Likely 3rd Time Applicant, Please Help

[MissingCalifornia]

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[CoopKid]

Your stats look solid (GPA honestly looked good pre-Bacc but I imagine you were trying to take some pre-req's, MCAT retake involved a significant increase with improvements in almost all areas) and your EC's are also pretty good - plenty of non-clinical volunteering hours, decent amount of research time (pubs aren't necessarily crucial). While you're clinical hours could be improved somewhat, I don't think that's what led to the cycle you're having. And since you (unfortunately) didn't receive any II's your interview performance is not a factor.

Which leaves me to think that either:
A.) Your written materials need much more attention. Does your PS answer WHY you want to become a doctor?
B.) There's some red flag, likely not your letters (as you stated, there from similar people which didn't affect you last time).. Any institutional action?

Take what I said with a couple grains of salt - there are others with more extensive experience and knowledge with the admissions process than I. Honestly kind of flabbergasted. @Goro @LizzyM ?

 

[Goro]

List was top-heavy

 

[MissingCalifornia]

Your stats look solid (GPA honestly looked good pre-Bacc but I imagine you were trying to take some pre-req's, MCAT retake involved a significant increase with improvements in almost all areas) and your EC's are also pretty good - plenty of non-clinical volunteering hours, decent amount of research time (pubs aren't necessarily crucial). While you're clinical hours could be improved somewhat, I don't think that's what led to the cycle you're having. And since you (unfortunately) didn't receive any II's your interview performance is not a factor.

Which leaves me to think that either:
A.) Your written materials need much more attention. Does your PS answer WHY you want to become a doctor?
B.) There's some red flag, likely not your letters (as you stated, there from similar people which didn't affect you last time).. Any institutional action?

Take what I said with a couple grains of salt - there are others with more extensive experience and knowledge with the admissions process than I. Honestly kind of flabbergasted. @Goro @LizzyM ?

Thanks for your input, appreciate it. No institutional action that I know of. Is it possible to have one and not know about it?

As for my PS, I did talk about why I want to be a doctor. While I mostly rewrote it from my first cycle, the backbone remained the same.

As Goro mentioned, do you also think my school list is too top heavy? I went by the MSAR and the WARS breakdown of schools to apply to, so I thought it was okay.

 

[LizzyM]

Very much agree with @Goro, list is too top heavy. 3.80/516 is below average for several of the schools on your list and they rewarded you with an "R".

 

[MissingCalifornia]

Very much agree with @Goro, list is too top heavy. 3.80/516 is below average for several of the schools on your list and they rewarded you with an "R".

Thanks for your input. I included them as reaches and that’s why I applied to 41, but I guess they’re too top tier for me. As for the schools within my reach, do you see any other glaring problems I can work on? Thank you.

 

[LizzyM]

You've applied to 69 different schools and you've received 3 interviews. I don't understand why you did not reapply to all three schools that interviewed you the first time.

How did you answer each prompt in each secondary for each of those 40 schools? If you had stock responses for the common prompts, you may have been marked down for having responses that were just a little bit non-responsive to the specific prompt.

 

[MissingCalifornia]

You've applied to 69 different schools and you've received 3 interviews. I don't understand why you did not reapply to all three schools that interviewed you the first time.

How did you answer each prompt in each secondary for each of those 40 schools? If you had stock responses for the common prompts, you may have been marked down for having responses that were just a little bit non-responsive to the specific prompt.

Sorry, I should have clarified. I did reapply to several schools from my first cycle and added some new ones this cycle based on my new MCAT and experiences. So a total of around 55 different schools. However, I only reapplied to one of three that interviewed me. I didn’t apply to the other two because of location and because of a bad interview experience that led to an R. In hindsight, maybe that was stupid of me. I just didn’t want to be seen as a reapplicant to most of my schools this cycle.

As for secondaries, by no means were they perfect but I pre-wrote them and tried to answer them based on the specific prompt.

Interestingly enough, the Rs I’ve received so far have been pretty much only from the new schools. So I’m not sure what’s going on.

 

[LizzyM]

At least some of the new schools that rejected you have average MCAT/GPA for admitted applicants that are well above your own. This is exactly why I invented the LizzyM score. It is okay to have some reaches (maybe 1/3 total at most) but the remainder should have averages that are at or below yours.

Remember, whether your MCAT/GPA are up to snuff is measured against the other applicants selected for interview, not the matriculants at that school. Many top schools are going to be choosing to interview the superstars leaving few slots for the applicants who have records reflected in the stats for matriculants.

 

[Goro]

You have now wasted three years of an attending salary because of a bad list. Right from the get-go you should have had DO school's on your list, because Beggars can't be choosy.

You applied to 69 schools but not a single one of them was a DO school. If you want to be a doctor, you have to start applying to DO schools.

 

[MissingCalifornia]

You have now wasted three years of an attending salary because of a bad list. Right from the get-go you should have had DO school's on your list, because Beggars can't be choosy.

You applied to 69 schools but not a single one of them was a DO school. If you want to be a doctor, you have to start applying to DO schools.

As I mentioned earlier, I did not apply to 69 schools. And yes, I’m painfully aware of having wasted 3 years.

Which DO schools would you recommend based on my app for next cycle?

 

[Goro]

In no particular order, the coastal Toros,. Oh bloody hell, I'm walking the dog and so the tap to speak function isn't working so well I'm going to have to speak out the full names of the schools.
Chicago College of osteopathic medicine, Kansas City University, Marion, University of New England if you're from that part of the country, Pacific Northwest if you're from that part of the country, both westerns, both New York Institute of Technology, a t still, Oklahoma if you're from that part of the country, you I w, Lake Erie College of osteopathic medicine both Erie and Bradenton, and the Des Moines college