Since I applied to so many schools this cycle I've been getting a bit burned out with the essay-writing. As I do more extensive research on each school to tailor my responses accordingly, I'm realizing that a few of these places are not going to be good fits for me. So I put those applications on the back burner and get to them whenever I feel like writing more.
One school in particular is causing me lots of anguish with regards to making a decision on whether to finish the application or not.
It's the opposite of my ideal location* in nearly every way: region, weather, topography, and culture. And its secondary application is a beast.
On the other hand, I have a fairly decent chance of being accepted there because my stats are actually competitive. So I can't bring myself to rule it out entirely. Instead, I've been talking myself into finishing all the essays that are required simply for that reason. Beggars can't be choosers.
In order to stay positive about this school, I've been daydreaming (through rose-colored glasses, of course) about what it would really be like to live there. I like to compare it to a new kind of adventure, kind of like living abroad. I mean, I did say I was tiring of my current region so this could be the perfect solution.
So back to writing I go. By the way, I'm currently seven pages into a Word document (single spaced) for this particular secondary. And I still have two more essays to finish for it. A beast, I tell you. A beast.
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*After looking at a school's statistics to see if I even have a chance in hell of having my application not dumped directly into the trash, I've been considering other factors to decide whether to apply there or not. Location is a big one.
Although the school that I mention in this post is on the opposite side of perfect, there is no deal-breaker like the one that made me hate the second school at which I interviewed last cycle. So I'm giving it a chance when schools similar to the other one have been crossed off the list.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Friday, July 26, 2013
Just keep swimming
I'm slowly churning out these secondary essays. Although they're not being done as quickly as I would've liked, all but two have been submitted within two weeks of being received by me. That's not too shabby.
At this rate, I should have nearly everything done by August 1st. That's not "very early" in the cycle as I had planned, but it's a significant improvement from last year.
Monday, July 15, 2013
No way...
I just got an invitation to complete a secondary application from a school that heavily screens its applicants and takes very, very few out-of-state people. That's shocking.
I didn't get this invitation last cycle, so it looks like I'm already doing better this time around. There's hope!
I didn't get this invitation last cycle, so it looks like I'm already doing better this time around. There's hope!
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Why I didn't get accepted last cycle
A commenter asked today why I think I didn't get in last cycle so here is my very long-winded (as always) explanation.
I believe there are several reasons for my many rejections, in order of effect on my application:
Late submission of secondary essays:
The most significant one is the first: my applications were complete very, very late. I was verified by AMCAS by the first week of August, which is actually still fine. However, I took my time submitting my secondary essays and that's what really cost me.
Most of them were submitted in mid-September, meaning my application wasn't complete until October or even November. By that point, many interview invitations had already been given out and I was competing with more applicants for fewer spots. Not good odds with my numbers.
Bombing interviews:
I did receive two interview invitations and both of them resulted in waitlist positions. These were the two schools at which I submitted my secondary applications relatively early (within two weeks of receipt of them and complete by mid- to late August). That supports my theory that as long as you submit before Labor Day, you have a decent chance of getting interview invitations.
As for why they resulted in waitlists, the reasons differ for each school. I bombed the first interview at which I actually had a very good chance of getting accepted had it gone well (2 in 1 odds). It was my first interview, I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, and I had a lot riding on it (it was and still is my dream school).
As a result, I was off my game. I expressed excitement at the wrong moments, such as when talking about my hobbies instead of describing my passion for medicine; some of my answers weren't phrased well and thus either weren't convincing or came off as naive; and I just didn't lay on enough charm.
I thought my second interview went really well, given the interviewers I was paired with. But the school doesn't take many out-of-state applicants as it is, had over-accepted people the year before (they had to give a few students incentives to defer for one year) and as a result accepted fewer people in general. Thus, it was a perfect storm for placing me on the waitlist.
Low GPA, both cumulative and science
Now onto my actual application. I didn't take school seriously as an undergraduate and my transcript reflects that. I literally have every grade my school offered, from A to F (including +s and -s), a W here and there, as well as a Pass for Pass/Fail courses. This resulted in sub-3.00 cumulative and science GPAs. Yeah, I did a number on my future during those four years.
I went back to school a couple of years ago to take pre-requisite classes since I had only completed a few of them in undergrad (thank God!) before dropping the pre-med thing back then. I managed to do a fair amount of GPA repair because I rocked them.
Unfortunately, I was a science major in undergrad but fortunately most of my major classes weren't classified as BCPM (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math) by AMCAS. This resulted in me being able to raise my science GPA nearly to 3.50.
My cumulative GPA remains at ~3.10, which is well below the 10th percentile at most schools. There is no amount of classes I can take to make my cumulative GPA competitive so I've stopped trying to raise it. Instead, I've applied mostly to schools that take a holistic approach to applicants and I hope they see past my immaturity from nearly a decade ago.
It also helps that I have a high MCAT score (36R) and have performed extremely well in upper-division biology and chemistry classes. It definitely eases the concerns of admissions committees about my ability to perform in medical school. So this may not be that big of a factor as long as a human lays eyes on my application.
Insufficient activities (up for debate)
I believe there are several reasons for my many rejections, in order of effect on my application:
- Late submission of secondary essays
- Bombing interviews
- Low GPA, both cumulative and science
- Insufficient activities (up for debate)
Late submission of secondary essays:
The most significant one is the first: my applications were complete very, very late. I was verified by AMCAS by the first week of August, which is actually still fine. However, I took my time submitting my secondary essays and that's what really cost me.
Most of them were submitted in mid-September, meaning my application wasn't complete until October or even November. By that point, many interview invitations had already been given out and I was competing with more applicants for fewer spots. Not good odds with my numbers.
Bombing interviews:
I did receive two interview invitations and both of them resulted in waitlist positions. These were the two schools at which I submitted my secondary applications relatively early (within two weeks of receipt of them and complete by mid- to late August). That supports my theory that as long as you submit before Labor Day, you have a decent chance of getting interview invitations.
As for why they resulted in waitlists, the reasons differ for each school. I bombed the first interview at which I actually had a very good chance of getting accepted had it gone well (2 in 1 odds). It was my first interview, I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, and I had a lot riding on it (it was and still is my dream school).
As a result, I was off my game. I expressed excitement at the wrong moments, such as when talking about my hobbies instead of describing my passion for medicine; some of my answers weren't phrased well and thus either weren't convincing or came off as naive; and I just didn't lay on enough charm.
I thought my second interview went really well, given the interviewers I was paired with. But the school doesn't take many out-of-state applicants as it is, had over-accepted people the year before (they had to give a few students incentives to defer for one year) and as a result accepted fewer people in general. Thus, it was a perfect storm for placing me on the waitlist.
Low GPA, both cumulative and science
Now onto my actual application. I didn't take school seriously as an undergraduate and my transcript reflects that. I literally have every grade my school offered, from A to F (including +s and -s), a W here and there, as well as a Pass for Pass/Fail courses. This resulted in sub-3.00 cumulative and science GPAs. Yeah, I did a number on my future during those four years.
I went back to school a couple of years ago to take pre-requisite classes since I had only completed a few of them in undergrad (thank God!) before dropping the pre-med thing back then. I managed to do a fair amount of GPA repair because I rocked them.
Unfortunately, I was a science major in undergrad but fortunately most of my major classes weren't classified as BCPM (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math) by AMCAS. This resulted in me being able to raise my science GPA nearly to 3.50.
My cumulative GPA remains at ~3.10, which is well below the 10th percentile at most schools. There is no amount of classes I can take to make my cumulative GPA competitive so I've stopped trying to raise it. Instead, I've applied mostly to schools that take a holistic approach to applicants and I hope they see past my immaturity from nearly a decade ago.
It also helps that I have a high MCAT score (36R) and have performed extremely well in upper-division biology and chemistry classes. It definitely eases the concerns of admissions committees about my ability to perform in medical school. So this may not be that big of a factor as long as a human lays eyes on my application.
Insufficient activities (up for debate)
This is where the answer isn't very clear-cut. I either have a really strong application or I shouldn't bother applying until I strengthen it. Depends on whom you ask.
Luckily, my committee letter writers are in the first boat otherwise I wouldn't have been offered any interviews last cycle. On the other hand, other well-respected people said they wouldn't have given me an interview even if I was the first application they saw. In their minds, my activities are too old, too impersonal, and I'm not productive enough with my spare time.
There is some merit to these concerns, especially now that I'm a reapplicant, so I'm fixing those areas in case I have to reapply yet again. I really hope it doesn't come to that but from some discussions with people, it's a legitimate concern.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Now onto the writing
My application was just verified by AMCAS and will be sent to medical schools beginning now. So I'm really only five days behind the super early birds. Not too shabby.
And so begins the mad essay writing...right before the 4th of July weekend. Good thing most of these are already pre-written so there's not too much work on my end.
And so begins the mad essay writing...right before the 4th of July weekend. Good thing most of these are already pre-written so there's not too much work on my end.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Secondary essays, version 2.0
My primary application is days away from being sent to medical schools so within the next week or so I will have a buttload of essays to submit, with prompts such as, "How would you contribute to our medical school class?" and "What's the greatest challenge you have faced?"
I remember being so burnt out with this process last year that the thought of putting another word on paper (or, more accurately, typing it on my computer) was incredibly repulsive. It honestly took me about an hour to write "the perfect" sentence, which isn't so perfect now that I read over it a year later. There's lots of revising to do.
The biggest thing I've learned from this process is to tailor my answers to the mission and priorities of each medical school. Some schools are service-based and others are research-based so I need to emphasize those qualities in my essays depending on which school I'm applying to.
I have a lot of these essays to write (my current list is 24 schools long), but I'm definitely looking forward to them more than I did last year. This doesn't mean I want to write anything, because I actually really detest writing when there's something riding on my responses.
I'm excited to see where my application takes me, because I have a legitimate shot at getting interviews this time around. Hurray for starting early!
I remember being so burnt out with this process last year that the thought of putting another word on paper (or, more accurately, typing it on my computer) was incredibly repulsive. It honestly took me about an hour to write "the perfect" sentence, which isn't so perfect now that I read over it a year later. There's lots of revising to do.
The biggest thing I've learned from this process is to tailor my answers to the mission and priorities of each medical school. Some schools are service-based and others are research-based so I need to emphasize those qualities in my essays depending on which school I'm applying to.
I have a lot of these essays to write (my current list is 24 schools long), but I'm definitely looking forward to them more than I did last year. This doesn't mean I want to write anything, because I actually really detest writing when there's something riding on my responses.
I'm excited to see where my application takes me, because I have a legitimate shot at getting interviews this time around. Hurray for starting early!
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