Is it time to panic yet-2009 version...

[chessodoc]

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Lower ranked schools, usually tend to ignore students with high MCAT scores because they don't decide to go there anyway due to other acceptances. I think you should send a letter of interest to Drexel and Albany.

 

[bluesmd]

food i definitely think it's your school choice. my gpa is the same as yours, my mcat not so good, but i applied to a wide range. good luck, hopefully you will get in this year. i would send that LOI if i were you. personally i would not want to reapply .

 

[Food]

food i definitely think it's your school choice. my gpa is the same as yours, my mcat not so good, but i applied to a wide range. good luck, hopefully you will get in this year. i would send that LOI if i were you. personally i would not want to reapply .

Alrighty - time to go look up that Letter of Intent thread.

Ugh, now I can't stop beating myself over the head because of school choice. Sooooooo stupid!!!!!

 

[Handy388]

Lower ranked schools, usually tend to ignore students with high MCAT scores because they don't decide to go there anyway due to other acceptances. I think you should send a letter of interest to Drexel and Albany.

I recieved an interview and became accepted at Albany with a GPA in the OP's range, give or take 1 point. Doubt that;s true.

 

[Myuu]

Alrighty - time to go look up that Letter of Intent thread.

Ugh, now I can't stop beating myself over the head because of school choice. Sooooooo stupid!!!!!

I had a similar issue last year and eventually got a pair of interviews (which didn't go so well, obviously) and a pair of waitlists. I wouldn't give up all hope, but I would start planning for next cycle.

 

[richse]

I'm going to have to disagree with the people in this thread saying that your GPA is holding you back. Your numbers across the board are quite a bit better than mine and I have multiple accepts to mid tier schools. I think you need to examine your EC's and get into some kind of clinical EC asap. Volunteer at the hospital or something and keep it going through the next app cycle. Also, examine your PS and to the best that you can re-evaluate who is writing your letters. I think you can def improve the weaknesses in your app and your GPA would be like 3rd or 4th on the list, IMHO. Hope this helps and good luck on the rest of this cycle and next cycle if needed.

 

[QofQuimica]

I'm actually amazed that QofQuimica got in. I thought they'd throw his app out right away when they saw that >40 score.

Ahem, *hers*. 😉

I was accepted by all of the FL schools, which were UF, USF, and UM at the time. (FSU had just opened, but I didn't apply there.) It is absolutely, positively *not* true that med schools won't consider you just because your MCAT score is significantly higher than their averages. I don't know how this rumor got started on SDN, but it's completely ridiculous. Med schools are not charities; they want the best students they can get, however they define "best". That being said, no med school wants to take students who don't really want to be there. If an applicant is clearly not serious about a school, why should that school be serious about them? Would you want to marry the guy or girl who just told you that s/he is majorly in love with your best friend, and has only agreed to marry you because otherwise s/he would be alone? Always remember that no one is owed a seat at any med school anywhere, no matter how great their stats are.

Edit: OP, I can't give you any specific suggestions without taking a look at your app. But whatever is holding you back, it is *not* your MCAT or your race. I suggest considering your ECs (quantity and quality), your essays, your LORs, and your interviewing skills. Talking to REL like guju suggested is a good idea too, although he won't be able to talk to you as long as you have a file open at UCF. If you do have to reapply, you should add more schools, including all of the FL schools. Oh, and no, you should not give up in February. People get into med school up until the day orientation starts. I'm not saying you should wait until August, but I'd at least wait until the end of May when the dust settles after the May 15 traffic date. Best of luck to you. 🙂

 

[Food]

Ahem, *hers*. 😉

I was accepted by all of the FL schools, which were UF, USF, and UM at the time. (FSU had just opened, but I didn't apply there.) It is absolutely, positively *not* true that med schools won't consider you just because your MCAT score is significantly higher than their averages. I don't know how this rumor got started on SDN, but it's completely ridiculous. Med schools are not charities; they want the best students they can get, however they define "best". That being said, no med school wants to take students who don't really want to be there. If an applicant is clearly not serious about a school, why should that school be serious about them? Would you want to marry the guy or girl who just told you that s/he is majorly in love with your best friend, and has only agreed to marry you because otherwise s/he would be alone? Always remember that no one is owed a seat at any med school anywhere, no matter how great their stats are.

Edit: OP, I can't give you any specific suggestions without taking a look at your app. But whatever is holding you back, it is *not* your MCAT or your race. I suggest considering your ECs (quantity and quality), your essays, your LORs, and your interviewing skills. Talking to REL like guju suggested is a good idea too, although he won't be able to talk to you as long as you have a file open at UCF. If you do have to reapply, you should add more schools, including all of the FL schools. Oh, and no, you should not give up in February. People get into med school up until the day orientation starts. I'm not saying you should wait until August, but I'd at least wait until the end of May when the dust settles after the May 15 traffic date. Best of luck to you. 🙂

Thanks, Q. On a separate note, I just wanted to let you know that your article about the MCAT motivated me to study as hard as I did. I also happen to refer to your story nearly every time I begin an MCAT course for Kaplan.

Regarding my AMCAS PS, I had an interviewer from U of Utah Med read it. I met him through the doctor I shadowed. He gave me a few suggestions and we worked on it until I was satisfied. I think my PS was reasonable. The secondary essays, however, were not reviewed by anyone, and therefore could be sub-par. Even then, I don't think my writing is terrible...at worst it should be mediocre.

 

[Food]

Hah - just got a notice of non-acceptance from Tulane as well. 4 rejections, 1 post-interview hold and 11...pre-interview holds? I will write a book about this someday. Im gonna go shift over to the 2009-2010 application threads...if there are any yet haha.

 

[jsanchez]

i suggest u send that letter of intent, might help you get in.

 

[Food]

You never answered my question about whether REL told you anything.

REL has not responded yet...I think it's probably because I have a file open at UCF? Not sure =/ I sent the message on Sunday.

 

[Food]

Actually - another important question I have is about admissions consulting.

I'm willing to put myself in further debt and call one of these people to find out if they can shed any light on what's screwing me over right now. Also - about the timing of the letter of intent, and how to word it as carefully as possible. The way it looks to me is that I only have one shot at a medical school right now, and that's my current undergrad institution who has put me on hold. So I don't want to **** it up!

Now - does anyone have any recommendations on who to go with / who to avoid? And there might be a thread on this so I'll go check.

 

[Kaya12]

should've applied to fsu 🙂 they love uf grads (as long as you dont bring up football haha)

 

[Raryn]

nope... i wonder if people actually get these numbers from somewhere or just simply pull them out of their ass...

Remember, 83% of all quoted statistics are made up right on the spot.

 

[bluesmd]

Remember, 83% of all quoted statistics are made up right on the spot.

really 😱 where did you get that number from












did you make it up on the spot

 

[NTF]

First of all, don't necessarily lose hope for this year. You never know. That being said you should always be thinking about next year's apps unless you have an acceptance in hand.

Next year consider adding DO's. Being that you're south-asian I know that's probably a tough sell for the 'rents but this is about what you want. (I didn't tell my parents that I applied to several DO schools.)

Also, apply earlier next year. Submit the first week of July. Try to be complete everywhere by the end of August.

Consider a professional essay writing service.

Try to add one or two ECs that address areas you lack, specifically time with patients (especially in an inpatient setting).

Good Luck! Hopefully you'll get in this year.

 

[NTF]

I disagree that as a Fl. resident that this poster needs to do such.

I agree that the OP is a good candidate for MD. But I always advocate putting options on the table.

 

[NTF]

Also considering some of the Indian kids I've known to get into USF inpast years or even in other schools, I don't think being south asian is what hurt him.

😕 I don't recall saying being south asian hurt the OP's chances.

 

[Food]

Food,

I would also email Dr. Eduardo C. Gonzalez, the head of adcom at USF Health for his opinion on your application. He usually meets with those who've already submitted an application and aren't looking successful. His email is [email protected]

You can also look him up on the family medicine faculty page for his phone number, which can be accessed by going to health.usf.edu/medicine --> family medicine link (on the left with the other dept. links) --> faculty link --> Dr. Eduardo C. Gonzalez. Or at the very least contact REL's replacement at USF Health aka Leila Amiri at [email protected] or (813)974-2477 or her direct line (813)974-7092.

That along with talking to REL will give a better idea of where you are weak. They can tell you for sure too if your letters were not strong or were strong.

guju, I have e-mailed them both today. I really hope they will humor me. Thank you for the recommendations. I am too intimidated to call them =X.
Do you think there is a probability that my sending them an e-mail will at least prompt a "re-look" of my application?

 

[Food]

I don't know. But I know I emailed and met up with both of them almost shortly after my apps were complete and they met up with me to give me advice of what to do if I was not accepted this year and were very frank with me. They also met up with several of my last year's grad school classmates to do the same as well as with other friends. REL also met up with one of my friends who made an appt to see him.. It was too far for me to drive so I just spoke to him on here as it was easier.

I know how you feel about being intimidated by them but once you actually meet them they are sooooo nice and not as nerve wrecking. I emailed Dr. Gonzalez and he got back to me a few days later when I had contacted him initially. It was my friend who was rejected post interview last year who had advised me to speak to him.

thanks, I'll keep my fingers crossed. I am actually considering driving to Tampa to meet with them or something.

I also wanted to thank you for your help and support with all this. It's nice to have someone care this much about a stranger's application. 🙂

 

[Handy388]

I dunno if med school consult is really a worthy environment, especially when you are already in debt.

 

[batman1983]

While some ppl think it is your grades that are hurting you in the process, I think your MCAT score would easily nullify that problem in the eyes of most AdComs. Also, I dont think your LORs or PS are the problems since you did get an interview at UF. Based on my experiences, I will give my 2 cents on what is probably hurting you in the app process:

1) Not applying to enough schools. I mean look at my profile, I had higher stats across the board, and I had to apply to 60-70+ schools just to get 14 invites(most of which were probably mid tier for me).
2) The schools you applied to were generally mid-top tier schools with lots of competition and research focus
3) Lack of academia based research==>This is the big thing that has been killing me and it appears that you don’t any.
4)Timing: Having apps complete by August makes a big difference
5)Race: I know this is controversial subject, but it is pretty evident that being an ORM (essentially any ethnicity form Asia besides Hmong) hurts your chances in medical school admissions.

If you have to reapply, I would do the following:
1)If you have weak PS or essays, hire professionals to take a look at them. Lots of premeds do it, but arent willing to admit it.
2)Take additional classes to boost GPA. I wouldnt do an SMP, since in your situation, I think it would be a waste of money and has lots of risks if you do poorly. Take additional undergrad classes(preferably upper division).
3)Do research and community service(if anything, do something nonmedical like teaching low income kids or volunteering at homeless shelter)
4)I would recommend holding off on reapplying for at least a yr. A lot of schools will evaluate your new application relative to your old one, and not necessarily compared to other applicants. Thus, even if you have an app that is better than other applicants, you may get rejected if your app is not significantly better than before. The majority of schools that I have received invites from in this cycle are schools that I have never applied to or haven’t applied to for at least 2yrs.
5) Start networking with schools that you are interested in. Im amazed how knowing the right ppl can make a big difference in graduate school admissions.

Btw, whats the deal with SC2? When is it coming out? I was always a fan of ghost drop and nuke rushes.