I am meeting with the Director of Admissions tomorrow at Ohio State. The main focus of my meeting with her will probably be about whether or not I should apply this year (am I a competitive applicant, etc). Are their other “must ask” questions that I should be prepared with?
Thanks for any advice!
Amy
Off the top of my pointy head:
If she has any advice for you.
What is the best thing about her school.
If you do apply, what kinds of things they want to be updated on as the year progresses.
What you can do at this point to make your application more competitive (whether you apply this year or next).
Print out a copy of your unofficial transcript if you can and bring it with you so she can look over all your classes and grades. Ask her if she could recommend any classes for you to take in the fall or spring.
Write down all the ECs you have so you can let her know about them all. Ask her if there is anywhere she could recommend that you volunteer to add to your EC’s.
Relax and be yourself. I met with a dean of admissions for 3 years every other semester and it was quite helpful. She is the one that sent me to the free health clinic where I got the best direct patient contact.
Good luck.
Well, I met with the Director of Admissions of the Medical school and an Admissions Advisor in Graduate, International, and Professional programs today. Overall, I though both meetings went well. They were both impressed with my recent grades (straight A’s in the pre-reqs).
Fortunately, since I didn’t have ANY BCPM classes as an undergrad, I don’t need to bring up my science GPA. I am enrolled in Microbiology, Biochemsitry and my last physics in the fall, and both said that I should be fine, coursework wise. If I want to take additional coursework, they recommend A & P and genetics strongly.
My application must look pretty good, as the only thing the med school director of admissions could recommend was maybe some research, shadowing a doc, or additional volunteer work. I was a little bit surprised at the shadowing the doc, given my healthcare experience, but maybe they want to see that you’ve investigated the other side of the fence.
Both indicated that I really have nothing to lose (other than money) by taking the MCAT and applying this year. Obviously, they encouraged doing as much prep as I can fit in (with my organic chemistry boot camp schedule), but that it wouldn’t hurt to try.
Interestingly enough, the med school person said that, in her opinion, I wasn’t really at a serious disadvantage by taking the August MCAT. They interview and offer seats through March. She said that it definitely wasn’t true that the only chance you have as an August MCAT person is as a waiting list person.
On a side note (that I think I will post in the MCAT forum), the advisor at Graduate/Professional Admissions said that she had heard a rumor (and she stated that it was just that, a rumor, not fact) that another applicant she’s worked with will not even get an interview because of a really low section on the MCAT (overall of 31).
Amy
Amy, the “August disadvantage” gets a lot of play among pre-meds without justification.
I think the August MCAT takers who are at a potential disadvantage are those who wait to see their August scores before starting the application process. Sending in your application in October/November is definitely late. Folks taking the MCAT in August should have their AMCAS application in prior to taking the MCAT.
While later applications aren’t necessarily “interviewing for the wait list,” the fact remains that most US med schools do rolling admissions, and the later in the year you interview, the tougher it will be for you to be offered an acceptance.
So August MCATers, get your apps in soon! We had an OPM who was offered interviews within a week of his August MCAT being released, so it CAN make a big difference to have the rest of your application complete.
Mary
Points well taken, Mary. I plan on getting my rear in gear in the near future and getting my AMCAS submitted as soon as possible. It’s on my list of things to do with my three day weekend (as well as a full-length practice MCAT). I wasn’t planning on waiting to find out the results of the August MCAT.
I could definitely see where you would be at a disadvantage if you waited until you found out the results of the August MCAT. If your file is complete except for the MCAT, then basically they can start reviewing your file in October. If you wait until October to submit everything else, it could be quite late by the time you completed everything.
Thanks for the perspective!
Amy