MD No IIs. Start prep for reapplication?

[txheat]

Hey! I am a ORM from Dallas, Texas. I applied to 34 MD schools this cycle, and have only received 3 Rs and no IIs. I know that there is still a chance for interviews in January and February depending on the school, but what do I need to improve for the next cycle besides changing my school list? (slightly top heavy, but applied to all TX schools and added lower ranked schools OOS after reevaluation)

1. cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMAS
   1. sGPA: 3.69
   2. cGPA: 3.51 (some low grades due to illness explained in app, strong upward trend after first year)
2. MCAT score(s) and breakdown

516- 130/128/129/129

1. Ethnicity and/or race
   1. Indian
2. Undergraduate institution or category
   1. UTD
3. Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)
   1. 850 hours total at two clinics (scribe/volunteer)
4. Research experience and productivity
   1. Total of 4 semesters doing research in psychiatry. No publications but will have one by the summer in my new lab
5. Shadowing experience and specialties represented
   1. Gastroenterology- 150 hours
   2. Cardiology- 120 hours
6. Non-clinical volunteering
   1. Multiple avenues- 300 hrs
7. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc)
   1. Limited- total of 3-4 officer positions in different organizations on campus but solid hours (teaching, kesem, leadership)
   2. Run two small businesses
8. Relevant honors or awards
   1. Dean's List
9. Anything else not listed you think might be important
   1. Only concern that I had of my app before applying was GPA. PS was reviewed by multiple students from t20 schools after editing for months. What is making schools overlook me? Any advice to prep for gap year and reapp would be very appreciated.

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[Faha]

Which schools did you apply to ?

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

I have a hunch that your list may have been a little top heavy. I say this only because You said that you had multiple students from T20 schools review your ps. Im not sure if this means that you applied to those schools

Don’t try to explain the 3.51 if you do reapply. In my opinion, it isn’t low enough to need an explanation. I can’t talk about Texas, but I would recommend the following.

Creighton
UVM
NYMC
Albany
BU
Geisel
Brown
Saint louis
Stony brook
Hofstra
Einstein
Quinnipiac
Loyola
RFU
Emory
Miami
Cincinnati
Wayne state
West Virginia
MCW
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
VCU
Evms
Indiana

 

[wysdoc]

Texas advice:
If you need to reapply, submit your TMDSAS app in May or June. Your MCAT score is above TX median and your GPA is slightly below.
Your best chances remain in Texas schools. Texas schools are pretty welcoming to reapplicants.

I suspect you had "too many cooks in the kitchen" on your essays. Would someone who knows you say the essays sound like you?
Scrap them and start over. Do they bring out your strong points or your weak points? Read your essays out loud. Do they sound conversational, or do they sound overly formal or stilted?
Avoid patterning your essays after essays you find on the internet in "best essay" articles.
Yes, the essays are probably minor compared to the grades and GPA but if they are disjointed they can hurt your app.

 

[txheat]

Texas advice:
If you need to reapply, submit your TMDSAS app in May or June. Your MCAT score is above TX median and your GPA is slightly below.
Your best chances remain in Texas schools. Texas schools are pretty welcoming to reapplicants.

I suspect you had "too many cooks in the kitchen" on your essays. Would someone who knows you say the essays sound like you?
Scrap them and start over. Do they bring out your strong points or your weak points? Read your essays out loud. Do they sound conversational, or do they sound overly formal or stilted?
Avoid patterning your essays after essays you find on the internet in "best essay" articles.
Yes, the essays are probably minor compared to the grades and GPA but if they are disjointed they can hurt your app.

Hey! Thanks for your response!

For TMDSAS, I submitted the third day it opened and submitted all secondaries within 1 month of receiving them. I definitely beat myself up for not returning secondaries sooner, but they were all submitted by the end of July.

For those asking what schools I applied to:
ALL TEXAS MD

Cornell, Harvard, Columbia, Dartmouth, Rush, UCLA, UCSF, Keck USC, UCI, Rochester, NY medical, UCF, Case Western, Washington St. Louis, Rutgers RWJ, Hofstra, Emory, Tufts, Rutgers NJ, Miami, Stony Brook

I’ll reevaluate this list. I know it may be top-heavy.

Essays could be an issue but the feedback I’ve gotten includes only small edits or syntax advice. Now that I think about it, I see that some of my secondaries may have been overly formal and not personal enough for out of state schools. Still, I don’t see any big red flags or major issues. Still, there is a reason that I haven’t received IIs that I’m just not seeing since I’ve reread these essays so many times.

 

[txheat]

I have a hunch that your list may have been a little top heavy. I say this only because You said that you had multiple students from T20 schools review your ps. Im not sure if this means that you applied to those schools

Don’t try to explain the 3.51 if you do reapply. In my opinion, it isn’t low enough to need an explanation. I can’t talk about Texas, but I would recommend the following.

Creighton
UVM
NYMC
Albany
BU
Geisel
Brown
Saint louis
Stony brook
Hofstra
Einstein
Quinnipiac
Loyola
RFU
Emory
Miami
Cincinnati
Wayne state
West Virginia
MCW
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
VCU
Evms
Indiana

Thanks! When reapplying, I will be applying to more reasonable schools! I applied to a handful of t20 schools, but also had just as many lower ranked schools. I should’ve played it more safe for sure. I explained the 3.51 was I had two C’s on my transcript for med school requirements in one semester and schools would most likely see that in a negative light. I felt that my circumstance warranted an explanation, but I could be wrong.

 

[Faha]

Hey! Thanks for your response!

For TMDSAS, I submitted the third day it opened and submitted all secondaries within 1 month of receiving them. I definitely beat myself up for not returning secondaries sooner, but they were all submitted by the end of July.

For those asking what schools I applied to:
ALL TEXAS MD

Cornell, Harvard, Columbia, Dartmouth, Rush, UCLA, UCSF, Keck USC, UCI, Rochester, NY medical, UCF, Case Western, Washington St. Louis, Rutgers RWJ, Hofstra, Emory, Tufts, Rutgers NJ, Miami, Stony Brook

I’ll reevaluate this list. I know it may be top-heavy.

Essays could be an issue but the feedback I’ve gotten includes only small edits or syntax advice. Now that I think about it, I see that some of my secondaries may have been overly formal and not personal enough for out of state schools. Still, I don’t see any big red flags or major issues. Still, there is a reason that I haven’t received IIs that I’m just not seeing since I’ve reread these essays so many times.

OOS MD schools interview few Texas residents since they know from years of experience that Texas residents will attend a Texas school. For AMCAS schools you could try TCU-UNT, Tulane and some of the newer schools such as NOVA MD, Seton Hall, Quinnipiac, Oakland Beaumont and Western Michigan.

 

[MawbleIM]

Hey! Thanks for your response!

For TMDSAS, I submitted the third day it opened and submitted all secondaries within 1 month of receiving them. I definitely beat myself up for not returning secondaries sooner, but they were all submitted by the end of July.

For those asking what schools I applied to:
ALL TEXAS MD

Cornell, Harvard, Columbia, Dartmouth, Rush, UCLA, UCSF, Keck USC, UCI, Rochester, NY medical, UCF, Case Western, Washington St. Louis, Rutgers RWJ, Hofstra, Emory, Tufts, Rutgers NJ, Miami, Stony Brook

I’ll reevaluate this list. I know it may be top-heavy.

Essays could be an issue but the feedback I’ve gotten includes only small edits or syntax advice. Now that I think about it, I see that some of my secondaries may have been overly formal and not personal enough for out of state schools. Still, I don’t see any big red flags or major issues. Still, there is a reason that I haven’t received IIs that I’m just not seeing since I’ve reread these essays so many times.

Yeah heavily heavily too heavy