<p>"but maybe she needs help with problem-solving and critical thinking?? If so, then maybe that’s where Kaplan can help? "
-Kaplan will not help with that, these are brain properties obtained way back in the middle - HS, not in college.
Kaplan was important for my D. basically because of her very very busy schedule. She has to do all ECs (including being on board of her sorority - one of the most time consuming) and has worked (and decided to have 2 minors) during school year, nothing was available for her in the summers. Kaplan has kept it orginized for her for many months (she took the longest one, again, becuase she had to spread it over long period being busy with everything else). He committee was pretty much at awe with the amount of everything that she has handled during school year in combo with her very high GPA.</p>
<p>D took the Kaplan course and did very well on the MCAT. Would she have done as well without it? Who knows. She took umpteen practice tests which gave her a lot of self-confidence so by the time she got to MCAT day she wasn’t nervous at all.</p>
<p>^Yes, practice tests are good predictors of the real score, especially if pracitce test scores are relatively consistant. Frequently, the real score is 2 points below the best practice test score, which was true for my D., but hers were consistant at the end of prepartion. I bet they do good with and without Kaplan, depending on a student. Later, in Med. School, they do not have time for Kaplan for their Boards and D. did better on her Step 1 without Kaplan, then she did on MCAT with Kaplan, she had more time to focus on Step 1, although Step 1 is much more difficult than MCAT(predictably so)</p>
<p>First day of classes today and I had to start that awkward conversation with my professors about ‘hey, I love your class but I will be absent a lot’. One professor told me that I can expect nothing higher than a B and another is seeking department chair approval. Ahh, the premed life during interview semester. I am already stressed about missing so many classes, that each invite is bitter sweet. BUT I am excited to be visiting these schools and am so grateful to blessed with my interviews so far!</p>
<p>^These guys must have been elementary school teachers in their previous incarnations. 
Fortunately, my son doesn’t need any permission slips - at least not yet :).</p>
<p>Another interview invite came in today for my son. Things are picking up slowly …</p>
<p>All professors think their classes are the most important part of your college career and as such most will balk at the idea of you missing class and/or exams. You just have to roll with it. You might not get as great a grade as you’re accustomed to, but at this point, who cares? You need to figure out your priorities: do you want to see the schools you’ve been dreaming of attending, and actually have a shot to go there? Or do you want to placate some professor who requires you to be present for (whatever it is)? You’re an adult, you get to make your own decisions, and as long as you’re OK with the consequences, then so be it.</p>
<p>(I encountered a jerk or two along the way. Thankfully the non-jerks made up for it. I’m thrilled with the med school I go to and am so happy I got to explore all my options. I prioritized interviews over class and never felt guilty about it after I wrapped my head around just what I was doing. The beauty of it is, you get to decide for yourself!)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>@Pinkstuffz,
</p>
<p>Isn’t it terrible? At most universities, if you were missing class because you are competing in an athletic event you would be protected by official policy. Don’t just accept what they say without informing admins. If your prof is tenure track, they certainly don’t want to be seen as doing things that reflect poorly on the university. I have had to do a lot of scrambling during add/drop. I added a P/F seminar(so that I could drop a class and still be full-time if needed), added credits to my research class, changed an advanced biochem class to P/F, so that I now have only two regular graded classes. In one of them I initially met resistance similar to what you described and informed the college dean of my plight. The prof now seems more cooperative. I have also provided my profs and TAs a full schedule of my interview dates. My minor may become a victim of this, but I’m going to fight for it and I will certainly not turn down an interview because of it. I now have been invited to 11 interviews (6 top tens! 
) I feel this reflects well on the university I attend and I don’t hesitate to make this argument when seeking a little cooperation 
Best of luck to you at school and at your interviews.</p>
<p>One parent told me last year that the complaining came from the language teacher, not because it is important but because it is not fair to the other students who show up. 
It was not a required class for graduation.</p>
<p>The science guys seemed to understand it.</p>
<p>"Ahh, the premed life during interview semester. I am already stressed about missing so many classes, "
-you are in the same boat as everybody else. Still aim at A - make-up tests, maybe additional work,…etc. When D. had to do the same, academics was only one concern (no B’s in her transcript). She also had to take care of her Research and Job - being an SI to Gen. Chem prof with many students dependent on her assistance in preparations for tests/exams. Everybody’s plate is full. In her case, what has helped a lot was that she applied only to 7 Med. Schools and went only to 5 interviews (2 in the same city), so only 4 trips.<br>
Best wishes, and, please, no B’s.</p>
<p>My son got interview invite from UVA today. Hoping for some top 10 love soon …</p>
<p>Congrats Kal. Has he finished any yet?</p>
<p>Thanks, texaspg! His first one is scheduled for Sept. 18th. He was complete at most schools only last week. So far he has 3 scheduled before the Oct 15 deadline. Schools are not opening up all the interview dates yet. Pitt had only 3 dates open in Oct, when he got his invite. He picked Nov 1st, because it was a Friday and he could hangout with his buddies over there for the weekend.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That’s great. I will be there in about two weeks. Although not a “top ten”, UVa is high on my list. I’m really looking forward to my visit.</p>
<p>It sounds like UVA does 400 OOS interviews and have about 70+ OOS seats. Not sure how many are admitted.</p>
<p>I have not seen yield numbers listed for med schools. Does anyone have access to a list of how many are admitted at these schools vs how many show up?</p>
<p>Plum goes everywhere but it is a good thing she is not competing with anyone who posts here!</p>
<p>This is all I could find. Accepted numbers might be about the same for peer schools. The numbers/percentages appear to be consistent for the past decade. </p>
<p>[Quick</a> Stats ? School of Medicine at the University of Virginia](<a href=“http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/education/medical-students/admissions/the-uva-som/quick-stats.html]Quick”>http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/education/medical-students/admissions/the-uva-som/quick-stats.html)</p>
<p>Thanks plum. It does not say how many were admitted though?</p>
<p>I was using 2012 numbers from LizzyM. Looks like they interviewed more people for this year’s class.</p>
<p>
US News has the following numbers for OOS applicants:</p>
<p>Applications: 2497
Interviews: 446
Acceptances: 289
Enrolled: 81</p>
<p>That is pretty darned good ratio of interviews to acceptances. As comparison, at Harvard the ratio is 4:1</p>
<p>Sounds like as long as your son does not show up in flipflops and shorts, he has a good shot at it!</p>
<p>Is the USNEWS info subscription based?</p>
<p>Access to US News’ detailed data requires a subscription. $29.95 for 1 year–and it includes all grad programs, not just medicine.</p>
<p>Congrats to your son Kali…I’m sure he’ll get some love from the others pretty soon. This is just the calm before the storm. :-)</p>