Rejections but no interview invites

[jillio1235]

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I applied to 15 schools and was complete by mid-September. So far I have had 5 rejections and have not heard from the other schools. I have a 3.70 overall GPA, a 3.67 sGPA, and a 30 on the MCAT. I have done two years of serious research at a national lab, almost 500 hours of hospital volunteer service, I was a TA for my schools organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, and a junior biology thesis course. I have also had multiple jobs during the duration of my college career and good LORs. At this point in the cycle, and considering my stats, should I expect to not receive interview invites?

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

Yes. The problem is your MCAT. Retake it this year and get 35+, then reapply next cycle. Also hard to contextualize what your GPA means (local state university or Caltech).

 

[ValentinNarcisse]

Why did you apply to only 15 programs with such a low MCAT?

 

[jjmack]

If it were only that easy to increase your MCAT score that much…

Yes. The problem is your MCAT. Retake it this year and get 35+, then reapply next cycle. Also hard to contextualize what your GPA means (local state university or Caltech).

 

[Toastayy]

Well what caliber of schools did you apply to? It can't just be his MCAT since there are plenty of people with that MCAT getting interviews, it may be that the OP did not apply broadly enough. Also, what is the MCAT breakdown? If you have <8 in any of the sections that may be a deal breaker, regardless of the total score.

 

[jillio1235]

I applied to a broad range of schools ranging from the University of Kansas to my obvious reach Stanford (which I'm not expecting to get into but I thought I'd try). My MCAT breakdown is pretty even it's BS 10 PS 11 V 9. I thought about taking it again but I thought it was too late in the cycle to risk it. 🤔

 

[creativedestruction]

There's probably a decent chance you're still in the game. I'm applying this cycle too, and I didn't hear anything for a few months until just last week when I heard back for three interviews on the same day. Just have to be patient sometimes I think. For reference, my numbers aren't too different from yours (32 MCAT - 10/11/11, 3.7cGPA, 3.6 BCPM), applied late (complete in late September). Hang in there!

 

[ilikeargyle]

Nothing you can do now at this point, unless you want to add a couple schools lower in supposed ranks. Update schools that you have a serious chance at with anything you can and show your interest. PM if you want more specific advice concerning low MCAT. Best of luck!

 

[jillio1235]

Nothing you can do now at this point, unless you want to add a couple schools lower in supposed ranks. Update schools that you have a serious chance at with anything you can and show your interest. PM if you want more specific advice concerning low MCAT. Best of luck!

I added a couple schools lower in ranks and am preparing to possibly retake the MCAT and apply next cycle. Thanks for all of your advice!