Thoughts on reapplying to schools where I got an interview last cycle?

[MyNameIsCLARA]

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[Pagan FutureDoc]

With a drop and gpa and without some stellar new ECs I think it would be a bad call.

 

[MD-2022]

Apply some safeties too ;D

 

[Pharaoh95]

Did you only apply to top schools last cycle?

 

[boogiecousins94]

The drop is in your senior year? And brought you down ~.15 cumulative? How much lower are we talking for that year and was it a majority of upper levels? If so that doesn't look good

 

[LizzyM]

Interviewing at 4 top schools and then not getting into any school at all tells me that there is something very wrong with your application or your intereview style, or that you have some reason that you are being offered courtesy interviews. You need to do a serious self-examination to determine why you came up empty this year before you apply at all.

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

Interviewing at 4 top schools and then not getting into any school at all tells me that there is something very wrong with your application or your intereview style, or that you have some reason that you are being offered courtesy interviews. You need to do a serious self-examination to determine why you came up empty this year before you apply at all.

Would your statement still be true if the bolded word was removed?

 

[LizzyM]

Would your statement still be true if the bolded word was removed?

Yes. If you have four interviews and come up empty, the probability that it happened by chance is, I think, low and there is something going on that you need to understand and ameliorate before you reapply.

 

[precisiongraphic]

I'm going to be blunt and say with no waitlists no acceptances that you need to skip a year and not reapply now.

I think besides an interviewing problem maybe it's a perceived maturity or presentation problem. I'd suggest a gap year working. Get a scribe job or a clinical research position (not lab only) and work with adults. Work on presentation skills, interact with doctors, do 10-12 mock interviews with people who don't know you well, are not coworkers. Probably not what you want to hear...

The gpa drop adds another level of worry. Since you graduated in three another option would be another year of classes. But mock interviews are key.

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

Yes. If you have four interviews and come up empty, the probability that it happened by chance is, I think, low and there is something going on that you need to understand and ameliorate before you reapply.

What’s the likelihood that it’s something on paper vs something with the interview?

 

[LizzyM]

What’s the likelihood that it’s something on paper vs something with the interview?

Unless the applicant is getting courtesy interviews, it is likely that it is something with the interview. Maturity would be my first guess. Lack of clinical experience and/or community service could factor into that. Poor presentation skills (lots of "um", "like" and "you know") can also be off-putting.

 

[Goro]

Yep. Mistake, I know.


Graduated in 3 years:
cGPAs were 4.0, 3.86, 3.40 = 3.78 total
sGPAs were 4.0, 3.84, 3.16 =3.71 total
Lowest grade on my transcript is a single B-, not sure if that would make it better.


I was under the impression that to get interviews at these schools that all parts of my application would need to be satisfactory, especially for a school like Mayo MN which is particularly stingy with interviews. Can you name any areas where my application may have fallen that would still allow me to get interviews? I was very surprised to have not even gotten onto any of the official waitlists for these schools as well. As for interviews, I like to believe I have a level of self-awareness to know that I'm not presenting myself catastrophically poorly, but maybe I'm wrong. Any input you have is appreciated because I've been thinking about it for the whole year and I'm kind of at a loss right now.

Most people are poor judges of their interview performance.

I also strongly suggest that you skip a year, take some more coursework, because the sinking SR year trend is not good, and also work on interview skills.

 

[MareNostrummm]

Did you get any waitlists or were they all rejections post interview?

 

[LizzyM]

Just curious, I've been seeing this a lot. When you guys say "Top 20", which ranking do you guys refer to?

Usually, it means top 20 research institutions in US News. Harvard, Hopkins, NYU, etc.

 

[PickleRickelus]

Unless the applicant is getting courtesy interviews, it is likely that it is something with the interview. Maturity would be my first guess. Lack of clinical experience and/or community service could factor into that. Poor presentation skills (lots of "um", "like" and "you know") can also be off-putting.

What's a courtesy Interview and under what circumstances would med schools send those out?

 

[931408]

What's a courtesy Interview and under what circumstances would med schools send those out?

Usually when you have some sort of relationship with the medical school - some examples include having a parent or relative who might be on adcom or possibly a professor at a med school. Other examples include being an alumnus of the associated undergrad institution. If you app is not competitive enough, then you will be given a courtesy interview and will be most likely waitlisted post-interview.

 

[LizzyM]

What's a courtesy Interview and under what circumstances would med schools send those out?

If the applicant's parent or grandparent is a faculty member, alumnus, member of the board of trustees, elected govenment offiicial, that sort of thing. I would not consider an alumnus of the undergrad institution to be worthy of a courtesy interview.