On 2 waitlists with no acceptances. Looking for direction.

[jg2294]

Hello SDN! I've lurked a fair amount but have finally created an account looking for some insight. Out of 14 MD secondaries I completed this year I landed just 2 II's which both resulted in waitlists despite interviews that I thought went well. All the schools I applied to I would classify as mid-tier programs and the 2 waitlists I am on are EVMS (top 1/3 of waitlist) and WVU, both of which I am out of state for. I know there are many factors at play but am I destined for re-application? Can anyone pick out some my obvious shortcomings in my application based on the snapshot below (other than what I state)? Any advice on what I should do moving forward? Thanks for any input and let me know if you would like any other information.


ORM male who graduated from a top 30-ish public school with a 3.90 cumulative GPA and 3.99 science/math GPA with a BS in Kinesiology.
Scored a balanced 519 on my MCAT, only attempt.
150-200 hours of primary care physician shadowing over a couple summers.
200 hours of emergency room volunteering.
100+ hours volunteering as an after school math tutor to a local high school which I continue to do intermittently.
1 year full-time as ER/ICU scribe with continued employment.
~50 so hours of random non-clinical volunteering associated with my majors honor society.
Committee letter comprised of LOR's from 3 professors and 1 MD who I have strong relationships with.

My most obvious shortcoming comes from lack of research. Thanks again to whoever takes a look at this.

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[Robin-jay]

My most obvious shortcoming comes from lack of research. Thanks again to whoever takes a look at this.

Seems like you already know of one major way to improve your application. 80-95% of matriculants have research I believe.

Also, being an instructor for university courses would be useful. Actually, in general, leadership roles could help your application.

Other than that, I don't see much that could be improved on.

 

[pewpew95]

Seems like you already know of one major way to improve your application. 80-95% of matriculants have research I believe.

Also, being an instructor for university courses would be useful. Actually, in general, leadership roles could help your application.

Other than that, I don't see much that could be improved on.

Wouldn't the lack of research mainly be a problem for research-focused schools?

What was your complete school list, OP?

 

[jg2294]

That's what I was hoping, I did not apply to many research heavy schools. Off the top of my head I applied to WVU, EVMS, Virginia Commonwealth, Wake Forrest, University of Maryland, Tufts, UMass, Virginia Tech Carilion, Penn State, George Washington, and Drexel.

 

[CandH23]

That's what I was hoping, I did not apply to many research heavy schools. Off the top of my head I applied to WVU, EVMS, Virginia Commonwealth, Wake Forrest, University of Maryland, Tufts, UMass, Virginia Tech Carilion, Penn State, George Washington, and Drexel.

What state are you from? You have good stats!

 

[PhilzCoffeeAddict]

What state are you from? You have good stats!

He/she has OUTSTANDING stats! Holy moly a 519 with a 3.99... you're a god/goddess!

 

[jg2294]

What state are you from? You have good stats!

I am from Maryland. Thank you! Everyone always brings up my stats and I know its one of my greatest strengths. I know I shouldn't complain about it, but it almost makes it sting worse without an acceptance at some times haha.

 

[jg2294]

He/she has OUTSTANDING stats! Holy moly a 519 with a 3.99... you're a god/goddess!

Thank you for the flattery! Grades and scores were something I always worked hard at.

 

[bananafish94]

My most obvious shortcoming comes from lack of research.

I'm gonna disagree with you on this, I actually think you could most benefit from doing some more volunteering. Looking at your application it seems like your volunteering is right around the minimum that's expected, which is fine, but isn't going to help you stand out. Like you said, you didn't apply to many research-heavy schools, so they're going to be much more focused on volunteering and community service. If you do have to reapply, that would be where I would start. Everything else looks wonderful! Also, there's a solid chance that you'll get in off of one of those waitlists so hopefully you won't have to worry about it.

 

[jg2294]

I'm gonna disagree with you on this, I actually think you could most benefit from doing some more volunteering. Looking at your application it seems like your volunteering is right around the minimum that's expected, which is fine, but isn't going to help you stand out. Like you said, you didn't apply to many research-heavy schools, so they're going to be much more focused on volunteering and community service. If you do have to reapply, that would be where I would start. Everything else looks wonderful! Also, there's a solid chance that you'll get in off of one of those waitlists so hopefully you won't have to worry about it.

I appreciate the input, I am beginning to look into some more volunteering to start just in case of another cycle. I am hoping that the waitlist treats me well! I genuinly think both interviews went well so I know there is hope, but the inner neuroticism that seems to be somewhat inherent to pre-meds has me feeling pessimistic at times.

 

[Goro]

Hello SDN! I've lurked a fair amount but have finally created an account looking for some insight. Out of 14 MD secondaries I completed this year I landed just 2 II's which both resulted in waitlists despite interviews that I thought went well. All the schools I applied to I would classify as mid-tier programs and the 2 waitlists I am on are EVMS (top 1/3 of waitlist) and WVU, both of which I am out of state for. I know there are many factors at play but am I destined for re-application? Can anyone pick out some my obvious shortcomings in my application based on the snapshot below (other than what I state)? Any advice on what I should do moving forward? Thanks for any input and let me know if you would like any other information.


ORM male who graduated from a top 30-ish public school with a 3.90 cumulative GPA and 3.99 science/math GPA with a BS in Kinesiology.
Scored a balanced 519 on my MCAT, only attempt.
150-200 hours of primary care physician shadowing over a couple summers.
200 hours of emergency room volunteering.
100+ hours volunteering as an after school math tutor to a local high school which I continue to do intermittently.
1 year full-time as ER/ICU scribe with continued employment.
~50 so hours of random non-clinical volunteering associated with my majors honor society.
Committee letter comprised of LOR's from 3 professors and 1 MD who I have strong relationships with.

My most obvious shortcoming comes from lack of research. Thanks again to whoever takes a look at this.

You have to start working on your Plan B, until you get an accept in your email inbox. 150-200 hrs of shadowing is overkill.

I suggest more service to others less fortunate than yourself....and a more strategic target list next time. Of your school list, what's your connection tot he state of W VA? MD? MA????? I see that you tried to stay close to VA, but you should have cast a much wider net.

 

[jg2294]

You have to start working on your Plan B, until you get an accept in your email inbox. 150-200 hrs of shadowing is overkill.

I suggest more service to others less fortunate than yourself....and a more strategic target list next time. Of your school list, what's your connection tot he state of W VA? MD? MA????? I see that you tried to stay close to VA, but you should have cast a much wider net.

Yes, unfortunately it took me too long to realize the mistakes I made when I chose my schools. I'm a MD resident and largely chose my school list based off of recommendation from my undergraduate pre-med adviser. Their advice was to "apply regionally because you have the best shot with those schools", I should have put in more research myself and looked for some outside recommendations. Thanks for the reply!

 

[Disciple of Sattar]

14 schools isn’t always enough in this day and age.

 

[Robin-jay]

Wouldn't the lack of research mainly be a problem for research-focused schools?

What was your complete school list, OP?

I don't know. I would just be worried about not having research when so many people who get accepted do. It's also one way the OP could "majorly" increase their application stats.

 

[Robin-jay]

I also didn't realize the OP had no non-clinical volunteering. That would obviously be an important EC as well.

 

[21Rush12]

I want to see your school list OP. I think THAT is your likely weakness.

 

[892002]

I am also an MD resident. ORM-chinese, Vandy undergrad, 516/s3.52. I haven't had much luck this cycle, so take my advice with a grain of salt. I would suggest that you do some more service instead of going into research. I'm currently serving with AmeriCorps, and it has been an amazing experience! I would recommend service over research because of the following:

1. Doing long term service makes you stand out. Almost everyone who takes a gap year does scribing or research.
2. All of my interviewers seem to VERY interested in asking me questions about my service, and love talking about it with me. Also, service provides you with a variety of experiences that really help you answer tough interview questions.
3. It's much easier to incorperate service experiences into personal statements and secondaries.
4. Unless you really like research, service is more emotionally rewarding.

But since you have NO research experience, doing some research could be beneficial too. I think all medical schools care about research to some degree, and at some of the ones you applied to (UMD, VA Tech, GW, Wake Forest), research is a pretty important part of their mission.

There's still time though! Send updates and letters of interest when appropriate. Some schools want to see that you're still interested after you've been waitlisted, so keeping in contact could be your way off!

 

[jg2294]

I want to see your school list OP. I think THAT is your likely weakness.

WVU, EVMS, Virginia Commonwealth, Wake Forrest, University of Maryland, Tufts, UMass, Virginia Tech Carilion, Penn State, George Washington, and Drexel.

I do believe that I made a mistake with my school choice. At the time of making this list and sending out applications I was much less informed than I should have been.

 

[892002]

Also, Drexel and GW still send out IIs until mid-March, so there's still a chance you might get a late II.

 

[bananafish94]

I appreciate the input, I am beginning to look into some more volunteering to start just in case of another cycle. I am hoping that the waitlist treats me well! I genuinly think both interviews went well so I know there is hope, but the inner neuroticism that seems to be somewhat inherent to pre-meds has me feeling pessimistic at times.

I know the feeling well. I was waitlisted four times myself, which was especially frustrating because I really thought I interviewed well. At the end of the day we don't know what exactly goes on in their discussions and there's always an element of randomness and luck to the whole process. I'm hoping for the best for you!

 

[jg2294]

Update for anyone looking at this thread in the future, I was accepted today off of EVMS's waitlist! Thanks again to all the community members who responded.