No interviews, help?

[cornishpixie100]

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Hey guys... Could you help me out?

So I'm a first-time applicant but have no interviews yet and:

1) Do you think there is still a chance for this cycle/ anything besides sending update letters that I could do?

2) I'm thinking about what I'd do for another gap year. Do you think there is anything that would help my application? Should I stay at the clinical research lab I am currently in?

GPA: s3.95/c3.97

MCAT 515: 128/127/128/132

ORM

3rd author publication (basic science research)

Shadowing hours: 18

Clinical Volunteering hours: 108

Non-clinical Volunteering hours: 53 (not including 240 hours interning abroad)

Lab basic science research hours: 1000+ (throughout all four years)

Other ECs: Peer tutor, interning/study abroad, piano, medical club Eboard

Currently working in clinical research at an Ivy university during the gap year and at a social-work volunteering organization for patients.

School List (from Michigan)

University of Michigan
UNC
Case Western
Northwestern
U Chicago
University of Illinois
Wayne State
Michigan State
Loyola
Oakland Beaumont
Tufts
University of Wisconsin
Upenn
UCLA
UCSF
Harvard
Stanford

 

[altblue]

You have your state schools sure but that list is a bit top heavy. You should add more mid tiers like Hofstra, USC, and Rochester. Also unc wisc and uic don't take a lot of out of state students.

Your clinical volunteering and shadowing hours aren't awful but they don't help either. Nonclinical is definitely low without the trip. Work on those?

 

[scienceguy95]

Seems like you applied pretty top heavy with a good but not exceptional MCAT score. ECs seem pretty average (except the research). I am surprised you received no interviews though. How confident are you in the quality of your letters and essays?

 

[scienceguy95]

You have your state schools sure but that list is a bit top heavy. You should add more mid tiers like Hofstra, USC, and Rochester. Also unc wisc and uic don't take a lot of out of state students.

Your clinical volunteering and shadowing hours aren't awful but they don't help either. Nonclinical is definitely low. Work on those?

I applied with similarly low clinical and volunteering hours and got more than five interviews from a top heavy list. Granted I had a higher MCAT score. Seems like LORs or essays were the issue.

 

[candbgirl]

Your stats are very nice but your ECs are weak, with the exception of research. Did you apply MD/PhD? Did you have anyone read your PS? How about your secondaries? Do you know your letter writers very well and did they agree to write you a very strong letter?

What are you doing this year? If you reapply in the next cycle, ADCOMS will expect significant improvement in your application. Will you have that significant improvement?

I’m sure you are very surprised you haven’t had any interviews with your stats but this shows that schools may be looking at the whole application and not just stats.

Spend some time looking for @gonnif ’s many posts about reapplying too soon. They have such good information for anyone in your situation.

Good luck.

 

[LizzyM]

MCAT is suboptimal for the top tier schools you've applied to; shadowing, non-clinical volunteering and clinical volunteering all very low for someone who had 4 years of college before applying.

Too much focus on research an- too little service for the mid-tiers. Too low MCAT for the research intensive, top-tier schools.

 

[Lawpy]

My stats are pretty much identical, I applied even more top-heavy, even really late, and I've still had success. My guess is that there is either a red flag in your app (like an LOR) or an issue with your personal statement.

While you're right that there coukd be a red flag in OP's app, your ECs are likely a lot stronger than OP's. Top schools care heavily on ECs and narrative.

 

[Goro]

For your gap year:
1) service to others less fortunate than yourself
2) double your patient contcat experience
3) rewrite all essays. If you are pushing a research-based meme, drop that, stat.
3b) have multiple eyeballs proof your essays
4) Apply early
5) Here is a more realistic list:

U VM
U Toledo
USF Morsani
OH State
Miami
St. Louis
Albany
Albert Einstein
Rochester
Rush
Rosy Franklin
NYMC
EVMS
Wake Forest
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
Creighton
Tulane
USC/Keck
Dartmouth
MCW
Loyola
Emory
BU
Mayo
Duke
Case
Pitt
Hofstra
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Your state school(s).
Consider MSUCOM, CCOM, MUCOM, DMU,and LECOM

Hey guys... Could you help me out?

So I'm a first-time applicant but have no interviews yet and:

1) Do you think there is still a chance for this cycle/ anything besides sending update letters that I could do?

2) I'm thinking about what I'd do for another gap year. Do you think there is anything that would help my application? Should I stay at the clinical research lab I am currently in?

GPA: s3.95/c3.97

MCAT 515: 128/127/128/132

ORM

3rd author publication (basic science research)

Shadowing hours: 18

Clinical Volunteering hours: 108

Non-clinical Volunteering hours: 53 (not including 240 hours interning abroad)

Lab basic science research hours: 1000+ (throughout all four years)

Other ECs: Peer tutor, interning/study abroad, piano, medical club Eboard

Currently working in clinical research at an Ivy university during the gap year and at a social-work volunteering organization for patients.

School List (from Michigan)

University of Michigan
UNC
Case Western
Northwestern
U Chicago
University of Illinois
Wayne State
Michigan State
Loyola
Oakland Beaumont
Tufts
University of Wisconsin
Upenn
UCLA
UCSF
Harvard
Stanford

 

[cornishpixie100]

Hi all,

Thank you for your input to my application. I did just want to add that I didn't really delve into my ECs in my earlier post. In case it would influence anything: besides clinical volunteering (hospital and free clinic) my ECs include mainly global health, local health, and other non-clinical volunteering
Eboard and member of Global Health group for 3.5 years
Internship in El Salvador, a partner of our health org, working on a hygiene campaign
Volunteering for a summer at the Detroit farmers market
Member and chair of a volunteer org, where we worked at food pantries, ran clothing drives, and became penpals with students in Detroit
Studied healthcare systems abroad in Japan

Do you think that staying in the lab I am currently in (which is clinical research and I get contact with patients) would help me for another year, while doing other volunteering on the side? Or would you suggest something altogether different?

Thanks again for your input, I really appreciate it!

 

[Green_Goose]

That really sucks that you haven't gotten any interviews yet, you look like you have a great profile. I don't know if this will make you feel any better, but I am also an MI resident, and my pre-med advisor told me that the Michigan schools are giving out late interviews to applicants this year, especially Wayne and U of M. Apparently people have interviewed at Wayne in January and February, and I've heard they have a good post-interview acceptance rate