What to do on year off?

[DrDwayneJohnson]

Well I just got the axe from my state school so my only hope is to get off of Georgetown's waitlist. Since they WL a lot of people, I've accepted probable defeat. This brings me to the realization that I have no idea what to do this year off. Should I continue scribing part time and volunteer my ass off? Should I pursue an MS or MA (looking at Nutrition or bioethics or maybe Georgetown SMP)? Or do I pursue a real person job (biochem degree with a 3.8 GPA and lab experience)?

The scribing option seems like it would help the most but $10/hour isn't gonna pay off ya boi's rent or student loans. Any advice?


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[popopopop]

It probably depends on what the rest of your application looks like. Why pursue an MS/MA if your undergrad gpa is stellar?

 

[DrDwayneJohnson]

It probably depends on what the rest of your application looks like. Why pursue an MS/MA if your undergrad gpa is stellar?

It's 3.8, which is why I was hesitant but my junior and senior GPAs were ~3.55. My second round senior GPA was 3.88 last semester and probably around that this semester.

That's from a public institution, so I figured if I had a 4.0 from an MS/MA program somewhere at CWRU/Columbia then I'd be more competitive. Also, the whole diversity thing + patient experience (for Case).


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[popopopop]

It's 3.8, which is why I was hesitant but my junior and senior GPAs were ~3.55. My second round senior GPA was 3.88 last semester and probably around that this semester.

That's from a public institution, so I figured if I had a 4.0 from an MS/MA program somewhere at CWRU/Columbia then I'd be more competitive. Also, the whole diversity thing + patient experience (for Case).


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General consensus is that you don't pursue a master's unless you like the subject and you don't do an SMP unless you need some gpa repair (and you have a decent MCAT already). You probably need to work on the non-academic part of your application.

If you give more details about your application, I'm sure more people will chime in. Shadowing? Good letters? etc etc....

 

[DrDwayneJohnson]

General consensus is that you don't pursue a master's unless you like the subject and you don't do an SMP unless you need some gpa repair (and you have a decent MCAT already). You probably need to work on the non-academic part of your application.

If you give more details about your application, I'm sure more people will chime in. Shadowing? Good letters? etc etc....

I applied with right around 100 hours of shadowing and then started scribing (around December) so pretty late in the app cycle. I thought my letters were from reputable people I was close with. However, I didn't specifically adhere to the one non-science professor. I used my ROTC commander for this, which technically counts because of our military science class but it's up for interpretation. If any of my LORs were bad, it was probably his because the military writing style is atrocious.

Edit: MCAT was a 509 (128/124/130/127). I considered retaking because of that 49%ile in CARS, but I don't plan on attending a Top 5, so I was hoping it would be good enough for a mid tier school.

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[popopopop]

I applied with right around 100 hours of shadowing and then started scribing (around December) so pretty late in the app cycle. I thought my letters were from reputable people I was close with. However, I didn't specifically adhere to the one non-science professor. I used my ROTC commander for this, which technically counts because of our military science class but it's up for interpretation. If any of my LORs were bad, it was probably his because the military writing style is atrocious.

Edit: MCAT was a 509 (128/124/130/127). I considered retaking because of that 49%ile in CARS, but I don't plan on attending a Top 5, so I was hoping it would be good enough for a mid tier school.

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Any other clinical or non experiences besides scribing?

 

[DrDwayneJohnson]

Any other clinical or non experiences besides scribing?

Clinical: ED volunteer (ongoing, roughly 150 hours as of now)

Non: student government, triathlon club team, homeless shelter, public health trip abroad (not sure if clinical, but 160 hours here), and other clubs without substantial influence/leadership roles.


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[bears1992]

Do you have a murder conviction?

 

[DrDwayneJohnson]

Do you have a murder conviction?

Fortunately, no criminal record lol


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[bears1992]

I don't know much about MD school specifics but usually with these type of posts (good/great stats but silence from most schools) the general consensus to the problem is a top heavy school list. Maybe post the list of schools you applied to and someone more knowledgeable than me can evaluate it.

You'd think with a 3.8 GPA, 509 MCAT and average ECs you'd get more than two II with 23 secondary apps. You've got a downward grade trend but I doubt that matters much when your overall GPA is a 3.8. It has to be either a poor school list, bad LOR or bad essays. Did you buy the MSAR?

 

[DrDwayneJohnson]

I don't know much about MD school specifics but usually with these type of posts (good/great stats but silence from most schools) the general consensus to the problem is a top heavy school list. Maybe post the list of schools you applied to and someone more knowledgeable than me can evaluate it.

You'd think with a 3.8 GPA, 509 MCAT and average ECs you'd get more than two II with 23 secondary apps. You've got a downward grade trend but I doubt that matters much when your overall GPA is a 3.8. It has to be either a poor school list, bad LOR or bad essays. Did you buy the MSAR?

I had three IIs, I just didn't update this lol. Two waitlists and rejection. One waitlist is USUHS but there's some paperwork thing where it's not really an option. My school list was honestly not good at all because I got a little too carried away with reach schools (Mayo x2, Columbia, brown, duke, northwestern) because, well, I'm a *******.

So that's my obvious and easy fix for next cycle. As for LORs and essays, I'm not sure how to tell. With that many secondaries, I wouldn't be surprised if I botched a couple.


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[bears1992]

I had three IIs, I just didn't update this lol. Two waitlists and rejection. One waitlist is USUHS but there's some paperwork thing where it's not really an option. My school list was honestly not good at all because I got a little too carried away with reach schools (Mayo x2, Columbia, brown, duke, northwestern) because, well, I'm a *******.

So that's my obvious and easy fix for next cycle. As for LORs and essays, I'm not sure how to tell. With that many secondaries, I wouldn't be surprised if I botched a couple.


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For the purposes of medical school applications, I'd rather be a ******* with a 3.8 and a 509 MCAT than a genius with a 3.0. From what I've seen on these forums, even with perfect stats, the upper tier schools are still a crap shoot. In your case, I'd make your school list and then use the MSAR to knock off schools from your list that are unlikely (schools that have high URM yield, schools that have a 10th percentile MCAT higher than 509, OOS schools that have very low OOS yield). Replace the schools you knocked off with schools that will give you the highest odds of acceptance. Assuming the MSAR would knock off half of your desired schools, you'd end up with a list that is half schools that you like that are within your reach and half with schools that you have the highest probability of acceptance. I'm just a premed that has spent many hours searching through the MSAR so take this advice with a grain of your choosing.

 

[DrDwayneJohnson]

For the purposes of medical school applications, I'd rather be a ******* with a 3.8 and a 509 MCAT than a genius with a 3.0. From what I've seen on these forums, even with perfect stats, the upper tier schools are still a crap shoot. In your case, I'd make your school list and then use the MSAR to knock off schools from your list that are unlikely (schools that have high URM yield, schools that have a 10th percentile MCAT higher than 509, OOS schools that have very low OOS yield). Replace the schools you knocked off with schools that will give you the highest odds of acceptance. Assuming the MSAR would knock off half of your desired schools, you'd end up with a list that is half schools that you like that are within your reach and half with schools that you have the highest probability of acceptance. I'm just a premed that has spent many hours searching through the MSAR so take this advice with a grain of your choosing.

That's sort of what I did, I just think I had **** essays for a few schools I probably should've received IIs to. But that's also my opinion, not adcoms. Thanks for the advice though


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[bears1992]

Hopefully this cycle goes better for you. Good Luck!

 

[JonathanHusky]

kind of in a similar situation... 510 MCAT, 3.6 gpa (was initially in enginnering but switched to Physiology and Neurobiology sophomore year) and since switching my GPA has improved a lot, good clinical exposure, shadowing, and other ECs, applied to 15 schools with FAP but didn't get a single II. For me, I know my personal statement was extremely weak, lol I didn't have the right people look at it & they really didn't have the experience to give good feedback. Also I know the schools I applied to weren't good fits for me, kind of just limited myself to the east coast. Hoping for a little better luck this time around!

Btw, if anyone can read and give feedback on my personal statement, it'd be much appreciated!!

 

[lalalaaaaaa]

I did AmeriCorps. Loved it (super poor so you have to be financially stable). Great for interviews and looks great on apps.

 

[deleted289061]

Why don't you meet with the dean of admissions at your state school to discuss why you were axed? They should give you some insight and allow you to work on your weaknesses rather than swing blindly. Don't retake the MCAT unless they say to. Don't do an SMP unless they suggest it would help.

 

[DrDwayneJohnson]

Why don't you meet with the dean of admissions at your state school to discuss why you were axed? They should give you some insight and allow you to work on your weaknesses rather than swing blindly. Don't retake the MCAT unless they say to. Don't do an SMP unless they suggest it would help.

Still waiting to hear back from my state school, but from what my pre-med advisor gathered from the Admissions Head apparently I crapped the bed on my interview.

That's a pretty easy fix, but I've talked to one other school who said my overall MCAT was good, but my 124 in CARS (49%ile) was just too low. I know I can definitely raise that, but I'm afraid I'll lower one or more of my other subsections - namely my 130 in B/B. I guess if I got another 509, but it was more balanced, would that be more helpful than hurtful? God forbid I get a lower overall score lol


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[GoSkins]

Still waiting to hear back from my state school, but from what my pre-med advisor gathered from the Admissions Head apparently I crapped the bed on my interview.

That's a pretty easy fix, but I've talked to one other school who said my overall MCAT was good, but my 124 in CARS (49%ile) was just too low. I know I can definitely raise that, but I'm afraid I'll lower one or more of my other subsections - namely my 130 in B/B. I guess if I got another 509, but it was more balanced, would that be more helpful than hurtful? God forbid I get a lower overall score lol


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I'm right there with you man. Just got the axe from my state school and have a 508 with a 124 in CARS. Wondering if I should retake it as well, but I'm leaning more towards no. I don't think it would be wroth the months of studying and stress just to increase CARS probably by only a couple of points at the expense of some of the other sections. If you retook the MCAT you'd also be reapplying later than you would be if you didn't retake, and we all know applying early is key. I've put a lot of thought into this myself and just thought I'd share