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MD Applicants

  • fpo-profile-avatar
  • idonotcare

  • Application cycles: 06/29/2011
  • Demographics: Male, 37, East Asian
  • Home state: Kansas
  • Last Active: 01/15/2018
  • Brief Profile: Chemical engineer for 2 yrs in industry, want to do something more challenging that carries greater significance, decided to apply to med school in late 2010 for 2011-2012 cycle.
  • // Applications //

    Application Cycle One: 06/29/2011

    • Undergraduate college: Mid-tier
    • Undergraduate Area of study: Engineering/Technology
    • Total MCAT SCORE: 522
    • MCAT Section Scores: B/B 131, C/P 132, CARS 127  
    • Overall GPA: 3.90
    • Science GPA: 3.90

    Summary of Application Experience

    Updating my info and linked it with SDN to help the next wave of applicants. Here is what I learned:
    1. Be honest and true to yourself. Don\\\'t pretend to be someone you are not. Have a personality, stand up for what you believe in. Be genuine and passionate, but not over the top/fake it.

    2. Follow the check-list. When schools say they don\\\'t want a cookie cutter applicant, they mean you have to meet all the qualifications and more (see below).

    3. Be patient. Take rejections with a smile, and seize every interview as if it was your only one. Apply only to schools you won\\\'t regret going to. Do your research on the schools. Read SDN, figure out what each school is like. Don\\\'t apply to 35+ schools and hope to win the lottery. Be specific and strategic with your school choices, I wish I have done a better job eliminating some of the schools I applied to. Be realistic. Unless you have a very special background/URM, don\'t bother apply to top 20 with a 28 MCAT. My strategy was to apply to schools where I can at least match the median LizzyM (MCAT + 10*GPA-1).

    4. Stay organized. Don\\\'t rush your apps/essays. Submitting on 6/1 versus 7/31 doesn\\\'t make much of a difference in the long run. Wish I knew this when I applied.

    5. This process is random, expensive, and unfair at times. Some school select based on geographical location, some based on race, some based on stats, some based on reputation of your undergrad. Don\\\'t get upset when you get rejected for things you have no control over. I was lucky this cycle, but things could have easily turned the other way. Do the best you can, and be proud of what you have accomplished. Have a back-up plan.

    Best summary of the admission process, from SDN:
    Originally Posted by Perrotfish
    I think the key is that top school\\\'s don\\\'t want you to \\\'just\\\' box check. As in, check all the boxes, and then make sure you devote a significant amount of time to at least one memorable, completely unrelated to medicine, asanine waste of your time so that you seem reliably well rounded. There are three main ways to go about it:

    1) Be rich: Rich activities are fun, make you well rounded, and may even be educational. Sail around the world on a tall ship. Climb mountains. Do a sport that requires you to buy multiple horses. Travel, while paying for medical experience along the way. Medical schools love things that only the children of physicians can afford to do.

    2) Be old: Jobs, military experience, Peace Corps. Nothing says \\\'I\\\'m ready for medicine\\\' like several years of experience in not medicine.

    3) Do something that no reasonable person wants to do: You need a schtick, it needs to be memorable, you don\\\'t want to take extra years to do it, and what that means is doing something really, really f-ing stupid. Learning the guitar? Meh. Bagpipes? Better. Extra degree? No. From clown college? Yes! Involved with your church? Too common. By ringing the giant bells, hunchback of Notre Dame style? Good to go.

    OR you could not worry about top schools, just check the boxes, and go somewhere mid range.

    Application Complete

    Medical College of Wisconsin

    Application Complete, Rejected

    University of Michigan
    Emory University
    Boston University
    Duke University
    University of Wisconsin
    University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
    Brown University
    Dartmouth College
    Mount Sinai School of Medicine
    University of Cincinnati
    Tufts University

    Attended Interview, Rejected

    Cleveland Clinic Medical School

    Attended Interview, Withdrew

    Oregon Health & Science University

    Attended Interview, Waitlisted

    Washington University in St. Louis
    University of Pennsylvania

    Attended Interview, Waitlisted, Rejected

    Northwestern University

    Attended Interview, Waitlisted, Withdrew

    University of Virginia
    University of Missouri, Columbia

    Accepted off Waitlist

    University of Pittsburgh
    New York University

    Accepted

    University of Iowa
    University of Kansas
    Case Western Reserve University

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