Reapplicant school list help

[YJWheeler]

After a pretty rough cycle so far (no IIs, 9 R's ), I'm looking for things I'm able to improve on before next cycle, including school list.

1. cGPA is around 3.6, sGPA around 3.75 (pretty strong upwards trend in cGPA, had a 3.0 freshman year as a political science major, around a 3.8 since then)
2. MCAT is 521 (130,128,131,132)
3. State of residence is Illinois
4. ORM
5. Went to a state school (UIUC) for undergrad
6. Clinical Experience- I have around 100 hours volunteering in a hospital and 2000 hours working as a patient care tech (like a CNA) right now,
7. Research- About 800 hours as an undergrad over 2 years. I have 4 publications, one of which is as a 2nd author.
8. Shadowing- I only have around 40 hours shadowing an anesthesiologist, but I got to see procedures in lots of different fields (CT surgery, IR, GI, ObGyn) and speak with those doctors as well. Currently searching for more shadowing
9. Non Clinical Volunteering- About 200 hours volunteering in a daycare and with a physical therapy gym on campus working with students with disabilities. Starting to volunteer again, but the hour count will only be around 2 hours a week. Hard to find more due to COVID.
10. Other- Decent leadership in 2 clubs, was on exec board for both for 2 years each, but not too much else other than minor hobbies.
Also have an alcohol related IA from freshman year.

School List was:
U Illinois
Southern Illinois
Northwestern
U Chicago
Loyola
Rosalind Franklin
Rush
Medical College Wisconsin
Western Michigan
U Michigan
Washington University St. Louis
Case Western
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Pittsburgh
Jefferson
Rochester
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
NYU
Vermont
Boston University
Dartmouth
Tufts
Georgetown
George Washington
Albany
Duke
Emory
Miami
USF Morsani
USC
Vanderbilt
Tulane
TCU-UNT
Drexel
SLU
Tulane
UCLA

I was complete late August for all these schools due to a delay in sending a letter of rec. Overall, other than maybe applying earlier, rewriting essays, and adding more volunteering and shadowing any other advice? I'm going to see if I'll be able to get a letter of rec from shadowing so I can apply DO as well

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[21Rush12]

This seems to be a reasonable list to me. I think honestly your issue is probably in your written materials. You have a good spread of reach target and safety schools listed here, some of which don’t even require full secondaries. Your experiences are adequate but hard to really judge without reading how you described them on AMCAS. The only common denominator is the application itself.

I highly recommend you get your app and essays looked at by someone professionally who knows what they’re doing. This is the #1 piece of advice I give to applicants and as a reapplicant myself I can’t tell you how much I wish I had known about these services.

 

[YJWheeler]

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to get started on rewriting my essays ASAP and have lots of people look over them.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Who wrote your letters, by the way? Your MCAT score should have gotten you some more attention, and I agree with you there may be an issue with timing, but it usually depends on when you submit more than when your last letter gets received.

 

[YJWheeler]

Had a letter from a PI that I worked with a lot and I feel fairly confident in saying was a very strong letter. Had a few letters from professors, who I didn't know crazy well, but think I was a top student in their classes. For all of these, I sat in the front of the class, answered questions, went to office hours, etc. Had a letter from my boss at work, this is one which I'm not super sure about. I definitely work hard at work and think I'm good at my job, but I'm a little scared she sabotaged the letter to have me stay there another year, which I'm not sure is super out of the realm of possibility given coworkers' experiences with her. This is more likely my paranoia from stewing in having such a bad cycle though.

 

[TragicalDrFaust]

Had a letter from a PI that I worked with a lot and I feel fairly confident in saying was a very strong letter. Had a few letters from professors, who I didn't know crazy well, but think I was a top student in their classes. For all of these, I sat in the front of the class, answered questions, went to office hours, etc. Had a letter from my boss at work, this is one which I'm not super sure about. I definitely work hard at work and think I'm good at my job, but I'm a little scared she sabotaged the letter to have me stay there another year, which I'm not sure is super out of the realm of possibility given coworkers' experiences with her. This is more likely my paranoia from stewing in having such a bad cycle though.

What schools ask for a letter from a work supervisor?

 

[YJWheeler]

There were a couple of schools that asked for something from a health professional, but I sent the letter to most schools since I was working there full time and I thought the letter would speak well to my ability to work with patients.

 

[TragicalDrFaust]

There were a couple of schools that asked for something from a health professional, but I sent the letter to most schools since I was working there full time and I thought the letter would speak well to my ability to work with patients.

Did you have any suspicion before that this person might write you a bad letter to suit their own motives? From the way you describe it in the above post, I would not have sent this letter.

How confident do you feel in the way your IA was received? Although freshman alcohol IA's are relatively mundane, it's still an IA and adcoms will want to see the right attitude about it. I had a more serious IA but it was about 8-9 years before I applied.

I'm just a medical student but it's surprising to me that you didn't get any interviews. That makes me suspect a bad letter or, as others have mentioned, issues with writing. Did you have anyone give you feedback on your writing?

 

[YJWheeler]

I felt that way partially because she was discouraging a nurse from going back to work, which seemed like the puts the units staffing over supporting employee's goals. I probably will not include it, although logically I don't think it's super likely she intentionally tanked the letter.

I'm not sure about the IA. Officially, I only got in trouble for having a bottle of alcohol in my dorm room, and I wrote a couple of sentences saying what happened and learning from it. I'm slightly worried, since the reason the RA knocked on my dorm in the first place is because she said it smelled like marijuana. There was no marijuana, and I'm pretty sure she meant to get the people next door, so I didn't get in trouble for that, but I worry about if the school will mention my room smelling like marijuana (it did not). I reached out to the school, but they wouldn't tell me. I'm thinking about mentioning that my room was knocked on due to a marijuana smell in the area next time I apply so it won't look like I'm leaving out details.

I don't think there would be any other possibilities for a bad letter, but I think writing could definitely be a weakness. I'm not the strongest writer, and I had a couple friends look over my essays. I'm definitely rewriting the essays and having more people look through them.

 

[TragicalDrFaust]

I felt that way partially because she was discouraging a nurse from going back to work, which seemed like the puts the units staffing over supporting employee's goals. I probably will not include it, although logically I don't think it's super likely she intentionally tanked the letter.

I'm not sure about the IA. Officially, I only got in trouble for having a bottle of alcohol in my dorm room, and I wrote a couple of sentences saying what happened and learning from it. I'm slightly worried, since the reason the RA knocked on my dorm in the first place is because she said it smelled like marijuana. There was no marijuana, and I'm pretty sure she meant to get the people next door, so I didn't get in trouble for that, but I worry about if the school will mention my room smelling like marijuana (it did not). I reached out to the school, but they wouldn't tell me. I'm thinking about mentioning that my room was knocked on due to a marijuana smell in the area next time I apply so it won't look like I'm leaving out details.

I don't think there would be any other possibilities for a bad letter, but I think writing could definitely be a weakness. I'm not the strongest writer, and I had a couple friends look over my essays. I'm definitely rewriting the essays and having more people look through them.

Was this letter from a physician and do you truly believe that they sabotaged you? Some of the above posts suggest you do, otherwise I don't think you would have brought it up. But the most recent post says you think it's unlikely. It is difficult to advise without a clear picture of what happened.

It is fine to want to be earnest but your IA will not be recorded in a way where adcoms can see that an RA thought they smelled marijuana. Consider the implications of what would happen if we were all held accountable of any accusation that had been brought against us. It's covered nicely in The Crucible if you've ever read it. Do not include this - it will look worse than a plain alcohol IA because it is "odd" to include it. I strongly recommend you have a trusted advisor rather than peers look over your application, especially if the peers are friends who may not want to hurt your feelings.

Your goal is to generate a factual and succinct report of the incident. Then explain how you've grown, why it won't happen again, etc. assuage any fears that you'll create problems when you matriculate. Obviously you can drink legally but I think adcoms want to see someone who understands the value of following the rules. In a medical setting this is a question of safety.

 

[YJWheeler]

It's not from a physician, and I'm really not sure. If I had to bet, I'd say no, but I'm kind of questioning everything right now.

Thanks for the advice on the IA. I won't mention that part, but I'll be sure to elaborate more on me understanding the value of following the rules. I believe I was a bit too brief on that front.

I will definitely get more people to look at my essays.

I appreciate all the help, I'll be sure to improve on all these things next go around.

 

[TragicalDrFaust]

It's not from a physician, and I'm really not sure. If I had to bet, I'd say no, but I'm kind of questioning everything right now.

Thanks for the advice on the IA. I won't mention that part, but I'll be sure to elaborate more on me understanding the value of following the rules. I believe I was a bit too brief on that front.

I will definitely get more people to look at my essays.

I appreciate all the help, I'll be sure to improve on all these things next go around.

If the letter was not required, it’s usually better not to send. From what I’ve gathered here adcoms don’t love reading too many letters as they all tend to say the same thing. You can usually show that you’re good with patients by demonstrating empathy towards patients in secondary essays etc.

I would avoid bringing up the possibility of your supervisor sabotaging you, even here, unless you’re serious about the allegation. After working with someone for months, you should have a sense of whether they would do something so malicious for such a small personal gain. And if you truly weren’t sure, you shouldn’t have sent the letter. Either way it brings your judgement into question. I know this is a bit harsh but that’s why it’s helpful to have someone be brutally honest and poke holes in your app before you send it in.

Your app overall seems very strong. It is possible you just had very bad luck but I still think it would be worth it to re write your application materials. Do you have access to resources that could help you with that, like a writing center at your school or pre med advising (although some of them, like the one at my UG, don’t know what they’re talking about)?

 

[mudfud26]

Had a letter from a PI that I worked with a lot and I feel fairly confident in saying was a very strong letter. Had a few letters from professors, who I didn't know crazy well, but think I was a top student in their classes. For all of these, I sat in the front of the class, answered questions, went to office hours, etc. Had a letter from my boss at work, this is one which I'm not super sure about. I definitely work hard at work and think I'm good at my job, but I'm a little scared she sabotaged the letter to have me stay there another year, which I'm not sure is super out of the realm of possibility given coworkers' experiences with her. This is more likely my paranoia from stewing in having such a bad cycle though.

If you re-app, Write drafts of letters for your recommenders. 2 reasons
1. Makes it WAAAYYY easier for the letter writers
2. You know what will be in there.
I wrote 'rough' (but actually pretty complete) letters for all of my letter writers and not only did I know the letters were going to be super nice, but my letter writers turned them in really quickly (min same day, max 3 wks). The only possible way my app could have been harpooned would be if someone didn't use my letter, but my re-app is successful.