Late secondary to U of Mich

[premed engineer]

I'm just now sending in my secondaries (12/13) because of a delay in getting LORs. The two school I'm mainly interested in Indiana and Michigan. I'm not worried about IU- one of my parents is an alumni and one of my LOR is written by a professor there. Also, there deadline is much later than most other schools

My info:
Purdue University
Premedical Engineering with a minor in English
GPA 3.78, Science and prereq gpa >3.9

MCAT 38M (14, 13, 11) - a word from the wise, it doesn't matter how good your MCAT essays are if they're not long enough. To combat this, one of my letters is from an English professor who attested that I am in fact an excellent writer.

Worked part time as an EMT for 2 years-roughly 1000 hours
300 hours research- biomedical engineering
100 hours volunteer work in a hospital
Also, some misc ECs that will help somewhat


I know that applying so late hurt my chances of getting in to U of M, but to I still have a decent chance?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DRIN]

I'm just now sending in my secondaries (12/13) because of a delay in getting LORs. The two school I'm mainly interested in Indiana and Michigan. I'm not worried about IU- one of my parents is an alumni and one of my LOR is written by a professor there. Also, there deadline is much later than most other schools

My info:
Premedical Engineering with a minor in English
GPA 3.78, Science and prereq gpa >3.9

MCAT 38M (14, 13, 11) - a word from the wise, it doesn't matter how good your MCAT essays are if their not long enough. To combat this, one of my letters is from an English professor who attested that I am in fact an excellent writer.

Worked part time as an EMT for 2 years-roughly 1000 hours
300 hours research- biomedical engineering
100 hours volunteer work in a hospital
Also, some misc ECs that will help somewhat


I know that applying so late hurt my chances of getting in to U of M, but to I still have a decent chance?

They have an admissions tracker on their website that shows only 78 interview slots left. I'd say if you had your application in earlier, you would have had a great chance to get in there, but now it's obviously going to be much tougher. With that said, somebody has to get those 78 slots, so why not you?

 

[SteinUmStein]

They have an admissions tracker on their website that shows only 78 interview slots left. I'd say if you had your application in earlier, you would have had a great chance to get in there, but now it's obviously going to be much tougher. With that said, somebody has to get those 78 slots, so why not you?

It's certainly worth a shot, although on Twitter they stated that most of those 78 interview slots are going to IS applicants.

 

[Catalystik]

Your stats are good enough to get their attention. You have as good a chance as an OOSer could have.

 

[premed engineer]

Thanks guys that makes me feel better. I'm pretty confident that if I can get an interview I'll get in.

 

[jturkel]

They have an admissions tracker on their website that shows only 78 interview slots left. I'd say if you had your application in earlier, you would have had a great chance to get in there, but now it's obviously going to be much tougher. With that said, somebody has to get those 78 slots, so why not you?

where on the website is that? i haven't see it.

 

[JJMrK]

You may have a shot at both schools based on stats alone, but it might come down to the wire. Did you apply to other schools? I know this might be obvious, but get your secondaries in much earlier if you end up reapplying next cycle.

 

[JJMrK]

I'm just now sending in my secondaries (12/13) because of a delay in getting LORs. The two school I'm mainly interested in Indiana and Michigan. I'm not worried about IU- one of my parents is an alumni and one of my LOR is written by a professor there. Also, there deadline is much later than most other schools

My info:
Purdue University
Premedical Engineering with a minor in English
GPA 3.78, Science and prereq gpa >3.9

MCAT 38M (14, 13, 11) - a word from the wise, it doesn't matter how good your MCAT essays are if they're not long enough. To combat this, one of my letters is from an English professor who attested that I am in fact an excellent writer.

Worked part time as an EMT for 2 years-roughly 1000 hours
300 hours research- biomedical engineering
100 hours volunteer work in a hospital
Also, some misc ECs that will help somewhat


I know that applying so late hurt my chances of getting in to U of M, but to I still have a decent chance?

Have you heard anything concrete about this? I suspect you're right, but I haven't seen anything "official."

 

[premed engineer]

Have you heard anything concrete about this? I suspect you're right, but I haven't seen anything "official."

Nothing official, I heard it from a friend. Each essay would have only been a little over a half page if it was a standard double spaced page. In my essays I quoted Nietzsche and Aristotle and I also referenced Dante. I'm an English minor and I have written enough essays to know that the only way my essays were 20th percentile is if they were grading by length.

 

[premed engineer]

You may have a shot at both schools based on stats alone, but it might come down to the wire. Did you apply to other schools? I know this might be obvious, but get your secondaries in much earlier if you end up reapplying next cycle.

I applied to other schools, mainly big ten universities. I'm an Indiana resident, IU's primary deadline wasn't until today, and in the history of my major at Purdue, only 1 person hasn't been accepted to IUSM, so if I get rejected there I doubt I'm getting in anywhere, except maybe Wayne State, but the extra year isn't worth living in Detroit for 4.

If I do get rejected, I'll definitely apply sooner. My problem this time around was getting LORs from science profs.- Purdue has enormous classes and I never needed anything other than the book to get an A, so I never got to know my professors. Since I have the letters now, I could apply early. I'll retake the MCAT. One of my English profs offered to help me study for the essay part. Also, I was working 60+ hours a week this summer and didn't get a chance to start studying until about two weeks before the test. Given another time around, I'd probably be good for low 40's, and hopefully I would score high enough on the essay to apply early admission to either U of M or IU.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

Hopefully you'll get in this cycle, but reading your posts it seems to be that your confidence led you to be a bit complacent in sending your materials in on time. Although you have great stats, you seem awfully more sure of yourself than a med school applicant should be!

 

[premed engineer]

Hopefully you'll get in this cycle, but reading your posts it seems to be that your confidence led you to be a bit complacent in sending your materials in on time. Although you have great stats, you seem awfully more sure of yourself than a med school applicant should be!

I'm sorry if it seems like hubris, but I know my strength and weaknesses and I absolutely detest fake modesty- there's a reason why I can quote Nietzsche and Aristotle off the top of my head.

The reason I sent in materials wasn't overconfidence. I didn't send my materials in because I am ******ed and forgot about LORs. This is my weakness. If I go to an interview I'll probably get in because my strengths are readily apparent, and the fact that I remembered my interview was that day means I have hidden my biggest weakness ;-).

 

[SteinUmStein]

I'm sorry if it seems like hubris, but I know my strength and weaknesses and I absolutely detest fake modesty- there's a reason why I can quote Nietzsche and Aristotle off the top of my head.

The reason I sent in materials wasn't overconfidence. I didn't send my materials in because I am ******ed and forgot about LORs. This is my weakness. If I go to an interview I'll probably get in because my strengths are readily apparent, and the fact that I remembered my interview was that day means I have hidden my biggest weakness ;-).

Nah, hubris doesn't quite cover it. I'm going with arrogance. Yuck.

 

[jturkel]

Nah, hubris doesn't quite cover it. I'm going with arrogance. Yuck.

agreed.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

Nah, hubris doesn't quite cover it. I'm going with arrogance. Yuck.

Yeah, being able to quote Nietzsche and Aristotle off the top of your head requires one thing and one thing only: the ability to memorize a sentence or two. Not terribly impressive.

OP, just a word of advice, be careful not to come off this way in your interview. It could harm you!

 

[premed engineer]

Nah, hubris doesn't quite cover it. I'm going with arrogance. Yuck.

Reading over it, my previous statement, it did sound quite douchy. I would like to apologize for that. I was trying to cite the explanation of my essay to explain the origin my Neo-Aristotelian opinion of the Arrogance-Modesty continuum. I was not implying that my choice of reading material meant that I was smarter than or superior to anyone else.

 

[JJMrK]

If you don't get in this cycle, be sure your personal statement contains absolutely no hint of the attitude you've displayed in this thread.

 

[BBender716]

If you don't get in this cycle, be sure your personal statement contains absolutely no hint of the attitude you've displayed in this thread.

ziiiinnng!

 

[Catalystik]

My advice to the OP would be this: If you end up reapplying, be sure that your PS is understandable to the HS-grad admissions office secretary who screens and scores your PS before passing it on up the line.

 

[SteinUmStein]

My advice to the OP would be this: If you end up reapplying, be sure that your PS is understandable to the HS-grad admissions office secretary who screens and scores your PS before passing it on up the line.

Agreed. You're probably not scoring bonus points by quoting famous authors. I have seen enough essay rubrics to know that there's probably just a box that gets checked that says, "Evidence was sufficiently provided." There was nothing particularly cerebral about my essays and it all turned out fine.

Solid formatting and enough content (read: length) is probably more important to their shotgun grading approach.

 

[oasis0688]

I applied to other schools, mainly big ten universities. I'm an Indiana resident, IU's primary deadline wasn't until today, and in the history of my major at Purdue, only 1 person hasn't been accepted to IUSM, so if I get rejected there I doubt I'm getting in anywhere, except maybe Wayne State, but the extra year isn't worth living in Detroit for 4.

If I do get rejected, I'll definitely apply sooner. My problem this time around was getting LORs from science profs.- Purdue has enormous classes and I never needed anything other than the book to get an A, so I never got to know my professors. Since I have the letters now, I could apply early. I'll retake the MCAT. One of my English profs offered to help me study for the essay part. Also, I was working 60+ hours a week this summer and didn't get a chance to start studying until about two weeks before the test. Given another time around, I'd probably be good for low 40's, and hopefully I would score high enough on the essay to apply early admission to either U of M or IU.

detroit's a pretty great city... just saying...

 

[ThatQuestionGuy]

I applied to other schools, mainly big ten universities. I'm an Indiana resident, IU's primary deadline wasn't until today, and in the history of my major at Purdue, only 1 person hasn't been accepted to IUSM, so if I get rejected there I doubt I'm getting in anywhere, except maybe Wayne State, but the extra year isn't worth living in Detroit for 4.

If I do get rejected, I'll definitely apply sooner. My problem this time around was getting LORs from science profs.- Purdue has enormous classes and I never needed anything other than the book to get an A, so I never got to know my professors. Since I have the letters now, I could apply early. I'll retake the MCAT. One of my English profs offered to help me study for the essay part. Also, I was working 60+ hours a week this summer and didn't get a chance to start studying until about two weeks before the test. Given another time around, I'd probably be good for low 40's, and hopefully I would score high enough on the essay to apply early admission to either U of M or IU.

Isn't the essay score pretty worthless?

 

[jturkel]

Isn't the essay score pretty worthless?

if it's low, it will raise a flag (M is low IMO). if it's average, then nothing to worry about. if it's great (R-T), it might set you apart from other applicants when eliminating down acceptances and having trouble deciding between a couple.

 

[JJMrK]

Isn't the essay score pretty worthless?

Sort of. They have your PS and secondary essays. If you were on an adcom, what you use as a measure of someone's writing ability: 1) Samples of a person's writing or 2) A grade assigned by someone else after reading samples of a person's writing?

 

[premed engineer]

Isn't the essay score pretty worthless?

At least for IU an essay score below an O disqualifies you from early decision.

 

[premed engineer]

detroit's a pretty great city... just saying...

My dad when to Wayne State. I am originally from Detroit. No thanks.

For me atmosphere is one of the most important factors. I didn't send secondaries to Yale(I friend hated it) and Cornell(I'm not a big city person) because of where the campus was located.