Sigh...3rd time's the charm?

[DoctorDermis]

---

Members do not see this ad.

.

 

[Micahfeld]

How broadly did you apply the first two times?

Also, with your academic credentials, you would seem to be a desirable candidate; did you receive any feedback as to why you were rejected?

 

[ChairmanMao]

Yeah, what exactly happened to your application. How many schools did you apply to and how soon did you apply? Also do you have a criminal history, or other such red flags such as academic probations?

 

[DoctorDermis]

.

 

[grt398]

Best of luck to you. I have to admit stories like these make me want to apply to pretty much every school in the country when I eventually finish my post-bac so that I can be sure I've covered every possibility. I'm not sure about everyone else but I'm pretty surprised at your situation.

Did anyone specifically mention your lack of status as a full time student? I'm curious b/c there are lots of non-trads on here who have done 2 year post bacs and it usually isn't an issue. None of the adcoms said anything at all specific to help improve your app?

 

[CogitoA1]

As someone with no experience with the medical school admissions process beyond what he's read in books, on (mostly) reputable websites, and by pestering people and ADCOMS with questions (they're not going to remember me by the time I apply), let me offer what may be some obvious advice:

Hit that point, hard, in an addendum to your personal statement. Talk about the challenges of going to school part-time and working part-time, if that's what the situation was. Remove any doubt in their minds about the rigor of your schedule, or the level of commitment those grades required.

Otherwise... it may just be bad luck. Sometimes people win the lottery, and sometimes people win the unlucky lottery. Who knows what perfect storm of random factors may have contributed to the outcome.

Still, I think you're on to something with their concerns about courseload and rigor. Address the concern explicitly.

 

[ali20685]

It is funny that you mention course load being the issue. I will be starting a two year post bac this fall. My advisor actually told me to take at least one semester full time in the sciences to show that I can handle the full science course load. So I would believe it. It is unfortunate since your other credentials seem to be in line.

 

[montessori2md]

Unless you're being told specifically that the full-time thing is an issue, I think there's something else going on here. It's hard for me to buy that there are concerns about your ability to do the work w/ a 32 and a GPA like that.

I'd push a couple of adcoms at school which granted interviews, ask for brutal honesty.

Also, at what point in the cycle did you submit your application? If it was August, vs June, that in itself may resolve your issue. You also didn't mention clinical experience, research experience.

FYI, there are plenty of students at my school who did not attend full-time post-bacc. And hardly anyone entered straight out of undergrad -the new med student seems to be about 25 and spent several years saving the world or researching before med school.

 

[ucsfstudents]

I am sorry you find yourself in this situation. I think the best thing to do is to have a friend in medicine look over your complete application, secondaries, and perform a practice interview with you to figure out what exactly is wrong. There is probably a red flag somewhere, but I can't tell based on the information you've provided. I hope it all works out for you. Make sure your letters of recs are from people who actually think you're great.

 

[Chuck's Right Foot]

Apply to new schools when you re-apply. I applied 3 times, adding significantly more schools the 3rd time. Allmost all of my success came from schools I had not applied to previously. (RFU, VCU, Miami, I also interviewed at Pitt). My first year, no interviews, my 2nd year WLs at Temple and Jeff... This year... JACKPOT.

 

[jojoshabadoo]

I say its the insurance degree, most docs hate insurance companies and with good cause

 

[ChairmanMao]

I have applied to over 20 middle and lower tier schools in the hopes of snagging at least one fish with my overly baited hook. Clean record here. No problems in school.

well, i have done q&a's with admissions for the schools that provided an interview, but not an acceptance.

it seems that my lack of science classes / lack of full-time student status is a deterrent for me...but it's hard to avoid because I, like many of you, must nickel and dime my own way in this world.

if I could only find the perfect job that bends to the will of course offerings and test schedules... : )

nonetheless, it's hard to find direct answers from people that I have spoken with on admissions committees. maybe i picked my nose during walks to interviews and got busted...maybe they saw me picking a wedgie from a rising suit pant...maybe taking 2 to 3 courses a semester, and sometimes just 1 course and a lab, looks terrible for me...even while I balance full time work with stacking on clinical experience.

honestly, I have been somewhat perplexed about why I get the boot...after much thought, I honestly think it's because I haven't presented the ability to take on a heavy load of "science" oriented material.

thus, I am stacking on the near max allowed for a short 7-week session...and will be at school from 8am to 5pm daily, while balancing a weekend counseling / work schedule.

Even though I know that medical school will still be about 10x10^10th power more difficult than the summer semester...maybe this will provide my "ability" to handle course rigors.

I'm not necessarily sure that the courseload thing is holding you back. Afterall, so many non-trad applicants have been successful this application cycle even though they took 1 or 2 courses while working full-time. I don't necessarily believe what the admissions people told you. I think that the problem still goes back to the "soft" aspects of your application, such as your personal essay, your interviewing skills, and your extracurricular activities.

Since you didn't say which schools you applied to, I'm going to assume that those schools are research-heavy schools. Based on the information that you've provided us with, you don't seem to have any research or lab experience. You also didn't go too deep into what your clinical activities were - did you shadow and volunteer at a hospitals for several years or did you do it for just one summer? Did you talk about it in your personal statement or on the AMCAS application? Were you told by your premedical advisor or your interviewer that you were lacking in clinical experience?

As for the other things that could be holding you back. How were your essays and interviews? Did you have someone read and critique or proofread it? Did your essays explain your motivation for becoming a doctor or why you want to attend a particular school? As for the interview, did you feel that you put in your best effort into it? I'd venture to say that if you feel you didn't do well during your interviews, it probably did end up hurting your application. Perhaps you should write out interview questions on notecards and practice it in front of an audience such as family members, friends, advisors, just to get a feel for talking with other people and having a structured conversation with them.

 

[DoctorDermis]

.

 

[PhillyBoyInTN]

I was finally taken off the waitlist and given a spot at the Medical College of Georgia for 2009!

Congrats on getting accepted to your #1 choice. No 3rd time required, great job

 

[ChairmanMao]

Well... looks like I am very very fortunate this year.

I was finally taken off the waitlist and given a spot at the Medical College of Georgia for 2009!

Thank you all for your generous feedback.
This forum is truly one of a kind, and i'll be sure to remain involved with sdn.

😍

Congrats! I guess you're joining the rest of the alumni of the pre-allopathic nontrads on this board 👍