Rejected

[Dr. Guy-Dude]

I applied EDP to my state school. I received an invitation to interview in the very first week of interviews. I thought everything went really well. My family even knew people on the committee. However, I received my letter a few days later saying I was not accepted.

Do I go on AMCAS and take off the EDP on the school section before I start applying to other schools? Or do I wait it out to see what they’re gonna do?

MCAT - 511; undergrad GPA - 3.3 (B.S. Chemistry and B.S. Biology); Grad GPA - 3.8 (M.S. Health Sciences)

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[Isoval]

I applied EDP to my state school. I received an invitation to interview in the very first week of interviews. I thought everything went really well. My family even knew people on the committee. However, I received my letter a few days later saying I was not accepted. My uncle is on the faculty, and he and several committee members are upset with the decision.

Do I go on AMCAS and take off the EDP on the school section before I start applying to other schools? Or do I wait it out to see what they’re gonna do?

MCAT - 511; undergrad GPA - 3.3 (B.S. Chemistry and B.S. Biology); Grad GPA - 3.8 (M.S. Health Sciences)

Start applying elsewhere. Assume the decision is final, because there's a 99.99% chance that it is.

 

[puahate]

ED is 99% of the time a bad deal. Sorry bro, start applying to other schools pronto.

 

[Robin-jay]

Sorry to hear that. Apply MD and throw in some DOs and you should be good.

 

[Goro]

If anyone is ever wondering exactly what is a legacy, OP probably provides an example.

All SDNers should approach the app process with the idea that they will be rejected, and plan accordingly.

 

[Goro]

OP, I suggest:

U Toledo
Wayne State
Dartmouth
Miami
Tufts
George Washington
Georgetown
SLU
Albany
Rush
Rosy Franklin
NYMC
MCW
EVMS
Wake Forest
Netter
Drexel
Creighton
Tulane
Loyola
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Oakland-B
Seton Hall
Nova MD
CUSM IF you're from CA
Any DO program. I can't recommend Touro-NY, Nova, Wm Carey, LUCOM, for different reasons. MSUCOM? Read up on Larry Nasser and you decide.

 

[Dr. Guy-Dude]

That really sucks The school should notify AMCAS that you have been released from EDP and that you can move forward with applying to other schools. Luckily you have already been verified and have all of your materials in, but you’ll really need to crank out those secondaries.

Just out of curiosity, why did you apply EDP? Your UG GPA is really weak, and your MCAT is average, though your MS GPA is great and really shows you have what it takes. Did you set up a meeting with the admissions office to discuss EDP? It’s just... for most schools EDP is really a way to secure stellar or really above average applicants. I can only think of IU as being an exception, and they aren’t much of an exception. It’s supposed to be a win-win for both. School gets amazing applicant; applicant does not have to deal with exorbitant application process and stress.

At this school, EDP actually increases the likelihood of getting in (usually). I did not meet with the admissions office. I did not think I needed to. My GPA is weak because of life events and working two jobs simultaneously in undergrad. Average MCAT at this school is 504, so my score isn't average to them. I also am fluent in Spanish and French. I figured I was a strong applicant at this school.

 

[Robin-jay]

At this school, EDP actually increases the likelihood of getting in (usually). I did not meet with the admissions office. I did not think I needed to. My GPA is weak because of life events and working two jobs simultaneously in undergrad. Average MCAT at this school is 504, so my score isn't average to them. I also am fluent in Spanish and French. I figured I was a strong applicant at this school.

I had a 3.7+ GPA and masters degree in chemistry, easily well over 4,000 hours of research, a publication pending, leadership in non-profit health organizations, employment in health care, taught 15+ chemistry university courses, and much, much more, and MD schools didn't even look at me. DO schools barely interviewed me.

Medical Schools admissions aren't meant to be a walk in a park. Never let your guard down.

 

[MyOdyssey]

I had a 3.7+ GPA and masters degree in chemistry, easily well over 4,000 hours of research, a publication pending, leadership in non-profit health organizations, employment in health care, taught 15+ chemistry university courses, and much, much more, and MD schools didn't even look at me. DO schools barely interviewed me.

Medical Schools admissions aren't meant to be a walk in a park. Never let your guard down.

Perhaps your school list was too narrow given your GPA/MCAT combination?

 

[Robin-jay]

Perhaps your school list was too narrow given your GPA/MCAT combination?

Maybe, but regardless I'm where I want to be now. But it wasn't easy, that's for sure.

Also, my state is kind of bad for admissions lol.

 

[Govols22]

That really sucks The school should notify AMCAS that you have been released from EDP and that you can move forward with applying to other schools. Luckily you have already been verified and have all of your materials in, but you’ll really need to crank out those secondaries.

Just out of curiosity, why did you apply EDP? Your UG GPA is really weak, and your MCAT is average, though your MS GPA is great and really shows you have what it takes. Did you set up a meeting with the admissions office to discuss EDP? It’s just... for most schools EDP is really a way to secure stellar or really above average applicants. I can only think of IU as being an exception, and they aren’t much of an exception. It’s supposed to be a win-win for both. School gets amazing applicant; applicant does not have to deal with exorbitant application process and stress.

I wouldn’t consider a 511 to be “average”. It’s average for students who get an acceptance, not for applicants in general.

 

[holdthemayo]

There is still plenty of time. Apply very broadly for MD this year. Apply MD and DO next year if things don't work out. Sorry that the EDP didn't work for you, but your stats are good enough to think that you will get in somewhere.

 

[Robin-jay]

It doesn’t really matter what the average overall is, does it? I just matters whether or not you are typical of those who actually get accepted.

Edit: I would also add that many, if not most, of the sub-500 scores on the MCAT self-select themselves out of the MD application process, so I would bet your bottom bippy that the average applicant MCAT is fairly higher than 500, and the average acceptee is higher than that. The goal is to be the acceptee, so that is the range you need to be looking at.

Also, I haven’t gotten the MSAR in a year, but there aren’t that many MD schools that have MCAT averages as low as 504. Are you certain that was their average admit? Was this a state MD school or a state DO school?

He could be talking about the Mississippi MD school that only accepts in-state. I remember that one being around 504, I think.

 

[Dr. Guy-Dude]

It doesn’t really matter what the average overall is, does it? I just matters whether or not you are typical of those who actually get accepted.

Edit: I would also add that many, if not most, of the sub-500 scores on the MCAT self-select themselves out of the MD application process, so I would bet your bottom bippy that the average applicant MCAT is fairly higher than 500, and the average acceptee is higher than that. The goal is to be the acceptee, so that is the range you need to be looking at.

Also, I haven’t gotten the MSAR in a year, but there aren’t that many MD schools that have MCAT averages as low as 504. Are you certain that was their average admit? Was this a state MD school or a state DO school?

Just for numbers, a 511 is 83rd percentile for MCAT testers around the nation.

 

[Select All That Apply]

@Dr. Guy-Dude Out of curiosity, why are you disclosing this? I understand that you're asking about AMCAS, but including the school name and nepotism is a sure-fire way for lighting up any chance you have on fire. Also my two cents is that they interviewed you and you bombed the interview OR knowing people only got you a courtesy interview so everyone else in the famiglia could say they gave it the college try and feel "oh so bad" about the denial.

 

[dr_kateb]

This ain't a frat. Did you expect to get in because of your uncle lol.

 

[Oso]

Do I go on AMCAS and take off the EDP on the school section before I start applying to other schools? Or do I wait it out to see what they’re gonna do?

What else do you expect them to do? They already rejected you. You can either sit there and be sad about it or move your ass and keep applying.

This ain't a frat. Did you expect to get in because of your uncle lol.

Lol I know right? Entitled people just being entitled. Did OP seriously just assume he was gonna get in and not even consider a back up plan?

 

[Drakozord X]

The avg MCAT for that schools is indeed 504... it's one of those low MCATs (for in states) and high GPAs. Not sure if your undergrad GPA has anything to do with it. Either that or your performance during the interview was horrible (entitlement perhaps?).... esp since you disclosed family ties and your stats....

 

[Prehealth1011]

.

 

[JeSuisUnDoc]

I don’t see why they would change their mind unless you think knowing people gives you a ticket to med school? That’s not how it works, thank goodness!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Drakozord X]

To be fair, if you read any of OP’s comments, he hasn’t said anything about the school name or anything negative about the school. He is upset he got rejected, but is asking whether he needs to do something on AMCAS to be released. Just mentioning that you have family at a school does not mean it’s nepotic. And let’s be real, schools often are nepotic so is it really insulting if it’s true? If anything, OP’s case showed that this school was NOT nepotic as he was not accepted.

He actually deleted the post that he mentioned the name of the school (I saw it myself and looked up the school)

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

It is, but to have much of a shot you really need to be hitting 80th percentile, ~508. Obviously there are distributions, but as I stated earlier, most of the sub-500 MCATs self-select themselevs out of MD applications. Thus an 83rd percentile of whoever took the test is not an 83rd percentile of who applied. The bottom falls out, but the top typically remains, causing a score like a 508 to be very average for acceptees and a 511 to be only slightly above average depending on the school.

And I also concur that you should tack some DO schools onto your list just in case. Have you ghecked out WedgeDawgs applicant school list system? Also refer to Goros list above.

If your school will do so, you should probably contact them to get feedback so that you don’t make the same mistake on other applications.

Right but the numbers on the aamc tables iirc are for accepted applicants and applicants overall. They don’t provide a median for all test takers. Just those who have applied and who were accepted somewhere. So the median for applicants is still a 504.7. That’s almost a whole standard deviation lower than the 510.4 for accepted students.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fast...ction_score_percentile_ranks_2018_for_web.pdf

They publish those numbers as well, but the basic percentile rank you get is based off all testing data, not just those who applied or were accepted. This is where the 500 as 50th (though now 49th) percentile comes from.

But the numbers you provide are excellent to supplement as they demonstrate a point. The bottom of the curve tends to self-select out and then get weeded by adcoms. A 504 is a 63rd percentile score. That then becomes the average applicant. This is after many people have realized that their low MCAT will make it difficult to impossible to gain an MD acceptance, however several still end up applying. The average acceptee is a 510, which is the 80th percentile (a few years ago, I think 80% was a 508 was which is why I was citing that number). So having a 511 ends up being a very, very average acceptee score. And you want to be an acceptee, not just an applicant, hence why I stated that a 511 is “average”.

Just be aware for your applications, that you really need to play up your ECs, because despite having an 83rd percentile score, that is ends up being average competitiveness for those who are ultimately accepted. You definitely still have a shot though! You just need to really be broad, go for DO, and get AMCAS to release you ASAP.

Yeah that’s exactly the point. A lot of people self select out of MD admissions because they get below a 500. But clearly there isn’t too much self selection happening since the difference between the accepted students and just applicants is still huge.

But yes, it doesn’t really matter if you’re significantly higher than the average test taker or even applicant. It’s the accepted students stats that you want to look at. A 511 is a really good score and puts you right on target for accepted students. But I would think for EDP you’d want to be significantly higher than that.

 

[Select All That Apply]

@Mya&Me Yes. It's actually quite terrible. Even more so if I were one of the "friends of the family" who pulled the strings to enable this person to get an initial interview. Then you find out they are still not happy and taking it public to social media. These people were unscrupulous to begin with so it's naive to think that they wouldn't pull those same strings to make sure you didn't get an interview at any schools they are connected with in terms of knowing people on faculty or admissions. This is one of the benefits of keeping things meritocratic when it comes to hiring, you respect the new people on board and try to grow them from the ground up because you chose them and weren't forced to choose them because of outside of work shenanigans.

 

[Dr. Guy-Dude]

To be fair, if you read any of OP’s comments, he hasn’t said anything about the school name or anything negative about the school. He is upset he got rejected, but is asking whether he needs to do something on AMCAS to be released. Just mentioning that you have family at a school does not mean it’s nepotic. And let’s be real, schools often are nepotic so is it really insulting if it’s true? If anything, OP’s case showed that this school was NOT nepotic as he was not accepted.

For various schools, EDP programs, if you meet the minimums and the program is actually favored by the school (meaninng they routinely accept people from the program/improves chances of admission), EDP (I know this is the case for a couple schools and from OP’s description, likely this one as well) candidates can be semi-automatic IIs unless there is a red flag on the application. I doubt the school ties led to the interview as OP’s stats aren’t terrible (though that UG GPA is hard); being a legacy may have been a factor, but OP was probably going to get an interview any as the numbers fit. I suspect something went wrong in the interview, or post-interview, the school decided the app wasn’t a good fit and legacy status was not going to override it.

Edit: unless OP deleted a particular post, he still hasn’t said anything actually negative about the school. Just that he got rejected, is bummed because rejections suck, and wants to know what action he needs to take to get moving on with the rest of his applications. There hasn’t been any smack talk or libel against the institution, so I’m honestly not sure why an adcom or school rep would waste their time with this. Even if I nudged someone through to an interview, if they ultimately weren’t chosen, I would understand why they would be bummed. When they start throwing shade, that’s where we need to take it down a notch.

Thank you. I understand that I was not a "shoe-in" for this program. I just was expressing my dismay, as I thought my chances were good. My GPA was low in undergrad due to 40+ hours a week working, my mother's illness, and I was pursuing two degrees simultaneously. I admit that I fell off the wagon for a bit, but I was 20-21 years old and dealing with a lot. Other than this, I have a decently strong application, with a wide array of medical experience, employment, research, volunteer, and even proficiency in other languages. My uncle is not just a "tie to the school," he is my mentor and the only father figure I've ever had in my life. I've just wanted to be like him since I was a child. It just hurts considering the possibility that I'll have to wait another year to pursue this. This school is the best fit for me based on location and other factors. I'm not giving up. Just a big bump in the road that has caused me to sit back and reassess many aspects of myself and my experiences.