Getting Interviews, How hard is it Really?

[chrsburr]

I just want to know from all of you that have gotten them, How hard is it to at least get an interview? I was wondering because I know that if I can get an interview I will be alright. If you can, let us know how low or high your stats (GPA, MCAT, Recommendations) where and whether you got an interview or not? The reason I ask is because the supplementals only take a 2.5 min GPA to get one. Are they sending out the applications to make money, or will they really look at the whole applicant for an interview. I will appreciate any and all replies.

 

[UHS2002]

Some schools will send secondaries to every applicant, while others will pre-screen and send secondaries out only to those applicants they would potentially consider for an interview. Try to find out which secondaries are which. Then look at the stats of last year's incoming class for all the schools which sent you a secondary. If you can afford the money, more or less, send out all the secondaries you can, even the ones that seem kind of remote. The worse one's stats, the more chances that person needs to take.

Secondaries are a good money making thing for schools which do not pre-screen. Yet, the admission game is also somewhat random, so it may pay off to "gamble".You may happen to fall into a "desireable" category for a particular year. That means, most schools try to aim at a diverse class, and perhaps this year they are trying to have more students from a particular area of the country or with a particular background, and you happen to fit the bill.

By the same token, one has to be somewhat realistic as to his own chances for admission. I haven't met anyone yet who has been accepted with a GPA of 2.5 in recent years. I have met a few students who were accepted at different schools with an MCAT around 23 or so, and one with a 21, but their other qualifications more than made up for the MCAT score. The person with the lowest science GPA I know, who has been accepted to med school, had a science GPA of just barely 3.0, but had some very extenuating circumstances attached to it.

 

[DocGibby]

The last post pretty much sums it up. I'm sorry to say that just about everybody recieves a secondary if they meet the bare minimum requirements at practically all the schools. The interview is an entirely different matter. I sent out to about 11 DO schools and recieved interview invites to 6 of them: MSUCOM, UHSCOM, CCOM, Pikesville, Des Moines and Nova. I only went to the MSUCOM and UHSCOM interviews before deciding on MSUCOM (my first choice). My interviewers said I had stellar letters of recomendation. At MSUCOM I used two faculty letters and for UHSCOM I used a DO and 3 faculty letters. Overall GPA was 3.53 with a science GPA of 3.49. MCAT score of 27. Solid background in volunteering, DO shadowing experiences, hospital experiences, leadership experiences and a good secondary essay. I hope this info helps. Good luck.

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DocGibby
MSUCOM class of 2004

 

[fmfcorpsman]

Most schools (I don't know about DO procedure) have a prescreening process that they go through. Here is the one for Medical college of wisconsin, must have at least a 3.0 probably a 3.5 to be competitive and at least an 8 in each catagory of the MCAT, if you have that they will read the rest of your application. In my opinion the secondary is just to get more money out of their applicant.