Should I send this update?

[DOnutDoc]

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So this was my first cycle and I have thankfully been accepted into a DO school. I plan on going, so this will be my last application cycle as well.

Since this is my last cycle, I feel like I should go all out in trying to get into MD/my top DO school. Some background about me: I believe that my application is pretty strong but my MCAT is very low. I have some very personal but legitimate reasons as to why I scored so low that I didn't really get to talk about in my application. I was thinking of sending in a very personal update letter expanding on this, talking about why I would be a good addition to the school, and suggesting that I am willing to retake the MCAT if I can be guaranteed admission or one of those 1 year masters programs with guaranteed admissions (only to the MD). Since this is my last cycle I feel like I have nothing to lose. I have already drafted the letter and its 1.5 pages and quite blunt. I just want to know if this could backfire on me in any way possible.

And before anyone comes at me saying I should have applied only MD if I did not want to go DO- I am happy with being a DO I just thought I might as well try.

 

[Moko]

So this was my first cycle and I have thankfully been accepted into a DO school. I plan on going, so this will be my last application cycle as well.

Since this is my last cycle, I feel like I should go all out in trying to get into MD/my top DO school. Some background about me: I believe that my application is pretty strong but my MCAT is very low. I have some very personal but legitimate reasons as to why I scored so low that I didn't really get to talk about in my application. I was thinking of sending in a very personal update letter expanding on this, talking about why I would be a good addition to the school, and suggesting that I am willing to retake the MCAT if I can be guaranteed admission or one of those 1 year masters programs with guaranteed admissions (only to the MD). Since this is my last cycle I feel like I have nothing to lose. I have already drafted the letter and its 1.5 pages and quite blunt. I just want to know if this could backfire on me in any way possible.

And before anyone comes at me saying I should have applied only MD if I did not want to go DO- I am happy with being a DO I just thought I might as well try.

My thoughts:
- If my school received a letter like this, we would be very glad that we dodged a bullet. Humility and self-awareness are important traits in an applicant (and as physicians). As an applicant, you are not in a position to negotiate a guarantee of admission. Your application is evaluated essentially as submitted (with updates considered depending on the receptiveness of each adcom)
- What you believe to be legitimate reasons for a poor showing can easily be seen as excuses for your poor performance. There is no way to know definitively that you would have done better. You also had the option to void your exam, and that you chose not to reflects poorly on your judgment
- As a general rule, any correspondence should be short and sweet. The more that's written, the more diluted the important stuff becomes
- Focus your letter on why you would be a good fit, and why you want to attend their school (geographic limitations due to significant others, etc)

 

[Andrew Baines Bernard]

I mean this in the kindest way possible, but they have no reason to give you "guaranteed" anything based on the promise that you'll retake the MCAT. Even if that did mean anything, neither you nor those schools know what your score will be if you retake. Send them a passionate explanation if you want, but to be completely honest, your MCAT score is something that you should have touched on in your secondary.

 

[DOnutDoc]

My thoughts:
- If my school received a letter like this, we would be very glad that we dodged a bullet. Humility and self-awareness are important traits in an applicant (and as physicians). As an applicant, you are not in a position to negotiate a guarantee of admission. Your application is evaluated essentially as submitted (with updates considered depending on the receptiveness of each adcom)
- What you believe to be legitimate reasons for a poor showing can easily be seen as excuses for your poor performance. There is no way to know definitively that you would have done better. You also had the option to void your exam, and that you chose not to reflects poorly on your judgment
- As a general rule, any correspondence should be short and sweet. The more that's written, the more diluted the important stuff becomes
- Focus your letter on why you would be a good fit, and why you want to attend their school (geographic limitations due to significant others, etc)

Thanks for this. I did not mean it to come off as stuck up or bargaining for a seat. I just wanted to touch on the fact that I know my MCAT is a red flag in my application and that, despite this, I still think I can be a successful student. I guess I'll focus more on why I am interested in the prorgam, but do you think I should not mention the reasons behind my low score at all?

 

[DOnutDoc]

I mean this in the kindest way possible, but they have no reason to give you "guaranteed" anything based on the promise that you'll retake the MCAT. Even if that did mean anything, neither you nor those schools know what your score will be if you retake. Send them a passionate explanation if you want, but to be completely honest, your MCAT score is something that you should have touched on in your secondary.

Appreciate it. I was unable to touch on the MCAT in the secondary because they offered no space for it

 

[Moko]

Thanks for this. I did not mean it to come off as stuck up or bargaining for a seat. I just wanted to touch on the fact that I know my MCAT is a red flag in my application and that, despite this, I still think I can be a successful student. I guess I'll focus more on why I am interested in the prorgam, but do you think I should not mention the reasons behind my low score at all?

The fact that you still showed up for the test, did not void the exam, and chose to apply without a retake will outweigh any potential explanation(s) you may have. As said before, there's also no way to know that you would have done better had the situation been different. Personally, I would not mention it. The school interviewed you despite knowing your low MCAT score, so clearly that in itself was not an absolute deal breaker for them. Just my thoughts

 

[KnightDoc]

The fact that you still showed up for the test, did not void the exam, and chose to apply without a retake will outweigh any potential explanation(s) you may have. As said before, there's also no way to know that you would have done better had the situation been different. Personally, I would not mention it. The school interviewed you despite knowing your low MCAT score, so clearly that in itself was not an absolute deal breaker for them. Just my thoughts

Did they interview OP? She didn't say one way or the other! Sounds to me like she's asking for advice on Hail Marys because she's not going to have another shot due to not being willing to turn down the DO acceptance, but I don't think we can assume this is a post-II update as opposed to a pre-R one.

 

[Moko]

Did they interview OP? She didn't say one way or the other! Sounds to me like she's asking for advice on Hail Marys because she's not going to have another shot due to not being willing to turn down the DO acceptance, but I don't think we can assume this is a post-II update as opposed to a pre-R one.

You're right, an assumption on my part. Regardless of whether this is a pre- or post-II update, the schools have already decided if this is a deal-breaker. Excuses will not change that.

 

[Goro]

So this was my first cycle and I have thankfully been accepted into a DO school. I plan on going, so this will be my last application cycle as well.

Since this is my last cycle, I feel like I should go all out in trying to get into MD/my top DO school. Some background about me: I believe that my application is pretty strong but my MCAT is very low. I have some very personal but legitimate reasons as to why I scored so low that I didn't really get to talk about in my application. I was thinking of sending in a very personal update letter expanding on this, talking about why I would be a good addition to the school, and suggesting that I am willing to retake the MCAT if I can be guaranteed admission or one of those 1 year masters programs with guaranteed admissions (only to the MD). Since this is my last cycle I feel like I have nothing to lose. I have already drafted the letter and its 1.5 pages and quite blunt. I just want to know if this could backfire on me in any way possible.

This will accomplish nothing except get you shoved lower down on the wait list.

And whatever "legitimate reason" you may have for not doing well on the MCAT will likely come off as an excuse, or bring your judgement into question as to why you took a high stakes, career deciding exam when you were not at your best.

And with a surplus of qualified applicants in seller's market, on second thought if I saw your bolded comments in an update, I'reject you out of hand.

What one does is retake the MCAT, do better, and then reapply...or enter the SMP, ace it, and then apply.


I know my MCAT is a red flag in my application and that, despite this, I still think I can be a successful student. I guess I'll focus more on why I am interested in the prorgam, but do you think I should not mention the reasons behind my low score at all?

You may think that you can be a successful student, but you have to prove that, and doing well on the MCAT is one of those proofs. See also my last sig line.

And why bring attention to a negative?

In the meantime, congrats on your accept, and read this:

• Goro’s guide to success in medical school

 

[DOnutDoc]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Ever since the announcement of Step 1 being P/F I've become really neurotic regarding my DO acceptance. Everyone is making it seem as though I've chosen the wrong path so I wanted to try everything that I could to get an MD acceptance. However, I realize how that update sounds and will not be sending it. It just sucks knowing that had I done some things differently my application cycle could have had a completely different outcome.

In the end, I'm just glad to have been accepted. Look forward to reading your guide @Goro

 

[deleted846158]

What you could do is send a letter of intent to an MD school that did interview you and talk about why you’d be a good fit. This would show continued interest and you can update them on what you’ve done since interviewing (if there’s something significant). As others have stated, I would avoid drawing attention to deficiencies in your application unless you specifically heard something from the school somehow that showed you where the adcoms heads were at. I think people are overreacting to the step 1 news tbh. Step 2 CK is still scored so crush that and I’m sure you won’t be ignored as a DO student.

 

[Goro]

What you could do is send a letter of intent to an MD school that did interview you and talk about why you’d be a good fit. This would show continued interest and you can update them on what you’ve done since interviewing (if there’s something significant). As others have stated, I would avoid drawing attention to deficiencies in your application unless you specifically heard something from the school somehow that showed you where the adcoms heads were at. I think people are overreacting to the step 1 news tbh. Step 2 CK is still scored so crush that and I’m sure you won’t be ignored as a DO student.

But make sure said school accepts LOI.