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Anyone else in the same boat?
Still waiting for an acceptance....
- Thread starter ABRuniverse
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NOOOOOOOO...not another thread!
:cry::cry::cry:
:cry::cry::cry:
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Wow, you've got pretty good stats... I would of thought you would of got at least several acceptances by now
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I've only interviewed at 1 school. And they will let me know about acceptance/waitlist in late march / early april.
I have never felt more resentful, angry, frustrated in my life. There was a medical college forum at my school the other day, and I was just about ready to blow a fuse and tell the idiot medical students who were telling us that "as long as you have a reasonable GPA, 30+ MCAT, and have done some level of shadowing, ECs, volunteering, you will make it in", that I'm sitting here with a 38 MCAT (despite a below avg GPA, it's not below a 3.2 at least), and am getting cold-shouldered from all my state schools (forget the OOS private schools, I was dumb to even apply)
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It'll happen! I know how much it sucks, but just try to be patient.
I went to 8 interviews, and was wait-listed at 3 of them fairly quickly. For the rest, I had to wait for a LONG time for my acceptance, due to:
-Non-rolling admissions
-School took many weeks to make a decision
-School claimed to take X number of weeks to make a decision, and ended up taking longer
-State school accepts brilliant people quickly and ignores mere mortals until April or later
There are lots of reasons why certain schools just take awhile, and the time it takes to hear back is related partly to your strength as an applicant, but also the particular admissions procedures of the schools you've happened to apply to. It was kind of heart-breaking to have no acceptances in February when everyone else on SDN seemed to have multiple acceptances -- you just need to have faith that it will happen (eventually).
I went to 8 interviews, and was wait-listed at 3 of them fairly quickly. For the rest, I had to wait for a LONG time for my acceptance, due to:
-Non-rolling admissions
-School took many weeks to make a decision
-School claimed to take X number of weeks to make a decision, and ended up taking longer
-State school accepts brilliant people quickly and ignores mere mortals until April or later
There are lots of reasons why certain schools just take awhile, and the time it takes to hear back is related partly to your strength as an applicant, but also the particular admissions procedures of the schools you've happened to apply to. It was kind of heart-breaking to have no acceptances in February when everyone else on SDN seemed to have multiple acceptances -- you just need to have faith that it will happen (eventually).
Why did you withdraw pre-secondary from 15 schools? Thats a waste of $450 (from the AMCAS application fee). I wouldn't withdraw from anywhere until I'm sitting on at least one acceptance.
If you have to reapply next cycle...apply broadly. You'll get in.
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Sending 16-17 secondaries was extremely time consuming. I didn't withdraw from those schools, I simply didn't submit secondaries. And yes, I admit it was a bad idea, because I was quickly running out of money. I won't deny I did a poor job of applying. But I really did not expect to not interview at my state schools. I thought those were my best shot.
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My 3 MD interviews were at UCLA, University Buffalo, and Loma Linda.
WLed at UCLA...I'm really anxious to get some love from UB or LLU
WLed at UCLA...I'm really anxious to get some love from UB or LLU
MEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH
lol
next cycle will be different. I've given up hope for this cycle, and "letting go" has made me feel much better.
GL
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Wow. 3.95 with 39? Your stats totally blow mine away. I haven't given up on this cycle yet though and you shouldn't either! On May 15th a lot of spots open up for WLers.
I'm just not holding my breath. I'll have my primary done and ready to send out within minutes of AMCAS opening. If I wasn't good enough initially, I doubt I'll be good enough when it comes to the WLs. I must have some PS/LOR/secondary essay issues that can only be ameliorated with a re-app.
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I think your new attitude is very healthy. With your numbers you WILL be an MD. Just remember that and fight on through.
I assume the early/broadly mantra has sunk in. How many schools on your new list?
(btw, I still think you will get in this cycle.)
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I don't think its your PS/LOR/Secondaries. If these had been the problem, you would not have interviewed at 5 of the 9 school you applied to. If you had only gotten one, then you could say it was any of these. More likely is that your interviews did not go so well, for whatever reason. Also, this process is such a crapshoot. There really is no telling what it is that keeps some people out, and lets some people in. I still think you will get off a waitlist. Your numbers are too good not to at least get another look. Best of luck.
Unless you kept stating at interviews that you hate human beings you are going to get in off at least one of the schools....or so I hope (I have been waitlisted at 4 schools)
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Dude, this is complete and utter BS. You're just going to "let go"?
Every single one of those admissions committees has wronged you. This is serious injustice, with your stats. It's such Bull **** that I'm even shaking with fury.
My only consolation is that I will reapply with extreme vengeance and scorn every single school that invites me for an interview, that didn't interview me last cycle. I will interview of course, but around May 15th, when I've decided which one to attend, send all those ******* med-schools a long letter explaining why they do not deserve me
The system is broken, their minds are addled, they are accepting people with "25s" according to one admissions recruiter who came to my campus the other day. It's criminal
Thanks 🙂 And here's what I'm thinking:
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Case Western/ Cleveland Clinic
NEOUCOM
Medical College of Ohio
Wright State
and 16-20 of the following. Not sure which ones.
Kentucky
Virginia Commonwealth
Penn State
Wake Forest
Tulane
Virginia
Iowa
Albert Einstein
Temple
Drexel
Jefferson
SUNY- Upstate
SUNY- Downstate
SUNY- Buffalo
Stony Brook
Creighton
Wisconsin
Albany
Rosalind Franklin
Rochester
USC (Cal)
Oklahoma
Loyola
St. Louis
Eastern Virginia
Wayne State
U of Miami
Boston
Tufts
New York
Michigan State
George Washington
Georgetown
Rush
Amen.
I knew I'd regret saying that... lol
No other options.
Also, medical schools don't care how smart you are as long as you're "sufficiently" smart. I didn't know this when I applied, but it makes sense. Also, you must have "sufficient" ECs, complete your apps "sufficiently", get "sufficient" LORs, and have a "sufficient" x-factor at interviews. We are evidently lacking in at least one of the aforementioned categories.
Start re-tooling man.
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Many people who get in with 25s have great life experience, strong and unique ECs, and a positive outlook on medicine. There is no reason to be upset that other more deserving 25ers got in to medical school. Maybe your anger at the system shows through during your interviews.
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Mostly, I can imagine that there's some 4.0/29 kid who's wondering why any med school would accept a 3.4/38 when it shows that you're probably not disciplined and consistent (and the MCAT is, after all, just one test). The point is, you can see it both ways. ONOY has every right to shake his fist at the sky and wonder what in the world is going on, but if one of your numbers is admittedly below average, you probably shouldn't be casting the first stone.
Lol and how does this help? You're still giving them your money...
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It helps the postal service! The volume of mail has been down lately, so the more you send letters, the better!
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I've had 5 so far; 6 and 7 coming up in a couple of weeks. 1 waitlist, 1 school deciding my fate today. The silence is killing me.
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Law school is a numbers game. Medical school is more than that - thus the extensive application and interview process. Ultimately, each school is looking at the 'uniqueness' of their applicants, and sometimes, something that you may find fairly ordinary about yourself, the school will find incredibly interesting. Concentrating on only numbers in these threads is silly; look at the whole application.
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Six interviews, two to go... four waitlists, one hold, and one pending decision. Even if I get put on eight waitlists, chances are that I'll get off of one of them. If I don't get in I'm applying DO fo sho next season.
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I'm here with yall. I interviewed at Drew(11/15) and Howard(12/10) and I haven't heard from either school. It's ok though because I know the Lord has a plan and I completely trust Him and have faith in Him that He is going to bring me an acceptance. If you haven't heard yet, just keep praying and believing that it is going to happen for you! God bless!
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Aww, keep the faith BD2B!
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Don't overlook the BS factor. I used to assume that adcomms were too smart for that, but... I'm in Princeton Review right now and I have five instructors. The only one of the five who would absolutely NOT want to be my doctor, is the one with the most acceptances this cycle. He is a reapp, and he told me that he completely reworked his PS and essays to just tell them what they wanted to hear. I'm getting very disillusioned by this process and who gets in and who doesn't. And it makes me think about why our healthcare system is a mess.
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Thats what I did last cycle I must admit it helped quite a bit although the feeling came back pretty fast as soon as the secondaries started coming back the next cycle.
I know it sucks to not get in when literally everyone you know (even interviewers) are telling you that you will get in at least 2-3 schools. Oh well best of luck there is still hope for this cycle. My best friend got into the only school he interviewed at off the wait list last cycle in June.
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If you do this, they'll just laugh and be glad they didn't accept you. In fact, there is a possibility that you might only get into one of these "addled" schools. I had better GPA and similar MCAT and had to apply 3 times. Thankfully I was smart enough to understand that the only common factor was me.
A High MCAT does not mean you'll be a good doctor. It simply means you can take a standardized test.
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this is why you don't have any acceptances.... you think you are owed an acceptance and feel like you are god's gift to medicine
fine, you got a 38 or 39 on your MCAT...congrats...but that doesn't really mean as much as you'd like it to mean. if you have to reapply you will need to do some serious evaluation of your attitude, interviewing and your non-MCAT credentials because clearly something was horribly lacking if you weren't able to get in with such a high MCAT score.
once you have five interviews the process is no longer a crapshoot....at many places it is basically a coin flip where you have a ~50% chance of getting in if you've gotten an interview. those are some pretty GREAT odds and would definitely not be considered a "crapshoot" by any stretch of the imagination!
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Agreed with your post, especially regarding the attidudes.. but I just wanted to point out... isn't the bolded above sort of the definition of a crapshoot? By definition a crapshoot is about unpredictable outcomes... if it's 50/50 and you can't predict what side will land either way, then aren't you sort of indirectly supporting the idea that admissions is a crapshoot/coinflip?
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Just because you have 50% chance of getting into one school after an interview does not mean that you will get in, even after 5 interviews. Using the binomial equation, at 50% odds and 5 interviews, there is still a 3% chance of not getting in. So it is unlikely that someone would not get in after five interviews unless there is something holding them back. In ONOY's case, it is clearly not GPA or MCAT, and 5 interviews from 9 schools show his apps, LORs, PS, ECs, etc are good. So something in the interview must be the issue, and this is where it is a crapshoot - you never know who you will rub the wrong way and what their influence on the ADCOM is.
ONOY, I am rooting for you! I think you have a great chance to get off at least one waitlist.
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Agreed with your post, especially regarding the attidudes.. but I just wanted to point out... isn't the bolded above sort of the definition of a crapshoot? By definition a crapshoot is about unpredictable outcomes... if it's 50/50 and you can't predict what side will land either way, then aren't you sort of indirectly supporting the idea that admissions is a crapshoot/coinflip?
Crapshoot implies more risk than a coinflip.
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We are also assuming independent probabilities. 1/(2^5) = 1/32. Good estimate at 3%.
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Well, thats just the easy way to do it
.Although, after March 15 one could argue that they are no longer independent. Still valid for a few days then.
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Well, thats just the easy way to do it
🙂 I teach the GMAT, play poker, and am all around math geek. Ever see Pascal's Triangle?
Numb3rs rule!
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Agreed with your post, especially regarding the attidudes.. but I just wanted to point out... isn't the bolded above sort of the definition of a crapshoot? By definition a crapshoot is about unpredictable outcomes... if it's 50/50 and you can't predict what side will land either way, then aren't you sort of indirectly supporting the idea that admissions is a crapshoot/coinflip?
from my very limited knowledge of craps (from which the term crapshoot comes from) i think you need to throw a 7 or 11 only to win so your odds are MUCH worse than 50/50. it can be a valid argument to suggest that getting an interview is a bit of a crapshoot but once you have an interview your odds of acceptance are excellent.
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So far I have had 5 interviews, waitlisted at 2 (both of which the waitlist will not move much), and 1 post-interview hold. Im still waiting to hear back from 2 schools but one of the schools has pretty much filled their class. This was my second cycle. The first cycle I didnt apply broadly, early enough, or with significant clinical experience. This time around I applied much earlier, to more schools, and with more clinical experience.
I think I might have to go round three. Third time is the charm, right? I dont think my interviews were necessarily bad, but they may not have been stellar either. So if I do end up going for a third round I need to improve my interviewing skills and apply to even more schools.
I think I might have to go round three. Third time is the charm, right? I dont think my interviews were necessarily bad, but they may not have been stellar either. So if I do end up going for a third round I need to improve my interviewing skills and apply to even more schools.
On the flip side, you need a pretty good understanding of human character and of yourself in order to write essays that you think the adcom wants to hear. I mean, so many applicants try this (who wouldn't, at least to a small extent?), yet most of them fail either in the analysis of what they think the adcom wants to hear or in the execution of the essay-writing process. Even if you didn't like your instructor, maybe he gained some kind of insight into human personality over his past application cycle that most other applicants don't have, and that's what the adcoms saw.
I think there are certain significant elements of the application process that a con man would be very good at, and despite the negative connotations of being a con man in the first place, if he managed to succeed, then he must be pretty good at it (better than the others).
But in the end, I do agree with you that it's a shame that these kinds of tricks can be used to get through the admissions process. Unfortunately, there's very little anyone can do about it. I think that adcoms are largely (if not completely) successful at choosing the best candidates, though.
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You should also probably apply to Michigan State and Wayne State just to cover your bases.
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Your list for this cycle isn't very broad, either. I can't imagine where you applied the first time around. Either way, good luck on getting in this year! Hopefully you won't need a round 3.
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I'm in the same boat, but with stats that aren't as good as yours (31/3.85) and things are looking about the same for me...I applied to schools more in my range though (I think...) and got 3 interviews, two of which were at schools I added later in the game and I ended up basically shooting myself in the foot for that one. Hopefully I'll find out the second decision soon but my last interview isn't until April.
I suspect its my interviewing skills too...but like you said, broader range of schools and more of them. Hopefully neither of us will have to go through this grueling process again.
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I think that argument is philosophically and morally bankrupt, and is exactly the attitude that is often successful in med school applications.
I didn't say that I don't like the kid, I just think he is the worst candidate of the five to become an insightful, compassionate physician whom I would trust my life with. His understanding and teaching of science is fairly shallow, but shows that he is skilled at learning just the right info to do well on the MCAT. And he apparently used these same skills to synthesize a successful application. I just wish he were going to law school or business school, because these are clearly not the personality attributes that I want to see in a physician. And no, I no longer have faith that they pick the best candidates. I think the process weeds out a lot of the deeply intelligent, sensitive, compassionate, honest applicants. I work with a resident who went to a good med school, is taking up a great residency position, and when they finish they just want to open a botox spa. Clearly another bad selection by the adcomms. A waste of a med school spot that could have gone to someone who cared about medicine.
Keep in mind that you're judging these people based on your interactions with them as a student or helper; adcoms are basing their decisions not only on GPA and MCAT and ECs, but also LORs from professors who've known the applicants for years, essays that give insight into how the applicant thinks, and the interview to finally get an overall impression of the applicant. Are you saying that you are a better judge of who would or wouldn't be a great doctor from your relatively brief interactions with others than the adcoms, who have access to even more information and additional sides of the applicant, not to mention years of experience in selecting applicants and seeing what type of applicant turns out to succeed the best in med school and beyond while working alongside them for the next four years?
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Yes. I am making my judgments based on getting to know people over months and years (in the case of classmates), vs. adcoms who judge thousands of applicants in a very short period of time. I think we get to know people personally and honestly, while the admissions process is neither personal nor honest.
One more thing, I do believe that a lot of good applicants are admitted, and that there are a lot of great doctors in the world. However, I do not think that the application process is very good, and I think it's ripe for disingenuous applicants to be successful.
