WAMC 3.75/519 3rd time reapplicant

[cc2425]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Deleted

 

[cc2425]

@Faha @Goro I read that tagging you guys might help. Thanks for any advice you may have!

 

[Faha]

Do not apply to the TMDSAS schools since they accept few non residents with no connection to Texas. If you need to reapply I suggest these schools:
UMass
Tufts
BU
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Dartmouth
Brown
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
New York Medical College
Seton Hall
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Pittsburgh
Georgetown
George Washington
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
Miami
USF Morsani
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
Central Florida
NOVA MD
Ohio State
Wright State
Wayne State
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
Medical College Wisconsin
St. Louis
Creighton
TCU-UNT
Arizona (Tucson and Phoenix)
Kaiser
California University
USC Keck

 

[tunaktunak]

Have you received any feedback from schools as to why they didn't even extend the interview in past cycles? Seems very fishy tbh

 

[cc2425]

Do not apply to the TMDSAS schools since they accept few non residents with no connection to Texas. If you need to reapply I suggest these schools:
UMass
Tufts
BU
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Dartmouth
Brown
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
New York Medical College
Seton Hall
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Pittsburgh
Georgetown
George Washington
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
Miami
USF Morsani
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
Central Florida
NOVA MD
Ohio State
Wright State
Wayne State
Oakland Beaumont
Western Michigan
Medical College Wisconsin
St. Louis
Creighton
TCU-UNT
Arizona (Tucson and Phoenix)
Kaiser
California University
USC Keck

Thank you! I see you put my state school on there; what would be your opinion of applying a third time after interview and rejection first time and no interview second time? And do you see anything glaringly wrong with me that I'm missing?

 

[cc2425]

Have you received any feedback from schools as to why they didn't even extend the interview in past cycles? Seems very fishy tbh

My state school specifically said they do not give feedback, I asked Brown and they said no feedback. Do you think I could ask the other starred schools? (Ignore TMDSAS schools because I did not apply to those last cycle.) I kind of assumed schools have too much to do to give feedback to people who didn't even interview. I am a little worried about disability discrimination tbh

 

[tunaktunak]

My state school specifically said they do not give feedback, I asked Brown and they said no feedback. Do you think I could ask the other starred schools? (Ignore TMDSAS schools because I did not apply to those last cycle.) I kind of assumed schools have too much to do to give feedback to people who didn't even interview. I am a little worried about disability discrimination tbh

I won't ask you to tell me what the disability is, but if it's something that a med school would think would interfere with your ability to practice medicine, then I could definitely see that happening. Did you have your essays read by medical students?

 

[Goro]

PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE

Hi everyone, I am preparing myself for the unfortunate reality that I may have to apply a third time next cycle and could use some advice because I really did not think I would ever be in this position. A little background: I applied normally AMCAS only for my first cycle but believe my list was too top heavy. I had not planned to apply this cycle, but ended up applying ED to my state school because I actually felt pretty good about my application and also added some Texas schools (late due to ED restrictions) and have received no IIs or Rs.

1. 3.75 cGPA, 3.66 sGPA, upward trend, nothing worse than a B
2. MCAT: 519 (131/129/129/130), got 513 the first time
3. State: MA, ties to NY due to undergrad
4. Undergraduate institution: Ivy but not HYP
5. Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer): Will most likely be doing GI clinical research for the next year and a half, 3000 hours, likelihood of publications, previously only had volunteering to take homeless people’s blood pressure in this category
6. Research experience: ~1000 hours across 3 experiences (nonmedical lab research at school, medical lab research internship at hospital, public health internship at same hospital), no pubs
7. Shadowing experience and specialties represented: ~60 hours, IR, path, and a few surgeons
8. Non-clinical volunteering: ~300 hours between my service fraternity and soup kitchen volunteering
9. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc): leadership program for people with disabilities, 350 hours paid tutoring (test prep and STEM subjects), piano club, a couple premed clubs at school, 500 hours paid retail job
10. Relevant honors or awards: nothing major, a couple small scholarships, dean’s list, latin honors
11. Desired specialties: radiation oncology or hematology/ oncology
12. LORs: academic advisor who was also my professor, research supervisor, physician I shadowed
13. Potential red flags (Do you think these could be why schools don't want me?):

-I have a disability which I am open about in my secondary hardship essays, although I try to paint it as minor.
-I took the MCAT twice.
-I’ll be applying a third time. How do I even navigate this and how bad will this look?
-I took 1 semester off school because I couldn't get housing. Original plan was to graduate early. I only did 7 semesters of school.


14. School list: Harvard*, UChicago*, Cornell*, Duke, Vanderbilt, Baylor, Kaiser*, NYU*, BU*, Tufts*, Brown**, Dartmouth*, Drexel*, Sidney Kimmel, UConn, Quinnipiac, Georgetown, Rochester*, Emory, UTSW*, UTMB*, Long*, A&M*, Dell*, McGovern*

*= previously applied
**= previously interviewed
Would not reapply to my state school if I get rejected or no II this round because I assume 2 rejections is clear that they don’t want me. I did interview there last cycle and I think I completely bombed the interview. I am hoping to shoot kind of high (T20) because I am interested in research and a competitive specialty. I am fully aware that TX schools are a crapshoot since I am not from Texas, but I am really interested in moving there and TMDSAS is cheap.

Thank you!

Clinical research is not clinical experience. They're research subjects, not patients.

TX schools will be donations.

As this is your third round, you have lost two years of clinician salary. You should have some DO schools on your list.

You may have a bad LOR, and you should definitely rewrite all essays. Your app is research heavy, you're a 2x MCAT taker and should apply as if your score is 516. Most of your nonclinical volunteering seems to be on campus. Get off campus and out of your comfort zone, and engage in service to others less fortunate than yourself.

Also work on interview skills.

Take a gap year to do this.

Contact your state schools and see if you can get some feedback into your rejection

Then target:
USC/Keck
UCLA
U MI
Rochester
Hofstra
Ohio State
U Cincy
Dartmouth
Western MI
USF Morsani
SUNY-SB
U MA
U IA
Albert Einstein
Emory
Tufts
NYU-LI
Jefferson
Miami
SLU
U WI
U CO
U VM
Your state school
Any DO program. Include UNECOM if you’re from the NE, OSUCOM if you’re from the Plains states and PacNW if you’re from that region. I can't recommend RVU, Nova, BCOM, ICOM and LUCOM, for different reasons. MSUCOM? Read up on Larry Nasser and you decide. LMU has an accreditation warning, which concerns me. CUHS is too new and appears to be too limited in rotations sites.

 

[Deecee2DO]

At first glance I literally have no clue why you have not been accepted. Its either your interview skills or youre applying too top heavy. Maybe a bad LOR like goro said and get some more clinical experience: 200-300 hrs of (non-research based) clinical experience like medical scribe, EMT, medical assistant, PTA etc (anything where you are seeing/near patients). Clinical research doesnt fulfill clinical experience and I think this may be your issue. High stats without real clinical experience can get you rejected even with strong stats like yours. Throw out some DO applications to be safe

 

[Faha]

Thank you! I see you put my state school on there; what would be your opinion of applying a third time after interview and rejection first time and no interview second time? And do you see anything glaringly wrong with me that I'm missing?

Yes, apply to UMass even though your chance may be low. As a 3rd time applicant also apply to DO schools and consider these:
UNECOM
NYITCOM
Touro-NY
LECOM (all schools)
WESTERN
TUCOM-CA
TUNCOM
AZCOM
KCU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
CCOM
ACOM

 

[deleted314957]

As a general comment to y’all, and a little off topic but important.
The OP stated he was shooting for a top 10 because he is interested in a “competitive specialty”. In general, don’t hang your hat on that premise. You have ten years before you will be out of training and you, I, and no one else have ANY idea about what will be a “hot” specialty. Right now, radonc is in the dumps. Field overloaded because it was perceived as “hot”. Can be hard to find a decent position in a decent place. Almost anyone can get a path residency.
40 years ago when I started residency, it was really hot.
These change ALL THE TIME and 10 years is a long time.

 

[Banco]

You should make a list as if your MCAT was 516; your previous ones have been too top heavy. Also is your clinical research really clinical experience? It could be but just asking for clarification.


You need to apply to more schools and more broadly; on paper you should get in but I think you may have made some unwise choices in your list. Apply broader!

Also you do NOT need to go to a "top 20" school to go to a "competitive residency" - whatever that means or do research. You see competitive matches at low tier schools all the time; your priority is to get into A med school for now.

 

[Grapesurgery]

I second the above sentiments that your lists may have been too too heavy. If you’re still interested in sticking around NY consider adding Einstein, Hofstra, and the SUNYs

 

[cc2425]

I won't ask you to tell me what the disability is, but if it's something that a med school would think would interfere with your ability to practice medicine, then I could definitely see that happening. Did you have your essays read by medical students?

I didn't because I don't know any medical students, but I had my school's writing tutors and some of my friends look at them. And I only refer to it as a "mobility impairment" in essays, but it is not severe and I think I make that clear. I would hope the fact that I meet technical standards should be enough.

 

[cc2425]

You should make a list as if your MCAT was 516; your previous ones have been too top heavy. Also is your clinical research really clinical experience? It could be but just asking for clarification.


You need to apply to more schools and more broadly; on paper you should get in but I think you may have made some unwise choices in your list. Apply broader!

Also you do NOT need to go to a "top 20" school to go to a "competitive residency" - whatever that means or do research. You see competitive matches at low tier schools all the time; your priority is to get into A med school for now.

I think I must have not worded it well, but the clinical research hours are prospective hours. I would say they will be actual clinical experience because it will be drug trials on actual sick people and a registry to monitor symptoms in people with a certain rare and severe illness.

General consensus seems to be that that list is too top heavy, so thank you and everyone else who has given feedback. I am going to take out some of the top tier schools like UChicago and maybe Harvard and try to add some mid tier schools in from the lists people have given me.

 

[dustnstars]

At first glance I literally have no clue why you have not been accepted. Its either your interview skills or youre applying too top heavy. Maybe a bad LOR like goro said and get some more clinical experience: 200-300 hrs of (non-research based) clinical experience like medical scribe, EMT, medical assistant, PTA etc (anything where you are seeing/near patients). Clinical research doesnt fulfill clinical experience and I think this may be your issue. High stats without real clinical experience can get you rejected even with strong stats like yours. Throw out some DO applications to be safe

Interesting, I was told the opposite from people that scribing actually doesn't really count as clinical experience since you're not really interacting with patients as a scribe. With clinical research, you're often actively enrolling patients into trials/studies so there's more direct patient contact, but that's been the advice/take that people have told me

 

[Deecee2DO]

Interesting, I was told the opposite from people that scribing actually doesn't really count as clinical experience since you're not really interacting with patients as a scribe. With clinical research, you're often actively enrolling patients into trials/studies so there's more direct patient contact, but that's been the advice/take that people have told me

Scribing is clinical experience if you can see/hear/in distance to touch patients in a clinical setting its clinical experience. Research isnt really clinical experience

 

[dustnstars]

Scribing is clinical experience if you can see/hear/in distance to touch patients in a clinical setting its clinical experience. Research isnt really clinical experience

I mean based off your definition, clinical research is indeed clinical experience since you're seeing/hearing/in distance to touch patients as you recruit, consent, enroll patients into studies in the hospital lol

 

[Deecee2DO]

I mean based off your definition, clinical research is indeed clinical experience since you're seeing/hearing/in distance to touch patients as you recruit, consent, enroll patients into studies in the hospital lol

recruiting consent and enrolling patients is not clinical experience. research is its own category lets not get nit picky here. Clinical experience involves a patient seeing a clinician and you in some way are near them watching them care/manage them

 

[dustnstars]

recruiting consent and enrolling patients is not clinical experience.

then I don't get it, neither is just writing down what the doctor says as a scribe and just looking at the patient while you type

EDIT: I'm editing my post since you also edited yours. I think we can agree that the best clinical experience is if you yourself are taking care of the patient (ex: EMT). Scribing and clinical research are probably more mediocre clinical experiences since both are more passive. I agree that scribing is clinical experience since you're involved someway or another in the patient's clinical care even if you're just watching them. Where I disagree with you is that I think clinical research is indeed clinical experience since you are also interacting with patients. Different clinical research jobs vary, but some are quite involved with interacting with the care team for example if you're in the emergency room and enrolling someone into a drug trial for a stroke. You're reading their clinical note, talking with the doctor about whether they think the patient is eligible for the trial, talking with the patient about whether they're interested in the trial, maybe also making small talk as they describe to you their symptoms and experience in the ED, and then once you enroll them you literally change the course of their treatment as you give them a study drug.

 

[Deecee2DO]

then I don't get it, neither is just writing down what the doctor says as a scribe and just looking at the patient while you type

Because you are in this instance being exposed to patients with medical complaints seeking the care of a clinician. Research in any form is not clinical experience pre-med

 

[dustnstars]

Because you are in this instance being exposed to patients with medical complaints seeking the care of a clinician. Research in any form is not clinical experience pre-med

Please read my previous post's edit. I disagree with your definition that research in any form is not clinical experience as a premed because often times when you're enrolling patients into clinical research you are meeting them in a clinical setting as they as seeking care from a physician and coming in with medical complaints. My friend is a neurosurgery clinical research assistant for example and he meets patients as they come in for spine or brain tumors.

I think your understanding of clinical research may be limited and I agree that some clinical research jobs aren't very "clinical" esp if it's just doing idk some lab work or something. But some are very patient-facing and sometimes more involved in care than a scribe is.

 

[oopsaloo]

You may be right about some roles in clinical research having more exposure to patients, but nevertheless it’s important to Med schools to see you have other/additional clinical experiences outside this setting. This kind of work is also good but just make sure you cover your bases either way

 

[LunaOri]

I would suggest having your premed advisor read your essays to see if you are expressing yourself well and not raising any red flags.

 

[Putkernerinthehall]

Also, beyond adding a few hundred hours of direct clinical patient experience, you really should apply very broadly across a range of schools. I know it's costly but this admissions process can be a numbers game. Look long and hard at where you think you are a good fit in terms of the school's mission, their selection criteria, the types of students they admit (older, etc.), and your stats. Applying to 25-30 well-chosen schools could make the difference.

 

[cc2425]

Update I have 2 interviews for this cycle if anyone is curious

 

[dustnstars]

Update I have 2 interviews for this cycle if anyone is curious

congrats!!! and good luck 🙂

 

[cc2425]

Final update if anyone is curious, I somehow got rejected from my own state school but into a Texas school lol. Never thought I’d see the day but I finally get to be done thinking about med school apps

 

[Faha]

Final update if anyone is curious, I somehow got rejected from my own state school but into a Texas school lol. Never thought I’d see the day but I finally get to be done thinking about med school apps

Congratulations ! Was the Texas school TCU-UNT ?

 

[cc2425]

Congratulations ! Was the Texas school TCU-UNT ?

No, Long. I didn’t apply to DO schools

 

[Goro]

No, Long. I didn’t apply to DO schools

TCU is an MD school