Application Cycle One: 2008

• Undergraduate college: Oklahoma State University
• Undergraduate Area of study: Computing and Information Science

• Institution: Masters
• Area of Study: Computing and Information Science
• Degree Obtained: MS

• Total MCAT SCORE: 509
• MCAT Section Scores: B/B 125, C/P 128, CARS 127   Detailed Breakdown
• Overall GPA: 3.50
• Science GPA: 3.56

Summary of Application Experience

Enrolled in University of New England.

Timeline:
10/6: first interview invite - Texas Tech, El Paso 11/6 (Email)
10/15: first rejection - Medical College of Wisconsin (Mail)
10/20: second interview invite - Univ New England 11/18 (Email)
12/5: third interview invite - Univ of Oklahoma 2/4 (Email, last interview day of season)
12/19: first acceptance - Univ New England (Certified mail)
12/24: fourth interview invite - Texas Tech, Lubbock 1/9 (Email, last interview day of season)
1/15: deadline to rank for Texas match, no interviews this year from UT-Houston, UT-San Antonio, or UTMB-Galveston (second, third, fourth rejections)
1/26: fifth rejection - University of Vermont (Website status)
1/28: sixth rejection - Rosalind Franklin (Email)
1/30: did not match in the Texas match
2/2: first waitlist - Texas Tech, El Paso (Email)
2/19: seventh rejection - St Louis University (Email)
2/27: second waitlist - Texas Tech, Lubbock (Website status)
3/2: third waitlist - Univ of Oklahoma (Mail)
4/13: eighth rejection - Jefferson Medical College (Email)
4/15: ninth rejection - Rush Medical College (Email)
5/16: second acceptance - University of Oklahoma (Mail)
7/22: third acceptance - Texas Tech University, Lubbock (Phone call)

Some observations - if you are an 'on the bubble' applicant like me, where your GPA/MCAT combination falls in the lower end of the average matriculant pool, you should know that we have a lot of company, and although it's certainly possible to get accepted it can be very hard to stand out from the crowd. My recommendations for applicants with mediocre numbers:

1. Apply as broadly as you can afford, but unless you have a tie or a compelling specific interest, save for last all of those private schools that get 6,000-10,000 applications every year. Your odds aren't very good of winning the interview lottery and their secondary fees are usually the most expensive.

2. Highlight stuff in your AMCAS application and personal statement that makes you distinctive from everyone else, especially things that show initiative and leadership, and even if they're not related to medicine.

3. Spend time on the secondaries. Tailor them to each school. Know what kind of applicant the school is looking for and highlight how you fit. Thoroughly read the website at a minimum before writing secondary essays. Even better if you can talk to a student or faculty.

4. Send an email or letter of interest around mid-cycle (Nov for most schools, late Sept for early cycles like Texas). Make it short and to the point, but emphasize your tie or specific interest. Two of my interviews came after interest emails. Getting an interview doesn't mean you're in, but it's definitely the biggest hurdle. Don't be too shy about letting them know that you're very interested.

Overall, you should keep in mind that the process involves a lot of random chance. If you are into sailing and express that in your application, you may get lucky and your initial app screener is president of a sailing club and thinks it's great leadership experience, or you may get unlucky and your screener is indifferent, or even thinks you should have spent that time doing research. This is even more true in interviews, where personalities are involved and you might click really well or not at all with your interviewer. There is also great variation in the way nontraditional applicants are viewed. Some think you are better prepared to manage your time and more mature than the 22-year old crowd, some think they shouldn't be in the business of re-training career switchers or wonder why the hell you are putting yourself through this when you have a perfectly good job already. The best response to all of this is to not get discouraged, show thoughtfulness about your decision to pursue medicine and confidence that you've made the right decision, be persistant, and don't take rejection personally. Reconcile yourself early on to the idea that you may have to reapply next cycle and make tentative plans to do so. Besides being prudent planning, this helps stave off discouragement as the cycle drags on if you aren't getting as many interviews as hoped.