2007-2008 "what are my chances"/"what should I do"/"where to apply" Thread

[belichek]

haha, yea im all about the pats. Lucky for you the Pats dont usually play well in miami. Neverthless, at this point thier basically unstoppable. With your mcat I'd say you have a real good shot (especially at NSU-COM since your from FL and they seem to take preferance to MCAT over GPA) Anyway, i wish you the best.

GL

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[belichek]

If you retake and get an A then thats 100 percent fine. All i know is that at my interviews the two things they pointed out academically were MCAT verbal, and Orgo, since according to them those two grades are a good measurement of how well you can handle the work of med school.

 

[umean2tellme]

If you retake and get an A then thats 100 percent fine. All i know is that at my interviews the two things they pointed out academically were MCAT verbal, and Orgo, since according to them those two grades are a good measurement of how well you can handle the work of med school.

verbal i got a 10 so i guess i speak and read real good (this was intentional ). I plan on retaking and gettin an A. Studying it over the summer from scratch really helped me understand it, and I did well enough on mcat to get 9 so I must not be a complete idiot.

 

[RockfordWF]

Anyone fail a med school prereq and haven't retaken but still got an interview/admission?

It is required that you retake it. There is no way around this.

 

[HyperSpace]

Someone else asked this same question about a week ago. I'll post exactly what I posted in that thread

I had about 14 W's on my transcripts. Some of them were from over 15 years ago when I thought I dropped out of a semester but didn't so got F's in them. The college made them retroactive W's since I actually still had the drop form signed by the professors. About 6 W's were from the CC I went to part time and were spread over a 4 year period. 3 of them were from one semester when I had surgery mid-way through the semester and withdrew from school. The other 3 were just from classes I was doing crappy in from lack of effort. I wasn't asked about any of them at any interviews. I'm not sure on the exact number of W's, I would have to look, but it was a lot and this gives you an idea of how devastating your 1 W will be.

Good luck!

Edit--I forgot the two W's that I had at the University I got my BA from. I had two, one in pathobiology, and one in gen. chem I. I of course retook Chem. I and did fine in it (A-) even with it being a requirement for medical school, I wasn't asked about it. To summarize: I certainly wouldn't worry too much about a few W's.

Awesome, its good to here that you weren't hassled about your w's. What medical school are you attending by the way?

 

[umean2tellme]

It is required that you retake it. There is no way around this.

i know i gotta retake but wanted to know if i would still be considered for interviews before.

 

[markboonya]

OMG! I'm freaking out here. I had an interview at Western yesterday and they asked me the same question. I was honest, and said 30 MD schools and 3 DO. But I also told them I want to stay local and I love the area and the osteopathic philosophy etc etc. I hope they don't waitlist me just for this reason

i did apply pretty late so that could have been a factor good luck!

 

[scpod]

i know i gotta retake but wanted to know if i would still be considered for interviews before.

Think about how this looks. If you haven't completed all the required classes yet, but you've done great in the ones that you have finished, there's no reason to think that you won't do well in the rest. However... if you've already failed a prereq or two...

Keep in mind that there are literally thousands of people who don't get into medschool each year who have never failed a prereq. What reason do they have to pick you over them? If I was a bettin' man (and all my spare time is spent in Vegas) I'd fold and wait for a good hand. The adcoms aren't going to trust you until you give 'em a reason to. Retake those class....then, apply.

 

[JaggerPlate]

OMG! I'm freaking out here. I had an interview at Western yesterday and they asked me the same question. I was honest, and said 30 MD schools and 3 DO. But I also told them I want to stay local and I love the area and the osteopathic philosophy etc etc. I hope they don't waitlist me just for this reason

I wouldn't freak out too much about this. Western does get a lot of apps, but if you are actually interested in the school and osteopathic medicine ... and not just a place to cry yourself to sleep because you got rejected from UCI ... it will show. I bet a lot of people do use Western as a backup - though it is a wonderful school - but I personally don't think that you are, and that will show. As far as what the poster you are quoting said ... he could be 100% right, but there are so many factors to be considered that I really wouldn't loose sleep over this.

 

[JaggerPlate]

So I've been told that w's look really bad on your transcript. If everything else looks good on a persons application will adcoms be afraid to admit a student with 10 or more w's on their transcript?

spelling it wrong in the thread title is worse ...

 

[spicedmanna]

OMG! I'm freaking out here. I had an interview at Western yesterday and they asked me the same question. I was honest, and said 30 MD schools and 3 DO. But I also told them I want to stay local and I love the area and the osteopathic philosophy etc etc. I hope they don't waitlist me just for this reason

Take a deep breath. The process is complex, it's hard to predict the outcome. It's pointless to sit here and try to compare notes for the most part, because it will be different for each person. Also, analyzing your how your interview went is fairly unproductive. First of all, it sits squarely in the past. Second, your ability to be objective is basically nil with respect to the interview experience. I had what I thought wasn't the best interview at COMP, but got accepted. I guess I made a different impression than what I thought.

While I do hope that you don't get WL, but if you do, it is unlikely to be the result of a single factor, anyway.

 

[deleted172531]

Lots of helpful info on this site...

Hopefully I can get an opinion or two on my scenario..?

I completed my undergrad as a Film Major (I hope that doesn't hurt my chances) and have the following stats

MCAT - 10BS 9V 9PS (P)
Overall GPA - 3.45
Science GPA - 3.02 (w/o Math) Had B's and C's in a couple of Ochem and Physics courses but did well in Gchem and all bio courses. This past year I have been getting A's in upper division courses like physio and biochem. I hope/expect my sGPA to reach at least 3.2 by March.

EC - Hospital Volunteer, ER Shadow (MD), and should have DO ER shadow and LOR by end of the year.

I have zero research experience and no LORs yet.

I'm really interested in getting into Western (it's local) and wondering if I have a decent chance getting in. I'm thinking it's too late to apply now but should be fully ready to apply early for the next cycle.

I'm having a hard time getting into a research program at my school...Should this be a priority? Or is my time better sent increasing my GPA and shadowing a DO ER physician? Or take the MCAT again? Or something else? Any suggestions about getting into Western?

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[mshheaddoc]

hmm, this is an interesting question, I wonder what others have done (hint, hint).

 

[IUgrad]

I think it would be the polite thing to let them know, but I wonder how many people actually do.

I'd be interested to hear what others think about this, too...

 

[TexasTriathlete]

I would

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Keep in mind that a lot of people have gotten interviews before they got the secondary in.

 

[Tourterm]

I think the polite thing to do would be to inform them that you would like to withdraw your application. This is especially true if you have interviews, if your file is complete and being reviewed, or if your are getting updates from the school, but I think also applies to schools in which you simply haven't submitted all the paperwork yet.

I assume if you are in such a position that you already have at least one acceptance under your belt. Either way, it only takes a few minutes to e-mail a few schools (you can mail them all at once if you felt like it).

 

[DOcat]

what is the best way to notify schools if you are not going to accept their acceptance?? I was thinking about emailing, but wasn't sure if an official letter might be necessary? I'm afraid to call...i feel bad haha, i know thats stupid, since they have thousands of applicants every year.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

I'd write a letter

 

[ejmed]

I would like to first mention how helpful reading these boards has been for me.
it would be great if someone could help me out as to tell me how competitive i am for admissions to DO schools. I plan on applying for fall 2009 (so after this year i will be beginning the application process)

GPA: 3.05
SGPA: 3.1
MCAT:33 (11,11,11 O)

I have volunteered at the local hospital
I worked the last 2 summers as a rehab technician at a nursing home (transporting patients, assisting with transfers, switching oxygen tanks, etc)
The regular premed club stuff (AMSA, Minority Association of Prehealth students)
2 hours of research credit (nothing too impressive)
Volunteered as a physiology tutor
Worked in the minority office as a tutor for physics

I realize that i may need to improve the GPA a bit and i have this year to do it. Any feedback would be great, and advice as to which schools to apply to. Oh, I am an Illinois resident.

Thanks

 

[Jpc984]

You are competitive. You have a high, balanced mcat and a year to nudge your gpa up. Are you taking a lot of science courses these two semesters? Your ec's look good as well. GL!!!

 

[Doc11Hopeful]

I would like to first mention how helpful reading these boards has been for me.
it would be great if someone could help me out as to tell me how competitive i am for admissions to DO schools. I plan on applying for fall 2009 (so after this year i will be beginning the application process)

GPA: 3.05
SGPA: 3.1
MCAT:33 (11,11,11 O)

I have volunteered at the local hospital
I worked the last 2 summers as a rehab technician at a nursing home (transporting patients, assisting with transfers, switching oxygen tanks, etc)
The regular premed club stuff (AMSA, Minority Association of Prehealth students)
2 hours of research credit (nothing too impressive)
Volunteered as a physiology tutor
Worked in the minority office as a tutor for physics

I realize that i may need to improve the GPA a bit and i have this year to do it. Any feedback would be great, and advice as to which schools to apply to. Oh, I am an Illinois resident.

Thanks

Your application for DO school will be very strong. Your GPA is fine for DO school so improving it will only improve your chances more. Your MCAT is incredible and will make up for your GPA. Keep in mind if you have a C- in any classes, some schools do not accept them. Not saying that you do but just in case! Your ECs are also good. I would be willing to bet that you will at least get to the interview phase and it is up to you from there! Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[mainegirl]

MCAT: 25O (PS-08 BS-08 VR-09)
GPA: 3.50
Science GPA: 3.45
Volunteer: occassional, plan on doing more for hospice or at a local hospital for over the next semester.
LOR: D.O. and M.D. also research supervisors as I'm a B.S. in Chemistry major.
Experience: 2.5 years in research and developement for an analytical chemistry equipment manufacturer, laboratory experiences.
Shadowing: Intro. to surgical care internship (M.D.s) - 20hrs/week for 14 weeks. No D.O. in the area will let me shadow.
Graduated college in 3.5 years.

 

[dancer2002]

i messed up quotes in this post so i tried to delete it but it won't let me??? my actual post is below!

 

[dancer2002]

I think the polite thing to do would be to inform them that you would like to withdraw your application. This is especially true if you have interviews, if your file is complete and being reviewed, or if your are getting updates from the school, but I think also applies to schools in which you simply haven't submitted all the paperwork yet.

I assume if you are in such a position that you already have at least one acceptance under your belt. Either way, it only takes a few minutes to e-mail a few schools (you can mail them all at once if you felt like it).

Yes, I have an acceptance to my number one choice! I will continue the application process with two other schools that I would possibly attend, but the rest I will not. Thanks for the advice, I'll send out a few emails tomorrow during my break!