Why Was She Rejected With a 3.8 GPA and 511 MCAT? | Application Renovation (S3 E3)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.พ. 2021
- Our student today has gotten a few medical school interviews but hasn't been accepted at the time of this recording. Last cycle, she got four interviews and was put on four waitlists. She worried she may not have enough clinical experience. But could there be other factors at play?
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Our student this week has strong stats: 3.79 sGPA, 3.82 cGPA, and a 511 MCAT. She's gotten a few interviews, with another one scheduled-but she hasn't been accepted at the time of this recording.
We discuss:
• A few punctuation issues and typos in her activity descriptions.
• Some missed opportunities in her activities section to tell stories and show impact.
• Whether talking with epilepsy patients as a peer mentor counts as medical/clinical.
• How to show adaptability with activities that were affected by COVID.
• The difference between the word "translator" and "interpreter."
• Does personal caregiving count as high-quality clinical experience?
• How to write your "Most Meaningful Experience Remarks."
• How selling yourself can take away from genuine storytelling in your app.
• An example of negativity to avoid in your activity descriptions.
• Why you should NOT focus on "what you learned" in your activity descriptions.
• Should you hide or disclose your own health diagnoses in your application?
• Why it's wasted space in your app to try to convey that you know what medicine is like.
• Why I don't like focusing on shadowing experiences in your personal statement.
• What she did well in the conclusion to her personal statement.
• My thoughts on her school list.
• Some advice for her upcoming med school interview based on her application.
Watch more episodes of Application Renovation: applicationrenovation.com. - บันเทิง
honestly med school acceptances are a shit show. She would have been a great med student. All the stuff you pointed out is just nitpicking
Honestly I agree, it wasn’t the nitpicky stuff that did it. I can tell you that med school admissions don’t look as in depth as people think. However, she needed a better school list for sure.
I actually disagree with you. Her application looks sloppy with her grammar. If it is as easy as copying and pasting in the Grammarly app, then they'll fix it for you, then why not do it?! She has good experience, but she kinda fails to explain what she got from each of her experiences as far as emotionally and the story. Medical schools don't just look for GPA and MCAT score.
when med schools get 1000s of applications of people with the same stats, they have to get nitpicky because there are simply not enough seats available
Ngl this scared the sh*t out of me
Thank you Dr.Gray for pointing out the difference between an interpreter and a translator! I’m a nationally certified Spanish medical interpreter and I often have to explain this very important difference to most of the people I work with.
Where did you get certified? I want to, given current circumstances (*cough* COVID)
Sometimes i really don’t like listening to these videos only because it makes me think of how, absolutely, ridiculous some variables that med schools take into consideration are
Usually these videos don’t make me nervous bc most of the people had a lot of problems in getting across their story in the application, but this one makes me extremely nervous she seems like a great applicant
Looking at the gpa and mcat grid alone her chance of getting in was high but not 100 percent so her case is an outlier.
things used to be much simpler. All you need was a 3.7 and 33 on mcat and some volunteering, believe or not.
look at her school list. she applied to so many ivy leagues. if you apply to a good amount of regular med schools you’d probably get in with these stats
I actually really liked the insight she put into her personal statement.
I feel like crying right now - feel so emotional. I also, strongly agree with you.
I love these videos. I have a horrible GPA but I'm still at community college. I called my school up and asked what they look for. They only really look at the last four semesters of classes taken in pre health. So they said my case wasn't unusual and that it is definitely possible to make a huge turn around and that they notice! For everyone with a low GPA, the only thing that will keep you out of med school is giving up. Talk to the advisors!
So you can still go to medical school with a low GPA?
@@laurenwilliams3703 Not necessarily. If you have a horrible GPA with no improvement there's no way. My bad grades are at my community college, but I just need three classes there to transfer to a Uni (they require a 2.0 or higher for transfer, I have a 2.2 at my community college). I did talk to the university advisor about my chances for med school, and she told me that they look at the last 60 credits taken at their institution, and all the premed classes. Since I have not taken premed courses or University courses yet, as long as I transfer and do really well, I should be golden. There will be at least one MD or DO college that would take me if I make As in premed and do well on the MCAT. I'm also a nurse so that may add to my resume for med school.
She was so close the first time!!
Hey Dr Ryan Gray, I’m looking forward to hearing you speak this Saturday at UCF’s Medical School Admission Symposium! Excited to learn how to make my app stronger!
yo I go to UCF!
I would love to hear more regarding personal disability / personal health in the writing. Does anyone know if there is another video that goes into further detail on this subject?
One word: Formulaic! What makes you stand out from everyone else? Rather than viewing the medical school process as a series of "checked boxes", there is a strong interest in passion. For instance, her description of her community service volunteer experience looks right out of a Med School application guide. The volunteer experiences must also align with your passion. If you are interested in cardiology (Interventional), then how about a series of experiences at a rehab center so you can get a sense of what happens after the patient is discharged after PCI. Then you can spin this as a way to make all your experiences funnel you toward your goals in medicine. By saying that your experiences in understanding what happens after pt discharge will help you become a better cardiologist, you are showing the committee your passion. To show impact, you can also talk about how many pts you've seen and any "compliments" you've received/accolades. Also, your statement about your internship in medical billing makes this person sound a bit naive---"I learned that medical billing was more complex than I had ever imagined". So, you are telling the committee that (a) you have never given one thought about medical billing during your undergrad training to become a physician, or (b) you are arrogant and know it all. Donald Trump made a similar statement about health care reform. He said something like 'who knew health care could be so complicated.' Again, they are interested in why you chose it in terms of rounding out your medical school pre-training, what you learned, and what kind of impact you had. As an intern, they don't expect you to change the world, but something like...."Led team to suggest process improvements in call center billing practices" could really help. The bottom line, you've got the science well-honed. Congrats. Just a bit of tweaking on the 'humanistic' side and the goal of lining everything up for the reviewers so your experiences do not look like a hodgepodge set of disparate activities. Rather, you meticulously crafted your non-med school experiences to provide you with a well-rounded, humanistic foundation to balance your scientific skills and your ability to think creatively within the boundaries of medicine, which are often viewed as black and white rather than shades of grey!
Thank you Dr. Brule.
There were a few...ignorant things I read in her app. I'm an LPN returning for pre-med...if I can notice it, med schools will. The common grammar mistakes didn't help at all either. Why in the world would she type "illegal aliens" instead of "undocumented immigrants"? That's basic professionalism. There's so much common sense lacking in her writing. It's easy to miss but when you're an avid reader (especially med school admissions) the small things really say a lot!
@@Glodwra From looking at her application, she seems very condescending and I don't know if she met to sound off that way.
The schools she applied to are all top medical schools either nationally or for their respective regions. No wonder it was tough with her solid mcat and grades lol plus sounds like she thought she was too good for DO programs.
I agree. I wish Dr. Gray would have educated her more on the DO schools and lower tier MD schools. It really makes very little difference where you go to medical school in the U.S.
@Abus look at the match rates for 2020, besides neuro and plastic surgery the match rates are pretty even. With the merge it’s essentially the same.
@Abus That is no longer true, especially with the 2020 residency merger. Not saying DOs have it equal but we are FAR from "much harder time"
@Abus also keep in mind for many DO programs, for your 3rd and 4th year you will need to travel for your clinicals. And that can be problematic. Speaking with my fiancé that’s something we don’t wanna do if possible. Then again, for some that’s a no problem. My buddy at New England Osteopathic only applied DO, and it paid off. I’m a 5 year paramedic with a 3.65 Gpa (had to retake Biochem), 512 MCAT, and it’s a tad nail biter right now. We will include them if I need a second try at applying, but first try we believe US allopathic is in our best interest (22-deep on my list rn). But that’s my opinion, and I’ve taken heat for it.
@@Maddawg31415 my friend had similar stats as you. Applied to 50 MD schools and 10 DO. Only got into one DO school by the end of the cycle.
Also, most DO schools require you to travel long distances for 3/4 year rotations. But what most people don't realize it's that most low tier MD schools also require moving or travel same as the DO schools. Only around the top 40 MD schools have teaching hospitals on campus for students to learn from.
Shouldn't his shirt for premed be the element Pm instead of Pr? Pm as in PreMed
You can tell the kind of person she is just by listening to how she speaks here. She keeps interrupting him, and speaks in such a way as to display praise towards herself. She doesn't seem authentic nor does she seem to really care about medicine. These are things that I'm sure medical schools can pick up on very easily.
That is absolutely true! 😢 from what I’ve seen so far the students who are accepted to med school do not act like this with their tone
Hi Medical School Headquarters, I like your content. I love watching your videos.
31:30 what is the new school coming in Colorado??? Why couldn’t it have come this cycle so I could apply to more than one in-state MD school 😭
I guess I'd never make it into medical school, even if I had the grey matter and grades needed. (I didn't) Seems to me that the metrics should involve GPA, MCAT scores, mental health evaluations, leadership and community service endeavors, and socioeconomic, ethnic, and cultural factors. The minutia involved with many of these vids appear to have more to do with an applicant's ability and willingness to jump through some desk driver's hoops, than about an applicant's suitability as a medical student, or potential as a doctor.
I have 510 3.9 no interviews and no acceptanes to MD. DO I ahve an acceptance
What decision will you make? Will you be taking the DO acceptance or reapplying next year?
@@smellypatel5272 yup taking it! I guess that's just my luck
@@Mercyforthewicked wish you the best of luck, future doc.
Same boat here brother/sister/other. Almost same stats. 2/2 DO acceptances. 4 MD interviews and that resulted in 1R, 1WL and 2 IDK yet. Probably WLs based on how late in the cycle it is. DO's rock 😏
@@alphaspartan Congrats!!!! Either way you'll be a doctor. Let go get that degree wooo!
I'm missing out on the acceptances because my GPA sucks but good luck to all prospective students because I failed so bad you don't have to worry about me being competition lol
Her school choice was most likely her issue here. She needs to broaden her mind to go to med school if she really wants to. Add more schools
Beggars can't be choosy. That school list needs work. Going through her application, I was surprised because she had a lot of great experiences with solid stats. UNC, V tech, Loma, Keck, Brown, Dartmouth, Baylor, BU, Emory were unlikely to result in anything. This is almost half her list.
But those aren't even like super top schools either. I think they fit her stats well. So you're saying she needs to apply to lower tier schools?
It's pretty difficult to choose schools. It's less of "begging" and more of trying to find places where you see the best fit. Like Emory is out of my league stats wise, but I'm applying there bc I have an MPH and my parents live in Atlanta.
Choosing which schools is pretty tough, and I feel pretty blind about where to look
@@WilsonRidge Question. How do you determine which school fit's stat wise? Is there some resource that I should know about? I'm still figuring this all out right now
@@jayrollo1352 there are online calculators where you can plug every stat in your app into that'll tell you where you should look into (lizzy and WARS). I'm tired of giving the AAMC more money, but MSAR is worth it. You can see all the available admissions stats in one spot. Even with those resources, it's tough.
@@jayrollo1352 Brown's class is made up of 50% of its own undergrads. V tech's class is only accepts ~30 oos applicants. Emory receives ~10k applications and their medians are above her stats. UNC prefers in state applicants. I think Loma prefers thousands of hours of volunteering, not paid work. Baylor, BU are reaches given her stats, Dartmouth is low yield with high stat medians like emory. Keck is a reach. Where are the schools like drexel, TCU/UNT, NOVA MD, Rosalind franklin, OUWB?
adaptable in pandemic
Caesar was an epileptic.
My brother applied to 50 medical schools with a 3.99 gpa, 99th percentile MCAT, published research, 300+ volunteering etc. and only has 1 acceptance to a low tier school.
Dang. I’m scared
@@ShammahEmmanuelU take a gap year and become an EMT or something unless you are currently attending an Ivy League or top school. If we would have known he would have been in this position we would have advised him to do that. Now that he’s been accepted to 1 school he’s screwed and unable to apply again. Med schools are removing the step 1 so top students who no longer attend top med schools can no longer get good residency.
This sounds to me like he's not a good writer? I've seen plenty of intelligent people (especially men) who often cannot sell themselves on paper.
@@manuelgoncalves4937 he’s a good writer and had his essay reviewed by 7 people. He didn’t want to lie or embellish too much on his essay like 90% of people do. He has been accepted to 1 top school now after being taken off the waitlist. For a top candidate to only get interviewed by 1 school in the top 50 is pathetic, My cousin is going to apply with a gap year and probably a 70 percentile MCAT and get accepted to as many schools as him,
@@Mogardie That does not make sense. I think that his stats compensated for a poor essay. If the essay was great with those insane stats, he would've at least gotten an interview.
After watching this video as a high school student, I'm scared to study for four years and end up not getting into med school.
That won’t happen if you believe in yourself and have the true desire to obtain that career. Identify all the resources that can help you!
PLEASE, DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF TO ANYTHING/ANYONE!!! STATS ARE NOT EVERYTHING! THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT, YOU JUST NEED TO FIGUE OUT WHERE YOU MESSED UP AND ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
Her comment on DO schools was very distasteful and it exemplifies her immaturity. Good luck getting accepted anywhere sweet heart.
How are these activity descriptions good? I have no idea what she actually did in those positions, when 80% of the space is used to give the context for a story with a one-sentence payoff.
I think Dr. Gray any many others have mentioned this before, but most people reading your activity section already know what we do in the majority of positions and activites listed. Instead of waisting characters on a job description that most of the admissions comittee already know, its better just to write 1-2 sentence describing your duties or responisbilites of the acitivity and focus on its impact on your premed journey (and most people do this through telling a story).
Try living in a state with no medical schools!
Also DO schools might suck because based off my youtube-reddit research: 1. gotta take comlex AND uslme. 2. Classmates wont be as high tier. 3. That whole residency matching thingy
Why is not having good students as classmates a good thing?
It depends on every persons situation. The 21st century is an opportunity for all to take advantage of DO or Caribbean if they need it
@@alrightuwin1398 no sir, not what I said
DO students are the most hard-working medical students! Think about it, having to take two board exams!? For example, look at Dr. Mike.
Why she didn’t get in: modern pre med. I have 3.9 GPA >514 MCAT. That is almost the average now based on reddit.
They probably already have 50 of those and are looking for 520 to fill the rest of the seats. It’s a numbers game.
It's not a numbers game - her numbers are fine. It's a game of how many minorities can we accept. Notice he only interviews minorities with low stats getting accepted and all of the "why didn't this person with great stats get in" videos are ORM. Tries to claim its "the story." It's getting old.
@@mckenzieconway4322 dang you’re very prejudice lmaooo. Please work on why you feel that way. You’re logic makes no sense Bc at the end of the day like I stated MOST of the seats WILL go to over represented people with >513 and the GPA of 3.7 that’s how medical schools think. They aren’t stupid.
If you are a over represent person you should be mad at the others that score higher than you with the resources they have. Don’t be mad at medical schools TRYING to find minorities that qualify to bring them into the community and push forward medicine. Bc those minorities will only take up 3-5 seats at the most. Look at the stats.
When you have thousands of kids with the same stats it comes down to “the story”
@@lilrabbitcuz I get what your saying but reddit is like the worst data set to get the average lol it's going to be highly skewed
@@zenith12417 it was a sarcastic joke. You know how many people on their post their scores and stories.
@@lilrabbitcuz This is not true. An applicant from an underrepresented group with lower grades than someone from an overrepresented group has the higher chance on getting in.
The way this girl talks about DO school is disgusting. If I was on the admission team I would not accept her. I see how much Dr.Grey wanted to tell her off. Like she's not even in medical and already portraying negative stereotypes.
Also, DO schools calculate GPAs differently than MD so it doesn't work like that.
She Rejected With a 3.8 GPA and 511 MCAT=it's Normal ...so you have to retake the MCAT untill you get 517 & you will reapply!!!
First haah😂
first comment!!
So what. Grow up
Maybe it’s her voice
Well it's not like med schools hear her voice before they even interview her.
Her voice is normal, this is just mean and unnecessary.
@@nikkistarke9856 I feel like he is talking about her voice in her writing.
This is needlessly mean but also admittedly funny lmao. If she's reading this, I hope she knows these comments are all in good fun. She seems really nice and hardworking
With 4 IIs and 4 WLs I would start to agree... maybe her interview skills