The Underdog Thread

[kuanileqa]

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I actually wouldn't even remotely consider you an underdog. Your GPA is above average and your MCAT falls just below. In fact, I'd say at this point I'm only an underdog due to the fact my cGPA is still a 2.92, if I do take my class in fall and get an A I definitely wouldn't consider myself an underdog anymore w/ a 3.0/3.1

Damn. But i'm also from Idaho, that in and of itself takes about 0.3 off the GPA and 1 or 2 off the MCAT. 😉

 

[HockeyDr09]

HockeyDr- are the front page GPA's listed their cumGPAs or the sciGPAs?

I did the best I could to make sure the GPA is the applicants science GPA. Most of the schools I talked to cared very little about the cGPA.

 

[traitorman]

Thanks man, congrats on Touro yourself. I'm thinking about saving that one for last and raging in Vegas at the end to celebrate

ya that'd be awesome. Although if I get in somewhere I like before I would probably just go rage in vegas on vacation to celebrate and not worry about the interview. You never need a reason to tear it up in vegas

DdDan I now have two reasons why I wanna get into the same school as you. A) you are also an underdog and B) vegas

since starting this whole application process, i have no idea how u guys still have money left over to go to vegas with haha

I wish, that's the date I wanted. By the time I called in, the earliest date available was the 28th, so I took that.

😱 i just got off the NSU thread and i thought the earliest was oct 12th. and now its the 28th?? i really wanted to interview early at this one to try and get that advantage. ahh maaan, knew i shoulda called in the moment i saw the status change 2 days ago

 

[megathunder]

😱 i just got off the NSU thread and i thought the earliest was oct 12th. and now its the 28th?? i really wanted to interview early at this one to try and get that advantage. ahh maaan, knew i shoulda called in the moment i saw the status change 2 days ago

Damn bro, what took you so long?

 

[DbDan]

since starting this whole application process, i have no idea how u guys still have money left over to go to vegas with haha

I don't, hence the later comment of not having the money to actually do it. I'm in debt currently trying to pay off my credit card, which is made more difficult by the fact that I have worked a total of 3 weeks in the past 3 months UGH

 

[painmd87]

I did the best I could to make sure the GPA is the applicants science GPA. Most of the schools I talked to cared very little about the cGPA.

On the Google Docs spreadsheet, mine is listed as my (cGPA + sGPA) / 2. No idea who decided it that way.

I must protest -- list it as my sGPA... I look like more of an underdog that way!

I think the formula oversimplifies this decision. For future years we need an Underdog Executive Board who decide admission into our prestigious group. One major thing that should be considered is a statistic or application quality that is an automatic rejection at many places (for example, sGPA < 3.0, MCAT category < 7, total MCAT < 24, etc).

All in favor?

 

[DbDan]

On the Google Docs spreadsheet, mine is listed as my (cGPA + sGPA) / 2. No idea who decided it that way.

I must protest -- list it as my sGPA... I look like more of an underdog that way!

I think the formula oversimplifies this decision. For future years we need an Underdog Executive Board who decide admission into our prestigious group. One major thing that should be considered is a statistic or application quality that is an automatic rejection at many places (for example, sGPA < 3.0, MCAT category < 7, total MCAT < 24, etc).

All in favor?

I think that is a good idea. I fixed your sGPA thing in the spreadsheet however I feel its misleading to just show you with a 2.8 sGPA and not acknowledge the fact that you have a 3.5 cGPA

 

[painmd87]

Just to clarify/expand my argument:

A fundamental of being part of this underdog group, for me at least, was hopefully showing the totality of my application, not just the numbers.

This group should work the same way -- you're an underdog either because you have a crushing statistic, or something that makes you a spectacular underdog (like you've been an accountant for 8 years with sub-par grades/MCAT, but then we wander into encroaching on the non-trad forum's territory). I'm not inclined to look at someone with slightly below average stats as underdog status.

Granted, someone with a 2.5 and an 18L shouldn't automatically be included in the group -- there should be some chance that you'll get in. George Mason wasn't good enough to be seeded very high, but they had some pretty special players that took them to the Final Four. Not every 12/13 seed is worthy of being compared to GMU though, right?

 

[wolverinepwns]

quick question, I submitted my mcat score through THx for AACOMAS, how long will it take for them to get it and subsequently send it to all the school? I contacted all the schools and only two wanted me to fax a copy of the score the rest are waiting on AACOMAS.

 

[sedaniel]

Hockey Doc can you update my interviews please? TOURO-CA, TOURO-NV, NSUCOM, Albany 🙂 Please don't kick me out! 🙂

 

[DbDan]

Hockey Doc can you update my interviews please? TOURO-CA, TOURO-NV, NSUCOM, Albany 🙂 Please don't kick me out! 🙂

😡 save some interviews for the rest of the world lol you're making me keep adding columns to the spreadsheet! lol Interview #11!!! JEEZ jk Congrats!

Probably time for you to start triaging which interviews you want to take first so you don't spend too much money flying around the country

EDIT: Did you call and get your status for LECOM-B??? I'd be surprised if you didn't get accepted.

 

[DrDre2001]

Hockey Doc can you update my interviews please? TOURO-CA, TOURO-NV, NSUCOM, Albany 🙂 Please don't kick me out! 🙂

LOL. You have like 10 interviews so far ! WTF ! Congratulations!

 

[DrDre2001]

I just got interviews at Touro-NY, and NSU. Are we supposed to be able to edit the google spreadsheet ourselves?

 

[DbDan]

I just got interviews at Touro-NY, and NSU. Are we supposed to be able to edit the google spreadsheet ourselves?

No, I set it so just I could edit it because I didn't want someone not part of the group to go in and wipe out data. I'm paranoid haha Updated.

 

[sedaniel]

😡 save some interviews for the rest of the world lol you're making me keep adding columns to the spreadsheet! lol Interview #11!!! JEEZ jk Congrats!

Probably time for you to start triaging which interviews you want to take first so you don't spend too much money flying around the country

EDIT: Did you call and get your status for LECOM-B??? I'd be surprised if you didn't get accepted.

Lol thank you 🙂 Well I booked all my flights for interviews through the end of September (except the Albany one cuz I just got it today), and beyond that I have scheduled my interviews but I may be canceling some of them if I get into CCOM early on (or hear from Wayne, my top in-state choice). I will probably be booking flights with the insurance option from now on lol, just in case I wanna refund them.

I was avoiding calling LECOM-B because I'm so nervous after so many people are wait-listed.... then I tried calling 10 minutes ago (my mom was like JUST DO IT haha) and left a voicemail. Gonna try calling back in a few.

 

[DbDan]

I'm sure you've got nothing to be worried about. Waiting patiently to hear you are accepted

 

[painmd87]

You know that saying "when a door closes a window opens?"

Received an e-mail rejection from one of my top schools today and was invited to an interview by a higher-ranked one minutes later!

LMU-DCOM interview 11/1 for this guy!

 

[DbDan]

Congrats, sorry to hear about the rejection.

 

[sedaniel]

I'm sure you've got nothing to be worried about. Waiting patiently to hear you are accepted

Guess I won't be hearing anything until tomorrow, 5pm EST, guessing the office is closed. Oh well, having a glass of wine and relaxing 🙂

You know that saying "when a door closes a window opens?"

Received an e-mail rejection from one of my top schools today and was invited to an interview by a higher-ranked one minutes later!

LMU-DCOM interview 11/1 for this guy!

Sorry AND congrats! 🙂

 

[traitorman]

Damn bro, what took you so long?

for my job, i have to send in requests for which days i want off about a month before the schedule is made. so after i saw the status change, i was tryin to find someway to rearrange my schedule and take extra days off. guess i dont have to worry about that anymore haha

I don't, hence the later comment of not having the money to actually do it. I'm in debt currently trying to pay off my credit card, which is made more difficult by the fact that I have worked a total of 3 weeks in the past 3 months UGH

hope u get more work man. i work a full time job and still am having trouble trying to pay off these credit cards. ive started to use two now.

and congrats painmd and sedanial on the invites! 👍 on albany, i was considering adding it but ended up not

 

[Razmatazz]

Just to update the main list...got another interview invite...from Nova!

 

[JamesLMT]

LMU called today, hurrah for an interview on Nov 1. Thank God!


Btw, LECOM received my secondary on June 26, "Processed it" on July 22, and still I am decision pending, I called and they told me to wait until mid-september. Strange?

 

[ChittarDO]

Hi everyone,

new to the thread....applied to LECOM,NYCOM,OUCOM and PCOM. cGPA 3.66, sGPA 3.53; medical missions trip, 4+ years of clinical experience, 1 + yr of research but low MCAT of 22😳 (first try) ( VR 5, PS 8, BS 9) do I really have a shot this year? Will retake the MCAT if I don't get in this cycle. Any feedback would be great Thanks

 

[BestDoctorEver]

I did the best I could to make sure the GPA is the applicants science GPA. Most of the schools I talked to cared very little about the cGPA.

I am so thrilled that DO schools care very little about cGPA. Consequently, my chances are even better now with stats 3.18 cGPA, 3.4 sGPA and 27P MCAT. Should I consider myself an underdog? Applying next year.

 

[DbDan]

Updated the spreadsheet with new interviews. Congrats all. Looks like the spreadsheet is getting popular lol 5 other people viewing while I changed it.

 

[iamdo]

Hi everyone,

new to the thread....applied to LECOM,NYCOM,OUCOM and PCOM. cGPA 3.66, sGPA 3.53; medical missions trip, 4+ years of clinical experience, 1 + yr of research but low MCAT of 22😳 (first try) ( VR 5, PS 8, BS 9) do I really have a shot this year? Will retake the MCAT if I don't get in this cycle. Any feedback would be great Thanks

VR is 2 -3 points less than the required.
MCAT is at border line.
I will not say that you do not have any chances. apply broadly ans ASAP and you are likely to land some interviews.

 

[ChittarDO]

VR is 2 -3 points less than the required.
MCAT is at border line.
I will not say that you do not have any chances. apply broadly ans ASAP and you are likely to land some interviews.

thank you..trying to keep my hopes alive for this year

 

[iamdo]

thank you..trying to keep my hopes alive for this year

All the best.

 

[hopefulCC]

I just wanted to drop by and congratulate everyone on receiving interview invites (and acceptances!!). Been reading this thread since it was first posted and it has been amazing watching you overcome the "numbers" barrier.
I wish I had done well on my first MCAT... I could have been interviewing with you guys! My new MCAT score comes out in 3 days and depending on how I do, I could either "officially" be an underdog or a supporter cheering from the sidelines (no offense, but I hope to God it's the latter 😛).

BTW- sedaniel, WOW. just WOW. color me jealous!!! congrats x10 or x11.. however many insane number of interview invites you've already received... 👍

 

[blueflower]

i wish i had something happier to say, but 2 rejections on my end already 🙁

 

[GreatScott]

Retook the MCAT and got my score up to a 30! Woot woot! Waiting to update the schools and hear back...

 

[iamdo]

Retook the MCAT and got my score up to a 30! Woot woot! Waiting to update the schools and hear back...

congrats

 

[gatewasani]

Retook the MCAT and got my score up to a 30! Woot woot! Waiting to update the schools and hear back...

wowww great job!

I think you just got yourself into med school. how did u feel coming out of the exam, like u killed it, or like you were gonna be in the 24 range again?

 

[DbDan]

Sardonix: You are in a much much much different position. Don't slip into the low grades out of the fact that there are a bunch of people who have lower grades that are getting an opportunity. Even if you had a 2.0 your entire first year, if you work hard you can get well into the mid threes. If I could go back I would have changed my major and worked harder.

Better grades open more doors. Work and do well, underdog isn't something you should look forward to, especially this early in your college career.

 

[TheUntold]

Sardonix: You are in a much much much different position. Don't slip into the low grades out of the fact that there are a bunch of people who have lower grades that are getting an opportunity. Even if you had a 2.0 your entire first year, if you work hard you can get well into the mid threes. If I could go back I would have changed my major and worked harder.

Better grades open more doors. Work and do well, underdog isn't something you should look forward to, especially this early in your college career.

Well put. 👍

 

[wolverinepwns]

So just talked to a customer rep at AACOMAS and she explained that although my score will be released tonight some school won't be getting it for while since they might be behind on their download!!!!!!, so the QUESTION: how long do you guys suppose it will take before (most schools will get the score and I will start hearing back from the schools that are already sending out interview/rejections? (ie nova, erie, bradenton, azcom, ccom, kcom, des moines, ....) thnx. Im already way freaking behind and now have to stress over this mess!

 

[Jumpman04]

Just to clarify/expand my argument:

A fundamental of being part of this underdog group, for me at least, was hopefully showing the totality of my application, not just the numbers.

This group should work the same way -- you're an underdog either because you have a crushing statistic, or something that makes you a spectacular underdog (like you've been an accountant for 8 years with sub-par grades/MCAT, but then we wander into encroaching on the non-trad forum's territory). I'm not inclined to look at someone with slightly below average stats as underdog status.

Granted, someone with a 2.5 and an 18L shouldn't automatically be included in the group -- there should be some chance that you'll get in. George Mason wasn't good enough to be seeded very high, but they had some pretty special players that took them to the Final Four. Not every 12/13 seed is worthy of being compared to GMU though, right?

haha love this

 

[GreatScott]

wowww great job!

I think you just got yourself into med school. how did u feel coming out of the exam, like u killed it, or like you were gonna be in the 24 range again?

Thanks gatewasani, I appreciate that.

I think I felt that same sort of "It's over and out of my hands now" feeling both times. The biggest difference to me was my attitude and anxiety going in. I felt better going into this test, just because I think I was more familiar with the pressure of taking the real test. I think I was so nervous the first time that I had a hard time focusing and I impared my performance, even though I had taken the AAMC's practice tests and gotten a realistic idea of the difficulty. The second time around I just felt much more relaxed, and that made the biggest difference.

 

[Dr Yiot]

just got off the phone with lmu dcom. they have my secondary but my file is not complete. they don't accept my advisors letter as hard science faculty, even though she is advisor for the bio dept. I'm kinda bummed here. I love that school and if there is one school thats my #1 choice, thats it. ugh. I have an advisor letter, a bio professors letter, a DO and MD letter a letter from a music professor and math professor. I am in a bind. I emailed my chem IV professor and Biochem professor for lor's as soon as I got this news. I asked about the acceptance of a math professors letter and she told me they wanted hard science. i hope this doesnt ruin my chance here. I'm also scared cause who knows how long it will take to get one of these professors letters submitted to interfolio! I really hope my chances arent ruined at this school now.

 

[vmorel1]

Just got off the phone with VCOM-CC.....INTERVIEW 10/18!!! I'm very very excited! I also get my new mcat score today, so I may not be an underdog by the end of the day....it would be bitterweet

 

[DbDan]

congrats vmorel!

 

[Dr Yiot]

Just got off the phone with VCOM-CC.....INTERVIEW 10/18!!! I'm very very excited! I also get my new mcat score today, so I may not be an underdog by the end of the day....it would be bitterweet

thats awsome man! i applied there as well, they put me on hold till i get this semesters grades in. congrats thats gonna be an AWSOME school!

 

[vmorel1]

Thanks Dan and Dr Yiot!! Yeah I think it is going to be a really nice school as well. I just wish it was already built before the interview, but oh well!

Good luck at your AZCOM interview Dan! and don't worry Yiot, yours will come!

 

[asnlady]

all you guys make me jealous!!! reading you guys' stories makes me wonder if i should've submitted my app this year, but i know i'm better off waiting.

hoping for continued luck to everyone!

 

[vmorel1]

Just looked at my new mcat score.......28!

That makes my "applicant score" a 46.5 so I guess I'm still technically in the underdog fam! Also, my writing score was an L haha, don't know what happened there, I thought I wrote some pretty good essays, but oh well. I guess that further solidifies my underdog status.

 

[hopefulCC]

Just looked at my new mcat score.......28!

That makes my "applicant score" a 46.5 so I guess I'm still technically in the underdog fam! Also, my writing score was an L haha, don't know what happened there, I thought I wrote some pretty good essays, but oh well. I guess that further solidifies my underdog status.

Hey vmorel1, I retook my mcat on 8/5 too. congrats on your 28! that's the score I wanted, but instead I received a 27M. 🙁 not too bad, but enough to make me a supporter of the underdogs!

 

[vmorel1]

Hey vmorel1, I retook my mcat on 8/5 too. congrats on your 28! that's the score I wanted, but instead I received a 27M. 🙁 not too bad, but enough to make me a supporter of the underdogs!

Thank you so much! your score is great though! I honestly had no idea how I would do after finishing that test, but was pleasantly surprised. Good luck to you with everything!!

 

[gatewasani]

I got my score back today, and it's not good.

24 P (8,8,8)

I feel horrible, I studied so hard, felt wayyyy better going in and coming had 27-29 on the practice and this happens.

i'm starting to lose faith, the only thing keeping me going is that I have an interview but I honestly feel like there is no way they can accept me with such a low mcat score especially since my gpa is not great

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

I got my score back today, and it's not good.

24 P (8,8,8)

I feel horrible, I studied so hard, felt wayyyy better going in and coming had 27-29 on the practice and this happens.

i'm starting to lose faith, the only thing keeping me going is that I have an interview but I honestly feel like there is no way they can accept me with such a low mcat score especially since my gpa is not great

relax. that is a better score than you got previously, right? it's balanced, and it is competitive for a large number of DO schools. you already have an interview so that means that school already thinks you're ready handle med school. things will work out. the mcat sucks!

 

[VeeTeeHokies]

relax. that is a better score than you got previously, right? it's balanced, and it is competitive for a large number of DO schools. you already have an interview so that means that school already thinks you're ready handle med school. things will work out. the mcat sucks!

Wise words, from a wise man.