Brief Profile:About Me: I am a non-trad first time applicant. I had no intentions of going to med school when I graduated college, but life events along the way have led me to this point. Life experience has also made it easier to write a PS and answer all the secondary essay questions.
5/16 Update: Now that the application cycle is over, I am posting my real demographic, stats, and EC\\\'s in hopes of helping other non-traditional applicants. I went back to school while working part-time to complete a DIY post-bac over 2 years.
Post-Baccalaureate College: Arizona State University Went back to school for five semesters. During this time, I also worked about 20 hours per week. Semester 1: Gen Chem I + lab, Physics I + lab, Bio I + lab Semester 2: Gen Chem II + lab, Physics II + lab, Bio II + lab Semester 3: OChem I + lab, Cell Bio, Physiology, Physics Research Semester 4: OChem II + lab, MCAT study, doc shadowing Semester 5: BioChem
Extra Curriculars: - 3 years hospital volunteer in Renal/Diabetic unit - 4 months therapy dog volunteer - 1 year of research with health physics research related to X-ray body scanners (no pubs) - Overseas work experience in Japan (6 months) - 8 years work experience in the Healthcare IT industry - 3 years running my own consulting firm - Shadowed 2 family practice MD\\\'s and 1 cardiologist NP
LOR\\\'s Submitted: - Physics professor (also research mentor) - Chemistry professor - CIO of hospital in Midwest - Former manager at a Healthcare IT company - Family physician (shadowed for 2 months) - Nurse manager at hospital where I volunteered
MCAT experience:
Studied for about 5 months using EK and EK1001 for everything except OChem (I was taking OChem II at the time and couldn\\\'t bring myself to do even more OChem problems). Also used TPR for verbal.
In hindsight, I probably should have studied OChem but I still scored >90% on BS so it\\\'s all good
VR was the toughest section for me. In the end, I settled on a custom blend of EK and TPR techniques. There is no way I could have done everything that TPR asked (ranking passages, determining question types, etc), so I just picked the ones I thought worked for me and only used those. Settled on a technique using trial & error and in the end, only raised my VR score by 1 point.
Took all AAMC FL\\\'s available. Did every one at the school library at a cubicle with ear plugs. I tried to simulate test day as much as possible.
I did not take a prep course. If you are a self-directed learner and well disciplined then save your money. I basically did not want to pay someone to tell me what I already knew I needed to do. This entire process is already expensive.
Took test on 4/29/2011, walked out feeling like I bombed it. IMO, the real test was way, way, way harder than any of the practice ones. For example, I regularly had time left to review answers on the practice FL\\\'s. This was not the case on the real thing. The passages were longer and questions were more difficult. So keep that in mind.
Rec\\\'d score on 6/1/2011 and was ecstatic considering how crappy I felt. Waiting for the score release was probably the longest month of mental torture that I have had so far.
Celebrated with a limo and a night out on the town the day scores were released. Have to celebrate the victories along the way!
Motivational Quote from my Physics Professor (and research mentor): \\\"You\\\'ve got a good chance at getting in, just don\\\'t screw up the MCAT!\\\"
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 06/14/2011
Undergraduate college: University of Kansas
Undergraduate Area of study: Engineering/Technology
Total MCAT SCORE: 516
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 130,
C/P 129,
CARS 127
Overall GPA: 3.81
Science GPA: 3.91
Applied, Rejected
University of California, San Francisco
Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: Yes
Secondary Completed: No
Interview Invite: No
Interview Attended: No
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: No
Rejected: Yes
Summary of Experience:
9/2: Rejected pre-secondary over labor day weekend.
Summary of Experience:
2/13: Rejected. They send an email saying there is a very slim chance they will re-open interviews to a few people and to email them with your specific interest in their program, but I\'m not doing that.
11/30: Placed on hold for an interview. They will review that pool of candidates again in Jan 2012 but I\'m sure it will only be a very small group invited. Small glimmer of hope.
9/16 - Attended a second year class. Interview with one person. I was the last person to go at around 3:10 pm. Sat in the fishbowl for quite some time talking to my fellow candidates. Finished around 4:15 pm.
8/8 - Interview invite #2! Received about 3 weeks after being complete.
Summary of Experience:
11/9: A large interview group. My student host was very accommodating and everyone was very nice. A hospital worker saw I was lost when trying to walk to the IndyGo Green Bus to go to the airport. At first he was going to drive me to the bus stop but then he decided to take me to the airport. Very nice gesture on his part.
9/29: Just received word that re-scheduled date is 11/9. That will actually work with my schedule. Didn\'t think I\'d hear back from IUSM so I was surprised.
8/18: Requested to be put on waitlist for a new interview date. So far, all other schools give more than 2 weeks notice and offer multiple dates. IUSM is rather inflexible...
8/17: Interview invite #3. Set for 8/31. I wish they would give more than 2 weeks notice.
7/27: OOS but received the supplemental materials. I think that means I will get an interview invite once all those are in.
Summary of Experience:
3/2: Rejected via email. Wouldn\'t have considered it anyway after my interview because I was not impressed with the school or the students.
9/12: Did the MMI interview. One group goes in the morning, one in the afternoon. Luckily, I was morning so I got it out of the way. Settled into a groove after the first two stations. I liked the variety of topics to discuss during the MMI. Pretty interesting.
8/18: Interview invite #4. File was complete less than a week ago so they moved fast!
Summary of Experience:
2/23: Placed on alternate list.
Dec 2011: Interviewed with Dr. Perman. The school has nice facilities, new lecture halls, and is growing. The tour was very thorough through the hospitals.
10/21: Really liked this school. Probably had the largest interview group out of all the ones I\'ve attended so far. The facilities are very nice, anatomy lab on 10th floor with lots of windows, and Boston is an awesome city.
9/6: Interview Invite #5!
8/7: Received 30-day email. According to interwebz, this seems to indicate a good chance at getting an interview invite.
Summary of Experience:
5/24: Officially placed in waitlist pool. Was just in a Continued status all this time. Didn\'t think I still had a chance after all these months of silence!
1/11: Sent letter of interest plus updated transcript and activities.
10/19: Placed in the \"Continued\" group.
8/29: Some interview details: 12 candidates, three 1-on-1 interviews, deep dish pizza lunch, walking tour, done by 3:30 pm (I was the last one finished). My group was the first day to interview. Also had a chance to sit in on 20 min of a class.
7/8: Interview invite! Very early, very surprised, and very pleased. I must have said the right things in my essays.
Summary of Experience:
3/16: Waitlist position #38. Will withdraw.
Feb 2012: Very enjoyable interview. Everyone was very nice and the day was very relaxed. KU had the best lunch out of all schools I interviewed (even came with cake for dessert!). Interviewers asked several ethics questions. After the day ended, there was a reception where I met an M2 who took me to tour the free clinic. Overall great day.
Summary of Experience:
5:16: Only acceptance so this is where I will go. I have a feeling that this is where I would have ended up anyway because of affordable tuition and low cost of living in Tucson. My goal after getting in is now not to incur a huge load of debt.
12/2: Accepted!!!! First acceptance! Feels good.
10/14 - MMI. The simulation center (ASTEC) is very cool. The school exceeded my expectations and I didn\'t know Tucson was so multi-cultural.
9/16 - Interview invite #6. More state school love.
