DO- waitlisted, looking to next cycle

[xxAtreusxx]

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Hey everyone,

I got the dreaded waitlist from my top choice school. Haven't heard back from the other 2 I applied to yet so I am starting to think about next cycle.

My stats are as follows
sGPA-3.34
nsGPA- 3.51
cGPA - 3.44
Mcat -27O

Decent Ec's

At the time I applied I was missing my second Ochem lab (currently taking it), and I was late in the cycle (9/2)

I will have completed Biochem 1 and 2 by the start of the new cycle.

I initally applied to about 7 programs, but my family came under extreme financial stress, and I had to withdraw from all but 3, because I knew I couldn't afford to travel much. Things have finally gotten better for us (thankfully), so I'll be able to apply more broadly this time.

I'm thinking about retaking the Mcat, I know I could do better if I put some effort into it.

What do you recommend?

 

[silas2642]

Hey everyone,

I got the dreaded waitlist from my top choice school. Haven't heard back from the other 2 I applied to yet so I am starting to think about next cycle.

My stats are as follows
sGPA-3.34
nsGPA- 3.51
cGPA - 3.44
Mcat -27O

Decent Ec's

At the time I applied I was missing my second Ochem lab (currently taking it), and I was late in the cycle (9/2)

I will have completed Biochem 1 and 2 by the start of the new cycle.

I initally applied to about 7 programs, but my family came under extreme financial stress, and I had to withdraw from all but 3, because I knew I couldn't afford to travel much. Things have finally gotten better for us (thankfully), so I'll be able to apply more broadly this time.

I'm thinking about retaking the Mcat, I know I could do better if I put some effort into it.

What do you recommend?

If you are 100% and I mean 100% sure that this is your #1 school, then I think that it's worth writing a letter of intent to basically state why you think you're a good fit, and that you would most certainly attend should they accept you.

I'm actually not sure when you would want to send this letter-- do DO schools have a date where all the applicants can hold only one acceptance? If so, you may want to send it around that time. You may want to send it now, if this is a school that is constantly pulling people off the waitlist. It's been a while, and I can't remember when waitlist seats start opening up.

 

[BigBoosting]

Send the letter of intent now. And call or email every single week afterward to let them know that they're the only school for you.

If you want to retake the MCAT just in case for next cyle, do so, but make sure you do better this time

 

[kaernm]

The waitlist for SOME DO schools move fast. Did you ask the school how high you are on the waitlist? Another question you can ask the schools before reapplying is what areas should you improve your application. Good Luck and I hope everything works out.

Hey everyone,

I got the dreaded waitlist from my top choice school. Haven't heard back from the other 2 I applied to yet so I am starting to think about next cycle.

My stats are as follows
sGPA-3.34
nsGPA- 3.51
cGPA - 3.44
Mcat -27O

Decent Ec's

At the time I applied I was missing my second Ochem lab (currently taking it), and I was late in the cycle (9/2)

I will have completed Biochem 1 and 2 by the start of the new cycle.

I initally applied to about 7 programs, but my family came under extreme financial stress, and I had to withdraw from all but 3, because I knew I couldn't afford to travel much. Things have finally gotten better for us (thankfully), so I'll be able to apply more broadly this time.

I'm thinking about retaking the Mcat, I know I could do better if I put some effort into it.

What do you recommend?

 

[xxAtreusxx]

I was told that the admissions commitee does not share their reasons for their decision, so I can only speculate as to where my app was weak. They did not tell me where I was at in terms of priority though, perhaps I will ask again.

The waitlist is killing me. I want to pursue an HPSP with the Navy (I want to serve, not about the money) and the more time I wait on the waitlist the less likely I am to be able to get the scholarship. ugh.

If I reapply and get everything sent in on the first day next cycle, do you think I will fare better?

 

[kaernm]

I am only basing this on my personal experience and on the threads that I have read....I think if you apply the first day that AACOMAS opens you should be able to get into at least one school. Your stats seem like the average DO applicant. I applied to only one DO school, and got in. they key for me was to apply early because this school was the only school that I felt was suited for my needs. I researched the school before hand, and knew that my stats were a good match for the school. Maybe you can look up the stats for the school you are interested in and do a comparison. I hope this helps

 

[kaernm]

Another thing you can do is look at last years thread for your waitlisted school, and get an idea of the movement of the waitlist. Also start preparing those secondaries now, and if you did not use interfolio set up an account now and have your EC's sent now so you are ready to click send when you need them.

 

[silas2642]

I would encourage you not to lose hope at this point; it's good that you're planning ahead, but remember that this is still really early on and in all probability most of the waitlist activity is yet to come.

 

[Ursa]

You only applied to 3 schools? To me, that sounds like a death-wish when it comes to applying for med school.

 

[xxAtreusxx]

You only applied to 3 schools? To me, that sounds like a death-wish when it comes to applying for med school.

Well if you read my original post, you'd have seen that I was in terrible shape financially. 50-100 bucks per secondary + travel expenses may not sound like much to you, but you don't know what my family and I went through. As I said, I wish I could have afforded a more broad application, but it just was not possible.

 

[malik micheal]

!!!!

Well if you read my original post, you'd have seen that I was in terrible shape financially. 50-100 bucks per secondary + travel expenses may not sound like much to you, but you don't know what my family and I went through. As I said, I wish I could have afforded a more broad application, but it just was not possible.

 

[Ursa]

Well if you read my original post, you'd have seen that I was in terrible shape financially. 50-100 bucks per secondary + travel expenses may not sound like much to you, but you don't know what my family and I went through. As I said, I wish I could have afforded a more broad application, but it just was not possible.

Let me clear up what I was trying to say. I too am a financial mess. I've been completely on my own since 18 (and I mean completely - paying for undergrad, and everything else for the past 5 years - insurances, car payment). I had to scrape up dimes and pennies to pay for application and interview stuff, but I see it as a necessary investment. I even borrowed money from a family member and paid it back to them so that I could attend 2 interviews.

I promise I feel your financial pain, but I guess I assumed that everyone views it as a necessary investment like I did. I'm sorry for making that assumption. Best of luck.

EDIT: I promise I can relate in terms of finances. When I was still financially under my parents, my mother underwent treatment that was not covered by insurance. The cost was greater than $30,000...my dad was a pastor and my mom had an associates degree from a community college. You do the math.