Seeking Constructive Advice

[tennessee2244]

Hi All,

I'm currently in my second round of applying to medical school seeking educated advice. I am a 24 year old white male.
Stats: 27 Mcat April 2013. cGPA 3.69. sGPA 3.41 (significant improvement trend after freshman year)
Pertinent EC: 1100 hours as a football equipment manager
5000 hours as a full time physical therapy technician post college
60 hours as a surgey volunteer
70 hours of surgery clinic shadowing
25 hours of primary care shadowing

I applied to two instate public schools in August 2013 (UT Memphis and ETSU) last cycle. I wrote what I considered an excellent personal statement explaining my ability to overcome childhood adversity and received interviews at both colleges. Post-interview I was rejected by UT and wailisted at ETSU until this July. I felt my ETSU interviews went well. I felt that one of my UT interviews went well and the other did not.

After consulting with the two schools, who did not recommend that I retake the MCAT despite my repeated inquiries, I followed their recommendations for improvement by adding the primary care shadowing, taking an online biology course, and I additionally added two new letters of recommendation from the physicians I shadowed. My primary was complete in early September this year.

This cycle I applied to ETSU, UT Memphis, UAB, South Alabama, South Carolina College of Medicine, and Eastern Virginia. I rewrote everything on my application down to the descriptions of activities. I received and returned secondaries from ETSU, UT, UAB, South Al, and South C. I was recently rejected after my secondary by ETSU which came as a shock as I purposefully tailored my improvements and my secondary to show my extreme interest in their school goals. They do have a new dean as of this year. UT stated that I will be receiving information about a January interview as soon as they set appointment times. I realize the out of state schools are a longshot, but I felt it necessary after failing the previous cycle. Being disappointed with a rejection by my absolute favorite school and still awaiting an interview shot at UT I am trying to reach out for help.

I am sorry for the long post but would appreciate any helpful insight.

Happy Holidays to all.

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[DrMidlife]

Problems: MCAT and school choice.

1. Those schools are recommending against an MCAT retake because about half of all retakes result in a lower score. I would assume they are trying to protect you from screwing yourself. I would assume that they assume you wouldn't do rigorous lengthy prep before a retake, but would suddenly go take the MCAT to try to fix things for this year. Don't. But don't take their advice as gospel either.

2. Your school choice is awful, except for Tennessee schools and EVMS. You effectively only applied to 3 schools. OOS public schools are only going to take the OOS applicants who have WAY better than average stats.

My advice: clear your calendar, break open your piggy bank, and do only 2 things for the next 4 months: obsessive MCAT prep and clinical volunteering. Retake the MCAT by the end of April and get an above average score for matriculants at your target schools (whatever ~32+ converts to on the new MCAT). Then apply to 20-30 med schools after doing thorough research on whether you have a chance.

Also, don't take practice test scores too seriously. The practice tests have not aged well, and are not representative of content that's on the MCAT. With the MCAT format change, there will be far fewer good practice tests. Use your performance on massive boatloads of questions, such as Examkrackers, to assess your content mastery.

Get at least one new letter, and rewrite everything, before you reapply next June.

Best of luck to you.

 

[DrMidlife]

My primary was complete in early September this year.

Missed this part. Total disaster. You threw the app cycle away by applying so late. July is late. August is scary late. September is don't bother.

Submit your next app on June 1.

 

[QofQuimica]

Agree with DrM that your school selection strategy is sorely lacking. Your stats are significantly below average for allo matriculants; you applied to far too few schools for someone with your level of competitiveness (and to the wrong schools); and you applied too late in the season.

To get into medical school, you need to do one (or both) of the following:

1) apply broadly to DO schools; your stats are more in line with the averages at these schools. By "broadly," I mean applying to 15-20 DO schools *minimum.*

2) apply broadly to MD schools. Unfortunately, your state schools have not shown much interest in you, and most other Southern states (with the exception of VA) heavily protect their state school seats for state residents. So if you want to attend an allo school, you will need to branch out into the Midwest so that you can apply broadly enough. In this context, "broadly" means applying to more like 25-30 schools *minimum.*

If you don't already have one, I suggest you buy or borrow a copy of the MSAR so that you can educate yourself about what the average stats and OOS acceptance rates are at various med schools. This will help you pick a sensible list of schools.

Finally, as DrM alluded to, there is no excuse for submitting your AMCAS in September, especially as a reapplicant. It's not like the app questions have changed since last year! Get your act together in the spring this year so that you are ready to submit in June. Use the SDN school threads to help you prewrite your secondary essays so that you can turn them around quickly. And practice interviewing. My guess is that you do not come across as well in interviews as you think you do. The good news is that interviewing is a learned skill like any other, and it's something you can improve with practice.

Best of luck to you.

 

[HinduHammer]

I have heard from learned sources that many schools will have a hard time interviewing and accepting applicants who don't help their stats in some way... If you have a great GPA that can offset a lower MCAT, that could work...a great MCAT and lower GPA that would raise their avg. MCAT but lower their avg. GPA - that could also work, but if you have both lower GPA and MCAT then it becomes a significantly uphill battle unless you are URM or SES disadvantaged. This is all to say that I agree with Dr. M that you should think about retaking your MCAT... unfortunately, the MCAT is the weed-out/equalizer of many a med school... I have a sub 3.0 GPA and was somehow saved this cycle, I think, by a decent MCAT...still haven't been accepted, but have 3 MD interviews. Also, I think your football equipment manager and PT role are both interesting...perhaps use those as the basis for a really interesting personal statement next cycle (assuming you get no luck this year, of course!). Good luck!!

 

[Goro]

Strongly concur. OP, a 27 MCAT is circling the drain for MD schools, but fine for all DIO schools except AZCOM.

Agree with DrM that your school selection strategy is sorely lacking. Your stats are significantly below average for allo matriculants; you applied to far too few schools for someone with your level of competitiveness (and to the wrong schools); and you applied too late in the season.

To get into medical school, you need to do one (or both) of the following:

1) apply broadly to DO schools; your stats are more in line with the averages at these schools. By "broadly," I mean applying to 15-20 DO schools *minimum.*

2) apply broadly to MD schools. Unfortunately, your state schools have not shown much interest in you, and most other Southern states (with the exception of VA) heavily protect their state school seats for state residents. So if you want to attend an allo school, you will need to branch out into the Midwest so that you can apply broadly enough. In this context, "broadly" means applying to more like 25-30 schools *minimum.*

If you don't already have one, I suggest you buy or borrow a copy of the MSAR so that you can educate yourself about what the average stats and OOS acceptance rates are at various med schools. This will help you pick a sensible list of schools.

Finally, as DrM alluded to, there is no excuse for submitting your AMCAS in September, especially as a reapplicant. It's not like the app questions have changed since last year! Get your act together in the spring this year so that you are ready to submit in June. Use the SDN school threads to help you prewrite your secondary essays so that you can turn them around quickly. And practice interviewing. My guess is that you do not come across as well in interviews as you think you do. The good news is that interviewing is a learned skill like any other, and it's something you can improve with practice.

Best of luck to you.