Need some serious advice from y'all!

[arashd]

Well I have been accepted at Albany, just got rejected from Georgetown (those bastards) and I have interviews at Tulane and Temple next week. I know I am interviewing for waitlist spots at those two places.

Problem is, I don't want to go to Albany, and I would rather shoot myself. I have lived in LA my entire life and Albany will break my fragile California bones. If I had no choice, then I would go, but I am left with a sour taste in my mouth because I was an August MCAT taker. I got a 33S, but as we all know August is late and it put me well behind the rest of you! I can't help but wonder "what if?" I had an earlier score.

So here is my potential plan. I am a USC senior, and I am applying to their Masters of Public Health Program. I can do it in one year. That will make me apply to Med School this coming summer, having been enrolled in the MPH program, but not having had any grades or course work to show for it. I have a 3.55 undergrad GPA and a 3.4 BCMP (which is likely my fatal flaw).

I am hoping the combination of doing an MPH, not being a late applicant anymore, and having a paper published in the journal SCIENCE (which should be in the September/October edition will help me get into a California School.

Again my stats are 3.5, 3.4 BCMP, 33S
Is this a good plan? Should I just stay an undergraduate and turn my minor into a double major and take random science classes to raise my GPA? Any other options?

Thanks for all your advice and I wish you all success!

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[Psycho Doctor]

I would not go to a school I hated, but I ask you why did you apply to a place you couldn't go to? Go for the program you're referring to, and reapply EARLY. Apply to a wide range of schools where you will be happy with and make sure you visit them first. There is nothing wrong with taking a year off before med school but do not go to a school you will hate. Med school is too difficult to deal with while feeling miserable. Best of luck.

 

[CalGirl]

I think doing an MPH sounds like a good plan, I have a lot of friends who are doing that and it really seems to help (especially if you get good grades in those classes). Being from Cali, living in the bay my whole life, I sort of understand why you may not be excited to go to Albany...but I also gotta tell you that an acceptance is an acceptance and a lot of people would want to be in your shoes!

If you want to give yourself more options for next year, then reapply. But, be forewarned that NOTHING guarantees a Cali school. I know a bunch of people from my alma mater (Berkeley), who were great applicants, and did not get into a single Cali school. Look at the thread about UC schools, and you'll see how many people interview at really good out-of-state schools and get two, one, or no UC interviews...it's reeaaaaaaaaaalllllly hard! I don't want to discourage you whatsoever, shoot for all the Cali schools, but also be prepared to go out of state! Good luck!

 

[8-)]

Sounds like reapplying would make you a stronger applicant, but it still doesn't guarantee anything (especially in CA). What about Tulane and Temple? If you got in, would you still want to reapply?

 

[KiKat37]

Well, considering your plans (applying early, increasing GPA through extra science classes or getting an MPH, etc) you'll probably be a better candidate if you re-apply. BUT, there is no guarantee that you'll get in a CA school next year. In fact, there is no guarantee that you'll get in a better place than Albany next year. I'm not trying to discourage you. I'm just saying that you have to be realistic. This process is a crapshoot and you NEVER know what could happen...

Plus, (and it's something that other posters seem to have forgotten) there is a huge difference between re-applying when you didn't get accepted anywhere and re-applying despite having an acceptance. Some schools don't look favorably at students re-applying after being accepted somewhere. I know there was a thread on that exact topic a few days ago. You might wanna do a quick search and see what was said.

Whatever you decide to do, best of luck.

 

[RaaMD]

I don't know how much this tidbit of information will factor into your decision but I just interviewed at Tulane yesterday, and the associate dean emphatically emphasized that we were not interviewing for just waitlist spots and that there are still spaces open in the class. I feel your pain as well, being from cali I am waitlisted at UCI and have yet to hear back from UCLA or Loma Linda. I was accepted at SLU though and am not sure how excited I am about that. I have contemplated reapplying, since I was an August MCATer too and sometimes wonder "what-if I had applied earlier." Good luck to you.

 

[GreatDoc222]

Not to rain on your idea, but although i agree an MPH could "potentially" help, I don't believe USC's program is strong at all. They're not even an accredited school by ASPH (www.asph.org) so the rigorness of whatever classes you might take may not be acknowledged by schools....take it as u may.

 

[aumed22]

I would try for Tulane and Temple and see what happens. Maybe an MPH could help, but I would try hard for Tulane or Temple.

 

[bobhagopian]

Not to rain on your idea, but although i agree an MPH could "potentially" help, I don't believe USC's program is strong at all. They're not even an accredited school by ASPH (www.asph.org) so the rigorness of whatever classes you might take may not be acknowledged by schools....take it as u may.

Okay, I don't know what happened here, but "rigorness" does not even come close to approximating a word in the English language.

I normally cringe when I see improper grammar, but seeing someone write "rigorness" nearly made me empty the contents of my stomach. When will people overcome the difficultyness of proper English?

[SDNers seem particularly sensitive these days to personal comments, so I will say that I'm sure GreatDoc222 is a great person with a brilliant mind and an appearance worthy of posting on a billboard. I comment only on grammar.]

 

[isellcrack2kids]

np bro. defer albany for a year and reapply (dont know if they put a lock or something on your grades/scores but if they dont youre set). ideally its better to add to your ugrad gpa instead of doing a masters but in your case they wont see the grades anyway.

 

[Haybrant]

yah, defer and reapply seems to be the best course. taking a year off is also a really healthy choice.

about your Science paper; you should have let schools know when you first applied that your lab had submitted to science and you did x, y, and z for the paper. You can still do that for the other schools you are applying to and that should be a big advantage. Just keep in mind for future reference that a work in progress is important too.

If you do take a year off make sure you keep on researching; you need to stand out from the crowd to get into top schools and with strong publications you will be able to. There are nuances if you want to make yourself a research candidate so make sure to talk around. I took the research angle and it worked wonders, kinda. Good luck!

 

[Homer Doughnuts]

np bro. defer albany for a year and reapply (dont know if they put a lock or something on your grades/scores but if they dont youre set). ideally its better to add to your ugrad gpa instead of doing a masters but in your case they wont see the grades anyway.

I don’t think you can defer an acceptance and then file a 2006 AMCAS application and apply because as far as AMCAS is concerned, you technically matriculated at Albany in 2005. I would get a clear cut answer from AMCAS before trying this b/c instead of “being set" in 2006, you may be screwed big time.

 

[Law2Doc]

Well I have been accepted at Albany, just got rejected from Georgetown (those bastards) and I have interviews at Tulane and Temple next week. I know I am interviewing for waitlist spots at those two places.

Problem is, I don't want to go to Albany, and I would rather shoot myself. I have lived in LA my entire life and Albany will break my fragile California bones. If I had no choice, then I would go, but I am left with a sour taste in my mouth because I was an August MCAT taker. I got a 33S, but as we all know August is late and it put me well behind the rest of you! I can't help but wonder "what if?" I had an earlier score.

So here is my potential plan. I am a USC senior, and I am applying to their Masters of Public Health Program. I can do it in one year. That will make me apply to Med School this coming summer, having been enrolled in the MPH program, but not having had any grades or course work to show for it. I have a 3.55 undergrad GPA and a 3.4 BCMP (which is likely my fatal flaw).

I am hoping the combination of doing an MPH, not being a late applicant anymore, and having a paper published in the journal SCIENCE (which should be in the September/October edition will help me get into a California School.

Again my stats are 3.5, 3.4 BCMP, 33S
Is this a good plan? Should I just stay an undergraduate and turn my minor into a double major and take random science classes to raise my GPA? Any other options?

Thanks for all your advice and I wish you all success!

Your numbers are fine, but somehow I don't think that one publication and an enrollment in an MPH without any reported grades yet will make you an improved enough reapplicant to get into schools you didn't get love from before. And you will burn your future chances at at least going to Albany if you turn them down to reapply again in a year. Did you apply to Cal schools this year and not get in? If you really want to do the reapplicant thing, which I think is a mistake, you probably really need to take upper level science classes and ace them (to bring up the BCMP), and continue doing good research & clinical stuff; I'm not sure the MPH really addresses the weakness in your app you perceive, and certainly not if you don't get any grades from it by application time, although it is a nice credential to have for an application once it is actually COMPLETED. My suggestion is that if you don't land Tulane/Temple, you really should just buy a good winter jacket, some thick gloves, and go to Albany.

 

[rugirlie]

Okay, I don't know what happened here, but "rigorness" does not even come close to approximating a word in the English language.

I normally cringe when I see improper grammar, but seeing someone write "rigorness" nearly made me empty the contents of my stomach. When will people overcome the difficultyness of proper English?

[SDNers seem particularly sensitive these days to personal comments, so I will say that I'm sure GreatDoc222 is a great person with a brilliant mind and an appearance worthy of posting on a billboard. I comment only on grammar.]

Does anyone else find this particular funny since in the reply the poster wrote "difficultyness"? (No offense intended, but this is also not a word in the English language)

 

[DrDarwin]

Does anyone else find this particular funny since in the reply the poster wrote "difficultyness"? (No offense intended, but this is also not a word in the English language)

Sorry, but there is no sarcasm font on SDN.

 

[beep]

Does anyone else find this particular funny since in the reply the poster wrote "difficultyness"? (No offense intended, but this is also not a word in the English language)

pretty sure this is a joke. i laughed.

 

[medic170]

I don’t think you can defer an acceptance and then file a 2006 AMCAS application and apply because as far as AMCAS is concerned, you technically matriculated at Albany in 2005. I would get a clear cut answer from AMCAS before trying this b/c instead of “being set" in 2006, you may be screwed big time.

this is correct. IMO,you would be a fool not to go to Albany, even if you do not really like it. There is NO guarantee you will get in next year, and if you don't you will kick yourself for years to come. Remember, this game is a crap shoot even for the best of applicants.