death knell?

[Doop]

So here is story of my adventures applying to med school. Please offer any sage wisdom. Sorry it's so long.

I applied initially in the summer of 2010 after graduating. Here were my stats 3.6 gpa, 3.46 sgpa (upward trend). 29 mcat (8,11,10). I had some shadowing experience, and some time spent as a hospital volunteer, but nothing like some of the people I see on these forums. I applied late bc I was a bit of ******* and my foot looked like a good place to shoot. I received 1 interview, which led to 1 waitlist, which led to nowhere. During this period I also began working full time as lab tech in a genetics lab.

The year is now 2011. I'm now a senior lab tech and am crushing hard on one of my coworkers. I'm making solid money and chasing my dream girl, and medicine isn't exact;y at the forefront of mind, so I decide to turn in the same exact AMCAS application and only apply to a new school openning in my state...I was rejected very very fast.

Fall of 2012. That crush is now my gf. I also decide to get serious about reapplying. I enrolled in an EMT class, and become certified. In the beginning of 2013, I enrolled in an MCAT course, sat for the beast in May, and scored a 35 (12,11,12). I also rewrote my PS, got a LOR from the director of my lab, and began volunteer EMTing/volunteering at a science museum, all while still working a full time job.

I submitted my amcas in mid-jun, was verified in mid-july, and was complete at most schools by late-july, early-august. I applied to 27 schools, and so far have received only 1 ii at my state school, which led to the waitlist. I've received about 9 rejections, including the holds, and silence from the other 17 schools, where I've been complete since july/august.

So my question(s) is/are: is the death knell sounding on my cycle? Also why do you think adcoms aren't showing me much love?

Thanks

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[roundza]

maybe it's that the majority of your science courses were complete 3+ years ago? W/e that seems like a lame reason. Who knows... I wouldn't call it quits though. Keep sending letters of interest and update your state school so that you get off that wait list. It only takes one school! Now is not the time to give up hope!

 

[alpinism]

Where did you apply?

What were your pre-req grades?

What other ECs do you have besides hospital volunteer, EMT, lab tech, shadowing and crushing on co-workers ?

 

[vadeem]

So here is story of my adventures applying to med school. Please offer any sage wisdom. Sorry it's so long.

I applied initially in the summer of 2010 after graduating. Here were my stats 3.6 gpa, 3.46 sgpa (upward trend). 29 mcat (8,11,10). I had some shadowing experience, and some time spent as a hospital volunteer, but nothing like some of the people I see on these forums. I applied late bc I was a bit of ******* and my foot looked like a good place to shoot. I received 1 interview, which led to 1 waitlist, which led to nowhere. During this period I also began working full time as lab tech in a genetics lab.

The year is now 2011. I'm now a senior lab tech and am crushing hard on one of my coworkers. I'm making solid money and chasing my dream girl, and medicine isn't exact;y at the forefront of mind, so I decide to turn in the same exact AMCAS application and only apply to a new school openning in my state...I was rejected very very fast.

Fall of 2012. That crush is now my gf. I also decide to get serious about reapplying. I enrolled in an EMT class, and become certified. In the beginning of 2013, I enrolled in an MCAT course, sat for the beast in May, and scored a 35 (12,11,12). I also rewrote my PS, got a LOR from the director of my lab, and began volunteer EMTing/volunteering at a science museum, all while still working a full time job.

I submitted my amcas in mid-jun, was verified in mid-july, and was complete at most schools by late-july, early-august. I applied to 27 schools, and so far have received only 1 ii at my state school, which led to the waitlist. I've received about 9 rejections, including the holds, and silence from the other 17 schools, where I've been complete since july/august.

So my question(s) is/are: is the death knell sounding on my cycle? Also why do you think adcoms aren't showing me much love?

Thanks

Sorry to derail thread, but I was wondering how you got your full-time position? What was your major?

Wish you the best of luck OP.

 

[Hulk Smash]

What's a death knell

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

maybe it's that the majority of your science courses were complete 3+ years ago? W/e that seems like a lame reason. Who knows... I wouldn't call it quits though. Keep sending letters of interest and update your state school so that you get off that wait list. It only takes one school! Now is not the time to give up hope!

It's definitely not the staleness of the science courses, especially with such a solid recent MCAT.

It seems like you did everything right and have solid numbers. Do you feel like your personal statement and activity descriptions are decent? Do you have some sort of clinical experience via shadowing or volunteering on your application?

 

[Ismet]

You probably aimed too high for your schools. If you provide a list of the schools you applied to, people can probably give you better advice.

 

[Doop]

What were your pre-req grades?

What other ECs do you have besides hospital volunteer, EMT, lab tech, shadowing and crushing on co-workers ?

My pre-req grades ranged were mostly A's and B's, with a couple of C's in my freshman year. Other EC's include a variety of oddjobs, being in a leadership position in my schools genetics club, interning for a minor league baseball team, and playing/coaching tennis.

Do you feel like your personal statement and activity descriptions are decent? Do you have some sort of clinical experience via shadowing or volunteering on your application?

One of my fears is that my personal statement may have been too focused on genetics, and not enough on doctoring.

And yes, I had clinical and OR experience while shadowing in addition to volunteering with a student run clinic. Another one of my fears is that most of these experiences are from my first time applying, and I haven't added any fresh ones.

You probably aimed too high for your schools. If you provide a list of the schools you applied to, people can probably give you better advice.

Ok here is my school list: Its actually 24 schools, not 27, there were 3 I didn't complete secondaries for:
Drexel -hold
EVMS
NYMC - hold
Miller (miami)
Jeff
Penn state - hold
NJMS - waitlist
RWJ
Temple
Tulane - reject
UCF
UVM
U o Washington - reject
VCU
Einstein
Emory
Dartmouth - reject
Brown - reject
Tufts
UCSF - reject
UNC
Vandy - reject
Yale
Harvard

What's a death knell

It's an indication of death. In its literally sense, it's kind of like the cannon in the hunger games.

Thanks for all of the responses.

 

[Doop]

Sorry to derail thread, but I was wondering how you got your full-time position? What was your major?

Wish you the best of luck OP.

Indeed.com...Searched genetics and applied to a bunch of labs. And my major was genetics, surprisingly enough. And thanks, good luck to you on the job front

 

[Ismet]

The schools that rejected you were definitely reaches. Yale and Harvard are also definite reaches. Jefferson and Drexel take a REALLY long time to get back to people, so it might not be over for those two. I was complete in late September in my app year and didn't get II's to Drexel and Jeff until December and January, respectively. Penn State takes their time too.

Did your PS describe why you wanted to be a doctor or why you were interested in medicine? A PS that completely misses the mark might be a red flag.

Are you sure all your LORs are positive and strong?

Are you a reapplicant at any of these schools? They would be able to see and compare your previous apps.

 

[Doop]

The schools that rejected you were definitely reaches. Yale and Harvard are also definite reaches. Jefferson and Drexel take a REALLY long time to get back to people, so it might not be over for those two. I was complete in late September in my app year and didn't get II's to Drexel and Jeff until December and January, respectively. Penn State takes their time too.

Did your PS describe why you wanted to be a doctor or why you were interested in medicine? A PS that completely misses the mark might be a red flag.

Are you sure all your LORs are positive and strong?

Are you a reapplicant at any of these schools? They would be able to see and compare your previous apps.

Yes I did mention why I was interested in medicine, but I didnt really take what I imagine to be the traditional "I want to be albert schweitzer" angle. And yea I knew they were reaches, but I decided why not? I applied to about 17 schools at or below my LizzyM score if that means anything.

And i think my letters are pretty strong. 2 from science professors who I had a really good relationship with, 2 from research mentors who liked me, and 1 from my boss who is awesome. I'm worried about the person who wrote my committee letter bc she appeared to be severely disinterested every time I met with her.

And yes, I am a reapplicant at a fair number of these schools. I would say probably half I've applied to before.

 

[MDOnlyWillDo]

One of my fears is that my personal statement may have been too focused on genetics, and not enough on doctoring.

I was actually told that I focused too heavily on research in my PS one year, hence the silence I received. They said I didn't mention the clinical side of medicine (with the patients, etc) and I sounded like I was way more interested in PhD than MD. Add my sparse clinical experiences and it was no dice for me.

To ride on Ismet's coattails, UW is known for heavy rejections of OOR applicants, so if you are OOR, that could be the answer there.

 

[kyamh]

And yes, I am a reapplicant at a fair number of these schools. I would say probably half I've applied to before.

Are you a 1x or a 2x reapplicant at some of these schools? Some schools have a limit on how many time you can apply..

I also agree with Ismet, many of your schools are serious reaches. Your MCAT would be solid if your GPA was higher, but since your sGPA is less than a 3.5 I don't know that a 35 is enough to make up for it at several of the schools you listed.

 

[Sassafrass23]

How come you didn't apply in Texas? We have a lot of non-trad (which you qualify as) friendly programs

 

[Doop]

Are you a 1x or a 2x reapplicant at some of these schools? Some schools have a limit on how many time you can apply..

I also agree with Ismet, many of your schools are serious reaches. Your MCAT would be solid if your GPA was higher, but since your sGPA is less than a 3.5 I don't know that a 35 is enough to make up for it at several of the schools you listed.

Thanks for the replies.

I am a 1x reapplicant at these schools, and yea I had no real shot of getting into 10 of my schools, but I liked the schools so I applied. It's mostly the silence from the schools that I seemingly match with that concerns me. I'm also concerned about the NJMS waitlist. If my state school is unsure of me, I feel like that doesnt bode well for the rest of the schools.

How come you didn't apply in Texas? We have a lot of non-trad (which you qualify as) friendly programs

I thought I could afford to be bit a choosier, and I'm a coastal kind of guy, so I didn't even consider texas...but if I'm playing this game again next year, texas is very much on my radar.

PS Your sig gives me hope!