Attn 2003 APPLICANTS: Apply to a WIDE RANGE of schools!!! And MANY of them!

[Doctora Foxy]

Just a friendly reminder to people applying now:

There are so many wonderful applicants on this board that have not received acceptance to medical school because they did not apply to a wide range of schools. So please, even if you have a 3.9 and a 40 MCAT, PLEASE apply to lower and middle tier schools! You never know what type of luck you will have in this crapshoot, so please be careful. Don't think because of your high stats you wil get in no matter what, and just apply to a few lower tier schools. If you are an exceptional applcant, you'll still probably get into a top school, but why risk it?

So please, make sure you apply to some schools that are not in the top 50 USNews list. No matter what!....just do it for me. :wink:

Thank you for reading, and have a nice day.

p.s. Check out the <a href="http://forums.studentdoctor.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=011438;p=" target="_blank">easy school thread</a> so you can apply to some of those lower tier schools that you may have never heard of.

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[Hero]

yesssssma'am!

Please list schools to apply to

edit: someone bump the easy thread when the search comes back up

 

[Doctora Foxy]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Hero:
•
Please list schools to apply to •••••I'll list the schools I applied to, since they were mostly lower/middle tier:

Boston University-reach
George Washington
University of Florida -state school
Vermont
Finch / Chicago Med
Temple
Albany
Einstein - reach
Jefferson
NYMC
Penn State
Rochester
Tufts - reach
Tulane - reach
U Miami - prefers in-state applicants
USF - sate school
MCP Hahnemann
Mt. Sinai - reach

 

[lola]

I'm applying for fall 2003 and will hopefuly be turning in my AMCAS application as soon as they will let me. I still have not decided on all the schools I will apply to. I was thinking I'd apply to 15, max 20. Anyway, I plan to apply to NYMC and University of Vermont and one more lower tier school. I'm also applying to Tulane which isn't as hard to get into as some. How many would you recommend to someone who has a good GPA (undergrad & grad) but has yet to take the MCAT? Do you think 4 is enough or is it really risky? I am having trouble choosing schools!

 

[Doctora Foxy]

Lola, that sounds really risky. I guess you are a CA resident--so pretend you are not applying to any of those schools and then count how many schools you are applying to out of state (because it's so hard to get in in CA). 4 will just not cut it, especially schools like NYMC who get so many applicants. And by the way, although Tulane is unranked, it is still a middle tier school (think ranking between 25-50). They just don't give info to USNews---it is NOT an easy school to get into. It might even b eup there n the top 25. The Gourman report rankes it as number 16.

 

[deva]

I have much respect for Doctora Foxy, but I have to disagree

I don't really think you need to apply to a huge lists of schools. I applied to 8 and I think that number was right for me. Instead of applying to a ton of schools, think carefully about your strengths and where you could realistically get into med school (talk with a pre-med advisor or look over statistics for your school if your school keeps them). Apply to a handful in that range, and then maybe one or two that are above or below that range. Anyway, this is just my opinion.

 

[Doctora Foxy]

While most people with exceptional stats get in, that is not always the case. I started this thread b/c I couldn't believe the fabulous stats of some of the people on the no-acceptance-yet thread. So this is just a warning for people who are cocky about their stats, nothing is guaranteed in this process. Here is the list of no-acceptance-yet SDNers, and please notice their high stats. This process sucks and it is unfair.

*abefroman* 3.9/37 Columbia (w), NYU (w), Wash U (w), Tulane (w), Downstate (w-high priority), Emory (w)
*caveman* 3.45/34 slu(w), temple(ccl), usf(w), UM(w), mcphu, penn state
*Dr. Nick Riviera* 3.7/31Q Creighton (w), SLU (W)
*Grumpy* 3.5/28Q UCI(w) GWU(w) Finch(?)
*Hero* 3.86/32 SLU(w), OHSU(w), UCSD(w), USC(w)
*imtiaz* 2.77ug/3.65grad/31M UIC(hold?), Meharry(W)
*ira* 3.53/30R Tufts(w),cornell(w),NJs(w),DNState(w)
*j2001* 3.83/27Q Finch,Creighton(W),VCU/MCV(W),EVMS(W),GWU(W),NYMC(W)
*jdub* 3.51/32Q drew/ucla(w), tulane(w), temple(ccl), jefferson(w), nymc(w), slu (just interviewed on the 30th of april, so i am waiting to hear from them)
*labrynth79* 3.47/29Q. Interviewed in this order: MCV/VCU (w), UVM (w in the top 1/3rd; think 150 people total are waitlisted, but not sure about that), NYMC (find out mid-June), UCSD (find out May 7th)
*LizardKing* 3.97/37 Cornell (w), UPenn (w), Yale (w), Hopkins (w), UMich (w), WashU (w)
*otter* 3.6/30 Tufts(find out mid-May),Temple(ccl),NYMC
*PelicanMan* 4.0/31 Wake Forest,Emory(w),PRITZKER(W)
*spacecadet* 3.4/39 Baylor(w), UTMB(w)
*trav96817* 3.5/33 Columbia (w), Creighton (w)

 

[Keith]

i must agree w/ doctora foxy. it is far better to have choices than to have to wait another year. if you have the time and money for extra apps, do them!!! this process is somewhat random and you should do all you can to increase your odds.

 

[deva]

I guess I am just trying to offer some comfort for the people who can't afford to apply to a ton of schools. I couldn't, and so I was very selective about the schools to which I applied. It worked for me.

 

[qkitty]

Hey Foxy, you are awsome! People like you make this forum so attractive and also so homy. :wink:

 

[The Falconer]

Listen to Foxy's words of wisdom. Apply to about 15-20 and hold on tight. The ride you're in for can be a heart pounder. Look forward to long walks to the mail box and butterflys in your gut when the phone rings!

 

[Wednesday]

Lola,

Apply to a few more out of California schools. I only applied to four out-of-state schools and since I had no idea what I was doing, I was thinking of some of the UCs as back-ups. Ha, ha, ha!!! All of my "back-up" UCs rejected me post-secondary even though I got interviews at both UCSF and UCLA. It is nearly impossible to predict where you will be interviewed and accepted. Luckily I got in, but I could very easily be on five waiting lists right now pulling out my hair. Pick a few more schools out of state. If money is the issue, pick schools that are close to one another, so you can try to cluster the interviews (this doesn't always work). NYC has tons of med schools! As does Philly. And a lot of people say that you should pick some schools that interview and accept early (Tulane is one I think) so that once you have an acceptance, you can elect not to go to others that come up.

Whatever you do, just add a few more schools to your list. There is no need to add stress to the process!

 

[longwait]

well,good advice, but how about people who do not want to settle for lower-tier schools NO MATTER WHAT...? there might be people who would rather reapply to mid- or high-tier schools again, right?

i dunno...

 

[Assassin]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by longwait:
•well,good advice, but how about people who do not want to settle for lower-tier schools NO MATTER WHAT...? there might be people who would rather reapply to mid- or high-tier schools again, right?

i dunno...•••••<img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" />

 

[Doctora Foxy]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by player:
• •••quote:•••Originally posted by longwait:
•well,good advice, but how about people who do not want to settle for lower-tier schools NO MATTER WHAT...? there might be people who would rather reapply to mid- or high-tier schools again, right?

i dunno...•••••<img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> •••••I agree! <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" />

If you wanna learn the hard way, be my guest. Do you wanna be a doctor or what?

 

[deva]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by longwait:
•well,good advice, but how about people who do not want to settle for lower-tier schools NO MATTER WHAT...? there might be people who would rather reapply to mid- or high-tier schools again, right?
•••••longwait, This was how I felt. I want med school to be a challenge - do you think a low-tier school will be all that challenging? I have never liked the idea of "back-up school" and I didn't want to apply to any. I was willing to reapply if I didn't get into a school that I really loved.

Having said that, I do recognize that there are many qualified people who have not gotten in, precisely because they only applied to top schools.

And, actually, the level of difficulty at med schools could be about the same for most schools. I don't really know, but I didn't want to risk going to an "easy" school where the courses were too easy.

This is just my opinion. I fear that I am going to get flamed for this <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" />

 

[Doctora Foxy]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by devastator:
• •••quote:•••Originally posted by longwait:
•well,good advice, but how about people who do not want to settle for lower-tier schools NO MATTER WHAT...? there might be people who would rather reapply to mid- or high-tier schools again, right?
•••••longwait, This was how I felt. I want med school to be a challenge - do you think a low-tier school will be all that challenging? I have never liked the idea of "back-up school" and I didn't want to apply to any. I was willing to reapply if I didn't get into a school that I really loved.

Having said that, I do recognize that there are many qualified people who have not gotten in, precisely because they only applied to top schools.

And, actually, the level of difficulty at med schools could be about the same for most schools. I don't really know, but I didn't want to risk going to an "easy" school where the courses were too easy.

This is just my opinion. I fear that I am going to get flamed for this •••••This is completely ignorant and arrogant IMO. Look, I just posted the thread for people who want to become doctors no matter what. The reason I posted it is because I noticed there are a lot of arrogant applicants like you and now they have to wait longer to become doctors because of it. I was trying to help them out before they make the same mistakes others did. If your first priority is prestige and your second priority is to become a physician, apply to the top ten schools. I wish you luck.

 

[Assassin]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by devastator:
• I don't really know, but I didn't want to risk going to an "easy" school where the courses were too easy.•••••<img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" />
god forbid...med school that's too easy
<img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" />
are you really that silly? or just writing for a good laugh? :wink:

 

[Mr. H]

Yeah, i don't know the stories you've heard, but from what I hear, Med school is no walk in the park!

 

[dr. momo]

hmm. well, i agree that people have different priorities. that being said, if you want to go to only a top school, that's cool, but there's no need to be a jerk about it.

going back to the original topic of the thread. applying to a wide range of schools is always a good idea, but i noticed this year that a lot of my friends with really good stats only got interviews at the top schools, but not the ones that were ranked a little lower on the list. if they did get interviews at those schools, it was usually very late in the year. although i still think that the med school process totally sucks, there are some things about it that do make sense. med schools have an agenda too, and they want to interview the best candidates who they think they have a genuine chance of attracting to their school. what i think is important is that you make it clear to all the schools (regardless of their ranks) that you are sincerely interested in going there. just a thought.

 

[deva]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Doctora Foxy:
• This is completely ignorant and arrogant IMO. Look, I just posted the thread for people who want to become doctors no matter what. The reason I posted it is because I noticed there are a lot of arrogant applicants like you and now they have to wait longer to become doctors because of it. I was trying to help them out before they make the same mistakes others did. If your first priority is prestige and your second priority is to become a physician, apply to the top ten schools. I wish you luck.•••••I am disappointed in you, Doctora Foxy If you knew me you would know that I am not arrogant. And prestige does not matter to me. I said that I wanted to go to a school that I loved and that would challenge me. I never mentioned prestige; you brought that in when it was not implied.

I care very much about helping people in need. If you knew me you would understand how true this is. You do not know my reasons for wanting to become a doctor. I do not enjoy being called arrogant by someone who knows very very little about me.

 

[Mr. H]

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!

Everyone just chill a bit

 

[deva]

This is a discussion forum. I would like to be able to state my opinions without having personal insults thrown at me.

 

[Doctora Foxy]

Ok, devastator, I apologize. I think I made that comment in regards to the post before yours. I just really don't think one medical school is easier than another, and if you think you won't be challenged at a lower tier school, that may be a *little* ignorant. The top schools do have more to offer, but I don't know how much more challenging they are. Let's just get back to the topc at hand, no more fighting.

I too have seen great applicants get ignored by lower tier schools becasue those schools think the applicants would never go there. That is why I think it's important to cover ALL ranges in your applications. So include a lot of middle tier schools if you are a stellar applicant, because I think those would interview you regardless of their agenda--because there is not enough room for every stellar applicant in the top 10.

 

[deva]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Doctora Foxy:
•Ok, devastator, I apologize. I think I made that comment in regards to the post before yours. I just reall don't think one medical aschool is easier than another. the top schools do have more to offer, but I don't know how much more challenging they are. Let's just get back to the topc at hand, no more fighting.
•••••Apology accepted I'm sorry if I came off as arrogant - I didn't mean to. I agree, no more fighting.

Also, I was thinking about this topic last night, and I am changing my earlier opinion. I think that, if you can afford to, you should apply to as many schools as possible (so we now agree on this as well). Also, I have an additional reason for applying to lots of schools: Like I said, I wanted to find a school that I would love and that would accept me. The problem is, it is difficult to predict which schools you will love - ranking and prestige certainly won't tell you that. It is also difficult to predict which schools will accept you. Given these two unknown variables, it is best to apply to a whole bunch of schools (if you can). I now see that I was *extremely* lucky in finding a school that I really loved and that would accept me, given the small number of schools that I applied to.

 

[lola]

Wow... that was a helpful discussion! I think I will definitely apply to a wide range of schools since I wouldn't consider myself "stellar", but I am definitely well qualified and might be one of those people the lower tier schools would pass by. It's just so hard to pick. Like I come up with a set of schools and then find out I need a non-science rec for one school, a biochem class for another, and a writing course for another! It is so frustrating since I've been out of college for so long. How the heck am I supposed to get a non-science letter?? The only people who really know and remember me are in the Chemistry department, because I worked there during the summers and there were only 5 Chemistry majors. Anyway... this whole process is way more stressful than I was expecting. I'm turning into one of those obsessive/stressed out premeds. AHHHHH!!! God help me :wink:

 

[mpp]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by lola:
• How the heck am I supposed to get a non-science letter?? •••••You can use letters from supervisors at work or volunteer activities as well. Don't let the letter of recommendation requirements scare you off from applying to a school you might be interested in. The schools seem to be fairly lenient in regards to the origin of the letters.

 

[Katie]

good advice foxy! the first time i applied i applied to only 8 schools and didn't get in; second time applied to 21 schools and got 2 acceptances (both off the waitlist to those of you still waiting!). so it is good to apply to many schools. With a 3.62 and 29 MCAT here are my interviews: Tufts (a reach but ended up there), Maryland (state school), SLU (accepted), Penn State (waitlisted), MCP (waitlisted), NYMC (waitlisted), GW (rejected, but didn't really click with the school anyway).

 

[lola]

Oh... so when you say a non-science recommendation you don't necessarily mean from a professor?

 

[BlueJayBill]

Hey,

It's probably true that a lot of people with good stats don't get into med schools, or the "top schools" for that matter. Stastically, it has to happen. Then again, to Deva's credit, we don't know much else about the other candidates (ECs, Recs, interviewing skills, time they submitted their app). I've been told time and time gain by my preprof advisors it's the total package that matters, and the safest bet is to hedge your bets at a variety of schools. (Considering you don't know yet your skills in the other areas until u apply - u could be an awesome applicant but be a crappy interviewer.)

However, I've also been told that certain mid/lower tier schools won't even look at you if they think you're gonna get accepted to a top tier school. For example, I've know several people who have been accepted to Harvard, Hopkins, or Penn, but didnt even receive an interview from schools like GW, Jefferson, etc.

Well, all i can is choose wisely!

 

[Hallm_7]

So what would it cost to apply to all the med schools in the country?

I'm sure someone on here has figured that up.

 

[brickmanli]

It's more important to apply to more schools in general than applying to more lower-tier schools. I would choose 25 schools from the top 50 and see what happens, because you never know. But this is assuming you have at least a 3.7/32. I wouldn't apply to more than 5 safety schools and your state schools because the process is not THAT unpredictable. In retrospect, I should've spent the extra money and applied to more schools.

 

[Mr. H]

that's actually exactly what I'm doing, I'm applying to 3 instate schools I have a good shot at, and then I'm applying to about 17 in the top 40. If I dont' get into the top schools I should at least get in to my state school, hope this process goes well!!

 

[TommyGunn04]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Doctora Foxy:
•While most people with exceptional stats get in, that is not always the case. I started this thread b/c I couldn't believe the fabulous stats of some of the people on the no-acceptance-yet thread. So this is just a warning for people who are cocky about their stats, nothing is guaranteed in this process. Here is the list of no-acceptance-yet SDNers, and please notice their high stats. This process sucks and it is unfair.

•••••I guess it goes to show you that numbers aren't everything. You need to be interesting (extracurriculars, experiences, etc.), be able to communicate well, and essentially find a way to differentiate yourself from the crowd. ADCOMs could fill their classes with people having 40+ MCAT scores and 4.0's, but that wouldn't necessarily make for the most interesting and diverse class. Numbers are just the beginning...they can help get your foot in the door for an interview, but after that you can't necessarily rely on them to get you in, especially at the top schools. Just my 2 cents...

 

[TweetiePie]

the way i look at it, it is an investment, so i approached it cold heartedly with hard core statistical data. using the stats published in msar, i have set my preinterview chances of getting in to be 100%. i have chosen the schools to add up to that magical number, considering the factors such as average gpas and mcats, and the instate/outstate demographics. after getting invited to 18 interviews (only interviewed at 12), i got into 2, waitlisted at 7 places, rejected in 1 and still waiting to hear from 2 schools.

 

[Laura JC]

Lola,
I had a similar situation, in that it had been 15 years since I had a non-science class. In all the secondaries I filled out, if there was a request for a non-science letter, I sent a letter with the secondary explaining why I substituted another science letter for the non-science one. It was no big deal, and often on secondaries, they instruct you to send an explanation if you can't comply with the letter requirements.

 

[lola]

thanks for the helpful information, laura! i guess i won't let the type of rec letters needed be a criteria for where to apply.

 

[Cobragirl]

Foxy, I think you've started a very good post for upcoming hopefuls...just want to point out one small error in one of your original posts...U Miami is NOT a state school. It's a PRIVATE school (with $35,000+ tuition to prove it) that just happens to like Florida STATE residents. No biggy, just FYI.

Oh yeah, just for the record for everyone else, "state" school does NOT equal "easy" school...either to be accepted to or to attend!! Some "state" schools, like UF, have some of the top education and residency programs in the nation. Don't base your application list solely on what US News tells you...they don't tell the whole story. Just because a program is listed as a top-10 does NOT mean that's necessarily where you'll get the best education (especially for your money). Remember, research money goes to RESEARCHERS, not to you or your medical education, and most researchers I've met aren't the best faculty instructors for teaching you CLINICAL medicine. Just something to think about....

You need to apply to programs that fit YOU as a whole...not just places that you THINK would look good on paper (cause frankly, no one cares WHERE you went after you graduate). You want to be HAPPY during med school because it's NOT a cake-walk and you don't need the added stress of feeling like you don't fit in!! Trust me!

Good Luck all!

 

[SMW]

Oh, I love it, a happy ending to an on-line fight!!!

Foxy's right, apply to lots of schools in all ranges (well, depending on your stats you might not want to apply to lots of top 10 schools :wink: ). I had average stats (GPA 3.5/MCAT 30M) applied to 22 schools, and my interview invites and final results defied all logic. (I got into a top 10, but all the other top schools I applied to rejected me pre-interview, as did some middle and bottom tier schools. My other acceptances were at not-so-highly ranked or unranked schools). And I ended up absolutely loving a state school I had no idea I'd love so much (I was careful to only apply to state schools that accepted a significant number of out-of-staters. Still, out of the 3 state schools I applied to that were not MY state school, I only got this one interview. Still waiting to hear from them ). Good luck all!!

 

[Doctora Foxy]

Apparently some people are not reading this thread so BUMP!

 

[sorrento]

This is a great thread. We have all seen how seemingly random this whole thing is. I also wanted to add something else along the lines of a choosing a broad range of schools: Unless you are very confident of your preferences regarding location, PBL/traditional, etc., give yourself the opportunity to explore different "styles" of medical schools - you may be surprised what you end up liking. The more options you have (within the bounds of financial feasibility), the better.

 

[bebe2]

Good idea Foxy! I never know what to say to those who seem to really want to apply to many high end schools.

I definitely think this was a down-side to my application. I was waitlisted by my high-end schools and all of my "safety schools".

You just never know!!!!!!!

Best to be safe.......apply to a range!!!!

Also, you never know how you really feel about a school until you get an interview, see the campus, talk to faculty and students, etc.

Schools changed position on my preference list after interviews.

Well, all I have to say is that you guys have done such a great job keeping these newbies in line and on-point!

Kudos to SDN's Class of 2002!!!!!!!!!!

 

[nutgrad]

I'm curious what you all think about my ever evolving list.
Here are my stats:
- 9,12,S,12
- 3.3 upward-trending undergrad GPA
- 3.8 grad GPA in nutrtional sciences
- PA resident

Here's my List [in order of preference]:

U. Pittsburgh - reach, in-state, $$$
George Washington
Georgetown
U. Rochester - reach
Case Western
NYMC
Tufts - reach, $$$
Wake Forest
Jefferson
Temple
West Virgina - ???, accepted 40% out of state last year
MCP Hahnemann
(Northwestern) - reach, not sure yet
(U Chicago) - reach, ditto

Who am I missing???? Thanks!

 

[Doctora Foxy]

try adding finch/cms and albany for some more schools that accept people with lower gpas...other than that, I would say that's a well rounded list.

 

[otter]

Okay, let me tell you what I've learned from this brutal, humbling process. All of these things point to the notion that you should apply to many schools...

1). Do NOT apply to a small # of schools just cuz you want to cut some cost. The reason why I didn't apply to more than 14 schools was that I was getting scared of the accumulating application costs. But I spent about three agonizing months from February through mid-May wishing that I'd applied to a lot more schools. I was very lucky in the end to get in, but the suspense (or worse, zero acceptance) is just not worth it. In the long run, you may end up spending a whole lot more money just because you left yourself with little options and ended up not getting in.

2). Do NOT just apply to lower-tiered schools just because you think you're only an average student. This process is a crapshoot, and you should never be surprised if Pritzker invites you to an interview, while MCPH rejects you pre-interview. If you're an "average" candidate, outside of your state schools, I would distribute my school breakdowns as ~65% mid/low-tier schools and ~35% reach schools. Except for my state school, I didn't apply to a single top-20 medical school, and I regret it now.

3). Interviews count a LOT at most schools, and many times your interview evaluations are OUT OF YOUR CONTROL. You could get stuck with someone you just don't click with; you could somehow get asked all the "wrong" questions. I applied to UW two years in a row, where the dean actually discloses your interview evaluations at the end of the cycle. The first year, I supposedly interviewed great (although I didn't get in cuz my stats weren't good). The second year, my interviewers were totally judgmental and I supposedly bombed it even though I personally thought I did better than the first year. Go figure... I know people with excellent stats and EC's get rejected by UW, as well as those with mediocre apps who got in because something about them really clicked with the interviewers. So, even if you have good stats, do NOT underestimate how big a curveball this interview factor presents. That is why you should never view good stats as automatic tickets to admission.

Sorry, I realize a lot of these things have already been pointed out. But I just wanted to summarize it (if only for my own good to teach myself a lesson).

 

[Smoke This]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Doctora Foxy:
•While most people with exceptional stats get in, that is not always the case. I started this thread b/c I couldn't believe the fabulous stats of some of the people on the no-acceptance-yet thread. So this is just a warning for people who are cocky about their stats, nothing is guaranteed in this process. Here is the list of no-acceptance-yet SDNers, and please notice their high stats. This process sucks and it is unfair.

*abefroman* 3.9/37 Columbia (w), NYU (w), Wash U (w), Tulane (w), Downstate (w-high priority), Emory (w)
*caveman* 3.45/34 slu(w), temple(ccl), usf(w), UM(w), mcphu, penn state
*Dr. Nick Riviera* 3.7/31Q Creighton (w), SLU (W)
*Grumpy* 3.5/28Q UCI(w) GWU(w) Finch(?)
*Hero* 3.86/32 SLU(w), OHSU(w), UCSD(w), USC(w)
*imtiaz* 2.77ug/3.65grad/31M UIC(hold?), Meharry(W)
*ira* 3.53/30R Tufts(w),cornell(w),NJs(w),DNState(w)
*j2001* 3.83/27Q Finch,Creighton(W),VCU/MCV(W),EVMS(W),GWU(W),NYMC(W)
*jdub* 3.51/32Q drew/ucla(w), tulane(w), temple(ccl), jefferson(w), nymc(w), slu (just interviewed on the 30th of april, so i am waiting to hear from them)
*labrynth79* 3.47/29Q. Interviewed in this order: MCV/VCU (w), UVM (w in the top 1/3rd; think 150 people total are waitlisted, but not sure about that), NYMC (find out mid-June), UCSD (find out May 7th)
*LizardKing* 3.97/37 Cornell (w), UPenn (w), Yale (w), Hopkins (w), UMich (w), WashU (w)
*otter* 3.6/30 Tufts(find out mid-May),Temple(ccl),NYMC
*PelicanMan* 4.0/31 Wake Forest,Emory(w),PRITZKER(W)
*spacecadet* 3.4/39 Baylor(w), UTMB(w)
*trav96817* 3.5/33 Columbia (w), Creighton (w)•••••Word. I feel you on that. I have high stats too and if I hadn't applied to schools like MCW and Creighton, I wouldn't be going to med school this year. I had the foresight to apply to a wide range of schools this application cycle, and that's the only reason I'm going to be matriculating instead of reapplying. Listen to Doctora Foxy's advice.

 

[Papa Smurf]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by TommyGunn04:
•ADCOMs could fill their classes with people having 40+ MCAT scores and 4.0's•••••Why do people always say this? It's so not true. There are about 35,000 applicants and 16,000 med school spots. So, you mean to tell me that there are 16,000 applicants with BOTH a 4.0 GPA AND a 40 on the MCAT out there applying? Hell no! Unless something is terribly wrong with you, you will get multiple invites, and should manage at least one acceptance!

 

[Cobragirl]

Papa, there may not be 16,000 people with 4.0's/40+'s (then again, there may be, who knows!) but the fact is that those "perfect" people apply to multiple schools just like the rest of us, so if the schools WANTED to, they COULD accept all the perfect people first. What this would do is make it absolutely impossible for us "imperfect" people to get into the top-to-midlevel programs and leave us all fighting for spots at the less well-known schools. Luckily, there's a LOT more to getting accepted than your GPA & MCAT!

 

[Mr. Z]

Just to clarify something.

If you score a 40+ on the mcat you are in the at least the 98 percentile ranking, maybe higher. This means that only 2% of all test takers are scoring this high. If 35000 people took the test only 700 of them would score a 40 or above. Now, when you throw a 4.0 on top of this, it will cut down the 700 even further. Obviously, some of the 40's scored will be done so by people with less than a 4.0.

If med schools are going to admit ~16-17K students than the &lt;700 students scoring over 40 is not significant. You would be lucky to fill two or three med school classes with this many people, 3/125 = 2.4% of all med schools. This is not factoring in DO programs, which would further distort the numbers. Therefore, this type of logic does not make for a valid argument.

Sorry, just had to get that off my chest, I hear that argument being used a lot.

 

[Papa Smurf]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Cobragirl:
•Papa, there may not be 16,000 people with 4.0's/40+'s (then again, there may be, who knows!) but the fact is that those "perfect" people apply to multiple schools just like the rest of us, so if the schools WANTED to, they COULD accept all the perfect people first. What this would do is make it absolutely impossible for us "imperfect" people to get into the top-to-midlevel programs and leave us all fighting for spots at the less well-known schools. Luckily, there's a LOT more to getting accepted than your GPA & MCAT!•••••Cobragirl, I'm not denying that there are a lot of qualified applicants out there. Certainly there are. I just get annoyed when I hear that statement coz I can guarantee you that there are NOT 16,000 applicants with a 40 on the MCAT. How is that even possible when the national average is 24 and 1 standard deviation is about 3 pts? It's just not possible. I also agree that there's a LOT more to getting accepted than GPA & MCAT. But trust me, even if all the people who had 4.0's & and 40's were to be accepted, that would not leave the rest of us fighting for spots at the less known schools. There just aren't that many applicants out there with those kinda numbers. maybe 500 max. This is still primarily a numbers game to begin with, and to not get in with those kinda numbers indicates serious flaws in either 1)your LOR's (has to be something really really bad to offset a 4.0, & 40) 2)timing of when you sent in your application/interviewed 3) personality/interview skills 4)quality of schools you applied to (only top 10's, etc) or 5)you only applied to the Cali schools.