Hey guys, I was unsuccessful in getting into any of the 28 schools I applied to last year. I submitted my primary in oct 10th, verified on oct 30th, and submitted almost all my secondaries close to the deadline ( ridiculously late I know..) I got one interview from Duke and rejected at last. As an official reapplicant now, I'm planning to submit my amcas by the end of next week (june 10th ish..). I'd like to believe that it was applying late that didn't get me any interviews and hope applying early this time will render better results.. what do you all think..??? here are my stats: science gpa:3.96 undergrad gpa:3.98 mcat: VB 6 PS 14 BS 12 autopsy shadowing volunteer at hospital- 1yr vice president for two premed societies research with honors thesis and symposium-2yrs and ongoing two academic awards one research award Any comments or advice will be greatly appreciated!!
You will probably have better luck applying earlier, but not nearly as much as if you retook that MCAT to get your V up.
Yes, there are 2 things hurting you. Applying early will help you tremendously, but that means submitting secondaries within a day or two after you receive them. Applying early might increase your interview yield to 3-4, if you apply broadly. It's grueling but it works. That verbal score as well is hurting you, but the fact that you got an interview at Duke means it isn't leaving you in the dugout. I'd submit an AMCAS app right now, then consider taking the MCAT again this summer (late July/early August) if you think you can up that verbal to at least 8, if not 10. The rest of your app looks good.
Applying early should make a huge difference, but they are right, the Verbal part stands out as a weakness, and you don't want to give them any reason to question your application. If you can, retake the MCAT. Your overall is good, but they would rather see an even 10-11-11 than 6-14-12.
I agree with everything everyone has said. Some schools will screen you out automatically with that 6 in verbal, some won't. If you don't want to chance it, retake the MCAT, and practice those verbal sections. Also, applying early can mean the difference between getting in and getting rejected: when I applied, I was told by my interviewer at one school that the committee had recommended me for acceptance! I, of course, told my co-workers, boyfriend, and family. Then I got my waitlist letter. Confused, I called it. It turns out they had oversubscribed the class, and never even touched their waitlist. I applied early, but took the August MCAT (on paper) and wasn't complete till the end of October. That's 'late.' I would have been accepted there, otherwise. Best of luck in your decision! If you really want to maximize your chances at getting in, take a year off, do something productive, retake the MCAT and do better in verbal, and have your primaries in in early June. It can't hurt you in the least, and it can only help!
