Looking for some feedback (current applicant)

[Decemberr]

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Hello, I am a current applicant looking for some feedback. I submitted my applications by the end of August and have not received any interview invites. I realize my application is nothing special, and I would greatly appreciate some feedback as to how I could improve my application if I must re-apply next cycle.

Here's roughly what my application looks like:
GPA:
BCPM 3.77
cumulative 3.71
MCAT:
First time- 10/9/10 (29)
Second time- 14/9/13 (36)
Research:
6 months research assistant
Shadowing:
50 hours in the states
70 hours abroad
Volunteering:
Medical: ~100 hours at a hospital, ~100 hours at an international clinic
Non-medical: ~50 hours peer-tutor, ~50 hours orphanage
Leadership:
Vice-President at a school organization
Employment:
Lab Assistant for 1.5 years
Teacher (current) 1.5 years

Schools applied:
Rochester (REJECTED)
BU (REJECTED)
Dartmouth Geisel (REJECTED)
Georgetown (REJECTED)
NYMC (HOLD)
George Washington (HOLD)
U of Vermont
Rosalind Franklin
USC
Jefferson
Tufts
Northwestern

Again, any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

[karayaa]

Not much non-clin volunteering maybe, but the rest looks fine.
How were your PS/LORs?
Does your app have a "theme"? What type of mission would you fit best with?
Did you ask your rejections for feedback?

With a late(r) app, and non-amazing ECs/stats, you might just need to wait a while longer. The season goes till March, y'know

 

[mimelim]

Hello, I am a current applicant looking for some feedback. I submitted my applications by the end of August and have not received any interview invites. I realize my application is nothing special, and I would greatly appreciate some feedback as to how I could improve my application if I must re-apply next cycle.

Here's roughly what my application looks like:
GPA:
BCPM 3.77
cumulative 3.71
MCAT:
First time- 10/9/10 (29)
Second time- 14/9/13 (36)
Research:
6 months research assistant
Shadowing:
50 hours in the states
70 hours abroad
Volunteering:
Medical: ~100 hours at a hospital, ~100 hours at an international clinic
Non-medical: ~50 hours peer-tutor, ~50 hours orphanage
Leadership:
Vice-President at a school organization
Employment:
Lab Assistant for 1.5 years
Teacher (current) 1.5 years

Schools applied:
Rochester (REJECTED)
BU (REJECTED)
Dartmouth Geisel (REJECTED)
Georgetown (REJECTED)
NYMC (HOLD)
George Washington (HOLD)
U of Vermont
Rosalind Franklin
USC
Jefferson
Tufts
Northwestern

Again, any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

#1 Stats are competitive for most any school.
#2 ECs are stock. No area lacking significantly, but certainly no area of production. Overall sub-par.

Colleges want the well-rounded class, not the well-rounded kid – The worst-kept secret of college admission is that colleges are looking for the well-rounded class, not the well-rounded kid. They want some real scholars for every department; some superb athletes; some great musicians and actors; a few rich kids whose parents can build a library wing; and some legacies to keep the alumni happy. The applicant who is attractive but not really special in any one category is going to have a much tougher time getting in.

#3 Don't have LOR/PS obviously, but it is hard to have strong LOR without much outside of academics to draw on. Okay/non-harmful letters, of course. But, unless you are producing/excelling in something it is hard to get strong letters. My biggest concern is that your application is very high risk to end up like this. Your clinical exposure is on the lower end. Certainly acceptable for some applicants, but I wouldn't be surprised if you get a, "You don't have enough clinical experience." Not because the number of hours is low or your experience isn't good, but because of the rest of your application. Most accepted applicants with low clinical experience have something else that makes them worth the risk of low clinical experience because they have a lot of up side for a school. If you are going to be a 'safe' applicant, you pretty damn sure on paper look like you really know what you are doing.
#4 Still have time in the application season, but again, just by your brief overview, you are competing with a huge number of applicants because there just isn't much else to pull your application out of the 'good student, but kinda boring' pile.

 

[JW2020]

What state are you a resident in? There's still hope, but if reapplying next year I'd start by broadening your list (at least 15-22 schools that you feel you are at a legitimate candidate at and fit their mission and be sure to apply to all your state schools, if applicable) and maintaining the volunteering. Apply broadly right away in June and turn in secondaries ASAP. With solid GPA and a strong MCAT you'll get interviews next year if this year doesn't work out.

 

[Afford]

Your numbers are high enough for any med school.

I would try moving to a state that matriculates a lot of in-state residents. Also, maybe one of your LORs is bad.

 

[miamiheatfan]

Hello, I am a current applicant looking for some feedback. I submitted my applications by the end of August and have not received any interview invites. I realize my application is nothing special, and I would greatly appreciate some feedback as to how I could improve my application if I must re-apply next cycle.

Here's roughly what my application looks like:
GPA:
BCPM 3.77
cumulative 3.71
MCAT:
First time- 10/9/10 (29)
Second time- 14/9/13 (36)
Research:
6 months research assistant
Shadowing:
50 hours in the states
70 hours abroad
Volunteering:
Medical: ~100 hours at a hospital, ~100 hours at an international clinic
Non-medical: ~50 hours peer-tutor, ~50 hours orphanage
Leadership:
Vice-President at a school organization
Employment:
Lab Assistant for 1.5 years
Teacher (current) 1.5 years

Schools applied:
Rochester (REJECTED)
BU (REJECTED)
Dartmouth Geisel (REJECTED)
Georgetown (REJECTED)
NYMC (HOLD)
George Washington (HOLD)
U of Vermont
Rosalind Franklin
USC
Jefferson
Tufts
Northwestern

Again, any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

While I think you could've applied to more schools, your numbers should've given you multiple interviews by now even with your list. In my opinion your ECs are good enough, I would venture to agree with some of the above and say you might have a bad or too neutral letter of rec. You should start thinking about the letters.

 

[lmn]

You needed to have applied to more schools and smarter. A good amount of your schools are some of the ones with the most amount of applicants every year, that doesn't mean you can't get into those programs, but the odds aren't in your favor, even if with good matching stats. Your stats are all good and should net you a good amount of interviews if you up the amount of schools to give you a chance at. Keep up with your activities in case you need to reapply next year, but hopefully something will come through for you in this cycle, best of luck!

 

[Doug Underhill]

Do you have any institutional actions(for something like cheating) or a criminal record?

Not gonna lie, this topic is pretty scary. This user has a LizzyM score of 73 and they didn't even get a single interview. Do we need 75s to get interviews these days, and higher to get accepted?

 

[Great White Buffalo]

You needed to have applied to more schools and smarter. A good amount of your schools are some of the ones with the most amount of applicants every year, that doesn't mean you can't get into those programs, but the odds aren't in your favor, even if with good matching stats. Your stats are all good and should net you a good amount of interviews if you up the amount of schools to give you a chance at. Keep up with your activities in case you need to reapply next year, but hopefully something will come through for you in this cycle, best of luck!

I agree with this poster.

Dartmouth average age is like 28, really focus on Non Traditional. As others mentioned, your list is too short. What school did you do undergrad, and what state are you considered instate?? Did you do a Post Bac, or is your GPA all from undergrad?? Is your PS and secondaries compelling, or just a list of stuff? Need a story/theme to make you interesting to adcoms. When did you take your MCATs, and how do you explain the big change in scores??

Otherwise, with your stats, this is a mystery, and reinforces that it is a bit of a crapshoot at an individual level, and need a wide net to make the averages work in your favor.

 

[PreciousHamburgers]

Is UVM your state school?

 

[baxt1412]

#1 Stats are competitive for most any school.
#2 ECs are stock. No area lacking significantly, but certainly no area of production. Overall sub-par.

Colleges want the well-rounded class, not the well-rounded kid – The worst-kept secret of college admission is that colleges are looking for the well-rounded class, not the well-rounded kid. They want some real scholars for every department; some superb athletes; some great musicians and actors; a few rich kids whose parents can build a library wing; and some legacies to keep the alumni happy. The applicant who is attractive but not really special in any one category is going to have a much tougher time getting in.

#3 Don't have LOR/PS obviously, but it is hard to have strong LOR without much outside of academics to draw on. Okay/non-harmful letters, of course. But, unless you are producing/excelling in something it is hard to get strong letters. My biggest concern is that your application is very high risk to end up like this. Your clinical exposure is on the lower end. Certainly acceptable for some applicants, but I wouldn't be surprised if you get a, "You don't have enough clinical experience." Not because the number of hours is low or your experience isn't good, but because of the rest of your application. Most accepted applicants with low clinical experience have something else that makes them worth the risk of low clinical experience because they have a lot of up side for a school. If you are going to be a 'safe' applicant, you pretty damn sure on paper look like you really know what you are doing.
#4 Still have time in the application season, but again, just by your brief overview, you are competing with a huge number of applicants because there just isn't much else to pull your application out of the 'good student, but kinda boring' pile.

agreed. other than your grades/MCAT, everything else seems pretty generic. did you write about any hobbies or anything that makes you a "normal" person? we know you like science

 

[BurbyPrep89]

Is it possible for you to boost your clinical hours? Consider that you're going against applicants who might have been volunteer EMTs at their school and can boast thousands of hours, or non-trads who might have a year to multiple years of research.

I'm sorry you're feeling stuck right now, it's just a competitive process.

But it's also a marathon not a sprint, and the race isn't over yet. Your numbers are good, and the jump in your MCAT is awesome!

All I can think of is that your ECs are shorter than what I've seen fellow applicants mention or post about.

Wishing you the very best luck!

 

[llamasarefuzzy]

Your stats are really good. I'm surprised you don't have any iis, although you did apply to fairly top heavy schools.

Also, did you write about what makes you special/exciting as a person? From your post here it looks like you did all your ecs to check a box... Just enough to get them done, but not enough to show your passion. Perhaps that is just my impression from the post, though.

Best of luck, my understanding is that there are still interviews to be had!

 

[Eppur Si Muove]

I concur with those that say you did not apply nearly broadly enough

 

[gyngyn]

You have 5 schools where you had (have) a fair chance at an interview. That is not usually enough.
Multiple MCAT's are viewed idiosyncratically and not usually the way one would hope.
Is this your first application cycle?

 

[Ace Khalifa]

Your LizzyM score is the same as mine, so I'll bite.

Submitting by end of August is a little late - strike 1.

Everyone else has said this, so I'll echo them: you did NOT apply broadly enough. Strike 2.

EC's are all standard, but as @mimelim said, there's nothing that makes you stand out. Strike 3.

Did you try to write about your EC's with positive spin and personal growth and good stuff like that? If not, then that might be a possibility why you haven't gotten any II's yet.

Did you have a bad LOR? Obviously there's no definitive, evidence-based way to tell, but a truly bad LOR can hurt you.

I would start thinking about a reapplication strategy, but "it's not over til it's over," so don't count yourself out just yet. There are people who interview late in the season and still get in.

 

[Goro]

Concur with my learned colleague.

Suggest that you get feedback from the schools that rejected you, and improve your ECs, even if you need a gap year.

Apply more broadly and strategically. Find out what schools average MCAT scores, as opposed to taking the most recent.

#1 Stats are competitive for most any school.
#2 ECs are stock. No area lacking significantly, but certainly no area of production. Overall sub-par.

Colleges want the well-rounded class, not the well-rounded kid – The worst-kept secret of college admission is that colleges are looking for the well-rounded class, not the well-rounded kid. They want some real scholars for every department; some superb athletes; some great musicians and actors; a few rich kids whose parents can build a library wing; and some legacies to keep the alumni happy. The applicant who is attractive but not really special in any one category is going to have a much tougher time getting in.

#3 Don't have LOR/PS obviously, but it is hard to have strong LOR without much outside of academics to draw on. Okay/non-harmful letters, of course. But, unless you are producing/excelling in something it is hard to get strong letters. My biggest concern is that your application is very high risk to end up like this. Your clinical exposure is on the lower end. Certainly acceptable for some applicants, but I wouldn't be surprised if you get a, "You don't have enough clinical experience." Not because the number of hours is low or your experience isn't good, but because of the rest of your application. Most accepted applicants with low clinical experience have something else that makes them worth the risk of low clinical experience because they have a lot of up side for a school. If you are going to be a 'safe' applicant, you pretty damn sure on paper look like you really know what you are doing.
#4 Still have time in the application season, but again, just by your brief overview, you are competing with a huge number of applicants because there just isn't much else to pull your application out of the 'good student, but kinda boring' pile.

 

[Decemberr]

You have 5 schools where you had (have) a fair chance at an interview. That is not usually enough.
Multiple MCAT's are viewed idiosyncratically and not usually the way one would hope.
Is this your first application cycle?

Thank you for your reply! Yes, this is my first application cycle. Which schools would you recommend for me to apply to if need be? I did refer to MSAR this cycle, but I see that I still have not applied broadly enough.

 

[WingedOx]

What state are you a resident of?

Your biggest issue (of what you listed) is your school list. Just because Jefferson/GWU/RF have lower than average stats doesn't mean it's easier to get in. In fact, it's likely the opposite, since there's virtually no self-selection in the applicant pool. Also, yeah, apply earlier. I had already interviewed in August IIRC.

if it doesn't work out (and hopefully it still will).... consider adding next time:

Every in state school
Loyola/Rush (since you already went for Northwestern)
Wake Forest (and write them an additional letter about why you'd want to live in Winston Salem... they like people with connections)
Drexel and possibly Temple since you looked at Philly
Public schools in Ohio (they tend to be friendly to OOS)
Wayne State/Oakland (both should be reasonably good about taking OOS)

...just to name a few.

 

[Decemberr]

What state are you a resident of?

Your biggest issue (of what you listed) is your school list. Just because Jefferson/GWU/RF have lower than average stats doesn't mean it's easier to get in. In fact, it's likely the opposite, since there's virtually no self-selection in the applicant pool. Also, yeah, apply earlier. I had already interviewed in August IIRC.

if it doesn't work out (and hopefully it still will).... consider adding next time:

Every in state school
Loyola/Rush (since you already went for Northwestern)
Wake Forest (and write them an additional letter about why you'd want to live in Winston Salem... they like people with connections)
Drexel and possibly Temple since you looked at Philly
Public schools in Ohio (they tend to be friendly to OOS)
Wayne State/Oakland (both should be reasonably good about taking OOS)

...just to name a few.

Thanks for your input! Since I'm currently residing out of the country, I have no "in-state" schools unfortunately.

 

[Decemberr]

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[Señor Chang]

@gyngyn, @Goro and the rest of SDN community

I would appreciate your input in my situation. I graduated college in 2013, and started working at a private tutoring academy abroad (in an East Asian country) full time ever since. For the next year and a half, I only volunteered intermittently (non-clinical), and took two weeks off work to participate in an overseas volunteer program. I admit I do not have a good reason to explain my lack of volunteering, which most likely is the main reason I was unsuccessful this cycle. After it was clear I would need to apply again- I decided to work part-time instead and looked seriously for clinical volunteering commitments. I have since started volunteering at a free clinic (which took serious searching to find) mid-February. I know I should've done this long ago and I regret not starting earlier, but there is nothing I can do now to change that.
I really do have a passion for medicine, know it is what I want to do, and thus would like to apply this coming June. However, I'm afraid it will look like I'm just checking off boxes since I only started to volunteer at a clinic so close to when the primary application would be due. Would I have a decent chance if I apply again this cycle or would it be much wiser to wait another year? Thank you!

I think it would be more than realistic for you to try again next cycle. Just try to get some serious clinical hours under you belt between now and June. Moreover, I think there is a lot that will depend on how you write your essays. So if you can, start early and have people review it. Given your stats, something tells me you may have had some accidental red flags in your writing.

Let me know if you have any other questions.