Underdogs applying now.....

[eg77]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Underdog here:

3.72 GPA 23Q on MCAT...I honestly can't stand standerdized tests. I totally feel for the people frustrated with the MCAT; I worked my but off and I just couldn't get my scores close to double digits. I've already submitted primary applic to 12 schools, finished 3 secondaries, working on another 3, and haven't heard from the other 6. All the secondaries are non-screening though.
I totally agree with fiddler though:

The discrepancy is that he is capable of high performance for a short time. So the potential is there but he is unable to put forth the effort for a period of years to earn his GPA's.

It makes the adcoms nervous because medical school is not a sprint but a huge long marathon.

fiddler

I believe 4 years of consistent grades (nothing below a B+ in my case) should hopefully say something about my academic capabilities. I don't even know if I have a chance due to my MCAT scores but I thought I'd try my luck and see what happens.

 

[fiddler]

In your case, it's a little different. If you don't get in just take the MCAT again. this time plan on 6 months of study time. Have some sort of plan to tackle the material.

Take the test using test like enviroment. time yourself, bubble.

You will just have to be disciplined. Don't bother with the class, it will be just an excuse not to study when not in class. Stick to a schedule. 4 hours a day no matter what. Get a stop watch so you don't cheat.

fiddler

 

[Saluki]

My problem is that I do incredible on the practice tests and then choke when I get to the real thing. My advisor told me to go running before the test to calm down, and that helped, but definitely not enough.

 

[medhacker]

My problem is that I do incredible on the practice tests and then choke when I get to the real thing. My advisor told me to go running before the test to calm down, and that helped, but definitely not enough.

Try Valerium tea or Linden Tea or Kava Kava tea

 

[lanzarlaluna]

3.89 GPA and 25R MCAT. Recently took the August MCAT.

BUT....I've had two interviews so far 😀

 

[Nakhrewali]

Can this underdog please get an interview already? 🙁

 

[andi_cvr]

I am an underdog. 3.26 overall, 2.85 science, 30P MCAT (vr-10, ps-9, bs-11). I am also hoping for the love of my home state schools (UAB and South Alabama). I have alot of service and leadership stuff. We shall see how it all turns out. I would link to my mdapplicants thingy, but I lost the number.
Good Luck Everyone!

 

[Mister Pie]

Don't know my MCAT score yet (hopefully it's decent), I have a relatively high GPA but with very odd discrepancies. My engineering/upper div physics courses put me in the 3.8-3.9 range but my premed classes drag my science GPA down to like 3.75. Someone's probably gonna yell at me and tell me I'm dumb for worrying about 3.75 but it looks VERY strange that all my biology/ochem grades are lower than classes that most normal people would consider more difficult.

On top of that, I have ZERO med school related extracurriculars. I've been mainly pursuing things I find interesting: volunteering at elementary schools to mentor and leading a "class" (voluntary attendance) that supplements/reviews an actual course offered by the university.

I'm also worried that despite my decent GPA, my schedule/classes taken looks like it was sloppily put together. My courses are all over the place because I tend to take classes I find interesting rather than necessarily following any logical path.

 

[Pepper1o1]

3.08/37Q here. Two rejections under my belt already, and no interviews in sight! Here's for hoping they'll see some sort of upward trend in my grades (2.6 for frosh and soph year :-/ )
Trying to keep my chin up...

 

[MarzMD]

2.8 science, 2.97 overall, 39 MCAT. sigh...no man's land.

I feel your pain. I also graduated from Duke with a low gpa. Hopefully I somewhat made up for it on the August MCAT, but it wont be anywhere near your 39(good job). I just could not compete on the curve at Duke, but feel as though I can get a competetive mcat score. However, I am afraid it will not make up for my crappy gpa, even if it is from Duke. At least you did a post bac before you applied. How was the post bac program you did? Im pretty sure I will end up having to do one, even though I am applying to medical school right now.

p.s. I think some of you have no clue what it means to be an underdog based on your posts.

 

[sgrnspc]

definite underdog here:
SciGPA~2.7
OverallGPA~3.0
MastersGPA~3.8

MCATs--26,27,32R

BUT i just got my first interview, so there is hope...
good luck to you ALL
🙂

 

[southpaux]

I feel your pain. I also graduated from Duke with a low gpa. Hopefully I somewhat made up for it on the August MCAT, but it wont be anywhere near your 39(good job). I just could not compete on the curve at Duke, but feel as though I can get a competetive mcat score. However, I am afraid it will not make up for my crappy gpa, even if it is from Duke. At least you did a post bac before you applied. How was the post bac program you did? Im pretty sure I will end up having to do one, even though I am applying to medical school right now.

p.s. I think some of you have no clue what it means to be an underdog based on your posts.

What was your GPA? Have you talked to Dean Singer about your situation? She tends to give very good advice and can assess what your chances are (she did for me).

 

[MDhopeful023]

🙂

IM in the low GPA/ hopefully high MCAT will boost me up, but im thinking of applying with a 2.9 overall and a 2.8 BCPM, so i think that definately qualifies me to be an underdog. But im taking my chances with a couple of schools and hopefully get an invite or two.

Best of luck to all out there

WOAH! You are from UCR! I graduated from UCR that is awesome! It's nice to see someone from my school... (yes I'm a dork).

I wish you luck fellow underdog 😀

 

[MDhopeful023]

Another Underdog!

3.2 overall, 3.0 S (BOOOO)

but MCATs are alright...35? Is that alright?

oof. I think i've already *received* my first rejection, but still hopefull 😡

Hey we have the same stats in undergrad except I have a 3.1 S (3.2 overall, 3.43 other) and a Masters GPA of 3.51 S (3.53 overall) and 3.7 Other but man your MCAT is amazing! Great job! I'm just hoping in August I get a score in the high 20's!

Good luck CuddlyKumquat!

 

[radioh3ad]

another no man's land applicant here

 

[MarzMD]

Have you talked to Dean Singer about your situation? She tends to give very good advice and can assess what your chances are (she did for me).

Yea, I have talked to her. I graduated in May, so Ive already had my interview with her. I have also talked to her on numerous ocassions, and of course she suggested a post-bac program to me. Although I am almost sure I will have to end up doing one, I want to at least try to give hope to all those at Duke that wish they went to a less competetive university so their gpa wasnt crap...even when they can score a competetive mcat score.

 

[tacrum43]

Another underdog here.

 

[MoosePilot]

another no man's land applicant here

That really is the best description for this weird feeling...

 

[red dot]

screw the secondaries-- me in a paragraph: 3.1, 32R. one crappy semester my sophomore year and a bunch of Bs here there and everywhere. my research of 6 months consisted of me documented numerous copulations and attempted copulations between siberian hamsters. if you asked me what it was about i could probably add a few more sentences only. volunteered in hospitals for 8 years. shadowed for 3 years total. i actually care about people (not good enough or actually bad for adcoms, i hear). undergrad activity is normal -- all you guys have a ****load of it. in all, i'm nothing spectacular in comparison to the applicant pool. i've seriously considered D.O, but decided it wasn't for me. and i haven't done a masters (yet?). hence, i've underdogged all you guys out. at least i'm number one in something 🙂

i'm currently annoyed with secondaries... i know what i want. but i don't know what they want me to say that i want... what i'm going to do in ten years, who i am, my challenges, etc. i already wrote a personal statement that i feel encompasses everything but they don't even want you to elaborate.

 

[LabMonster]

On the MCW secondary they ask you to fill out a survey about their secondary app. I wrote that they should include an essay.

Honestly, if I get the interviews, it's because of my essays...

 

[Sundarban1]

You need to establish a set of objective underdog status parameters. Don't let these >35MCAT pirates hijack your thread!

 

[Pepper1o1]

hey hey now, lets not get snippy. just because i have a >35 mcat does not mean that i'm going to get into medical school. particularly with a 3.0 gpa. med schools see that and think "slacker" rather than the actual "had some problems the first couple of years in college, but straightened it out".
i think anyone with generally low scores, or with any unevenness in their numbers (ie, me, or someone with a high gpa/low mcat) should be welcome to vent their frustrations/worries here 🙂
much love and support to those of you out there like me with no interview invites yet!!

 

[MoosePilot]

You need to establish a set of objective underdog status parameters. Don't let these >35MCAT pirates hijack your thread!

Trust me, we can be underdogs, too. It's not the >35, it's the <3.5 that makes us underdogs.

 

[JohnnyNU82]

27P and 3.64 overall, 3.4 BCPM....now there's an underdog

 

[LabMonster]

definite underdog here:
SciGPA~2.7
OverallGPA~3.0
MastersGPA~3.8

MCATs--26,27,32R

BUT i just got my first interview, so there is hope...
good luck to you ALL
🙂

I think your app looks good! There is strong upward trend. Best of luck

 

[mev]

Great thread!

3.26 GPA, 2.75 science-- eek!
Studying for next year's MCAT and feelin' pretty good about it...

But just when I get my confidence up about making a go for the dream, I read something depressing! A quote from my weekend reading:

"Many people who apply to medical school do so with very woeful grades and MCAT scores. They think we should let them into medical school merely because they are good people, but this is simply not the way the real world works. There are plenty of other professions that are equally satisfying. Such students should listen to their undergraduate advisors who, if they are honest, will be able to tell them that they are just not competitive and shouldn't waste their time." - Diana Woo, MD
Associate Dean for Student Affairs
The Pritzker School of Medicine (U of Chicago)

(From Perfect Personal Statements, Mark Alan Stewart

My comment (and if this keeps me from ever getting into U of Chicago, fine, no love lost here): This doc couldn't say, hey, students with low stats, work harder, get a good track record from here on out and prove to us you can succeed? What a narrow minded jerk. U of Chicago sounds like a snobby, deterministic, absolutist school. Stupid advertising too, since from this thread it's obvious there are a wide variety of people who think their stats are "woeful", many of whom could be considered cream of the crop in other people's eyes. Screw U of Chicago.

 

[tacrum43]

Great thread!

3.26 GPA, 2.75 science-- eek!
Studying for next year's MCAT and feelin' pretty good about it...

But just when I get my confidence up about making a go for the dream, I read something depressing! A quote from my weekend reading:

"Many people who apply to medical school do so with very woeful grades and MCAT scores. They think we should let them into medical school merely because they are good people, but this is simply not the way the real world works. There are plenty of other professions that are equally satisfying. Such students should listen to their undergraduate advisors who, if they are honest, will be able to tell them that they are just not competitive and shouldn't waste their time." - Diana Woo, MD
Associate Dean for Student Affairs
The Pritzker School of Medicine (U of Chicago)

(From Perfect Personal Statements, Mark Alan Stewart

My comment (and if this keeps me from ever getting into U of Chicago, fine, no love lost here): This doc couldn't say, hey, students with low stats, work harder, get a good track record from here on out and prove to us you can succeed? What a narrow minded jerk. U of Chicago sounds like a snobby, deterministic, absolutist school. Stupid advertising too, since from this thread it's obvious there are a wide variety of people who think their stats are "woeful", many of whom could be considered cream of the crop in other people's eyes. Screw U of Chicago.

That quote is lame. If you keep working at it, you can and will get in. People do it all the time. 🙄

 

[Sundarban1]

Not so fast! Underdogs are truely those with MCAT scores and GPA's below average for matriculants (<30 and <3.5 GPA). You my friend are in limbo, where one of the two are above average (for you in particular its MCAT score). Not good enough to be called highly competative, but not bad enough to be called an underdog. Go start your own thread and stop trying to steal our thunder!

hey hey now, lets not get snippy. just because i have a >35 mcat does not mean that i'm going to get into medical school. particularly with a 3.0 gpa. med schools see that and think "slacker" rather than the actual "had some problems the first couple of years in college, but straightened it out".
i think anyone with generally low scores, or with any unevenness in their numbers (ie, me, or someone with a high gpa/low mcat) should be welcome to vent their frustrations/worries here 🙂
much love and support to those of you out there like me with no interview invites yet!!

😡

 

[Nakhrewali]

bump

Do any of the underdogs here have interviews? If so, list em! (and CONGRATS!). 👍

 

[doctorFred]

i am definitely an underdog. 3.33 overall GPA, 2.99 BCPM, psychology major.. but i got a 34 on my MCATs, which might prove to be my saving grace. i also have three years of EMT experience. no interviews yet but i've only been complete for about two weeks.

 

[mustangsally65]

I had an interview earlier this week at my state school, ECU. Not too remarkable because it's my state school, but I think it might be my top choice. If Wake rejects me after MCAT scores come out, that is. 🙁

We'll see in a few weeks if I'm still eligible to post in this thread. 😛

 

[Saluki]

I've got a high GPA but I took the MCAT this August and the fact that screening schools haven't sent me secondaries doesn't give me confidence about my scores...

 

[Iceageheatwave]

3.3 gpa and 3.0 science. April mcat i got an 18 and i took it again in august. I think i win on underdog status

 

[LabMonster]

Interview Limbo-land here. I had an interview at UW, and it went exceptionally well. My interviewer told me if it were up to her, I'd be in. Then again - I'm a WI resident so....

But, I haven't gotten any rejections besides Eastern Virginia yet!

I think I'm getting fairly laid back about this process. When I first started posting on SDN, I was tweaked, worrying about everything. Now, hey, chips fall where they may. If I have to re-apply, I have to re-apply and do a post-Bacc.

Keep the faith underdogs.

 

[southpaux]

bump

 

[63768]

3.32GPA, 32MCAT, reapp from last year. i think i have a good chance because of all my experiences, ECs, and LORs but we'll see. no rejections so far, but no interviews either.

 

[red dot]

3.2/32 and i have 3 interviews this month. so there is hope...!?

 

[ahumdinger]

Great thread!

3.26 GPA, 2.75 science-- eek!
Studying for next year's MCAT and feelin' pretty good about it...

But just when I get my confidence up about making a go for the dream, I read something depressing! A quote from my weekend reading:

"Many people who apply to medical school do so with very woeful grades and MCAT scores. They think we should let them into medical school merely because they are good people, but this is simply not the way the real world works. There are plenty of other professions that are equally satisfying. Such students should listen to their undergraduate advisors who, if they are honest, will be able to tell them that they are just not competitive and shouldn't waste their time." - Diana Woo, MD
Associate Dean for Student Affairs
The Pritzker School of Medicine (U of Chicago)

(From Perfect Personal Statements, Mark Alan Stewart

My comment (and if this keeps me from ever getting into U of Chicago, fine, no love lost here): This doc couldn't say, hey, students with low stats, work harder, get a good track record from here on out and prove to us you can succeed? What a narrow minded jerk. U of Chicago sounds like a snobby, deterministic, absolutist school. Stupid advertising too, since from this thread it's obvious there are a wide variety of people who think their stats are "woeful", many of whom could be considered cream of the crop in other people's eyes. Screw U of Chicago.

I am a U Chicago alumna, and I am appalled that the above quote was published, though I'm not terribly surprised that it is Pritzker's underlying philosophy. The University of Chicago is arguably the last truly academic institution in the country, and it upholds the value of "knowledge for knowledge sake." This "life of the mind" is reflected in the fact that the undergraduate dean's list is set a 3.25 because to make such a mark would herald much rejoicing. A's are hard to come by, and frankly, the students don't give a damn. (with the exception of most of the pre-meds, who are as grade-grubbing as ever)
This being said, I always assumed that Pritzker would share the same values, and, in particular, view the U of C applicants with the understanding that the undergraduate curriculum is the most rigorous in the nation. BOY WAS I WRONG!! Last year, of the applicants (from U of C) that I knew personally, none were even granted an interview at Pritzker. This was especially shocking in the case of a good friend who had applied to U of C's early acceptance program back in 2nd year and made it all the way to the final 7. I cannot believe that Pritzker has the balls to set such high numbers criteria-- i mean, come on, they're not WashU. And even WashU recruits heavily from their undergrad pool.
I don't know about other schools and their recruitment rates from their own undergrad, but I think Pritzker's screening criteria reflects poorly on the University as a whole and the educational values they support. What's more shocking is that Pritzker is one of the handful of schools that does not have grades. Pass-fail throughout. What a contradicting school!
---

Now for my underdog bit. I'm not trying to steal anyone's thunder. I'm an underdog who just can't swallow her pride and apply DO. No interviews yet. We'll wait and see if this was a huge mistake.

http://mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?myid=03777

 

[dmtang]

I'm an underdog, too! YAY!

My MCAT scores are less than stellar, which probably explains why I got rejected from Wake pre-secondary. Congrats on getting that far, LabMonster! Lucky for you, a lot of the screening schools reject/accept based on MCAT, not GPA. My GPA is fine (3.5ish), but the 28R looks pretty crappy compared to all of the 34+'s I see on here.

I have plenty of great clinical and research experiences, though, so hopefully they will carry me through this process. Otherwise, I'm gonna start using SDN as a dating service and will marry one of you successful fellows 😉

im with you trish. i got like a 3.5ish with a 27Q. hopefully, aug mcat will bump those numbers up.

 

[dmtang]

I think you are all being too hard on yourself. I stand by my reasoning that SDN is not an accurate representation of med school applicants. It seems like most people on here have at least a 30 MCAT (and sometimes it seems like they all have 36+). The national average of people matriculated at med schools is usually around a 29 or 30. This means that a good proportion of people who score below a 29 get accepted! I will admit that a 25 or 26 is not the best score in the world, but it seems like a lot of the people who have those scores tend to have GPA's to balance it out, or at least a lot of volunteer/clinical/ECs to help their cause. Also, just because someone scored a 40 on the MCAT does not guarantee them admission anywhere. They could have an awful personality, which would definitely show through come interview time. So cheer up "underdogs". I think you all have a great chance of getting accepted at a US med school.

acutally sorry suzie, but the avg mcat for matriculants is a 31... my source is the official orange AAMC book put out this year. those that get less than the 29, as you mentioned, are usually minorities. med schools are trying to increase their populations in medicine by lowering the cut offs for those cultures.

 

[LabMonster]

Now for my underdog bit. I'm not trying to steal anyone's thunder. I'm an underdog who just can't swallow her pride and apply DO. No interviews yet. We'll wait and see if this was a huge mistake.

http://mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?myid=03777

Apply DO if you believe in the philosophy, not because it's a back-up. I was going to apply DO, actually my application is done, and got stuck at the personal statement.

My AMCAS PS just flowed (like the force) but I was simply stymied facing the DO PS - I knew I should scrap the idea.

 

[Pepper1o1]

Not so fast! Underdogs are truely those with MCAT scores and GPA's below average for matriculants (<30 and <3.5 GPA). You my friend are in limbo, where one of the two are above average (for you in particular its MCAT score). Not good enough to be called highly competative, but not bad enough to be called an underdog. Go start your own thread and stop trying to steal our thunder!


😡

Hah ok, sure. Wanna tell me then, why I already have 5 rejections and no interviews under my belt? When I submitted all my s**t early? Look, my premed advisors told me it would be a long shot to apply this year but I wanted to anyway. I'm looking into alternate programs for next year (masters, etc.) but I was just looking for a little support to get through all the rejection. You would think that a thread like this would be a little more inclusive of sisters-or-brothers-in-distress and less prone to judge.
😡 right back at you

 

[southpaux]

acutally sorry suzie, but the avg mcat for matriculants is a 31... my source is the official orange AAMC book put out this year. those that get less than the 29, as you mentioned, are usually minorities. med schools are trying to increase their populations in medicine by lowering the cut offs for those cultures.

The first part of your statement may be true, but I dont know about the second part.

 

[Sooz]

3.3 gpa and 3.0 science. April mcat i got an 18 and i took it again in august. I think i win on underdog status

Oh you poor thing, I think you might win, but I don't think it's an honor you really wanted 🙁 Well good luck and hang in there! 😍

 

[Dave_D]

Do I count as an underdog? I mean my overall GPA is actually 2.8 but that's because I had a horrible undergraduate experience when I young.(My premed advisor is still surprised how much I HATE BU over that. Yes, that means I didn't really consider applying to that hell hole.) Of course post bacc I've done very well(we're talking 3.9ish) and a competative MCAT(33, wow that's almost my age.) so in someways I'm an underdog and others I'm not. Still I'm waiting for any interviews because I took my time getting my premed committee letter together.(Took Orgo II over the summer and didn't think about anything else. I only submitted secondaries about a month ago.)

 

[drmota]

3.32GPA, 32MCAT, reapp from last year. i think i have a good chance because of all my experiences, ECs, and LORs but we'll see. no rejections so far, but no interviews either.

i'm with you here, we've got really similar stats. good luck, hopefully we'll both have interviews soon.
-mota

 

[LabMonster]

Hah ok, sure. Wanna tell me then, why I already have 5 rejections and no interviews under my belt? When I submitted all my s**t early? Look, my premed advisors told me it would be a long shot to apply this year but I wanted to anyway. I'm looking into alternate programs for next year (masters, etc.) but I was just looking for a little support to get through all the rejection. You would think that a thread like this would be a little more inclusive of sisters-or-brothers-in-distress and less prone to judge.
😡 right back at you

😍 There you go 🙂

Your app looks fine to me, scratching me head about that Wake rejection though...

Keep the faith

 

[Pepper1o1]

😍 There you go 🙂

Your app looks fine to me, scratching me head about that Wake rejection though...

Keep the faith

Thanks for the love labmonster 🙂 still checking the inbox every 5 minutes, though, haha.

How is everyone doing on interviews? Any u-doggies with a bunch? If so, congrats! and how did you do it? 😀

 

[QofQuimica]

Great thread!

3.26 GPA, 2.75 science-- eek!
Studying for next year's MCAT and feelin' pretty good about it...

But just when I get my confidence up about making a go for the dream, I read something depressing! A quote from my weekend reading:

"Many people who apply to medical school do so with very woeful grades and MCAT scores. They think we should let them into medical school merely because they are good people, but this is simply not the way the real world works. There are plenty of other professions that are equally satisfying. Such students should listen to their undergraduate advisors who, if they are honest, will be able to tell them that they are just not competitive and shouldn't waste their time." - Diana Woo, MD
Associate Dean for Student Affairs
The Pritzker School of Medicine (U of Chicago)

(From Perfect Personal Statements, Mark Alan Stewart

My comment (and if this keeps me from ever getting into U of Chicago, fine, no love lost here): This doc couldn't say, hey, students with low stats, work harder, get a good track record from here on out and prove to us you can succeed? What a narrow minded jerk. U of Chicago sounds like a snobby, deterministic, absolutist school. Stupid advertising too, since from this thread it's obvious there are a wide variety of people who think their stats are "woeful", many of whom could be considered cream of the crop in other people's eyes. Screw U of Chicago.

I wonder if she (meaning Dr. Woo) meant what she said in a somewhat different context than you guys have taken it. I doubt she intends to denigrate people who get off to bad starts in school but then turn their lives around. Instead, I think she means to criticize people who DON'T straighten up but still expect to be treated as if they had done well. Here's an example of what I mean on a smaller scale: I have sometimes had students that are unhappy with their grades. They get a B when they wanted an A, or a C when they wanted a B. If they come to me and say that I should give them a higher grade just because they're good people and they want the higher grade, I'm going to send them away unhappy and empty-handed. On the other hand, occasionally a student will come and say something like: "Look, Q, I know I started out this semester on the wrong foot, but I've really been busting my butt for the past two months, and I'm only a few points below the cutoff for the next grade level. Is there anything I can do (write an extra paper, take an extra quiz, etc.) to try to boost my grade those last few points?" In that case, I would look and see that yes, this person really did make an effort after a rocky start, and then I might give the whole class an opportunity to do an extra credit assignment. (It isn't fair to just offer EC to the one student.)

Sorry that this explanation is kind of long-winded, but here's how it applies to this quote: if Dr. Woo is thinking of the first type of students (who want the A but aren't willing to do extra work to actually earn it if they fell short), and you all are thinking of the second type of student (who want the A and are looking for an extra opportunity to *earn* a higher grade and recover from a previous mistake, not trying to get an undeserved higher grade), then that would explain why your reactions are so different to hers. Unfortunately, in my experience (and maybe Dr. Woo's also?), the first type of student is much more common than the second type. I don't know Dr. Woo or where she's coming from, but I just thought that hearing this perspective might be useful to some of you as an alternative context in which to consider her quote.

 

[shoal]

33/ 3.6 (3.2 BCPM) I totally feel like an underdog now. Complete 3 weeks, no interviews - nothing besides 2 rejections. 5 Schools left, and totally feeling like a long shot.

Heres the best to everyone. Totally no BS about completing early - really wish I would have taken that advice.