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[deleted1135362]

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[Mr.Smile12]

You did good. 6WL is better than none.

Which schools on your provided list would be new schools which you didn't apply to?

Would be nice to know what your other Misc non-clinical volunteering is.

Chances are you have a great shot to get off a waitlist. But if you have to reapply, I don't see you have done enough Service Orientation. You list a lot of tutoring which is what most premeds do. Your work with homeless individuals helps you, but if you want a suggestion for improvement, pick up a different service opportunity off-campus, not health or education related, not in a leadership role (you have plenty). Go to a volunteering opportunity with humility, not as an expert. Food distribution, shelter work, job placement services, and housing rehabilitation.

Granted you want to do gene therapy in order to be a physician. You probably connected it better to actually caring for people in your materials than in the original post here. Why you just didn't go for a PhD in genetics...?

 

[deleted1135362]

You did good. 6WL is better than none.

Which schools on your provided list would be new schools which you didn't apply to?

Would be nice to know what your other Misc non-clinical volunteering is.

Chances are you have a great shot to get off a waitlist. But if you have to reapply, I don't see you have done enough Service Orientation. You list a lot of tutoring which is what most premeds do. Your work with homeless individuals helps you, but if you want a suggestion for improvement, pick up a different service opportunity off-campus, not health or education related, not in a leadership role (you have plenty). Go to a volunteering opportunity with humility, not as an expert. Food distribution, shelter work, job placement services, and housing rehabilitation.

Granted you want to do gene therapy in order to be a physician. You probably connected it better to actually caring for people in your materials than in the original post here. Why you just didn't go for a PhD in genetics...?

Thanks!

The list is where I already applied to this past cycle. None of them are new.

Misc activities include: serving as an advisor for my major's department to create a whole new division, being a gym personal trainer, and volunteering at a dog rescue organization and also rescuing dogs from animal farms in Mexico.

Thanks for the advice on what else I can do! Ill look into that.

And yes hahaha, I def connected it better due to my own experiences as a patient with incurable disease and wanting to help with gene therapy, etc. I don't want a PhD because I have done extensive time in research and I dont see myself being in a lab all day. Also, figured that MDs can do just as meaningful research as PhDs.

Another question is can I reapply with the same essays? Or do I need to come up with new material. All my essays have been read and revised by trusted peers and sources for clarity and persuasion. How can I know which essays (PS, secondaries) is the problem (if that even is the problem)??

 

[MrPuff]

As a casual observer, and someone who has spent way too much time on SDN recently looking at stats, you've got a great set of specifications. I hope you successfully turn at least one of those 6 WLs into an A!

I wonder if applying to nearly all of the top 20 schools with a 517 MCAT was in your best interest. While the median is just the middle number, most of these schools have medians in the 520-522 range. So, perhaps you were a tad low for an outright "A". And, as Mr.Smile12 stated, most ppl that get into the top 20 schools have some (150 hours or so) of community volunteer work.

Again, best of luck!!!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

can I reapply with the same essays? Or do I need to come up with new material.

Most admissions directors and deans will want at least a significant revised personal statement. Do we do direct comparisons from your last PS? I doubt it, but with Chatbot Anxiety, you are likely best served to write a new one.

In my opinion and with the caliber of schools you have applied for, you should have enough material to write at least 3 PS essays. The only essays where you can repeat are the ones concerning IA's.

 

[LindaAccepted]

I had 6 interviews this cycle and WL to all of them (Stanford, Cornell, Mayo, CCLCM, Pitt, and Keck USC). I applied to around 23 schools total. I honestly don’t know what went wrong and how I ended up with all WL. If I do reapply, there are schools I definitely won’t apply to again (like Penn and Hopkins). I guess moving forward, what part of my application do I even need to work on? Do I need to redo my PS maybe?

1. cGPA and sGPA: 4.0
2. MCAT: 517 (131 bio, 131 c/p, 125 cars, 130 p/s)
3. State: CA
4. Ethnicity: Middle Eastern
5. Undergrad: Top 5 Public University
6. Clinical Experience
   1. Medical Assistant (500 hours)
   2. Hospital volunteer (185 hours)
7. Research (translational, basic science)
   1. 4700 hours (2600 during undergrad, 2100 full time gap year)
   2. 5 posters at national conferences (2 first author, 3 second author) —> during gap year (schools were updated after WL decision)
   3. 1 first author paper and 1 second author paper —> during gap year (schools were updated after WL decision)
8. Shadowing: 110 hours (surgery, GI, path)
9. Non-clinical volunteering/other EC activities
   1. Created and taught a course at my school
   2. Lead tutor for upper division biology course
   3. Vice President for a club that assisted unhoused youth (life mentorship and tutoring), expanded club across CA
   4. Other Misc activities
10. Honors and Awards:
    1. Honors in my major, PKB, Dean’s List all years
11. Anything else:
    1. I didnt write a disadvantaged essay last cycle because I honestly didnt know if I met the standards. Will write one this cycle if needed (economic and social disadvantage)
    2. LORs are from very well known people (like Nobel Laureates)
    3. My application theme is centered around gene therapy because of my personal, academic, and research experience in the field. That is why I want to go into medicine. However, several of the schools I applied to dont have gene therapy programs or research (all the schools I interviewed at do).

Schools applied to:

CCLCM

Mayo

Cornell

Pitt

Stanford

USC

UCSD

Case Western

Chicago

Harvard

Albert Einstein

Yale

UCLA

Columbia

NYU

U Mich

Wash St Luis

UCI

Johns Hopkins

Icahn

Upenn

Northwestern

UCSF

I agree with @MrSmile that 6 WLs at the schools you were aiming for is better than none, but it's also tantalizingly frustrating.

While I hope at least one of those WLs turns into an A, I have a few suggestions if that doesn't happen:

1. If invited to interview, get interview prep or coaching. I would have expected 1-2 As just based on stats.
2. If your wait-listing schools accept updates and you have something to tell them about, update them.
3. Depending on how much you devoted to the club for unhoused youth and your contributions, you may not need additional non-clinical volunteering, but obviously more wouldn't hurt anything.
4. Do NOT submit the same PS and MME drafts. Or even your secondaries, if you apply to the same programs. I have interviewed many admissions committee directors as host of our podcast, and when I ask that question they all caution against resubmitting the same essays. They may or may not look at your app from last year, but if they do they will not be impressed by your commitment to the process. Furthermore, if you simply resubmit your materials from last year -- even if they were great -- you will be unable to show growth from last year to this year. It simply won't be there.
5. You may also want to go a little further down the rankings in your school choice.
6. Without seeing your app, it's hard to see, but perhaps you emphasized your interest in genetics and research a little too much such that they questioned your commitment to clinical medicine.

Anyway, I hope you don't need these suggestions!

 

[deleted1135362]

As a casual observer, and someone who has spent way too much time on SDN recently looking at stats, you've got a great set of specifications. I hope you successfully turn at least one of those 6 WLs into an A!

I wonder if applying to nearly all of the top 20 schools with a 517 MCAT was in your best interest. While the median is just the middle number, most of these schools have medians in the 520-522 range. So, perhaps you were a tad low for an outright "A". And, as Mr.Smile12 stated, most ppl that get into the top 20 schools have some (150 hours or so) of community volunteer work.

Again, best of luck!!!

Yes in hindsight I wish I had applied more broadly! I will def expand the schools if I need to next cycle.

 

[deleted1135362]

Most admissions directors and deans will want at least a significant revised personal statement. Do we do direct comparisons from your last PS? I doubt it, but with Chatbot Anxiety, you are likely best served to write a new one.

In my opinion and with the caliber of schools you have applied for, you should have enough material to write at least 3 PS essays. The only essays where you can repeat are the ones concerning IA's.

I agree with @MrSmile that 6 WLs at the schools you were aiming for is better than none, but it's also tantalizingly frustrating.

While I hope at least one of those WLs turns into an A, I have a few suggestions if that doesn't happen:

1. If invited to interview, get interview prep or coaching. I would have expected 1-2 As just based on stats.
2. If your wait-listing schools accept updates and you have something to tell them about, update them.
3. Depending on how much you devoted to the club for unhoused youth and your contributions, you may not need additional non-clinical volunteering, but obviously more wouldn't hurt anything.
4. Do NOT submit the same PS and MME drafts. Or even your secondaries, if you apply to the same programs. I have interviewed many admissions committee directors as host of our podcast, and when I ask that question they all caution against resubmitting the same essays. They may or may not look at your app from last year, but if they do they will not be impressed by your commitment to the process. Furthermore, if you simply resubmit your materials from last year -- even if they were great -- you will be unable to show growth from last year to this year. It simply won't be there.
5. You may also want to go a little further down the rankings in your school choice.
6. Without seeing your app, it's hard to see, but perhaps you emphasized your interest in genetics and research a little too much such that they questioned your commitment to clinical medicine.

Anyway, I hope you don't need these suggestions!

Thank you both! I will start rewriting my essays. It's so frustrating because I dreaded it so much last year and now I have to do it all over again. But, we dont give up!

 

[deleted1135362]

4. Do NOT submit the same PS and MME drafts. Or even your secondaries, if you apply to the same programs.

Do you advise that the PS and secondaries be completely new? Or would using some parts of it be okay?

 

[chilly_md]

Do you advise that the PS and secondaries be completely new? Or would using some parts of it be okay?

Updating with additional experiences while using old parts of it is fine with the PS. One area of concern could be if you focused too much on research as opposed to the clinical side of medicine (if that applies to you, usually those applicants do not receive interviews at all though). Secondaries are similar, change completely if you felt your old response was not as good. Otherwise, reword/restructure/elaborate more. You received many interviews and I imagine you should hear back from at least 1 of the schools you are on the WL for.

Doing more work with unhoused individuals would help (you should start immediately). If you do not hear back in May, I suggest applying to the following:

CCLCM
Mayo
Cornell
Pitt
Stanford
USC
UCSD
Case Western
Albert Einstein
UCLA
Wash St Luis
UCI
Icahn
Upenn
Northwestern
UCSF
Dartmouth
Vanderbilt
Emory
Saint Louis (SLU)
Colorado
Iowa
UVA
USF
Miami
Western Michigan
Stony Brook
Rochester
Hofstra
Kaiser
Jefferson

 

[deleted1135362]

Updating with additional experiences while using old parts of it is fine with the PS. One area of concern could be if you focused too much on research as opposed to the clinical side of medicine (if that applies to you, usually those applicants do not receive interviews at all though). Secondaries are similar, change completely if you felt your old response was not as good. Otherwise, reword/restructure/elaborate more. You received many interviews and I imagine you should hear back from at least 1 of the schools you are on the WL for.

Doing more work with unhoused individuals would help (you should start immediately). If you do not hear back in May, I suggest applying to the following:

CCLCM
Mayo
Cornell
Pitt
Stanford
USC
UCSD
Case Western
Albert Einstein
UCLA
Wash St Luis
UCI
Icahn
Upenn
Northwestern
UCSF
Dartmouth
Vanderbilt
Emory
Saint Louis (SLU)
Colorado
Iowa
UVA
USF
Miami
Western Michigan
Stony Brook
Rochester
Hofstra
Kaiser
Jefferson

thank you for the insight! i appreciate it

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Do you advise that the PS and secondaries be completely new? Or would using some parts of it be okay?

Read

Write Your Secondary Essays First - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

Considering the heightened anxiety about ChatGPT/generative AI, I would completely re-write. However imperfect the detection software may be, do not put yourself in a position to be impugned of plagiarism or improper copy-paste, even if it is your own work. The only essay that you can/should avoid revising is the IA/background check essay, unless something is new.

 

[lacrossegirl420]

Honestly the issue was definitely your CARS score

 

[LizzyM]

Honestly the issue was definitely your CARS score

Obviously it wasn't a problem for the 6 or more schools that interviewed the OP.

 

[theoceanman]

125 CARS is a normal score that many schools will overlook so that wasn't an issue. Most likely, receiving these interviews and being WL'ed may have been some interview skills being involved with anxiety and stress. I would recommend practicing with friends and pre-health advisors for interviews for the next cycle, but with 6 WL's and having sent LOI's, I'm sure you will get into one of those places by the end of May or so. Good luck!

 

[deleted1135362]

125 CARS is a normal score that many schools will overlook so that wasn't an issue. Most likely, receiving these interviews and being WL'ed may have been some interview skills being involved with anxiety and stress. I would recommend practicing with friends and pre-health advisors for interviews for the next cycle, but with 6 WL's and having sent LOI's, I'm sure you will get into one of those places by the end of May or so. Good luck!

the thing is i dont even think my interviews were the issue either. several of my interviewers even said verbatim "I will be writing you a very strong letter to admissions". I know ones own view is not a good way to determine interviewing skills but I do think I did really well and vibed with all my interviewers. I also did multiple practice runs with my pre-health office.

I think my issue was overstating my research and being overly excited about academic medicine. But yes, I hope I get off of 1 WL soon!

 

[theoceanman]

the thing is i dont even think my interviews were the issue either. several of my interviewers even said verbatim "I will be writing you a very strong letter to admissions". I know ones own view is not a good way to determine interviewing skills but I do think I did really well and vibed with all my interviewers. I also did multiple practice runs with my pre-health office.

I think my issue was overstating my research and being overly excited about academic medicine. But yes, I hope I get off of 1 WL soon!

Oh yes, that might have been the issue, but you're on a lot of WL's and based on previous year threads, you'll most likely get off one soon. Best of luck to you!

 

[lacrossegirl420]

I’m not convinced, maybe for an interview a 125 was fine but just looking at MSAR I doubt some of those schools accept many (if any) below 127. Probably not the “feel good” answer but just keeping it real

 

[MrPuff]

Eh, why would they have the OP travel across the country to interview if 125 on CARS was a hard spot? That's incongruent.

 

[chilly_md]

Eh, why would they have the OP travel across the country to interview if 125 on CARS was a hard spot? That's incongruent.

Interviews are virtual, but yes, they wouldn’t have offered that if they were so held up by the 125 CARS subsection.

Mayo is big on receiving a lot of attention from interviewed students before they accept them.

 

[LindaAccepted]

Do you advise that the PS and secondaries be completely new? Or would using some parts of it be okay?

Sorry about the delayed response.

How about substantially new?

Most writers can see areas that can be improved when they look at their writing after a year. (Winston Churchill was an exception, but there are very few Winston Churchills applying to med school, and I digress. ) Furthermore, you want this year's app to reflect the growth that you have experienced since you applied last year. That growth doesn't have to come through in every essay, but it should be in your app. If you wholesale use your essays from last year, your application won't show growth or dynamism, even if schools don't compare this year's app to last year's app.

 

[LindaAccepted]

Guess I dont need to worry about this anymore! Going to CCLCM!

Congratulations!