Menu Icon Search
Close Search

MD Applicants

  • fpo-profile-avatar
  • usersomethingsomething

  • Application cycles: 06/09/2013
  • Demographics: Male, 32, Caucasian
  • Home state: Alabama
  • Last Active: 07/01/2014
  • Brief Profile: GPA & MCAT are altered for anonymity, but they are within range (MCAT > 37, GPA > 3.75 ). MCAT was taken without the writing section. Demographics also altered.

    This is fictional, but close (enough) to the truth: I double majored in Biology and Philosophy and took a gap year.

    Here is a vague list of activities that represents the spirit of what I actually did & put on AMCAS. Hours are also similar but not exact:

    - clinical volunteering in several different settings (some semi-"unique" non-hospital volunteering): 300 hrs
    - science research in several settings with publications (not first author, minor journals): 2000 hrs
    - president of 1 science and 1 non-science club: 250 hrs
    - work (minimum wage): 400 hrs
    - TA: 300 hrs
    - shadowing: 50hrs
    - senior thesis
    - misc honors & awards of not very significant nature
    - hobbies (sports & things)

    When listed as above it sounds pretty boring. However, I think the activities section is a place to showcase the interesting things you learned from your experiences. You can have awesome sounding experiences that you learn nothing from. I think it's better to have experiences that are awesome because of what you got out of them and what you were able to accomplish.

    The dates for interviews listed below are also not exact, but they are in within 1-2 weeks of my actual interview dates.

    I applied and was accepted to my state school, but I have not listed it. As you can probably tell, I am a little weird about anonymity.

    SR: Secondary Received
    SC: Secondary Submitted
    C: Marked Complete
    II: Interview Invite
    IA: Interview Attended
    W: Waitlisted
    H: "Put on hold"
    A: Accepted
    R: Rejected

    AMCAS received my committee letter on 7/11
  • // Applications //

    Application Cycle One: 06/09/2013

    • Undergraduate college: State School
    • Undergraduate Area of study: Biological/Life Sciences
    • Total MCAT SCORE: 523
    • MCAT Section Scores: B/B 130, C/P 130, CARS 132  
    • Overall GPA: 3.80
    • Science GPA: 3.80

    Summary of Application Experience

    Done with the application voyage and getting ready to start school, so I am trying to pay it forward. I found MDapps quite useful for deciding where to apply and figuring out when it was reasonable (most of the time) to expect news from schools. Profiles I found highly useful (I hope it is OK to list them here): Tots, TheKDizzle, pyrrion89, jeghaber. There are many more, but I can't recall them at the moment.

    In the end I "took the money" at one of the generous institutions that offered me a scholarship. I really can't believe the amazing things that happened to me over the past year. I am very grateful. I mention this because I know there is a lot of debate after acceptances come out about "following one's heart" vs. "taking the money". Tricky choice that will be different for everyone. I would like to say that any decision is "right" so long as you make it so. I am really excited and thankful to soon be a med student.

    Some of my other ramblings/ observations:

    I applied to too many schools. I was nervous and figured it would be better to over-apply than under-apply. Hindsight is 50/50 blah blah blah.

    I will not be posting any interview impressions because I wouldn't be contributing that much more objective information. There is already a lot of good stuff out there. I came out of interview season feeling that most schools are fundamentally very similar. It is like the frequently made observation that although applicants strive to look unique, most applicants are not unique. In the same way, medical schools try to stand out from each other, but most of them are really all the same where it matters (providing reasonable medical education). It is to everyone's benefit to focus on the "unique", but I think that most people who get accepted to similarly ranked medical schools will be fine wherever they go.

    This process is seemingly very random. Ultimately, you will (probably) only attend 1 medical school. It doesn't matter whether you get in right away or are accepted off the waitlist if you end up in the same place. Hopefully you will end up where you want to go, but if not hopefully you can make whatever school you end up at your "dream school".

    Application Complete, Rejected

    Columbia University
    Stanford University

    Attended Interview, Rejected

    Harvard University

    Attended Interview, Waitlisted, Withdrew

    Cleveland Clinic Medical School
    Case Western Reserve University
    Yale University
    University of Pennsylvania
    Baylor College

    Accepted off Waitlist

    Duke University

    Accepted

    University of Michigan
    Albert Einstein of Yeshiva University
    University of Chicago
    Cornell University
    Washington University in St. Louis
    Mount Sinai School of Medicine
    Vanderbilt University
    Mayo Medical School
    Johns Hopkins University

    // Share //

    × Wait!

    Are you sure you want to delete this application cycle? This will remove all application data and cannot be undone.

    × Wait!

    Are you sure you want to delete this school? This will remove all application data and cannot be undone.