Why haven't I heard back from many schools?

  • Thread starter Thread starter 664628
  • Start date Start date
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Members do not see this ad.
keels99 said:
The same school has been giving out April interviews since December this cycle. People drop ii's when they get accepted to other places. Saying you're worried about the school I got accepted to is kind of insulting to be quite honest.
Click to expand...

I am not sure what you mean, since I am also applying there. It is a great school. I have no clue how competitive it is this year relative to last, but anyone would worry if those are the only IIs. If anything I am very impressed you got into this school.
 
IslandStyle808 said:
I am not sure what you mean, since I am also applying there. It is a great school. I have no clue how competitive it is this year relative to last, but anyone would worry if those are the only IIs. If anything I am very impressed you got into this school.
Click to expand...
I think I misunderstood, thinking that you meant if the school if giving out late interviews it's not a good school.

I should probably stop working doubles :bucktooth:
 
keels99 said:
I think I misunderstood, thinking that you meant if the school if giving out late interviews it's not a good school.

I should probably stop working doubles :bucktooth:
Click to expand...

The CHC in my state gave me one of the first exposures to osteopathic medicine and I really enjoyed it. The director was a very nice person and really wanted physicians to practice in my home state. Sadly the site has stopped taking students though. It is one of my top choices none the less.

What I meant by my post is if this school is only giving interview invites for April in January, it is getting insanely competitive. Other schools that are giving invites in January are still offering February interview and March interview dates. Knowing this worries me.
 
PlasticBag said:
NYCOM and PCOM-GA (both didn't require a DO letter so I was complete in October. added the letter later), Touro-CA, AZCOM, CCOM, RVU (the school I just added recently). Also applied to WesternU which rejected me based on a mistake, I contacted them, and they finally sent me a secondary a couple of weeks ago. I'm working on it now but I don't see much chance.
Click to expand...

Your issue is that your school list is very top heavy. 29 MCAT is good for many/most DO schools, but it's literally the floor for AZCOM this cycle (so far) and is below the Touro CA average. I believe Western, NYCOM, CCOM, and RVU are right at 29 (maybe 28). In other words, your MCAT would stand out at some schools, but not the ones you chose to apply to.

No idea bout PCOM GA. PCOM PA seems to weigh ECs heavier than most schools, but I don't know if the GA campus is the same in that regard. Their web site does state that they have a Southern bias. I think NYCOM also has a fairly strong regional bias.

I don't know details about your application, but my guess is you're probably not a crappy applicant. You just didn't apply wisely. You may still get some IIs later (AZCOM, perhaps?), but you would've had more luck if you also applied to places like ATSU-SOMA, LECOM, LMU, MUCOM, and KCUMB. The silver lining is that if you do need to reapply next cycle, you won't be a reapplicant at those schools.
 
karling said:
Your issue is that your school list is very top heavy. 29 MCAT is good for many/most DO schools, but it's literally the floor for AZCOM this cycle (so far) and is below the Touro CA average. I believe Western, NYCOM, CCOM, and RVU are right at 29 (maybe 28). In other words, your MCAT would stand out at some schools, but not the ones you chose to apply to.

No idea bout PCOM GA. PCOM PA seems to weigh ECs heavier than most schools, but I don't know if the GA campus is the same in that regard. Their web site does state that they have a Southern bias. I think NYCOM also has a fairly strong regional bias.

I don't know details about your application, but my guess is you're probably not a crappy applicant. You just didn't apply wisely. You may still get some IIs later (AZCOM, perhaps?), but you would've had more luck if you also applied to places like ATSU-SOMA, LECOM, LMU, MUCOM, and KCUMB. The silver lining is that if you do need to reapply next cycle, you won't be a reapplicant at those schools.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I agree that my list was overly optimistic. I also applied to a bunch of low-ranked MD schools, not sure what I was looking for there! The problem is that only big cities are doable for me, due to my spouse's academic career. So Lake Erie, for example, will not be an option. But I guess some schools I just thought of as located in "undesirable" for us locations and this will need to be reevaluated for the next cycle!

I am in-state for NYCOM, and my DO letter is from a NYCOM grad and former faculty. Was hoping for some attention from them. The fact that even they didn't give me an ii makes me worried that something is weird about my application in general.

I have no ties to the South so I'm not hoping for much from PCOM-GA. I did send them my updated transcript saying that I'm very interested in that school etc.
 
karling said:
Your issue is that your school list is very top heavy. 29 MCAT is good for many/most DO schools, but it's literally the floor for AZCOM this cycle (so far) and is below the Touro CA average. I believe Western, NYCOM, CCOM, and RVU are right at 29 (maybe 28). In other words, your MCAT would stand out at some schools, but not the ones you chose to apply to.

No idea bout PCOM GA. PCOM PA seems to weigh ECs heavier than most schools, but I don't know if the GA campus is the same in that regard. Their web site does state that they have a Southern bias. I think NYCOM also has a fairly strong regional bias.

I don't know details about your application, but my guess is you're probably not a crappy applicant. You just didn't apply wisely. You may still get some IIs later (AZCOM, perhaps?), but you would've had more luck if you also applied to places like ATSU-SOMA, LECOM, LMU, MUCOM, and KCUMB. The silver lining is that if you do need to reapply next cycle, you won't be a reapplicant at those schools.
Click to expand...
this has been posted repeatedly with no evidence beyond hearsay.
 
it could be ur personal statement/ec, not applying broadly enough, or just bad luck.

in regards to your PS tell me if i'm roughly correct:
"I found a passion for neuroscience while in college. i further developed this passion by participating in research and shadowing a neurologist and neurosurgeon. shadowing them made me realize i wanted to be a doctor. Also while volunteering i learned from the patients around me, which only re-inforced my desire to go into medicine. "

i mean no offense, but if your ps is something roughly similar to this you need to have publications/poster presentations/etc to back up how your "love for neuroscience" extends into something tangible (basically something the school can brag about or can mark you as a potential candidate for research at their school).

imo, if this year doesn't go well i would re-examine your PS and how you worded your ECs. Also i would apply broadly to both do and md progs. focus on regionality, which will give you better hits. n=1, but i got ii from schools that were waaaay out of my reach b/c i think i had a compelling PS that meshed well with my ECs. sometimes, it's not the lack of stats that's stopping you, it's how you present the stats.
 
PlasticBag said:
Thanks. I agree that my list was overly optimistic. I also applied to a bunch of low-ranked MD schools, not sure what I was looking for there! The problem is that only big cities are doable for me, due to my spouse's academic career. So Lake Erie, for example, will not be an option. But I guess some schools I just thought of as located in "undesirable" for us locations and this will need to be reevaluated for the next cycle!

I am in-state for NYCOM, and my DO letter is from a NYCOM grad and former faculty. Was hoping for some attention from them. The fact that even they didn't give me an ii makes me worried that something is weird about my application in general.

I have no ties to the South so I'm not hoping for much from PCOM-GA. I did send them my updated transcript saying that I'm very interested in that school etc.
Click to expand...

I also needed to take into account my SO when it comes to location. I originally ruled out LECOM because of its isolation, but ended up applying to LECOM Seton Hill when I realized it isn't that far from Pittsburgh (and Greensburg itself would have more options for your spouse than Erie, I think). LECOM Bradenton would probably work well in terms of location too.

I'm a little baffled about NYCOM's standards for admission/IIs. They seem just as much of a crapshoot as PCOM.

user3 said:
this has been posted repeatedly with no evidence beyond hearsay.
Click to expand...

*shrug* I got the info straight from AZCOM's admissions department.
 
Goro said:
I would imagine that those with typos or bad grammar might indeed kill an app.
Click to expand...

How about as far as content? I feel my PS was a little too generic
 
Goro said:
Without reading it, I couldn't comment.
Click to expand...

Would you be willing to read it? But I think I applied to your school (KCOM?) so it might be a little awkward lol
 
IslandStyle808 said:
Kind of worried about that school, since people are saying they are only able to get April spots with their recent IIs.
Click to expand...

Which school are we talking about? PM me if we're not talking about it. It'd make me feel better about my April interview.

As for the OP, I disagree with people saying that the list is top heavy. Anyone who spends some amount of time going through all the threads where people are talking about what interviews they got and their stats should know the OP should be seeing a good amount of action (even if they're not necessarily acceptances). As someone with an alright application (but bad MCAT), I can definitely say he should be seeing more action than I am.

I would say there's potentially problems somewhere in the primary/secondary applications as a culprit. Is everything organized well? Are things described coherently? Does everything mesh with the personal "brand" he's trying to create (e.g. if he talks about being dedicated to volunteering he better have a lot of volunteering)? Is the spelling/grammar/structure that of professional quality?

I think a lot of people don't put as much love and care into some of the finer details of the applications, and I feel like if I was an admissions committee member I'd be adding points for presentation as well as content. I was actually surprised at the amount of freedom a lot of the schools gave.
 
Last edited:
Prncssbuttercup said:
I am also suspicious that your PS and secondaries are poor. Reason being, LECOM isn't a 'top tier school'... sorry to whomever it was who thought that... I don't know that I'd put PCOM as a top tier school either. The list looks pretty average to me, so something else is going on. Either your letters aren't as good as you think, or your PS/2nds aren't as good as you think. Did you have someone from SDN go over your PS??
Click to expand...

PCOM is one of the highest regarded osteopathic schools. PCOM has the most apps/two teaching hospitals affiliated with them/and I think the biggest opti. Extremely established and with everything considered (cost/location/quality) is argubly the best school. Very few DO schools can compare (msucom/kcumb/dmu/rowan/tcom)
 
Last edited:
I'd second the above ^^^. Also you'd be surprised how competitive the tri-state DO schools are (PCOM, Rowan and NYCOM). I applied to those 3 considering them a "safety", plus MD schools. Big miscalculation on my part. The caliber of applicants was very impressive.

OP just based on my experience with the 3 tri-state schools, I think your list might be just a bit top heavy. I had avg stats for allopathic and was definitely not at the higher end of applicants, during the early part of the cycle at those schools when I interviewed.
 
Xylene said:
I'd second the above ^^^. Also you'd be surprised how competitive the tri-state DO schools are (PCOM, Rowan and NYCOM). I applied to those 3 considering them a "safety", plus MD schools. Big miscalculation on my part. The caliber of applicants was very impressive.

OP just based on my experience with the 3 tri-state schools, I think your list might be just a bit top heavy. I had avg stats for allopathic and was definitely not at the higher end of applicants, during the early part of the cycle at those schools when I interviewed.
Click to expand...

Lots of people applying for med school in the area really drives these three schools to be extremely competitive. These three schools also have excellent resources.
 
eastwoods said:
At this point in the cycle I'm frustrated and confused as to why I haven't heard back from many schools. I heard back from two (one MD, one DO), interviewed, and was wait-listed. This was in September and November. I haven't gotten word from anyone else, hold, rejection or anything.
Primary submitted this summer, secondaries finished later summer/early fall.
I'm not the most stellar applicant, I'll admit, but I think my scores/experiences are competitive for DO schools.
My weakest area is my science gpa, but I don't think that it's so bad schools wouldn't consider me.
Stats:
White male
Neuroscience major, chem minor
cgpa 3.5, sgpa 3.2 however, nothing but A's and B's my last two years of college.
MCAT 29 (9PS/10V/10BS)
~3000 hrs clinical experience as a Nursing Assistant on a Neuro ICU (I've been out of college for a year)
~100 hrs shadowing (neurology, nuerosurg, primary)
~100 hrs volunteering (separate hospital, ED and urgent care)
Participated in two clubs for all four years of undergrad, became an officer in one and VP/co-captain in the other. Both were non-academic. (Ski club and water polo)
Worked part time during semesters, worked FT during summers
~450 hours of research in a neuro lab
EMT certification

As I said, not stellar in any category, but I think I at least check the boxes. One setback was my DO letter. He took his sweet time while writing it, so he didn't get it out until November, but that should only have affected me at the schools that require a DO letter to be considered complete. Or maybe I'm wrong there?
Is there something I'm missing, or some huge red flag I'm not aware of? Is my sGPA too low for consideration? Should I contact schools? Also, I plan on sending update letters to the schools that wait-listed me, but I'm not sure what I can do that will change their mind. More shadowing? More volunteering?
Any help/advice/suggestions would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...

Hi there,

Second-time applicant here. Sorry you're going through this.

Just as an FYI, I just received my rejection from LECOM-B from last year's cycle (I had applied in August 2013!). I'm still waiting for rejections from my August 2013 applications to LECOM-SH, Edward Via, PCOM, NYIT, and Touro-CA... Since it's been 17 months since I've applied, I'm not going to hold my breath lol (Why do schools do this!?).

I'm glad you'll get in touch with the schools as people suggested. If things don't work out this cycle, don't worry. Strengthen your app, apply super early, and apply more broadly. Turns out, for me (and many people on SDN), that's what made the difference between no IIs and getting multiple IIs/acceptances the second-time around.

Good luck! 🙂
 
Last edited:
Goro said:
I would imagine that those with typos or bad grammar might indeed kill an app.
Click to expand...


I should be alright in regard to those. I had a few other sets of eyes check it out for that sort of thing.
However:
bajastapler said:
it could be ur personal statement/ec, not applying broadly enough, or just bad luck.

in regards to your PS tell me if i'm roughly correct:
"I found a passion for neuroscience while in college. i further developed this passion by participating in research and shadowing a neurologist and neurosurgeon. shadowing them made me realize i wanted to be a doctor. Also while volunteering i learned from the patients around me, which only re-inforced my desire to go into medicine. "

i mean no offense, but if your ps is something roughly similar to this you need to have publications/poster presentations/etc to back up how your "love for neuroscience" extends into something tangible (basically something the school can brag about or can mark you as a potential candidate for research at their school).

imo, if this year doesn't go well i would re-examine your PS and how you worded your ECs. Also i would apply broadly to both do and md progs. focus on regionality, which will give you better hits. n=1, but i got ii from schools that were waaaay out of my reach b/c i think i had a compelling PS that meshed well with my ECs. sometimes, it's not the lack of stats that's stopping you, it's how you present the stats.
Click to expand...

This isn't how I went about it, but I'll admit my PS isn't exactly astounding. I've had a very normal life, with very normal circumstances. I know this is not a good excuse, but I did my best to make the most of the experiences and feelings I actually have had, without fabrication.

I went for a foundation/dedication approach. I had an inciting event, Anatomy Academy at LECOM while in high school (week-long "course" about medicine), and showed my experiences since then, relating specific experiences/feelings/stories to my goal of med school. Again, it's not breathtaking or touching, but it does answer why med, and shows a continuous dedication to the field. One issue may be that it's not unique enough, though I did try to make it so.
 
Just for a little update,
contacted the schools ~two weeks ago... most just told me I was complete. Haven't heard a chirp since, good or bad.
 
eastwoods said:
Just for a little update,
contacted the schools ~two weeks ago... most just told me I was complete. Haven't heard a chirp since, good or bad.
Click to expand...

You have only been complete for two weeks? Or you called two weeks ago? I called a school a month after I was complete just to check to make sure since I thought it was weird they didn't respond yet. They interviewed me a month or so later and I got in. But if you haven't got interviews by now I would worry a bit I guess. Prepare coming out stronger for next cycle?
 
JimmyB123 said:
Lol at a DO school with a 29 MCAT as the FLOOR. Simply ridiculous and not true.
Click to expand...
I kind of wish more schools would do like Touro-NV and set strict but reasonable academic minimums (in their case, 3.0/3.0/25).

AZCOM and CCOM should explicitly require a minimum of 27 IMO. Those with scores below this don't have much chance of getting into those schools anyway, and this would keep them from wasting their money/time applying.
 
Last edited:
user3 said:
I kind of wish more schools would do like Touro-NV and set strict but reasonable academic minimums (in their case, 3.0/3.0/25).

AZCOM and CCOM should explicitly require a minimum of 27 IMO. Those with scores below this don't have much chance of getting into those schools anyway, and setting such a minimum would keep those people from wasting their money/time applying.
Click to expand...

But then those schools wouldn't get to collect free money from those applicants. After all, they must need that money since the tuition there couldn't possibly cover their needs...
 
user3 said:
I kind of wish more schools would do like Touro-NV and set strict but reasonable academic minimums (in their case, 3.0/3.0/25).

AZCOM and CCOM should explicitly require a minimum of 27 IMO. Those with scores below this don't have much chance of getting into those schools anyway, and this would keep them from wasting their money/time applying.
Click to expand...

I saw two applicants with 30+ MCAT scores get the boot from KCUMB because they had a GPA that fell below 3.25. Super strict with that cutoff that's for sure.

I've talked to the faculty on admissions to UCSD; even if there are strict cutoffs stated on the website students will still apply with stats below that out of hope that they may be the exception. I for one don't think they are taking advantage of these applicants especially when they make a good find and accept them.

If that's the case for a highly regarded MD school, then I can place my bets that no amount of explicit standards will keep applicants from shotgunning their app wherever for the DO programs. It'll probably curtail it a bit though.

On topic, still waiting on MSUCOM, Rowan, UNE, and NYIT. All those secondaries were sent in around August. I regret not applying to PCOM, OSU, or UNTHSC/TCOM.

The only thing that has happened recently is that I received my first rejection of the cycle by LECOM-B. Other than that, it's been quiet.
 
AlteredScale said:
I saw two applicants with 30+ MCAT scores get the boot from KCUMB because they had a GPA that fell below 3.25. Super strict with that cutoff that's for sure.

I've talked to the faculty on admissions to UCSD; even if there are strict cutoffs stated on the website students will still apply with stats below that out of hope that they may be the exception. I for one don't think they are taking advantage of these applicants especially when they make a good find and accept them.

If that's the case for a highly regarded MD school, then I can place my bets that no amount of explicit standards will keep applicants from shotgunning their app wherever for the DO programs. It'll probably curtail it a bit though.

On topic, still waiting on MSUCOM, Rowan, UNE, and NYIT. All those secondaries were sent in around August. I regret not applying to PCOM, OSU, or UNTHSC/TCOM.

The only thing that has happened recently is that I received my first rejection of the cycle by LECOM-B. Other than that, it's been quiet.
Click to expand...
I was more referring to screening pre-secondary.
 
AlteredScale said:
I don't think they'll do it pre-secondary.

From following their thread it doesn't look like anyone below a 29 was even accepted.
Click to expand...
I'll believe it when their incoming class average is 30+.

Also, the people that post in these forums, and especially those will that post their scores, tend to be the more qualified applicants.
 
user3 said:
I'll believe it when their incoming class average is 30+.

Also, the people that post in these forums, and especially those will that post their scores, tend to be the more qualified applicants.
Click to expand...

Guess we will have to wait and see.

That's true but there's always a few that come out to inspire the underdogs for each school. Haven't see any so far from AZCOM.
 
DoctorSynthesis said:
You have only been complete for two weeks? Or you called two weeks ago? I called a school a month after I was complete just to check to make sure since I thought it was weird they didn't respond yet. They interviewed me a month or so later and I got in. But if you haven't got interviews by now I would worry a bit I guess. Prepare coming out stronger for next cycle?
Click to expand...

Called two weeks ago, have been complete since the fall. I will certainly prepare more for next cycle if that's what it comes to, though (obviously) I am hoping it doesn't come to that. I'm sending update/interest letters to the schools that waitlisted me, maybe that will be enough.
 
Thinking about throwing in a last minute effort to WVSOM and Marian, maybe TouroNV. Thoughts? Way too late? Not worth it?
 
I have to wonder about your application. Your sGPA shouldn't take you out of the running even though it's a bit low, you're offset by your MCAT.
I can't help but wonder if you might have had a generic personal statement and mediocre secondaries? It's that or poor LORs.
 
eastwoods said:
Called two weeks ago, have been complete since the fall. I will certainly prepare more for next cycle if that's what it comes to, though (obviously) I am hoping it doesn't come to that. I'm sending update/interest letters to the schools that waitlisted me, maybe that will be enough.
Click to expand...

I guess you've been complete for a while so it's a cause for concern but the cycle is not over yet. I just got my very first ii's this week. Complete in December for one school and in January for the other.
 
Update: II at KCOM, received today. Not sure if it had anything to do with my call, though the admissions office here did seem more receptive. Along the lines of "I'll make sure to pass it along" rather than a "you're complete" which was the response of most schools.
 
eastwoods said:
Update: II at KCOM, received today. Not sure if it had anything to do with my call, though the admissions office here did seem more receptive. Along the lines of "I'll make sure to pass it along" rather than a "you're complete" which was the response of most schools.
Click to expand...
Congrats on the interview! Make sure to kill it and secure your spot for class of 2019! Good luck!
 
eastwoods said:
Update: II at KCOM, received today. Not sure if it had anything to do with my call, though the admissions office here did seem more receptive. Along the lines of "I'll make sure to pass it along" rather than a "you're complete" which was the response of most schools.
Click to expand...

Congrats also. Had a similar phenomenon happen to me with one of my IIs. Called them before and then two days later I had the invite.
 
karling said:
Your issue is that your school list is very top heavy. 29 MCAT is good for many/most DO schools, but it's literally the floor for AZCOM this cycle (so far) and is below the Touro CA average. I believe Western, NYCOM, CCOM, and RVU are right at 29 (maybe 28). In other words, your MCAT would stand out at some schools, but not the ones you chose to apply to.

No idea bout PCOM GA. PCOM PA seems to weigh ECs heavier than most schools, but I don't know if the GA campus is the same in that regard. Their web site does state that they have a Southern bias. I think NYCOM also has a fairly strong regional bias.

I don't know details about your application, but my guess is you're probably not a crappy applicant. You just didn't apply wisely. You may still get some IIs later (AZCOM, perhaps?), but you would've had more luck if you also applied to places like ATSU-SOMA, LECOM, LMU, MUCOM, and KCUMB. The silver lining is that if you do need to reapply next cycle, you won't be a reapplicant at those schools.
Click to expand...

Hey guys, I thought I'd update on my situation, since I've been neurotic all over SDN. No acceptances yet but I do have three ii's scheduled! I'm really hoping one of them will work out. Got one DO rejection and it's from a school I added last minute in despair (complete mid-January). I got all my ii's in the last ten days so, as Goro says, "patience is a virtue", although I have been panicky more than patient so far.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

HappyPerson
LECOM Erie haven't heard back?
Replies
3
Views
7K
Angus Avagadro
Angus Avagadro
Desperatefuturedr
Is it weird that I haven't heard anything from DO schools?
Replies
24
Views
4K
Obnoxious Dad
Obnoxious Dad
K
I have been emailing schools to withdraw from them but I haven't heard back yet and it's may 15th...
Replies
3
Views
1K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
Butalbusaur
Withdrawing from A's
Replies
2
Views
183
Butalbusaur
Butalbusaur
dscmn
I heard AA has been banned. Why are we asked to write our race and ethnicity on WAMC?
Replies
12
Views
2K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
Top