Application Cycle One: 2006

• Undergraduate college: Gettysburg College
• Undergraduate Area of study: Fine Arts/Architecture

• Institution: U. of Penn Post-Baccalaureate Program
• Area of Study: Premedical Studies
• Degree Obtained: N/A

• Total MCAT SCORE: 523
• MCAT Section Scores: B/B 130, C/P 130, CARS 132   Detailed Breakdown
• Overall GPA: 3.33
• Science GPA: 3.36

Summary of Application Experience

08/07/07: Closing my profile, since I have matriculated. Final thoughts:
1. It's a cliche, but apply early. I took the last paper MCAT, so I don't know the specifics of what constitutes 'early' now that it's offered so often, but whatever they are, find out and do it. In retrospect I think the fact that I wasn't complete at any schools until mid-October was only offset by my high score--if I'd gotten a 32, I think it's likely I wouldn't be in med school right now.

2. Be phony in interviews. I know it gnaws at your conscience, and some people would advise you differently, but just suck it up, swallow your pride, and tell them what you know they want to hear. I definitely had some interviewers (to be fair, mostly student ones) obviously think I was a weirdo when I tried being 'original' or 'being myself.' I think they really wanted to hear the typical butt-kissing interview responses and questions from me. In particular, don't say that if you don't get into medical school you'll become an electrician. And if you get the chance to practice interviewing, do it.

3. Really consider where you would be happy, not just the cheapest or most prestigious school.

4. Get a credit card with some kind of cash-back or frequent flier miles program to offset the travel-related expenses of interviewing.

5. Apply broadly. Apply to even more schools than you intend on returning secondaries to, in case you find that some schools' secondaries are just so burdensome that it's not worth it to fill them out. (Honestly, even if I had met Brown's requirement for social science coursework, there was no way I was going to write those essays.) Look, I applied to 17 schools and got into 3. What if I had only applied to 10, and those 3 had not been among them?

That's all, folks! See you in 4 years when you will have to call me 'Doctor #6480!'

4/28/07: Finally, my Temple rejection. What took them so long? Were they really still thinking up until last week that they might interview me? Word to the wise: it seems like Temple is one of those schools where you just have to be complete before October to have any chance.

Also, I'm marking myself as withdrawn from Rochester, since I never responded affirmatively stating that I wanted to accept the place on their waitlist.

4/11/07: Final word from UMDNJ-RWJ. Wow: an outright rejection post-interview. I wonder what I did?

3/26/07: Yes, I know it's somewhat silly to post the date Penn rejected me, since it's the same date they accept or reject everyone. Still, I'm a stickler for accuracy.

Now that I have options, I'm actually excited about seeing my 'Received/Submitted secondary' section shrink.

3/19/07: Received Penn State acceptance by snail mail. I really wasn't expecting this one; the interview day gave the impression that they're looking for primary-care-oriented people who believe in universal healthcare, which I'm not. Now I get to play financial aid packages against each other.

2/22/07: One day after Pitt let me down, Case has lifted me up. Finally, an acceptance! Thank you, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine University Program!

2/21/07: Waitlisted at my first choice, Pitt. Argh. What should I have done differently? Taken the April MCAT? Volunteered at an AIDS clinic? Been born black? Well, I guess it's time to start busting my butt at work so my boss can write me an honestly positive letter of recommendation.

I still harbor a faint hope of hearing from the other Philly schools, but as much as I don't want to admit it, realistically I'm probably done interviewing. I suppose I can't complain; 6 is a healthy number of interviews. I just wish I had an acceptance!

1/18/07: My first post-interview communication from a school is a waitlist decision, at Drexel. Beginning to think my 40 MCAT lured me into a false sense of security about my past bad grades, lack of community service, and the lateness caused by taking the August test.

1/12/07: Two interviews down, two more scheduled. I'm glad I'm getting interest from multiple schools, but I'm also disappointed that there are still so many I've heard nothing from. Some fellow August MCATers in my Pitt interview group had been on many more interviews than I have by now. In particular, I really wish I'd heard from Penn State and Temple.

I also received an email from RWJ saying that they are going to invite me but are backlogged, and will send a more formal invitation containing instructions on how to schedule the interview later. I decided not to update them on the list above until I actually receive that invitation.

11/16/06: Ah, Boston University, you have claimed a special place in my heart as my first rejection. Was it something I said? The F in multivariable calculus 11 years ago? The lack of community service volunteering? My age? Oh well, I'm not really a blue state kind of guy anyway.

11/09/06: Darn it, I'm such a slacker. Yes, 14 schools is plenty, but I wish I had returned more of these secondaries. I just got so sick of answering the essay questions. OSU, UVA, and UMD would all have been good schools to apply to, but at this point it's probably too late.

Received my second interview invitation yesterday, from Drexel.

I will update more of my dates later when I have more time.

10/15/06: Been way too long since I updated this thing. Pleasantly surprised with my MCAT scores. With these scores, I probably won't bother returning most of the secondaries that are still undone at this point. I just hope some of these schools don't hold it against me for taking longer than 1 month to return their secondary. It took the impending MCAT score release to motivate me to actually do most of them.

Also, I got my first interview invitation Saturday, from Pitt. From MCAT score release to interview invitation in 38 hours! Is that a record?

9/02/06: AMCAS just verified yesterday. Received 3 secondaries that day. It's high time I got to work on them.

8/25/06: Creation of profile. My AMCAS isn't verified yet so I don't know my 'official' GPAs, nor are my MCAT scores in yet, but I wanted to create this profile since there don't seem to be many on here like me. I'm a single guy who was a music major in undergrad, worked in IT for 5 years, and started a post-bacc at age 28.

One area where I seem to be deficient compared to all the other applicants on this site is in EC's: I have done ZERO community-service volunteering. I may start to do a little through the application year, but it's too late for it to be on my AMCAS. So, consider this an experiment in whether such a person can get into med school.