Haven't received a single interview invite from any of the schools that I applied to. Completed all my secondaries in July. Should I worry?

[Blue Lion]

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I agree with you, your GPA has reached that place where additional credits get it to barely budge. Your next options are either get in, and who cares, or, consider an SMP.

Really hoping it's the former. Given how things worked out for my friends, they all got one or two interviews, and got into said one school. That's all I want, a single interview.

SMP while a good idea, I feel like may not have as much impact in the context that I already did a post-bacc. I know it'll count as a graduate GPA, but I still feel like in the grand scheme they'll see those first two bad years. That and the cost of attending one of these still being so expensive. Not to mention there are literally none in all of Ohio. As I talked with osamine above, I feel like if I do a Masters, it'd be in something that's science-based, but also helpful in the job market. Doing one in say just Physiology, just seems risky since it might not be seen as an SMP, plus outside of research it doesn't have much use.

Maybe try reaching out to Dr. Ryan Gray of the podcast "The Premed Years?" He has a channel on youtube where he is looking to speak to applicants who aren't sure what went wrong/ is going wrong with their application. I'm sure he would tell you that you have no reason to worry until around Thanksgiving, but maybe this is something you could look into if you're feeling really anxious. 🙂

I appreciate the advice! Personally, I've run around to multiple people to see what's wrong with my application and most people just say GPA. Heck, many of the advisers I talked to said 15 to 20 credits of science classes would be enough for a postbacc, which is why I'm so confused as to why I haven't heard back as I've done 30. But yeah, mmchick's response above is how I, and some of the other applicants, have been feeling, where medical schools are doing acceptances/previously scheduled interviews right now, and that soon some might start giving interviews to more average applicants.

After all, I haven't gotten rejected from schools that have already started rejecting people, so that's something I guess?

Well good luck and do keep this thread updated with interviews/acceptances.

But remember only 40 percent of MD applicants are accepted every cycle. That means 60 percent are rejected each cycle. Including applicants with stellar applications. Keep up with your volunteering, retake that C- because if you are accepted you’ll have to retake before enrolling at most MD schools.

Thank you, I definitely will, and I hope I can bring back good news to everyone here.

 

[openstage]

From what I’ve seen on school specific threads and interview tracker, most of the invites so far have been to high fliers, URM, and IS candidates. I know people with avg stats (512 / 3.6) who haven’t had a nibble yet either. So my non-scientific conclusion is that people in the avg - lower ranges will be later on in the circle after the priority groups have been interviewed. You may be looking at Jan/Feb/March for those last invite spots. Keep the faith!

 

[Blue Lion]

From what I’ve seen on school specific threads and interview tracker, most of the invites so far have been to high fliers, URM, and IS candidates. I know people with avg stats (512 / 3.6) who haven’t had a nibble yet either. So my non-scientific conclusion is that people in the avg - lower ranges will be later on in the circle after the priority groups have been interviewed. You may be looking at Jan/Feb/March for those last invite spots. Keep the faith!

Definitely what I've been noticing, especially given where the two rejections I've gotten are coming from. Here's to hoping good news comes for all of us!

 

[ciestar]

When i spoke about SMP’s, I meant the ones with the med school linkages. Those would be the ones to target.

 

[CardioEnthusio15]

Ok, you have said that the C- in a prerequisite class and the lack of DO letter prevent you from applying to a few DO schools. Those are easy fixes. If money’s an issue, take it at a CC. As for the letter, only a few require a DO. Most just want a physician letter. Try to get these taken care of before you apply again if it gets there. Continue to improve your app until you are ready to apply. If becoming a doctor is your dream, it does not matter when you get in, might it be next year or 3 to 5 years from now. If you want to have a shot at an MD, focus on longitudinal service to the underserved and apply to service oriented schools like the jesuits, oakland, Rush. I commend you for everything you have done to improve your app but realize that what you perceive as more than enough may not be enough for redemption in the eyes of medical schools. As Goro as said, it’s a seller market unfortunately so you just have to play the game if you want to have a shot. Schools have thousands of apps from applicants with flawless records so they can be very choosy. What you need to figure out is how you can make yourself stand out from the crowd, what makes you so unique and special that schools would want to overlook your past records and give you a chance. Sometimes it may take many years for you to distinguish yourself. But you know what, if that’s how long it takes for you to become a doctor then be it because that’s where your heart is. This is what medical schools want to see from reinventors- that intense drive and determination for medicine that may not be seen from traditional students and you have the track records to back it up from your comeback story. This may help differentiate you from the thousands of apps that apply. Just focus on doing what you love and contribute to the betterment of society as much as you can. I am sure you will eventually get where you want to go. Also, I would recommend reaching out to medical school admissions officers and see if they could give you pointers on how to better your apps if you haven’t already. If the advisers you have been seeking advice from are from your undergrad, then I would recommend you to take their advice with a grain of salt. Most undergrad advisers know nothing about med school admission process. Good luck.

 

[Detective SnowBucket]

average and median GPAs and MCATs being between 3.5 and 3.7 and 505 and 511 respectively, nothing greater.

Fair enough. Here are the schools I did apply to:

Toledo
OSU
Cinncinati
Case Western
Michigan
Michigan State
Michigan State Osteopathy
Central Michigan
Western Michigan
Wayne State
Indiana
Duluth
Rosalind Franklin
Illinois
Southern Illinois
Loyola
FSU
FIU
UCF
Miami
Nova Southeastern
SUNY Upstate
LECOM
PCOM

Sorry but those schools do not avg out their MCAT's to 505-511. This list for the most part is not a good match for your stats. Many of the MD schools here are either out of your league or accept very few OOS students, FSU for example has like ~0% OOS in its class

I see your account is rather new, listen to Faha on the school list, that's like his only function on SDN is school lists.

 

[deleted976595]

Really hoping it's the former. Given how things worked out for my friends, they all got one or two interviews, and got into said one school. That's all I want, a single interview.

SMP while a good idea, I feel like may not have as much impact in the context that I already did a post-bacc. I know it'll count as a graduate GPA, but I still feel like in the grand scheme they'll see those first two bad years. That and the cost of attending one of these still being so expensive. Not to mention there are literally none in all of Ohio.

Cincinnati has one with a guaranteed interview at the med school if you perform well enough. Could be a viable option for you.

 

[Blue Lion]

Cincinnati has one with a guaranteed interview at the med school if you perform well enough. Could be a viable option for you.

Huh, that's interesting. I saw the MS in Physiology and thought it was just that. Still wish it wasn't so costly though :/

 

[Bonne Nuit]

Hey, I'm sorry to hear about the silence so far this cycle. I know that's got to be incredibly frustrating for you. I think you've got a good shot at some of the MD programs on your list, but I believe you may have overlooked the mission aspect for a few schools - specifically Central Michigan and Duluth. Those were probably donations unless you meet their very targeted missions.

I considered applying to both programs and ultimately didn't because of this same issue. CMU wants applicants who they know will practice in central/Northern/rural Michigan. It's not enough to have an interest in general rural medicine, unfortunately - you have to convince them that it's rural Michigan all the way, which is why they have a heavy in-state bias (successful OOS candidates usually grew up in Michigan, I was told). UMN-Duluth wants applicants who will practice in rural Minnesota and especially with American Indian/Native American populations. If you're not from rural Minnesota and/or American Indian, you probably don't meet their mission.

I still think you've got a good shot at many of the other schools, especially Wayne State, which will weigh your more recent grades a lot more heavily than older grades. Good luck!

 

[Blue Lion]

Hey, I'm sorry to hear about the silence so far this cycle. I know that's got to be incredibly frustrating for you. I think you've got a good shot at some of the MD programs on your list, but I believe you may have overlooked the mission aspect for a few schools - specifically Central Michigan and Duluth. Those were probably donations unless you meet their very targeted missions.

I considered applying to both programs and ultimately didn't because of this same issue. CMU wants applicants who they know will practice in central/Northern/rural Michigan. It's not enough to have an interest in general rural medicine, unfortunately - you have to convince them that it's rural Michigan all the way, which is why they have a heavy in-state bias (successful OOS candidates are usually grew up in Michigan, I was told). UMN-Duluth wants applicants who will practice in rural Minnesota and especially with American Indian/Native American populations. If you're not from rural Minnesota and/or American Indian, you probably don't meet their mission.

I still think you've got a good shot at many of the other schools, especially Wayne State, which will weigh your more recent grades a lot more heavily than older grades. Good luck!

I actually do meet their missions! I loved what they had to say about the populations they served and they resonated me, being a part of them would be an amazing opportunity.

But real talk? This is such a supportive message and I really appreciate it, I just need that one school to accept me, and I will be so happy. I'm going to give you a follow, as I hope to hear good news from you as well, and wish you the best this cycle!

 

[bluepeony]

I actually do meet their missions! I loved what they had to say about the populations they served and they resonated me, being a part of them would be an amazing opportunity.

But real talk? This is such a supportive message and I really appreciate it, I just need that one school to accept me, and I will be so happy. I'm going to give you a follow, as I hope to hear good news from you as well, and wish you the best this cycle!

I mean loving their mission is one thing but do you have experience with rural communities to back up that interest?

 

[Bonne Nuit]

I actually do meet their missions! I loved what they had to say about the populations they served and they resonated me, being a part of them would be an amazing opportunity.

But real talk? This is such a supportive message and I really appreciate it, I just need that one school to accept me, and I will be so happy. I'm going to give you a follow, as I hope to hear good news from you as well, and wish you the best this cycle!

Well, if you meet the missions then I guess you just have to wait it out, as tough as that is. It ain't over until it's over (though easier said than believed, tbh - I have to convince myself of this every day!) Keep your head up. You've got some challenges with your app, it's true, but you also have good reasons to be hopeful.

Thanks for the well-wishes and I'm rooting for you too!

 

[Blue Lion]

I mean loving their mission is one thing but do you have experience with rural communities to back up that interest?

Yep! Don’t want to go into too much detail, but a lot of my work focuses on such accessibility for patient care.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Especially since my application is a unique case and that some of the schools I applied to early on have already sent out rejections, but I wasn't one to receive a rejection from these schools.

Ohio actually, but yeah.

And I was about to post this, but I really have done my research on DO schools. So many won't look at my application because I have a C- in one of my prerequisites, or because I don't have a letter of recommendation from a DO, or because my science GPA isn't above 3.0. And if it's not that, the schools that I can apply to are either extremely far away from my family, who I need to be around for personal reasons (college states above are either close to family or have family in them), are twice or three times as expensive as medical school, or both.

Almost all the schools I listed (almost all, but NOT all) I'm within the average range of their MCAT scores, and I put large amounts of effort and heart for my letters of recommendation, my clinical experience, my volunteer experience, my essays, and making sure that all the answers I gave in my applications were as eloquent as possible.

many of the other ones are either out of my tuition range, way too far away from family (can go far, but not too far, for personal reasons), or disqualify me because of small details in my application.

but I've shown an upward trend.

I'm going to be pretty blunt. Your school list was extremely unrealistic. You honestly have about as close to zero chance to get accepted this cycle as you can get with the current app you have considering the schools you applied to. I think you are vastly overestimating the level of your application and how much of a "unique case" it is.

Fix the C- and get a DO letter. Being brutally honest pretty much your ONLY chance at getting into med school at this point most assuredly rests on a newer DO school. You list a lot of qualifiers like location, tuition, distance from family etc for someone with below average stats, and that is very very rarely a successful combo. I suggest starting to prepare a plan for what to do to improve your app and meet the requirements of all the DO schools that were mentioned to you above.

 

[TwoHighways]

Agree with AnatomyGrey. Do you really want to be a physician, because it doesn’t seem like it based on all the qualifiers. Regardless of the circumstances, your science GPA is in the toilet. Own it and apply broadly DO.