Is it too late to apply DO?

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CavsFan2016

CavsFan2016

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Just had my one II turn into a rejection - not feeling so good about my application right now. Should I apply D.O. or is it too late at this point? I have a 3.6 GPA and a 517 MCAT (retake)


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You have yet to hear back from 19 schools. Wait it out a little longer man.
You chose to apply MD only for a reason, stick with it and see it through. If it doesn't work out we can be DO buddies next cycle!
You're gonna be fine this cycle man, I have a good feeling!
 
Thanks man. I've had three other rejections tho, so only hearing back from 16 schools now. I'll wait it out maybe, we'll see


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This is the worst time of year, the lull between the first acceptances and the middle of II season. I have 4 rejections and a wait-list (at my top choice) so far, i'm in a similar boat as you. But this is a looooong process, at this point we just have to wait and see. As the omnipotent mods on these forums say, "Don't worry about IIs until thanksgiving"

So we have over a month to go! Until then, just hold tight and keep the course. If you're feeling down about the process, feel free to PM me, I'm always down to commiserate!
 
It's not too late to apply DO. But patience is a virtue.

Ask the Admissions dean at the school that rejected you to see if they can offer feedback on your rejection.



CavsFan2016 said:
Just had my one II turn into a rejection - not feeling so good about my application right now. Should I apply D.O. or is it too late at this point? I have a 3.6 GPA and a 517 MCAT (retake)


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I'm sorry to hear that man, but you still have 16 schools to hear from! You only need one to be a doctor in the end :nod: PM me too if you wanna chat! We share a good number of schools on our list and I hope we both get to hear back from more of them~
 
Record yourself interviewing and play it back. If you were good enough for an a II your app is good but your interview is what may have held you back!
 
libertyyne said:
Record yourself interviewing and play it back. If you were good enough for an a II your app is good but your interview is what may have held you back!
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My interview was MMI and I felt I gave pretty decent answers and wasn't too nervous. Is it possible that the interview wasn't the factor that held me back?

I'll call the school and ask if they can give me any feedback, I was just wondering your opinion as well.
 
CavsFan2016 said:
My interview was MMI and I felt I gave pretty decent answers and wasn't too nervous. Is it possible that the interview wasn't the factor that held me back?

I'll call the school and ask if they can give me any feedback, I was just wondering your opinion as well.
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They are not going to invite you to the school for an interview just to waitlist you this early in the cycle. The interview is the only thing that could have led to a wl. I am not an expert in mmi, If possible so some mock ones with a friend or your premed society and see what they say.
 
libertyyne said:
They are not going to invite you to the school for an interview just to waitlist you this early in the cycle. The interview is the only thing that could have led to a wl. I am not an expert in mmi, If possible so some mock ones with a friend or your premed society and see what they say.
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It was actually a straight rejection, which I guess is even worse. Thanks for the advice
 
When IS too late to apply DO? I didn't for the sole reason that I couldn't afford to. I only applied to 11 MD schools. I've gotten 3 IIs and 1 rejection. However, one of my IIs is late (December). Another was one of those that the schools automatically send out to people above a certain GPA/MCAT threshold, which makes me nervous because while I have decent stats (really just a good GPA; my MCAT is average), my ECs are boring and I have no research. So though I'm not in a terrible position, I still wonder if I should apply DO.
 
CavsFan2016 said:
It was actually a straight rejection, which I guess is even worse. Thanks for the advice
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Sorry should have reread the thing. The logic still holds true. You rubbed someone the wrong way, were you wearing the right clothes, did you take a controversial stance during the mmi? Did you cover enough points, were you rude to the staff. It is resource intensive to invite someone to an II inly to reject them. Learn from this, the cycle is still in full swing.
 
beebreezy said:
When IS too late to apply DO? I didn't for the sole reason that I couldn't afford to. I only applied to 11 MD schools. I've gotten 3 IIs and 1 rejection. However, one of my IIs is late (December). Another was one of those that the schools automatically send out to people above a certain GPA/MCAT threshold, which makes me nervous because while I have decent stats (really just a good GPA; my MCAT is average), my ECs are boring and I have no research. So though I'm not in a terrible position, I still wonder if I should apply DO.
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The same logic applies to you. You have multiple IIs. School is interested in you. Even if it was am auto II,look at the schools interview cohort size and compare to matriculant size for your is or oos status at the school. If they interview 400 peole and accept 100 people that usually means they send out 200 acceptances. What that means for you is you have a significantly good chance of being accepted. So don't diminish the interest the school has in you prior to interviewing. You have a seat, you just need to close the deal.
 
libertyyne said:
The same logic applies to you. You have multiple IIs. School is interested in you. Even if it was am auto II,look at the schools interview cohort size and compare to matriculant size for your is or oos status at the school. If they interview 400 peole and accept 100 people that usually means they send out 200 acceptances. What that means for you is you have a significantly good chance of being accepted. So don't diminish the interest the school has in you prior to interviewing. You have a seat, you just need to close the deal.
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Yeah? This makes me feel better...I think. Alright, I'll chill out for a bit longer. Just don't want to chill too long to the point that it's too late for DO if I need to apply.
 
libertyyne said:
Sorry should have reread the thing. The logic still holds true. You rubbed someone the wrong way, were you wearing the right clothes, did you take a controversial stance during the mmi? Did you cover enough points, were you rude to the staff. It is resource intensive to invite someone to an II inly to reject them. Learn from this, the cycle is still in full swing.
Click to expand...


Honestly, I doubt I "rubbed someone the wrong way" - that just isn't something I would do. I think that my application as a whole (with interview included) just wasn't enough compared to the other applications. Maybe my interview responses weren't spectacular, but I have a hard time seeing how it was the deciding factor. Not everyone that gets an II is automatically placed on the same level, after all.
 
bunchesonothing said:
That's not something someone generally does on purpose.
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lol true. I'm not trying to be pretentious, but I think its still fair to consider myself a polite and respectful person - I never said anything even remotely rude to anyone.

No one here obviously knows me on a personal level so I'm sure it doesn't mean much. Just trying to understand what I can do to improve if I get lucky enough to have future IIs
 
CavsFan2016 said:
lol true. I'm not trying to be pretentious, but I think its still fair to consider myself a polite and respectful person - I never said anything even remotely rude to anyone.

No one here obviously knows me on a personal level so I'm sure it doesn't mean much. Just trying to understand what I can do to improve if I get lucky enough to have future IIs
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Cavs, I doubt you "rubbed someone the wrong way" or did something else to doom your interview. It's probably as you state above that you just didn't fit what they wanted, for whatever reason.

No, it's not too late to apply DO according to Goro and others. Some DO schools require a DO reference letter so that might be a small but surmountable obstacle. It might be good insurance...that you might not need. Only you can decide - if the worst happens, which I doubt as it's early - if you'd rather start at a DO school in August than be a reapplicant in the 2017-2018 cycle.
 
CavsFan2016 said:
lol true. I'm not trying to be pretentious, but I think its still fair to consider myself a polite and respectful person - I never said anything even remotely rude to anyone.

No one here obviously knows me on a personal level so I'm sure it doesn't mean much. Just trying to understand what I can do to improve if I get lucky enough to have future IIs
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Reach out and see what feedback they are willing to give you... Your stats are in line with the school and you had an early II so it's hard to believe your file in itself was not up to par... It's a long cycle buddy, you'll get some more love
 
You have a 517... You would likely get rejected DO for having stats too high. That score is incredible man don't worry about it. You'll get acceptances
 
If it's any consolation, I also got rejected today from a school post-interview. I was pretty shocked because I thought my interview went well.....partially my interviewer flat out told me that *they* thought it went really well at the end of it. For that reason, I'm also pretty skeptical I rubbed the interviewer the wrong way. The school has a low post-II acceptance rate but a long waitlist and I too wonder precisely what happened but......I'm inclined to think that sometimes things just happen, for lack of a more eloquent statement.


This could, of course, just be me trying to console myself. I would wait until Thanksgiving to truly begin worrying but that's just me.


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Ok, I am not a professional admissions consultant but lets apply some basic logic here. I am a busy ad com I have to fill 100 seats I have 10,000 applicants. Do you really think I am going to invite people to the limited interview spots I have early on in the process to reject them ? The more likly scenario is that I was turned off by the applicant during the interview enough to reject. So you can stay in denial about your interviewing skills and bomb a few more and become those few candidates who don't get accepted even with lizzyMs in the mid 70's. Or just practice. The only risk is that you get better at interviewing the is no downside besides time and effort.
 
libertyyne said:
Ok, I am not a professional admissions consultant but lets apply some basic logic here. I am a busy ad com I have to fill 100 seats I have 10,000 applicants. Do you really think I am going to invite people to the limited interview spots I have early on in the process to reject them ? The more likly scenario is that I was turned off by the applicant during the interview enough to reject. So you can stay in denial about your interviewing skills and bomb a few more and become those few candidates who don't get accepted even with lizzyMs in the mid 70's. Or just practice. The only risk is that you get better at interviewing the is no downside besides time and effort.
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Thanks for the advice!


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libertyyne said:
Ok, I am not a professional admissions consultant but lets apply some basic logic here. I am a busy ad com I have to fill 100 seats I have 10,000 applicants. Do you really think I am going to invite people to the limited interview spots I have early on in the process to reject them ? The more likly scenario is that I was turned off by the applicant during the interview enough to reject. So you can stay in denial about your interviewing skills and bomb a few more and become those few candidates who don't get accepted even with lizzyMs in the mid 70's. Or just practice. The only risk is that you get better at interviewing the is no downside besides time and effort.
Click to expand...

I don't think anyone here is arguing that they invited us only to intentionally reject us. Not even close. I also don't think we are arguing that we are the world's best interviewers, or that there isn't room for improvement. *Clearly* there is room for improvement. Isn't there always? I can undoubtedly think of multiple things I could have phrased better. I think most of us can when we reflect on our interviews.


We are merely suggesting that there are other factors beyond the interview that can influence accept/waitlist/reject decisions, and it isn't totally time to panic yet. Perhaps we only had average interviews and we did not move far enough up the LizzyM stepladder. But I really find it hard to believe that my interviewer in particular would look me dead in the eye, tell me how nice it was to get to know me and that he thought my interview went stellar, only to turn around and tell the adcoms I was outrageously bad.


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I would apply DO to broaden the chances at getting into medical school if you haven't heard anything as of yet. Definitely!
 
littledreamer said:
I don't think anyone here is arguing that they invited us only to intentionally reject us. Not even close. I also don't think we are arguing that we are the world's best interviewers, or that there isn't room for improvement. *Clearly* there is room for improvement. Isn't there always? I can undoubtedly think of multiple things I could have phrased better. I think most of us can when we reflect on our interviews.


We are merely suggesting that there are other factors beyond the interview that can influence accept/waitlist/reject decisions, and it isn't totally time to panic yet. Perhaps we only had average interviews and we did not move far enough up the LizzyM stepladder. But I really find it hard to believe that my interviewer in particular would look me dead in the eye, tell me how nice it was to get to know me and that he thought my interview went stellar, only to turn around and tell the adcoms I was outrageously bad.


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I agree totally. I just didn't want to argue with someone who clearly had his mind made up on the matter


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CavsFan2016 said:
I agree totally. I just didn't want to argue with someone who clearly had his mind made up on the matter


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As do you folks. I am just trying to think of any other rationale or logic, but if you folks want to ascribe it to something else that is fine. I stated it was just my opinion. Good Luck!
 
libertyyne said:
As do you folks. I am just trying to think of any other rationale or logic, but if you folks want to ascribe it to something else that is fine. I stated it was just my opinion. Good Luck!
Click to expand...

I don't have my mind made up, I just honestly can't think of anything specific to improve on. I practiced multiple MMI interviews with my pre-med advisor beforehand who went over a few minor things but said I was good, and had a good time during the actual interview. Again, I just want to find out how to improve, and I honestly can't think of anything specific during the interview that needs significant improvement. Or as you put it, maybe I just "rubbed someone the wrong way"


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CavsFan2016 said:
I don't have my mind made up, I just honestly can't think of anything specific to improve on. I practiced multiple MMI interviews with my pre-med advisor beforehand who went over a few minor things but said I was good, and had a good time during the actual interview. Again, I just want to find out how to improve, and I honestly can't think of anything specific during the interview that needs significant improvement. Or as you put it, maybe I just "rubbed someone the wrong way"


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I completely get your frustration, I have difficulty with the mmi rubric as well. I unfortunately am not an interview expert so my advice on improvement is limited.
 
libertyyne said:
I completely get your frustration, I have difficulty with the mmi rubric as well. I unfortunately am not an interview expert so my advice on improvement is limited.
Click to expand...

I appreciate your input, and sorry if I was coming across as close-minded. Congrats on your acceptances so far


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CavsFan2016 said:
I don't have my mind made up, I just honestly can't think of anything specific to improve on. I practiced multiple MMI interviews with my pre-med advisor beforehand who went over a few minor things but said I was good, and had a good time during the actual interview. Again, I just want to find out how to improve, and I honestly can't think of anything specific during the interview that needs significant improvement. Or as you put it, maybe I just "rubbed someone the wrong way"


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Click to expand...

Hey Cavs, I agree with Goro and try to contact the school to see if they have any feedback on your performance. Perhaps you just didn't meet the specific requirements they were looking for. Looking at school specifc posts from last year a lot of people got rejected post-II and still ended up happy at another school. I just think there's a bit more going on in the adcom's head than the reasons people listed in this thread, and it might not be related to interviewing skills. I'm rooting lots for you 🙂
 
I know many people have said this already, but I am also in a similar boat in the MD world, I applied to 19 schools in July/August and have only heard back from 4, LizzyM~71, so you're not alone! 🙂
 
rolliespring said:
Hey Cavs, I agree with Goro and try to contact the school to see if they have any feedback on your performance. Perhaps you just didn't meet the specific requirements they were looking for. Looking at school specifc posts from last year a lot of people got rejected post-II and still ended up happy at another school. I just think there's a bit more going on in the adcom's head than the reasons people listed in this thread, and it might not be related to interviewing skills. I'm rooting lots for you 🙂
Click to expand...

Thank you! I actually did reach out to their admissions office and they gave a very vague response saying they cannot say anything until after interview season is over, and I'm welcome to check out a web seminar in the spring if interested. So no help there, unfortunately.
 
BehindBlueEyes said:
I know many people have said this already, but I am also in a similar boat in the MD world, I applied to 19 schools in July/August and have only heard back from 4, LizzyM~71, so you're not alone! 🙂
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Thanks! Good luck to you as well 🙂
 
CavsFan2016 said:
Honestly, I doubt I "rubbed someone the wrong way" - that just isn't something I would do. I think that my application as a whole (with interview included) just wasn't enough compared to the other applications. Maybe my interview responses weren't spectacular, but I have a hard time seeing how it was the deciding factor. Not everyone that gets an II is automatically placed on the same level, after all.
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Might have been outing yourself as a Cavs fan during the interview :laugh:
 
CavsFan2016 said:
Thank you! I actually did reach out to their admissions office and they gave a very vague response saying they cannot say anything until after interview season is over, and I'm welcome to check out a web seminar in the spring if interested. So no help there, unfortunately.
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Cavs - I think that just because you were rejected after the interview doesn't mean that your interview skills are bad or that you insulted someone, rubbed someone the wrong way or did something specific to cause you to be rejected. It was probably a "fit" issue and nothing that you should beat yourself up about or cause you to get worried about future interviews.

You mention interview prep - MMIs are hard. Keep positive. I do recommend two books by Samir Desai MD - one on interviewing and the other on MMIs (but only to increase your positiveness not to say that you necessarily need to improve).
 
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