Brief Profile:
Will edit after app season with more bio info:
Home State: One of the Rocky Mountain states
Major: non-bio BCPM discipline
Pro Athlete: minor sport Research: 1.5 yrs. one pub in Acad Emergency Med, one in review, a few pending. High School teacher at a school for at-risk and underserved youth for the last two years.
Typical stuff other than that, one yr ER volunteer, did some non-clinical volunteer work teaching english to Hispanic immigrants.
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 05/31/2012
Undergraduate college: State Flagship
Total MCAT SCORE: 472
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 118,
C/P 118,
CARS 118
Overall GPA: 1.00
Science GPA: 1.00
Summary of Application Experience
cGPA: 3.85+ sGPA: 3.80+ MCAT: balanced 35+
I'm not a TX resident, but I have family there so I have a huge preference for the TX schools. My top choices would be anywhere in TX, after that it really is a toss up. I'm married so my preferences in order are:
1) Tuition cost 2) Caliber of school 3) Opportunities for my spouse to find employment 4) Cost of living in area
Random observation: I interviewed at almost all of my top choices right off the bat and heard nothing from most of the safeties I applied to. No school is a safety school, it's all about fit.
Applied, Rejected
Vanderbilt University
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:
Rejected, not exactly heartbroken. Happy with the interviews I already have.
Summary of Experience:
Submitted secondary and thought I was done, then got an email in mid November that I was missing a character letter. Don't have the enthusiasm to get that after UTSA acceptance.
Summary of Experience:
Heard it was a nice school and a cool area, but wasn't thrilled on the idea of moving to Iowa and wouldn't pick this school over UTSA.
Just a heads up, but tickets to Iowa City are insanely expensive.
Summary of Experience:
Overall very impressed with this schools. UT-H doesn't get a lot of hype, but TMC sold me. The students were all incredibly friendly and seemed like they weren't burned out like some other students I've met on the interview trail.
Of the 3 schools I've visited in Texas, this school seemed to have the best facilities and the happiest students.
Summary of Experience:
This was my top choice coming into the application season. The school is top notch and has numerous opportunities, new hospital being built, cheap tuition, numerous job opportunities in the area for my spouse, low cost of living, and I have family in the area.
Only drawback was that the students seemed absolutely burnt. Most exhausted students I have met in the whole season from M1-M4.
Top choice by far, hoping to hear some good news soon...
Summary of Experience:
Such an awesome school, loved the curriculum, loved the students, loved the area. Bummer I have to wait until March to hear anything.
Campus was awesome, there are definite benefits to being on an undergrad campus as you can take advantage of their facilities.
Summary of Experience:
The school was very impressive, the facilities were all top notch, and the students all very friendly. Outside of Texas, this is a top choice. My only concern is if Winston-Salem will have job opportunities for my spouse and what seemed like a low likelihood of grants/scholarships.
Summary of Experience:
Withdrew after UTSA acceptance
Seemed like a good school, but the lack of research opportunities really turned me off. Also the proximity to UN's med school and area made me question the clinical exposure you would receive here.
Seemed like the perennial safety school as none of the students I met seemed thrilled with the school and a high percentage of graduates matched elsewhere.
Summary of Experience:
Accepted a few days after interviewing.
I've been to this campus quite a few times so nothing was really new for me, but I will write my thoughts:
CU is a program that is seriously on the rise. The new campus is amazing, Childrens looks like a medical disney land, and the research opportunities won't hold you back.
Plus, you can't beat the area, I'm a big time skier and outdoor enthusiast so you can't beat the access you have to all the outdoor sports.
The area around the school is a little bit shady, but you can find safe neighborhoods within a 10 minute drive and decent apartments directly around the medical plaza are expensive but safe.
Overall the students were all very laid back as you would expect.
The school is awesome, but turning down a nearly free education from UTSA will be difficult...
Long School of Medicine - University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio
Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: Yes
Secondary Completed: Yes
Interview Invite: Yes
Interview Attended: Yes
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: Yes
Rejected: No
Summary of Experience:
First interview, first acceptance+OOS scholarship! Seemed like a solid school, the facilities were a bit run down but the new hospital looks promising. I have family in the area that would make the move to SA pretty seamless for my family so I'll probably go here. Most of the schools I would pick over UTSA I have already interviewed at so I will turn down most future interviews.
random842 took the old MCAT and scored a 3 which is in the 0 percentile of all old scores.
We converted this to a 472 on the updated scale which is in the -1st percentile of the updated MCAT. We also converted random842’s section scores as follows:
random842 scored a 1 on the Biological Science section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 118 on the Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems.
random842 scored a 1 on the Physical Science section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 118 on the Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems.
random842 scored a 1 on the Verbal Reasoning section of the old MCAT which is approximately equal to a 118 on the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills.
