Removed for privacy--I got in! 🙂
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- Thread starter CoolSocks
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Your MCAT is a weak point although it would not be a good idea to take it again.
Your GPA is respectable for mid-tier schools
These two together indicate that you are not a strong candidate for the top research schools (UChicago, Mayo) so the NIH post-bac wasn't the best use of your time but what's done is done.
This is, indeed, your weak spot and a reason, perhaps, that you did not get any traction at G'town, and others that value community service.
Nursing homes are a gray zone between clinical and non-clinical. Sewing is a solitary activity that while serving those with neurological impairments is not a face-to-face effort with them.
Service Fraternity is so few hours to hardly merit a mention.
You need a full-court press in community service in with people in dire straits. Typical sites are soup kitchens, homeless shelters, food pantries (direct service, not warehouse services), outreach to those who are unhoused, and programs serving immigrants and refugees. Girls in Gear would not be a great choice as it is unlikely to be serving people much different than your younger self.
It seems that you had far too little shadowing in this application cycle and boosting that before you reapply would be a good idea. You may also want to consider DO programs in a second go-round.
Your GPA is respectable for mid-tier schools
These two together indicate that you are not a strong candidate for the top research schools (UChicago, Mayo) so the NIH post-bac wasn't the best use of your time but what's done is done.
This is, indeed, your weak spot and a reason, perhaps, that you did not get any traction at G'town, and others that value community service.
Nursing homes are a gray zone between clinical and non-clinical. Sewing is a solitary activity that while serving those with neurological impairments is not a face-to-face effort with them.
Service Fraternity is so few hours to hardly merit a mention.
You need a full-court press in community service in with people in dire straits. Typical sites are soup kitchens, homeless shelters, food pantries (direct service, not warehouse services), outreach to those who are unhoused, and programs serving immigrants and refugees. Girls in Gear would not be a great choice as it is unlikely to be serving people much different than your younger self.
It seems that you had far too little shadowing in this application cycle and boosting that before you reapply would be a good idea. You may also want to consider DO programs in a second go-round.
Thank you very much for your reply. May I ask why retaking the MCAT would be a poor decision? I think my 511 score just barely will meet cut offs for being valid at some schools (9/2023), is that a red flag at all?
I also would like to mention, I was not pre-med before beginning the NIH Postbac, the first year felt like a waste but it led me to realize basic science research isn't what I want to do so I guess I am thankful for it. But the past 1.5 years I have been a clinical based IRTA writing full progress notes, problems and med lists, etc for patient visits, present the cases in clinic meetings at times, will hopefully have a case report published soon, etc. I also assess patient acuity for the entire clinic, implementing a new rubric for assessing psychosocial and economic needs of our protocol participants so that social work can ID who needs assistance and we can increase protocol diversity. Will schools not take that as good clinical experience since its technically within a research setting (though its a natural history HIV study so its really not super researchy)?
Thank you for clarifying the service aspect, I will get on that ASAP and look for opportunities with people in dire straits as you said instead of Girls in Gear. Do you have any recommendation of a number of hours to shoot for?
Regarding shadowing, will shadowing a geriatric primary care physician 1/2 a day a week for 1-2 months be sufficient, or do I need to try to push for more and look for other specialties as well? I am severely limited by what I can get done since I have this full time fellowship. I will have another year to figure out something to do with and could shadow then, but my fellowship doesn't end until July which of course is too late for the upcoming cycle. Should I possibly explore ending my fellowship a few months early?
Overall, do I need to change my narrative/how I frame myself in my application? I was really adamant about wanting to be a physician scientist in my app which I think may have helped me pull out a Pitt interview, but killed my app for primary care focused schools. I don't want to lie of course, but should I downplay my love for patient-centered translational research a little? My app was really heavy on my passions to end the HIV epidemic, but I fear I didn't put the money where my mouth is by not doing any non-clinical volunteering with disadvantaged communities :/
I would be interested in applying DO, but I know very little about that process (though my cousin is a PGY1 DO gen surg resident so I can ask her) so I definitely need to do more research.
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Yes, your IRTA would be great if you were building a research-focused application for a Masters or Ph.D. program. Again, you said that was your original intention. If you are pivoting to medicine, you must show you have fully committed to doing what physicians do. You could go forward with a graduate degree in public health or clinical trials management if that interests you. CRNA or medical assistant too.
I suppose we'll see about the one school left to decide on your application, but I would build the profile properly now. Get your shadowing. Get non-clinical community service with others (food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation), at least 150 hours before applying.
I suppose we'll see about the one school left to decide on your application, but I would build the profile properly now. Get your shadowing. Get non-clinical community service with others (food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation), at least 150 hours before applying.
Thank you for your help! I have enjoyed research, but I really am confident in the pivot to medicine. I've thought about other careers, but I keep coming back to being a physician and the complexity and depth of knowledge + direct patient care that ensures the patient is the priority vs research. Are you proposing those options as things to do in an additional gap year or as alternate careers entirely?
Yes, I plan to get started on building the profile properly asap and will come back and update a week from now regarding the result of the remaining post-interview decision (or if magically I get another II late in the game). I know you said 150+ hours for volunteering, but do you have any recs for what additional shadowing I need in addition to my planned 1/2 day a week for 1-2 months with a PCP my boss is allowing? And are you in agreement about not re-taking the MCAT?
Thank you again, I cannot express how much I appreciate this help!
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You already have two MCAT scores that admissions committees can see. Some schools will average scores for screening purposes, so taking the exam a third time may have a marginal effect. But even if a school only takes your most recent score, convincing an admissions committee that you have expectations and a goal as a physician is hard without the hours. I can believe one wants to be an Olympic athlete but the dream is not credible without seeing the hours already sacrificed.
As it stands, keep building. Just be realistic. If you can't gain dozens to hundreds of hours before submitting a new application, take the extra year. Medical schools aren't going anywhere and won't be disappearing.
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First of all, kudos to you for taking the first steps towards a successful reapplication: evaluating what went wrong with your first application and weaknesses in your qualifications.
I agree with you that lack of community service and specifically service to the underserved is a weakness in your application. Plus you probably aimed a little high (Mayo, Chicago, Case Western, Emory). I'm less concerned about the change in career path, as long as you handled it well in your essays and interviews.
In terms of your gap year, if you don't get in now, consider working in a clinical setting and also doing some non-clinical volunteering with the underserved -- homeless, immigrants, or economically disadvantaged. Girls in Gear sounds like a wonderful program, but for admissions purposes you want it to be with underserved or disadvantaged girls. Serving the underserved is an important value at many medical schools.
Finally, you are aware of the strengths and weakness in your qualifications. The fact that you got two interviews is a good sign about the quality of your applications and how you presented those qualifications. However, to ensure that you have not made avoidable mistakes, have someone review your primary application and a couple of your secondaries. If you are making mistakes in presenting yourself, you don't want to make the same mistakes again.
Thank you for the clarification! Yes, I need to be realistic and know it’s going to be okay in the end. It’s just hard admitting I may need an additional year or two more when I’m already 3 years post grad. But I did change my entire career plan and knew what I was getting myself into when I did that, so I need to take a breather and learn some patience 🙂 it’s hard being at the NIH surrounded by people getting into 5+ T20s while you’re facing possible re-app
Thank you for your insight! I will definitely take that all into consideration and get on the non-clinical volunteering within disadvantaged communities. I am going to start exploring options for clinical (non research!!) jobs for another gap year if I need it, but first focus heavily on volunteering and gaining that primary care shadowing which shouldn’t be too much of a problem, as I previously thought I was going to be told to re-take the MCAT too and was stressed for time.
I completely agree about shooting too high, the schools you mentioned I actually went back and forth on if I would even apply to them, but decided to give it a shot and had very low expectations (I had the same thought about Pitt but somehow pulled out an II). I’ll definitely be back for help with a school list if I have to reapply.
I had multiple people read my application for this cycle and provide brutally honest feedback which I think helped me a lot, so I will definitely reach out to some of my new and old connections if I need to reapply.
Thank you again! 🙂
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Is there a reason you did not apply to Kentucky? Ohio also has that Forever Buckeye policy, which I assume is taken into account when reviewing apps, so I agree with the above about non-clinical volunteering and shadowing. You are competitive with your MCAT and GPA at some of the OH schools like Toledo and Wright, so the EC deficiencies and focus on research likely held you back and prevented you from getting an interview there.
Hi, thanks for the insight! I was really hoping the Forever Buckeye policy would help me, but definitely agree the ECs you mentioned held me back. It is good to hear that it hopefully was ECs/my app vs OH not really counting me as an Ohioan.
Unfortunately, I didn't apply to UK due to personal safety/wellbeing reasons (kind of hard to explain, but my husband and I felt it was wise to avoid Lexington). If I have to reapply, I am going to add it on just in case, as we could hopefully make it work with harsh boundaries for some family members. Thanks again!
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That makes sense. I hope it works out with Louisville this cycle. I had just noticed since you attended UK and those 2 are pretty close to each other.
Thank you! I loved my time at UK too, but I am willing to set the rivalry aside if I get in 😉 That little bit of distance between the two universities unfortunately makes a big difference :/
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Are they open to updates? If so, update them.
I asked them before and they said they do not accept any updates or letters unless they explicitly ask you. I tried to double check that nothing changed regarding that policy since the WL now exists, but they seem to have ignored my question and just sent a generic reply saying that they acknowledge my acceptance of the WL offer and "if we can assist in the future, please do not hesitate to contact our office". I don't want to seem annoying by asking them for clarification, but "be of assistance" is really confusing to me since they say in the WL email they will not let us know our place on the WL or how many offers will be granted off of it and when. Just not sure what the "assistance" they are referring to entails. Would it be harmful to ask if they would now be willing to accept them? I interviewed 9/3, so I definitely have things I wish I could update them with, as I noticed weak spots in my app from my interview with them and have worked to address them.
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They seem to have clearly indicated they don't accept updates, so I don't think you should ask again
Thank you, thats what I was thinking. I will just be patient with them/try to forget I am on a WL and focus on re-app.
I am signed up for direct volunteering handing out food at a food bank for 8 hours per week and should reach 120 hours by the end of May.
Unfortunately the PCP I was supposed to shadow suddenly had her husband enter hospice, so I am back to the beginning of finding someone else.
I just got approval from the head of Trauma surgery at GW who is allowing me to shadow him for a week, so that is some more non-research shadowing.
I will likely reach out to schedule a meeting with one of you on here next week after I take the weekend to gather my information/data together.
Thank you all SO much, it is incredibly helpful to have advisors outside of medical research/the nih provide insight.
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I agree with @wysdoc .
I just got an interview invite from Illinois!! Still going to continue to prep to reapply just in case, but SO excited!!! I sent a hail mary second update with my recent publication, upcoming shadowing, and volunteering and got the interview invite a few hours later!
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Congratulations! You are right to be thrilled and right to continue preparing to reapply. And if you can start that service to the underserved before your interview, you will be able to say that you started a new initiative working in a soup kitchen, a homeless shelter, or whatever venue you have chosen. Obviously you won't have a lot of hours, but you at least have taken the initiative. That activity could help you get accepted this year AND position you for a reapplication.
Thank you! I actually already started volunteering at an outdoor food bank this past weekend (6 hours) and am scheduled to volunteer again this Saturday for 6-8 hours 🙂 There are definitely things from it that I feel I could talk about during the interview which is great. Big thanks to you all for pointing this out as something I can improve on which helped me prioritize getting involved ASAP
Just got another interview invite from a school I updated (Oakland!). Thanks to all again--Won't keep updating this thread until I get decisions 🤣Lesson learned: Second update letters really can make a difference late in the game!
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