Official 2015-2016: Oh no, I don't have a single Interview Invite thread!

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cyang said:
just re-read my personal statement and thought to myself wow no wonder no school wants me...

warning: don't do it
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Unfortunately I've done this several times (mental thumb-twiddling, if you will).

Sometimes I'll reread it and be like, "This is the s***!"

And other times I'll be like "This is actually s***..."
 
This thread has been so quiet lately!

Did everyone fall into a food coma after thanksgiving?
 
catie_jane said:
This thread has been so quiet lately!

Did everyone fall into a food coma after thanksgiving?
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No news here. While other people are getting acceptances, invites and rejections, I've been hearing absolutely nothing. I mean I'm happy to not be in the rejection waves, but it makes me wonder if there's something wrong with my app or maybe my email. I even checked my email just this morning to make sure it was working properly. I'm not sure what's going on. 🙁
 
LuluLovesMe said:
No news here. While other people are getting acceptances, invites and rejections, I've been hearing absolutely nothing. I mean I'm happy to not be in the rejection waves, but it makes me wonder if there's something wrong with my app or maybe my email. I even checked my email just this morning to make sure it was working properly. I'm not sure what's going on. 🙁
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Same boat!! Hang in there, no news is sometimes good news!
 
I have, at this point, resigned myself to my fate. It's December and I don't have a single interview. I'm not going to waste any more energy on the fleeting dream of getting in this year. I'll apply next year with a better application. I will say that if I ever get into medical school, I will never act like some of the sanctimonious pricks on this website who suddenly turn into God himself as soon as they get an acceptance. One of the things that makes my blood boil more than anything is people making derisive comments about applicants worrying about their application and joking about the Caribbean when not two months ago they were asking the exact same questions.
 
bananafish94 said:
I have, at this point, resigned myself to my fate. It's December and I don't have a single interview. I'm not going to waste any more energy on the fleeting dream of getting in this year. I'll apply next year with a better application. I will say that if I ever get into medical school, I will never act like some of the sanctimonious pricks on this website who suddenly turn into God himself as soon as they get an acceptance. One of the things that makes my blood boil more than anything is people making derisive comments about applicants worrying about their application and joking about the Caribbean when not two months ago they were asking the exact same questions.
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people joke about the caribbean here because it is a really really bad choice and serves to remind the desperate applicants to not make an extremely risky life decision with 250k and 4 years. this is why there are so many people that advise reapp US MD and applying DO. most applicants should be applying DO simultaneously in the first cycle anyway.
 
takis said:
people joke about the caribbean here because it is a really really bad choice and serves to remind the desperate applicants to not make an extremely risky life decision with 250k and 4 years. this is why there are so many people that advise reapp US MD and applying DO. most applicants should be applying DO simultaneously in the first cycle anyway.
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I think the original poster meant that those newly admitted people joke about the least desirable options, which are the reality for many, unfortunately. OP wasn't necessarily saying he wants to go to the Caribbean given his lack of interviews this cycle. Only a mere few weeks prior, before their acceptances, admitted peeps were, perhaps, (seriously) considering other options themselves, just as the non-admitted are doing now. An acceptance is not a ticket for being arrogant. The general takeaway from @bananafish94 is that this process can be heartbreaking.
 
Person1345 said:
I think the original poster meant that those newly admitted people joke about the least desirable options, which are the reality for many, unfortunately. OP wasn't necessarily saying he wants to go to the Caribbean given his lack of interviews this cycle. Only a mere few weeks prior, before their acceptances, admitted peeps were, perhaps, (seriously) considering other options themselves, just as the non-admitted are doing now. An acceptance is not a ticket for being arrogant. The general takeaway from @bananafish94 is that this process can be heartbreaking.
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To say the least. I seriously don't know how I'm going to do this a second time.
 
You think it's time I start freaking out? I've applied to like 20 schools including my state ones. 1/2 MD and 1/2 DO.

I've only gotten a couple osteopathic interviews. Should I just expect rejections at this point? I've been complete since Mid-August everywhere too
 
bananafish94 said:
To say the least. I seriously don't know how I'm going to do this a second time.
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whatsupdr said:
I think about that every day.
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I did it 3 times, it sucks, but it if you want it bad enough you gotta find the will to do it. First two cycles I had 0 II. This time around I've gotten 5 II and already accepted at 2. Just take a good look at what your problems are and fix them. remember you have to think of yourself from an adcom point of view. On paper are you impressive enough to get those interviews? if not make it so you are. I remember thinking to myself "if only they would interview me I could show them how good of a fit I would be etc etc" but thats not a good mindset to have. best of luck to you all
 
Person1345 said:
What's crazy is that by the time this cycle ends, the AMCAS app opens again.
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It won't be too long before I'm closer to the next cycle than when I submitted my AMCAS for this cycle. I just wish I knew what went wrong. If I had a 24 on the mcat or a 3.1 gpa or had never volunteered than at least this would make some semblance of sense. But I'm left grasping at straws as to what I have to change.
 
genessis42 said:
You think it's time I start freaking out? I've applied to like 20 schools including my state ones. 1/2 MD and 1/2 DO.

I've only gotten a couple osteopathic interviews. Should I just expect rejections at this point? I've been complete since Mid-August everywhere too
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So you've had interviews? Why would you be freaking out? That's far more than half the battle right there.
 
jk1006 said:
I did it 3 times, it sucks, but it if you want it bad enough you gotta find the will to do it. First two cycles I had 0 II. This time around I've gotten 5 II and already accepted at 2. Just take a good look at what your problems are and fix them. remember you have to think of yourself from an adcom point of view. On paper are you impressive enough to get those interviews? if not make it so you are. I remember thinking to myself "if only they would interview me I could show them how good of a fit I would be etc etc" but thats not a good mindset to have. best of luck to you all
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What happened the first two cycles? What did you fix? And what did you do during the gap years?
 
bananafish94 said:
What happened the first two cycles? What did you fix? And what did you do during the gap years?
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-First cycle I applied relatively late, probably submitted primary in august, completed secondaries in late sept/mid-oct

-second cycle I applied earlier, primary end of june, completed secondaries at all by mid sept, while working in dental research, didn't really get my PS or essays reviewed or anything like that, or change really very much about my application, maybe ~50 more hours community service (I thought the main reason for not getting any interviews was I was so late)

In between second and third cycle I went to a SMP, my uGPA was a 3.6 so it wasnt terrible to begin with, but I wanted to cover all my bases. Volunteered a lot more, did clinical research, shadowed physicians (I had no shadowing experience before), got a 4.0 in my SMP. Had to retake my MCAT because it expired and I got a higher score. Made better relationships with my SMP professors and got great LOR (i went to a large state school for undergrad so my LOR may have been weak due to weak relationships).

-Third cycle, applied first day AMCAS opened, completed secondaries late july, early sept everywhere, also got a job doing really cool clinical research that I could write about for my "what are you doing during your gap year" question

So what I did was shore up every single possible weakness I could've had, so that way if an adcom came across my app theyd see improvement everywhere.

Applied kinda late? = applied day one
GPA iffy? = 4.0 SMP
Bad writing? = got multiple opinions on my PS and essays
not enough involvement? = ~350 more hours of volunteering, shadowing, clinical research, interesting "gap year" job to write about
Bad LORs? = much better LORs
MCAT? = even better MCAT (my mcat was already high to begin with)

At the end of the day you dont want to leave any doubt. If you have to apply again, do it in a way that you know you gave it everything you had
 
jk1006 said:
-First cycle I applied relatively late, probably submitted primary in august, completed secondaries in late sept/mid-oct

-second cycle I applied earlier, primary end of june, completed secondaries at all by mid sept, while working in dental research, didn't really get my PS or essays reviewed or anything like that, or change really very much about my application, maybe ~50 more hours community service (I thought the main reason for not getting any interviews was I was so late)

In between second and third cycle I went to a SMP, my uGPA was a 3.6 so it wasnt terrible to begin with, but I wanted to cover all my bases. Volunteered a lot more, did clinical research, shadowed physicians (I had no shadowing experience before), got a 4.0 in my SMP. Had to retake my MCAT because it expired and I got a higher score. Made better relationships with my SMP professors and got great LOR (i went to a large state school for undergrad so my LOR may have been weak due to weak relationships).

-Third cycle, applied first day AMCAS opened, completed secondaries late july, early sept everywhere, also got a job doing really cool clinical research that I could write about for my "what are you doing during your gap year" question

So what I did was shore up every single possible weakness I could've had, so that way if an adcom came across my app theyd see improvement everywhere.

Applied kinda late? = applied day one
GPA iffy? = 4.0 SMP
Bad writing? = got multiple opinions on my PS and essays
not enough involvement? = ~350 more hours of volunteering, shadowing, clinical research, interesting "gap year" job to write about
Bad LORs? = much better LORs
MCAT? = even better MCAT (my mcat was already high to begin with)

At the end of the day you dont want to leave any doubt. If you have to apply again, do it in a way that you know you gave it everything you had
Click to expand...
Congrats on your success but I want to remind people who are looking for ways to retool that doing an SMP with a 3.6 was a terrible idea. You are one of those rare cases of a 4.0 but it was more likely to score a GPA that would completely undo your good 3.6 (which I guarantee was not the reason you had no IIs) and waste a ton of money. I bet you'd have the same success with all the corrections you listed minus the SMP. Congrats again.
 
bananafish94 said:
It won't be too long before I'm closer to the next cycle than when I submitted my AMCAS for this cycle. I just wish I knew what went wrong. If I had a 24 on the mcat or a 3.1 gpa or had never volunteered than at least this would make some semblance of sense. But I'm left grasping at straws as to what I have to change.
Click to expand...

Maybe it's the way you wrote about your activities/experience/personal statement? One of my friends who is applying next year showed me what they wrote for the work/activities section of the app and it was really...bad. He did way more health-related activities than me, but the way he wrote about it was just so far from eloquent. That can show a lack of dedication and thoughtfulness for the whole process. Then again, this might not be the case for you.
 
piii said:
Congrats on your success but I want to remind people who are looking for ways to retool that doing an SMP with a 3.6 was a terrible idea. You are one of those rare cases of a 4.0 but it was more likely to score a GPA that would completely undo your good 3.6 (which I guarantee was not the reason you had no IIs) and waste a ton of money. I bet you'd have the same success with all the corrections you listed minus the SMP. Congrats again.
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I did the SMP to get the relationships for LORs as well, if I hadn't my letters would have still been very weak.

Plus I considered it an investment in myself. I knew I could excel and really do well, and it showed, and I think med schools see that now. It was definitely a risk, but after two cycles I needed to show that I could handle it. For other people just increasing those ECs and getting their essays and things rechecked might do it, but like I said I didn't want to leave anything to chance. I wanted to be in control of as many aspects of my application as possible, and showing that I could ace high level science courses was one of those things.

At this point the 50k I invested in an SMP should pay off pretty nicely.
 
jk1006 said:
I did the SMP to get the relationships for LORs as well, if I hadn't my letters would have still been very weak.

Plus I considered it an investment in myself. I knew I could excel and really do well, and it showed, and I think med schools see that now. It was definitely a risk, but after two cycles I needed to show that I could handle it. For other people just increasing those ECs and getting their essays and things rechecked might do it, but like I said I didn't want to leave anything to chance. I wanted to be in control of as many aspects of my application as possible, and showing that I could ace high level science courses was one of those things.

At this point the 50k I invested in an SMP should pay off pretty nicely.
Click to expand...
Fair enough. I did an SMP too so I know how resourceful it is. But for most applicants i think there are far less risky ways to boost ECs/letters than SMPs. I wanted to warn those looking for ways to improve that SMPs should really be reserved for GPA boosting, it would suck to see qualified candidates hurt themselves with a bad SMP GPA. Just my .02
 
jk1006 said:
-First cycle I applied relatively late, probably submitted primary in august, completed secondaries in late sept/mid-oct

-second cycle I applied earlier, primary end of june, completed secondaries at all by mid sept, while working in dental research, didn't really get my PS or essays reviewed or anything like that, or change really very much about my application, maybe ~50 more hours community service (I thought the main reason for not getting any interviews was I was so late)

In between second and third cycle I went to a SMP, my uGPA was a 3.6 so it wasnt terrible to begin with, but I wanted to cover all my bases. Volunteered a lot more, did clinical research, shadowed physicians (I had no shadowing experience before), got a 4.0 in my SMP. Had to retake my MCAT because it expired and I got a higher score. Made better relationships with my SMP professors and got great LOR (i went to a large state school for undergrad so my LOR may have been weak due to weak relationships).

-Third cycle, applied first day AMCAS opened, completed secondaries late july, early sept everywhere, also got a job doing really cool clinical research that I could write about for my "what are you doing during your gap year" question

So what I did was shore up every single possible weakness I could've had, so that way if an adcom came across my app theyd see improvement everywhere.

Applied kinda late? = applied day one
GPA iffy? = 4.0 SMP
Bad writing? = got multiple opinions on my PS and essays
not enough involvement? = ~350 more hours of volunteering, shadowing, clinical research, interesting "gap year" job to write about
Bad LORs? = much better LORs
MCAT? = even better MCAT (my mcat was already high to begin with)

At the end of the day you dont want to leave any doubt. If you have to apply again, do it in a way that you know you gave it everything you had
Click to expand...

Thank you for the detailed response. I think this is sage advice. And I can't offer you enough congratulations on getting in...it sounds like you have earned it many times over.
 
jk1006 said:
-First cycle I applied relatively late, probably submitted primary in august, completed secondaries in late sept/mid-oct

-second cycle I applied earlier, primary end of june, completed secondaries at all by mid sept, while working in dental research, didn't really get my PS or essays reviewed or anything like that, or change really very much about my application, maybe ~50 more hours community service (I thought the main reason for not getting any interviews was I was so late)

In between second and third cycle I went to a SMP, my uGPA was a 3.6 so it wasnt terrible to begin with, but I wanted to cover all my bases. Volunteered a lot more, did clinical research, shadowed physicians (I had no shadowing experience before), got a 4.0 in my SMP. Had to retake my MCAT because it expired and I got a higher score. Made better relationships with my SMP professors and got great LOR (i went to a large state school for undergrad so my LOR may have been weak due to weak relationships).

-Third cycle, applied first day AMCAS opened, completed secondaries late july, early sept everywhere, also got a job doing really cool clinical research that I could write about for my "what are you doing during your gap year" question

So what I did was shore up every single possible weakness I could've had, so that way if an adcom came across my app theyd see improvement everywhere.

Applied kinda late? = applied day one
GPA iffy? = 4.0 SMP
Bad writing? = got multiple opinions on my PS and essays
not enough involvement? = ~350 more hours of volunteering, shadowing, clinical research, interesting "gap year" job to write about
Bad LORs? = much better LORs
MCAT? = even better MCAT (my mcat was already high to begin with)

At the end of the day you dont want to leave any doubt. If you have to apply again, do it in a way that you know you gave it everything you had
Click to expand...

wow, you are almost like me except for the fact that I'm currently on the third cycle right now, and I have 0 MD II's and 1 DO II this cycle. I'm not even sure what I should do in my situation, because I know I had great LORs (had amazing working relationships with my professors), good to great ECs, a high undergraduate GPA, etc. My only problem is taking the MCAT 3-4 times and getting an 8 on the most recent verbal with a good MCAT (> 31).
 
You guys gotta hang in there! I'm a reapplicant this year and I got all three of my interviews last year after January!! I know it sounds funny because I didn't get in, but I was way too timid and not confident on my interviews. Keep updating your schools and let them know you're interested! Stay hopeful!! Stay smart, get working on your next application (how can you better improve it). i believe in myself and I believe in you guys!!
 
piii said:
Fair enough. I did an SMP too so I know how resourceful it is. But for most applicants i think there are far less risky ways to boost ECs/letters than SMPs. I wanted to warn those looking for ways to improve that SMPs should really be reserved for GPA boosting, it would suck to see qualified candidates hurt themselves with a bad SMP GPA. Just my .02
Click to expand...
Do you mind clarifying more about SMP? I know that this is not the SMP thread but I was wondering why its not good to use SMP as something other than a GPA booster. Are SMP's very challenging and that's why its risky?
 
dr.lenkim said:
Do you mind clarifying more about SMP? I know that this is not the SMP thread but I was wondering why its not good to use SMP as something other than a GPA booster. Are SMP's very challenging and that's why its risky?
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Very challenging. You're often taking classes that you would take as a medical student, and the pace is very fast. My friends in SMP's had exams every week (not unlike some med schools).

Also, the reason you wouldn't take an SMP if your GPA is good is also because of how expensive they are. Why pay another $50,000 if your weaknesses lie elsewhere?
 
Citygirl44 said:
Wow. Tons of movement today for a lot of schools. Total silence for me ( no rejections/ holds/ IIs ). I used to think no news is good news but now I almost feel like I don't exist.
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I am getting very worried that I didnt hear from Albany, SUNY Downstate, NYMC and Stony. I think we applied to similar schools.
 
whatsupdr said:
I am getting very worried that I didnt hear from Albany, SUNY Downstate, NYMC and Stony. I think we applied to similar schools.
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We did. I didn't hear from buffalo, upstate, Einstein or Icahn either.
 
Usually I'm pretty optimistic and joking around. But I'm starting to get a little sad now. Ok medical school process, you finally broke me! Awwww.
 
whatsupdr said:
I am getting very worried that I didnt hear from Albany, SUNY Downstate, NYMC and Stony. I think we applied to similar schools.
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Albany put me on hold very quickly, which is what I think they do with the applicants they aren't very interested in. If you didn't get a hold or rejection I feel like you must be getting considered carefully, assuming they've looked at you yet.
 
FreckleFart99 said:
Albany put me on hold very quickly, which is what I think they do with the applicants they aren't very interested in. If you didn't get a hold or rejection I feel like you must be getting considered carefully, assuming they've looked at you yet.
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Did you get an e-mail from albany? Having difficulty understanding the portal haha
 
Citygirl44 said:
We did. I didn't hear from buffalo, upstate, Einstein or Icahn either.
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I did not apply Buffalo or Ichan. I heard from UPSTATE but no Einstein, Albany, NYMC or Stony. Was rejected from Hofstra. But to be honest looking at NYMC from last cycle invites went out alot all through December.
 
Well I will try to stay optimistic then. I will listen to the words that my friend told me yesterday as he insisted that I will get in medical school soon. He said ( being the simple person that he is ) "look, the schools have to pick the brainiac 5 eggheads first , then after those kids choose which school they want to attend, the schools then invite the regular eggheads like you, you just have to be patient and wait". Genius.
 
I have gotten two interviews, so I really don't belong in this thread..but I really messed up my first interview and my second interview isn't till next year so I hope that we get more interviews soon!
 
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I'm a non-trad who technically completed the AMCAS app early July including received LORS, but had to take a September MCAT. Scores came out in October... But I had many secondaries finished August/early September. So, I looked fully complete in middle October at most of the schools I applied to. Late October for a couple.

Haven't head a peep back yet anywhere, but crossing fingers.
 
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I have two and a half more years as undergrad and I just hope this doesn't happen to me.
 
bunchesonothing said:
I'm a non-trad who technically completed the AMCAS app early July including received LORS, but had to take a September MCAT. Scores came out in October... But I had many secondaries finished August/early September. So, I looked fully complete in middle October at most of the schools I applied to. Late October for a couple.

Haven't head a peep back yet anywhere, but crossing fingers.
Click to expand...


You know, I've read some people's thoughts on not having II's by now, but to be honest many threads I frequent are showing people getting IIs that submitted 5 months ago. I find it silly to stress out over not having II's when you were only complete a month ago. Maybe that's wishful thinking (although I've been told having 1 II before Thanksgiving is a good sign) but this is a long process with tons of applicants and freaking out after 8 weeks seems unjustified.
 
bananafish94 said:
I have, at this point, resigned myself to my fate. It's December and I don't have a single interview. I'm not going to waste any more energy on the fleeting dream of getting in this year. I'll apply next year with a better application. I will say that if I ever get into medical school, I will never act like some of the sanctimonious pricks on this website who suddenly turn into God himself as soon as they get an acceptance. One of the things that makes my blood boil more than anything is people making derisive comments about applicants worrying about their application and joking about the Caribbean when not two months ago they were asking the exact same questions.
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preach
 
dreamadream said:
I have two and a half more years as undergrad and I just hope this doesn't happen to me.
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My friend, if you are a freshman reading this thread there are simply better ways to occupy your time. I'll tell you what I tell my chemistry students when they worry about this process...take out a piece of paper, and write down what you believe to be a perfect application for medical school. Now that you've done that, all you need to do is make it real.
 
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