Do they know they're safety schools or Albany, what a gip

[Dave_D]

Hi all,

Ok, Dave has had a bit of a rough week or so.(Stuck in the hospital with a high INR and only got out Saturday, looking at a liver biopsy next week. Yup, still sick and now my jaundice is REALLY noticible.) Anyway I get a rejection letter in the mail today from Albany which was one of my safety schools.(Which sucks since I wasted $100 on them.) So what's been the impression from everybody else? That safety schools kind of figure out that's what they are and reject people like me?(I mean come on, I realize my gpa is kind of low but if you only count the recent stuff it's really high just like my MCAT. I always figured I was extremely competative for that school.) Anybody else get the impression sometimes they just flip a coin? (Still working on getting that first interview but no luck there yet.) Oh well, on the bright side I haven't been rejected yet by my top 4.(Harvard, UMass, Tufts, and UVermont. If any of those accept me it's game over for anybody else.)

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[bostonguy]

Hope you get into Tufts, it rocks!

 

[Dave_D]

Hope you get into Tufts, it rocks!

Yes, Tufts looks like a definite good fit for me.(Mostly because I'm a Boston guy) One of my friends from UMass is going there so I definitely could see myself going there. Funny thing is that I went to Boston Medical Center for my hospital stay.(Which is BU's teaching hospital. Pretty nice, wouldn't mind doing residency there.)

 

[ms1finally]

There is no rhyme or reason to med school admissions. Trying to find any will drive you NUTS. Example: I got a secondary/interview/waitlist from EVMS. I got rejected from Jefferson. My best friend got into Jefferson. She didn't even get a secondary from EVMS even though she was from the Southeast (which I am not).

 

[diosa428]

Haha me too - interview at Duke, pre-interview hold at GW.

 

[robh]

Hi all,

...Anyway I get a rejection letter in the mail today from Albany which was one of my safety schools...

Hi Dave,

They did the same to me. It sounds like my profile is very similar to yours. I am an older applicant changing careers from electrical engineering. My UG grades were poor (3.0) but my graduate work in engineering and post-bac premed has been all A's. My MCAT was good (36). Albany rejected me immediately after I submitted my secondary. They were the only school to do so. I applied to 22 schools total. I too thought I would be competitive at Albany. Apparently they are not interested in guys like us...

I hope you are well soon!

 

[Dave_D]

Hi Dave,

They did the same to me. It sounds like my profile is very similar to yours. I am an older applicant changing careers from electrical engineering. My UG grades were poor (3.0) but my graduate work in engineering and post-bac premed has been all A's. My MCAT was good (36). Albany rejected me immediately after I submitted my secondary. They were the only school to do so. I applied to 22 schools total. I too thought I would be competitive at Albany. Apparently they are not interested in guys like us...

I hope you are well soon!

Yes, I had a hell of a time as an undergrad(We're talking 2.3 in Comp Sci) but all A's as a post bacc.(Well except that english class but that prof was full of bull****.) Your MCAT is better than mine though but 33 is still respectable.(Plus I've had a career. Hmm, I just noticed that my score on the MCAT was my age when I took it They waited awhile to reject me though.(Hawaii also rejected me but pre secondary so at least they save me some money.)

Oh thanks for the concern. Currently the one thing they've noticed I've got a whole lot of iron in my blood so I'm being tested for hemochromatosis.(Lets see how that works out.)

 

[45408]

Haha me too - interview at Duke, pre-interview hold at GW.

Yeah, I feel that. Interviewed at Northwestern, silence from Wake, Rush and Loyola.

 

[robh]

...I'm being tested for hemochromatosis.(Lets see how that works out.)

I narrowly avoided the test for that disease myself. My problem turned out to be fatty infiltrates in my liver. Losing weight fixed my problem. The whole process pretty much freaked me out. Livers are not optional! Good luck with the biopsy bro. Make them give you some really good controlled substances!

 

[badlydrawnvik]

Hope you get into Tufts, it rocks!

what did you like a lot about tufts? i was pretty unimpressed and it's the most expensive school in the country.

 

[Dave_D]

I narrowly avoided the test for that disease myself. My problem turned out to be fatty infiltrates in my liver. Losing weight fixed my problem. The whole process pretty much freaked me out. Livers are not optional! Good luck with the biopsy bro. Make them give you some really good controlled substances!

Well they already gave me the genetic test for it but that's going to take a few more days to come back with anything. I'm not sure if the biopsy is supposed to tell them how much iron or how much damage. I sure hope they give me a whole load of "happy juice" because with an arm full of vallium I won't care what they do.

 

[Flyfisher]

what did you like a lot about tufts? i was pretty unimpressed and it's the most expensive school in the country.

I was just at tufts yesterday for the interview - it was nice I really liked it. all of the students love it except for the cost and it really is a good school preperations-wise.

It was my first interview though, I may appreciate other schools more (if i get more interviews)

 

[Flyfisher]

Hi all,

Ok, Dave has had a bit of a rough week or so.(Stuck in the hospital with a high INR and only got out Saturday, looking at a liver biopsy next week. Yup, still sick and now my jaundice is REALLY noticible.) Anyway I get a rejection letter in the mail today from Albany which was one of my safety schools.(Which sucks since I wasted $100 on them.) So what's been the impression from everybody else? That safety schools kind of figure out that's what they are and reject people like me?(I mean come on, I realize my gpa is kind of low but if you only count the recent stuff it's really high just like my MCAT. I always figured I was extremely competative for that school.) Anybody else get the impression sometimes they just flip a coin? (Still working on getting that first interview but no luck there yet.) Oh well, on the bright side I haven't been rejected yet by my top 4.(Harvard, UMass, Tufts, and UVermont. If any of those accept me it's game over for anybody else.)

Dude, I too got the rejection from Albany but I got a tufts interview (I have a LOR from Tufts Med prof though) that i went to yesterday. My other top choices are also UMASS/UVM and I have yet to hear anything. I was rejected from Med Coll of wisconsin and Minnesota too. still waiting to hear from 10 schools though.

Albany is affiliated with Union College so a large part of their class comes from that school. just so you feel better Albany sucks anyway I looked at Union and thought it was horrible. I was supposed to stay 2 nights for an accepted students thing (this was in 1997) and I just left after 1 night because I didn't like it at all. The funny part is the other pre-frosh I was staying with also ended up at Bates where i went.

Albany made me feel like a cheap ***** the way they reject you almost immediately after you send a hard earned C-note to them with your hopes and dreams.

 

[06applicant]

safety schools kind of figure out that's what they are and reject people like me?

Not to be rude, but how can you have a 2.3 GPA and think you have a safety school? No matter what you do in post bacc, that GPA is going to stand out.

 

[jebus]

Not to be rude, but how can you have a 2.3 GPA and think you have a safety school? No matter what you do in post bacc, that GPA is going to stand out.

Ha ha, I was waiting for this. One man's safety is another's top choice. Why take someone who "settles" when someone else has a genuine interest?

 

[Dave_D]

Not to be rude, but how can you have a 2.3 GPA and think you have a safety school? No matter what you do in post bacc, that GPA is going to stand out.

That's true but then again those grades are from at least 12 years ago. You'd think the fact that I started college at the same time some of my potential classmates started kindergarten that these classes wouldn't count for much.(And hell, some schools won't count classes over 10 years old yet they count them for GPA? If they were being fair and only counting stuff in the past 10 years I'd have a 3.95 Yes, I'm quite the different student now.

 

[letmein!please?]

That's true but then again those grades are from at least 12 years ago. You'd think the fact that I started college at the same time some of my potential classmates started kindergarten that these classes wouldn't count for much.(And hell, some schools won't count classes over 10 years old yet they count them for GPA? If they were being fair and only counting stuff in the past 10 years I'd have a 3.95 Yes, I'm quite the different student now.

Yes, but there are so many "unfair" parts of this whole process...they just can't admit everyone...so weird *hit happens.

 

[Dave_D]

Yes, but there are so many "unfair" parts of this whole process...they just can't admit everyone...so weird *hit happens.

You got a definite point, I'm just trying to remain hopeful and not let it get me too down.(I guess if anybody should be familiar with weird **** happening it'd be me, Mr. Liver Disease )Oh well, hopefully I have better luck with the liver specialists tomorrow than I had with Albany.(Not looking forward to getting stabbed in the liver, even if they do give me mess of vallium and demerol.)

 

[yellowpersuazio]

I really don't think there is such a thing as a "safety school" when it comes to medical school. It's not all about scores, as you probably have already figured out. Some tend to like older applicants with more "experience" (whatever that means), while other schools matriculate a younger crowd.

I also heard that there is only one spot for every 3 QUALIFIED applicants, so schools have the opportunity to be selective to whom they choose.

 

[DrBowtie]

I really don't think there is such a thing as a "safety school" when it comes to medical school. It's not all about scores, as you probably have already figured out. Some tend to like older applicants with more "experience" (whatever that means), while other schools matriculate a younger crowd.

I also heard that there is only one spot for every 3 QUALIFIED applicants, so schools have the opportunity to be selective to whom they choose.

The odds are actually better than that.

There is 1 spot to 2 applicants. Also taking into consideration that some applicants have no business applying this year makes your odds >50% randomly

 

[ballsbreaker]

I feel so bummed. I got my first rejection yesterday (from a school I at least thought I'd get an interview from) and now I feel like they will come pouring in. I never imagined that it would feel so bad to get rejected (even though I somewhat expected it given my stats [3.8 gpa, 28 mcat]). I don't know how to cope and I have to start studying for the MCAT again. Hope y'all get in somewhere! I just want a nod from one place but maybe I should have applied to more than 6 schools I keep opening the e-mail and reading it to make sure it's real and I'm really here reading this and feeling so numb...

 

[Dave_D]

I feel so bummed. I got my first rejection yesterday (from a school I at least thought I'd get an interview from) and now I feel like they will come pouring in. I never imagined that it would feel so bad to get rejected (even though I somewhat expected it given my stats [3.8 gpa, 28 mcat]). I don't know how to cope and I have to start studying for the MCAT again. Hope y'all get in somewhere! I just want a nod from one place but maybe I should have applied to more than 6 schools I keep opening the e-mail and reading it to make sure it's real and I'm really here reading this and feeling so numb...

Know how you feel since I applied to 10 schools and now figure maybe I should have applied to at least a few osteopathic ones.(Guess I still can but I'll have to see.) I try to keep the point of view "The first interview is the hard one to get, the rest will come as they compete for me" but I haven't gotten that first.

Oh well, got to see the liver specialists today, hope they don't keep me in the hospital again.(It's so boring.)

 

[robh]

I feel so bummed. I got my first rejection yesterday (from a school I at least thought I'd get an interview from) and now I feel like they will come pouring in. I never imagined that it would feel so bad to get rejected (even though I somewhat expected it given my stats [3.8 gpa, 28 mcat]). I don't know how to cope and I have to start studying for the MCAT again. Hope y'all get in somewhere! I just want a nod from one place but maybe I should have applied to more than 6 schools I keep opening the e-mail and reading it to make sure it's real and I'm really here reading this and feeling so numb...

Don't freak out! Your GPA's awesome. If you look at the MCAT score distribution, you will see that by a good margin more people who have a 28 MCAT are accepted to medical school than are rejected. Your numbers are fine for the VAST majority of schools.

 

[ballsbreaker]

I hope so! How is the liver stuff going? I hope it is o.k. I e-mailed the dean of admissions and asked what part of my application sucked. I hope I get a response so I can know what to fix (besides the MCAT). I so do not want to take that exam again!

Know how you feel since I applied to 10 schools and now figure maybe I should have applied to at least a few osteopathic ones.(Guess I still can but I'll have to see.) I try to keep the point of view "The first interview is the hard one to get, the rest will come as they compete for me" but I haven't gotten that first.

Oh well, got to see the liver specialists today, hope they don't keep me in the hospital again.(It's so boring.)

Thank you so much for the kind words! I am so scared but this made me realize (like I didn't know before ha ha) that I HAVE to be a doctor. Last night when I was going home, a guy fell in front of me on the stairs and people ignored him like he wasn't even there! I tried to get him up (he had passed out) and made one of my friends watch him while I got help but it just hit me that noone really tries to help sometimes. I had to argue with my friends for five mins to get them to not leave and they just got into med school. Life is so carzy and people are so not what you expect them to be sometimes. I just hope some school realizes who I am and that I am not a fake.

Don't freak out! Your GPA's awesome. If you look at the MCAT score distribution, you will see that by a good margin more people who have a 28 MCAT are accepted to medical school than are rejected. Your numbers are fine for the VAST majority of schools.

 

[Dave_D]

I hope so! How is the liver stuff going? I hope it is o.k. I e-mailed the dean of admissions and asked what part of my application sucked. I hope I get a response so I can know what to fix (besides the MCAT). I so do not want to take that exam again!

Well I hope he gives you some useful info so you can be a stronger candidate. Oh, I did see the liver specialist today and he's thinking either hemochromatosis or Wilson's disease.(The former is holding on to too much iron, the later is holding on to too much copper.) Currently he leans towards Wilson's mostly because the other one doesn't generally spike your liver enzymes as high or make you really jaundice.(And my liver enzymes were so high they originally though hep A, B, or C. Oh, yes I'm really yellow now.) Anyway they're setting up a biopsy for Wednesday of next week. Depending on how my prothombin is they can do it 2 different ways, the easy or the hard way. The easy is straight in my side.(Over in a couple of seconds then I just lay there for 4 hours.) The hard way is threading a probe down from neck through the superior vena cava, into the inferior vena cava and down to my liver. I know, not fun but he said he'd give me controlled substances to relax me

 

[45408]

The odds are actually better than that.

There is 1 spot to 2 applicants. Also taking into consideration that some applicants have no business applying this year makes your odds >50% randomly

True that. I think most people who apply to medical school know in advance whether or not they'll probably be getting in. If you're applying with a 3.4/28/minimal EC's, you've got an uphill battle, but if you've got a 3.7/30+/good EC's, then you're in league with the average med student. The average applicant has a 27 on the MCAT, something that is easy to forget on SDN.

 

[bubbleyum]

i agree albany med is a gip!!
got my crappy rejection letter in the mail today!

sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks

 

[yellowpersuazio]

True that. I think most people who apply to medical school know in advance whether or not they'll probably be getting in. If you're applying with a 3.4/28/minimal EC's, you've got an uphill battle, but if you've got a 3.7/30+/good EC's, then you're in league with the average med student. The average applicant has a 27 on the MCAT, something that is easy to forget on SDN.

I remember reading somewhere that the average score on the mcat is somewhere near a 24, the average applicant is a 27, and the average matriculant is a 30. It's unrealistic to think you are a shoe-in for any medical school, no matter your scores or GPA.

 

[Dave_D]

i agree albany med is a gip!!
got my crappy rejection letter in the mail today!

sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks

Did they at least ask you in for an interview? I mean they didn't even ask me and given how little info they wanted on the secondary they could have figured things out before I gave them $100. (So sue me, I hate wasting money, I could have bought a Nintendo DS with that money. Of course given the fact I've been told to rest and not stress myself I don't know how good it would be for me to fly out for an interview.)

Oh well, at least they haven't been stupid enough to send me an e-mail asking to try again next year.(Because if they did that I wouldn't just burn a bridge, I'd blow it up

 

[bubbleyum]

Did they at least ask you in for an interview? I mean they didn't even ask me and given how little info they wanted on the secondary they could have figured things out before I gave them $100. (So sue me, I hate wasting money, I could have bought a Nintendo DS with that money. Of course given the fact I've been told to rest and not stress myself I don't know how good it would be for me to fly out for an interview.)

Oh well, at least they haven't been stupid enough to send me an e-mail asking to try again next year.(Because if they did that I wouldn't just burn a bridge, I'd blow it up

nope. no interview. all my rejections are pre-interview. and yes, i thought my scores were competitive enough for albany. THEY SUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKK!!!!

they didn't even wanna give me a chance, just took me for the sucker i am and cashed my check.

i dunno. this rejection hits me hard....

 

[Messerschmitts]

Albany does suck, they didn't give me an interview last year either. This year I'm getting a lot more love from med schools in general, and lo and behold, they decided to join the bandwagon and offer me an interview too, but it was after I got into somewhere better. Screw you! You didn't interview me when you had the chance last cycle! I turned down your friggin' interview! (Resentment from a second-time applicant)

 

[Dave_D]

nope. no interview. all my rejections are pre-interview. and yes, i thought my scores were competitive enough for albany. THEY SUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKK!!!!

they didn't even wanna give me a chance, just took me for the sucker i am and cashed my check.

i dunno. this rejection hits me hard....

That sucks. I mean I know my MCAT's are more than competitive for Albany (I mean I said this before but I got a 33, that's better than 70% of all matriculants assuming a bell curve.) but they rejected me fairly quickly and they're the first to reject me after doing a secondary.(At least Hawaii was nice enough to reject me pre secondary so I didn't waste time or money on it.) If it wasn't for the fact they were the most expensive and the quickest to reject I wouldn't feel like they ripped me off. Same here, took me for a sucker and charged my credit card and didn't look back. Like I've said, if they're stupid enough to e-mail me I'll chew them out, dumb enough to call and I'll hang up. (Ok, I'm a little vindicitive at times.)

 

[Jon Davis]

Albany does suck, they didn't give me an interview last year either. This year I'm getting a lot more love from med schools in general, and lo and behold, they decided to join the bandwagon and offer me an interview too, but it was after I got into somewhere better. Screw you! You didn't interview me when you had the chance last cycle! I turned down your friggin' interview! (Resentment from a second-time applicant)

Wouldn't it be great to tell them that on the phone? To the schools that reject me, it would be great to fax them an acceptance letter to another, much better school. Damn, that would feel good.

 

[yellowpersuazio]

That sucks. I mean I know my MCAT's are more than competitive for Albany (I mean I said this before but I got a 33, that's better than 70% of all matriculants assuming a bell curve.) but they rejected me fairly quickly and they're the first to reject me after doing a secondary.(At least Hawaii was nice enough to reject me pre secondary so I didn't waste time or money on it.) If it wasn't for the fact they were the most expensive and the quickest to reject I wouldn't feel like they ripped me off. Same here, took me for a sucker and charged my credit card and didn't look back. Like I've said, if they're stupid enough to e-mail me I'll chew them out, dumb enough to call and I'll hang up. (Ok, I'm a little vindicitive at times.)

I don't think you should be so malevolent in your reaction to their decision upon your application. You have even acknowledged yourself that there are blemishes on your record, including a very low undergraduate GPA. You are also older than the regular applicant pool, and schools may thus find less potential for a long career, especially if you are not a stellar applicant.

Just hang in there, and maybe next year, you should expand your choice of schools to more than 10. You can't just go on scores alone. Schools also look at your extracurriculars, your career choices, your dedication to school, and if you're the right fit for a particular school. There is no need to act maliciously or immaturely.

 

[N1DERL&]

There is no need to act maliciously or immaturely.

Yeah, like Dave_D is really going to jump off the deep end and toilet paper the office of admissions...

btw that sounds like so much fun to do!

 

[ballsbreaker]

i hope it's the easy way! try to relax...

Well I hope he gives you some useful info so you can be a stronger candidate. Oh, I did see the liver specialist today and he's thinking either hemochromatosis or Wilson's disease.(The former is holding on to too much iron, the later is holding on to too much copper.) Currently he leans towards Wilson's mostly because the other one doesn't generally spike your liver enzymes as high or make you really jaundice.(And my liver enzymes were so high they originally though hep A, B, or C. Oh, yes I'm really yellow now.) Anyway they're setting up a biopsy for Wednesday of next week. Depending on how my prothombin is they can do it 2 different ways, the easy or the hard way. The easy is straight in my side.(Over in a couple of seconds then I just lay there for 4 hours.) The hard way is threading a probe down from neck through the superior vena cava, into the inferior vena cava and down to my liver. I know, not fun but he said he'd give me controlled substances to relax me

 

[Dave_D]

Yeah, like Dave_D is really going to jump off the deep end and toilet paper the office of admissions...

btw that sounds like so much fun to do!

Yes, it's not like I'd do that since that'd cost a little too much money It does like fun but if I do anything it'd be a nasty response e-mail and keep it at that.(I mean what's the point of acting respectfully 99% of the time if you don't use the remaining 1% to dress people down when they deserve it?)

i hope it's the easy way! try to relax...

I'll try to relax as best as I can but what I really hope is that my doc is calm and cool too.(Still haven't heard which way they're going to do it, fingers crossed.)

 

[ivan lewis]

I don't mean to be rude but you are DELUSIONAL if you think Albany (or any medical school) is a safety school for you. A 2.3 undergrad (even if it's 10 yrs ago) and having to do a post bac to raise your grades means that you'd be lucky to even get into a school, at all. I didn't go to Albany but went to a school that you would probably consider a "safety" school. Well, guess what. I had a 3.6 in the honors program from a well respected public university and a 35 on the mcat. My anatomy group had mcats of 30, 33, 35, 38, 38 - with gpas ranging from 3.2 (from Penn) to 3.9. I'm sorry to rant but it drives me nuts when I see ridiculous, arrogant posts like this by people who have no idea of what's really needed for acceptance into schools.

 

[N1DERL&]

I don't mean to be rude but you are DELUSIONAL if you think Albany (or any medical school) is a safety school for you. A 2.3 undergrad (even if it's 10 yrs ago) and having to do a post bac to raise your grades means that you'd be lucky to even get into a school, at all. I didn't go to Albany but went to a school that you would probably consider a "safety" school. Well, guess what. I had a 3.6 in the honors program from a well respected public university and a 35 on the mcat. My anatomy group had mcats of 30, 33, 35, 38, 38 - with gpas ranging from 3.2 (from Penn) to 3.9. I'm sorry to rant but it drives me nuts when I see ridiculous, arrogant posts like this by people who have no idea of what's really needed for acceptance into schools.

hmm someone's going to get a lump of coal in their stocking!

 

[jbone]

I don't mean to be rude but you are DELUSIONAL if you think Albany (or any medical school) is a safety school for you. A 2.3 undergrad (even if it's 10 yrs ago) and having to do a post bac to raise your grades means that you'd be lucky to even get into a school, at all. I didn't go to Albany but went to a school that you would probably consider a "safety" school. Well, guess what. I had a 3.6 in the honors program from a well respected public university and a 35 on the mcat. My anatomy group had mcats of 30, 33, 35, 38, 38 - with gpas ranging from 3.2 (from Penn) to 3.9. I'm sorry to rant but it drives me nuts when I see ridiculous, arrogant posts like this by people who have no idea of what's really needed for acceptance into schools.

Damn!! Just venting. Chill out butch, get a shave.

 

[Dave_D]

Damn!! Just venting. Chill out butch, get a shave.

True, I am venting a bit.(I mean I don't think anyone that actually knew me would describe me as arrogant. I did manage to completely turn my academic career around so I'm proud I could do that. You know, judge the whole person and all that rot.)

On other news my INR came back at a decent 1.4 so looks like I get the biopsy the "easy" way.(Of course still not looking forward to it.)

 

[jbone]

True, I am venting a bit.(I mean I don't think anyone that actually knew me would describe me as arrogant. I did manage to completely turn my academic career around so I'm proud I could do that. You know, judge the whole person and all that rot.)

On other news my INR came back at a decent 1.4 so looks like I get the biopsy the "easy" way.(Of course still not looking forward to it.)

Good to hear. Good luck. No more vodka for you...

 

[sanford_w/o_son]

On other news my INR came back at a decent 1.4 so looks like I get the biopsy the "easy" way.(Of course still not looking forward to it.)

happy to hear it. good luck.

 

[RayhanS1282]

I liked it when I called Albany to ask how I can improve my application and she told me "just reapply next year".

 

[N1DERL&]

I liked it when I called Albany to ask how I can improve my application and she told me "just reapply next year".

So that's where are secondary fee went to... hiring comedians to answer the phones...

Rayhan your stats seem so solid... those schools better hurry up and come to their senses! add me to your cheering section k?

 

[Dave_D]

So that's where are secondary fee went to... hiring comedians to answer the phones...

Rayhan your stats seem so solid... those schools better hurry up and come to their senses! add me to your cheering section k?

I've got to second this, your stats are good and you're not even old and bitter like me A response like that deserved a reply of something to the effect "To be frank, you are stuck on stupid."

Oh well, hopefully we'll all get good Christmas gifts. So does actually calling the adcoms help at all?

 

[N1DERL&]

I've got to second this, your stats are good and you're not even old and bitter like me A response like that deserved a reply of something to the effect "To be frank, you are stuck on stupid."

Oh well, hopefully we'll all get good Christmas gifts. So does actually calling the adcoms help at all?

Hey now, old and bitter adds spice to our lives!

I'm pretty divided on the whole calling business.. the only time it had any effect was on receiving a complete email from Pritzker. 3 hours after my phone call confirming I was complete, I mysteriously got my complete email.

I'm thinking sending a basket of cookies and coffee will have more of an effect than phone calls.

 

[45408]

I remember reading somewhere that the average score on the mcat is somewhere near a 24, the average applicant is a 27, and the average matriculant is a 30. It's unrealistic to think you are a shoe-in for any medical school, no matter your scores or GPA.

Eh, I think it's fair to think you're a shoe-in if you're a good enough candidate. My fellow undergrad research assistants are currently batting 1.000 for med school acceptances (including me, 7 out of 7 applicants have been accepted in the past three years - all at the same school, haha). In fact, none of my friends who have applied to med school (that I know of) haven't gotten in.

 

[silas2642]

Eh, I think it's fair to think you're a shoe-in if you're a good enough candidate. My fellow undergrad research assistants are currently batting 1.000 for med school acceptances (including me, 7 out of 7 applicants have been accepted in the past three years - all at the same school, haha). In fact, none of my friends who have applied to med school (that I know of) haven't gotten in.

That's bs; there are plenty of applicants who are quantitatively extremely qualified who do not get into medical school. It happens. It's amazing how arrogant we pre-meds can be; there was a girl in my class last week who was telling me that she was "so much better than the other applicants at the interview" and that she was almost sure she was going to get in; there are NO guarantees during this process, and like several adcom members have told me, it's not all about the numbers. GPA and mcat will get you looked at, but they do nothing to keep the door from hitting your ass on the way out.

 

[angietron3000]

I may be showing my age here but every time I pass this thread it makes me think of Band Aid and "Do they know it's Christmas?"

just had to share