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MD Applicants

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  • User #7884

  • Application cycles: 2007
  • Demographics: Male, Caucasian
  • Home state: Pennsylvania
  • Brief Profile: Professional modern dancer (1996-2007); B.A. in Latin; Hospital volunteer (120 hours); Clinical research (summer class ~120 hours); Music Director at college radio station; Organized Peace Festival (music and conflict resolution festival) in college; Graphic Designer (1997-2007); Movement teacher (dance and the Alexander Technique) from 2002-2007

    Key:
    R: Received Secondary
    S: Submitted Secondary
    C: Application Complete
    I: Interview Invite Date
    A: Acceptance Date
    W: Waitlist Date
    X: Rejection Date
    H: Pre-Interview Hold
  • // Applications //

    Application Cycle One: 2007

    • Undergraduate college: Dickinson College
    • Undergraduate Area of study: Computing and Information Science
    • Institution: University of Pennsylvania Post Bac
    • Area of Study: Premedical Studies
    • Degree Obtained: N/A
    • Institution: American Center for the Alexander Tech
    • Area of Study: Computing and Information Science
    • Degree Obtained: teacher
    • Total MCAT SCORE: 513
    • MCAT Section Scores: B/B 129, C/P 128, CARS 127  
    • Overall GPA: 3.36
    • Science GPA: 3.39

    Summary of Application Experience

    GPA breakdown:
    Undergrad: 3.2 bpcm, 3.3 overall
    Postbac: 3.87 bpcm and overall (5 science courses, and one TBA at AMCAS time which turned into an A-).
    After post-AMCAS grade:
    Overall gpa: 3.37
    BPCM: 3.41
    Filed as economically disadvantaged (I grew up in the ghetto!)

    AACOMAS:
    3.50 bpcm, 3.35 non-science, 3.39 overall

    Submitted AMCAS on June 22nd. Waiting for one transcript to arrive at time of submission. Transcripts received 7/6; Under Review 7/18; Verified 8/3. Had to ask for gpa correction because my undergraduate was weighted to 4 credits/class while my postbac was only 1 credit/class.

    Submitted AACOMAS on Sept 2nd, verified on 10/19, mailed on 10/21.

    8/8: Committee letter sent in to all 9 schools today. Sending Harvard in later (waiting for a research letter to come in) with the rest of the secondaries I haven't received yet.

    8/10: Sent committee letter to the rest of the schools on my list that do not screen, with the exception of Harvard. They want a research experience letter that I am having written as we speak. I'm in no rush to mail the letters to them though for two reasons: 1) They don't have rolling admission so I just need to be before the deadline, and 2) I'm not getting in anyway.

    Also, I talked to Loyola today. I wanted to tell them that AMCAS screwed up my gpa (it is 0.2 lower for my bpcm at the moment!) They told me the good news though that my numbers were good enough to beat the screen, assuming the rest of my app checks out. Nice.

    8/15: Completed Drexel today and also received Rosalind Franklin. I also received a packet in the mail from Dartmouth, because of my MCAT and since I am registered on Med-Mar. Last week, I was told to apply there by a resident who said they like people with lots of life experience. OK. They are added. Now I hope they don't reject me too quickly!

    8/16: Amcas fixed my gpa. They actually made a slight error in my favor (very, very slight) so I won't complain. Better than the other way, when they made a major error not in my favor. Starting to be complete at schools now (I think four at the moment) and have emailed BU a few times today. Looks like they have me in line to be reviewed soon. Will they be the first rejection?

    8/18: Most of the secondaries are complete now, no more than four to go, and that would be if I passed all three screens. I am feeling much less stressed out about the process now that my AMCAS gpa is resolved. Honestly, I feel like that organization is the most stressful part of this process! If they were only a little faster verifying applications, and in my case did it properly the first time, it my stress level would be a lot lower.

    I am planning on sending out letters today to Oregon and Loyola, since they have no email contact, to make sure they download my current AMCAS before they reject me.

    8/25: Sent in the Oregon secondary this morning. I'm feeling like I am in a funk though. I have three more secondaries that I am waiting to receive (Dartmouth, Loyola and Wake) and am complete at most of the other schools. I was rejected on yesterday from a crappy research assistant job I applied for. I thought I would have gotten it, but my guess is that I am too old and have limited research experience. It is probably better for me though, since I should really get a non-medical job for the next year and make 3x as much dough. Anyway, rejection sucks no matter how you spin it. Labor day is coming up and I think that I will be stuck waiting for the next couple of weeks while the adcoms are at the beach. I hate waiting.

    Addendum to 8/25...Dartmouth app came in the mail today which leaves only Wake (website says I am 'on-hold pending further information', I suppose that means my new AMCAS grades they haven't processed) and Loyola, where they say I would pass the screen. I'm getting impatient....

    8/30: Looks like I was rejected by Wake. Their status page says that I should expect an email with a status update. Still waiting for the official word, but I am 99.5% sure that is a rejection.

    9/1: After my rejection pre-secondary from Wake I decided that I should proceed with my AACOMAS application with some DO school backups. I would prefer to do MD, but my complementary medicine background might make me a better DO fit in the long-term anyway. The potential difficulties associated with DO (second choice on residencies, 'stigma', lower standard for school certification, and apparently dysfunctional governing body) are outweighed by the reality that I would be a fully licensed doctor. Hope I am verified quickly!

    9/4: On pre-interview hold at U Vermont! This seems to be a preliminary step before an interview for at least some people. I hope it goes through! Also...Loyola secondary finally came in the mail today. It took so long I thought I was going to have another pre-secondary rejection.

    9/5: Officially invited to interview at UVM today! My interview is scheduled for 9/25! Just three weeks away! Can you tell I'm excited?!?

    9/10: Got a 'continue to review' letter from Penn State today. Word is that no one ever gets off of this list. Where is the love from my state school??? I went to undergrad only twenty minutes away and even performed the Nutcracker in your lovely town of Hershey. That has to count for something!

    9/14: Nothing is going on. Absolutely nothing. It has just felt like a waste of a week! My job as a freelancer lends itself to these long stretches of nothing, and then when nothing is happening on the med school front it can just drive you crazy. I'm gonna try and occupy myself today with little errands and chores to keep busy. Hopefully, something positive will come in.

    a little later in the day...
    Turns out there was a little bit of news today. It seems that I was not actually rejected from Penn State. I thought their letter was a polite way of saying you are rejected, but apparently they are sending out real rejection letters. As a result, they have officially been moved from 'rejection' to 'hold' by the moderator of the mdapplicants profile (i.e., me). Here is a little bit of trivia about their website. When you click on the link about what to do in Hershey, they heavily promote Hershey Park. Now, if this was a website for high school or even college kids I could see the allure. But for adults going to med school? Isn't there something else to do in Hershey? I'm thinking the answer is no.

    9/19: Well, it is Wednesday and I still haven't heard anything from a number of schools that I have been complete at. I think that most schools have filled up their interview slots for the next couple of months and the ones that are left might be left for the cream of the crop from their later applicants. This is fine by me, because nobody (except Wake) has rejected me. Guess I will be finding out later rather than sooner. I'm really sorry for anyone who is reading all of this. I wish I had something better to say!

    9/26: Yesterday I had my interview at UVM. It is really an amazing place. My wife and I drove up here the day before to get a feel for Vermont and see if we would both be interested and able to live up here. Looks like the answer is a resounding YES! Everybody is soooo happy and calm up here. We have not felt this relaxed since our last vacation in Mexico. Burlington is just beautiful. Add to this what I learned about UVM at the interview, and it is a slam dunk. Their curriculum is so more streamlined than most other schools and their students actually have time and lives! What a novel concept! Looks like the only factor will remain the winters, as well as what shakes out with the other schools. It will require a move and the added stress of that, which isn't ideal for me at this stage. That being said, I am sure we will both be very happy here.

    Oh yes, and the interview was very low stress. Really nothing to worry about. I don't think I aced it though, I was more nervous than I would have liked to have been so I know I went a bit fast at times. I just hope that what I said was clear enough so that my interviewer can make a positive recommendation to the committee. Odds are that I will be waitlisted, since most OOS applicants are. To be continued...

    10/22: So there have been three major developments since I have last written. First of all, I have officially been waitlisted by UVM. No surprise there. Thing is, it seems like this is a tricky place to be. It is a little early in the season to be sending out Letters of Intent (a letter saying that I will absolutely, positively attend your school if you admit me) so early in the season. I haven't even heard back from most schools yet! However, I don't want to drop to the bottom of their list either. Complicating that is the fact that I just loved the school and my wife loved the area. Right now, I am sitting tight, but we shall see.

    Development #2: Interview at Boston U! I just got this on the 19th, and I am scheduled to interview after Thanksgiving. This is definitely an early interview for them. I don't think they started interviewing until November. I am excited, but also nervous about what moving to Boston would entail. BU, Tufts and Harvard (yeah right!) are the only non-Philly schools I applied to that are located in a major city. I am concerned about housing because it will be for my me, my wife and my mom. I also know the beantown is expensive. I am crossing my fingers that this won't be too much of a problem. I am afraid, though, that going here could end up being prohibitive when you break down the costs. It is an expensive private school to boot. Hopefully my poor background would help. Anyway, I am spouting all of this nonsense without even having set foot on the school! First things first. I have to see if I like it there, if my wife likes the city, and if they like me! Ugh. what a process.

    Development #3: I am finally employed! I have been freelancing, and going stir crazy when I don't have a gig, since the summer. I am now doing a six week gig at a pharmaceutical that could be indefinite. I hope that it is. It would be really nice to not have to worry about money so much.

    Anyways, that is all for now. I sent 'in the area' emails to Tufts and Harvard, just because I could. I doubt anything will come from it, except perhaps an accelerated rejection from Harvard (I am waiting for that one so I can frame it on my wall!)

    11/20: One month later and I got a Drexel interview! Finally some love from the Philly schools! I am so excited! Drexel would be a great place to go. I need to talk to the wife and figure out when I want to interview. I am starting a new job in a week and there is an option for a Saturday interview (which would be perfect!) Funny how these interviews sure cheer you up!

    11/29: I just got back today from my BU interview. I was really surprised by how much I liked the school and its philosophy. I can absolutely see myself going there and being very happy. Their philosophy on patient treatment that is blind to a person's class, ability to pay, and status is amazing to me. I want to be a part of that type of environment. C'mon BU, accept me!!! My wife also came up with my and we checked out an area called Quincy, which would be a possible place to live. She loved it, so that is great news.

    Two days until the Drexel interviews. I wonder how I will rank these three schools after that?

    3/26: I have been accepted to both PCOM and OHSU! I withdrew from PCOM because Portland trumps Philly and OHSU trumps PCOM. Now I am just waiting to hear from BU. BU will only happen if they give me a good deal. Both the school and the city are more expensive, so it isn't likely. We'll see though. I am just so happy that everything has worked out, and whether it is Boston or Portland, I'll be a doc. Not bad, not bad at all.

    5/2: Got my BU financial aid package today and promptly withdrew. My only asset is my 401k, which apparently they wanted me to liquidate in order to attend medical school since it is my only asset (no property, everything else is debt). When comparing OHSU with BU with all loan packages, it is a no-brainer. See you in August, Portland!

    Applied, Rejected

    Wake Forest University

    Application Complete, Rejected

    Dartmouth College
    Harvard University
    Temple University
    Jefferson Medical College
    University of Pennsylvania
    UMDNJ - Robert Wood Johnson
    Brown University
    Tufts University

    Application Complete, Withdrew

    UMDNJ - New Jersey
    Pennsylvania State University
    New York Medical College
    Rosalind Franklin University
    Albany Medical College
    Loyola University Chicago
    UMDNJ - Osteopathic Medicine

    Attended Interview, Waitlisted, Withdrew

    University of Vermont
    Drexel University

    Accepted

    Oregon Health & Science University
    Philadelphia College - Philadelphia
    Boston University

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