Wake Forest Reject

It's happened.  The first rejection of the season.  :(

No secondary application here, which on the bright side: no secondary application!

I'm a glass is half full kind of girl...that is of course unless I don't get in to medical school...

Some Secondary Love

I received  my first couple of secondary requests from Medical Schools.  Now, these are all schools that don't screen applicants, they just send out secondary requests to every student they know is applying.  I don't think it gives anything away to name some of the schools--for example, Mayo.  This school is definitely a reach on my list, and they invited me to pay $100 so that they can process my primary application.  Then, if they're interested in just my GPA, MCAT, activities, and essay, they will ask me for my letters of recommendation, then the interview invites get sent out.  Now, I don't really enjoy filling out secondaries and writing out essays, but I think I like paying money for processing even less.  At least when schools charge me $125 to write an essay, I feel like at the least I'm able to show a different side of myself and strengthen my application.

On the bright side, I submitted one of my secondary applications--George Washington!  That was a bit odd because they asked what my "most significant non-academic achievement"  Hello, we're pre-meds! Every achievement is academic.  I'm not kidding myself--I'm not athletic, and every non-academic achievement of my life is still intellectual.  In any case, I jotted some things down because in the end, this question was asking, "Are you a pre-med robot, or a real person."  Everybody! Keep your fingers crossed that they like it!

Judgment Day

It's official.  June 17th has arrived and my application has been sent off to the medical schools.  20 schools now have my application (and letter of recommendation) Wish me luck & let the secondary application season begin!

How to Pick Your Schools

I just (a few days ago) finished applying to roughly twenty schools, and I spent a lot of time reading about the number of schools you should apply to, how you should pick which schools to apply to, etc, etc.  There's a lot of conflicting advice, and you really have to find out what works best for you.  Last year (the dark year) I applied to schools that had low stats for acceptance (i.e. lower MCAT scores, lower GPA requirements) and all-in-all, this didn't bode too well for me.  It wasn't a great strategy as I only received ONE interview invite and ZERO acceptances.  This has as much to do with my GPA, MCAT, lack of experience, and late application, as it does with my school list.  So as far as I can tell you can:

1.) Make up a list of schools based on your stats

2.) Apply to all the schools in your state + as many private schools as you can afford

3.) Pick your schools like you picked your colleges: safetys, good fits, and reaches

The third approach is a little bit trickier because who has "safetys" really...

I started out by making a list of schools that I felt were non-negotiable (i.e. no matter the stats, I was applying).  This list consisted of the school I'm doing my master's at, and my state schools.  Then I picked all the schools that my GPA and MCAT fit into.  My list in total consisted of approximately 40 schools at this point, so I pared it down by eliminating schools that I couldn't get into because I was missing a prerequisite.  That cut out a few, and then I took out schools that gave a strong preference to residents of that state.  I was down to about 28.  Finally, I started cutting it down based on the "selection factors" from the MSAR, some schools say they're looking for a lot of lab experience or clinical experience...or they strongly encourage people who have had time off/other careers to apply.  I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to go to any of the schools that I applied to because I really think they are good fits for me, and I hope the schools see that.  

The application process, (I hope) is more than just your stats, it's applying early, and writing an essay that shows your emotional maturity and passion, and it's demonstrating that you have something to offer that schools are looking for.  Now that the initial application is over, and my AMCAS is ready for verification, the panic and self-doubt has settled in.  June is an exciting month because it's so full of promise, but come November when I haven't been invited for an interview, or come April, when I haven't been accepted (again), it's really hard not to feel dejected.  June is also the month that SDN-ers start working on their secondaries before even receiving them...Send some good mojo/karma/prayers/thoughts my way and hope for secondaries for me from those schools that screen!!

Free Advice!!

I submitted my application to AMCAS yesterday!!  Last year I submitted it mid-July...maybe even late July because well first of all, I took the MCAT in June, and then thought I had to wait for my scores to come in.   I didn't get my scores until mid-July, and then my letter writer got a hernia so I had to wait for her letter...I didn't know that once you submitted it wasn't presto-bamo, schools automatically got your application; AMCAS has to verify it, so I wasn't "complete" until August something or other.  That and a bad MCAT kept me out of med school last year.

THIS time, I have a better, but still on the mediocre side, MCAT.  I submitted the AMCAS application on the very first day so that I can get verified ASAP, and start working on the joys that are secondaries.  While applying, the AMCAS started coming back to me, so here's some more free advice, which is kind of like "free air" at the gas station--take it for what it is.

1.) Start by requesting transcripts, a copy for you and a copy for AMCAS.

2.) Plan on spending as much time on the work/activities section as you do on your essay.

3.) Submit early,  but don't forgo quality in order to do so, if you need an extra couple of days, take it.

4.) For your school list, invest in the MSAR online, it's $15 for a year subscription, it's up to date, searchable, you can make a favorites list, and it's useful.

5.) Make a list of schools you would LOVE to go to, schools you could get into, and schools you SHOULD get into barring a meltdown of epic proportions then trim it based on which schools are best fits for what you want out of your education.

6.) Stay off SDN.

Wish me luck.  Lets hope this is the year I get in, otherwise I'll have to change the title of my blog.

Overheard

On the elevator at my job the other day, I overheard the following advice dispensed from a 4th year med student (who is going on to a fabulous residency) to a 3rd year med student:

I'd say don't do your residency where you study medical school because if you're interested in let's say internal medicine, chances are, you've been spending your free rotations there and you already know how the system works.  You already know how they do things and you don't get a different viewpoint or any diversity in your training.  Go somewhere else.  Get out of your hometown/where you did college/where you did medical school.

I thought it was pretty sound advice so I thought I'd post.  I don't think it's applicable to just residency, but to everything.  Go somewhere else!  After high school, I wanted to go out of state for college because I just never wanted to see anyone from high school; I wanted to start fresh.  It was really a good decision because I ended up at a school where everyone was different from anyone in my high school.  Now for med school/my masters I want to go somewhere different from college because the majority of people I hung out with in college were similar to each other.  I changed a lot in college just being exposed to a different type of person.  Diversity in med school/residency sounds delightful.  I want to experience different things/people/ways of practicing medicine.  I get that its not always easy to just pick up and leave (i.e. people who are married/with children/other obligations), but if you can, why not do it?

AMCAS Advice

I've been working on my personal statement, which sucks, but I thought I'd throw some advice out there for some good karma tomorrow when MCAT scores come out.

I applied to medical school last year with one interview,  no acceptances, so maybe I shouldn't be giving out advice, but this is more "general process of applying" type stuff.

1.) Triple the amount of time you think you need for AMCAS.  Last year, I was going to submit when I took the MCAT in mid-June, but then I ended up waiting for my not so great scores...July...and then by the time I submitted...August.  Not to say it would have made a difference, but seriously, start early.

2.) Start Early, part 2.  Ask your letter writers waaaaay in advance of when you need your letter and plan for hernias.  My wonderful wonderful (cannot use this word enough) English teacher who ended up writing me a lovely letter suffered from a hernia riiiiight before I needed my letter.  What could I say?  The woman had a hernia.  Ask early, get them early, send out early reminders and follow up.

3.) About follow up:  I've been emailing all my letter writers this year periodically updating them on my life.  Asking them to update my letters was CAKE.

4.) About letter writers: A professor's reaction says a lot about how their letter will go.  One of my professors said, "I would love to.  I would imagine all your professors are falling all over themselves to write you a letter."  Another said, "Sure, just tell me where to send it."  I'm betting the first professor wrote me a much much much better letter.

5.) Have a bunch of people read your personal statement.  This. Hurts.  I had my parents read my statement and surprise, surprise, they LOVED it.  That's because they've been on the pre-med journey with me and they know the struggles I've been through, oh and my  mom gave birth to me, so really not too much help.  I sent my statement to my professor who is a real stickler for grammar and who really liked me, but he hated my essay.  Ouch.  At first I was defensive, then pissed, then I was sad, then I started incorporating his suggestions.  I also sent it to two of my best friends because you need to have someone read it who knows you well and can say, "why don't you talk about this?"  Sometimes you don't know your best qualities.  Caveat: make sure your friends are not illiterate.

6.) Make nice with your pre-med advisor if you have one, it makes everything go so much more smoothly.

7.) Many committees won't start writing your letter until you've submitted your AMCAS.  This is why its important to start early.

8.) Transcripts.  Start here.  This should be one of the first things you do.  As soon as AMCAS opens, request your transcripts.  Things happen.  Stuff gets lost in the mail.  Mail these ASAP so you can cross it off your list.

9.) Thank EVERYONE.  Thank your letter writers, your pre-med committee, your registrars, your references (if you have them), and DEFINITELY thank your essay editors.  These people are doing a huge service to you and "Thanks, couldn't have done this without you," goes a LONG way.  (I know because someone said this to me the other day, and I practically swooned.)

This advice is probably a bit too late for those applying now, but for those thinking of applying next cycle or if you read this down the line, Best of Luck!