I’m 36, having worked as a professor and chiropractor for the last seven years. GPA ~3.4ish, 32 MCAT (10PS, 13VS, 9BS) As for applying, I apparently did everything you aren’t supposed to do. I was quite ignorant about the process, and seemed to do everything wrong. I applied late with AMCAS, and put off AACOMAS till December because my wife was concerned about the cost. She was convinced that I would get accepted to our local medical school where I’ve been on staff for the last three years, and felt that I shouldn’t spend the time and money applying elsewhere. Luckily I did because I spent months on “hold for interview” with them and ultimately was rejected. I applied to 15 M.D. Schools and 5 D.O. programs, receiving secondaries from all but one, U of West Virginia, which rejected me outright on the grounds that I was an out of state applicant. I was foolish enough to believe that being offered a secondary really meant that they were interested in me. After all the torture by essay and two grand poorer, I received 2 M.D. invites and 3 D.O. requests. With two down and three to go, I’m still waiting to hear “accepted”
jaysun
well thx for the summary. You are doing great. By the way happy birthday. Who knows, perhaps you will receive a great present this year. It also seems that the DO return is (in proportion) much higher than the DO one.
In any event, 5 interviews out of 20 schools is a great return and all I hope for you is to get an acceptance. A single one, that’s all you need.
Take care and keep us posted.
By the way Jaysun
I had another question. You said that the local Med School (where you worked if I understood correctly) rejected you. Do you know why?
Thank you.
Okay, so here’s where I stand (any and all advice will be greatly appreciated). I have interviewed with 4 schools (in order) - Eastern Virginia, Wake Forest, Maryland and Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. I am in the top portion of the wait list for EVMS, alternate list at Wake (no specific designation), post-interview hold with Maryland and accepted (yeah!) at PCOM.
Now, here’s my dilemma - Maryland is my first choice, followed by Wake Forest, but my wife and I don’t really want to move (we live in the Baltimore area). I have some confidence that I will be accepted by Wake, but am not totally sure. I honestly have no idea regarding Maryland - I think the economy makes this a very competitive year for Maryland residents (competitive students that may have considered OOS schools may go to Maryland for financial reasons). However, I will need to send in a $2,000 non-refundable deposit to PCOM by April 19th! I liked the school, but didn’t absolutely love it and would much prefer to go to Maryland or Wake. It does have the added benefit that my wife would not have to move since it’s a little less than 2 hours from us (come home on the weekends), but that’s still not a great solution. It is highly unlikely that I hear from any of the other schools before 4/19, so I feel like I’m kind of stuck at this point. My main concern is that if I don’t send in the $2,000 and I don’t get accepted anywhere else I will have to reapply next year. This has been weighing on my mind a lot as of late and I’m just not sure what to do. I know no one can tell me, but any words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Alright so here is the deal:
1- Call the admission office where you want to go and discuss the situation. If you can get through then you may have the answer.
2- Wait till April 19th. If you don’t hear anything then send in the 2000. You don’t want to take a chance.
I would send 10,000 dollars deposit now if I could get in a school right now. You probably invested a lot of money so far, and I understand that 2000 bucks are hard to waste, but I wouldn’t hesitate to do so if I was fortunate enough to be in your shoes. At this point, the most valuable currency for me is not so much money (OK, it is valuable) but time. I wouldn’t waste 1 year of my life because of a 2000 dollar deposit.
Now as far as your personal preferences, that’s something you need to figure out. I can’t speak for this. We have a French saying: “one ‘here it is’ is better than two ‘I will give it to you’”. In other words, an acceptance in any school (even not your top choice), is better than a possible, hypothetical, uncertain acceptance in you top choice.
My 2 cents.
BTW, Congratulations on your acceptance. That’s already that in the box. You have the certainty that the door is open on your goal to become a physician.
As for why I was rejected from the school I’m on staff, I was never given a reason, I’ve requested a file review. On a more positive note, picked up another interview offer, RVU-COM on my way back from Florida. Has anyone been there? I spoke with a young woman at my last interview who ranked as her #1 choice, absolutely loved it.
All of this sounds good Jaysun. Things are shaping quite nicely for you so far.
For the local school, I am surprised that they didn’t bother explaining, especially since you are on staff. It’s kind of weird. But Med Schools are known to be, that’s why we apply, we are all weird.
Keep us posted.
Congratulations! I hope I can write a similar note some day.
Good luck
Wow! Thank you for that inspiring story.
Well, I received an exit feedback session as to why my #1 choice didn’t take me. The short answer is…Paperwork! As some of you know I have a fair bit of health care experience spread over several different areas. After a conference with the head of admissions, I listed it as much as I could fit on the form, hoping that my experience give me a leg up and perhaps make up for my less competitive GPA. Unfortunately it backfired on me by providing a picture that I was spending a great deal of time furthering my current profession, instead of shadowing and volunteering in the one I hope to join. It’s apparently all about how you spin it, and just because the dean of admissions told you to do it that way doesn’t help you on the back end. The final decision was that I would have been accepted had I been able to demonstrate the type of experience they were looking for. Sadly I had just that, I merely needed to describe it differently. While it was a great feedback session, in many ways I wish hadn’t received it. I hope this information helps you guys, I’m going to try to buck up and get past the “what might have been” feeling this morning.
Thanks for sharing this situation with us. Hang in there!
just got the call today…i am officially a member of the class of 2014!!!
Congrats!!!
Just got in to EVMS off the waitlist, thanks to all the OPMers who helped along the way! 
Congrats!! Be sure to let us know about your adventures 
Becky and Jlr18 – congratulations to you both!
congrats jlr!!!
Hey Joy! I’m thrilled for you!
Congratulations!
Haha, well the first adventure starts with trying to find roomies/housing 5 weeks before orientation! This townie never thought she’d leave Boston, so this is kind of a big adventure.
I can’t believe I finally got in… even though it’s my first time applying, I’ve been planning for so long. I remember being teased at OPM 2005 because I wasn’t “old” enough!
Congrats to everyone else who made it in this cycle, and to those yet to get in - keep trying!
Congrats!!