WARS Success and level S

[midnitetots12]

My WARS score is in the "S" level and I was wondering if the school list % been useful for other S level applicants. It says do not apply to category 6 schools. I've applied to 9 of them (all around 512-513 MCAT median and 3.7-3.85 GPA, though my MCAT is a 519 and GPA is a 3.93, so I didn't think it was that far off), so obviously I didn't follow the %'s that greatly. Folks who used this breakdown, do you think it went well (such as the 45% category 1 suggestion; I wasn't feeling that confident to do that either)? Also do you think I'll end up being yield protected by many of these 9 schools? I sort of feel insecure not having those schools.

EDIT: I'm not sure why I said I already applied to them! I didn't, my bad, this is my tentative school list for the upcoming cycle!

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[KendallJennerSniperLady69]

My WARS score is in the "S" level and I was wondering if the school list % been useful for other S level applicants. It says do not apply to category 6 schools. I've applied to 9 of them (all around 512-513 MCAT median and 3.7-3.85 GPA, though my MCAT is a 519 and GPA is a 3.93, so I didn't think it was that far off), so obviously I didn't follow the %'s that greatly. Folks who used this breakdown, do you think it went well (such as the 45% category 1 suggestion; I wasn't feeling that confident to do that either)? Also do you think I'll end up being yield protected by many of these 9 schools? I sort of feel insecure not having those schools.

Unless those 9 schools are state schools, I would not bother applying (unless you are given an opportunity to state a targetted interest on those school's secondaries that is convincing).

I have not heard a single peep from mid/low tier OOS schools this cycle, all of my non-T20 interviews have been at in-state schools where I have been able to mention location and proximity to home as a reason for applying. I initially also felt insecure about not having those 8 schools on my list (I also had more of them but gave me a hard deadline to stop working on secondaries by so I could get back to focusing on work), but rn it seems like I donated my secondary app fee to them.

I would use LM, WARS, AND feedback from different posts on here and Reddit to inform your school list if you have to reapply.

 

[midnitetots12]

Unless those 9 schools are state schools, I would not bother applying (unless you are given an opportunity to state a targetted interest on those school's secondaries that is convincing).

I have not heard a single peep from mid/low tier OOS schools this cycle, all of my non-T20 interviews have been at in-state schools where I have been able to mention location and proximity to home as a reason for applying. I initially also felt insecure about not having those 8 schools on my list (I also had more of them but gave me a hard deadline to stop working on secondaries by so I could get back to focusing on work), but rn it seems like I donated my secondary app fee to them.

I would use LM, WARS, AND feedback from different posts on here and Reddit to inform your school list if you have to reapply.

that's really helpful thanks! as you can tell by my edit, for some reason I said I did apply to them. I'm just making my school list for the next cycle. what a dumb mistake. I still have a lot of time for feedback, but that's an interesting thing you say. Are you comfortable with sharing your interview status so far? Such as how many T20 interviews out of how many you applied to, same idea with non T20?

 

[KendallJennerSniperLady69]

that's really helpful thanks! as you can tell by my edit, for some reason I said I did apply to them. I'm just making my school list for the next cycle. what a dumb mistake. I still have a lot of time for feedback, but that's an interesting thing you say. Are you comfortable with sharing your interview status so far? Such as how many T20 interviews out of how many you applied to, same idea with non T20?

Prefer sharing over PM if possible. LMK if you can't message me for some reason (I can't seem to message you).

Edit: also WARS seems a bit subjective to me, so I would also be on the conservative side when calculating your WARS score. i.e. if you are really not sure if you fall into one tier or another for a certain category, just use the lower tier to calculate your score.

 

[midnitetots12]

Prefer sharing over PM if possible. LMK if you can't message me for some reason (I can't seem to message you).

Edit: also WARS seems a bit subjective to me, so I would also be on the conservative side when calculating your WARS score. i.e. if you are really not sure if you fall into one tier or another for a certain category, just use the lower tier to calculate your score.

I just pm'ed - let me know if you got it!

 

[Goro]

My WARS score is in the "S" level and I was wondering if the school list % been useful for other S level applicants. It says do not apply to category 6 schools. I've applied to 9 of them (all around 512-513 MCAT median and 3.7-3.85 GPA, though my MCAT is a 519 and GPA is a 3.93, so I didn't think it was that far off), so obviously I didn't follow the %'s that greatly. Folks who used this breakdown, do you think it went well (such as the 45% category 1 suggestion; I wasn't feeling that confident to do that either)? Also do you think I'll end up being yield protected by many of these 9 schools? I sort of feel insecure not having those schools.

EDIT: I'm not sure why I said I already applied to them! I didn't, my bad, this is my tentative school list for the upcoming cycle!

Do not obsess over single metrics. Your MCAT score is not the only thing schools look at.

You should invest in MSAR Online and target schools whose median GPAs are closest to your own.

Also keep in mind that the WARS and LM scores are rules of thumb, not scientific measurements.

 

[definitely_chondria]

n=1 anecdotal experience but I also had a WARS score in the S category, and I've only received interview invitations to schools in categories 1 and 2. I've been ghosted by schools in category 3 and lower (I suspect an issue of yield protection...). Apply broadly but I think the calculator is pretty accurate.

 

[midnitetots12]

n=1 anecdotal experience but I also had a WARS score in the S category, and I've only received interview invitations to schools in categories 1 and 2. I've been ghosted by schools in category 3 and lower (I suspect an issue of yield protection...). Apply broadly but I think the calculator is pretty accurate.

hey i've been hearing a lot of mixed things about this now. do you mind if I PM and ask more specific questions? It won't let me PM you, if you're willing though

 

[spottedcory]

I'm S level and I applied to low yield, low tier schools that had optional essays or secondaries that asked "Why us" and those were actually my first interviews. I only applied to 2 of the category 6 schools, but I got interviews from both and I kind of wish I applied to more, but maybe I just got lucky who knows. I think it's fine to apply to them as long as your app and essays fit them very well

 

[midnitetots12]

I'm S level and I applied to low yield, low tier schools that had optional essays or secondaries that asked "Why us" and those were actually my first interviews. I only applied to 2 of the category 6 schools, but I got interviews from both and I kind of wish I applied to more, but maybe I just got lucky who knows. I think it's fine to apply to them as long as your app and essays fit them very well

can i ask if you had really genuine reasons for the why us portions? strong ties, really specific thing about them other schools didn't have? I feel like if I tried to make a unique factor argument about their school, I could find a handful of schools with the same factor. I was wondering if I'm looking at this wrong, and perhaps there were good arguments you could make for attending their school.

 

[spottedcory]

can i ask if you had really genuine reasons for the why us portions? strong ties, really specific thing about them other schools didn't have? I feel like if I tried to make a unique factor argument about their school, I could find a handful of schools with the same factor. I was wondering if I'm looking at this wrong, and perhaps there were good arguments you could make for attending their school.

Yeah I didn't have any personal ties to the school or state, but my application was very very service focused, urban underserved, and this was across all my activities and essays. I'd have overarching arguments (focus on urban underserved, refugee health, a very specific aspect of youth health) and then back it up with more specifics. I didn't mention generic things like free clinic, but instead dug into their website to see if they had research centers (not just specific researchers), partnerships, or community programs. I think this was how I was able to differentiate myself from other candidates, since I'd have one overarching idea with 3-4 supporting programs that the school had, that probably wasn't mentioned by other applicants, that were heavily backed by my app. Schools are similar, so maybe 1-2 programs are not specific to one school, but it's the collection of things that make a unique school