High Stat Reapplicant Advice

[cacahuetes757]

Hello, I recently applied to 25 MD schools this past cycle (2020-2021). I received 5 interviews, 5 WLs, 0 As. I plan on reapplying in the 2022-23 cycle. Here is what my application looked like at the time of submission:

1. cGPA: 3.94, sGPA: 3.98
2. MCAT: 520 (129/128/132/131)
3. State of residence: NY
4. Race/ethnicity: ORM
5. Undergraduate institution or category: Top 50
6. Clinical experience: 100 hrs at local hospital. (most meaningful)
7. Research experience: 1000 hrs through a summer internship, 300 from working in a lab at my university. No posters/publications.
8. Shadowing experience: 70 hrs, various specialties in an underserved area.
9. Non-clinical volunteering: 50 hrs through my fraternity raising money/awareness for the American Cancer Society. Volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters during my gap year (4 hours per month).
10. Other extracurricular activities: Started a student organization at my university related to veganism and plant-based nutrition (most meaningful). Several leadership positions within my fraternity. Also listed two of my hobbies: cooking (most meaningful) and meditation. Worked as an MCAT tutor during my gap year. After submitting my app I began volunteering through a program called WWOOF, which I included in update letters to schools I interviewed with.
11. School List: Albany, Albert Einstein, Hofstra, Mt. Sinai, Buffalo, NYMC, NYU, NYU LI, Stony Brook, SUNY Upstate, SUNY Downstate, Rochester, Cornell, BU, Quinnipiac, Dartmouth, Tufts, UVM, UVA, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Pitt, Maryland, Kaiser, Jefferson.
12. Personal Statement: Mostly talked about my volunteer and shadowing experiences, touched on my interest in preventative medicine. Definitely should have had more eyes look it over.
13. Secondaries: Did not have anyone look them over.
14. LOR: 3 from professors I did not know very well, 1 from research internship supervisor, 1 from doctor I shadowed and helped with a small project to improve patient care.

Interviews: I thought all of my interviews went extremely well, of course I am not the best judge. I did have mock interviews with a friend and my pre-health advisor, and both said I possess great interviewing skills.

Weaknesses I see:
-Lack of clinical/medical experience.
-Most meaningful experiences. I explained why they are meaningful to me, but looking back I should have explained why they are meaningful in my desire to pursue medicine. None of my other experiences were particularly meaningful, which is why I chose to list my hobby and my student organization. This in itself should have indicated to me that I should have waited a bit to apply.
-Not much meaningful non-clinical volunteering.
-My application/experiences didn't really back up what I said in my PS/interviews. My main interest is in preventative medicine/primary care, and only my student organization and hobbies really tied into that.
-Essays, LOR

I am looking for any advice on what I can do to make my application stand out. This upcoming year I will be working at a community health center through AmeriCorps doing community outreach and health education, which I feel aligns perfectly with my interests. My plan is to apply to other AmeriCorps positions for the following year while I am applying/interviewing, but I am definitely open to suggestions about other employment/volunteer opportunities that may help my application more. Also, since I took my MCAT in 2019 I will likely have to retake for the 2022-23 cycle, correct? Lastly, am I considering asking my WWOOF supervisor for a rec letter when I reapply. He got to know me super well, but since the experience was not related to medicine I do not know how valuable that rec letter would be. Any help is greatly appreciated!

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[Faha]

Where were your 5 interviews this past cycle ?

 

[cacahuetes757]

Where were your 5 interviews this past cycle ?

Hofstra, Downstate, NYMC, Buffalo, Stony Brook

 

[Faha]

Another 100+ hours of clinical volunteering with patient contact and more non clinical volunteering hours would increase your chances for more interviews. For some schools you may need to retake your MCAT and you will need to check with each school.

 

[Goro]

With your stats, your ECs merit the hours that your stats deserve.

Go for > 200 hrs each of clinical and nonclinical volunteering.

Also work on interview skills.

Rewrite all essays and have multiple eyeballs vet them.

Your most meaningful whatever was NOT why you were rejected

 

[cincincyreds]

Hello, I recently applied to 25 MD schools this past cycle (2020-2021). I received 5 interviews, 5 WLs, 0 As. I plan on reapplying in the 2022-23 cycle. Here is what my application looked like at the time of submission:

1. cGPA: 3.94, sGPA: 3.98
2. MCAT: 520 (129/128/132/131)
3. State of residence: NY
4. Race/ethnicity: ORM
5. Undergraduate institution or category: Top 50
6. Clinical experience: 100 hrs at local hospital. (most meaningful)
7. Research experience: 1000 hrs through a summer internship, 300 from working in a lab at my university. No posters/publications.
8. Shadowing experience: 70 hrs, various specialties in an underserved area.
9. Non-clinical volunteering: 50 hrs through my fraternity raising money/awareness for the American Cancer Society. Volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters during my gap year (4 hours per month).
10. Other extracurricular activities: Started a student organization at my university related to veganism and plant-based nutrition (most meaningful). Several leadership positions within my fraternity. Also listed two of my hobbies: cooking (most meaningful) and meditation. Worked as an MCAT tutor during my gap year. After submitting my app I began volunteering through a program called WWOOF, which I included in update letters to schools I interviewed with.
11. School List: Albany, Albert Einstein, Hofstra, Mt. Sinai, Buffalo, NYMC, NYU, NYU LI, Stony Brook, SUNY Upstate, SUNY Downstate, Rochester, Cornell, BU, Quinnipiac, Dartmouth, Tufts, UVM, UVA, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Pitt, Maryland, Kaiser, Jefferson.
12. Personal Statement: Mostly talked about my volunteer and shadowing experiences, touched on my interest in preventative medicine. Definitely should have had more eyes look it over.
13. Secondaries: Did not have anyone look them over.
14. LOR: 3 from professors I did not know very well, 1 from research internship supervisor, 1 from doctor I shadowed and helped with a small project to improve patient care.

Interviews: I thought all of my interviews went extremely well, of course I am not the best judge. I did have mock interviews with a friend and my pre-health advisor, and both said I possess great interviewing skills.

Weaknesses I see:
-Lack of clinical/medical experience.
-Most meaningful experiences. I explained why they are meaningful to me, but looking back I should have explained why they are meaningful in my desire to pursue medicine. None of my other experiences were particularly meaningful, which is why I chose to list my hobby and my student organization. This in itself should have indicated to me that I should have waited a bit to apply.
-Not much meaningful non-clinical volunteering.
-My application/experiences didn't really back up what I said in my PS/interviews. My main interest is in preventative medicine/primary care, and only my student organization and hobbies really tied into that.
-Essays, LOR

I am looking for any advice on what I can do to make my application stand out. This upcoming year I will be working at a community health center through AmeriCorps doing community outreach and health education, which I feel aligns perfectly with my interests. My plan is to apply to other AmeriCorps positions for the following year while I am applying/interviewing, but I am definitely open to suggestions about other employment/volunteer opportunities that may help my application more. Also, since I took my MCAT in 2019 I will likely have to retake for the 2022-23 cycle, correct? Lastly, am I considering asking my WWOOF supervisor for a rec letter when I reapply. He got to know me super well, but since the experience was not related to medicine I do not know how valuable that rec letter would be. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Did you apply to Finch in Chicago? I think this time around you just need to apply to all medical schools within reason, like 80 of them, and you should get in with those stats. Honestly you should be proud of yourself with those stats. You should also contact the premed advisor at your college to look at application and your essay to see what is missing. In my eyes you look like a very solid candidate. Sometimes its something as simple as not applying to enough places or having an error in your essay that is holding you back.

 

[cacahuetes757]

Did you apply to Finch in Chicago? I think this time around you just need to apply to all medical schools within reason, like 80 of them, and you should get in with those stats. Honestly you should be proud of yourself with those stats. You should also contact the premed advisor at your college to look at application and your essay to see what is missing. In my eyes you look like a very solid candidate. Sometimes its something as simple as not applying to enough places or having an error in your essay that is holding you back.

Thank you for the advice and the confidence boost, I really appreciate it! I met with my advisor recently and spoke to admissions at a few schools, they were all super helpful

 

[cincincyreds]

Thank you for the advice and the confidence boost, I really appreciate it! I met with my advisor recently and spoke to admissions at a few schools, they were all super helpful

That was a great idea to talk to the admissions folks. They are the ones to give you the best advice. And they will look at your application when you reapply. I would also recommend to find someone to do a few practice interviews. Let me know how it all goes. I sincerely think you will get in somewhere as long as you apply to enough programs and take the advice the admission committees to better your application.

 

[pre-spring]

Thank you for the advice and the confidence boost, I really appreciate it! I met with my advisor recently and spoke to admissions at a few schools, they were all super helpful

Hey, I'm probably going to be reapplying as well and was wondering how you spoke to the admissions at the schools. Did you directly call them up or email them or something? Also, did you send them your or directly talk to them about it?

Thanks.

 

[LindaAccepted]

Hello, I recently applied to 25 MD schools this past cycle (2020-2021). I received 5 interviews, 5 WLs, 0 As. I plan on reapplying in the 2022-23 cycle. Here is what my application looked like at the time of submission:

1. cGPA: 3.94, sGPA: 3.98
2. MCAT: 520 (129/128/132/131)
3. State of residence: NY
4. Race/ethnicity: ORM
5. Undergraduate institution or category: Top 50
6. Clinical experience: 100 hrs at local hospital. (most meaningful)
7. Research experience: 1000 hrs through a summer internship, 300 from working in a lab at my university. No posters/publications.
8. Shadowing experience: 70 hrs, various specialties in an underserved area.
9. Non-clinical volunteering: 50 hrs through my fraternity raising money/awareness for the American Cancer Society. Volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters during my gap year (4 hours per month).
10. Other extracurricular activities: Started a student organization at my university related to veganism and plant-based nutrition (most meaningful). Several leadership positions within my fraternity. Also listed two of my hobbies: cooking (most meaningful) and meditation. Worked as an MCAT tutor during my gap year. After submitting my app I began volunteering through a program called WWOOF, which I included in update letters to schools I interviewed with.
11. School List: Albany, Albert Einstein, Hofstra, Mt. Sinai, Buffalo, NYMC, NYU, NYU LI, Stony Brook, SUNY Upstate, SUNY Downstate, Rochester, Cornell, BU, Quinnipiac, Dartmouth, Tufts, UVM, UVA, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Pitt, Maryland, Kaiser, Jefferson.
12. Personal Statement: Mostly talked about my volunteer and shadowing experiences, touched on my interest in preventative medicine. Definitely should have had more eyes look it over.
13. Secondaries: Did not have anyone look them over.
14. LOR: 3 from professors I did not know very well, 1 from research internship supervisor, 1 from doctor I shadowed and helped with a small project to improve patient care.

Interviews: I thought all of my interviews went extremely well, of course I am not the best judge. I did have mock interviews with a friend and my pre-health advisor, and both said I possess great interviewing skills.

Weaknesses I see:
-Lack of clinical/medical experience.
-Most meaningful experiences. I explained why they are meaningful to me, but looking back I should have explained why they are meaningful in my desire to pursue medicine. None of my other experiences were particularly meaningful, which is why I chose to list my hobby and my student organization. This in itself should have indicated to me that I should have waited a bit to apply.
-Not much meaningful non-clinical volunteering.
-My application/experiences didn't really back up what I said in my PS/interviews. My main interest is in preventative medicine/primary care, and only my student organization and hobbies really tied into that.
-Essays, LOR

I am looking for any advice on what I can do to make my application stand out. This upcoming year I will be working at a community health center through AmeriCorps doing community outreach and health education, which I feel aligns perfectly with my interests. My plan is to apply to other AmeriCorps positions for the following year while I am applying/interviewing, but I am definitely open to suggestions about other employment/volunteer opportunities that may help my application more. Also, since I took my MCAT in 2019 I will likely have to retake for the 2022-23 cycle, correct? Lastly, am I considering asking my WWOOF supervisor for a rec letter when I reapply. He got to know me super well, but since the experience was not related to medicine I do not know how valuable that rec letter would be. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Lack of clinical experience (non-shadowing) is the biggest weakness I see in your qualifications.

I also wonder if you didn't blow your interviews. If you had 5 IVs and then were waitlisted at all 5, something is not quite sitting with the schools. Get interview prep before you interview again.

If you do have to reapply, don't just copy and paste your essays from last year. Focus on growth and new experiences anywhere that you reapply.

 

[cincincyreds]

Hello, I recently applied to 25 MD schools this past cycle (2020-2021). I received 5 interviews, 5 WLs, 0 As. I plan on reapplying in the 2022-23 cycle. Here is what my application looked like at the time of submission:

1. cGPA: 3.94, sGPA: 3.98
2. MCAT: 520 (129/128/132/131)
3. State of residence: NY
4. Race/ethnicity: ORM
5. Undergraduate institution or category: Top 50
6. Clinical experience: 100 hrs at local hospital. (most meaningful)
7. Research experience: 1000 hrs through a summer internship, 300 from working in a lab at my university. No posters/publications.
8. Shadowing experience: 70 hrs, various specialties in an underserved area.
9. Non-clinical volunteering: 50 hrs through my fraternity raising money/awareness for the American Cancer Society. Volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters during my gap year (4 hours per month).
10. Other extracurricular activities: Started a student organization at my university related to veganism and plant-based nutrition (most meaningful). Several leadership positions within my fraternity. Also listed two of my hobbies: cooking (most meaningful) and meditation. Worked as an MCAT tutor during my gap year. After submitting my app I began volunteering through a program called WWOOF, which I included in update letters to schools I interviewed with.
11. School List: Albany, Albert Einstein, Hofstra, Mt. Sinai, Buffalo, NYMC, NYU, NYU LI, Stony Brook, SUNY Upstate, SUNY Downstate, Rochester, Cornell, BU, Quinnipiac, Dartmouth, Tufts, UVM, UVA, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Pitt, Maryland, Kaiser, Jefferson.
12. Personal Statement: Mostly talked about my volunteer and shadowing experiences, touched on my interest in preventative medicine. Definitely should have had more eyes look it over.
13. Secondaries: Did not have anyone look them over.
14. LOR: 3 from professors I did not know very well, 1 from research internship supervisor, 1 from doctor I shadowed and helped with a small project to improve patient care.

Interviews: I thought all of my interviews went extremely well, of course I am not the best judge. I did have mock interviews with a friend and my pre-health advisor, and both said I possess great interviewing skills.

Weaknesses I see:
-Lack of clinical/medical experience.
-Most meaningful experiences. I explained why they are meaningful to me, but looking back I should have explained why they are meaningful in my desire to pursue medicine. None of my other experiences were particularly meaningful, which is why I chose to list my hobby and my student organization. This in itself should have indicated to me that I should have waited a bit to apply.
-Not much meaningful non-clinical volunteering.
-My application/experiences didn't really back up what I said in my PS/interviews. My main interest is in preventative medicine/primary care, and only my student organization and hobbies really tied into that.
-Essays, LOR

I am looking for any advice on what I can do to make my application stand out. This upcoming year I will be working at a community health center through AmeriCorps doing community outreach and health education, which I feel aligns perfectly with my interests. My plan is to apply to other AmeriCorps positions for the following year while I am applying/interviewing, but I am definitely open to suggestions about other employment/volunteer opportunities that may help my application more. Also, since I took my MCAT in 2019 I will likely have to retake for the 2022-23 cycle, correct? Lastly, am I considering asking my WWOOF supervisor for a rec letter when I reapply. He got to know me super well, but since the experience was not related to medicine I do not know how valuable that rec letter would be. Any help is greatly appreciated!

There are 4 things I would do if I were you.
#1. Increase the number of schools you are applying to 60. You have the stats, that is 99% of the battle.
#2. You need to arrange a meeting with the Dean of admissions at a few of the schools you received waitlists from and find out what they feel is missing in your application.
#3. You need to have a few people go over your personal essay. And it has to be different. Admissions doesn't like to read the same essay.
#4. You do need clinical experience with patient contact. Maybe you can follow a surgeon around who is involved in one of the medical schools you were waitlisted at.

You are very close. Just a matter of putting in a little more effort to make a few things better.

 

[cacahuetes757]

Hey, I'm probably going to be reapplying as well and was wondering how you spoke to the admissions at the schools. Did you directly call them up or email them or something? Also, did you send them your or directly talk to them about it?

Thanks.

Hey there! Sorry for the late reply, but I sent an email to the admissions offices of every school I applied to. Only one school was willing to meet with me. I didn't send schools my completed AMCAS since I assumed they already had it on file (not sure if I'm interpreting the last part of your question correctly haha).