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Hello all,
Let's say, hypothetically, that I have a 3.86 cumulative GPA from Northwestern University, (science 3.8- something, I haven't worked it out recently), and a 40T on the MCAT. I'm a decent writer of personal statements, and probably an average interviewee. The spreadsheet seems to think I've got a decent chance at a whole bunch of places. If I apply to my instates (Madison and Medical College of Wisconsin), as well as some others in the region (Northwestern, Case Western, UMich, etc.) what do you think are my chances of getting in?
...
Okay, now that you've guessed (that's what the ellipses were for), I'll tell you:
0%. I know because I've tried.
This was me last year, as a bright-eyed and happy-go-lucky 2008 applicant. I'm sharing this both as a cautionary tale for folks like me, as well as for good old 'schadenfreude' for those who had the foresight to not make my mistakes. I'm also curious as to whether or not you think I should reapply this year.
So, why did I fail? In all likelihood, some mixture of hubris and laissez-faire premedical advising. My numbers were great, and I had my requirements packed away. I even have an interesting major (it's called 'Human Communication Sciences', it's premed with a focus on clincal populations, such as those with autism). I submitted my applications more or less on time, getting the last of the secondaries in by the end of August, 4 letters of recommendation and all. What I didn't have was a lick of clinical experience.
I'd worked through college, in the summers as a lifeguard (which I felt had something to do with medicine - it doesn't). I had also volunteered with Special Olympics and an organization that helps autistic teenagers. But I hadn't done any strictly medical volunteering; nor did I have any formal research under my belt. So my applications went out, and the interviews came... thousands of dollars in travel and platitudes to eventually find out that while my numbers warrant the trip in, my application can't demonstrate the devotion to medicine that their school requires, so if I'd like to wait in the second quarters of the waitlist, they'd be happy to keep me in limbo until next year.
Since then, I've tried my best and scrambled to patch the holes in my application. I took an independent study and did some research (sadly, still not exactly medical research, but it was psychological research with children that I'm qualified to do). I've also started volunteering at the local hospital, but they only just had an opening this month, so it's still new. I've also had the opportunity to shadow a bunch of practitioners of the plurality that is medicine (pathologist, medical oncologist, vascular surgeon, etc.).
So, for those with thoughts on the subject, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Because I'm at Northwestern (where time waits for no one and schedule matches up with nobodies) and graduation is still two weeks off, I think I'd be applying in early July. This later out-date also gives me time to actually put in some hours volunteering at the hospital. I really don't want to take a lot of time off, as medicine is all I've ever seen myself doing and the time I've spent shadowing has only reinforced that belief.
Should I reapply this year? Further, as the mathematical generators aren't too useful for me (green... yay...), are there schools that would be more likely to overlook some of the lack of clinical experience and research?
And for those of you that don't have the extracurriculars: let this be a lesson. Learn from my mistake. If I'd known what I do now two years ago, it wouldn't have been a problem. Get out there and put some experience under your belt. I've suffered through hundreds of hours of MCAT prep and thousands of hours of class with nothing to show for it except a string of failures and sheet of paper that won't let me do what I really want to do.
See? You've got to be feeling a little better about yourself now. That's schadenfreude!
Best of Luck,
Sleepless in Evanston
Let's say, hypothetically, that I have a 3.86 cumulative GPA from Northwestern University, (science 3.8- something, I haven't worked it out recently), and a 40T on the MCAT. I'm a decent writer of personal statements, and probably an average interviewee. The spreadsheet seems to think I've got a decent chance at a whole bunch of places. If I apply to my instates (Madison and Medical College of Wisconsin), as well as some others in the region (Northwestern, Case Western, UMich, etc.) what do you think are my chances of getting in?
...
Okay, now that you've guessed (that's what the ellipses were for), I'll tell you:
0%. I know because I've tried.
This was me last year, as a bright-eyed and happy-go-lucky 2008 applicant. I'm sharing this both as a cautionary tale for folks like me, as well as for good old 'schadenfreude' for those who had the foresight to not make my mistakes. I'm also curious as to whether or not you think I should reapply this year.
So, why did I fail? In all likelihood, some mixture of hubris and laissez-faire premedical advising. My numbers were great, and I had my requirements packed away. I even have an interesting major (it's called 'Human Communication Sciences', it's premed with a focus on clincal populations, such as those with autism). I submitted my applications more or less on time, getting the last of the secondaries in by the end of August, 4 letters of recommendation and all. What I didn't have was a lick of clinical experience.
I'd worked through college, in the summers as a lifeguard (which I felt had something to do with medicine - it doesn't). I had also volunteered with Special Olympics and an organization that helps autistic teenagers. But I hadn't done any strictly medical volunteering; nor did I have any formal research under my belt. So my applications went out, and the interviews came... thousands of dollars in travel and platitudes to eventually find out that while my numbers warrant the trip in, my application can't demonstrate the devotion to medicine that their school requires, so if I'd like to wait in the second quarters of the waitlist, they'd be happy to keep me in limbo until next year.
Since then, I've tried my best and scrambled to patch the holes in my application. I took an independent study and did some research (sadly, still not exactly medical research, but it was psychological research with children that I'm qualified to do). I've also started volunteering at the local hospital, but they only just had an opening this month, so it's still new. I've also had the opportunity to shadow a bunch of practitioners of the plurality that is medicine (pathologist, medical oncologist, vascular surgeon, etc.).
So, for those with thoughts on the subject, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Because I'm at Northwestern (where time waits for no one and schedule matches up with nobodies) and graduation is still two weeks off, I think I'd be applying in early July. This later out-date also gives me time to actually put in some hours volunteering at the hospital. I really don't want to take a lot of time off, as medicine is all I've ever seen myself doing and the time I've spent shadowing has only reinforced that belief.
Should I reapply this year? Further, as the mathematical generators aren't too useful for me (green... yay...), are there schools that would be more likely to overlook some of the lack of clinical experience and research?
And for those of you that don't have the extracurriculars: let this be a lesson. Learn from my mistake. If I'd known what I do now two years ago, it wouldn't have been a problem. Get out there and put some experience under your belt. I've suffered through hundreds of hours of MCAT prep and thousands of hours of class with nothing to show for it except a string of failures and sheet of paper that won't let me do what I really want to do.
See? You've got to be feeling a little better about yourself now. That's schadenfreude!
Best of Luck,
Sleepless in Evanston
