What should I do ...

[ICS]

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I will be deciding on what to do with the next month of my life based upon the feedback from this, so please reply if you have good insight or advice on the question.

This is my first time posting on one of these.

So, firstly, my target school is Yale. I really want to go to Yale, to the extent than any other school is much the same to me, whether it is Harvard or a state school.

With that in mind, I need to ask about which of my choices it would be best to pursue. I will list those in a bit, but first for the information.

I have an A average (3.8?). I am a reapplicant, perhaps because I applied very late last year and hadn't done any of my organic chemistry. My essay and secondary essays describe my experiences three years ago experiencing rheumatic fever, and then consequent adrenal exhaustion, acidosis, hypotensive crises, severe insomnia, et cetera, and having to struggle against months of daily near death experiences and master medicine and figure out what was wrong with me and how to cure it since my case was too complex and no doctor I went to was able (or actually even tried, though I don't mention that) to help me. And then how I went on to help others, such as curing a person of a smoking addiction (he credited me with saving his life), saving my mother's life from an acidosis attack that otherwise would have killed her after she had suffered an injury that caused her lungs to fill with blood, curing a dog of cancer (she lived a year and a half longer when the doctors had only given her two days), hemorrhaging, and even then muscle wasting. Et cetera. The point is that I developed a great knowledge of herbal and nutritional treatments and went on to apply it to others after curing myself (I cured a cat of cataracts, for example).

I have many extracurriculars, and although I'm not sure those really matter, I want to get good feedback so I will include what I can remember off the top of my head. My sports would be Iron Palm training and I am a member of a Kayak Club. I mention about having read over 10,000 pages of military classics, manuals, and military history, and having read over 100,000 pages of classics. I set up two small time international trade deals a few years ago, so I mention I have some trade/business experience. I play the lyre, shakuhachi, harmonica, fue, and drone flute. I also know throat singing (it is a Mongolian practice). I am certified (not a presitigious certification, but still certified) in HTML, CSS, Javascript, and PHP. I have also studied electronics and robotics intensely.

To the extent that I made my own functional electrocardiogram this January, and it works. I am also going to be building a CNC 3D machine soon, to make custom parts, and I have made a few musical instruments with my woodworking skills.

I have published two research articles in the online journal Student Research.

So I have a number of extracurriculars, but I sort of wonder if admissions committees actually care about that. Does anyone have any experience with that?

I have Graduate experience, with about 6 or so classes in a Masters of Technology, most of them being A but one or two being C or B.

My letters of recommendation are so-so but present.

Now on to the critical question. I applied last year at pretty much the end of the year, partially because some of my schools took too long to send in my transcript. So I was able to send it in around October and they got done processing me at the end of November. Yeah, horrible. Anyway, I got no interview offers. The MCAT of that year I took not knowing half of the classes (Chemistry and Organic Chemistry), and to my luck those two were the main ones on their respective sections, not Physics and Biology, and I had only about a month to study. I got a 30.

Not great, right? But I think that is enough to get into a medical school. I was going to spend a few months studying this time around, but I got occupied in trying to set up a business venture and, old story, there was one delay and problem after another and it ended up taking a few months rather than one. So here I am. But I am good in a pinch and last time I was able to memorize all of the Physics formulas in two days and do fine on that the day of the MCAT.

Alternately, I could spend this time volunteering with an ambulance/getting ambulance training. I don't have down any shadowing and I doubt the medical committees will really view all my medical experience as "actual" medical experience. I've kind of reached the conclusion that some other people have, that this is all essentially an algorithm.

So what do I do? Do I spend this month studying and retake the MCAT in June? But that would mean I would only be processed in early July at best. Or do I leave it at a 30 (I am trying to get into Yale) and thus allow myself to apply the very first day of June?

Which gives more advantage: a higher MCAT score (a few points above a 30) or applying a month earlier, June instead of July? I am still not confident with Organic Chemistry (for the purposes of the test), but I've now studied Chemistry and I want to know if I should spend a month of intense study and retake the test for the chance at a higher score, or do I just leave it at a 30 and apply the very beginning of June? Which makes more difference, a few points more or a month earlier? I would really like some advice from someone who perhaps either got in, got interviews, or got into Yale.

As for my Pre-Med courses, I took them in a sort of unorthodox way (New England School of Medicine for some of them). I got A for Biology I and II, I think C-ish for my Calculus I and II, Bs for Physics I and II, Bs for Chemistry I and II (sorry that I'm estimating), and I think I will be getting A or B for my Organic Chemistry I and II.

In case this matters, just for my statistics, I am a white heterosexual male. I know none of those things look good on school statistics so obviously that is not going to benefit me for admissions purposes. And I am 25.

Sorry if this was long. I wanted to give a clear view of the situation. I want to know if I should:
1) spend the entire month of May studing to take the MCAT in June and hopefuly
get few points above a 30, but thus get processed early in July
2) don't take the MCAT again, and thus be processed during June
3) don't take the MCAT again, but do go in for ambulance training

Remember, I want to get into Yale. What would be best? I will be deciding this based upon the recommendations I am given here. I am asking others because I don't have successful experience with the process and wouldn't really be able to judge. Particularly welcome are any comments from people who have experience with Yale, but anyone who has successfully complete some part of the application process (gotten into other schools, gotten interviews, et cetera) would be welcome. This might help other people decide things too.

 

[Bamfu]

Yale probably requires a higher than "not bad" MCAT. 30 is a fine score, but maybe not for Yale. Last year the average matriculant score across the entire US was a 31. Yale is probably (I am too lazy too look it up) well above average on their acceptances.

If it's Yale or bust, you need to raise that MCAT. If you decide to just get in anywhere you can, a 30 will serve you just fine.

Your med school matters for a lot of reasons. However, you get what you put in (as with everything else). You can get a top 20 education without going to a top 20 school if you put in the time/effort to learn as much as you can. I haven't gotten there yet, but I think more important than your med school choice will be where you end up doing a residency. Working with greatness has a much higher chance of making you great, and judging by what I've read on these forums, med school is med school.

So yeah, my TL;DR - retake MCAT if you must have Yale. If you're willing to settle, apply now.

 

[circulus vitios]

I think the median MCAT for those who are accepted to Yale is like a 37 (~97th percentile). Your score is ~78th percentile.

 

[yehhhboiii]

I have an A average (3.8?). I am a reapplicant, perhaps because I applied very late last year and hadn't done any of my organic chemistry. My essay and secondary essays describe my experiences three years ago experiencing rheumatic fever, and then consequent adrenal exhaustion, acidosis, hypotensive crises, severe insomnia, et cetera, and having to struggle against months of daily near death experiences and master medicine and figure out what was wrong with me and how to cure it since my case was too complex and no doctor I went to was able (or actually even tried, though I don't mention that) to help me. And then how I went on to help others, such as curing a person of a smoking addiction (he credited me with saving his life), saving my mother's life from an acidosis attack that otherwise would have killed her after she had suffered an injury that caused her lungs to fill with blood, curing a dog of cancer (she lived a year and a half longer when the doctors had only given her two days), hemorrhaging, and even then muscle wasting. Et cetera. The point is that I developed a great knowledge of herbal and nutritional treatments and went on to apply it to others after curing myself (I cured a cat of cataracts, for example).

wat

 

[d12]

wat

lol i have a feeling the previous posters only read the first couple of sentences and the last couple. amazing post, op. 😎

 

[Ashley1989]

Maybe it's just me but I would be wary telling your story like this in your applications... Saying you cured a dog of cancer and a cat of cataracts are fairly big claims

 

[linebacker57]

You need to redo you personal statement. AdComs hate reading personal statements about people's medical experiences, and also diagnosing someone as a pre-med, while cool, is not the kind of stuff you want to talk about, doctors reading that will laugh. Talk about non medical experiences that have contributed to who you are, leadership roles, community service, etc.

 

[Ismet]

 

[deleted480308]

The "i cured myself because no doctor was smart enough to" could sound a bit arrogant.


Have some strangers read that for a second opinion

 

[Bamfu]

lol i have a feeling the previous posters only read the first couple of sentences and the last couple. amazing post, op. 😎

Haha you got me. Wall of text crit me for over 9000, and I'm already sick.

Pretty good reread after a nap, though!

 

[Xenops]

My opinion is, if it's Yale or bust, you don't really want to go to medical school.

 

[Druggernaut]

You need to completely repackage how you're presenting yourself. For starters, you say you had to "master medicine" and to save your life because the doctors were too incompetent or lazy. That line alone would see your application right into the trash regardless of what else you wrote. Saving your mother from an "acidosis attack," whatever that means, and telling us you're credited with saving another life because you got them to quit smoking? Curing a cat's cataracts and a dog's cancer (and hemorrhaging: did you have suture, blood products, and IV fluids?) with herbs? Maybe you ought to find some kind of naturopathic vet school...

The way you list your other accomplishments and hobbies also sounds inflated. Your 10,000 pages of military manuals and 100,000 pages of "classics" strikes me as some kind of checkbox/ "more is better" kind of mentality. "Graduate experience" without a degree is also a potential red flag. Why didn't you see it through? Why don't you do tech for a living?

Letters of recommendation that are "present" but only so-so are a significant weakness. Get new ones.

Extracurriculars absolutely matter, especially at the upper echelon places like Yale. And as critical as I may have been, it sounds like you may be able to turn them from an instant rejection into a strength if you reconsider how you're describing them. And you need shadowing and ideally additional medical experience as well. Taking an EMT or CNA course is meaningless without putting it to use in the field.

As an earlier poster said, you need to be aiming for an MCAT score in the upper 30's. You need to retake it.

I had a friend who looked like a pretty good medical school applicant. He wasted two or three years applying to one place, then got in on his first shot when he applied more broadly. No applicant should just be aiming for one school. What's your ultimate goal, being a doctor, or graduating from Yale?

 

[pre med 2014]

I probably have read 10,000 pages of SDN forum threads, does that count for anything?

 

[pre med 2014]

Ohh and I cured MYSELF from smoking, no doctor was smart enough to figure it out. I had to master medicine to save myself from the harmful effects of cigarettes.

 

[hellokitty89]

1. Naturopathic vet med schools don't exist.
2. This guy is a *****.
3. Posing/acting as a MD or DVM is illegal. Get over yourself!

 

[d12]

You need to completely repackage how you're presenting yourself. For starters, you say you had to "master medicine" and to save your life because the doctors were too incompetent or lazy. That line alone would see your application right into the trash regardless of what else you wrote. Saving your mother from an "acidosis attack," whatever that means, and telling us you're credited with saving another life because you got them to quit smoking? Curing a cat's cataracts and a dog's cancer (and hemorrhaging: did you have suture, blood products, and IV fluids?) with herbs? Maybe you ought to find some kind of naturopathic vet school...

The way you list your other accomplishments and hobbies also sounds inflated. Your 10,000 pages of military manuals and 100,000 pages of "classics" strikes me as some kind of checkbox/ "more is better" kind of mentality. "Graduate experience" without a degree is also a potential red flag. Why didn't you see it through? Why don't you do tech for a living?

Letters of recommendation that are "present" but only so-so are a significant weakness. Get new ones.

Extracurriculars absolutely matter, especially at the upper echelon places like Yale. And as critical as I may have been, it sounds like you may be able to turn them from an instant rejection into a strength if you reconsider how you're describing them. And you need shadowing and ideally additional medical experience as well. Taking an EMT or CNA course is meaningless without putting it to use in the field.

As an earlier poster said, you need to be aiming for an MCAT score in the upper 30's. You need to retake it.

I had a friend who looked like a pretty good medical school applicant. He wasted two or three years applying to one place, then got in on his first shot when he applied more broadly. No applicant should just be aiming for one school. What's your ultimate goal, being a doctor, or graduating from Yale?

whooooosh