pessimism

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sreeb

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I'm a second time applicant. Interviewed with SIU springfield for the second time this past october, got placed on the AWPA list. Did not hear back for the first batch (although I still have a chance for the second and third batch) and now I can't help but think about what I need to do for reapplication for next year. My credentials:

Bachelor's in Bio, graduated last may
3.8 overall GPA, 3.7 science gpa
28 MCAT (2nd time)
Volunteered in two hospitals, various departments
Publication, awards, presentations in organic chem research
Humanitarian efforts
Tutor, teaching assistant
Research in molec. biology
Letters of rec from a couple doctors
EMT certified
CPR certified
Hired this past October as ER Tech at a local hospital. I get ALOT of patient contact. Responsible for drawing blood, doing EKGs, OCL splinting, performed CPR on many patients, insertion of urinary catheters, etc.

If I have to apply again I will feel very very discouraged. I just needed to rant to my fellow pre-med peers. God knows none of my friends/family truly understand my struggle.

Any advice? How can I further strengthen my application?
 
-did you apply to a lot of schools?
-did you apply to every single state school in Illinois?
-did you apply to all the midwestern private schools (St Louis University, Creighton, Toledo, Rosalind Frankline, etc.)? Your MCAT score is not too hot, and sometimes a particular admissions committee just doesn't take a liking to a particular applicant. Perhaps you will get into SIU, but it's best to cast a wide net.
-did you apply to any DO schools? They love people with good clinical experience like yours, and they will make you a doctor. I believe there is at least one in Chicago.
-do you feel there is any potential to raise your MCAT score? If you could get into the 30's I think it would help you a lot. Still, significant numbers of people get into med school with <30 MCAT, especially with good grades like yours. However, if the high GPA is from a school that is not well known to medical schools (or is known to give high grades) then some adcoms may not be impressed with the 3.7 or 3.8 as much as you would think.
-you might benefit from a professional consultant to go over your application and see whether you are presenting all those extracurriculars in the best possible way that will help your application stand out
 
Thank you for your advice. I know you must be a busy person and I appreciate your time. I applied to as many schools as my wallet had allowed. Rosalind franklin, UIC, Rush, SIU, Loyola, and Midwestern (DO). I did not apply to every school in Illinois because my credentials were slightly lower than what those schools had accepted in the past. And in regards to that Mcat. The admissions advisor at SIU told me the last application cycle to retake my Mcat. I did and I increased my score. If they advise me to take it again then I guess I'll have to. At this point, I'm worried about repaying my loans (which amount to 60K) as well as my biological clock. I'm 25. Do most pre-med students go into medical school with a large debt?
 
Hi sreeb! I see that we are in a very similar situation. I have also interviewed twice at SIU and am on the AWPA list this time, but did not get in the first batch. This is very frustrating, but we must remind ourselves that about half the class is offered a place in April and May.

Your GPA and ECs are very good, and I honestly can't see anything that you are noticeably lacking. However, if I put myself in the place of SIU, my concerns would be: where are you from in IL? Where did you go to college? How do you meet with the mission to serve Central and Southern Illinois? Also, what was the previous MCAT? Was it a big improvement? 28 is only slightly below their average matriculant score, but if they told you to improve and your best effort only got you to 28, that would be a red flag.

You probably still have a chance to get in this year with that excellent GPA. Try not to obsess too much and enjoy your time off from school right now. I suggest just keep working the ER tech job and if you think you're up to it, prepare for the MCAT again. Good luck!
 
I grew up in rural New Baden, IL which is southern IL. Went to EIU, again a small city with a small college. I want to work in southern IL because I am very familiar and comfortable with rural areas. My first mcat was a 25, I increased one point in each section. What are your credentials??? Is SIU your top choice?? Did you interview anywhere else??
 
Don't get too discouraged, it may be that the adcoms are just looking for more mature, older applicants. If it's just two years since you've been out of your undergrad, remember you're still young and have plenty of time ahead, and you WILL get in, eventually.

Here's an anecdote from a friend of mine applying to OHSU (rough stats from my memory); GPA: 3.7 from a well-known Oregon State school. MCAT: 29. Employed for several years @ OHSU doing clinical research. Tons of other EC's.

Anyway, he applied, interviewed, and was rejected 6 consecutive cycles. He was 28 this last (last year's) application cycle, and was finally accepted. He will finish by the time he's 32, done w/ residency by 35. That's certainly not too old, as he'll have 20 years before retirement at 55....

So, just keep doing what you're doing, don't fret it, and acceptance will come.
 
sreeb said:
I grew up in rural New Baden, IL which is southern IL. Went to EIU, again a small city with a small college. I want to work in southern IL because I am very familiar and comfortable with rural areas. My first mcat was a 25, I increased one point in each section. What are your credentials??? Is SIU your top choice?? Did you interview anywhere else??
Click to expand...

Well in that case, I'd say it's just the MCAT holding you back. You're probably just a little lower on the AWPA list because of it, and just need to wait it out for a few more months. I still think you have a good chance this year.

SIU has been my only interview, but I didn't apply to a lot of schools and I applied a little later due to wanting to make the most of my MCAT retake. SIU is my first choice, so I kind of catered my app toward them this year. My GPA is low (3.4) and my MCAT is 31. Still waiting for the good news....the next batch comes out at the end of this month. :xf:However, I know I may realistically have to wait until April/May. Or, never get in...😱
 
sreeb said:
I grew up in rural New Baden, IL which is southern IL. Went to EIU, again a small city with a small college. I want to work in southern IL because I am very familiar and comfortable with rural areas. My first mcat was a 25, I increased one point in each section. What are your credentials??? Is SIU your top choice?? Did you interview anywhere else??
Click to expand...

Well it looks like there might be something deeper here because from what I can tell you are everything a medical school says they are looking for. Sometimes recent DUI's can turn med schools off. If you have had no runins with the law then I would say the next thing to look at is yourself. how is your interviewing skills. This was my problem. I did several mock interviews with the career services at my undergrad school and they helped me enormously. They even videotaped me and watched it back with me, which was very intimidating and embarrassing. My undergrad GPA was 3.0 my first MCAT was 20 and my second was 23. I had a lot of shadowing I also continued with my graduate degree and have a GPA of 3.7 and I was accepted to two schools. So either there is something you left out or you just don't present yourself with the confidence you should. I suggest you reevaluate your answers to interview questions and your personal essays and come up with a way to make them stronger. Maybe even let other people read them. If you need any pointers or someone to look over an essay PM me.
 
Thank you Quik. I have heard doctors who went through similiar situations. One doc told me he applied 5 times until he got in. I won't give up so I guess its only a matter of time. I just hope the adcom can see that I have made the most of my time since graduation. I graduated last may, got EMT certified this past summer, and am now employed at a hospital.


masscrash.
I'm not the most eloquent of speakers but during my interview I was very easy going and honest with my interviewers, delving deep not only into my personal life but theirs as well. which med school are you studying at? I greatly appreciate the offer of looking over my personal statement and if I don't get in this cycle, you can count on hearing back from me. My personal statement from this cycle probably wasn't the strongest which I attribute to my lack of clinical experience but now that I'm working at a hospital my new personal statement will be much stronger.
 
I recently got into Pacific Northwest University. I just thought that from your credentials you have experience, good grades, good MCAT you would be a shoe in. But I have seen it before people that were much more better looking on paper, but they didn't get in because they don't know how to portray themselves during a interview. I'm not trying to argue with you I am just saying that I would take a step back and evaluate my interview skills. If what you wrote here is what is in your application then it is your interview skills that is holding you up. There are rules and protocols to a good interviews. Each answer should be no less than two minutes and should include at least two experiences to support your answer. For instance, "what qualities describe you?" "I am hard working. I took on 25 credits during a quarter of my senior year and I was working at the same time and I still got good grades...." My other advice is to tailor in some experiences that will make you a better doctor ie. dealing with death, being in a position of service ect. Definitely don't give up and best of luck to you.
 
Might help to bring up the MCAT a little...but I think you have a shot at getting in this year. If you know any doc who graduated from there,see if he/she can put a good word in for you with the admissions committee.
You appear to fit the profile of someone they would take. It may not hurt to send them a letter stating they are your first choice, if that is so.
 
Thank you all for the advice. As I anxiously await to hear back about the second and third batch I will revise my personal statement and focus on my interview questions more. I will respond to the thread if I happen to get in this cycle. I know its just a matter of time for me to get accepted. During this time I'll just make the most of my employment in the ER and learn/experience as much as I can. And I won't retake the mcat unless the admissions committee advises I do!
 
sreeb said:
I'm a second time applicant. Interviewed with SIU springfield for the second time this past october, got placed on the AWPA list. Did not hear back for the first batch (although I still have a chance for the second and third batch) and now I can't help but think about what I need to do for reapplication for next year. My credentials:

Bachelor's in Bio, graduated last may
3.8 overall GPA, 3.7 science gpa
28 MCAT (2nd time)
Volunteered in two hospitals, various departments
Publication, awards, presentations in organic chem research
Humanitarian efforts
Tutor, teaching assistant
Research in molec. biology
Letters of rec from a couple doctors
EMT certified
CPR certified
Hired this past October as ER Tech at a local hospital. I get ALOT of patient contact. Responsible for drawing blood, doing EKGs, OCL splinting, performed CPR on many patients, insertion of urinary catheters, etc.

If I have to apply again I will feel very very discouraged. I just needed to rant to my fellow pre-med peers. God knows none of my friends/family truly understand my struggle.

Any advice? How can I further strengthen my application?
Click to expand...


I feel like we're similar people.

I have a 29 (10,10,9) MCAT
3.7 Science, 3.66 Overall
LOR's from MD's
Hundreds of hours shadowing
Hundreds of hours Volunteering in a clinic
Orthopedic research (with a publication in the works)
Work as an ER Scribe

I interviewed at my state school (I'm a re-applicant there) and I'd really like to go there (Still waiting for a decision and it could be a while).

I think you'll get there eventually! Just hang in there. As you can see we're in similar situations (and I'm sure lots of others are too) and an MD I shadowed recently told me not to give up because persistence is the key to success in this process.

Keep your head high!
 
Hear anything sreeb? I did not get in this batch....
 
6 schools is not very many when applying to med school. It's not like undergrad, and most have very low acceptance rates.

I would definitely urge you to apply to every one of the Illinois state/public med schools, if you didn't already. Also, consider DO schools (I think there is at least one in Iowa, and you could try Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine). I think you should apply to a lot more MD schools also - 10 or 20 would be a good number for someone with your MCAT score - it's not that it is so terrible, but it is on the lower end for people who get accepted, and you don't want to waste more years. The money spent on applications is small change compared with the money lost by waiting years to go to med school.

Yes, a lot of people do go into med school with significant debt. 60k is a fair amount. Do not get into credit card debt, and try to pay at least the interest on your 60k loans, if you can, so they don't get bigger. Also, being in debt is a great reason to apply to all your U of Illinois schools...they will be cheaper than any of the private MD or DO schools.
 
I didn't hear from the second batch at SIU. I'm NERVOUS. I will definitely apply to many more schools next time around than last. I haven't even heard from any of the others schools I applied to....and I'm thinking that if I'm not accepted to SIU then I probably won't get an acceptance elsewhere. I didn't even hear back from midwestern for their DO program. startswithb did you apply to any DO schools?
 
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