Where Else Should I Apply

[HamsterHuey]

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Hi out there:

So, I was wondering if someone might advise me on what I should do at this point in the game. I am a re-applicant, 35 years old with a 32 MCAT and BCPM GPA of 3.97, Cum GPA of 3.30, but a postbac GPA of 4.0 (with Physics, Ochem, Bio, GenChem, Statistics, Mol. Bio, Cell Bio, Genetics). I have yet to receive an interview invite this cycle, although my first secondary was submitted 8/15. Below is the list of schools I have applied to:


U Wisconsin
Mayo
OHSU - I am IS here
U. Miami
Wake Forest
MCW
U. Mich
SLU
Stanford
Brown
Rush
Drexel
U. Minn
Georgetown
Dartmouth
U Vermont
Wayne State
U Illinois

Are there some others that are non-trad friendly, "safe-schools" (relatively speaking) that I should apply to? I am so afraid of not getting in this year and want to do everything possible to hedge my bets. Should I also be looking at schools in the Caribbean or in Australia? I far prefer to go to a conventional medical school in the US, but I really don't want to put off med school for another year.

Thanks for any advice!

EDIT 9/13/13:

I have recently added:

Creighton
Virginia Tech
Oakland
VCU
Western Mich
Tulane
Albany
Stony Brook
Central Michigan

This was per the advice given on this thread, which I appreciate.

 

[Shjanzey]

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[Apache1618]

You could try other private medical schools so you don't have to worry about IS or OOS. Also might think about the military school. Virginia Commonwealth is a pretty friendly medical school for non-trads/IS alike.

 

[HamsterHuey]

Are any of those "instate"? What is the average MCAT/GPA of last years entering class for those schools (This is what I am using to try to narrow down the pool to places where I have a realistic chance of getting an Interview Invite)? I don't see any reason why you shouldn't receive several invites -- you have solid stats, although I think you may have shot high on a few of those schools.

Try Tulane, they say they won't consider anyone lower than 32, so you are safe with them.

Also, 8/15 is a little behind the 8-ball so it may take until Oct or Nov to hear back on interviewing.

Good luck!!

Hi - yes, OHSU is IS. All of the schools I applied to have about a 32 average or lower with the exception of Stanford and U. Michigan. I definitely shot high on a couple, but Mayo did say they would be interested in seeing my application again.

The verification process took forever this year. I submitted my AMCAS application on July 1st. I wanted to get it done earlier, but was having trouble getting my personal statement right.

I looked at Tulane, but $73,000 per year! Whew, that would be a bitter pill to swallow.

My top choice for schools (besides the unattainable ones) are Univeristy of Wisconsin, OHSU, and Wake Forest, and Medical College of Wisconsin. Hopefully, something good will happen!

 

[HamsterHuey]

You could try other private medical schools so you don't have to worry about IS or OOS. Also might think about the military school. Virginia Commonwealth is a pretty friendly medical school for non-trads/IS alike.

Thanks for the info. So, with Virginia Commonwealth, do you have any military obligations after graduation? Please excuse my ignorance here... I just have no idea how it works!

 

[aerodoc]

Hi - yes, OHSU is IS. All of the schools I applied to have about a 32 average or lower with the exception of Stanford and U. Michigan. I definitely shot high on a couple, but Mayo did say they would be interested in seeing my application again.

The verification process took forever this year. I submitted my AMCAS application on July 1st. I wanted to get it done earlier, but was having trouble getting my personal statement right.

I looked at Tulane, but $73,000 per year! Whew, that would be a bitter pill to swallow.

My top choice for schools (besides the unattainable ones) are Univeristy of Wisconsin, OHSU, and Wake Forest, and Medical College of Wisconsin. Hopefully, something good will happen!

Unfortunately, being OOS at any public school is going to be expensive. In my opinion, I think you should apply everywhere you think you've got a shot, and worry about the money later. If you get accepted to Tulane among other schools, you can weigh the cost against the others. It seems to me you're REALLY looking to get in somewhere this year...are you willing to go to the Caribbean instead of pay the Tulane tuition if that were your only acceptance? Just something to think about.

Don't worry about not getting any interview invites yet, if you apply around this time you might not hear back until December/January (in my experience anyway).

Finally for other schools, if you have ties to other states, definitely apply to those. I think the newly opened schools too might be good bets to apply to. Virginia Tech, Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Stony Brook, Oakland University, etc etc.. I say that because they mostly tend to be private schools and I think in general will have less applicants. Just a good way to give yourself some options.

Good luck!

 

[HamsterHuey]

Unfortunately, being OOS at any public school is going to be expensive. In my opinion, I think you should apply everywhere you think you've got a shot, and worry about the money later. If you get accepted to Tulane among other schools, you can weigh the cost against the others. It seems to me you're REALLY looking to get in somewhere this year...are you willing to go to the Caribbean instead of pay the Tulane tuition if that were your only acceptance? Just something to think about.

Don't worry about not getting any interview invites yet, if you apply around this time you might not hear back until December/January (in my experience anyway).

Finally for other schools, if you have ties to other states, definitely apply to those. I think the newly opened schools too might be good bets to apply to. Virginia Tech, Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Stony Brook, Oakland University, etc etc.. I say that because they mostly tend to be private schools and I think in general will have less applicants. Just a good way to give yourself some options.

Good luck!

Ok, you're right. I'm going all in. I applied to each place you suggested, and it sounds like maybe I should add Virginia Commonwealth too.

So, I don't have any ties besides Oregon. I'm from Alaska originally, and if I still had residency, the University of Washington would be an option.

Any others you suggest?

 

[aerodoc]

Ok, you're right. I'm going all in. I applied to each place you suggested, and it sounds like maybe I should add Virginia Commonwealth too.

So, I don't have any ties besides Oregon. I'm from Alaska originally, and if I still had residency, the University of Washington would be an option.

Any others you suggest?

Probably apply to UW also then since you're from Alaska (unless they take zero out of staters, but usually if you have ties they should still consider you). I can't think of any of the other new schools off the top of my head, maybe someone else can chime in. I agree with VCU also.

 

[HamsterHuey]

Thanks for your help! Yeah, UW doesn't do so much for Oregon residents. They pretty much reject them without a secondary.

I wonder if I should throw Creighton into the mix as well.

 

[sazerac]

Good advice in this thread. With your stats do not even consider going out of country. Also consider Rosalind Franklin Chicago Medical School, Tufts, and Albany on the MD side. I am not familiar with DO schools, and you will likely get an MD acceptance somewhere.

Also LOL at being concerned with Tulane total COA when it is less than University of Illinois TUITION. In New Orleans you'd still get room and board; in Illinois you'd get card board.

 

[HamsterHuey]

Good advice in this thread. With your stats do not even consider going out of country. Also consider Rosalind Franklin Chicago Medical School, Tufts, and Albany on the MD side. I am not familiar with DO schools, and you will likely get an MD acceptance somewhere.

Also LOL at being concerned with Tulane total COA when it is less than University of Illinois TUITION. In New Orleans you'd still get room and board; in Illinois you'd get card board.

First off - props to your username. That's my favorite drink by far. Second - yeah, I misread the cost of Tulane. Much better price than U. of Illinois! Thanks for pointing that out.

I'll look at RFC, Tufts and Albany. Thanks for the heads up on those!

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

Try Tulane, they say they won't consider anyone lower than 32, so you are safe with them.

Not quite true; I just started there and the average MCAT for my class was a 32.something. It is true that Tulane places a lot of value on the MCAT, ECs and general life experiences, and less on cGPA if you've done well in recent coursework. This is definitely a school for nontrads to apply to. But yeah, it is really expensive.

Probably apply to UW also then since you're from Alaska (unless they take zero out of staters, but usually if you have ties they should still consider you). I can't think of any of the other new schools off the top of my head, maybe someone else can chime in. I agree with VCU also.

Unless you are a current resident of Alaska, Wyoming, Montana or Idaho and therefore eligible for the WWAMI program, UW takes virtually no OOS. They take a handful with superstar stats and a proven interest in rural medicine, but that's it. They don't give preference for regional ties.

 

[Goro]

I count 9 schools where I think you'll have really good chances. Being an OOS applicant for the public schools (other than your own)? Maybe not so good.

You can do far better than Carib diploma mills. You'd be a lock for any DO program, including mine.

Hi out there:

So, I was wondering if someone might advise me on what I should do at this point in the game. I am a re-applicant, 35 years old with a 32 MCAT and BCPM GPA of 3.97, Cum GPA of 3.30, but a postbac GPA of 4.0 (with Physics, Ochem, Bio, GenChem, Statistics, Mol. Bio, Cell Bio, Genetics). I have yet to receive an interview invite this cycle, although my first secondary was submitted 8/15. Below is the list of schools I have applied to:


U Wisconsin
Mayo
OHSU
U. Miami
Wake Forest
MCW
U. Mich
SLU
Stanford
Brown
Rush
Drexel
U. Minn
Georgetown
Dartmouth
U Vermont
Wayne State
U Illinois

Are there some others that are non-trad friendly, "safe-schools" (relatively speaking) that I should apply to? I am so afraid of not getting in this year and want to do everything possible to hedge my bets. Should I also be looking at schools in the Caribbean or in Australia? I far prefer to go to a conventional medical school in the US, but I really don't want to put off med school for another year.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[HamsterHuey]

I count 9 schools where I think you'll have really good chances. Being an OOS applicant for the public schools (other than your own)? Maybe not so good.

You can do far better than Carib diploma mills. You'd be a lock for any DO program, including mine.

Thanks for the advice. I am IS for OHSU. I have recently added:

Creighton
Virginia Tech
Oakland
VCU
Western Mich
Tulane
Albany
Stony Brook
Central Michigan

That'll cost about $1250 in app fees (including the AMCAS fees), but hopefully I'll get an II.

What DO school do you attend?

 

[HamsterHuey]

II at Georgetown, so apparently that was a good school to apply to! Excited about that

 

[AlexMack12]

Quinnipiac and Hofstra are both newer medical schools (I think Hofstra will be accepting its third or fourth class and Quinnipiac its second).
Quinnipiac is in CT and Hofstra in NY.
(Also, for whatever it's worth, Stony Brook is one of New York's state schools (I think someone mentioned it might be private?) your stats are definitely good for Stony brook but by default they have a slight in-state preference)

Good luck!!

 

[HamsterHuey]

Quinnipiac and Hofstra are both newer medical schools (I think Hofstra will be accepting its third or fourth class and Quinnipiac its second).
Quinnipiac is in CT and Hofstra in NY.
(Also, for whatever it's worth, Stony Brook is one of New York's state schools (I think someone mentioned it might be private?) your stats are definitely good for Stony brook but by default they have a slight in-state preference)

Good luck!!

Thanks! Yeah, I saw that Stony Brook is public on MSAR. Hopefully good things will happen this year.

Being in the MPH program at OHSU is definitely the best thing I could have ever done. The Epidemiology/Biostats track there is pretty great and I feel like it is really prepping me for med school, given most of my profs are MD/MPHs and my classes are with residents and and attendings

 

[HamsterHuey]

II to OHSU! That makes my invites

Georgetown
OHSU

Glad some positive stuff is coming back to me this month!