my semi-solicited advice

[Adcom2]

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...I've worked in a couple labs for a year, but didn't really enjoy the experience or learn much, and I'm therefore wary of highlighting it in my application. I did end up with my name (which was among seven other names) on an abstract though.

Any advice/comments would be appreciated! Thanks for reading.

If you didn't enjoy it, then don't emphasize it. It would be pretty hard to convincingly hide your dislike.

 

[Adcom2]

In your personal experience or your personal opinion? Because if it's the former then you must have had an easy job.

I guess I should read that as an insult? Anyway, personal experience. I had a middling hard job and worked 50+ hours a week. Also 2 children. Mind you, my life is much less complicated now. In my previous message, I specifically said that academically, medical school is harder than 10 credits (organic + physics, e.g.) plus a full time job. Also, as I understand your situation, you have not yet experienced medical school. You may or not agree with me once you have.

 

[LiveinChicago83]

It's just frustrating to see that non-traditional students are expected to torture themselves for some abstract test that adcomm's want to see -- and inevitably be the first to get weeded out for it. I think working a stressful job and even taking Orgo is much. Isn't it inevitably relative among applicants? Unfortunately the process seems to be an un-holistic numbers game, tipped towards students who are in cozier situations. How do students who buy themselves a 30,000 dollar post-bacc prove that they can juggle? Three sciences is nothing; pushing wheelchairs around for three hours a week is not work.

I know a lot of physicians who would disagree about the difficulty. There is a lot more material, yes, and it is more academically challenging, but in terms of lifestyle -- this is much much more difficult. In medical school you stick together. In the working world you sink or swim. A much more isolated experience, in both my experience and opinion.

The aim of the original post wasn't to insult, but to point at hypocrisy in what medical schools expect of us...

I guess I should read that as an insult? Anyway, personal experience. I had a middling hard job and worked 50+ hours a week. Also 2 children. Mind you, my life is much less complicated now. In my previous message, I specifically said that academically, medical school is harder than 10 credits (organic + physics, e.g.) plus a full time job. Also, as I understand your situation, you have not yet experienced medical school. You may or not agree with me once you have.

 

[swooptheeagle]

Hello,

I'm a TX resident, and I have recently had 2 Tx interviews. On my second one however, one of the interviewers asked me if I had gotten any other interviews. Naturally, wanting to be honest, I told him the truth, that I had already interviewed at the other school the week before.

My question is: will the interviewer note this and present it to the adcom and will this have an influence on their decision to accept me or the way they rank me (tx match system)? Or do interviewers just ask purely because they are curious? (this interviewer was a MS IV if that makes any difference).

Thanks

 

[stat3113]

Hi,

Adcom, do you mind revealing which school you are at? so we can get a better idea of how to put your advice in context?

Anyways, here is my question: I am an out-of-state student at a top state school. I am from NYC, so this past summer, I took Gen Chem 2 at CUNY-Brooklyn College (a 4-year school). After coming back, I met with a bio prof who has some experience in pre-med advising and he looked at my transcript and (assuming that Brooklyn College was a community college), he said that would look really bad to adcoms. And my grade was a B, which he said was pretty much equivalent to an F at a real school like our own. He told me he didn't like it but this was the snobby nature of med school admissions. He said adcoms would assume that I went to BC because I couldn't handle the course at our own school.

So, my issue is that since I am an out-of-state student, I don't get student aid to take courses at my own school in the summer. To do so would cost be $1k/credit, which I don't want to add on to my loans. Plus I like to spend my summers at home, which is why I'm considering taking Organic II at Brooklyn College next summer. Because it is near my home, and b/c its "only" $300/cred. Is this okay? Or will adcoms assume I'm an idiot--because I didn't take the course at my own (competitive) school?

I guess my other choices are: 1)take it at my own school-pay $1k/cred, 2)take it at NYU or Columbia as a non-degree student-pay $1k/cred (and probably get a crappy grade), 3) take it at say SUNY-Stony Brook (a school not as competitive as my own, but better than a CUNY), commute 2 hrs a day, or 4) take it at Brooklyn College and say screw you to all the snobby adcoms out there

Obviously I really want to do 4); its just that I think maybe the extra cost (for 1, 2) or commute (3) might be worth it to ensure adcoms respect my course and the hopefully good grade I get.

What do you think?

 

[gsmithers68]

Hi adcom member, I am just curious as to what you think of my situation right now... I have had 6 interviews, 4 rejections, and I have 15 outstanding applications that have been sitting since I completed them by the end of August. That is nearly 3 months of no response from these schools. I did some status checks and I got the "you are still under consideration" reponse.

I did some analysis of what was the common trend in my applications at these schools and it all pointed to my LORs. I submitted 5-8 LORs per school because when I asked they said to go ahead and send them. Do you think these are slowing down the process for me?

Thanks for answering all our questions.

Cheers.

 

[Jainraisig]

It's just frustrating to see that non-traditional students are expected to torture themselves for some abstract test that adcomm's want to see -- and inevitably be the first to get weeded out for it. I think working a stressful job and even taking Orgo is much. Isn't it inevitably relative among applicants? Unfortunately the process seems to be an un-holistic numbers game, tipped towards students who are in cozier situations. How do students who buy themselves a 30,000 dollar post-bacc prove that they can juggle? Three sciences is nothing; pushing wheelchairs around for three hours a week is not work.

I know a lot of physicians who would disagree about the difficulty. There is a lot more material, yes, and it is more academically challenging, but in terms of lifestyle -- this is much much more difficult. In medical school you stick together. In the working world you sink or swim. A much more isolated experience, in both my experience and opinion.

The aim of the original post wasn't to insult, but to point at hypocrisy in what medical schools expect of us...

LiveinChicago83- I agree with you. Being a non-trad/post-baccer myself, I definitely feel that working full time and taking science courses on top of that is a tough road. I don't care if it's 1 class or 3. Leaving work early to go to class, studying around one's work and travel for work schedule, commuting, etc, is hard. By downplaying the difficulty of full time work and classes, if in fact the adcoms - not just the adcom posters here- do so, we are getting short-changed. Working part time and work study on top of a full time course load is considered challenging, so why not the reverse?
As an undergrad student or in a full time post-bac, school is your job. Of course it is, or should be, challenging to the individual but in my experience, working full time and taking classes is harder than being a full time student. 4-6 class hours a day (20-30 hours a week) is not the same as an 8 hour work day plus class (40 hours work/week + 4-6 class hours a week per 1 class = at least 44 hours/week).

 

[LiveinChicago83]

Yep. Also, the skill of "time management" aside (because that is just a euphemism for self-torture), I believe that between two physicians -- one who tried to "juggle" A-'s in his/her two courses with a job and a family -- and one who took his or her time to get A's, I will prefer the latter to care for me. Why? The former will do a rushed job. I don't think it good decision-making to forsake something like family for Physics. If that happens (and I've seen it happen), then something is seriously out of whack.

Do a search on SDN and you'll find people discussing whether they should leave a newborn with a spouse to go attend medical school far away. That's reprehensible.

LiveinChicago83- I agree with you. Being a non-trad/post-baccer myself, I definitely feel that working full time and taking science courses on top of that is a tough road. I don't care if it's 1 class or 3. Leaving work early to go to class, studying around one's work and travel for work schedule, commuting, etc, is hard. By downplaying the difficulty of full time work and classes, if in fact the adcoms - not just the adcom posters here- do so, we are getting short-changed. Working part time and work study on top of a full time course load is considered challenging, so why not the reverse?
As an undergrad student or in a full time post-bac, school is your job. Of course it is, or should be, challenging to the individual but in my experience, working full time and taking classes is harder than being a full time student. 4-6 class hours a day (20-30 hours a week) is not the same as an 8 hour work day plus class (40 hours work/week + 4-6 class hours a week per 1 class = at least 44 hours/week).

 

[Andre04]

Are all non-trads this whiny?

 

[Adcom2]

Hello,

I am presently applying to medical school with a 3.62 overall GPA (3.77 science) and an MCAT score of 31O (11P, 12B, 8V). I expect to graduate with a 3.69 overall (3.8 science).
My problem is I am a biochemistry major, and as such, am not required to take many non-science courses. My non-science GPA is a pitiful 2.35 right now (bad first year), which will get pushed up to about 3.1 after this year.
Otherwise, my grades show an upward trend and my ECs are decent.

My question is: How much will the combination of lower grades in the non-sciences and low MCAT verbal score hurt me? Would it be wiser to try and re-take the MCAT to score higher on verbal or simply take a couple more non-science classes after my undergraduate degree to bump up the GPA?

Well, it's a problem. Probably won't keep you out if the rest of your app is good. I wouldn't retake the MCAT at this point - verbal is the most difficult to improve and 8 isn't all that bad. I think you'll be OK.

 

[Adcom2]

Hello,

I'm a TX resident, and I have recently had 2 Tx interviews. On my second one however, one of the interviewers asked me if I had gotten any other interviews. Naturally, wanting to be honest, I told him the truth, that I had already interviewed at the other school the week before.

My question is: will the interviewer note this and present it to the adcom and will this have an influence on their decision to accept me or the way they rank me (tx match system)? Or do interviewers just ask purely because they are curious? (this interviewer was a MS IV if that makes any difference).

Thanks

I don't interview, but if I did, I would only ask that because I was curious. It's an inappropriate question, really, but I don't answering it can hurt you.

 

[Adcom2]

Hi,

Adcom, do you mind revealing which school you are at? so we can get a better idea of how to put your advice in context?

Sorry, as an active committee member, I don't want to risk any conflict of interest. I need to remain anonymous until I'm off the committee in May.

He said adcoms would assume that I went to BC because I couldn't handle the course at our own school.

That may have some truth if a person took all of their pre-reqs at a community college or something. It doesn't sound to me like you're doing that. I think it's fine.

4) take it at Brooklyn College and say screw you to all the snobby adcoms out there
What do you think?

There's your best option. Take an upper level or two at your home institution (if you're not a science major already) to show you got it, though.

 

[Adcom2]

I did some analysis of what was the common trend in my applications at these schools and it all pointed to my LORs. I submitted 5-8 LORs per school because when I asked they said to go ahead and send them. Do you think these are slowing down the process for me?

Thanks for answering all our questions.

My pleasure, really. I went through this crap two years ago.
I don't think having 5-8 LORs is holding you up. It's us lazy admissions commitee members and staff. Don't sweat yet.

 

[Adcom2]

Are all non-trads this whiny?

I, for one, am a non-whiny non-trad.
These guys are making reasonable points, but this isn't really the place for them. I gave my advice, he/she can take it or leave it. My point was that for me med school is academically harder than what I did before. He/she may also find it to be, when he/she gets there. For example, I didn't really bother studying much for Organic, but now I study all the time. All day, then come home and eat with my kids and put them to bed, then back to studying. It's tough. Not as tough time-wise as what I did in post-bacc, but really, really tough academically. May not be for all people, of course.

 

[NRAI2001]

Are all non-trads this whiny?

I think liveinchicago and jainraisig are the same person?

 

[Jainraisig]

nope. but shockingly 2 people can share a similar opinion.

 

[Nasrudin]

Are all non-trads this whiny?

People have big nuts on anonymous web communities. You obviously aint been around long enough to empathize with the struggles of others. Walk in another man's shoes a little while. Or as my grandmother said--"keep watchin the sun rise.."

 

[silkworm]

Dear AdComm:

Do you see much difference in the quality of the LOR in the pool of applications? I imagine most of LOR offer glowing praise for the applicant and it would be hard to distinguish them from each other. That said, how much would a luke-warm letter negatively impact decisions? Conversely, how much would a outstanding letter positively impact decisions?

Thanks

 

[copingmethods]

Hi adcoms,
Thanks for being here!
A question about LORs. I'm taking Medical Spanish next quarter, and I was thinking of getting a letter of recommendation from the teacher as my non-science letter (assuming I do well in the class, I consider myself pretty proficient with Spanish).

Do you think this would be a good professor to get a letter from? It seems like it would be pretty good for California schools, which is where I'm located, but do you think East Coast schools might take it as an indication that I really just want to stay in California?

Sorry if I'm overthinking this! 😳 I just don't want to turn off any of my top choices on the east coast!

P.S. - Another one of my letters is from a physician in Costa Rica where I did health volunteering, so there would definitely be a lot of emphasis on Spanish work in my letters w/ both of these.

 

[pedsdoc2b]

Hello adcoms,

I have a specific question about updating my file. I recently applied to a research program at a med school that required a separate LOR. I got an outstanding letter from one of the PIs at my lab, detailing my capacities in clinical research. I am pretty sure I should send this to other research-intensive schools I've applied to, but what about the other schools? I've been waitlisted at one of my top choices, a school with good research opportunities but I don't know how much emphasis they place on research in the admissions process. Do you think a non-research focused school will value a stellar letter about clinical research? Could it possibly hurt me in any way?

If I do end up sending to other schools, is it okay to send a) before interview invite, b) after invite but before interview, c) after interview but before further communication? (I know there have been a lot of redundant questions about updating schools, but I don't think I have flat-out repeated a previous question...)

Thanks for all the help - I'm amazed you guys find the time to do this!

 

[alexsmith]

adcom,
thanks for taking the time out to answer this for me. i have a 3.6 gpa, 3.3 bcpm from uc berkeley. 32P on my MCAT. my research is pretty good, i was a phlebotomist, did some other random stuff and i applied to a ton of schools, most of them whose averages for mcat and what not are within my range or lower. what concerns me is two things, one is my science gpa. and two is the fact that my science gpa was its worst during my senior year, due to working in my research lab for much of the week and a death in the family (which i did not mention in my application because i didnt feel it was appropriate). i finished my secondaries in october (right when the august mcat scores came out) and i have yet to hear from anybody except for 10 rejections and 2 holds. no interviews yet. im pretty concerned now and im wondering what my chances are (i still havent heard from the schools that i was expecting to hear from, most of the schools i heard from were the ones i expected to get rejected from). sorry for the length of this post, thank you very much for your time.

 

[mdvargas]

Hi Adcom,

I'm an undergrad at a small liberal arts school and this year only two people (including myself) applied to med school, and none for many years. Both of us scored low on the MCAT, but we applied anyways and to almost the same schools. My question is, will the adcoms compare both of our app's. and somewhat consider the MCAT scores are low because of our undergrad school (it's not premed focused at all and thus no support for any kind of standardized test prep or med school application advice) or will they not care? Thanks for your response!

 

[tgschrupp]

Hi Adcoms,
I apologize if you have already addressed these questions somewhere else on your thread. Here is my deal...I am 29 years old so I guess I will be a non-traditional applicant. I have a BA in Political science from the University of Washington with a 2.8 and I graduated in 2000. I recently got my EMT-B certification. I am starting to fulfill my pre-reqs at the community college where I did my EMT cert at this spring. I have read mixed reviews on how admissions looks upon pre-reqs completed at community colleges. If I will be at a disadvantage because of the CC, will a solid performance on the MCAT make up some of the ground. With respect to volunteer time and shadowing, I plan to volunteer one weekend a month for the Red Cross as an EMT for at least the next two years. Will this be considered adequate clinical volunteer time because I will actually be involved in providing patient care. Considering that EMTs routinely are in the ER observing and assisting physicians do I need to consider shadowing. On another note, what would you estimate my chances are if I maintain a 4.0 in my science pre-reqs and have a solid performance on the MCAT.

Thanks for your input.

 

[cerulean]

I was wondering if adcoms care much about grades from individual courses. I passed out of some of the basic science courses with AP credit and I've done pretty mediocre in some of the other standard pre-med courses (B's and some B+'s in orgo, biochem, and the like, though nothing lower than a B). However, I have taken many other courses that count for my BCPM GPA and have around a high 3.5/low 3.6 BCPM GPA factoring in my estimates for this semester's grades. Will my less than stellar performance in these specific courses have any or much effect vs. my overall BCPM GPA? I earned a a 13 in PS and 12 in BS on the MCAT so I hope that might reflect well on my scientific knowledge and abilities. I also have a few A+'s in some humanities classes, though I don't know if that'll have any effect in the least.

Also, I attend a large public university so my science course-related LORs will likely be average to lukewarm. They'll probably end up coming from lab classes or other than the typical pre-med classes (since I didn't earn A's in the standard courses) and since I haven't had much interaction with those professors (due to huge lecture sizes and office hours held by grad students), they won't be too personal or glowing . I think my other LORs from extracurriculars and research should be more insightful about me, but what's your take on the impact of these factors? Also, do you have any suggestions on things I could do in the meantime? thanks.

 

[MedQueen]

Dear Adcoms,

I am applying now for 2007 and am not feeling optimistic about my chances this round, although I haven't heard much of anything yet since I've only just completed most of my apps. I have been thinking of some options for strengthening my app for next year. *Gulp* I have a low undergrad GPA (3.05) and will finish a post bacc/M.A. this year with about a 3.4 -- not too fantastic. I took the August MCAT and scored 31Q: 12V 11BS 08PS. Some pluses: I have a year of research experience, lots of volunteering including a summer in a chemo clinic, and now I am an AmeriCorps volunteer at free clinics for the homeless. I also have great (and plenty of) LORs.

I feel as if I've exhausted my efforts at getting good grades, given my average performance at my master's. I can't justify spending more money or time on course work to boost the gpa.

I am already planning on re-taking the MCAT and applying as early as possible.

Can you give me any advice on what on my application is ugly or missing that I can improve? Or, anything I should STOP trying to improve??

Thank you so very much for your time!

 

[Amemus]

2. AMCAS, ethnic/racial designation on- love me or hate me for this one. please consider your decision to label yourself an underrepresented minority carefully. if your grandmother was born in spain but moved here when she was 2, it may be tempting to put "hispanic" even if your name is john smith, the extent of your spanish is "hola", and you've never left the state you live in. and it may be your right to do so. however, you may want to consider the possibility that this will backfire. same with "african-american" when your heritage is egyptian. I'm not saying don't do it, just be careful with it. when people designate themselves as URMs, the committee is very pleased to see things like involvement with the ethnic community, and volunteer work in related clinics.

My mother was born in raised in the Philippines. She was an exchange student in the US for a year in high school and then moved to the US for college. My father doesn't really know his exact background, so that has no influence on me. My last name is not Filipino, but I feel more Filipino than anything else. I do not speak Tagalog because nobody ever thought to teach me; everyone in the Philippines is raised bilingual (I have visited my family in the Philippines three times, the most recent visit being in fourth grade) and my mother is the kind of person who doesn't like to look like she is giving anyone special treatment by not speaking to them in English. She speaks both languages perfectly without an inappropriate accent in either. There was a large Filipino community where I grew up, but I moved after high school and sadly, now I see very few Filipinos. I guess I don't look like a typical Asian (or a typical anything, being half is cool), but people who are familiar with lots of Filipinos can recognize me as one.
I typically select "Asian American" on ethnicity questions. Is this appropriate? Will I not be taken seriously because my last name is European and I don't look like most Asians?

 

[josho]

Hello adcoms!

I was wondering if the admission committees are privy to such information as class averages and whatnot. For example, if you get an A in a class where the average is a 70, do the adcoms know about this, or do they simply see that you got an A?

Thanks!

 

[plrae12]

Hi, this has nothing to do with this thread, but more on your decision to go into nursing instead of medicine. I'm just curious, what interested you in medicine when you were pursuing it?

 

[plrae12]

If we haven't been placed "on hold" to interview at an institution - ie, the secondary is still under review and has been for a few months - but we know it's a place we'd like to attend, how long should one wait for a decision before writing an update letter?
(let's apply this to say, a UC, after being complete since November).

Also, does legacy count at all (either for or against)?

Are non-traditionals considered differently than traditional applicants? How old is "old"?

Thank you very much for posting on this site. Much appreciated. 👍

Hi, this has nothing to do with this thread, but more on your decision to go into nursing instead of medicine. I'm just curious, what interested you in medicine when you were pursuing it?

 

[djramon916]

hey adcom, thanks for doing this thread. you have no idea how much you put my mind at ease.

quick question: i was a chemistry student at my school, and i had some bad grades in the fall of my senior year (B+, B, C-). just looking at them makes me say, "ouch." the main reasons for the lesser grades were 1) it was my hardest semester of classes, 2) i was losing interest in chemistry when i knew i wanted to be a doctor, 3.) i had a tramautic experience a week before finals. if i had to say which reason were the most important, i couldn't say. it was just a bad semester.

how should i handle this? do i wait for the interviewer to bring up the grades? if they don't, do i keep quiet about them? should i explain myself in separate letters to the schools?

Thanks!

 

[LifetimeDoc]

Hello adcoms!

I was wondering if the admission committees are privy to such information as class averages and whatnot. For example, if you get an A in a class where the average is a 70, do the adcoms know about this, or do they simply see that you got an A?

Thanks!

Good question. There is nothing that AMCAS does to show averages, they just verify what's on your transcript which doesn't show averages. However, adcoms do theoretically have access to pickaprof.com where you can see if the class was hard (only 5% get A's) or easy (80% of the class got A's).

 

[Jimmydix]

As the registration approaches for the MCAT (December 27th) I'm faced with the dreaded decision to take the MCAT for the 3rd time. I'm currently applying to MD schools but have received no interview invites and feel I have a very good chance of not matriculating in 2007 and should think of ways to strengthen my application.

So I've taken the MCAT twice with a best score of 29 (11V, 10PS, 8BS Q)....the problem is the 8 in bio combined with a low science GPA of 3.20 and overall GPA of 3.30 (University of Chicago). I'm also considering attending a SMP program for a year (Georgetown, Cinci, Loyola)...
I considered taking post bacc classes starting Jan 15th but feel a better MCAT score and a formal SMP program is a better option.



thanks in advance for the advice....

 

[Laypahoo]

Hey All!

I was wondering if any one knew how important writing samples are? I am applying for 2007. I have yet to get an interview and I have been rejected from 4 schools (I have applied to 11). My MCAT is 30K (9P, 10B, 11V) GPA 3.670. Yeah I know, a K is really bad. I justed didn't know much about the prompts givin to me.

To the Adcoms, how important to the schools you are at put weight on it?
Could my bad writing sample be holding me up for an interview? Should I retake the MCAT to do better on the writing sample?

Thank you to all for your advice.

 

[qtpai]

7. interview questions- "why do you want to be a doctor?" PLEASE, please have a solid answer for this. I don't care what it is. just don't mumble or act unsure. being fervent about a subspecialty can also backfire.

Why can being fervent about a subspecialty backfire? I have volunteered in psychiatric settings, and both my lab work in biochemistry as well as my thesis research in anthropology has been related to neuroscience, with a mind of psychiatric application. It's definitely what I know I want to do (academic psychiatrist, with a focus on medical anthropology or public health). Are you saying this looks bad, or have I missed the point? I always thought my exploration of the subject area was a boon for applications and particularly for interviews.

 

[alitheia]

Hi Adcoms,

Two questions about grades.

I'm a sophomore. I just got my grades for this semester: C+ in O-Chem. 😱 I got a B in GenChem I and a B- in GenChem II, so downward trend in chemistry thus far. Pretty much everything else is A's; a few B's. What is that C+ going to do to me? Obviously, I'm going to work my butt off to do better in O-Chem II and Biochem to reverse the trend, but I want to know if I've done irrepairable damage.

Secondly, I started college with 28 hours of dual-enrollment coursework from a juco that I did my junior year in high school. My GPA from that was 2.25. I'm doing better in college (I got my priorities straight) and my local GPA is 3.48, but nevertheless, that 28 hours of 2.2 GPA really weighs my cumulative GPA down.

My current stats:
Total GPA: 3.12
Science GPA: 3.27
Local GPA: 3.48
Transfer GPA: 2.25
I'm working at raising those GPAs since I still have time.

Am I right in assuming that Adcoms will notice that my GPA was weighed down by pre-college coursework? Is that something I should address in my personal statement?

Thanks.

 

[custard]

Hi,
I am also really curious about letters of recommendation. In your experience, are letters in which the applicant is portrayed in a negative or neutral light common?

Also, some med schools specify that they want a certain number of letters from science professors. My problem is that my major is Psychology, and my pre-med science classes were very very large and I did not get to know the professors well. Would a letter from a statistics professor count (the course was under Psychology, but it was a statistics class)? Also, I'm planning on taking three more upper level Bio classes so I have a few more opportunities to get a professor to know me, but these classes are also going to be pretty large, and only one quarter long each. Would the LoR be considered weak if the professor only knew me for a quarter?

I just don't know what to do about these science LoR...

One more thing: the websites of some of these med schools asking for science LoF just say "science professor". Since some don't specify that I should have been in their class, would a professor at a med school that I shadow in clinic count?

*** Thank you very much for answering all the questions in this thread!! It seems like a lot of work, but it is definitely appreciated.

 

[arcin]

Dear Adcomms;

I am med school hopeful but had a question:

I am partially deaf (I have hearing aids they are in the ear hearing aids) and from a "poor" family which my parents haven't graduated from college. Should these "facts" be brought up in any of my applications/interviews? Or should I just down play them?

I don't want to come off as needy/whiny but at the same time I would like every chance possible to be accepted. How is something like this viewed by the adcomms? I know that you aren't interviewers but I am hoping you could shed some light on the whole disability/disadvantaged thing.

 

[jv00927]

Dear Adcom,

I am a first-time med school applicant from a small liberal arts college in central illinois. I was wondering what are the chances of me getting an interview and acceptance if I applied broadly but late in the cycle. I got AMCAS verified on 12/12. Most of the schools I applied to have MCAT averages of 28-31. My stats are as follows:

MCAT: 29Q - 6v 10p 13b
GPA: bcpm 3.98 ao 3.75 cum 3.92 (chem major)
ECs: cancer research (no publication), internship in the philippines, intramural sports, volunteering, clinical employment, cultural presentations

Having ESL most likely affected my VR performance. I am already registered to retake the MCAT late May to improve my VR and overall score, in case I fail to get an acceptance this cycle. MY QUESTION: Are interviews and acceptances still possible for someone like me who have mediocre stats and applied late in the cycle?

 

[karakhanyan]

Hello! I am a little confused about the URM "status" and maybe you will be able to help me by answering a question.

I am Brazilian (born and raised there) and I have been working as a medical interpreter for the past 6 years (full time). As far as I know, Brazilians are not considered Hispanics (after all, we were colonized by Portugal, not Spain), but we are definitely Latino. The AMCAS does not clearly mention that latinos are indeed URMs, they mention Mexican American, etc. The number of Brazilian immigrants (at least here in Boston) has been increasing exponentially, and at the community health centers and hospitals I work at, Brazilian patients are considered underprivileged minority.

I would like to be accurate in my application, so it is important for me to know if I can safely "check the URM box" or not. What are your thoughts on this? Also, will the fact that I speak fluent Portuguese and Spanish help my application?

Thank you so very much for your help and sorry for the long post...

Juliana

 

[DE12MD]

I recently interviewed at a school and believe that my application has not had its final review by the admissions committee (to decide acceptance/wait list/rejection, etc). Would it be proper or useful to send a letter of interest along with an update of my fall semester grades (4.0 - 16 credits of challenging coursework including advanced sciences)?
Thanks

 

[Adcom2]

Dear AdComm:

Do you see much difference in the quality of the LOR in the pool of applications? I imagine most of LOR offer glowing praise for the applicant and it would be hard to distinguish them from each other. That said, how much would a luke-warm letter negatively impact decisions? Conversely, how much would a outstanding letter positively impact decisions?

Thanks

There's sort of a code where "recommended" is the lowest and "this is the single best student I've had among 20,000" is the highest. There's a pretty big spread of letter quality, and of course we can tell when a person probably doesn't know the code (clergy, for example). The most difficult to interpret are schools that just have check-off sheets and the LOR writer doesn't get to be effusive in prose. People have several letters, and we usually say things like "This candidate had two 'wow' letters and a couple of level-2s." If there are red flags, we talk about them.

 

[Adcom2]

Hi adcoms,
Thanks for being here!
A question about LORs. I'm taking Medical Spanish next quarter, and I was thinking of getting a letter of recommendation from the teacher as my non-science letter. . . . It seems like it would be pretty good for California schools, which is where I'm located, but do you think East Coast schools might take it as an indication that I really just want to stay in California?

Fluency in Spanish is a significant plus no matter where you're applying.

 

[Adcom2]

I got an outstanding letter from one of the PIs at my lab, detailing my capacities in clinical research. Do you think a non-research focused school will value a stellar letter about clinical research? Could it possibly hurt me in any way?

Yes, they will value it. No, it can't hurt.

If I do end up sending to other schools, is it okay to send a) before interview invite, b) after invite but before interview, c) after interview but before further communication? (I know there have been a lot of redundant questions about updating schools, but I don't think I have flat-out repeated a previous question...)-

Letters can be sent anytime after you're invited to send a secondary, but not before.

Thanks for all the help - I'm amazed you guys find the time to do this!

Well, you will notice I took a couple weeks off for those pesky finals.

 

[Adcom2]

adcom,
i have yet to hear from anybody except for 10 rejections and 2 holds. no interviews yet. im pretty concerned now and im wondering what my chances are (i still havent heard from the schools that i was expecting to hear from, most of the schools i heard from were the ones i expected to get rejected from). sorry for the length of this post, thank you very much for your time.

Having not evaluated your complete application, I cannot comment on your chances. (I think I'm going to cut and paste that response onto the several similar questions that follow.) At my school, we are maybe half-way through interviews, and you had a "late" application. So who knows. Sorry I can't be of more help.

 

[Adcom2]

Hi Adcom,

I'm an undergrad at a small liberal arts school and this year only two people (including myself) applied to med school, and none for many years. Both of us scored low on the MCAT, but we applied anyways and to almost the same schools. My question is, will the adcoms compare both of our app's. and somewhat consider the MCAT scores are low because of our undergrad school (it's not premed focused at all and thus no support for any kind of standardized test prep or med school application advice) or will they not care? Thanks for your response!

What I really wish is that applicant would have to say whether they took a prep course or not. Applicants with resources (social, $, class) generally can generally achieve higher MCATs and more polished applications as a result of these better resources and it's really unfair. However, I don't think adcoms will be sitting around saying "wow, mdvargas got a 23L but that's OK because he went to Liberal U."

 

[Adcom2]

I am starting to fulfill my pre-reqs at the community college where I did my EMT cert at this spring. I have read mixed reviews on how admissions looks upon pre-reqs completed at community colleges.

You want to take your pre-reqs at University if at all possible. As far as predicting great MCATs and 4.0 GPAs, let's not count the chickens before they hatch, to coin a phrase. To my mind, EMT is a great clinical experience especially long term.

 

[Adcom2]

I was wondering if adcoms care much about grades from individual courses.

Sounds OK. Not a great science GPA, but I agree that your MCAT makes up for it. I sometimes take a peek at Organic and Physics on candidates where I'm worried if they can handle the med school work load. But I probably wouldn't bother on yours.

I think my other LORs from extracurriculars and research should be more insightful about me, but what's your take on the impact of these factors? Also, do you have any suggestions on things I could do in the meantime? thanks.

I often see the impersonal letters, they don't really help or hurt so long as you did well in those classes. The more personal ones are better of course. In the meantime? Ever more clinical experience, free clinics, etc.

 

[Adcom2]

Dear Adcoms,

I am applying now for 2007 and am not feeling optimistic about my chances this round, although I haven't heard much of anything yet since I've only just completed most of my apps. I have been thinking of some options for strengthening my app for next year. *Gulp* I have a low undergrad GPA (3.05) and will finish a post bacc/M.A. this year with about a 3.4 -- not too fantastic. I took the August MCAT and scored 31Q: 12V 11BS 08PS. Some pluses: I have a year of research experience, lots of volunteering including a summer in a chemo clinic, and now I am an AmeriCorps volunteer at free clinics for the homeless. I also have great (and plenty of) LORs.

I feel as if I've exhausted my efforts at getting good grades, given my average performance at my master's. I can't justify spending more money or time on course work to boost the gpa.

I am already planning on re-taking the MCAT and applying as early as possible.

Can you give me any advice on what on my application is ugly or missing that I can improve? Or, anything I should STOP trying to improve??

Thank you so very much for your time!

I added the bold. Frankly, your MCAT is not a problem and will help you, whereas your consistently mediocre grades are a real challenge. The 3.4 in your "second chance" might be pretty difficult to overcome. Other than that, your application sounds really great - the Americorps experience, the research, the chemo clinic. I think there would be serious discussion in my committee as to whether you could handle the academics of med school, even though I know we would be trying to find ways to take you. Your MCAT suggests that you have more potential than your grades would suggest. So although you clearly want to be done with GPA-raising, if you are not successful in this cycle (or whenever you first apply) then I think that's the avenue of attack.
But, you may well be successful without doing that. Best wishes.

 

[Adcom2]

I typically select "Asian American" on ethnicity questions. Is this appropriate? Will I not be taken seriously because my last name is European and I don't look like most Asians?

Adcomm is talking about claiming status as an under-represented minority. Selecting your ethnicity as Asian American is almost the opposite of that.

 

[Adcom2]

Hello adcoms!

I was wondering if the admission committees are privy to such information as class averages and whatnot. For example, if you get an A in a class where the average is a 70, do the adcoms know about this, or do they simply see that you got an A?

Thanks!

The only time we get that information is when a LOR writer provides it.