Considering applying this cycle and have a few questions

[J29622]

Hey everyone,

I have a bit of a dilemma. I am pretty much all set to apply right now, but I don't have my Podiatrist LOR. Long story short, I shadowed 3 different Podiatrists and had one offer to write me a letter. We got along well and he seemed like a good guy. 1 follow up letter and 2 Emails later and I have not received a letter and he isn't responding. I'm sure he is probably busy and isn't doing this on purpose, but I'm currently living abroad (something I had told him I would be doing before I left) and am not sure if I should defer my application until next year or not. I have my professor LOR's ready to go and in my Interfolio account already and my PS is more or less finished.

Given I'm about 6,000 miles away from the USA, I can't head over and speak with him in person nor can I get additional shadowing experiences here. I honestly thought this would be sorted out ahead of time.

My stats are: 3.2 cGPA 3.15 sGPA and a 29 MCAT (10V / 10P / 9B) from January 2015.

Will my MCAT still be good for the next cycle and will I be disadvantaged by it being the old version? Is it now too late to apply and am I basically screwed this cycle without this letter? I have around 35-40 DPM shadowing hours and 20 MD/DO shadowing hours in total.

I'm hesitant to spend $1000+ on application fees if my chances are essentially zero. I don't have a ton of money nor do I come from a rich family. Thanks for any advice.

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[Sweatshirt]

1) Your MCAT will be fine (great actually), there is no disadvantage for it being in the old format


Now to your main issue, that's tough. My advice would be go to his office but you obviously can't do that. If you can't go to his office, instead I would call the office. It's easier to ignore an email than it is to ignore a phone call. Be polite about everything, and maybe even hint that this is the last thing you need in order to apply.

Keep trying! If you guys did get along as well as you said you did I don't think he would mind receiving a few phone calls. Good luck

 

[TheSwedeness]

You can wait until next application cycle! No worries, your mcat score is great and it doesn't matter that it is from the old scoring system. It's still valid. Good luck to you!

 

[PodasaurusRex]

To submit to one school it costs $180. Each additional program you add is $45. So if you apply to all its going to cost you $540. Applying does, indeed, cost money.

My advice is that you've got good enough stats to get in somewhere still. Whether you want to force it this year to go to a program that may not be your ideal choice is up to you. I suggest just trying everything you can to get in contact with your DPM. Some schools will give you an offer without a letter but will require you have one before they actually accept you.