Reapplicant, a few questions

[PCPMD]

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[gyngyn]

Meharry and Loma Linda are mission-based schools. Do you fit the mission?

FSU rarely interviews or matriculates OOS. They had 3834 OOS applicants, interviewed 15 and matriculated 5!

 

[PCPMD]

Meharry and Loma Linda are mission-based schools. Do you fit the mission?

FSU rarely interviews or matriculates OOS. They had 3834 OOS applicants, interviewed 15 and matriculated 5!

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[gyngyn]

Ah weird. I saw someone from my scribe program who got accepted there last year and just assumed it was OOS friendly. Will take it off the list.

My experience is directed towards underserved populations, which I think applies to Meharry. I'm just interested in primary care.

LLU I'm not the most religious person you'll ever meet, but I do attend regularly and have enough experience with my church to talk about in an secondary/interview setting.

Any other schools I could potentially add?

Meharry matriculated 7 white and 5 Asian applicants last year.
LLU has, in addition to a strong commitment to serving Christ, a long list of unacceptable behaviors that are considered normal in other contexts. Be sure to check the student handbook before deciding.

I recommend buying MSAR and carefully evaluating each school. It will save you a boatload of cash.

 

[Goro]

Sup guys

Original MCAT 127/122/127/128 (504), retook 1/20 for a 128/122/127/128 (505). I really hate this test and did everything I could to try and improve my CARS score. AAMC Qpacks 3-4 times over, Jack Westin course, tons of 3rd party stuff, read books, bleh, all of it. Spent around 6 months studying for my retake. I honestly don't know if I could improve, or how I would even go about trying to improve at this point, given I've done just about everything I can think of possible. Kind of resigned to this being my score.

Other stuff on my application is:
ER scribe for 4 years + train other scribes for the last 2 years (?4000 hours)
Janitor work for 2 years (paid for my own school) (1500 hours)
Free clinic volunteer, 600 hours
Mental health mentor, 200 hours
Homeless healthcare, 50 hours
Random hobbies
GPA 3.83

Pretty much fine with just casting a wide net for DO and low tier MD and hoping for the best. I already applied the cycle before last with just my 504 and none of the volunteer stuff above and got 2 MD interviews (1 IS, 1 OOS) with 2 WL and 2 big fat R. My previous school list was

State schools (2)
VCU
UofA-T
LLU
Creighton
Penn State
OUWB
MCW
CMS-RF
Indiana
Wright State
WVU
Quinnipiac
U-Kentucky (mistake, I know)
UVM

I'm thinking for my reapplication, the same schools as above, and adding:

MD:
Albany
Central MI
Western MI
NOVA
Commonwealth
Wake Forest
NYMC
GWU
Tulane
Drexel
SLU
Jefferson
Temple
Rush
Seton Hall
Meharry
FSU
Loyola
UofA-PHX

DO:
AZCOM(MWU)
DMU
UNECOM
TCOM
Western (pomona and lebanon)
PNW-U
RVU
ATSU


Thoughts for me? Waste of money to apply to all those MD? Lol. Any other DO schools I should add?

here's a more realistic list:
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Oakland U Beaumont
Loyola
Loma Linda (only if you are SDA or a very devout Christian)
WVU
MCW
Creighton
VCU
Albany
Your state school(s).

Any DO school. I can't recommend Touro-NY, Nova, LUCOM, for different reasons. MSUCOM? Read up on Larry Nasser and you decide.

 

[lalalaaaaaa]

Just want to chime in and say to make sure you keep up on improving extracurriculars and having some really solid clinical experiences that you can talk about on interviews. Rounding out your app with some great experiences will make you a more interesting candidate.

And keep your head up! I had to apply 3 times and am now an MS4 and loving it. You'll get there, but you have to be smart and keep working hard!

 

[Isoval]

Sup guys

Original MCAT 127/122/127/128 (504), retook 1/20 for a 128/122/127/128 (505). I really hate this test and did everything I could to try and improve my CARS score. AAMC Qpacks 3-4 times over, Jack Westin course, tons of 3rd party stuff, read books, bleh, all of it. Spent around 6 months studying for my retake. I honestly don't know if I could improve, or how I would even go about trying to improve at this point, given I've done just about everything I can think of possible. Kind of resigned to this being my score.

Other stuff on my application is:
ER scribe for 4 years + train other scribes for the last 2 years (?4000 hours)
Janitor work for 2 years (paid for my own school) (1500 hours)
Free clinic volunteer, 600 hours
Mental health mentor, 200 hours
Homeless healthcare, 50 hours
Random hobbies
GPA 3.83

Pretty much fine with just casting a wide net for DO and low tier MD and hoping for the best. I already applied the cycle before last with just my 504 and none of the volunteer stuff above and got 2 MD interviews (1 IS, 1 OOS) with 2 WL and 2 big fat R. My previous school list was

State schools (2)
VCU
UofA-T
LLU
Creighton
Penn State
OUWB
MCW
CMS-RF
Indiana
Wright State
WVU
Quinnipiac
U-Kentucky (mistake, I know)
UVM

I'm thinking for my reapplication, the same schools as above, and adding:

MD:
Albany
Central MI
Western MI
NOVA
Commonwealth
Wake Forest
NYMC
GWU
Tulane
Drexel
SLU
Jefferson
Temple
Rush
Seton Hall
Meharry
FSU
Loyola
UofA-PHX

DO:
AZCOM(MWU)
DMU
UNECOM
TCOM
Western (pomona and lebanon)
PNW-U
RVU
ATSU


Thoughts for me? Waste of money to apply to all those MD? Lol. Any other DO schools I should add?

I would probably not bother applying to TCOM. Your stats are pretty average for their matriculant (3.7/507ish) and they accept - as a maximum - 10% OOS. Your odds are decent, but for having to fill out an entire third application (which costs 150$ IIRC) for a “decent shot” at just one school? I’m not sure I’d waste my time and money unless you have your heart set on them.

I would also strike FSU, as other have stated. I accidentally donated to them this year.

 

[PCPMD]

Just want to chime in and say to make sure you keep up on improving extracurriculars and having some really solid clinical experiences that you can talk about on interviews. Rounding out your app with some great experiences will make you a more interesting candidate.

And keep your head up! I had to apply 3 times and am now an MS4 and loving it. You'll get there, but you have to be smart and keep working hard!

.

 

[PCPMD]

I would probably not bother applying to TCOM. Your stats are pretty average for their matriculant (3.7/507ish) and they accept - as a maximum - 10% OOS. Your odds are decent, but for having to fill out an entire third application (which costs 150$ IIRC) for a “decent shot” at just one school? I’m not sure I’d waste my time and money unless you have your heart set on them.

I would also strike FSU, as other have stated. I accidentally donated to them this year.

.

 

[Isoval]

Thanks for the heads up.

I have a family member living in Texas, would it be worth it for me to throw in an application to TMDSAS?

Probably not. As far as I remember, the TCOM secondary does not ask for any “additional or helpful” information where you’d be able to report that.

 

[PCPMD]

here's a more realistic list:
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Oakland U Beaumont
Loyola
Loma Linda (only if you are SDA or a very devout Christian)
WVU
MCW
Creighton
VCU
Albany
Your state school(s).

Any DO school. I can't recommend Touro-NY, Nova, LUCOM, for different reasons. MSUCOM? Read up on Larry Nasser and you decide.

Seton Hall, Nova, Wake Forest, philly triples, EVMS, Wayne State, Rush and Tulane are others I am looking at as reaches. Thoughts?

Also, do any DO schools screen below a 125?

 

[Goro]

Seton Hall, Nova, Wake Forest, philly triples, EVMS, Wayne State, Rush and Tulane are others I am looking at as reaches. Thoughts?

Also, do any DO schools screen below a 125?

Mine does. I think 123 is our cutoff.


You're barely at the 10th %ile for the schools I have as maybes. Being a 2x exam taker with no improvement doesn't make me sanguine about your chances.

How are your speaking skills? There are times when I interview people with a CARS almost as low as yours and if they're ESL, they sometimes have a very thick accent.


Drexel, maybe
Temple-no
Jefferson-maybe
Nova-??????
Wake Forest-OK
EVMS-Nope
Wayne State ONLY if you're from MI. Remember, state schools favor the home team
Rush-nope
Tulane-maybe

We don't know if Seton Hall will be taking apps in the next cycle or not.

I have a family member living in Texas, would it be worth it for me to throw in an application to TMDSAS?

I doubt it.

 

[Goro]

I see.

Is it worth it to contact DO schools and ask them if they have "screening" numbers? This information seems to be few and far between. Obviously, I am not very interested in wasting my money if my application won't be looked at.

I think it's always worth reaching out to Admissions deans for info like this.

 

[BuckStrickland]

The most helpful thing for me in studying for the MCAT was taking the practice tests. The single best piece of advice I got was to start taking full-length practice exams the first week you start studying for the MCAT (even when you feel like you don't know anything). I took a full-length every Saturday and reviewed the incorrect answers Sunday for ~12 weeks and took the test, getting in the top <1%. You have to time all of the tests correctly, of course, including the breaks and even the food you eat xD

This is in addition to learning the theory through examkrakers or whatever, but the idea is that test taking is a skill in and of itself. If you practice that much, when you go in for the real exam it will be a breeze to stay focused and pace yourself correctly. If you have the cash and the will, try it out this summer!

 

[lalalaaaaaa]

Thanks. I'm trying my best. Did you match today?!

I actually took a year off to do international research abroad. So I'm actually in Thailand right now for work. Will finish up next year!