No interviews and it's already December... words of encouragement?

[IceDuchess]

How do you find phlebotomy programs to attend?.

Hey, really sorry for my late reply. I have been extremely busy and just got around to catching up with this thread. I looked up "phlebotomy programs in SoCal" on google. Make sure the one you choose is accredited. Usually once you find several you are interested in you can research each one in-depth for more information. They should typically cost anywhere from 800$ (for one that takes about 1 year to complete) to $1800 max (for accelerated 2 month programs). I would be careful though and really read through reviews of the programs you find. It's very hard finding a job as a phlebotomist so be sure to read reviews to see how many people get hired after they graduate!

If you end up re-applying, I would just clump those shadowing experiences together in AMCAS under one activity called "Physician Shadowing" or something. Also, try to shadow a primary care doctor if you haven't already and include it with the others. I think the shadowing + ScribeAmerica will demonstrate that you have seen first-hand what physicians do on a daily basis, which honestly might currently be holding you back. .

Thank you for the advice, I think I'll definitely do that. I regret not adding shadowing experience onto my application. I've seen some pretty cool neurosurgeries and I think that could have made a difference on my AMCAS. Sorry about my late response!

Hang in there. I was in a similar position last year around this time. My first interview invite came in February and then another followed in April. You may want to look into DO medical schools as well. If you're interested, it's not terribly late to apply now. In any case, keep your head high and keep doing things in the interim to boost your candidacy.

-Current MS1

Sent from my SM-G920P using SDN mobile

Yup, while I haven't applied to DO schools this year, my plan is to apply only DO schools next cycle. I applied all MD this round just to see what happens, but I am not picky about the degree I receive. As long as I end up being a doctor and helping people, I will be very happy.

Wow, you waited until Feb before your first one?? That definitely gives me hope... maybe I'll get one on my birthday if it's mid-Feb lol.

Ice Duchess, your problem is your state of residence. California has 12% of the U.S. population and 6% of the medical school seats.

If you were a resident of Illinois, Michigan, West Virginia, South Dakota, Ohio or any state in the South, with a 3.51 and a 514 you would be good to go. You would already be looking for an apartment near the med school to which you had been accepted. California isn't the worst state of residence for premeds. Iowa, New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island are worse but California is pretty bad. When the AAMC website comes back up, look at Table 20 which details by state the average MCAT and GPA for matriculating students and you will see what I mean.

If you don't get accepted this cycle I would suggest that you find a lab rat job in Ohio or Michigan and establish your state of residence there. Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State are all first rate in life sciences. Throw yourself at those institutions, get a job and work for peanuts for a year. Register to vote, get a new driver's license, file a state tax return in your new state but don't file in California. After that, reapply. There are state medical schools which will punish carpet baggers (see Buchwald vs New Mexico) but Ohio and Michigan aren't terrible in that regard.

One thing to note about Ohio and Michigan is that each of those states has a relatively well regarded osteopathic medical school and each of those DO schools has an enormous entering class. Being a DO might not be what you dream about, but it beats reapplying three times and giving up.

Thanks for the suggestion. I don't think I can move at the moment, and if I do my MCAT may expire by the time I would reapply. I am actually very interested in DO schools. As I wrote in response to an above comment, I "went for it" and applied all MD this cycle. BUT, next year I'm only going to apply to DO programs. As long as I end up a doctor that's all that matters!

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[IceDuchess]

I love that I'm the unofficial mascot for people who don't get interviews until late.

OP, as you may have seen me say on other threads, two years ago I was in pretty much the exact same position as you. I had what I considered (and still consider) to be a relatively strong application but for whatever reason I hadn't received any interviews. Why? I have absolutely no idea. I got my first in late December and got my last in February, four total. So it is definitely possible to get interviews at this point in time. And I know plenty of people who got their first interview even later than me and are now medical students. There is definitely still hope!

Just by eyeballing your application, I would be surprised if you don't have success. I think that it looks like you've put a solid product together. That being said, and I know this isn't what you want to hear, the wise thing to do is to start preparing for a possible reapplication if it comes to that. Around this time last two years ago, I started applying to scribing jobs. Thankfully, it didn't come to that (well, actually it did, but then I got in a few weeks later. But that's another story for another day).

I wish you the best of luck! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Heya Bananafish94,

Just saw your post. Thank you very much for the reassurance. I am the type of person who always has a Plan B, Plan C... all the way to Plan Z. So, I am assuming I may not get in at all and am definitely preparing for next year! I just got a ScribeAmerica job and will be also looking for a phlebotomy job soon. Also taking classes to bump up my GPA. I hope overall this will help prep me for reapplying. And then Ill apply DO schools. :3

Once again, thanks so much for your response. Your story is making me quite hopeful. Going to keep waiting! Have an awesome day.

 

[Lardy Boy]

this thread gives me hope

 

[Robin-jay]

Hey, really sorry for my late reply. I have been extremely busy and just got around to catching up with this thread. I looked up "phlebotomy programs in SoCal" on google. Make sure the one you choose is accredited. Usually once you find several you are interested in you can research each one in-depth for more information. They should typically cost anywhere from 800$ (for one that takes about 1 year to complete) to $1800 max (for accelerated 2 month programs). I would be careful though and really read through reviews of the programs you find. It's very hard finding a job as a phlebotomist so be sure to read reviews to see how many people get hired after they graduate!

Well, you live in California, so honestly every hospital pre-med job seems difficult to ascertain. As someone in an earlier post mentioned, they have hundreds of people apply for 10 scribing positions in state.

Do you think that finding a phlebotomy job is hard because of where you live? I live in a less crowded area than Cali.

 

[IceDuchess]

Hi everyone, I have an update: I received my first interview invite yesterday! (From CNUCOM)

Quick story: CNUCOM gave me 21 days to submit my secondary from the moment it was sent out. I completed mine on the 21st day around August. Despite taking several weeks to get back to them, I still received an interview from them. The reason I wanted to share this is because many premeds on here say it is crucial to submit your secondaries within 2 weeks of receiving them. I just want to reassure you that (while timing may help) you shouldn’t give up hope if you couldn’t get your secondaries in right away.

I also want to thank all of you again for your optimistic posts. You were all right: it is definitely not too late to receive interview invites in January. Really excited for my very first med school interview!!!

 

[Robin-jay]

Hi everyone, I have an update: I received my first interview invite yesterday! (From CNUCOM)

Quick story: CNUCOM gave me 21 days to submit my secondary from the moment it was sent out. I completed mine on the 21st day around August. Despite taking several weeks to get back to them, I still received an interview from them. The reason I wanted to share this is because many premeds on here say it is crucial to submit your secondaries within 2 weeks of receiving them. I just want to reassure you that (while timing may help) you shouldn’t give up hope if you couldn’t get your secondaries in right away.

I also want to thank all of you again for your optimistic posts. You were all right: it is definitely not too late to receive interview invites in January. Really excited for my very first med school interview!!!

I think the application cycle is all about "reducing risk".

So while I agree with you there are a lot of "soft rules" like turning in secondaries early, which you proved, it still holds that it is a better option to turn it in earlier, than later.

And congratz in the interview! Very few pre-meds ever get a chance to interview!

 

[Med Ed]

Hi everyone, I have an update: I received my first interview invite yesterday! (From CNUCOM)

Be sure to ask them why they don't accept federal loan money.