why the worries??

[johndean11229]

---

Members don't see this ad.

hey guys, i want to bring up a new topic and it has to deal with why so many people seem to worry that they are not competitive, but after myself viewing their numbers, i am so impressed. i mean how can someone be worried about getting into med school with a 3.6 gpa and above a 30 on the mcat. i went to a good state school in ny, and i have friends who got into albert einstein with a 3.7 gpa and a 29 on his mcat, and i expected him to get in there. my other buddy with a 3.8 gpa and a 28 on his mcats got into 3 of the state med schools in ny. i m just saying, i think those people out their with mcats over 30 should sweat so much, i m sure you guys will def get a lot of great interviews and acceptances. good luck!!!

 

[sundevil1]

You may in a way be replying to my original post. I am confident in my stats, who I am, and my knowledge. However, it may be hard to convey this to adcoms if I never get a chance because they see where I went to school and throw my application aside. I don't know how heartless adcoms are but I just want a chance. I guess I'm asking how adcoms will look at me, not whether my stats are any good or competitive.

 

[johndean11229]

well sundevil, i def agree with you 100%, but i believe thats why we have the mcats, because that is kinda a great way to look at someone. for instance if someone goes to harvard and gets a 30 on the mcat and we have someone who goes to queens college and gets a 34, who would you accept? obviously i bet the student from harvard believes he should be more competitive, but the student from queens college did better than the harvard person on the same exam. so coming from a state school should not hurt your chances. i asked my buddy who goes to einstein what his interview was like and of course, he said, it was wierd that he was from the state school and the kids with him were from duke and yale, but he remembered that he did well on his boards, so he felt he deserved to be there and guess what, he got in, so you are competitive, i do not believe you would be pushed aside....any thoughts?

 

[kutastha]

Originally posted by johndean11229:
•hey guys, i want to bring up a new topic and it has to deal with why so many people seem to worry that they are not competitive, but after myself viewing their numbers, i am so impressed. i mean how can someone be worried about getting into med school with a 3.6 gpa and above a 30 on the mcat. i went to a good state school in ny, and i have friends who got into albert einstein with a 3.7 gpa and a 29 on his mcat, and i expected him to get in there. my other buddy with a 3.8 gpa and a 28 on his mcats got into 3 of the state med schools in ny. i m just saying, i think those people out their with mcats over 30 should sweat so much, i m sure you guys will def get a lot of great interviews and acceptances. good luck!!!•

Well, take me for example. In 1996, I had a 3.3 GPA, a 34 MCAT, applied to 25 schools: Not one single interview.

Andrew

 

[johndean11229]

andrew, did you reapply? did you ever get in? if not, whats your affiliation with this forum? did you feel there was a reason for your not getting an interview, like something you knew that put you into that situation? thanks

 

[lilycat]

Originally posted by kutastha:
•Well, take me for example. In 1996, I had a 3.3 GPA, a 34 MCAT, applied to 25 schools: Not one single interview.

Andrew•

1996 was also the year (or within a year of) the greatest number of med school applicants EVER. Applications have been steadily declining since that point.

 

[johndean11229]

i think this whole acceptance is so wierd. i mean my friend who goes to brooklyn med had a 3.8 gpa, a 28 mcat and worked over the summer, however he never worked one day in a research lab, never taed, never did extracurricular activites, so i mean how come he got an interview? and brooklyn is in the top 30 med schools in america!! i cant believe someone can not get an interview with around those numbers to any school? any other wierd stories?

 

[kutastha]

Originally posted by johndean11229:
•andrew, did you reapply? did you ever get in? if not, whats your affiliation with this forum? did you feel there was a reason for your not getting an interview, like something you knew that put you into that situation? thanks•

That was my second time, and I had an MS in chem that time around. I'm currently applying now. Previously I had mentioned that I had type I diabetes in my personal statement, and it's been said to me this may be seen as a drawback (i.e. only so many productive years as a physician). I can't think of anything else that would have prevented me from at least one interview except the fact that I am from California.

Andrew

 

[Smoke This]

Originally posted by johndean11229:
•hey guys, i want to bring up a new topic and it has to deal with why so many people seem to worry that they are not competitive, but after myself viewing their numbers, i am so impressed. i mean how can someone be worried about getting into med school with a 3.6 gpa and above a 30 on the mcat. i went to a good state school in ny, and i have friends who got into albert einstein with a 3.7 gpa and a 29 on his mcat, and i expected him to get in there. my other buddy with a 3.8 gpa and a 28 on his mcats got into 3 of the state med schools in ny. i m just saying, i think those people out their with mcats over 30 should sweat so much, i m sure you guys will def get a lot of great interviews and acceptances. good luck!!!•

Well, for starters, I'm insecure. I quake in my boots every time I hear of someone with stats like that not getting in, because there's no reason that that won't be me on the next application cycle. Stuff like that always happens to me. In calc class, when someone is selected at random to present a homework problem on the board, and Smoke very uncharacteristically forgot to do his homework, guess who gets picked to present? Guess whose car breaks down whenever it's needed most? I could go on, but you get the idea. With good numbers, I shouldn't have to worry, but nothing is a sure thing until I have the acceptance in my hand. I'm a firm believer in the don't-count-your-chickens-before-they-hatch philosophy.

 

[sundevil1]

Initially I was turned off by the whole premed thing because of the attitude many of them displayed. Everything they did was for the adcoms. Good grades, extracurriculars, letters from the right people, most of them did not do it because they actually wanted to or cared, they just want to get into med school. I promised I wouldn't have that attitude, but I'm having a hard time trying to be "unique" and do unique things without adcoms looking down on it and it actually hurting your chances. This whole process is such a load of sh.t, we need to be individuals and yet conform within what they think will be acceptable. I have alot of passion, but that won't get me the interview and acceptance, so I might as well play the numbers game.