Princeton engineering student reapplying after acceptance; 3 C's senior year

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top 20 or bust

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I applied this cycle to most of the top-20 schools + UVA and VCU, and got one acceptance at UVA, and haven't heard from VCU. However I don't like the school that much and I'm afraid I will have trouble matching into competitive specialities and top places (interested in ortho and rads). I also want to go into academic medicine so I want to try to get into the best school possible. My stats were decent when I applied (3.65 cgpa / 33T MCAT) but I just got 3 C's (2 of which are pre-med requirements) in the first semester of senior year and my GPA is now between 3.3 and 3.4. I'm planning to retake my MCAT (shooting for 36+) and going to try really hard to bring the GPA back up as best as I can (hopefully close to 3.5). Would I have any chance of getting into a top 20 school with a 3.5 / 36 , however with 4 C's on my record? (I got a C in o-chem in the past). I know C's are bad but I'm at Princeton where there is a lot of grade deflation. It's very depressing when my classmates from high school (who didn't work hard at all in high school) who went to state schools are getting 3.8+ GPA's, doing lots of EC's because they have more time since their classes are easier, and are getting into top med schools.

Other than those C's I have a fairly competitive application EC-wise - leadership in clubs, captain of varsity sport, volunteered and shadowed for 300+ hours since high school, 4 years research with 3 publications (one of them I'm 2nd author on a paper in Nature)
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1. This is going to end badly.
2. You are a *****.
 
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obvious+troll+is+obvious
 
UVa isn't good enough for you? That's rich. No one from Virginia ever gets into competitive residencies? Call up the admissions office and tell them they made a mistake.
 
Even though you're probably a troll, a downward trend looks bad.

If you really want to be a physician bad and that's your dream, then take the acceptance you have right now (thank UVA for not rescinding it). Matching in a competitive specialty might take your medical school name into consideration, but it's insignificant compared to Step 1, letters, etc.
 
You are either a troll or an idiot. Take the acceptance.
 
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Honestly OP, people on SDN really can be jerks. If you want my honest advice, I think you should recognize that UVA is a State school. If you go from Princeton to UVA, you're really stepping down on the academic ladder. Going to UVA is resigning yourself to associating yourself with those people you went to High School with. I can't think of anything worse than that.


oh, and also...

cfbmascotrapture.gif
 
Aren't engineers suppose to be smart? You're not engineering your life very well by reapplying. :rolleyes:
 
ILikeDrugs said:
Aren't engineers suppose to be smart? You're not engineering your life very well by reapplying. :rolleyes:
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lol. I love how brutal people get on here. He was looking for some positive feedback, and just got rammed with tons of negative . He is a troll though.
 
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are you sure UVA still wants you with 3 C's down ward trend. what makes you think you can match into competitive residencies if you're gonna be an idiot.:mad:
 
If this jackhole is real, and I'm quite sure he's not, turning down admission to medical school and reapplying a year later will look far worse than a couple Cs and a very average MCAT. Think about that genius.
BTW, I'm not sure why you would pick UVA as your troll fantasy acceptance. It's highly respected, and is probably ranked about 25. Shoot for top 10 or not at all. There's a big intellectual drop off around there.:thumbup:
:laugh:
I just looked, UVA is ranked 25th this year. You're def FOS.
 
top 20 or bust said:
I applied this cycle to most of the top-20 schools + UVA and VCU, and got one acceptance at UVA, and haven't heard from VCU. However I don't like the school that much and I'm afraid I will have trouble matching into competitive specialities and top places (interested in ortho and rads). I also want to go into academic medicine so I want to try to get into the best school possible. My stats were decent when I applied (3.65 cgpa / 33T MCAT) but I just got 3 C's (2 of which are pre-med requirements) in the first semester of senior year and my GPA is now between 3.3 and 3.4. I'm planning to retake my MCAT (shooting for 36+) and going to try really hard to bring the GPA back up as best as I can (hopefully close to 3.5). Would I have any chance of getting into a top 20 school with a 3.5 / 36 , however with 4 C's on my record? (I got a C in o-chem in the past). I know C's are bad but I'm at Princeton where there is a lot of grade deflation. It's very depressing when my classmates from high school (who didn't work hard at all in high school) who went to state schools are getting 3.8+ GPA's, doing lots of EC's because they have more time since their classes are easier, and are getting into top med schools.

Other than those C's I have a fairly competitive application EC-wise - leadership in clubs, captain of varsity sport, volunteered and shadowed for 300+ hours since high school, 4 years research with 3 publications (one of them I'm 2nd author on a paper in Nature)
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Hi, this is coming from a fellow Princeton student.

First of all, your shot at getting into a top 20 school with a 3.65/33 would be much higher than with a 3.5/36 all else equal (at Harvard you're in the bottom 10% if you have a 3.7 - think about the odds you'd have to overcome when applying with a 3.5). Yes you could amp up your application by doing a year long fellowship or clinical experience, but with all that your chance of getting into a top 20 school isn't that much higher than it was when you applied this past year.

UVA is a great school - if you do well on your Step 1 you will have no problem at all getting into a selective residency. Med school reputation is important, but in the big picture it's not that important:
http://journals.lww.com/academicmed..._criteria_for_residency__results_of_a.24.aspx

(see table 2)

Regardless, it sure as hell isn't worth wasting a year of your life (think of the opportunity cost, if you've ever taken economics) to try to get into a school ranked 5-10 spots higher on USNews than UVA.

I've also heard UVA is really chill, so after Princeton engineering it'll be like a 4 year vacation (haha well not exactly, but it'll probably be significantly easier).
 
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I totally thought this was going to be about an acceptance being rescinded after getting these Cs.

If this is for real, the OP should know:
1. Matching into a good residency will be entirely within reach as long as you get good step scores and evals.
2. Declining an acceptance from an MD school in the US effectively blacklists you from almost any medschool in the country. Don't do it.
3. You're lucky your UVa acceptance hasn't been rescinded, and remember that they accepted you without seeing those. Improving your MCAT cannot make up for how bad it looks that you appear to be slacking off in your senior year.

But, I'm just finding it really hard to believe that an Engineering major got a T on the writing section. So I'm back at likely troll status.
 
top 20 or bust said:
I applied this cycle to most of the top-20 schools + UVA and VCU, and got one acceptance at UVA, and haven't heard from VCU. However I don't like the school that much and I'm afraid I will have trouble matching into competitive specialities and top places (interested in ortho and rads). I also want to go into academic medicine so I want to try to get into the best school possible. My stats were decent when I applied (3.65 cgpa / 33T MCAT) but I just got 3 C's (2 of which are pre-med requirements) in the first semester of senior year and my GPA is now between 3.3 and 3.4. I'm planning to retake my MCAT (shooting for 36+) and going to try really hard to bring the GPA back up as best as I can (hopefully close to 3.5). Would I have any chance of getting into a top 20 school with a 3.5 / 36 , however with 4 C's on my record? (I got a C in o-chem in the past). I know C's are bad but I'm at Princeton where there is a lot of grade deflation. It's very depressing when my classmates from high school (who didn't work hard at all in high school) who went to state schools are getting 3.8+ GPA's, doing lots of EC's because they have more time since their classes are easier, and are getting into top med schools.

Other than those C's I have a fairly competitive application EC-wise - leadership in clubs, captain of varsity sport, volunteered and shadowed for 300+ hours since high school, 4 years research with 3 publications (one of them I'm 2nd author on a paper in Nature)
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1- it's 'depressing' that others are getting into better schools than you? really? WOW you really need some life perspective.

2- You know have an acceptance letter somewhere. If you turn that down, realize that there is a good chance that you might NEVER get another one, EVER.

3- If you put in the effort, make the grades, do the research, you can still get into a good enough residency program that will take you where you want to go. Will you become chairman at Duke? maybe not... maybe chairman at a mid-lower tier academic program...:smuggrin:
 
I say go for your top 20 medical school and don't settle for less. It's the best way to weed entitled kids out of the medical profession.
 
my orthopaedic surgeon graduated from UVA.
 
top 20 or bust said:
I applied this cycle to most of the top-20 schools + UVA and VCU, and got one acceptance at UVA, and haven't heard from VCU. However I don't like the school that much and I'm afraid I will have trouble matching into competitive specialities and top places (interested in ortho and rads). I also want to go into academic medicine so I want to try to get into the best school possible. My stats were decent when I applied (3.65 cgpa / 33T MCAT) but I just got 3 C's (2 of which are pre-med requirements) in the first semester of senior year and my GPA is now between 3.3 and 3.4. I'm planning to retake my MCAT (shooting for 36+) and going to try really hard to bring the GPA back up as best as I can (hopefully close to 3.5). Would I have any chance of getting into a top 20 school with a 3.5 / 36 , however with 4 C's on my record? (I got a C in o-chem in the past). I know C's are bad but I'm at Princeton where there is a lot of grade deflation. It's very depressing when my classmates from high school (who didn't work hard at all in high school) who went to state schools are getting 3.8+ GPA's, doing lots of EC's because they have more time since their classes are easier, and are getting into top med schools.

Other than those C's I have a fairly competitive application EC-wise - leadership in clubs, captain of varsity sport, volunteered and shadowed for 300+ hours since high school, 4 years research with 3 publications (one of them I'm 2nd author on a paper in Nature)
Click to expand...

So stereotypes are true. Hilarious question/post. Definitely one of the best I've seen on SDN.

Anyway, my advice would definitely be to re-apply in hopes that your prior acceptance and your attitude come up in future interviews. That way, there's a higher chance none of us who saw your post will ever have to train or practice with you. Good luck.
 
Is 33T a very average MCAT? I think not.

Trolls, anti-semitism, and beyond.
 
Signifier said:
Is 33T a very average MCAT? I think not.

Trolls, anti-semitism, and beyond.
Click to expand...

all the anti-semitism was deleted. Apperantly the report function works!

Thanks mods, you guys are awesome! :love:
 
i find this thread completely ridiculous and somewhat farfetched. It's not the like the OP got accepted to Albany and declined admission (which is a school I could many reasons to not attend), but UVA, one of the best medical schools in the country.
 
lazymed said:
1- it's 'depressing' that others are getting into better schools than you? really? WOW you really need some life perspective.

2- You know have an acceptance letter somewhere. If you turn that down, realize that there is a good chance that you might NEVER get another one, EVER.

3- If you put in the effort, make the grades, do the research, you can still get into a good enough residency program that will take you where you want to go. Will you become chairman at Duke? maybe not... maybe chairman at a mid-lower tier academic program...:smuggrin:
Click to expand...

Getting a chairmanship has almost nothing to do with where you went to medical school. Even your residency site will not have that much to do with it (provided you go to a relatively decent place). Chairmen are doctors who have put in time working in academic jobs and are doing high level research usually bringing in millions in grant money each year. This is basically the only thing that matters when applying for a chairman job.
 
s1lver said:
Your problem is you went to Princeton. Go to another undergrad and try again.
Click to expand...

I have met generous and kind people from the Ivies but people in Princeton just have a really misguided sense of entitlement and are probably the snobbiest of them all.
 
Signifier said:
Is 33T a very average MCAT? I think not.

Trolls, anti-semitism, and beyond.
Click to expand...

I actually think a 33t is below average for all the schools he claims to want to attend. UVA's average is a hair under 33.
From their site:
Admissions Criteria
Applicants accepted: 8.6%

Average MCAT: 10.6

Average GPA (4.0 scale): 3.70

So, ironically, it looks like Mr Princeton troll is below average there as well.:thumbup:
:laugh:
 
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