Improving your application

[ColdChillin]

After applying to medical school this year, I received only 2 interviews and because I haven't heard anything since it doesn't look like I'll be getting in this year. So since I still want to pursue medicine, I would like anyone's opinion on what the largest factors preventing my acceptance were, so I can work on those and I hopefully won't be in the same boat next year. So here are my qualifications:

GPA: 3.68 in Engineering at a top 25 school
MCAT: 10V 12P 10B
Extracurriculars: Varsity Baseball, Big Brother, 200+ hours hospital volunteering, shadowed a few doctors (saw open heart surgery in OR)

I'm 99% sure that my personal statement and secondaries were well written and that my interviews went well, but I guess there is no real way of telling. It pretty much depends on who is reading your work/listening to you.

I appreciate anybody's advice. My best guess is that I should improve my MCAT score. Later.

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[soonerpillow]

Your stats look pretty good from what you've said.
I guess it couldn't hurt (yeah, right, all that studying is quite painful) to take the MCAT again. Maybe you could take another approach at your personal statement or something. Also, what schools did you apply to? To increase your chances of at least getting in somewhere, you could apply to some lower tier schools.

Good luck next time!

 

[UCLAMAN]

How many schools did you apply to? Which schools were they if you don't mind me asking?

Your numbers are fine. Something subjective is holding you back. Although you may think your personal statement is good others may not agree. Perhaps one of your LORs was negative? If I were you I would not retake the mcat. You have already demonstrated with those scores that you are capable of dealing with the intellectual side of medical school. Your gpa reflects that as well. Did you have your personal statement read by as many people as possible?

 

[Lab-Rat21]

At least you have had interviews...I have friends who have heard nothing at all. I would not retake the MCAT. Sit tight and wait for the response from these schools; if you interviewed well I would expect at last a waitlist with those numbers (they're solid) and you could get in that way. I have a friend that only had 2 interviews and was rejected by one post-int and waitlisted to the other and got in early June last year, so keep the faith.

Anyways, if you don't get in (worst case) just apply to more schools and try to avoid applying only to ivy/top 10 schools (it's really stupid when someone's list of schools is ONLY Harvard, UPenn, Yale, Stanford, Mayo, Hopkins, etc...apply to some top20 and other schools and you'll be fine. Again, you look like you will get in this year, so don't risk ulcers and wait with some HOPE.

 

[surge]

It's definitely not your numbers.
I know people with numbers worse than yours in top 10 schools.

It's probably your statement, LORs and interviews (the ones you went to), or, most likely, the combination of the three. You have to ask yourself what makes you STAND OUT as an applicant.
Plus, this is no time to massage your ego - no matter how good you think your statement was, obviously, there's something lacking. Try to figure out what.

Good luck.

 

[Ginza]

Keep hope alive! You never know, you could hear something good from those two schools....but it's good that you're already making plans. I was in a similar (though not identical situation) last year. My best advice is to use this as a positive experience, rather than let it discourage you.

I applied last year and got no interviews. I know it's because my MCAT scores were bad. So I retook the test before applying this year. I wouldn't suggest that for you since your scores are good. Another thing that I did was talk about the experience of not getting in every chance I got (personal statement, secondary essays) in the context that it motivated me even more. I got a really good job where I love the doctors that I work for, and I talked about that plenty. Ironically, a few of my interviewers knew of the docs I work for, so my personal statement opened the door to have some really fun conversations during my interviews. This year went much better, and I got a few acceptances. Good luck!

 

[DarkChild]

i always have the same two questions for people:
1) how many schools did you apply to and were they from all across the board?
2) when were your apps complete?

 

[UCLAMAN]

I think perhaps your extra curriculars did you in. they are somewhat weak. I think it is great you played varsity baseball and that you were a big brother. 200+ hours of shadowing is nothing IMO. EVERYONE has shadowed(ok...not everyone...but a lot of premeds have shadowed). Did you do anything else? Research? Have you demonstrated that you are a leader?

After looking at your original post again I'd say your extra curriculars did you in. Many people I've met are involved in several activities each highlighting different parts of their personality that would make them an asset to the medical profession. I think varsity baseball is great. Shows you have a life outside of medicine. Being a big brother is great too since it shows you care about people. But what else do you have? Any teaching? research to demonstrate your scientific curiosity? leadership? unique experiences; perhaps abroad? you really need to make yourself stand out IMO. The list of activities you have doesn't make you stand out. I mean v-baseball is good...but keep in mind that many other applicants(although they may not be varsity players) have some sort of activity that demonstrates a life away from medicine.

You need more activities to demontrate and highlight to admissions committees that you are a multifaceted person.

just my 2 pennies...good luck!

 

[Doc Ivy]

Hi y'all I've been a lurker for a while but now I'm legit...
Basically I agree with UCLA man but let me just refine the message a bit. I think your EC's are fine, but if you say applied to all research oriented schools i.e. Harvard JHU Yale.. IMO your application just might not have been as competitive as it might have been at schools that really value community service.
Personally, I put out 12 secondaries and got 9 interviews 3 acceptances so far I never thought Yale would even give me a second look, given my stats 3.56 GPA 31 MCAT...but I'm published and have attended several national conferences to present my research...Now we just have to see if they accept me ...wish me luck

the bottom line is: next time around (assuming it doesn't work out this time, and it still might) target yourself to schools that you think are a good fit, and then apply to extra school just in case-- take the blanket approach cuz it's not your numbers, just beef up the EC's you have, and don't try to be something you're not

 

[manicmaven]

I get the feeling you may have applied late. Make sure that if you have to apply this next time that your apps are complete super early (secondaries done by early august if possible). If you applied late, that might be your problem.

Make sure your LORs are really great. Someone may have said something that sent up a red flag.

For god's sake don't take the MCAT again. Your numbers are good.

Review everything with your pre-med counselor, and if possible, contact the schools to see what you could improve on.

 

[ColdChillin]

I appreciate your comments everyone. Just to clear some stuff up about some of the responses.

1. Playing baseball takes about 50 hrs/week, so there's not a whole lot of time to do a whole slew of other stuff, you have to be really selective.

2. I have done a lot of teaching, I was able to teach the physical sciences MCAT classes for Kaplan and since I took the MCAT after my sophomore year I have been teaching for about a year.

3. I have been a team leader on different engineering related projects. The most recent I have been working on for about a year with Arlington County, VA. It's a pretty big deal involving improving emergency response through technology, I won't get into all the technical details.

4. I'm basing my opinions about the quality of my personal statement and interview on what I was told by my interviewers, not just my own views. They told me that I did a great job on my personal statement and that it helped me stand out from the crowd. They also reacted favorably to my interviews, but didn't explicitly tell me I did a great job interviewing.

5. I didn't apply to any Ivy League schools, but I did apply to some schools that I knew I had a small shot at getting in at, i.e. Stanford, UCLA, UCSD, Northwestern. I realize that probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but the remaining schools I thought I had a good shot at were: Colorado (in-state), USC, UVA (going there undergrad), and Creighton. So I do realize that my choices of where to apply probably limited me. I also applied somewhat late in the year which probably didn't help.

So, I know there are better candidates out there than myself, but I thought I had a pretty decent shot at getting in somewhere. So what I'll do to increase my chances next year is more extracurriculars that stand out, and then apply to more middle-tier schools, and apply earlier in the year. Thanks for your help everybody.

 

[UCLAMAN]

hmm...after getting a clearer picture of your application i'd say you need to apply to more schools and definitely apply early.

timing and school selection is probably what is ailing you this cycle...but keep hope alive...its not over til its over. i mean you haven't heard form the schools you have interviewed at, right?

 

[carrigallen]

I agree with UCLAMAN - apply earlier, more schools. You may also consider having your letter packet sent to one of your advisors, and them take a look at it.

 

[Doc Ivy]

Just another thought on LORs, who did you get them from?

Sometimes the lack of an LOR from an activity on which you spent a lot of time could be telling, in a bad way... you seem like a smart guy so I'm assuming you got one from your coach, also whoever was in charge in the Big Brother program would be valuable...if you don't have one from a Dr. (PhD MD DO etc.) who can comment profoundly on your academics and suitability for medicine that might be one thing you could add for next year's app cycle...Good luck

 

[ready]

I agree, you're #'s are fine.

A couple of ?'s came to mind though:

Why do you want to be a doctor?
What do you know about being a doctor?
Have you participated in an activity (other than shadowing) where you have cared for the health of others?

There are plenty of people w/ less clinical exposure than you so this main not be the main problem. However, if you didn't get these points across effectivly it might have hurt your app.

I'm not saying you have this attitude, but I have run into people who think that since they're academically capable of being a doctor they should get in. In everything you've written you seem very levelheaded and modest so I doubt this is the problem.

 

[Adcadet]

apply early, apply to a larger number of schools.

No research experience? I know some people claim research isn't crucial, but it is interesting that you've got good stats and no research yet aren't accepted yet.

You should see if the places that interviewed you will be willing to meet with you and discuss how you can improve your application. These meetings can be very helpful, especially if it's something stupid like a LOR problem.

 

[goredsox]

What?! That's my story, you can't take it! No, seriously man - I'm an engineering school graduate of UVA ('02) also, my situation is:

-MCAT: 11, 11, 11 R (my third time taking it though, first 2 mcats were 26 and 27)

-GPA: 3.59

-First-author publication (Biophysical Journal) with years of research experience in Biomed Engineering and Pathology labs (took this year off after college to finish up some research)

-Extracurriculars: shadowing (not as much as you though, maybe 20 hrs), tutoring/grading calculus, volunteer in church nursery

AND NO ACCEPTANCES!!! I'm on 4 waitlists though. So I've got the research where you've got the clinical - we need to put our **** together and get an acceptance. '

I talked with some people in the admissions offices I've applied to and they said with 4 waitlists (BU, Rochester, UVA, and EVMS) and no acceptances, maybe I didn't interview well enough (and I admitted I was nervous, but I thought they went well). So I'm volunteering with the Salvation Army Health Clinic now to get direct patient interaction, supposedly developing those commucinashun skills.

But as for you - you must have applied late like me, as some have already mentioned. My apps were complete mostly in early-mid october. Next time around, as much as I hate to do it, I'm gonna be one of those gunners to get my apps out in the first minute.

PM me if you want to talk about our similar situations - med schools must not like us UVA Eschool kids.

 

[AUdacious]

I had a few friends in your shoes last year. They looked great on paper (just like you do), but didnt get any acceptances. What they did was call up their top three choices and schedule consultations with the Dean or Associate Dean. One even did a phone consultation because the school was so far away, but he said that he thought the ones he did in person were the ones that made lasting impressions. All of the schools were really receptive and a few even told them exactly what the committee said about them when they were making decisions. Throughout the year, they worked on what the schools told them too and all 3 of them have been accepted to several schools this year. I think its great that you can get some ideas from other pre-meds but if I were you, I would go straight to the source so you KNOW what the school wants from you. Good luck!

 

[DocForAll]

It looks to me like you have some good numbers, but I would say that your reume also looks a little generic - actually it looks like the exact list those of all thie things your are supposed to do to get into medical school. So what I would suggest is to make yourself stand out a little more.
Although my GPA is very high my mcat score is only average (I only took it once). I to did the shadowing have been published for my research, volunteered, etc., but I know that it was my personal essay that really opened the door for me. It let me stand out. Take another look at your essay. Does it really just restate your resume or will it tell the committee that you are in fact a physican just waiting to be trained.

Another suggestion is to incorporate your passions in life with what you want to do in medicine.