caroteneguy
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I'm prepared for some brutal honesty, I know I have made mistakes through this process.
Context and reflections, skip to WAMC if you wish:
Hi everybody. I was recently rejected outright after an interview with my state school, my only interview of the cycle. I have been rejected from 8 schools total and awaiting decisions from 12, but sitting without any other interviews after the new year, I am continuing to prepare for reapplication and would like some advice.
There are aspects of my application that I am very happy with, and others which I am not happy with. I believe that the single biggest downfall of my previous application was a lack of volunteering that clearly demonstrates service to those in need. I also believe that my shadowing was lackluster. Additionally, I shot way too high with my school list and was very picky. I plan to be much more realistic and broad with my next list. Finally, most of my applications were submitted around early August. I don’t think this was the end of the world but I definitely didn’t do myself any favors.
I felt pretty confident in my writing, and I actually felt very good coming out of my only interview. For my writing, I got feedback from a couple of current medical students recommended to me by friends in med school, as well as a private writing tutor. This time I intend on utilizing the SDN resources much more than before. I previously relied rather heavily on a specific youtube channel for advice on various aspects of my application, potentially to my own detriment–no excuse, just an area I hope to improve on next time.
Lastly, in my WAMC post last year, I listed my MCAT as 522 130/130/130/132 in a moment of post-test day weakness as I awaited my real score. This was my full length average. My real score ended up being 520 130/128/130/132. I know I only hurt myself with this, and I apologize for the deception.
WAMC:
1. Undergrad: 3.76 cGPA, 3.70 sGPA, strong upward trend (3.9+ for last 3 semesters), graduated in 3 years, a single rough semester early on really hurt me.
Grad (non SMP): 4.0 in almost pure science courses (biology subdiscipline), 4.0 out of 24 credits so far, including some classes taken in the pharmD school. I obviously intend for this to be 4.0 out of 30 credits by the time I reapply.
2. (real) MCAT: first attempt 520 130/128/130/132
3. Colorado resident
4. White
5. Both undergrad and grad are public, r1 state schools. Grad school is strongly connected with top choice med school.
6. Clinical:
Cancer center phlebotomist - 700 hours, 9 months
Phlebotomist/lab assistant - 3500 hours, 3 years, ~4100 by June
Split roughly 70/30 between patient facing phlebotomy and clinical laboratory processing/testing.
No volunteer clinical
7. Research:
Toxicology lab - 1000 hours, 1.5 years, ~1400 by June
1 co-first author pub (accepted by not yet published), 2 mid author pub, couple local abstracts/posters, 1 abstract and poster at a regional conference. Another paper in the works for which I will be 1st author, but unsure if this will be published before application, another that definitely won’t but could be for updates?
8. Shadowing: (ended up slightly different than previously thought due to hospital system having an annual limit, similar overall hours as predicted but slightly less diversity)
12 hours pulm/icu
30 hours pathology
24 hours sports medicine/clinical research practice
9. Volunteering
400 hours, 2.5 years - youth suicide prevention fundraising and peer education group, strong impact with $ raised and # of community members reached
125 hours, 1.5 years - "active listener" for a crisis line
10. Extracurriculars
Bakery shift manager - 1000 hours, 1.5 years, leadership
Competitive athlete - ~8000 hours, 13 years, non-collegiate, no great awards to show for
MCAT tutoring starting this year, ~400 hours by June
11. Awards
None
12. Other info
AMCAS EO-2, FAP recipient, Pell grant recipient. Worked really hard to put myself through college and grad school and I have been fortunate to receive the support and resources that allowed me to do so.
School lists:
Very short as of now, these are the only schools I will insist on applying to given regional preference. This time I know I can’t be picky, so please provide any recommendations for schools that fit my profile. I would like to apply to DO schools this cycle as well, but know far less about where I might be a good fit. I am generally more research oriented and would ideally like to be at DO schools that have associated undergrad/grad schools.
MD:
Colorado
WashU
Saint Louis
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Case Western
DO:
New UNC DO school
MSU
KansasCOM
In addition to helping form a school list, I would very much appreciate advice regarding how to proceed during the next 4-5 months. My biggest focus is volunteering, should I just try to jump right into something simple like food bank or shelter volunteering? Is it worth it to seek out specifically clinical opportunities? Would it be worth it to cut back on my current phlebotomy job (20-25 hours per week) in order to make more time for volunteering? I don’t want it to look like I am abandoning my clinical commitments but I understand that volunteering is likely a much more pressing concern for me at this point. I would love any input on this situation.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read and giving your advice.
Context and reflections, skip to WAMC if you wish:
Hi everybody. I was recently rejected outright after an interview with my state school, my only interview of the cycle. I have been rejected from 8 schools total and awaiting decisions from 12, but sitting without any other interviews after the new year, I am continuing to prepare for reapplication and would like some advice.
There are aspects of my application that I am very happy with, and others which I am not happy with. I believe that the single biggest downfall of my previous application was a lack of volunteering that clearly demonstrates service to those in need. I also believe that my shadowing was lackluster. Additionally, I shot way too high with my school list and was very picky. I plan to be much more realistic and broad with my next list. Finally, most of my applications were submitted around early August. I don’t think this was the end of the world but I definitely didn’t do myself any favors.
I felt pretty confident in my writing, and I actually felt very good coming out of my only interview. For my writing, I got feedback from a couple of current medical students recommended to me by friends in med school, as well as a private writing tutor. This time I intend on utilizing the SDN resources much more than before. I previously relied rather heavily on a specific youtube channel for advice on various aspects of my application, potentially to my own detriment–no excuse, just an area I hope to improve on next time.
Lastly, in my WAMC post last year, I listed my MCAT as 522 130/130/130/132 in a moment of post-test day weakness as I awaited my real score. This was my full length average. My real score ended up being 520 130/128/130/132. I know I only hurt myself with this, and I apologize for the deception.
WAMC:
1. Undergrad: 3.76 cGPA, 3.70 sGPA, strong upward trend (3.9+ for last 3 semesters), graduated in 3 years, a single rough semester early on really hurt me.
Grad (non SMP): 4.0 in almost pure science courses (biology subdiscipline), 4.0 out of 24 credits so far, including some classes taken in the pharmD school. I obviously intend for this to be 4.0 out of 30 credits by the time I reapply.
2. (real) MCAT: first attempt 520 130/128/130/132
3. Colorado resident
4. White
5. Both undergrad and grad are public, r1 state schools. Grad school is strongly connected with top choice med school.
6. Clinical:
Cancer center phlebotomist - 700 hours, 9 months
Phlebotomist/lab assistant - 3500 hours, 3 years, ~4100 by June
Split roughly 70/30 between patient facing phlebotomy and clinical laboratory processing/testing.
No volunteer clinical
7. Research:
Toxicology lab - 1000 hours, 1.5 years, ~1400 by June
1 co-first author pub (accepted by not yet published), 2 mid author pub, couple local abstracts/posters, 1 abstract and poster at a regional conference. Another paper in the works for which I will be 1st author, but unsure if this will be published before application, another that definitely won’t but could be for updates?
8. Shadowing: (ended up slightly different than previously thought due to hospital system having an annual limit, similar overall hours as predicted but slightly less diversity)
12 hours pulm/icu
30 hours pathology
24 hours sports medicine/clinical research practice
9. Volunteering
400 hours, 2.5 years - youth suicide prevention fundraising and peer education group, strong impact with $ raised and # of community members reached
125 hours, 1.5 years - "active listener" for a crisis line
10. Extracurriculars
Bakery shift manager - 1000 hours, 1.5 years, leadership
Competitive athlete - ~8000 hours, 13 years, non-collegiate, no great awards to show for
MCAT tutoring starting this year, ~400 hours by June
11. Awards
None
12. Other info
AMCAS EO-2, FAP recipient, Pell grant recipient. Worked really hard to put myself through college and grad school and I have been fortunate to receive the support and resources that allowed me to do so.
School lists:
Very short as of now, these are the only schools I will insist on applying to given regional preference. This time I know I can’t be picky, so please provide any recommendations for schools that fit my profile. I would like to apply to DO schools this cycle as well, but know far less about where I might be a good fit. I am generally more research oriented and would ideally like to be at DO schools that have associated undergrad/grad schools.
MD:
Colorado
WashU
Saint Louis
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Case Western
DO:
New UNC DO school
MSU
KansasCOM
In addition to helping form a school list, I would very much appreciate advice regarding how to proceed during the next 4-5 months. My biggest focus is volunteering, should I just try to jump right into something simple like food bank or shelter volunteering? Is it worth it to seek out specifically clinical opportunities? Would it be worth it to cut back on my current phlebotomy job (20-25 hours per week) in order to make more time for volunteering? I don’t want it to look like I am abandoning my clinical commitments but I understand that volunteering is likely a much more pressing concern for me at this point. I would love any input on this situation.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read and giving your advice.
