How many attempts until you got in?

[GIGATT]

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Sorry, i'm venturing away from the pre-allo to ask you all a question. How many matriculation cycles did it take until you got an acceptance?

 

[njaqua]

Sorry, i'm venturing away from the pre-allo to ask you all a question. How many matriculation cycles did it take until you got an acceptance?

My husband is 31, we have two children (ages 6 and almost 12-yes, we were teenage parents) and he just finished up his masters in public health-toxicology. He has two big publications and he got a 32P on his MCAT. His gpa in his grad courses he had a 4.0 and his undergrad is a 3.7 (he had bad grades as an early undergrad but when he went back he got a 4.0). He took an aug mcat so we weren't complete until nov...we didn't get secondaries until jan/feb and then he only got one interview- At Davis.

I'm sure he limited his chance of acceptance by only applying to CA schools and being a late applicant. At this point I'm trying encourage him to try once again- just one more cycle. He's feeling a little guilty over the expense and time that goes into it- it's so much more complicated with a family. I'm hoping that if we apply now (early) then he'll have a better shot this time around. We'll apply more broadly as well- to schools with direct flights to San Diego. Overall, i think that he's just sad he didn't get in this time and he's still processing that (he just found out he wasn't accepted to Davis last wed).

So, back to my original question: How many attempts until you got in? AND, how many schools did you apply to?

Any advice would be appreciated greatly. Thank you in advance!!

I had the same situation with grades (post bac was way better than undergrad) and the same MCAT score. I got in the first time applying. CA schools are notoriously competitive. Apply again and apply broadly.

 

[LifetimeDoc]

An undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.7 and an MCAT of 32? That's at or above the average matriculant to medical school. Added, he got a 4.0 upward trend as well and a 4.0 in a graduate degree he completed. Sounds like there is nothing wrong with his stats, especially with being a non-traditional student with a family.

I'd make sure you did the following...

• Submit Primary Application Early: June-July timeframe
• Apply Broadly (15+ schools). Be choosy and pick those where you have a good chance as an OOS student.
• Review personal statement and/or secondary essays with a pre-med adviser or somebody from a medical school that you previously applied. Should they be revised/changed?
• Work on those ECs. Have you shadowed, volunteered, been exposed to clinical medicine? Does he get across his passion for medicine in essays/interviews?

I got into one school (one of my top choices, luckily) in Florida after applying late (primary in mid-September, secondaries in November, interviews in February; yeah I was an idiot), and that was my first and only time applying. I was fully convinced that I would have to apply a second time, but I apparently connected with the adcoms at my medical school and thankfully got accepted.

 

[45408]

Well, I got in my first time, but it was to my (non-California) state schools. Applying late is a pretty huge hit to your application, so if he applies EARLY EARLY EARLY, and applies widely, to schools that have stats within his range, he will have a much better chance. Look at the school's statements too - you can often see what kind of students they are looking for from those. I'm at MCW, and I'd bet that he would have a good chance of getting in here.

 

[H_Caulfield]

His stats are fine; he should apply earlier next time. Unfortunately the age issue will probably hurt him, so he should apply very broadly; I believe each class only has a small number of spots set aside for "non-traditionals." This isn't an issue in law or business, but if he wants to specialize he'll be training until his early to mid-forties... I think it's unrealistic to assume admissions offices aren't considering this. Committees accept people who they believe are likely to have long successful careers reflecting well upon the school and, obviously, an older student is slightly less likely to do that.

That said...there are about 3 students above 30 in my class. Have him give it another shot.

 

[GIGATT]

An undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.7 and an MCAT of 32? That's at or above the average matriculant to medical school. Added, he got a 4.0 upward trend as well and a 4.0 in a graduate degree he completed. Sounds like there is nothing wrong with his stats, especially with being a non-traditional student with a family.

I'd make sure you did the following...

• Submit Primary Application Early: June-July timeframe
• Apply Broadly (15+ schools). Be choosy and pick those where you have a good chance as an OOS student.
• Review personal statement and/or secondary essays with a pre-med adviser or somebody from a medical school that you previously applied. Should they be revised/changed?
• Work on those ECs. Have you shadowed, volunteered, been exposed to clinical medicine? Does he get across his passion for medicine in essays/interviews?

He shadowed a bit but it was difficult because he was working full time, going to school full time and running his experiment on top of it. Now that he's done with his masters he'll have time to shadow. I have some pretty good connections so i'm hoping that i can line him up with some docs within the ucsd system... I can't tell you how much it would mean to get him into our local school. I've never seen him so passionate about anything as he is when he talks about his aspirations as a physician. He so badly wants to give back to and support his local community. He's the kind of guy that *needs* the challenge of constant learning and the practicallity of medicine.

The staff interviewer at davis loved him but the student interviewer didn't connect with him. It's hard as an older than average secure adult to connect with a 23 year old without the same responsibilities. I don't know if that hurt him or not...also, his interview was in april...youch. The good thing is that he got secondary requests from all of the UC schools to which he applied so that gives a little bit of hope to the cause- except ucsf and we weren't suprised that we didn't get one from them. We'll try for the same schools again plus Oregon, Texas, WA and whoever else has direct flights.

What bites is that since he's applying now, he won't have time to shadow in order to put it on his ap. I suppose in this case you just note it in your personal statement "I look forward to the shadowing commitments i've made with dr soandso and continued learning in blah blah blah"

My gosh, this process is a serious character builder!

 

[SurferBoyMD]

He shadowed a bit but it was difficult because he was working full time, going to school full time and running his experiment on top of it. Now that he's done with his masters he'll have time to shadow. I have some pretty good connections so i'm hoping that i can line him up with some docs within the ucsd system... I can't tell you how much it would mean to get him into our local school. I've never seen him so passionate about anything as he is when he talks about his aspirations as a physician. He so badly wants to give back to and support his local community. He's the kind of guy that *needs* the challenge of constant learning and the practicallity of medicine.

The staff interviewer at davis loved him but the student interviewer didn't connect with him. It's hard as an older than average secure adult to connect with a 23 year old without the same responsibilities. I don't know if that hurt him or not...also, his interview was in april...youch. The good thing is that he got secondary requests from all of the UC schools to which he applied so that gives a little bit of hope to the cause- except ucsf and we weren't suprised that we didn't get one from them. We'll try for the same schools again plus Oregon, Texas, WA and whoever else has direct flights.

What bites is that since he's applying now, he won't have time to shadow in order to put it on his ap. I suppose in this case you just note it in your personal statement "I look forward to the shadowing commitments i've made with dr soandso and continued learning in blah blah blah"

My gosh, this process is a serious character builder!

Hey, I'm currently a MS1 almost done (two more weeks and 5 exams later), I just wanted to say that I'm from California, and had good scores and what not and did not get into any of the Cali schools. I write this not to discourage you and your husband, but I just wanted to say that the competition for a spot in a California med school is very competitive.

That being said, I wanted to also tell you about my friend who is currently at UCD SOM. He was also your non traditional med school applicant. He was 31 when he applied, and had done many other things (i.e. was a journalist, worked in marketing, etc...) before he went to med school. So there's hope yet. Plus UCD is known to like non traditional students.

I would advise to not limit yourselves. Coming from California and knowing other Cali applicants, applying to more than 20 schools isn't unheard of. Then again you have your family to worry about, and making a big move into another state could be troublesome, but if your husband is determined, my best advise would to apply broadly and be open minded about making a possible move.

Oh, and on the application, if you plan to shadow during the summer, you can put it down I believe. Good luck.

 

[Sartre79]

Twice, but my 2nd time was with a drastically increased MCAT. Actually, I'm very similar to your Hubby's stats, with other degrees though and w/out the publications. Make sure he has lots of clinical exp and a reason why he wants the MD in addition to the other degrees. Great LORs help as well (I'm sure you know this all). I would spread it out widely though. I applied to 19 and got into 2. Applying early seems to help as well, I'm 27 so age isn't going to necessarily sink his battleship completely. I think the key is to have a solid reason for going into medicine and to show that he didn't give up after the first application cycle...getting more clinical experience through volunteering and/or shadowing (shadowing is by far more meaningful but hard to arrange in this day and age) shows his intention to complete his objective. I also do not think it is too late to get Shadowing experience...get something arranged quickly and when interviews come around next fall make sure they know more about it. You can always amend to your application by sending update letters to the schools. Good luck.

 

[njbmd]

Moving to Pre-Allopathic as this is a pre-allo issue. Allopathic medical students read and reply to posts in Pre-All and therefore can follow and reply to this one.

 

[glamqueen]

What the heck kind of arse is one of the above posters talking out of when you say that only a few spots are reserved for nontrads and age hurts you?

This is 100% false.

OP - Cali schools suck to get into according to the MSAR book I have at my house (not my arse). Advise your husband to apply broadly, his age WON'T hurt him, and I'm sure he'll get in second round. Most people apply out of state as well as in their state, so do that this time. I'm sure you guys will have great success. Best of luck.

And to the poster who posted this horrible info - PLEASE STOP TALKING OUT OF YOUR ARSE!!!!!!!!! There are a number of nontrads on these boards, and we have done our own research. It is simply not true what you are saying, and those who aren't as informed as some of us may be affected adversely by your uninformed opinon.

 

[GuzzyRon]

What the heck kind of arse is one of the above posters talking out of when you say that only a few spots are reserved for nontrads and age hurts you?

This is 100% false.

OP - Cali schools suck to get into according to the MSAR book I have at my house (not my arse). Advise your husband to apply broadly, his age WON'T hurt him, and I'm sure he'll get in second round. Most people apply out of state as well as in their state, so do that this time. I'm sure you guys will have great success. Best of luck.

And to the poster who posted this horrible info - PLEASE STOP TALKING OUT OF YOUR ARSE!!!!!!!!! There are a number of nontrads on these boards, and we have done our own research. It is simply not true what you are saying, and those who aren't as informed as some of us may be affected adversely by your uninformed opinon.

Seconded. Unless you're a senior or nearing retirement age or something age doesn't hurt as much as people think.

 

[TheRealMD]

Seconded. Unless you're a senior or nearing retirement age or something age doesn't hurt as much as people think.

Yeah, it hurts if you are younger, not older. Don't get that confused.

 

[Doc Henry]

His stats are fine; he should apply earlier next time. Unfortunately the age issue will probably hurt him, so he should apply very broadly; I believe each class only has a small number of spots set aside for "non-traditionals." This isn't an issue in law or business, but if he wants to specialize he'll be training until his early to mid-forties... I think it's unrealistic to assume admissions offices aren't considering this. Committees accept people who they believe are likely to have long successful careers reflecting well upon the school and, obviously, an older student is slightly less likely to do that.

That said...there are about 3 students above 30 in my class. Have him give it another shot.

that is the biggest load of crap I have heard today...you have no idea what you are talking about

 

[IWant2BeADoctor]

Sorry, i'm venturing away from the pre-allo to ask you all a question. How many matriculation cycles did it take until you got an acceptance?

My husband is 31, we have two children (ages 6 and almost 12-yes, we were teenage parents) and he just finished up his masters in public health-toxicology. He has two big publications and he got a 32P on his MCAT. His gpa in his grad courses he had a 4.0 and his undergrad is a 3.7 (he had bad grades as an early undergrad but when he went back he got a 4.0). He took an aug mcat so we weren't complete until nov...we didn't get secondaries until jan/feb and then he only got one interview- At Davis.

I'm sure he limited his chance of acceptance by only applying to CA schools and being a late applicant. At this point I'm trying encourage him to try once again- just one more cycle. He's feeling a little guilty over the expense and time that goes into it- it's so much more complicated with a family. I'm hoping that if we apply now (early) then he'll have a better shot this time around. We'll apply more broadly as well- to schools with direct flights to San Diego. Overall, i think that he's just sad he didn't get in this time and he's still processing that (he just found out he wasn't accepted to Davis last wed).

So, back to my original question: How many attempts until you got in? AND, how many schools did you apply to?

Any advice would be appreciated greatly. Thank you in advance!!

It's hard to get accepted to Califonian Med Schools because their among the most compeitive in the country.
He would greatly improve his chances by applying earlier and to more schools. 15-20 would be a good range.

Since whend did a 3.7 count a bad GPA?
It's actually above average for those who were accepted to Med Schools. Same with the 32P MCAT.

This is true for most Medical Schools. I suggest he get the MSAR for Med schools. It shows all the stats and has other useful information. That way your husband will have all the information he needs to make the best of the next application cycle.

 

[GIGATT]

I didn't mean that the 3.7 was a bad grade... I meant that his first few years of college were mostly b's and C's and then when he went back 8 years later he was a stellar student. I mean that the first college experience had the bad grades :0)

 

[Orthodoc40]

Other coast here.

Got in on my 2nd try. NOT to my (snobby) state school, however. 🙁 But yes to someone else's state school(s). Go figure.

Last year = 1 interview, 17 rejection letters.
This year = 5 interviews, 3 acceptances, 23 rejection letters.

My strategy was any US school (MD or DO) would be better than having to move to Grenada. It worked.

I've a friend who's finally in this year on his 4th try.

 

[GIGATT]

Other coast here.

Got in on my 2nd try. NOT to my (snobby) state school, however. 🙁 But yes to someone else's state school(s). Go figure.

Last year = 1 interview, 17 rejection letters.
This year = 5 interviews, 3 acceptances, 23 rejection letters.

My strategy was any US school (MD or DO) would be better than having to move to Grenada. It worked.

I've a friend who's finally in this year on his 4th try.

You guys (and gals) are GREAT! Thank you for your stories and support. I hope that this time next year we can help someone else out who is in the position we're in right now :0)

 

[soonerfan77]

oops!

 

[soonerfan77]

3rd timer here

1st attempt: 1 interview, 1 waitlist
2nd attempt: 0 interviews(app didn't change much)
3rd attempt: 2 interviews, 1 waitlist, 1 acceptance(as an OOSer)

Difference was my MCAT score, 30R. I'm a 30 yr old non-trad. Started college again at 24. Worked 30+ hours a week waiting tables throughout the whole process.

Don't give up.
The man who says he can and the man who says he can't are both right.

THE University of Oklahoma College of Medicine Class of 2011
😎