Reflections on the 08/09 application process.

[jason3278]

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Now that its over, does anyone have anything to say about last year's application process. Anything you would have done differently? Would you have applied to different schools?


I think I did the best to maximize the strengths of my application, but I wish I would have gotten a DO letter much sooner than I did. I would have added a few more schools (LECOM, NOVA, DCOM) if I had gotten it sooner.

I also think that a few schools were a waste of time. PCOM and NYCOM basically cashed my checks and that was it. I am a MI resident and I know 2 other people from my school who had the same experience with PCOM and NYCOM. Maybe they have stronger regional preference for the east coast than I expected.

 

[Hokie06]

-I wish I didn't apply to 18+ DO Schools (5-6 is plenty)
-I wish I didn't get so stressed about my 6 in verbal (still got plenty of interview invites!)
-I wish I submitted my AACOMAS sooner, it took almost 7 weeks for it to get processed!
-I wish I completed the secondaries that were posted on SDN before I actually received them from the schools. This would of saved so much time. Its crazy trying to complete 10+ secondaries while working full time, especially if you want it to make it the best possible.
-I wish I saved some money going into the application season, this process literally put a hole in my pocket. Maxed out my credit card several times paying for the cost of attending interviews (hotels/food/taxi/plane), MCAT, applications, secondaries, etc.

 

[MossPoh]

UMDNJ and PCOM like to not tell you anything and then give you the "Oh. We were waiting for you to send more information in to us to further your decision"

A "pre-interview waitlist" means you aren't going to interview, but they are being nice about it.

NYMC likes to charge a ton of money for a secondary with next to nothing to fill out. They also won't keep you updated regardless of the fact that your father is an alum that donates a lot of money.

The process is expensive, stressful and time consuming.

Traveling light is a requirement, not an option.

Never expect an interview somewhere. Never have your heart set on a place. Never think you'll hate somewhere. (Also, expect the unexpected...see my signature)

Along with above, one has to keep faith and keep working hard.

Did I mention its expensive?

 

[EricH]

I wish I had completed AACOMAS app in May and had known to send my transcripts FIRST!

It would have been nice to have taken the MCAT sooner (I took it in August), but I got a good mcat score and got into my #1 so no complaints here.

 

[beachblonde]

I wish I had sent in my aacomas stuff earlier. Who knew they were so slow?!

And screw PCOM. They couldn't deign to even look at my application. Lord knows what they look for in an applicant, because the most qualified people I know who applied this past cycle didn't even get an interview.

VCOM doesn't care about your MCAT score. I'm convinced they ignore it completely.

Apply to NSU early if you want to get in. Everybody I know of who interviewed after Jan 1 got waitlisted.

Getting a DO letter can be a royal pain the rear, so start on it early. I never anticipated it taking three months to even find one to shadow.

And never, ever check your luggage when going to an interview!

 

[Chuck's Right Foot]

I wish I had sent in my aacomas stuff earlier. Who knew they were so slow?!

And screw PCOM. They couldn't deign to even look at my application. Lord knows what they look for in an applicant, because the most qualified people I know who applied this past cycle didn't even get an interview.

VCOM doesn't care about your MCAT score. I'm convinced they ignore it completely.

Apply to NSU early if you want to get in. Everybody I know of who interviewed after Jan 1 got waitlisted.

Getting a DO letter can be a royal pain the rear, so start on it early. I never anticipated it taking three months to even find one to shadow.

And never, ever check your luggage when going to an interview!

PCOM was interesting. I got placed on the WL after what I thought was a great interview.

At the end of the cycle I was a huge fan of UMDNJ-SOM and Western. Have nothing but good things to say about those two. Friendly staff and good interview days (Western's lunch was kinda iffy though!). CCOM was a good interview experience, I just don't think the area fit me too well (Which was weird cause Chicago schools loved me!). Had I had the money, I would've gone to Touro-CA to check it out.

 

[engineeredout]

I wish I called every school to make sure they got my MCAT scores when they came out. PCOM didn't recieve them until over a month later than everywhere else.

Thats about it for me. Can't have many regrets when I had an acceptance in hand before thanksgiving.

 

[aterry]

I learned a lot of things the second time around. I applied during the 2007-2008 cycle (for entrance in August 2008) and I applied to 6 MD and 6 DO schools. I got only 1 interview invitation that cycle and that was become CCOM had be listed on the primary status as "offered acceptance, denied matriculation" when in fact I had been rejected. This could not be seen by me, but could be by my advisor and the other schools. It wasn't fixed until May and thats when I was offered an interview and was accepted.

I decided I would not settle and I applied to 11 schools this past cycle (entrance in August 2009). I was offered 10 interviews, chose to go to 5 and was accepted to all that I interviewed with. Some things that I learned are:

1. Don't give up...if you want it, keep pushing for it.
2. Be choosy about the schools you interview at, if you don't even want to go for the interview (because of where the school is or other reasons), then don't waste your time and money interviewing.
3. Know yourself and be confident in who you are. Don't apologize or offer excuses. Instead show what you learned and you will come off well in the interview. (Example, my mom died the beginning of my last semester of college when I was enrolled in 18 hours of science classes. I didn't do too well in them...couple of C's and it brought down my GPA. I did not apologize for that. I did the best I could and came out of it healthier emotionally because I took the time to deal with my loss).
4. Be open to new places and new experiences.
5. Make friends with people at the interview....you will be surprised the friendships you will start before med school!

Good luck and believe in yourself. I know it sounds corny but no one should be able to show med school how much you deserve to be there better than you!

 

[The Poet Sings]

-I wish I didn't apply to 18+ DO Schools (5-6 is plenty)

so how would you have known which 5 or 6 would've been most likely to accept you? isn't the whole idea to apply broadly because you never know what they *really* want?

 

[TXDO]

I wish I knew about DO ealier.

 

[IamAriDO]

1) That AACOMAS is a mess
2) That I would be broke from the time i got my acceptance to the time I get my loan
3) That NOVA has great cookies for lunch.....actually excellent
4) That SDN was a great resource I learned about too late
- That you have to pick what you pay attention to here....."DO cant specialize etc" when you have a DO father who is allopathically trained Interventional Cardio etc
5) That one school would hold my fathers alum status against me
6) That alprazolam is a great invention

IamAriDO

 

[Revilla]

That I didn't have to take the January MCAT. I was on-hold at most schools until March, when scores came in.

 

[Chocolate Bear]

...that if there's a Southwest Airlines closeby, you should sign up for their Rapid Rewards program (free)!! Also, many applicants need some credit for all the interviewing costs, so their Rapid Rewards Visa is perfect! 😀

http://southwest.com/rapid_rewards/?ref=rr_gn

 

[dominate]

I wish I wouldn't have bombed my first mcat and had to take one on the last testing day in september and worry about it being late.... and even though I got my #1 school, which has friendly admissions, some schools admissions people are kinda hatefull..... but this process has definitely taught me patience and that some things are just out of your control.... I got lucky to get into a nice school. 😎

 

[MossPoh]

Oh, I also wish I bought more iron free dress shirts.


5000 posts. Woo

 

[beachblonde]

I wish I knew about DO ealier.

qft.

I could be an OMS II right now had I known.

gotta love that 20/20 hindsight.

 

[MossPoh]

qft.

I could be an OMS II right now had I known.

gotta love that 20/20 hindsight.

Don't worry, you're still OMSAWESOME

 

[211519]

Things I did right:
- I only applied to 5 osteopathic schools, so I saved more money than some others.
- I applied really, really, really early. Thus, I got secondaries early and interviews early. This allowed me to be accepted to all of the schools by October. I attribute this primarily to the early submission of my primary (within a few hours of being allowed to submit the AACOMAS application).
- I asked for all of my letters a few months before the primary could be sent. I think I asked for most of them in March/April; I also made packets for my letter writers and gave them postage, addressed envelopes, and multiple ways to contact me.
- I wrote all of the secondary essays before I got the secondaries, so my turn around time was really fast (1 or 2 days).
- I called to follow up on the receipt of my secondaries and associated materials.

Things I did wrong:
- Applying to 5 random schools; next time, I'd be smarter about the location, cost of living and climate
- Applying during a gas shortage sucked; I spent double the amount going to interviews that I would be spending in this cycle
- I would not get a letter from my academic advisor; rather, I wouldn't ask for one...it was never sent. Fail.
- I wouldn't stress - as much. I lost way too much sleep obsessing over this whole, ridiculous process.
- Flying with American Airlines. The bitches stranded me in freaking Erie, PA. Literally. They just opted to not send a plane for my return flight. It took me hours to get out on another carrier.

 

[Semicolon]

I wish I hadn't applied to 14 DO schools because 13 was a "bad luck number".

I wish I had a car to drive to Erie for my interview instead of relying on a 10-hour bus ride there and back (had one for an 8-hour drive to west virginia, though!).

I wish I wasn't as utterly neurotic in the beginning.

Honestly, I'm hard-pressed to find much else. I did a lot of research (most of which on SDN) before applying, didn't listen to anything my pre-med advisor said, and did considerably better in the cycle than I thought I ever would. Had 3 acceptances (1 to my number one school) by the holiday season...can't complain. 🙂

 

[aterry]

Things I did right:
.......- I applied really, really, really early. Thus, I got secondaries early and interviews early. This allowed me to be accepted to all of the schools by October. I attribute this primarily to the early submission of my primary (within a few hours of being allowed to submit the AACOMAS application).
- I asked for all of my letters a few months before the primary could be sent. I think I asked for most of them in March/April; I also made packets for my letter writers and gave them postage, addressed envelopes, and multiple ways to contact me.
- I wrote all of the secondary essays before I got the secondaries, so my turn around time was really fast (1 or 2 days).
- I called to follow up on the receipt of my secondaries and associated materials.....

I don't think the above can be stressed enough. I applied a few days after AACOMAS was available and I turned my secondaries around within a week. I followed up as well and I think that made all the difference. Had 5 acceptances by Thanksgiving. It was a great feeling!

 

[Bacchus]

I wish I would have strictly applied DO given my stats and thrown in only 1 or 2 MD schools... saving myself at least a thousand dollars. Also, I should have only applied to maybe 3 or 4 DO schools. I wouldn't be so strapped for cash if I wasn't as paranoid.

 

[Chuck's Right Foot]

I wish I would have strictly applied DO given my stats and thrown in only 1 or 2 MD schools... saving myself at least a thousand dollars. Also, I should have only applied to maybe 3 or 4 DO schools. I wouldn't be so strapped for cash if I wasn't as paranoid.

Yeah I could've picked my school list better as well (MD and DO).

DO, I would've only applied to Western, PCOM, UMDNJ, and Touro-CA. I would've nixed CCOM and NYCOM.

But we can't use hindsight, because I applied to 22 schools last year and got into 0. This year was a different story!

 

[MSUSpartan642]

Yeah I could've picked my school list better as well (MD and DO).

DO, I would've only applied to Western, PCOM, UMDNJ, and Touro-CA. I would've nixed CCOM and NYCOM.

But we can't use hindsight, because I applied to 22 schools last year and got into 0. This year was a different story!

Why would you on not applied to CCOM and NYCOM? Just wondering cause those are place that I have been looking at for this cycle.

 

[Chuck's Right Foot]

Why would you on not applied to CCOM and NYCOM? Just wondering cause those are place that I have been looking at for this cycle.

Nothing bad about CCOM at all. Great school. Just not a good fit for me. NYCOM never got back to me. In fact I just think Chicago and NY are just bad areas for me. I also didn't like the idea of spread out clerkships. All the Chicago schools I got into had you driving all over the place.

 

[211519]

I wish I would have strictly applied DO given my stats and thrown in only 1 or 2 MD schools... saving myself at least a thousand dollars. Also, I should have only applied to maybe 3 or 4 DO schools. I wouldn't be so strapped for cash if I wasn't as paranoid.

I second this. I'd have a lot more cash right now if I have been less paranoid/neurotic/obsessed.

 

[Chuck's Right Foot]

I second this. I'd have a lot more cash right now if I have been less paranoid/neurotic/obsessed.

I'd have close to an extra 1k if I didn't apply to any schools in NY 🙂 Especially since the SO doesn't want to move there! Ha!

 

[Bacchus]

I was extremely luck, I must say, regardless. I did apply wisely and early, allowing me to be done by the coveted 10/15 date despite not getting into any allo schools. I was "free" of this application mess the majority of my senior year.

 

[MossPoh]

I was extremely luck, I must say, regardless. I did apply wisely and early, allowing me to be done by the coveted 10/15 date despite not getting into any allo schools. I was "free" of this application mess the majority of my senior year.

Yea, I was too yet I still kept going on interviews and was on waitlist hell at my top choice from early november till a few days ago.

 

[FourMoreYears]

I am happy I followed past SDN advice. It saved my a lot of headaches. The biggest thing I did wrong was put too much faith in my letters of recommendation authors. It took them far longer than I thought was reasonably expected. I would start this process in early spring. I can't say a bad thing about using interfolio. It eased the strain of the letter campaign.

 

[coffeeeandtea]

I wish I would have strictly applied DO given my stats and thrown in only 1 or 2 MD schools... saving myself at least a thousand dollars. Also, I should have only applied to maybe 3 or 4 DO schools. I wouldn't be so strapped for cash if I wasn't as paranoid.

if i had a chance to do it all over again, i would have done the same thing - applied only DO and then just a few MDs... i'd be at least $1k richer :\

also, i would have submitted my primary SO much earlier, had i started reading SDN earlier. if i didn't have my summer job, i probably would have... (sigh) oh well, everything worked out, regardless, but it most likely would have been a little less stressful had i started in June versus end of July 😵 .. OH -- and letters of rec from professors. i would have asked them at the end of spring semester versus at the beginning of fall semester... yeah, that was a bad call. this is why we listen to advice, woohoo

 

[bleeker10]

I wish I wouldn't have applied to as many schools as I did. I didn't even send in secondaries to half the DO schools I applied to initially because I ran out of money. Also don't skip an interview until you have an acceptance. I almost did this at LECOM-E. I waited until 3:30 pm central time on the last day I could call to verify my interview date because I didn't think I would even go there. Luckily my mom talked some sense into me because that was the only acceptance I have haha. Plus I'm super excited about the school and I don't think I'd be happier anywhere else.