<p>Hi all, I have not posted in a while as I have been very busy. I am nervous because I have not heard back from any schools yet although I did not finish secondaries until late October/early November.
I applied to:
USF
FSU
UCF
UF
FIU
UMiami (both campuses)
and am probably going to finish up secondaries for University of Maryland, Colorado, and some other schools because time hasn't expired yet and I'm getting nervous as I said.</p>
<p>I have a 3.5 AMCAS GPA at Cornell and a 33R MCAT. I have some pretty solid extracurriculars and nice LORs (most of them, although one might be somewhat bland and short). I am a distinguished military graduate, with a very good standing in my Army ROTC program, and I have done some research work as well as extensive shadowing. I have a basic Army medical certification and other such nonsense.</p>
<p>My goal is to attend USF or UF. How likely is this goal would you say, and how much should I be shaking in my boots for not hearing back from anywhere yet? Should I start applying to DO schools and other schools with lower GPA averages immediately? If I don't go to medical school next year I will begin my service commitment to the Army and not be able to reapply for some time, which is NOT what I want. Your advice now would be VERY appreciated.</p>
<p>I would say that the application process is about half-way through. There’s still time, as there are many people who interview all way up until March/April or so. Some who don’t receive invites until Jan/Feb.</p>
<p>However, you applied really late. You submitted your secondaries after many schools had already started filling their seats (Oct. 15th). So, you are at an disadvantage. </p>
<p>If you are a little worried, then go ahead and apply DO. I’m not really familiar with their application process, but some of the DO schools deadlines might have already passed for primary AACOMAS submissions. That’s something you should look into before starting the app.</p>
<p>Honestly, a no BS answer here would be that you applied far too late for your stats. Someone submitting secondaries in late Oct/early Nov (when everyone else has been getting interviews for several months and some have already received acceptances – meaning that some of your schools have already finished their first round of acceptances) needs to have awesome stats and a number of unique/desirable add’l pts to his/her app to really stand out. Your 3.5 is significantly below-average (3.66) and your MCAT is slightly above average (31.5) for an acceptance. As a result, I’d say the biggest saving grace here is your state residency (if FL – if it’s not FL, then you shouldn’t apply to FL schools as most do not take hardly any OOS).</p>
<p>Sorry to say, I wouldn’t bother finishing your app w/ CO (waste of money for you, sorry). They accept few OOS students and even for in-state the average GPA is over a standard deviation above yours (and your MCAT is dead average there). CO does, however, seem to prefer non-trads and wants the most clinical experience of any med school of which I am aware (min. 500 hrs), which might help you out if you’ve done some medical work in the military. Maryland is probably the same chances at this pt if you’re OOS.</p>
<p>As for DO, many of them do have later app deadlines but many also require a letter from a DO and don’t like to be a “backup” for MD applicants. If you haven’t worked under a DO already, a good DO letter may be hard to come by. You also need to have a decent understanding of the DO philosophy, etc.</p>
<p>Ultimately, my suggestion would be to reapply next year. I know you said you couldn’t; however, I think it would serve you far better (as well as give you an opportunity to bring that GPA up). I think you could have had a good chance had you applied back in June, but because you waited so long I don’t think an acceptance is likely this year.</p>
<p>FYI, there is no such thing as a “bland” or “ok” LOR. They are either “GREAT!” or “Terrible…” Seriously, if an LOR is anything but strong, it will look bad for you. If you have an LOR that you’re unsure of, you should get rid of it. Sending out mediocre LORs sends a very bad message to an adcom. You want your LORs to all be strong.</p>
<p>apumic
I understand what my mistakes were, and no I can’t reapply. What are my chances now if you had to put a number on it? What can I do NOW to improve my chances anywhere? Thanks for the advice on DO schools, I wasn’t really interested anyway. Should I send in some more OOS apps even if I have to start over at the primary? Yes I have residency in FL.</p>
<p>If it’s only been a month, it may be likely your application hasn’t even been reviewed yet. I would just sit tight. Nothing much you can do at this point. I suspect you’ll probably get a couple of late interviews next year but your chances of acceptable will be diminished at that point.</p>
<p>I’m sorry Norcalguy but I didn’t understand quite what you meant. Are you saying it is likely that I will receive any good interviews or that I am not likely to be accepted anywhere despite applying to seven in state schools?</p>
<p>I’m saying that any interviews you do will probably not be until late Jan or Feb of 2010. That’s getting towards the end of the interview season and your schools will have given away a lot of their acceptances by then.</p>
<p>Apologies on harassing the thread but I guess I just want a little more information.
What percentage of people apply late (about when I applied or at the December deadlines) and still get accepted?
Would any of you bother to submit apps to places like Morehouse SOM (GA), Meharry Med College SOM (TN), and Med Un of South Carolina COM (SC) which have low GPA averages and reasonable OOS acceptances at this point?
Thanks for your help so far.</p>
<p>^^ This thread is scary, I thought that most kids who had 3.5+ at cornell and 30 mcat scores + would have like a 90 percent chance of getting into medical school…damn it, this just makes more stressed…</p>
<p>"Apologies on harassing the thread but I guess I just want a little more information.
What percentage of people apply late (about when I applied or at the December deadlines) and still get accepted?
Would any of you bother to submit apps to places like Morehouse SOM (GA), Meharry Med College SOM (TN), and Med Un of South Carolina COM (SC) which have low GPA averages and reasonable OOS acceptances at this point?
Thanks for your help so far. "</p>
<p>Those data are not really available as far as I know. Polls on similar things have been done on SDN but that’s a pretty skewed sample of applicants. A large percentage of applicants apply in June and July and my PB premed advisor stated that he “has never known a student to receive an acceptance who sent in primaries past September, regardless of their stats.” While his statement is obviously just an observation (and probably a bit exaggerated at that), of premed advisors I’ve met, he’s one of the better ones.
I would tend to agree with norcalguy that you may receive a few interviews late in the interview season but they will almost certainly be for spots on the waitlist at that point. If you are able to obtain a DO letter, that’s probably your only bet. At this point, there is really nothing you can do to help your MD chances.</p>
<p>“^^ This thread is scary, I thought that most kids who had 3.5+ at cornell and 30 mcat scores + would have like a 90 percent chance of getting into medical school…damn it, this just makes more stressed…”</p>
<p>This has been discussed ad nauseam. The school you go to makes a minimal difference in terms of chances. Granted, a HYPS 3.8, all other things held constant, will likely get an interview before a CSU-Fullerton 3.8 but the actual GPA adjustment is pretty small (probably 0.1-0.2) and varies by school. You’re definitely better off w/ a 3.9-4.0 at some small LAC or state U than a 3.6 at HYPS, assuming all else is held equal. The MCAT is what is considered the great equalizer. The 3.6 at HYPS may be high-achieving and get a 38S, which would show that that 3.6 was hard-fought whereas the 3.95 at the small LAC who got a 31P obviously wasn’t as high-achieving. OTOH, it’s possible to avoid hard profs and get a great GPA at any school with the absolute minimum of effort, including HYPS, by “playing the game.”</p>
<p>^^ Many applicants know how important to apply early, but, in the end, they fail to apply early.</p>
<p>An applicant I happen to know a little about is from a medical family, planned all the courses to take for each semester and also planned when to prepare and take MCAT very early, during the first semester in freshmen. She could get all the helps from many sources: relatives/parents. In the end, she was applying late and is now still struggling for her first invite. I guess (but I am not sure) that her stat is about the same as OP, but without so many clinical experiences but with more research experiences. But she applied late.</p>
<p>Another kid with a great stat and research has had many invites. She is so relaxed/confident and it is rumored that she told other premeds that “The interview is just a formality only. As long as you do not screw up badly, you will get in somewhere if you have many invites.” It appears to me that what she said is “the number talks.” I do not know how true her belief is. Her credential in terms of object measures is undeniably impressive though.</p>
<p>^ regarding: “it’s possible to avoid hard profs and get a great GPA at any school with the absolute minimum of effort, including HYPS, by “playing the game.””</p>
<p>In the premed community, “playing the game” has a better name: “efficiency”: being smart in selecting courses/TAs/professors, don’t take any classes that require too much work to interfere with other classes, becoming good at knowing what will NOT be on atest and never spend any minutes on that materials, don’t read textbook unless you have to, knowing where the GUT courses are at your home institute and use them as needed wisely, taking one or two tough courses at a local state school (unless that state school is a top one, and then you may want to avoid taking classes there too), etc., etc.</p>
<p>I made the same mistake in timing and not applying broadly enough that you did. I eventually made it into two medical schools, so hope is not lost. However, it was the most stressful 8 months of my life. It is going to be an uphill battle, so prepare yourself for some tough times ahead.</p>
<p>At this point, realize that you cannot afford to screw up any interviews because you’re probably going to get only a few. So get yourself down to the career center or the pre-med advising office for a mock interview or two. Think up and practice delivering answers to some of the common questions, like “Why this school?” and “Why medicine?” Make sure you are prepared to emphasize what separates you from other people with the same grades/scores or better who applied early, and why you are more deserving of that acceptance that those people are.</p>
<p>Continue to update the schools you’ve applied for with good news about yourself, like making the Dean’s List and other accomplishments. I would write no more often than once every three months - any more and you’re likely to have nothing of significance to say. (You’ll also seem desperate.) At the end of each letter, which should be no longer than 1 page, emphasize how thrilled you’d be to have the opportunity to visit the school for an interview. </p>
<p>If I were you, I’d also consider throwing in apps at Drexel, Temple, GWU, and Georgetown, but you need to get AMCAS in right now and turn those secondaries around in one week. I think their OOS percentages are okay, but you should check a copy of the latest MSAR to be sure.</p>
<p>shades_children
Thanks, great advice. I am sending in an additional 8 applications now even if there is only a VERY small chance of acceptance and I will begin practice interviews ASAFP. Also, I will send transcripts of my grades this fall (very good GPA this fall maybe a 3.8 or better) and a letter including some other accomplishments I have made since applying. I really don’t have an interest in DO schools so I guess I shouldn’t apply since it would be hard for me to fake an interview.</p>
<p>This process makes me so nervous. I knew to apply early and I allowed myself to get caught up in other things like my current school work and extracurriculars. Prospective students, DON’T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE: WHEN YOU APPLY DOES MATTER.</p>
<p>While I agree with you efficiency is important, I was actually drawing a bit of a line between efficiency (i.e., the ability to efficiently use one’s resources) and playing the game. Efficiency may be the name of the game but many don’t do a good job of playing it. When I say you can avoid hard profs, that usually means you’ll get a strong GPA w/o doing the work necessary to do well later on. Instead of a slightly lower GPA you may end up less prepared for the MCAT b/c you chose the easy way out – so it’s really a double-edged sword.</p>
<p>BRS, check out the med school selection spreadsheet at <a href=“My Files”>My Files; for more ideas on schools (from SDN). It will also give you estimates on your chances at each school. Since you applied late, you should probably cut the chance numbers in half (assuming about 1/2 of applicants were ahead of you in applying and at least 1/2 of spots will be filled by the time you interview).</p>
<p>Wow, my DD followed the SDN mantra to apply early & broadly. My DD had the AMCAS done in June, moist secondaries done in July/August with a few later invite ones in Sept. So many people can apply to schools where there are offers as early as Oct 15th, that is the way to go for peace of mind. My DD got her first admittance November 8th and had already completed 4 interviews by then.</p>
<p>I would be nervous if I were in your position, but on the other hand, many of the fall admits then cancel their later interview dates, leaving spots for later applicants. My DD cancelled 5 interviews once she was in her #1 choice, I would imagine many others fall admits do the same. It is not hopeless, but you will likely miss out a few interview invites that would have been offered with early apps.</p>
<p>If you are invited, go to SDN and read carefully the interview feedback for the schools so that you are well prepared. If you are not already doing so, find some blogs or healthcare news so you can be up on the latest politics.</p>