What to do... if all rejections?

[longwait]

Let me first greet all SDNers a warm HELLo! This is my first post, so please bear with me.

I have been feeling very bad about myself over the course of this unfortunate application year, but I guess it's time for me to move on. My question is, what should I do if I get rejected by all the schools? Are appeals possible over this summer? (Do those EVEN work anytime of the year?)
And if I have to reapply again this August, should I commit myself to community service or a one-year paid research job?

Here's my stats and situation. Please tell me how I can improve myself. I called UCLA, and they said that they couldn't tell me anything.
UC Berkeley GPA=3.86, graduating with honors from molecular bio, MCAT=37-S. Two years of research and volunteering. No leadership positions in clubs and societies (could that be the main reason?????)

Thank you for reading my first post. I wish everyone else here has a successful application year.

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[moo]

Where else did you apply to? I hope that you didn't feel that because you had high stats, you didn't need to apply to some middle tier schools. One thing i've learned in this game is that NOTHING is guaranteed, not even if you have a 4.0, 40+ MCAT. If you have your eye set on attending a top 10 school, then I suggest doing more eye catching things like volunteering abroad, doing medical missions, etc. Else, you should be able to get into a middle tier medical school if you just apply again.

 

[longwait]

Thank you, it was exactly what my friends told me. I guess I had this crazy obsession about staying in CA, so that explains the fact that more than half of the schools I applied are in CA.

but you are right, that was one seriously stupid mistake I made.

 

[KelliJelliBeans]

"If at first you don't succeed, you can dust it off and try again, just dust yourself off and try again" - Aaliyah
:wink:

 

[matthew0126]

Hi, gimmeabreak,

fellow berkeley student here (yeaa, suck it stanfuuuurd )

let's see... GPA. check. MCAT. check. research. check. volunteer -- did you do hardcore volunteering and get really involved? of course, what you have is probably enough, as some people get in with almost no volunteering. so check.

wouldn't say it's your interviewing, 'cuz you didn't get to interview at most of those schools. so looks like it's one of three things:

-maybe your essays and extracurriculur descriptions are not very good
-maybe you have a bad letter of rec
-maybe you dont have enuf extracurriculurs

hm. good luck ;D, try and fix the one that is broken I guess during your next run.

 

[maitai]

you sound like yet another stellar applicant who is just getting screwed by the whole process. one problem might be the schools you applied to - they're all ultra-competitive, and there weren't that many of them - did you apply to any others? i would suggest applying to at LEAST a dozen and to a broader range of schools. also, did your volunteering include medically-related activities? and do you interview well?
with your numbers, etc i think i'd feel comfortable re-applying right away, with the added experiences you've gained this past year, and that you'll have this summer and fall while applying. that's only if you don't hear from one of your state schools this time around, of course, and there's still time for that! good luck and don't give up yet!

 

[maitai]

wow you guys are fast! sorry about my redundant reply.

 

[vyc]

CA schools are extremely hard to get into.
apply again, but widen your list.

 

[KelliJelliBeans]

BTW, How are you at interviews?
Your grades, MCATS, etc. are great but you might be lacking points when it comes to the face-to-face of it all.
Review with a close friend and have them point out your strengths and weaknesses.

 

[none]

I think the problem is the schools you applied to! You said half of the schools you applied to are in CA...that means, at max, you applied to 17 schools! That's really not enough for a CA resident, regardless of freakishly high stats. Did you apply to schools like Finch, NYMC, Albany? What about the mid-tier schools like Iowa? Michigan? Mount Sinai? Next time around, don't go less than 25, that's average for a CA resident. It REALLY doesn't sound like leadership positions are your problem. Maybe interviewing is, I don't know, but it sounds to me like you just applied to the top schools.

 

[ValleyGal]

Dude, the key is just to try again! Apply to lots of schools and you will get into some. Maybe call up the schools that did not accept you and ask why they didn't and what you can do to improve your application now. And bombard UCSF with love to try to get in this time around! Good luck!

 

[kafshar]

A few things (list format):

1) if you dont get in anywhere, apply again.. find out what schools thought were weak and improve those things drastically

2) dont give up this year (you sound as if there is not hope left).... let UCSF and UCSD know how badly you want to go there. Lots of waitlist action starts in mid-May and schools want you kiss their butts and say how well you fit.

3) Something is wrong.... someone wisely posted above about having a bad letter or rec... that can DESTROY you. If you can imagine that being it....find out who it is and replace it for next year. With those numbers.... more schools should have interviewed you. There is something in your application that is making schools not think you are fit. Bad letter? Not enough exposure to medicine? I would bet on bad letter of rec.... because lots of schools dont care about volunteering. I heard from an Admissions Committee member that if there is one negative comment in one of the letters... it is an AUTOMATIC rejection. People say that my letters or rec "werent good". That means werent fantastic. A BAD letter is the worst thing in the world.

4) apply to more schools and especially Washington Univ in St. Louis. You are pretty much guaranteed an interview with those numbers (that school loves GPA & MCAT) and it is #3 in the nation.

Good luck and dont give up yet.

 

[analu]

Hi gimme,

To reiterate some of the previous posts, CA seem like a crap shoot...apply to more schools (if you don't get in this year---IT'S TOO EARLY TO GIVE UP YET, HANG IN THERE).

Also, I would recommend shadowing a physician or working with one directly in the off year. Great way to get a letter of recommendation and a wonderful way to demonstrate to adcoms that you know what you're getting yourself into. For me, I think that working for a doctor was the key to my application.

GOOD LUCK!

me ke aloha pumehana

 

[longwait]

A big thank-you to all the people who responded to my question. Yes, I should have applied to more schools... I guess I focused on UC schools not because of over-confidence but because I really wanted to stay here (it's the best state for motorcycling, at least). It was a stupid decision, though, and I can't spend one day without regretting about it.

But if the rejections were due to a bad rec letter, then it probably didn't matter how many schools I applied to, right? This possibility worries me and makes me think that I might have to use the upcoming year to do tons of special stuff and replace most of my rec letters. I am not sure whether it's feasible within one year, though.

And I have one more question.... how does one come about kissing up to the schools that put him/her on the waitlist? Does kissing up really work? Or would they consider you as too demanding or desperate? Thanks again.

 

[Cambrian]

Wow, with godly stats like that I don't why you weren't accepted, even to top schools like Stanford or Harvard. As others have said, there is probably something wrong with your application. It could be the letters of rec, how you presented yourself in the personal statement. With those stats alone, you should have at least gotten an interview at UCLA. Then again, I don't need to remind you that this process is a lottery. I know at least one person who has a 3.7 GPA, 30 MCAT, ordinary EC's and still got in to Stanford. It just boggles me that you didn't even get an interview at Stanford. Contact all of the schools you were rejected from and ask them what was wrong with your application and how you can improve it.

And then of course, apply again next year. But keep your hopes up. Just wait for the UCLA and UCSF waitlist movement. Also show interest in the schools by sending them update letters and stuff like that.

Good luck.

 

[Dr. Nick]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by KelliJelliBeans:
•"If at first you don't succeed, you can dust it off and try again, just dust yourself off and try again" - Aaliyah
:wink: •••••Yeah right, unless you die in a plane crash first.

 

[Dr. Nick]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by none:
• What about the mid-tier schools like....Michigan?.....•••••Michigan is hardly a "mid-tier" school. Depending who you listen to it's in the top 10-15 out of ~120 American medical schools. USNews has it at number 8 on their rankings. That's higher than Stanford, Yale, Univ of Chicago, UCSD, etc.

I imagine getting in there from out of state is a lot harder than you think.

 

[efex101]

I have to agree with all the above posters but also did you submit applications on time? You never mentioned if you applied early or late so that is something to consider. Sometimes folks with great stats do not get in due to late applications or LOR's were sent very late (not the students fault to a certain point). Never assume anything even with a 4.0, high MCAT, volunteering, and research you have to *present* yourself just right. The PS has to be eloquent and be a reflection of your soft side. The LOR's have to make you sound like you walk on water and more. So check with your LOR writers and ask if they wrote strong letters in your behalf. I know of some students that did not get in with good stats due to bad LOR's. Apply again and get involved in something that is meaningful to you regardless of how it will "look" on the application. Adcom's can feel it when we are just trying to check all the boxes....

 

[Doctora Foxy]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by gimmeabreak:
•
But if the rejections were due to a bad rec letter, then it probably didn't matter how many schools I applied to, right? This possibility worries me and makes me think that I might have to use the upcoming year to do tons of special stuff and replace most of my rec letters. I am not sure whether it's feasible within one year, though.

.•••••Did you use a premed committee for your LORs? If so, you can ask your premed advisor to inform you if one LOR was bad. In my school, if that was the case, they wouldn't even include it in my compoiste letter.

 

[The Fly]

• •••quote:•••Michigan is hardly a "mid-tier" school. Depending who you listen to it's in the top 10-15 out of ~120 American medical schools. USNews has it at number 8 on their rankings. That's higher than Stanford, Yale, Univ of Chicago, UCSD, etc.•••••Is someone going to Michigan ?? :wink:

But seriously, Michigan and Sinai are not what I would think of as mid-tier schools, especially the former. . .

 

[kafshar]

I think it is hard to say Michigan is mid-tier when it is ranked #5 amongst Residency Directors. I think applying out-of-state makes it even harder.

A quick story:

My friend from Harvard undergrad applied to 11 medical schools. She got interviews at all 11. She got accepted to 9 of them and waitlisted at 2. The 9 that accepted her were Hopkins, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, UCLA, UCSF, Stanford, Wash U, and Yale. The 2 that waitlisted her were Harvard and Michigan. It isnt as easy as you think. By the way... she chose UCLA. I think that she is crazy... but it was her choice.

I am definitely biased because I want to go to Michigan... but I am not writing this because I took the comments offensively... I am just warning those that think it is "automatic" with good stats or think of it as a back-up.