What did i do wrong?

[Neocortex]

I have been applying this year and have been flabbergasted to say the least. In short, I have a 35M MCAT, a 3.91 sGPA, and a 3.88 oGPA from a very small liberal arts school in New York. I have lots of extracurriculars, clinical experience, and leadership roles. I applied to 15 schools, 7 of which are top 20s and ended up getting only 5 interviews from mid range to low range medical schools ( no top 20 schools). At this point im waitlisted at 3 schools waiting on a desicion from one more. Im just pissed about this whole process because i worked hard, did what i had to do, scored well above what i had to score. I think I interviewed well, but still have recieved no acceptance. Like with my stats i thought i would not have a problem getting into medical school by April. But its April and im scared.

My thoughts on this situation are the following:

#1 - I will be completing my undergraduate in 3 years next month. I figured if an applicant can put up the number i did in 3 years time (taking up to 24 credits at a time) that i would be looked at positively. But i guess not.

#2- Also, i think my no-name liberal arts school killed me. I feel like a 3.9 at my school is equal to like a 3.3 from any top 20, which is really ridiculous.

Sorry about this, but does anyone have any thoughts. I know i prob sound like a jerk, but my base lines stats are great and this process is killing me.

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[tmjbama5]

If your stats are what you say they are and you at least interviewed fairly well, you should have gotten in somewhere already...the fact is is that this process is completely random and i don't get it. therefore, i don't get your situation either...this is all i got for you.

 

[Yeesh]

I have been applying this year and have been flabbergasted to say the least. In short, I have a 35M MCAT, a 3.91 sGPA, and a 3.88 oGPA from a very small liberal arts school in New York. I have lots of extracurriculars, clinical experience, and leadership roles. I applied to 15 schools, 7 of which are top 20s and ended up getting only 5 interviews from mid range to low range medical schools ( no top 20 schools). At this point im waitlisted at 3 schools waiting on a desicion from one more. Im just pissed about this whole process because i worked hard, did what i had to do, scored well above what i had to score. I think I interviewed well, but still have no gotten accepted. Like with my stats i thought i wouldn;t have a problem getting into medical school by April. But its April and im scared.

My thoughts on this situation are the following:





#1 - I will be completing my undergraduate in 3 years next month. I figured if an applicant can put up the number i did in 3 years time (taking up to 24 credits at a time) that i would be looked at positively. But i guess not.

#2- Also, i think my no-name liberal arts school killed me. I feel like a 3.9 at my school is equal to like a 3.3 from any top 20, which is really ridiculous.

Sorry about this, but does anyone have any thoughts. I know i prob sound like a jerk, but my base lines stats are great and this process is killing me.

Tough to say since you didn't really specify what EC activities you were involved in, just their categories. Plus, a big portion of the admissions decision is based on LORs and the interview. If all your numbers are high, but you aren't getting better results, it's got to the interview and/or the LORs.

The name of the school, in my opinion, doesn't matter much. Seems to me like as long as it wasn't a Community College, they won't judge your school harshly.

good luck

 

[tncekm]

The application process sucks, that's all there is to it. You'll probably get in off a waitlist, but anything can happen.

Things to look at, like others have said, are your EC's (definitely make or break unless you're a 4.0/40 applicant--you want hundreds of hours, not tens), and your interview.

 

[drizzt3117]

.the fact is is that this process is completely random and i don't get it.

People always say that, and it's just not true. Schools know exactly what they're looking for in admissions. It's applicants that don't know what the specific schools are looking for. It might seem random to you, but med schools are looking to fill a class with the qualifications and demographics they want. Trying to determine what specific schools are looking for (by talking to current students, their admissions people, their websites, SDN, etc) might not be a bad idea.

 

[Dr McSexy]

Im just pissed about this whole process because i worked hard, did what i had to do, scored well above what i had to score.

I think I interviewed well, but still have recieved no acceptance. Like with my stats i thought i would not have a problem getting into medical school by April.

Maybe you actually interviewed poorly. Maybe your arrogance carried over to your interviews

[

#1 - I will be completing my undergraduate in 3 years next month. I figured if an applicant can put up the number i did in 3 years time (taking up to 24 credits at a time) that i would be looked at positively. But i guess not.

Maybe it was instead seen as too busy schooling, checking off the pre-med "to-do" list and not actually living life?

#2- Also, i think my no-name liberal arts school killed me. I feel like a 3.9 at my school is equal to like a 3.3 from any top 20, which is really ridiculous.

Probably didn't.

I know i prob sound like a jerk,

don't worry, you'll fit in.

but my base lines stats are great and this process is killing me.

You wouldn't have gotten interviews if your base line stats weren't good enough.

Perhaps, your LORs sucked, your PS sucked, your interview sucked, or your ECs sucked since you graduated in 3 years.

 

[drizzt3117]

The name of the school, in my opinion, doesn't matter much. Seems to me like as long as it wasn't a Community College, they won't judge your school harshly.

good luck

Not true in my opinion... at least not in the top tier / top 25. I definitely pay attention to what schools applicants/interviewees are from.

 

[docelh]

Where you got your interviews says where you probably are competitive with your current candidacy. Thus, your list was prob. top-heavy.

No extensive research experience, correct?

This thread is going to get moved to Chances anyway.

 

[Neocortex]

My ec's are extensive. I'm a non-trad applicant (25 years old).Owner of a small business for 4 years!!! Traveled the country playing hockey, one step away from being on a level you get paid to play. My clinical experiences include 10 months of rotations at a hospital and a year and a half at a primary care physican's office.

I wanna blow my brains out.

 

[Yeesh]

Not true in my opinion... at least not in the top tier / top 25. I definitely pay attention to what schools applicants/interviewees are from.

I'm sure they do glance at it. But maybe the difference isn't as wide as what the OP's stated? At that's what I hope. Maybe it'll play a factor if two applicants are really identical everywhere else. but... again just an opinion

 

[Yeesh]

My ec's are extensive. I'm a non-trad applicant (25 years old).Owner of a small business for 4 years!!! Traveled the country playing hockey, one step away from being on a level you get paid to play. My clinical experiences include 10 months of rotations at a hospital and a year and a half at a primary care physican's office.

I wanna blow my brains out.

No mention of any research? I know it's hard with that kind of busy schedule, but no research seems to mean no admittance nowadays.

 

[tncekm]

My ec's are extensive. I'm a non-trad applicant (25 years old).Owner of a small business for 4 years!!! Traveled the country playing hockey, one step away from being on a level you get paid to play. My clinical experiences include 10 months of rotations at a hospital and a year and a half at a primary care physican's office.

I wanna blow my brains out.

You'll be alright. You did mention, however, that you applied to about 7 of 15 top 20 schools. That's part of the problem. Your record is very impressive, but there are many freakishly impressive applications. So, you really never know what you're going to get. That's why everybody should apply broadly.

I still think you'll get in off of one of the waitlists, but be prepared to take a broader approach if there is a next time.

 

[tncekm]

No mention of any research? I know it's hard with that kind of busy schedule, but no research seems to mean no admittance nowadays.

ESPECIALLY in top-tier schools, which are research-heavy.

 

[Neocortex]

i dunno i recently read a post about some person from cornell that applied to albany medical college... they were from cornell with a 31, 3.6 and got accepted outright and im on the wait list. Like how does a PS, research, or whatever make the difference from a 35, 3.9 seem no good. I feel like my no name school is killing me

 

[Neocortex]

Your right. research wise i have no science research. Im a philosophy major and did philosophy research which is going to be published now, after the fact. I feel like schools looked at this component of my application as well. As if spending 3 years understanding reality wasn't a good idea.

 

[tncekm]

i dunno i recently read a post about some person from cornell that applied to albany medical college... they were from cornell with a 31, 3.6 and got accepted outright and im on the wait list. Like how does a PS, research, or whatever make the difference from a 35, 3.9 seem no good. I feel like my no name school is killing me

Maybe, maybe not. I think that it doesn't help, and in that sense it hurts. I had a similar experience. However, the 35 MCAT and the 3yr grad will easily dispel any concerns about your application.

 

[docelh]

ECs: You invested a large amount of time in two activities that aren't high-yield for the medical school hoop-jumping (i mean admissions) process.

 

[Alorai]

I don't think your no-name college killed you, unless it really was a community college. And it seems like your lacking in research and community service. Also, the personal statement and interviews are weighted heavily in the application process, maybe they didn't feel like you were passionate enough about medicine?

 

[Yeesh]

i dunno i recently read a post about some person from cornell that applied to albany medical college... they were from cornell with a 31, 3.6 and got accepted outright and im on the wait list. Like how does a PS, research, or whatever make the difference from a 35, 3.9 seem no good. I feel like my no name school is killing me

The problem is that there are plenty of 35 and 3.9. Don't mean to put you down, your numbers are impressive in their own right. But, considering the fact that most schools gather major bucks from research, the more top research students they attract, the more moolah they get from grants. So, there is an incentive for them to get students with really good research experience.

I wouldn't blame the name of your school too much. I'm from a state university (CSU Long Beach) and we've gotten plenty of people into top med schools around the nation.

 

[Yeesh]

ECs: You invested a large amount of time in two activities that aren't high-yield for the medical school hoop-jumping (i mean admissions) process.

Agreed totally. You have to do out of the norm stuff to jump that hoop better.

 

[Neocortex]

i know but i dont wanna get into a top tier school. i just want to get into any school! lol

Im waitlisted at Albany, Stonybrook, UCONN (high alternative waitlist), and waiting on NYMC

 

[Neocortex]

Agreed totally. You have to do out of the norm stuff to jump that hoop better.

I opened my own business at the age of 20 and it was successful. I figured this would be impressive. lol

 

[Yeesh]

i know but i dont wanna get into a top tier school. i just want to get into any school! lol

Im waitlisted at Albany, Stonybrook, UCONN (high alternative waitlist), and waiting on NYMC

Well, I hope you get into one off of the waitlist. If not, you might want to consider taking another year and focus alot of energy on science research.

 

[docelh]

Given your lack of ECs, I think it's a testament to your strong stats that you even got five interviews and four wait-lists.

 

[Yeesh]

I opened my own business at the age of 20 and it was successful. I figured this would be impressive. lol

It definitely is impressive, I'm sure they took into consideration. I also have my own business. But the fact that we own businesses is no testament to how good of a scientist we are, which in the end, is what every single good physician is. So, unfortunately, unless our business is a multi-billion dollar one, it won't really turn heads of the admissions comm.

 

[Neocortex]

Well, thanks for allowing me to vent in my drunken stupor. You all are appreciated. Good Luck.

 

[girlofgrace7]

I'm surprised no one brought this up (unless I missed it somewhere), but you didn't mention how late various applications went out. I made the mistake of sending out my apps later than I should have, and that put me at a major disadvantage. One of my interviewers immediately honed in on that when she asked how many interview offers I received, and she shook her head saying how people who apply later are consistently at a loss in the process.
Also, as many said above, it seems a little strange to apply to mostly top 20 schools without research experience. You need your experiences to fit the schools you're applying to (interest in service and volunteering for schools emphasizing primary care vs. research for research-focused schools... in addition to the more specific focuses of the school).

 

[organdonor]

kill yourself

"ceteris paribus"

thats the term you were looking for.

I would like to say that medicine is the best career move definetly. But if you have to study for 4 years prior to medicine, the best major is philosophy. This discipline allows you to immerse yourself in the widest range of puzzels reality poses for us. Thus, anyone with serious intelligence and drive to comprehend reality would study this discipline. In my view, there are too many number crunchers out there. I too am a number cruncher, i can solve plenty of problems, but i praise myself for studying philosophy so that i can attack our toughest problems head on. I mean what is life, if you can't examine it thorougly (Socrates)?

Oh yea. And once you get to medicine. The best specialty is the one that has to do with the brain. But you gotta be smart to be a neurologist, neuroscientist, neurosurgeon, ect. Why you ask? Because the brain is the most complex organ in the universe. It has so many levels of operation.

But on top of that. If you smart people haven't figured out yet. Our whole world is going to change because of brain science. In the next 10 to 30 years, we will be able to augment our brain in ways unimaginable right now. This will change the world and mankind. More importantly, it will lead to scientific progress that is unthinkable. In addition to this, we will be able to create machines that simulate the brain. Machines that can even process information much faster than our brain. This will alter the world drastically. Keyword: Sigularity, or Transhumanism if your interested and haven;t already figured this out.

It's not my fault i see things before they happen

I'm going to go ahead and assume that your PS and/or interview went poorly.

 

[Infinitydrop]

I actually don't think your experience is so out of the ordinary. I have similar stats as you, applied to same number of schools, but only 3 top 20s and got 8 interviews and was finally accepted after 4 waitlists and one rejection after interviews.

 

[LizzyM]

i know but i dont wanna get into a top tier school. i just want to get into any school! lol

Im waitlisted at Albany, Stonybrook, UCONN (high alternative waitlist), and waiting on NYMC

But you applied to 7 top-20 schools.... what a waste for someone without research interest/experience.

You were strong enough to get interviews at some schools that do not put an emphasis on research but your performance on the interview was not enough to tip it over.

The waiting lists will move over the next 8 weeks and it is likely that you'll get a call.

In the meantime, give some thought to how you have improved your applicatoin over the past year and if it is time to prepare your materials for a second try or if you need to sit out the next cycle and prepare to reapply in 2011. You can't change your alma mater but you can use your science expertise (despite having been a philosophy major) to get a paid research position or find the time to do a volunteer research thing. That will open up more schools to you. You could also look for those schools that are offering MA degrees in bioethics along with the MD or that otherwise have invested in bioethics and medical humanties departments within the med school and focus your attention on those schools. If you do that, you want to sell youself as a candidate who brings a different perspective to the classroom.

 

[Hoody]

But you applied to 7 top-20 schools.... what a waste for someone without research interest/experience.

You were strong enough to get interviews at some schools that do not put an emphasis on research but your performance on the interview was not enough to tip it over.

The waiting lists will move over the next 8 weeks and it is likely that you'll get a call.

In the meantime, give some thought to how you have improved your applicatoin over the past year and if it is time to prepare your materials for a second try or if you need to sit out the next cycle and prepare to reapply in 2011. You can't change your alma mater but you can use your science expertise (despite having been a philosophy major) to get a paid research position or find the time to do a volunteer research thing. That will open up more schools to you. You could also look for those schools that are offering MA degrees in bioethics along with the MD or that otherwise have invested in bioethics and medical humanties departments within the med school and focus your attention on those schools. If you do that, you want to sell youself as a candidate who brings a different perspective to the classroom.

oooooh, ooooh, ONE more post and you are at 6,666.....dont miss it Lizzy!!!!

 

[flip26]

Without more details, it appears that you applied to too few schools NOT in the Top 20. It is OK to apply to those "dream" schools, but the meat and potatoes of your app should have been the schools you had a chance at, and 8 schools that aren't in the Top 20 doesn't really tell us anything, because schools in the "second" 20 include some real reaches for all but a few applicants, too.

My experience and background are fairly similar to yours in all respects (gpa, mcat, nontrad, small no name lib arts school, applied to 15 schools including around 7 top 20s where I also got no interviews) with one exception: I attended 6 of 7 offered interviews and got 5 acceptances. The only "safety" I applied to outside of my instate "safeties" was NYMC, where I got an acceptance.

But my state residency was a plus here - I live in VA - and I went into the cycle feeling certain I would get at least one acceptance from a state school - and I was correct in this assumption, so I felt I did not need to fill my app with "national" safeties like SLU, etc. Your state residency, while not listed, if in the northeast, is more problematic. You probably did not apply to enough safety/ballpark schools.

If you are a NY resident, did you apply to all of your instate schools, in addition to NYMC?

But it could be your LORs hurt you, or your PS was poorly written, or you had no research - nobody here can tell you exactly what happened.

 

[Suenya]

This process is somewhat random. I applied to 35ish schools (many top ones, but also any other schools I liked and one or two I wasn't a huge fan of). My GPA is worse than yours, my MCAT better. I am a traditional applicant, but I have a few years of psych and neuroscience research experience.

Out of that I got 9 interview invitations. The schools couldn't have been more random. In terms of competitiveness, I got a few top, a few middle, and a bunch of lower ranked in competitiveness schools. I have no idea why I got the random combination of interviews I did. So far one rejection, one acceptance, the rest waitlists (and UMass, my top choice, still hasn't responded).

I really have no idea why I got the interviews I did. There are so many random factors and there is luck involved in a process with such a huge amount of applicants. If you don't get in, reapply. I did and it worked much better. It's not really a big deal at all, although it is a bit pricey. And if you want to apply to top schools (especially without research or some sort of academic background that'll sell you to them) I would not count them in the amount of schools you reasonably need to apply to to get in.

 

[jboz]

I'm from a state university (CSU Long Beach) and we've gotten plenty of people into top med schools around the nation.

 

[imnastywitit]

there's two things you people just don't realize.

extreme subjectivity results in randomness

the interview is basically everything (in terms of the psychological impact you make on the adcom).


this process is _____.

kthxbai.

 

[Ischemic]

Med school admissions is a privilege not a right. Just cause you got numbers above the average doesn't mean they have to admit you. There have been people with 4.0 and 40s thta dont get in. Which I am thankful for otherwise school'd be filled with a bunch of the same type of people. Like someone said they know what kind of applicants they want and apparently it's not you. You should apply to some lower teer schools next time around like state schools.

 

[Narmerguy]

there's two things you people just don't realize.

extreme subjectivity results in randomness

the interview is basically everything (in terms of the psychological impact you make on the adcom).


this process is _____.

kthxbai.

No, it doesn't. Difficult to predict does not equal randomness. You don't know what they're looking for so you can't understand all the decisions that are made. But it's a serious cop out to through up your hands and say you're the victim of random chance. It's much more likely that you're just not what they're looking for.

 

[ak21]

Maybe you actually interviewed poorly. Maybe your arrogance carried over to your interviews

[

Maybe it was instead seen as too busy schooling, checking off the pre-med "to-do" list and not actually living life?



Probably didn't.



don't worry, you'll fit in.



You wouldn't have gotten interviews if your base line stats weren't good enough.

Perhaps, your LORs sucked, your PS sucked, your interview sucked, or your ECs sucked since you graduated in 3 years.

why would u bother responding if u're just going to insult them?

 

[circulus vitios]

I applied to 15 schools, 7 of which are top 20s and ended up getting only 5 interviews from mid range to low range medical schools ( no top 20 schools).

There's your problem.

 

[KoopaT89]

why would u bother responding if u're just going to insult them?

I think thats called a reality check.

 

[vin5cent0]

Sounds like you just systematically went through and tried to make a good app instead of enjoying college for what it is. if I was an admissions person, and I saw some guy taking 24 credits and steamrolling through college in a shorter time than called for, I wouldn't exactly look favorably upon that.

 

[JJMrK]

This thread has been reported by several members due to the statement by the OP about self-harm. SDN takes such statements seriously and we would like to remind the OP and all posters that SDN should not serve as a place to obtain counseling or other advice regarding significant psychological issues. Anyone who is contemplating harming themselves should immediately seek professional counseling advice, not rely on SDN or other non-professional resources.

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At this time, given the nature of the thread and the concerns expressed, the moderation staff of SDN will close this thread.