radio silence - what went wrong?

[chalupalover]

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i was fortunate to receive 2 II early this cycle but have heard nothing but silence since then. My first II was from a T10 and my second from a T30 so I didn't think there were any major red flags on my app. I got waitlisted from one school and won't hear back about my other interview until March. I have 9 rejections, and am still waiting on responses from 25 schools. I am pretty worried and feel like I'll have to reapply. I don't have the greatest application but thought I did pretty well, and am unsure what went wrong + how I should improve for a reapplication. Would letters of continued interest help at this point? I don't have any major updates besides a paper being submitted for review and leadership activity updates at my school. I also have no clue what schools do/do not accept letters and am overall very confused on what I can do to fix my cycle at this point. Details below.

MCAT: 526 GPA: 3.96 Preview: 9 CASPER: 4th quartile, no gap year
CA resident, ORM. T20 undergrad.
Clinical hours: 1,226 (primarily as a clinical assistant in clinical research settings administering exams and as an MRI tech, paid clinical hours as an EMT, hospital volunteering, free clinic volunteering)
Research hours: 1,280 (clinical trial, wet lab, bioethics research, no pubs but multiple posters at national conferences)
Shadowing: 76 hours across multiple specialties
Non-clinical volutneering: 75 hours

Applied to 36 schools total, mostly in T50. No DO. Submitted my secondaries late July/early August.

I've continued all of these activities since submission, and most notably have a significant increase in clinical hours (started my EMT job close to application submission but worked full time over the summer and through the fall). I had a rough semester and my GPA has dropped this fall. If I do have to reapply, I plan on picking up a job as a clinical research coordinator for my gap year. Any advice on what I can do this cycle + how to improve for the next cycle would be super helpful. Thank you everyone

 

[LizzyM]

Now it is time to invoke the Mardi Gras rule which is that you have no reason to be worried about a lack of offers of admission until Mardi Gras (Mid-February). You have had two interviews to it is not out of the question that you'll have an offer eventually.

If there was one thing that seemed a bit weak in your application, I'd say it was non-clinical volunteering. Aim to continue some community engagement in the new year because you are capable of being of service and because it might bolster your re-application if that becomes necessary.

 

[chalupalover]

Now it is time to invoke the Mardi Gras rule is that you have no reason to be worried about a lack of offers of admission until Mardi Gras (Mid-February). You have had two interviews to it is not out of the question that you'll have an offer eventually.

If there was one thing that seemed a bit weak in your application, I'd say it was non-clinical volunteering. Aim to continue some community engagement in the new year because you are capable of being of service and because it might bolster your re-application if that becomes necessary.

thank you - i was under the impression that it was already too late but I had not heard about the Mardi Gras rule. I am currently working towards a few opportunities to begin non-clinical volunteering in the new year. Would you say LOCI would have any sway at this point? Once I start some new activities in the new year, would it be too late then to send updates? I'm a bit unsure on how updates/LOCI work in general

 

[LizzyM]

On interview day, the school should have signaled to you regarding the desire to hear from you with a thank you note (or explicitly say that no thank you notes should be sent), and the desire for updates. If you want to send an update with best wishes for the new year, that would be fine. You could say that you continue to work as an EMT and have accumulated xxx hours since submitting your AMCAS application.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I read into the OP's response that they were expecting more action. I agree: 75 hours of non-clinical volunteering likely did not satisfy most schools' expectations for service orientation. Without a school list (no posted WAMC), I'm going to guess the list was appropriately top-heavy, so the profile clearly lacked service orientation compared to other applicants. OP needed at least 250 hours to be a viable candidate among other high-metrics candidates for brand-name or the 50 T20 schools. OP likely got screened out due to low service orientation/non-clinical service.

OP didn't mention tutoring or teaching, but I expect there is some evidence of it in the profile. Practically everyone else in the brand-name pool (or just about every premed) has something there, so it never makes someone stand out. The absence of experience might. The OP is likely competing against a majority of applicants with gap years and thousands of hours in clinical and non-clinical activities, so the experiences may seem light. We don't know much more about writing, but with two interviews, I'm not as concerned. But the OP is less accomplished than cannon fodder, and so that may explain the lower-than-expected number of interviews.

Maybe another interview will appear, but as the original post here isn't written to impress, I'm going to presume the applicant's destiny is mostly baked and mission fit was lacking due to low involvement with community or being comfortable with uncomfortable people. Let's hope for the best, and trust the process.

 

[Med Ed]

I don't have the greatest application but thought I did pretty well

Indeed you did. You're at at T20 undergrad. Your MCAT is in exosphere and your GPA is near perfect. In spite of being a student you've racked up 2,500 clinical and research hours. You felt good enough to apply to mostly T50 schools and have interviewed at a T10.

But to answer your question, it's the lack of service. It's always the lack of service.