MD School list chances (38/4.0 + IA)

[anonymous20142014]

Hi all,

This is my year to apply and I wanted to see what SDN thinks of my school list as well as my chances at them. In addition, you guys think I should change anything about the school list, please let me know. Any comments/suggestions/critiques (constructive or otherwise) are welcome.

Please consider that I do have an Insitutional action which you can read about here:http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/chances-special-case.1043698/#post-14661318. I understand that some of you may see this as a dangerous red mark and question whether I should be applying at all. That is completely fine with me. Please don't hold back. I would rather be forewarned than waste thousands on applications resulting in no applications.

GPA. 4.0
MCAT 38
Extracurriculars:
3 years working at a startup software company; laid off when company went under (15-20 hours a week, 40 hours a week in the summer)
3 years volunteering at a local hospital as a patient transport aid (discharged patients as well as transport patients to different areas of the hospital) 250 hours
3 years volunteering at another hospital in the Emergency Department (150 hours)
100 hours of shadowing doctors from various specialties including orthopedic surgery, internal medicine, and OB/GYN (US doctors)
50 hours shadowing doctors from Shanghai, China - two doctors (plastic surgery and ER doctor)
2 years research experience (15-20 hours per week) in a lab with a scholarship. Forum presentation placing an honorable mention in my field (Biological sciences).

School list:

UT SW medical school
OSU
Toledo
UCinci
Wright State
Case
Northeast Ohio
WashU
Emory
UNC
Wake Forest
Baylor
University of Pittsburgh
Kentucky
Louisville

As a final note: This is a preliminary list. Because of my IA, I was advised to apply to more schools (in the 20+ range).

Thanks all for reading. Hope the school year went for everyone.

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[gyngyn]

Your otherwise excellent prognosis will depend on how many schools to which you applied have a hard screen for IA's like this. If you get to the interview stage, it will depend on how many committee members will veto an ap with such an IA. None of this can be predicted. All I can advise is to apply to more schools than would otherwise seem necessary.

 

[anonymous20142014]

Your otherwise excellent prognosis will depend on how many schools to which you applied have a hard screen for IA's like this. If you get to the interview stage, it will depend on how many committee members will veto an ap with such an IA. None of this can be predicted. All I can advise is to apply to more schools than would otherwise seem necessary.

Hi, do you have any suggestions to which other schools fit the general list of schools that I have?

 

[gyngyn]

Hi, do you have any suggestions to which other schools fit the general list of schools that I have?

People do get accepted with these problems but no one can predict how each screener/committee will view your IA. Apply early to as many top and mid tier programs that you can reasonably write good secondaries for and whose missions fit you best.

 

[anonymous20142014]

People do get accepted with these problems but no one can predict how each screener/committee will view your IA. Apply early to as many top and mid tier programs that you can reasonably write good secondaries for and whose missions fit you best.

Thanks for your insight. Appreciate it.

 

[Temerit]

I'm no adcom, but I personally would be unable to fault you for reacting the way you did. It can be difficult to act immune when people make such inflammatory comments. It seems like you've taken away all that anyone could ask that you take away from that experience and it appears you've been made better by what was obviously an unpleasant occurrence.

I wish you best of luck applying, I have no advice other than to concur that it is hard to tell how admissions committees will react. Will they screen out your application before even looking at what the IA was for or will they give you a chance to explain what happened and what you've learned in the wake of it? It's hard to know.

 

[anonymous20142014]

Temerit, Thanks for your response.

I have thought that incident everyday since it has occurred (it's been a few years). I have thought about how my actions will impact my future. I have wondered how that split second decision was made to cause me to act in an unacceptable (and in some people's eyes, an unforgivable) manner. If someone asked me today if I would do it again I would say no. But, I would say I am a better person because of what happened.

Some days, I think that my hope of becoming a doctor is over. Some other days, I think that maybe it's still possible. The battle between those thoughts still goes on in my head. I'm not going to be angry if I don't get accepted into medical school. There are so many people who are better than me that don't get accepted and they should get a spot over me.

What have I taken away from that experience? A much more calm demeanor; a more focused attitude to improve myself to show that today, I am not the person reflected in my past actions (although in real life, this is VERY hard to do - people judge you on your actions no matter how different you seem). On a side note, I have also tried to work my butt off during my undergrad years to perhaps make up for what I did and maybe convince the adcoms that I can still become a better doctor).

So, thanks for your wish of luck. I will definitely need it. Maybe the adcoms reviewing my application will see it on a sunny day, when something good has happened in each of their lives that morning and the stars line up, and they sit down and say, "hey let's give this kid a shot." But if that sunny day doesn't occur this time, then so be it. I'll be rejected. But, you can bet that I'll be trying again and again until that sunny day rolls around.