Reapplying - I have a choice to make

[Shmoodle]

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Hey guys

So it's early March and I've gotten pre-interview rejections from all but two schools that I've applied to, and I'm wait-listed for those other two.

3.74 science GPA
3.61 cumulative GPA
33 MCAT (11 verbal, 10 physical sciences, 12 biological sciences) - 05/30/2013

Extracurriculars are somewhat weak:
~180 hours of unpaid research hours from a 3 month summer research position - no publications, no papers, no presentations, no co-authorship.
~150 hours clinical volunteer work completed during a separate 3 month summer.
No non-clinical volunteer work.
No clubs or leadership positions.

If I get interviews or admitted this cycle, then great. But right now I'm looking toward what I can do to strengthen my application for the next cycle. I feel as though my extracurriculars are the weak point in my application since the hours I do have were not significantly meaningful, and I have not committed to any position for more than 3 months.

I now have the opportunity to engage in a long-term unpaid (or possibly paid) research position for the next 1.5 years. This also gives me the chance to get some more clinical and non-clinical volunteer work completed.

I am also considering a one-year master of medical sciences program at USF, which is where I completed my bachelor's. This would also give me the chance for more long-term volunteer work. I have heard from numerous sources (although it is all anecdotal evidence) that completing accelerated MS programs give huge boosts to the value of the applicant.

My main issue is deciding between the MS program or the research. I'm not exactly sure which would help more, but from what I've seen lurking other threads on these forums, it looks like my GPA and MCAT aren't the main issue (which is supposedly what an accelerated MS would help balance). I would really like to do the MS program since the curriculum is similar to that seen in medical schools. However, my gut tells me that the research would help more, not to mention it would save me a significant amount of money.

 

[Shmoodle]

So after reading more threads about the relative importance of different ECs, I'm even more conflicted than I was before.

The research that I currently have lined up will most likely have me doing "bench research" with little chance of publication or co-authorship. I'm assuming that this will be seen more as fluff than a significant EC on my application? On the other hand, the SMP will allow me to show medical schools that I can keep up with similiar workloads that medical students have.

I'll be doing heavy clinical and non-clinical volunteer work regardless, but I'm having a very difficult time deciding between the research or the SMP.

 

[popopopop]

Take my answer with a grain of salt, but I'm sure others will agree with me that your grades aren't the problem and that an SMP for you will be a complete waste of time. You must have a red flag somewhere in your application or simply didn't interview as well as you thought you did. Your 150 hours of clinical work over a very short amount of time might have certain schools question your motivation to be a physician. I don't see any shadowing mentioned either.

 

[Shmoodle]

I've definitely improved my application in terms of clinical work and shadowing, but thank you very much for the response about the SMP. I'll look more heavily into the research and see what other clinical work I can do as well.

 

[jeffreylei]

Go volunteer for some nonprofits, go get some leadership positions like being a TA. If this cycle doesn't work out, make sure to have a good look at your personal statements and descriptions for the extracurriculars. Good luck and hopefully you will get in soon!

 

[cabinbuilder]

I think your school list was wrong. Your stats are great. There is some other red flag out there. Was your personal statement stupid, ho hum, or just plain boring????

Please send me your PS and I sure hope it's not just a rehash of your volunteer stuff.

 

[Plecopotamus]

Hey guys

So it's early March and I've gotten pre-interview rejections from all but two schools that I've applied to, and I'm wait-listed for those other two.

3.74 science GPA
3.61 cumulative GPA
33 MCAT (11 verbal, 10 physical sciences, 12 biological sciences) - 05/30/2013

Extracurriculars are somewhat weak:
~180 hours of unpaid research hours from a 3 month summer research position - no publications, no papers, no presentations, no co-authorship.
~150 hours clinical volunteer work completed during a separate 3 month summer.
No non-clinical volunteer work.
No clubs or leadership positions.

If I get interviews or admitted this cycle, then great. But right now I'm looking toward what I can do to strengthen my application for the next cycle. I feel as though my extracurriculars are the weak point in my application since the hours I do have were not significantly meaningful, and I have not committed to any position for more than 3 months.

I now have the opportunity to engage in a long-term unpaid (or possibly paid) research position for the next 1.5 years. This also gives me the chance to get some more clinical and non-clinical volunteer work completed.

I am also considering a one-year master of medical sciences program at USF, which is where I completed my bachelor's. This would also give me the chance for more long-term volunteer work. I have heard from numerous sources (although it is all anecdotal evidence) that completing accelerated MS programs give huge boosts to the value of the applicant.

My main issue is deciding between the MS program or the research. I'm not exactly sure which would help more, but from what I've seen lurking other threads on these forums, it looks like my GPA and MCAT aren't the main issue (which is supposedly what an accelerated MS would help balance). I would really like to do the MS program since the curriculum is similar to that seen in medical schools. However, my gut tells me that the research would help more, not to mention it would save me a significant amount of money.

Doing an SMP is only beneficial to your application if your GPA is the source of your problem. Yours is not. An SMP would be a huge unnecessary expenditure and might not make you more successful without fixing whatever else is wrong in your application. You need to do some serious thinking about where your weakness is and do whatever will rectify that. The only reason to consider more school is if you think you need to develop another professor relationship to replace a bad LOR. Research might be helpful not only in beefing up your ECs but also in getting you a good LOR.

What do you think of your LORs (how were your relationships with the people who wrote them, do they seem like they'd write good letters)? Did you use a committee letter?
Where did you apply? Did you only apply in CA? (Is USF for you U San Francisco or U So Florida?). Where did you interview and get waitlisted?
Who gave you feedback on your PS? Did you get any constructive criticism on it? Did you do something silly like waste it explaining why you don't have a 4.0?
Do you think you wrote high quality answers on your secondaries?
Is your GPA misleading (i.e. do you have a ton of credits hiding abysmal grades in your pre-reqs or something)?

I, too, would be willing to give feedback on the PS if you need it (I'm a 4th year med student on a snooze of a rotation).

 

[Shmoodle]

Some more details:

I transferred from Wake Forest to USF (South Florida) after my 2nd year. My GPA was terrible at WFU (3.12), but I managed to bring it up to a 3.62 cumulative with a 3.93 GPA from my 2 years at USF. My courseload was significantly heavier and more difficult at USF as well (very heavy in upper level science courses and the majority of my pre-med courses), so I would hope that this upward trend would reflect favorably despite my transfer. Maybe this is a red flag though? I'm not exactly sure how transfer students look to ADCOM members.

My LORs are very strong, but I did not use a committee letter.

I spent a good deal of effort on my personal statement, and I had several people review it. One of them is on the admissions committee at UCF, and the others all had experience with job hiring and pre-medical personal statements. I received a lot of constructive criticism, and by the time applications opened up, we were all happy with the final result. I talked a lot about the factors contributing to my transfer, and how it motivated me to work even harder to reach the goals I had set for myself. I know that probably comes across as me trying to justify why I didn't have a 4.0, but I thought that my transfer experience would reveal a lot about my character and why I would be a good fit for the rigorous curriculum of medical school. My advisors agreed, but I'll probably be changing it to a different focus for this cycle. I didn't rehash anything that was listed in other areas on my AMCAS application (volunteering, work experience, etc.).

It's very possible my school list was wrong. I only applied to 15 schools, and sent in secondaries for 12 of them. The other 3 didn't tend to take many out of state students (I'm an Illinois resident). I didn't focus just on one geographic region though, I applied to a good variety of areas around the country (east coast, midwest, west coast, south, I think I hit most of it). I'll definitely be taking a closer look at the MSAR this cycle and expanding my list. I didn't get any interviews, and I got wait-listed at Drexel and UIC.

I got A's and A+'s in all my pre-reqs aside from a B+ in Chemistry I. I'm actually banking on my science courses hiding abysmal grades in other areas - C in calculus I, C in a history class, several B's in other non-science courses.

I appreciate all the help guys, you have my sincere thanks.

 

[Goro]

Your numbers are good...did you aim too high? Apply to too many OOS public schools?

Invest in MSAR and apply strategically.

Hey guys

So it's early March and I've gotten pre-interview rejections from all but two schools that I've applied to, and I'm wait-listed for those other two.

3.74 science GPA
3.61 cumulative GPA
33 MCAT (11 verbal, 10 physical sciences, 12 biological sciences) - 05/30/2013

Extracurriculars are somewhat weak:
~180 hours of unpaid research hours from a 3 month summer research position - no publications, no papers, no presentations, no co-authorship.
~150 hours clinical volunteer work completed during a separate 3 month summer.
No non-clinical volunteer work.
No clubs or leadership positions.

If I get interviews or admitted this cycle, then great. But right now I'm looking toward what I can do to strengthen my application for the next cycle. I feel as though my extracurriculars are the weak point in my application since the hours I do have were not significantly meaningful, and I have not committed to any position for more than 3 months.

I now have the opportunity to engage in a long-term unpaid (or possibly paid) research position for the next 1.5 years. This also gives me the chance to get some more clinical and non-clinical volunteer work completed.

I am also considering a one-year master of medical sciences program at USF, which is where I completed my bachelor's. This would also give me the chance for more long-term volunteer work. I have heard from numerous sources (although it is all anecdotal evidence) that completing accelerated MS programs give huge boosts to the value of the applicant.

My main issue is deciding between the MS program or the research. I'm not exactly sure which would help more, but from what I've seen lurking other threads on these forums, it looks like my GPA and MCAT aren't the main issue (which is supposedly what an accelerated MS would help balance). I would really like to do the MS program since the curriculum is similar to that seen in medical schools. However, my gut tells me that the research would help more, not to mention it would save me a significant amount of money.

 

[hughnguyen22]

There are SMPs which will admit you after the programs, but you have to get certain scores in their classes. The best ones are Temple ACMS and Tulane ACP. Apply quickly because you might run out of time.

 

[About28]

When did you apply? Were you late?

 

[Spicegirl07]

As far as I can tell with adcom committees they don't have an issue with transfer students.
I toyed with the idea of doing an SMP at USF last year and I was in a similar situation as you. My premed advisor said that it may even do more harm than good since my grades were clearly not my issue she said A) can you afford the unnecessary cost (you'll be paying grad student fees) B) your GPA can only go down ( which will obviously hurt your app) , even if you perform highly - it will do little to enhance your chances. You should work on other aspects of your application like your non medical volunteering/shadowing/leadership

 

[AliciaAccepted]

I would have to see your AMCAS application to be able to help you identify if there were any red flags in your strategy or application. From the information you provided, it sounds like you already have 180 hours of research and research is not required by most medical schools. Doing more research may not be the best option. It doesn't seem like you need a SMP based on your GPA. You are missing leadership, volunteer work and more diverse activities. I recommend bulking up on activities that will help you demonstrate your commitment to medicine. Are there any job opportunities or activities available to you that will fit this description?

Also, I am hosting a live webinar on "How to Create a Compelling AMCAS Application" tomorrow, Tuesday, March 25 at 8 pm EST. It may help you to identify any issues in your previous application. You are welcome to participate and to ask any questions that you have by registering here. I wish you success the next time you apply!

 

[solitarius]

I think your academics is good enough, but the problem may lie in school selection and EC competitiveness.

Would recommend against applying to MD schools in the Western states, except for maybe Colorado and UA - Phoenix.

As for ECs, I think the short-time frame of three months makes you look uncommitted frankly and more of a check-boxer. On research vs. volunteering, it's good to have both but it's not necessary to excel at both. If I were you, I would focus on volunteering and trying to get a meaningful leadership position in there.