Re-applicant help - probably unheard of

[reapplicanthelpme2014]

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Hey guys,

Wondering if anyone can give me some help...this is kind of a weird situation but I honestly don't know what to do or where to go from here.

I applied this past cycle to medical school (MD only). Got 6 II and NO acceptances. Little about me:

I'm a URM...Graduated from an ivy league with a low gpa (2.9)...did a postbacc for a year and a half and got a 4.0 and a second bachelors degree in science

MCAT 3 times (18, 23, 26)...verbal has been a 6 each time (very bad, i know!) but 10s in the other two sections that last MCAT (those scores are over a span of 4 years, once every year)

I have an IA on my transcript; long story short, it happened 4 years ago and it was dumb. Nonetheless, it's there and I explained it and took full responsibility for it on my application.

Tons of great ECs, international and national...lots of clinical experiences, had a committee letter and 3 outside letters that were strong, done genetics research for a year, shadowed, community service,etc

Aside from my stats and that IA (two things that I realize are huge contributors to even being invited to an interview), I was invited to 6! I didn't even think I would get one. And some were at TOP schools...

I did at least 4 mock interviews...I even bought a book...in my interviews, the interviewers straight up told me they loved me (I got this response at every interview but the first one, which I was definitely not prepared for) and that they could see me fitting in at their school; at one interview, the interview told me she wanted to be my mentor if accepted! what?!

But I'm here, in May, holding no acceptances and not even waitlists. Again, I realize that I shouldnt have even gotten interviews based off of stats alone, but I did and now I'm killing myself to understand what might have gone wrong. I honestly felt great in my interviews...based off of the verbal response of my interviewers. I called some of the schools to find out why I was rejected and many of them won't tell me anything, so now I'm left in the dark to try and figure out what went wrong.

Basically, I'm going to reapply. I want to be a doctor and I will become one. I'm not here to have anyone bash me. If you're upset and feel like being rude, take it elsewhere. I'm just trying to get feedback on what I should do.

I will apply DO for sure this time, although I don't have a DO letter...will that hurt me? I'm also preparing to retake the mcat, got a verbal tutor...will that 4th time hurt me? What else can I do? What SHOULD i do? HELP!

 

[gyngyn]

This is not unheard of. The screeners thought you were worth the risk, your interviews went well, then the committee(s)read the whole file and are too risk averse to accept. This happens (a lot).

If you don't get off a waitlist, prepare to add a DO application next time and find one to shadow for a letter.

3 MCAT's are usually enough.

 

[reapplicanthelpme2014]

This is not unheard of. The screeners thought you were worth the risk, your interviews went well, then the committee(s)read the whole file and are too risk averse to accept. This happens (a lot).

If you don't get off a waitlist, prepare to add a DO application next time and find one to shadow for a letter.

3 MCAT's are usually enough.

Okay...so no MCAT retake despite the low score? And if I can't find a DO in time to shadow, what should I do?

 

[gyngyn]

Okay...so no MCAT retake despite the low score? And if I can't find a DO in time to shadow, what should I do?

Most DO schools will take an MD letter. Some schools will even find a DO for you (though I recommend doing this yourself).
Why don't you go over to the pre DO forum and start soaking in the info!

 

[reapplicanthelpme2014]

Most DO schools will take an MD letter. Some schools will even find a DO for you (though I recommend doing this yourself).
Why don't you go over to the pre DO forum and start soaking in the info!

Okay, thank you so much for that, I will definitely explore those threads. In terms of MD, what would be your advice? The fact that I got 6 MD II makes me feel like I have the potential to go MD as well. Should I eliminate it completely?

 

[gyngyn]

Okay, thank you so much for that, I will definitely explore those threads. In terms of MD, what would be your advice? The fact that I got 6 MD II makes me feel like I have the potential to go MD as well. Should I eliminate it completely?

If you don't get off of any of 6 waitlists, it would indicate that a serious re-tooling of your application strategy is in order for that degree.

 

[reapplicanthelpme2014]

okay! anymore advice?

 

[compstomper]

Hey guys,

Wondering if anyone can give me some help...this is kind of a weird situation but I honestly don't know what to do or where to go from here.

I applied this past cycle to medical school (MD only). Got 6 II and NO acceptances. Little about me:

I'm a URM...Graduated from an ivy league with a low gpa (2.9)...did a postbacc for a year and a half and got a 4.0 and a second bachelors degree in science

MCAT 3 times (18, 23, 26)...verbal has been a 6 each time (very bad, i know!) but 10s in the other two sections that last MCAT (those scores are over a span of 4 years, once every year)

I have an IA on my transcript; long story short, it happened 4 years ago and it was dumb. Nonetheless, it's there and I explained it and took full responsibility for it on my application.

Tons of great ECs, international and national...lots of clinical experiences, had a committee letter and 3 outside letters that were strong, done genetics research for a year, shadowed, community service,etc

Aside from my stats and that IA (two things that I realize are huge contributors to even being invited to an interview), I was invited to 6! I didn't even think I would get one. And some were at TOP schools...

I did at least 4 mock interviews...I even bought a book...in my interviews, the interviewers straight up told me they loved me (I got this response at every interview but the first one, which I was definitely not prepared for) and that they could see me fitting in at their school; at one interview, the interview told me she wanted to be my mentor if accepted! what?!

But I'm here, in May, holding no acceptances and not even waitlists. Again, I realize that I shouldnt have even gotten interviews based off of stats alone, but I did and now I'm killing myself to understand what might have gone wrong. I honestly felt great in my interviews...based off of the verbal response of my interviewers. I called some of the schools to find out why I was rejected and many of them won't tell me anything, so now I'm left in the dark to try and figure out what went wrong.

Basically, I'm going to reapply. I want to be a doctor and I will become one. I'm not here to have anyone bash me. If you're upset and feel like being rude, take it elsewhere. I'm just trying to get feedback on what I should do.

I will apply DO for sure this time, although I don't have a DO letter...will that hurt me? I'm also preparing to retake the mcat, got a verbal tutor...will that 4th time hurt me? What else can I do? What SHOULD i do? HELP!

Hi there. Sorry you're in such a predicament. The fact that you had 6 II means that you're definitely a good enough candidate to admit based on your stats and background. It seems to me that during the committee meetings where your app was scrutinized, your IA raised some red flags, and that was enough to reject you outright. This is further supported by the fact that you didn't receive a spot on any wait lists despite doing well on your interviews.

You may be disinclined to share, but without knowing the approximate nature of the IA, I'm afraid we're all just stabbing in the dark here.

If you don't get off of any of 6 waitlists, it would indicate that a serious re-tooling of your application strategy is in order for that degree.

I think the OP mentioned that he didn't have any wait lists and was outright rejected from the 6 schools post II.

 

[gyngyn]

I think the OP mentioned that he didn't have any wait lists and was outright rejected from the 6 schools post II.

Sorry, good catch.
I have actually never seen 6 post interview rejections.
It may be that the IA could not be overlooked. This would make DO applications problematic too, depending on the nature of the IA.

 

[reapplicanthelpme2014]

Sorry, good catch.
I have actually never seen 6 post interview rejections.
It may be that the IA could not be overlooked. This would make DO applications problematic too depending on the nature of the IA.

The IA was for basically working in a research lab as a psych lab assistant and falsely signing up for research experiments in order to get extra credit points. I didn't need the extra credit points (I had A and Bs in my classes), they didn't influence any of my grades, and I took full responsibility for it. Happened 4 years ago and I even had a professor involved write a letter about the incident from my school on my behalf. Still, I'm scared that it's haunting me and I don't know how to fix it.

 

[gyngyn]

The IA was for basically working in a research lab as a psych lab assistant and falsely signing up for research experiments in order to get extra credit points. I didn't need the extra credit points (I had A and Bs in my classes), they didn't influence any of my grades, and I took full responsibility for it. Happened 4 years ago and I even had a professor involved write a letter about the incident from my school on my behalf. Still, I'm scared that it's haunting me and I don't know how to fix it.

This is bad. But I have seen similar things overcome. I guess I'll go back to my previous advice. Expand your list where your stats are acceptable and include DO schools.

 

[reapplicanthelpme2014]

Hi there. Sorry you're in such a predicament. The fact that you had 6 II means that you're definitely a good enough candidate to admit based on your stats and background. It seems to me that during the committee meetings where your app was scrutinized, your IA raised some red flags, and that was enough to reject you outright. This is further supported by the fact that you didn't receive a spot on any wait lists despite doing well on your interviews.

You may be disinclined to share, but without knowing the approximate nature of the IA, I'm afraid we're all just stabbing in the dark here.



I think the OP mentioned that he didn't have any wait lists and was outright rejected from the 6 schools post II.

I am a she, lol. But thank you for your response. The IA was for basically working in a research lab as a psych lab assistant and falsely signing up for research experiments in order to get extra credit points. I didn't need the extra credit points (I had A and Bs in my classes), they didn't influence any of my grades, and I took full responsibility for it. Happened 4 years ago and I even had a professor involved write a letter about the incident from my school on my behalf. Still, I'm scared that it's haunting me and I don't know how to fix it. I'm just so sad that something from 4 years ago that I tried to put distance between is causing this much trouble.

 

[compstomper]

The IA was for basically working in a research lab as a psych lab assistant and falsely signing up for research experiments in order to get extra credit points. I didn't need the extra credit points (I had A and Bs in my classes), they didn't influence any of my grades, and I took full responsibility for it. Happened 4 years ago and I even had a professor involved write a letter about the incident from my school on my behalf. Still, I'm scared that it's haunting me and I don't know how to fix it.

It's good that you took responsibility for it, but perhaps not good enough. For DO schools, they are a bit less competitive stats wise compared to MD programs, but still have their veritable pick of the litter when it comes to candidates. You NEED to show adcoms why they should pick you in lieu of someone else who do not have any IA or legal records. You need to show through your actions and words that you're a different person now who learned valuable lessons from this indiscretion. Unfortunately even this may not be enough to overcome this black mark on your record. I personally think everyone deserves a second chance, but unfortunately I'm not an adcom member. Good luck.

P.S. sorry I assumed you're a guy.

 

[reapplicanthelpme2014]

This is bad. But I have seen similar things overcome. I guess I'll go back to my previous advice. Expand your list where your stats are acceptable and include DO schools.

Do you have any advice in terms of addressing this better? I addressed with the help of my advisor at my postbacc and thought that I had shown maturity and growth from it, but I guess it's still an issue.

 

[reapplicanthelpme2014]

I see. Well, thank you for your input. I really appreciate it.

It's good that you took responsibility for it, but perhaps not good enough. For DO schools, they are a bit less competitive stats wise compared to MD programs, but still have their veritable pick of the litter when it comes to candidates. You NEED to show adcoms why they should pick you in lieu of someone else who do not have any IA or legal records. You need to show through your actions and words that you're a different person now who learned valuable lessons from this indiscretion. Unfortunately even this may not be enough to overcome this black mark on your record. I personally think everyone deserves a second chance, but unfortunately I'm not an adcom member. Good luck.

 

[gyngyn]

Do you have any advice in terms of addressing this better? I addressed with the help of my advisor at my postbacc and thought that I had shown maturity and growth from it, but I guess it's still an issue.

It looks like it.

 

[chenzt]

What was the 6 II schools if you don't mind sharing? We can probably tell you if those schools reject a good handful or rarely rejects anyone, and so have a better insight to how big of a red flag adcom thought your IA was.

 

[chillaxbro]

26 MCAT, 2.9 GPA, Institutional action -> 6 II including top schools

Must be nice to be URM

 

[deanthedream17]

Nothing against you but this a blatant example of the abomination that is affirmative action. If you were you not a URM know full well you would be going out of the country or picking another field.

 

[gyngyn]

26 MCAT, 2.9 GPA, Institutional action -> 6 II including top schools

Must be nice to be URM

You are not helping OP.

 

[gyngyn]

Nothing against you but this a blatant example of the abomination that is affirmative action. If you were you not a URM know full well you would be going out of the country or picking another field.

Neither are you.

 

[chenzt]

26 MCAT, 2.9 GPA, Institutional action -> 6 II including top schools -> rejected by all

Must feel like **** to be a re-applicant

FTFY

Sorry OP you got two douches screwing around.

 

[fishieFDR]

Nothing against you but this a blatant example of the abomination that is affirmative action. If you were you not a URM know full well you would be going out of the country or picking another field.

Ivy league and post-bacc proved that he could handle the work.

 

[chillaxbro]

Better luck the next time OP

 

[gyngyn]

I have way better stats with no IA and I still had to reapply.

And I only received 7 II after completing secondaries to 30 schools.

Yes I mad

No reason to take it out on OP.
We give you love when needed.
Don't be like that.

 

[reapplicanthelpme2014]

Thank you to those who defended me. Like I said, I posted for help, not for your "affirmative action" posts. Address your problem with the schools. Despite my stats and IA, i think my application was strong and well rounded...I'm NOT YOUR competition, and I'm NOT taking your seats. Unless you can help me or offer advice, please go away.

 

[reapplicanthelpme2014]

Better luck the next time OP

Better luck the next time OP

You couldn't find another post to bash someone on? oh.

 

[Mr Interesting]

I have way better stats with no IA and I still had to reapply.

And I only received 7 II after completing secondaries to 30 schools.

Yes I mad

Does this really make you feel better?

After all, op is sitting with no acceptances just like thousands of other applicants. SDN was built to help "assist and encourage all students through the challenging and complicated healthcare education process and into practice." If you cannot do this then do not post, it's really that simple.

Anyway, op i suggest venturing off to the D.O. forums and doing a bit of research as @gyngyn mentioned earlier.

 

[gyngyn]

You couldn't find another post to bash someone on? oh.

They are dealing with their own pain.
Try not to take it personally.

 

[deanthedream17]

Ivy league and post-bacc proved that he could handle the work.

Yeah b/c a 26 MCAT after three tries shows OP can't. The ivy league was obviously because of the same AA bs. I am a realist and have seen this happen countless times. Its great how you people have no problem with this obvious hypocrisy. Stop drinking the Obama kool-aid and embrace hard work, not racism regardless of the color of skin.

"Judge not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character" -MLK

 

[deanthedream17]

Does this really make you feel better?

After all, op is sitting with no acceptances just like thousands of other applicants. SDN was built to help "assist and encourage all students through the challenging and complicated healthcare education process and into practice." If you cannot do this then do not post, it's really that simple.

Anyway, op i suggest venturing off to the D.O. forums and doing a bit of research as @gyngyn mentioned earlier.

OP got 6 Ill to MD schools. Do you really believe this is fair?

 

[gyngyn]

Yeah b/c a 26 MCAT after three tries shows OP can't. The ivy league was obviously because of the same AA bs. I am a realist and have seen this happen countless times. Its great how you people have no problem with this obvious hypocrisy. Stop drinking the Obama kool-aid and embrace hard work, not racism regardless of the color of skin.

"Judge not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character" -MLK

You are still not helping OP.
If you feel compelled to start another race related discussion, please do it on another thread where individual applicants will not feel attacked.

 

[deanthedream17]

Thank you to those who defended me. Like I said, I posted for help, not for your "affirmative action" posts. Address your problem with the schools. Despite my stats and IA, i think my application was strong and well rounded...I'm NOT YOUR competition, and I'm NOT taking your seats. Unless you can help me or offer advice, please go away.

Despite your stats? The main criteria above all else should be stats why should it be any different for you or anyone else. You are trying to be a doctor do you not feel like you should be of comparable material to your fellow colleagues?

 

[reapplicanthelpme2014]

Yeah b/c a 26 MCAT after three tries shows OP can't. The ivy league was obviously because of the same AA bs. I am a realist and have seen this happen countless times. Its great how you people have no problem with this obvious hypocrisy. Stop drinking the Obama kool-aid and embrace hard work, not racism regardless of the color of skin.

"Judge not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character" -MLK

You have NO idea the scores I got on my SAT to get into an ivy league, so please save your judgement and racist comments for another thread. You literally have NO idea about my background besides what I wrote. Who exactly are you to judge me? Please, take your piss poor attitude elsewhere. You mad, bro? Not my issue. I did NOTHING to deserve whatever disrespect you think you owe me.

 

[reapplicanthelpme2014]

Despite your stats? The main criteria above all else should be stats why should it be any different for you or anyone else. You are trying to be a doctor do you not feel like you should be of comparable material to your fellow colleagues?

and someone with a 39 MCAT and 3.9 who is rude, disrespectful, and racist shouldn't be awarded an acceptance either. It's not all about stats, dude. I never claimed to be the perfect applicant, and I stated my surprise upon getting interviews. I'm just trying to be a doctor. I work hard. You literally know nothing about me, where I come from, or anything detailed about my application, so please miss me with your elitist attitude.

 

[gyngyn]

You have NO idea the scores I got on my SAT to get into an ivy league, so please save your judgement and racist comments for another thread. You literally have NO idea about my background besides what I wrote. Who exactly are you to judge me? Please, take your piss poor attitude elsewhere. You mad, bro? Not my issue. I did NOTHING to deserve whatever disrespect you think you owe me.

As I said, please remember that you do not need to respond to defend yourself.
They are also hurting.

 

[deanthedream17]

Look i will give you advice. Get your MCAT score up a few points. Whatever that may mean. Have you tried a prep course? I don't know how bad your IA w/o more info. That should prob land you an acceptance.

 

[gyngyn]

Look i will give you advice. Get your MCAT score up a few points. Whatever that may mean. Have you tried a prep course? I don't know how bad your IA w/o more info. That should prob land you an acceptance.

Thank you. That's much better.

 

[Escape_Goat]

Yeah b/c a 26 MCAT after three tries shows OP can't. The ivy league was obviously because of the same AA bs. I am a realist and have seen this happen countless times. Its great how you people have no problem with this obvious hypocrisy. Stop drinking the Obama kool-aid and embrace hard work, not racism regardless of the color of skin.

"Judge not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character" -MLK

You're dumb and should stop posting.

 

[deanthedream17]

and someone with a 39 MCAT and 3.9 who is rude, disrespectful, and racist shouldn't be awarded an acceptance either. It's not all about stats, dude. I never claimed to be the perfect applicant, and I stated my surprise upon getting interviews. I'm just trying to be a doctor. I work hard. You literally know nothing about me, where I come from, or anything detailed about my application, so please miss me with your elitist attitude.

Yeah I am really racist one of my best friends are black. Play the race card when all else fails. lol

 

[reapplicanthelpme2014]

Yeah I am really racist one of my best friends are black. Play the race card when all else fails. lol

lol and bring up the "black friend" when you have no other way to go back on what you've already said. YOU made this a race thing, not me. You bored? Go talk to your black best friend about your issues with affirmative action. BYE sir!

 

[gyngyn]

You're dumb and should stop posting.

You are not helping.

 

[gyngyn]

lol and bring up the "black friend" when you have no other way to go back on what you've already said. YOU made this a race thing, not me. You bored? Go talk to your black best friend about your issues with affirmative action. BYE sir!

You're not helping.

 

[reapplicanthelpme2014]

You are not helping.

I'm sorry to keep replying, I'm just upset and I knew someone would come on here trying to tell me I shouldn't be a doctor because my stats don't look like theirs. Unless anyone here sits on an admissions board, I don't think its fair to pass any judgement on me. Help me. Advise me. That's it.

 

[deanthedream17]

lol and bring up the "black friend" when you have no other way to go back on what you've already said. YOU made this a race thing, not me. You bored? Go talk to your black best friend about your issues with affirmative action. BYE sir!

B/c I don't believe in AA, I am a racist. ok

 

[gyngyn]

B/c I don't believe in AA, I am a racist. ok

I'm sorry to keep replying, I'm just upset and I knew someone would come on here trying to tell me I shouldn't be a doctor because my stats don't look like theirs. Unless anyone here sits on an admissions board, I don't think its fair to pass any judgement on me. Help me. Advise me. That's it.

I am an admissions officer and I'm telling you to let this go.

 

[reapplicanthelpme2014]

B/c I don't believe in AA, I am a racist. ok

Dude, goooo awayyyyyyyyy. You're upset about God knows what...but it's not my fault. I didn't get accepted so obviously nobody wins here. Chill off me, bro. Again, you're mad? Address it with someone who will actually help you. I'm not the one. I came here for advice...you don't have it? k. bye.

 

[reapplicanthelpme2014]

I am an admissions officer and I'm telling you to let this go.

Okay, I will. Sorry and thank you very much.

 

[deanthedream17]

Dude, goooo awayyyyyyyyy. You're upset about God knows what...but it's not my fault. I didn't get accepted so obviously nobody wins here. Chill off me, bro. Again, you're mad? Address it with someone who will actually help you. I'm not the one. I came here for advice...you don't have it? k. bye.

I gave you advice what else do you want to know. It seems like you know what you have to do

 

[deanthedream17]

I am an admissions officer and I'm telling you to let this go.

Kinda find it a little odd that you are an attending physician, but you just chill answering questions on SDN. My dad is a doc and he barely has time to check his email.