want you to take it as I'm not grateful that people here are so willing to share of themselves, it's just that type of advice isn't what I'm looking for.

gman, stories like yours are so inspiring. It makes me really happy to know that not only are there people out there who are as brave and passionate as you would have to be to do what you did, but have also found success. Congrats. 🙂 I will cling to that. :-D

nu2004 - I have thought about case western...it's in the maybe pile, I'll discuss with my advisor at the next go around. That story does have some nice parallels...there's comfort in numbers.

OMG - you must have crapped yourself when you realized you had to blank (well, strafe) a bunch. With my machine the tab button and highlighting weren't working (for example highlighting would change my radio button selections, which I didn't realize until I was 20 questions in, so I had to go back over all those and of course was paranoid/couldn't use highlighting), so with the wasted time I just stabbed at a bunch at the end too. We must be brilliant to have gotten 9s!

Luxian - That's sort of what I'm hoping for. Thanks for sharing. Did you skew the apps towards the low side or was it evenly distributed?

mcclesm - Two reasons: my top choice is umass, and as such they were the first school I spoke with about the process (back in 2004). They said the pre-reqs expire after 5 years unless you have been working in the biological sciences in the interim (or in bio grad school or similar). Or you can take an equivalent number of upper level courses. Then I took an mcat practice test and was like....uhh.....dimly remembering...very, very dim. So I figured I could either give up on umass and study for the mcat on my own (with questionable success), take a bunch of upper levels, which didn't seem prudent given my lack of success on the practice mcat, or suck it up and do it right. I had enough holes in my app with no recent coursework and a low undergrad gpa, so I went with option c.

Pros:
Fantastic mcat prep
GPA repair
Recent coursework
Confidence builder
Better prepared when starting med school

Cons:
Time
$$

 

[nu2004]

Huh! I wonder if you met me or if you met the other woman in about the same situation. Anyway, just wanted to add my commiseration. My app was definitely mixed: good MCAT/mediocre GPA, years of kind of related experience, but not patient experience, etc. I don't have much to add beyond what others have said there. However, I was surprised the response I got. Of the 16 I applied to, I got four interviews at high to middle ranked schools. Both the top (JHU, Harvard, UCSF) and the bottom ignored me, and I ended up right in the middle where they are willing to give non-trads a chance.

Good luck, and keep us updated on your success!

are you from Dartmouth? house shopping with your hubby the day before?

or did i meet you at breakfast on saturday?

We must be brilliant to have gotten 9s!

Ha, well, as much as I would like to play up my technical difficulty, it was only 4 questions. Might have made the difference between a 9 or 10 (or maybe even 11) but what really sunk me was some cockiness. Physics was far and away my best subject and I aced every exam I took. Only thing was that most of the equations were given to us in class so I didn't have to memorize them. In my MCAT studying I pushed physics way to the back and as a result, was scrambling to memorize equations on the morning of the MCAT. i'm pretty down-to-earth in most things, but in retrospect this is a sort of funny example of how stupid overconfidence can be 😀

 

[QofQuimica]

Lots to respond to here. Q - I really do appreciate the time you took with your thoughtful response, but I'm not looking for advice per se, more commiseration, life stories, etc. Part of my stress is coming from getting so much advice, and although I've lurked on SDN for years and gotten a ton of great information, I don't necessarily feel that direct evaluations of where I should apply etc make sense since y'all don't really know the story. It's so difficult to quantify, and I've done what I can on my own as far as scoring gpa and mcat. So ,the advice I'm taking is more from people who know the ins and outs of the gestalt me. 😛 It's still conflicting a lot of the time, depending on the source, but I have to draw the line. Anyway, I don't want you to take it as I'm not grateful that people here are so willing to share of themselves, it's just that type of advice isn't what I'm looking for.

Well, I'm certainly not looking to stress you more, so I apologize if I did. And of course you're free to take or ignore any and all of my advice for whatever you think it's worth. If it's stories you want, you can read mine in the sticky at the top of this forum. Best of luck to you; I hope things work out w/ U Mass.

 

[Lacheln]

Stupid optics formulas...I will be a-ok if I never encounter those again!

Q - I just wanted to explain because I didn't want to debate it, but not responding at all seemed a bit rude since you took time to answer so thoughtfully, and yet I didn't want to encourge more responses along those lines. 🙂 Oh, and I do know your story, it's an encouraging one! Congratulations.

 

[lilnoelle]

I got a 27N on the MCAT (12 VR, 9BS, 7PS), had a good GPA, applied to 5 schools (4 MD, 1 DO) and got into 2 (1 MD, 1 DO). I would've done things differently had I been an SDNer before the application cycle. As it was, I didn't discover SDN till after I had interviewed. I didn't even realize that I SHOULD be nervous about my chances until I discovered SDN.

Once I discovered SDN, I was REALLY nervous and thought that I wasn't going to get in at all. I was wrong.

 

[QofQuimica]

Stupid optics formulas...I will be a-ok if I never encounter those again!

Q - I just wanted to explain because I didn't want to debate it, but not responding at all seemed a bit rude since you took time to answer so thoughtfully, and yet I didn't want to encourge more responses along those lines. 🙂 Oh, and I do know your story, it's an encouraging one! Congratulations.

No worries, we both know that everyone has to find their own path. 😎 I had another thought (sorry, I can't seem to help myself!)--if U Mass is really your top choice, have you considered applying ED? That would save you a ton of money and angst if it worked out.

lil, you should post in the sticky!

 

[nu2004]

As it was, I didn't discover SDN till after I had interviewed.

I think in a lot of ways, this is a really good thing. And it seems like you were making that point with your post.

 

[Soca]

Is anyone else having cold feet? I was invited for 7 interviews - accepted 5 interview invitations and have four acceptances. I know how lucky I am. I have friends who have not heard a word from anyone - but I'm starting to feel like this is my last chance to get out of this. I feel like medicine is a life sentence. What if I realize it is not for me? If I start school and have all that debt, I won't be able to quit. Anyone else feeling this way?

 

[Perrotfish]

Is anyone else having cold feet? I was invited for 7 interviews - accepted 5 interview invitations and have four acceptances. I know how lucky I am. I have friends who have not heard a word from anyone - but I'm starting to feel like this is my last chance to get out of this. I feel like medicine is a life sentence. What if I realize it is not for me? If I start school and have all that debt, I won't be able to quit. Anyone else feeling this way?

Oh common, it´s not a life sentence. It´s a 10-15 year sentence. That´s barely what you´d get for grand larceny.

 

[Lacheln]

Q - I have the same advice proclivities, don't feel bad. 😀 My crisis counseling training was very helpful in reining that in, but it's still so fun to share. As for UMass, yeah, considered and rejected it, I don't think I'm a strong enough candidate so the risk is too high. With my low number of apps I'm focusing on getting them in early.

Is anyone else having cold feet? I was invited for 7 interviews - accepted 5 interview invitations and have four acceptances. I know how lucky I am. I have friends who have not heard a word from anyone - but I'm starting to feel like this is my last chance to get out of this. I feel like medicine is a life sentence. What if I realize it is not for me? If I start school and have all that debt, I won't be able to quit. Anyone else feeling this way?

Sell me one of your acceptances for $50, we'll both be happy. 😛 Seriously though, I'm guessing cold feet is pretty normal. It's normal before any big commitment, and it's also pretty common to feel a bit of a letdown in the months after achieving a goal you've worked really hard for. Just chill, let it percolate, talk to people who have gone through it, reread your ps and essays to see if you can conjure up that passion for the job again. Maybe you should start your own thread in the med students area? No decision is truly permanent, debt or otherwise.

 

[Luxian]

are you from Dartmouth? house shopping with your hubby the day before?

or did i meet you at breakfast on saturday?

Ah. Then you are talking about T. Nope, I'm the other 30-something woman coming from the east coast after years in a non-medical field! At least there are two of us!

 

[Luxian]

Luxian - That's sort of what I'm hoping for. Thanks for sharing. Did you skew the apps towards the low side or was it evenly distributed?

Well, I had it pretty evenly distributed. There are so many good schools, I had to narrow it down, so I based it on good schools crossed with cities I was willing to live in crossed with chance of success. So, for instance, I applied to all four Boston schools since I wanted to stay here, even though Harvard was never gonna happen and I applied to a bunch of schools in Chicago ranging from top top to off the US News and World Report list. I also was advised by a friend the always check state schools and see if they accept out-of-state students (OOS). Since mine was a mixed package, it wasn't worth applying to UNC for the few out of state spots.

It's a shame you want to go to UMass. They were the only ones of the 16 I applied to that specifically balked at the age of classes. For me, it definitely wasn't worth spending a few thousand dollars, many more thousands of dollars in lost wages, and a couple of years of my life to satisfy them when I could go get into a better school elsewhere.

 

[vikingvallhalla]

I can relate. Frustration is driving me up the wall. I'm your age, have solid undergrad GPA (3.75), just finished the last of my prereqs but did them all overseas in a system that isn't easy to equate to the US's and haven't received the official transcript translation so don't know where I stand science GPA wise (the mathematical translation is easy, its a 3.0, but I've been told to expect higher), and I just can't seem to get over a 30 on any practice MCAT. I'm taking the real deal next weekend. I have some other exceptional things on my app, like humanitarian and social work, fluent in 4 languages, lots of shadowing, and at least one really exceptional LOR, but its the thought of the unknown science GPA, the poor to mediocre MCAT, and the fact that many schools won't consider foreign coursework that is driving me nuts.
Good luck.

 

[lilnoelle]

lil, you should post in the sticky!

I'm not sure that I have any "secrets for sucess". I'm still not sure how I managed to get into med school! 😉

 

[Lacheln]

Well, I had it pretty evenly distributed. There are so many good schools, I had to narrow it down, so I based it on good schools crossed with cities I was willing to live in crossed with chance of success. So, for instance, I applied to all four Boston schools since I wanted to stay here, even though Harvard was never gonna happen and I applied to a bunch of schools in Chicago ranging from top top to off the US News and World Report list. I also was advised by a friend the always check state schools and see if they accept out-of-state students (OOS). Since mine was a mixed package, it wasn't worth applying to UNC for the few out of state spots.

It's a shame you want to go to UMass. They were the only ones of the 16 I applied to that specifically balked at the age of classes. For me, it definitely wasn't worth spending a few thousand dollars, many more thousands of dollars in lost wages, and a couple of years of my life to satisfy them when I could go get into a better school elsewhere.

I'm pretty much following your tactic, and same thoughts on the Boston schools. No cost to interview, so...

Your point of OOS is something I'm struggling with. I know two people who got into UNC out of state this year (did my postbacc classes with me), but they have more consistent apps than I do. I know I'd be happy in R-D though, and same for Oregon and Washington.

UMass requiring the coursework only bothered me initially. I needed to retake the basic sciences anyway. Even though other schools weren't requiring those specifically, with my dismal undergrad gpa they all wanted recent coursework, and I would not have done as well in upper levels since I was pretty foggy on the material. Oh, and in undergrad I took biochem, genetics, molecular, and a bunch of neuroanatomy/neurobiology classes, so I would have been repeating classes regardless unless I got pretty creative.

I figured a couple of years after waiting so long already wasn't the end of the world. I didn't lose wages since I continued working full-time at my normal job in software (sleep, hair, sanity on the other hand...), AND I'm not so sure about that getting into "a better school elsewhere" bit. UMass is a pretty good school, and I'm hardly the perfect applicant. 😳 I'm impressed with your results though, here's to hoping I can achieve something similar.

 

[Lacheln]

I can relate. Frustration is driving me up the wall. I'm your age, have solid undergrad GPA (3.75), just finished the last of my prereqs but did them all overseas in a system that isn't easy to equate to the US's and haven't received the official transcript translation so don't know where I stand science GPA wise (the mathematical translation is easy, its a 3.0, but I've been told to expect higher), and I just can't seem to get over a 30 on any practice MCAT. I'm taking the real deal next weekend. I have some other exceptional things on my app, like humanitarian and social work, fluent in 4 languages, lots of shadowing, and at least one really exceptional LOR, but its the thought of the unknown science GPA, the poor to mediocre MCAT, and the fact that many schools won't consider foreign coursework that is driving me nuts.
Good luck.

Good luck to you on the MCAT - don't sell yourself short, the practice exams aren't everything. It's the uncertainty that's the worst in all of this, at least you're chipping away at it. The grade situation sounds pretty complicated, but here's the real question, what languages do you speak? Just out of curiosity....

 

[vikingvallhalla]

English, Italian, Swedish, French. Not much use in the US, but I'd love to learn Spanish.

 

[nu2004]

I can relate. Frustration is driving me up the wall. I'm your age, have solid undergrad GPA (3.75), just finished the last of my prereqs but did them all overseas in a system that isn't easy to equate to the US's and haven't received the official transcript translation so don't know where I stand science GPA wise (the mathematical translation is easy, its a 3.0, but I've been told to expect higher), and I just can't seem to get over a 30 on any practice MCAT. I'm taking the real deal next weekend. I have some other exceptional things on my app, like humanitarian and social work, fluent in 4 languages, lots of shadowing, and at least one really exceptional LOR, but its the thought of the unknown science GPA, the poor to mediocre MCAT, and the fact that many schools won't consider foreign coursework that is driving me nuts.
Good luck.

FYI, i did better on the real MCAT than i had on any of my practice MCATs (i did 3). i know several people who had this experience. if you've prepared, don't worry too much about how your diagnostics look. rest on your confidence - you've seen the test and you know what it looks like. your brain is an agile warrior! become one with the mouse!

oh yeah, make sure you give yourself a couple of minutes at the end of sections to review and make sure you didn't miss any discretes 🙂

 

[vikingvallhalla]

Thank you very much, thats really assuring. I will indeed try to become one with the mouse. On that note, I heard a great joke the other day.
What did the buddist say to the hot dog vendor?
Make me one with everything

 

[Lacheln]

Thank you very much, thats really assuring. I will indeed try to become one with the mouse. On that note, I heard a great joke the other day.
What did the buddist say to the hot dog vendor?
Make me one with everything

And when the Buddhist asked for his change the vendor replied "Change comes from within."

Ok, I have got to get off SDN, I'm going to be unemployed shortly if this turns into a habit... 😛

 

[nu2004]

What did the buddist say to the hot dog vendor?
Make me one with everything

And when the Buddhist asked for his change the vendor replied "Change comes from within."

haha, i love it

 

[lax]

Whoa...the MCAT scores! I think you have a great chance of getting in! Good luck!

 

[Lacheln]

Whoa...the MCAT scores! I think you have a great chance of getting in! Good luck!

Haha, if ONLY it were that simple. 🙁

 

[CJ80]

Oh my gosh BREEAK! I am so in the same boat!!! Thought it was just me. You're a little ahead of me in the app process. I'm studying for the MCAT now and plan to take it in August (leaving room for a retake in Jan if necessary ) I want this so badly but go through periods where I ask myself "ARE YOU CRAZY!?!?!" I have a house, a job, & responsibilities and now I want to go back to being that ramen noodle-eating student all over again??? Although I still get scared and say F*** it every once in a while, I keep on studying for the MCAT, keep on lurking on SDN, and always shake it off and say I can get through it. I think the best strategy is to just get by one day at a time. I have to break things up so that it doesn't seem so overwhelming. So for now, I'm just concentrating on the MCAT... cross that hurdle and then stress about the app process... cross that hurdle then stress about the first 2 years & step I (piss my pants)... cross that hurdle til I get to the point where it's all over. If I concentrate on the totality of it all, I FREAK OUT!!!!! You are not alone!

 

[Lacheln]

I have to break things up so that it doesn't seem so overwhelming.

No kidding! I was doing so well with that until now when the applications are actually starting. I don't know if it's because it feels more real or that I now can really evaluate my chances and don't think they're great or what. SDN is such a good and bad place! It gives so much information and often encouragement, but a lot of discouragement info (realistic info) too...

Good luck on your MCAT! It seems like you're a strong applicant from your GPA etc, so just focus on that one thing in front of you. And keep your ativan handy. ;-P