Help Please

[berryericberry]

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Hey I am new to SDN, first post here. I am posting because today I received a rejection from RVU and am now kind of scrambling.

My situation: I applied to both Westerns, RVU, AZCOM, PNWU, ATSOMA, and KCUMB. So far I have been waitlisted pre-interview from AZCOM and the rejection from RVU.

I am wondering if there are some more schools I could add if it is not too late. Are there some schools that I would have a better chance to get into? Location is becoming a bit less important as the process drags on- I would really just like to start school next year. I have a 3.2 sgpa 3.4 cgpa from a top university with 28R mcat and solid EC's. Any advice on some alternate schools would be great. Thanks in advance

 

[JamesLMT]

Hey I am new to SDN, first post here. I am posting because today I received a rejection from RVU and am now kind of scrambling.

My situation: I applied to both Westerns, RVU, AZCOM, PNWU, ATSOMA, and KCUMB. So far I have been waitlisted pre-interview from AZCOM and the rejection from RVU.

I am wondering if there are some more schools I could add if it is not too late. Are there some schools that I would have a better chance to get into? Location is becoming a bit less important as the process drags on- I would really just like to start school next year. I have a 3.2 sgpa 3.4 cgpa from a top university with 28R mcat and solid EC's. Any advice on some alternate schools would be great. Thanks in advance

When did you apply? With those stats you should have gotten something by now if you applied early.. You can try LECOM, they don't have a secondary (besides some $$). It looks like you are trying to stay on the west cost, would you move to the east?

 

[berryericberry]

I applied to AZCOM a little over a month ago, RVU 3 weeks ago and the Western's 2 weeks ago. PNWU am on hold until Dec. 1 for secondary and KCUMB has dropped the ball and have waited almost a month and a half for my secondary. Incidentally, I am from Kansas City so I still think I have a good chance there.

RVU just told me I didn't have quite as many Bio credits as many of the applicants this year, they said this is the reason I have been rejected.

I am more interested in the West coast and Midwest but could definitely entertain other possibilities.

 

[Sinfest]

You should look into both LECOM's, the three Touro's, KCOM, and NSUCOM to name a few.

 

[JamesLMT]

I applied to AZCOM a little over a month ago, RVU 3 weeks ago and the Western's 2 weeks ago. PNWU am on hold until Dec. 1 for secondary and KCUMB has dropped the ball and have waited almost a month and a half for my secondary. Incidentally, I am from Kansas City so I still think I have a good chance there.

RVU just told me I didn't have quite as many Bio credits as many of the applicants this year, they said this is the reason I have been rejected.

I am more interested in the West coast and Midwest but could definitely entertain other possibilities.

Well look at each school. Which schools would you go to? If you are done applying to every school you want then all you can do is wait. You have to remember that there is a huge rush when the application year opens and then a steady stream that dwindles at the year finishes. There are only so many people to process the applications, I wouldn't worry too much about the ones you just submitted only time can tell.

Isn't KCUMB really hard to get a secondary and easier to get in after that?
To answer you original question School with regional preferance might be more towards your advantage, I can't remember any of the top of my head but I am sure others will chime in with suggestions. If your an outstanding applicant, it's still a decent time to get in. Check out the schools stats and apply quickly to any school you deam worthy of your attendance.

 

[seap3]

How about LMU-DCOM? And I second the NSU suggestion.

I think PNWU has a pretty strong regional bias. I thought someone posted that they wouldn't even be looking at apps from out of the NW region until later.

 

[MightyMoose]

You should look into both LECOM's, the three Touro's, KCOM, and NSUCOM to name a few.

I agree with this.

How about LMU-DCOM? And I second the NSU suggestion.

And this.

You should probably start spamming your application out there. You might want to look into Ohio as well, but you will be committing to a certain amount of time in Ohio after school/residency.

In other words, if you really want to go next year just start clicking off schools and submit to all the ones you would attend (it sounds like you are willing to attend just about any at this point).

KCUMB takes a little bit of time to process your application and send out emails, so you could still get an invite from there. It's an amazing school as well.

Good luck to you.

 

[prionsRbad]

My situation: I applied to both Westerns

What do you mean, both westerns? There's only 1 Western (the one in Pomona, Ca). Or are you talking about Midwestern?

 

[jinobi]

What do you mean, both westerns? There's only 1 Western (the one in Pomona, Ca). Or are you talking about Midwestern?

Probably referring to the WesternU-Pomona and WesternU-Lebanon campuses.

 

[denco88]

When did you apply? With those stats you should have gotten something by now if you applied early.. You can try LECOM, they don't have a secondary (besides some $$). It looks like you are trying to stay on the west cost, would you move to the east?

Okay.. I just wanted to say that the schools that he applied to are not "easy" schools to get into... People get rejected with 3.8 and 3.9s, so I wouldn't say that with those stats he should have gotten into somewhere by now... It is extremely competitive, especially this year I have heard. Plus they consider a lot more than just the numbers.

With that said, apply to some more schools. It can't hurt. You are at the time of the admissions cycle where people are starting to get accepted and withdrawing from places.

 

[drctother]

Okay.. I just wanted to say that the schools that he applied to are not "easy" schools to get into... People get rejected with 3.8 and 3.9s, so I wouldn't say that with those stats he should have gotten into somewhere by now... It is extremely competitive, especially this year I have heard. Plus they consider a lot more than just the numbers.

With that said, apply to some more schools. It can't hurt. You are at the time of the admissions cycle where people are starting to get accepted and withdrawing from places.

I dont think he is trying to say they are easy, unless I missed something higher up in the thread.

But ya it is true people get rejected with very impressive stats all the time.

I would say you can try the LECOMs but Im pretty sure their classes are getting full fast. Maybe try schools that have given out very few interviews at this point.

If you want an interview, try Touro-NY. Im not sure of your chances because your interview might be like January or February but its still an interview.

As people said, try NSU too. Good luck🙂

 

[berryericberry]

I appreciate all of the good advice. Really helps out.

Today I received my rejection from KCUMB so it's back to the drawing board I suppose. I think I made the mistake of not applying to enough schools and to applying to one's that would be difficult for me to get into. It looks like the consensus is to quickly apply to a bunch more so I think I will at least give this a shot.

 

[MightyMoose]

I appreciate all of the good advice. Really helps out.

Today I received my rejection from KCUMB so it's back to the drawing board I suppose. I think I made the mistake of not applying to enough schools and to applying to one's that would be difficult for me to get into. It looks like the consensus is to quickly apply to a bunch more so I think I will at least give this a shot.

How are your essays (PS, EC descriptions, and Secondaries)? Don't undervalue the importance of these, because they are the first thing the adcom's see about you and if you don't do a good job describing yourself and your interests, they might not be very interested in meeting with you.

 

[berryericberry]

EC descriptions I wouldn't qualify as essays, I mean some of my descriptions are little more than 3-4 sentences. Not sure if that is enough or not?

Also, for the AT-Still Arizona campus, it seems most of the secondary is based off of volunteer and clinical experience in underrepresented communities. If I lack that experience, is it worth filling out a secondary or are they a school that is specifically looking for this? Thanks again.

 

[MightyMoose]

EC descriptions I wouldn't qualify as essays, I mean some of my descriptions are little more than 3-4 sentences. Not sure if that is enough or not?

Also, for the AT-Still Arizona campus, it seems most of the secondary is based off of volunteer and clinical experience in underrepresented communities. If I lack that experience, is it worth filling out a secondary or are they a school that is specifically looking for this? Thanks again.

Yes, but it's what you say in those 3-4 sentences. I think I used the max characters on a number of mine. You need to convey what you did, and if you can, what you learned while trying to relate it to medicine. If it's unrelated to medicine, just make sure your passion for it comes across. You are clearly a competent writer, so you will know if that is the case or not. You never addressed your PS and secondary essays. If you just threw those together that could be a problem as well.

What have you got to lose? Send them the secondary. Do none of your experiences deal with the underserved in any way? Think about this, because a lot of volunteer work can deal with the underserved. Even if it doesn't, you say you have solid EC's, so I wouldn't sweat it.

Good luck. I hope it works out for you this year. If not, it sounds like it might be a good idea to take some more science classes (KCUMB requires Biochem and other schools might like to see that one if you are short bio classes, so that would be a good one to take).

 

[cabinbuilder]

If the OP applied only 3 weeks ago????!!! Talk about late in the application cycle. If you were that dead set on getting in this year should have had your stuff in on the first day it opened - June 1st. I would consider it "dragging on" if you had applied early in the summer and were still waiting. Most folks wait 3-4 months before things are all said and done. Good luck.