how to improve and when to apply again?

[Genesea]

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(apologize upfront for the long post.)

My Stats

i have a 3.67 total GPA with 3.65 science (both are actually a point or two higher due to my last semester of all A's not being factored in.)
I have quite a few withdrawals in my freshman and junior years at a community college. however, I believe I have articulated the reasons well in my personal statement. I also have a solid upward trend at my state school where i received my degree.

MCAT: 29 O (8 physics, 11 verbal, 10 bio) taken last year in september (which is the leading cause of my late primary submission.)

i think i have solid letters of recommendation.

i have two research experiences each lasting a semester. one for cognitive neuroscience (7hours a week) and one for plant population biology (13 hours a week), and the second resulted in a publication that i am credited in.

i have been volunteering at a local hospital for 4 months now (doing escort and now GI lab).

i worked and volunteered in an ER of another hospital in 2008 as a patient care assistant. (it was only 4 months but it was about 400-450 hours.. i was compensated for about 100 hours of it.)
i worked in that same ER part time as scribe from last summer until january.

i am an artist and a musician in my free time.

i am a kansas resident.
​

Where I applied

i applied to 6 of the texas schools (most of my mother's side of the family lives in texas.) however, i didn't see that the secondary was due in october so i was never complete with any of them except one which rejected me.

all my primary applications were complete in mid october and my secondaries were complete in mid to late november. (i really didn't understand that i was late and what it meant. i wish my premed advisor would have explained the time line better and i wish i would have found this site sooner! but there's nothing i can do about it now.)

i applied to keck and did their secondary but they still insist they never got my letters of recommendation.

i applied to and was complete at albany, boston, UCF, UIC, colorado, kansas, georgetown, gw, loma linda, miami miller, missouri, rosalind franklin, rush, st louis, stritch, tufts, tulane, and wisconsin.

i applied to and was complete at KCUMB and rocky vista.
​

Results of application

i recieved two MD interview invites from MU and KUMED and one DO invite from KCUMB.
KCUMB rejected me post-interview. MU waitlisted me and am on hold at KU.

everyone else rejected me.
​

Options to improve?
since this cycle most likely will not result in an acceptance, I now am weighing options for what I can do to improve my application for next year (or the year after?)

i was thinking of trying to retake the MCAT but i have a lot of anxiety about it and my scores on the practice exams were really all over the place. (i could get a 38 on one AAMC test and a 21 on the next without any reason to explain it.)

i was thinking of going to on a mission trip, i know of a group that is going to haiti this summer that i could join. it sounds like it would be a great opportunity but it would be expensive to go since i have to pay for my own plane ticket.

i was thinking of joining a boys and girls club to mentor. (i've always wanted to do it but never have.)

i was thinking of shadowing a surgeon (a DO) since most of my experience has been limited to the ER.

my hospital recently discontinued the scribe program so i was thinking of going to school this summer to train to be an EMT then work as an EMT in the fall of 2010/spring of 2011. (EMT sounds like a really fun job. so, even if i couldn't use it on primary applications i might consider it to pay the bills till i apply next.)
​

i don't really know what i can do to improve my application to reapply in these short months till the new application cycle. i want to be early, early next time i try.
if i apply this year then these activities im considering would only have just begun or would be in progress. i don't know how impressive it will be to say that im planning on doing something or have just started it.

i graduated in december but i am currently taking biochemistry and organic chem 2 lab since some schools require these and i couldn't fit them into my schedule previously. (all schools were aware that i would complete them before matriculation.)
should i start studying for the MCAT again?
any other suggestions on activities that might be good to look into?

i did contact KCUMB admissions to ask how to strengthen my application, but they didn't seem very receptive to the request. (it may just be that they are very busy and will get back with me at a later time.)

i know now that i applied laughably late (just threw my money away and made it harder on myself for next cycle as a reapplicant.)
the rejections have still taken their toll though, and i am really unsure of what to do at this point.

 

[Catalystik]

I would contact more schools that rejected you to ask for feedback. Do this by asking to make a phone appointment with a dean, then call back at the specified time.

The Late application may well be the biggest problem. Your GPA is fine and your MCAT score only mildly sub-par. Getting an 11 in VS is great. It sounds like a retake would be a crap shoot, since your practice scores are so inconsistent.

Clinical Experience- nice variety and looks adequate.
Shadowing-embedded in the scribe experience, but getting some variety is a good idea. Following a DO is a great idea. If possible, maybe get in with a hospitalist too. Hopefully one primary care doc, as well. You don't need much of each considering the ER work, but you'll need to stick with the DO long enough to get the often required LOR.
Community Service-seems weak with no consistent activity, and mostly medical. Work on this.Nonmedical would be appreciated.
Teaching-The Boys and Girls club mentoring could fit here as double duty.
Leadership-?
Research- is fine with two semesters, and having a publication is golden.

I don't think the mission trip will help you much. EMT won't do much more for you either, but it's great if you can get paid for it and would provide ongoing clinical experience. You'd be fine with a regular job and volunteering on the side to do the mentoring/teaching, and something clinical.

 

[Genesea]

thanks a lot for the response (and sorry for pulling the rug out from under you with the edit/move).

i thought that i shouldn't attempt a conversation with a dean about my application unless i'd been interviewed by the school.
i will try it though, thanks.

what do you think about when i should reapply. for instance if i started some nonmedical community service tomorrow, it would only be a 4 month commitment by june.

i just feel wary that my application won't be much different or improved enough.
i know that some schools (like MU) won't even look at your application again unless you've made significant improvement.
will adding a couple activities (and only being involved in them for 4 months or less) really make a difference?

also what about my list of schools. would those have been good choices had i applied on time?

 

[Catalystik]

You're right; only contact schools that interviewed and then rejected you.

The Artistic Endeavors are a good addition.

I agree that 4 months of activity is not sufficiently significant of an improvement. It would be best to wait until June 2011, if you made no other improvements since October.

Listed by LizzyM score, schools I'd have suggested would be 66/ MSU, 67/Virginia Commonwealth, EVMS, Drexel, NYMC, Tulane, UIllinois, Rush, GWU, 68/Temple, Toledo, Buffalo, UNebraska, Loyola, Loma Linda, and DO schools. Your score is 67. I would not have suggested Texas schools as I think they only take like 10% OOS (not sure exactly), but if you or your parents own property in the state, I think you are a resident, and that would negate my comment.

 

[zmb96c]

Where are you on Mizzou's wait list? They take a lot off the list.

 

[Genesea]

catalystik, again thanks so much for your reply.
based on your advice i am going to shadow the surgeon (and perhaps a primary care physician), mentor for girls and boys club, volunteer for habitat for humanity, and try to get a teaching assistant position at my college for the fall semester this year.
i really don't know how to go about getting any leadership experience (i was a something of a leader in my past employment if that counts.)

i am not going to apply this year except perhaps early decision to KU (they welcome reapplicants) and maybe to the texas ones (my mother does own property there) since i was never complete with them this last round.
i will plan on doing most reapplying next year.

again thanks i've been feeling really lost as to how to proceed and feel better about it now.

if anyone else has any advice i'd be open to it.

edit: zmb96c i'm in the middle third 34-70 range of their 104 person waitlist. so i can't really count on it. (but i am still holding a faint hope for it to pan out.)

 

[zmb96c]

Last year a good friend of mine was in the middle third. He called to talk to Marivern (who is no longer there) and was able to get her to tell him what half of the middle third he was in. They may not give that information this year, but it's worth a call. Btw he was high up and got in. They went through a lot of the middle third last year, so keep your hopes up. I found out yesterday that I'm in the top third and if I get in that's where I'm going. Good Luck! Hopefully we will be classmates next year!

 

[Genesea]

Last year a good friend of mine was in the middle third. He called to talk to Marivern (who is no longer there) and was able to get her to tell him what half of the middle third he was in. They may not give that information this year, but it's worth a call. Btw he was high up and got in. They went through a lot of the middle third last year, so keep your hopes up. I found out yesterday that I'm in the top third and if I get in that's where I'm going. Good Luck! Hopefully we will be classmates next year!

congrats! i will call in a couple weeks to try to determine where i am in the middle third. (i figure they're pretty busy right now and i might be more of a bother.)
and yes i do hope we're classmates!

 

[Catalystik]

i really don't know how to go about getting any leadership experience (i was a something of a leader in my past employment if that counts.)

Leadership through employment is acceptable (though peer leadership is preferred).

As a rule of thumb, I've noticed that the better your backup plan is, the less likely you are to need it. I'm happy to have been of some help. Good Luck with the waitlist.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Moving to Re-Applicants per request of the OP.

 

[dragonfly99]

I'm not sure you need to wait a whole year to reapply. It seems to me like you should do the full court press, and apply to a bunch of schools, if you are going to apply again this year. But I don't know much about this early decision stuff...they used to not have it for med school...only for undergrad. If you are a Kansas resident, then early decision to your state school might be the best way to do things. Do you have contact with any physician(s) who graduated from UM or Kansas or did residency there? Sometimes somebody putting in a good word for you can be helpful.
You should send a letter of intent to Missouri stating that you really want to go there, you will go there if accepted, etc.

 

[Genesea]

dragonfly thanks for your response.

the reason i was going to wait is because my application won't be much changed from last cycle with only 4 months to scramble to make some improvements. i will talk to the dean of KU once i've been rejected and see if he thinks i am a good candidate for early decision.

i don't want to apply to others (especially to MU which makes a point about this) as a reapplicant until i've made significant improvement compared to my last application.
but i don't know.
does it matter less considering how late i was?
does it matter that i'm on MU's hold list? (apparently, they think i'm capable and a good fit as long as there is room.)

should i call the schools i applied this last cycle and ask how they feel about reapplicants to see if they require a lot of improvement to get a second look? i could just apply to those that don't compare your current app to previous?

my dad actually got his bachelors and MD from MU (and also probably has connections to KU since he practices as a doctor in Kansas and Missouri). but, i feel bad about anyone contacting either admissions on my behalf. i want to be in med school because i deserve it, not because i know someone that knows someone.

i wasn't going to send a letter of intent to MU because im on a rank ordered wait list. like if im number 53 (i have no idea what number i am) as designated by their committee meetings, i don't think anything i can do now can change my spot. am i wrong?

 

[dragonfly99]

I can't say for MU in particular, but I can say that showing interest and/or kissing a-- (whichever you want to call it) often matters in med school, residency and job applicant selection. Life is not fair and the playing field is not entirely level. I would write a letter of intent to MU because my thinking is that it can't hurt, and could only help. You don't know if it will move you up or down on their wait list.

It won't work to have your dad call, but if your dad knows someone else who can call...

 

[Genesea]

again thanks for the response.
i suppose you're right that a letter of intent may not help but probably also wouldn't hurt. i'll write one.

i was still wondering why you said in the previous post that i should apply to more than just a few schools for this upcoming cycle.
do you think adding just 4 months of a couple non-medical community service activities constitutes enough improvement to get a second look at places where i was rejected from last cycle?
I am afraid that other schools might have their mentality as MU and automatically reject me without even looking if my stats are unchanged and my ECs are sparse and over a short duration.

they say it's a numbers game and my numbers are going to be pretty much the same. My ECs would only be very mildly improved with no long term commitment.

The reason I was considering early decision at my state school is because it's pretty much 2 chances at the place where I think I have the best shot at, (and I really liked their campus/program also.)
And I was thinking of only applying there next cycle because early decision pretty much wrecks your cycle anyway. You only apply to one school and get interviewed around august/september. You will usually know an answer by october. If you're rejected, you're automatically placed into the regular applicant pool for that school and you're free to apply elsewhere at that point.. but it would be late again for other places, which I do NOT want to repeat.
KUMed also encourages re-applicants, and i've heard that they look favorably on it (determination to get in there) when considering your application. Again I'll see what the dean thinks about my plans to improve and my chances at EDP when I speak to him following a likely rejection in this cycle.

 

[Genesea]

wanted to update this, so it might help others in similar situations.

since last cycle i shadowed a primary care doctor, a surgeon, an a gastroenterologist.
i volunteered with the girls and boys club and with habitat for humanity (and at the affiliated restore which works in partnership with habitat).
i also continue to volunteer in a GI lab regularly.
i took a biochemistry class and led biochemistry study groups. i tutored one student in biochemistry at the teacher's request.

i applied early decision to my state school, and went in to the interview with a confidence that was absent last cycle. i am elated to say that i was accepted.

thanks to all the helpful responses that i received, i can't express how much i appreciate it. the advice gave me direction when i was floundering and i attribute my acceptance to following that advice.

 

[Catalystik]

Whoo hooooo! Good for you. Thanks for coming back to give us the end of the story.

 

[jadealer]

Congrats!!!! As a reapp, you give me hope that maybe I will get an acceptance in the upcoming months! ::keeps fingers crossed:: But CONGRATS to you!

 

[Genesea]

Whoo hooooo! Good for you. Thanks for coming back to give us the end of the story.

the end? it's just the beginning.. 😀
again thanks so much for your help. i always see you (and dragonfly too) helping lost sdners and i hope you know what a difference you make.

Congrats!!!! As a reapp, you give me hope that maybe I will get an acceptance in the upcoming months! ::keeps fingers crossed:: But CONGRATS to you!

wishing you good luck!

 

[jadealer]

the end? it's just the beginning.. 😀
again thanks so much for your help. i always see you (and dragonfly too) helping lost sdners and i hope you know what a difference you make.


wishing you good luck!

YAY! I got accepted! Wake Forest!

 

[Genesea]

YAY! I got accepted! Wake Forest!

congrats!!
you don't believe it till you experience it, but the heartbreak of (multiple) rejections doesn't compare to the relief and elation of that one acceptance. (or two in your case i think 😛)

congrats again! yay class of 2015

 

[reynoldpirot]

Your mexican heritage made it harder for you so i'm sure you're living the same challenges, right? I'm sure that was what decreased your board scores. If that's what you're dealing with in dental school, I'm sympathetic and I genuinely wish you the best of success in the future. But does it really mean you or I deserve an ortho res more?