Application Update - Where I Am Today

          Unfortunately I started this blog in December, which is pretty deep into this year's med school application cycle.  I wish I had started it a year ago.  Then you could have enjoyed the journey with me as I struggled to pull great senior year grades, graduated, and went on to take the MCAT.  You could have seen my frustration with secondary applications and the waiting game since finishing those applications.  But, I started a few days ago, and that's just the way it is.  I will, however, update you on the process, in what will undoubtedly prove to be a long post.

Senior Year

          In the summer prior to my senior year, I re-decided that I wanted to be a doctor.  I sort of left the path after a personal tragedy that I will not go into detail on left me in many ways scared of medicine and healthcare.  Ultimately I returned to that path over the summer and started really doing research on applying to medical school, which I - despite having been pre-med - had never actually done.  I was shocked and then worried to discover: it is VERY tough to get into medical school.  Over half of the people who apply each year will be turned down.  The two dominant metrics are an applicant's GPA and MCAT score, and unfortunately, partially due to the tragedy during my junior year and partially due to a lack of focus and immaturity in my sophomore year, my GPA was not great.  My GPA was just over a 3.3, putting me squarely in the middle of the 3.2-3.39 GPA bracket.  According to the AAMC's MSAR (they compile all these statistics very faithfully), 27% of applicants in that bracket get into medical school.  Yes... over 70% of these applicants don't get in anywhere.  According to Cornell's statistics, 32% of Cornell applicants in this bracket were accepted.

          Not to be cynical or imply that I want to be anything but exceptional as a physician, but I had never realized how hard it was to get into med school.  I thought it was more like law school - no offense to lawyers out there - that if you're a decent student, you'll get in somewhere. 

          This was bad.  I was obviously very worried, and I knew I had to do whatever I could my senior year to bring my GPA up.  And I did.  Despite taking physics and organic chemistry simultaneously (very difficult course combo at CU), I had a 3.9 average my senior year and brought my overall GPA up to 3.5.  This isn't great for a med school applicant, but it's not terrible.  Cornell's data indicate that 56% of students in the 3.4-3.59 bracket get accepted.  At least that's over half, I thought, but I was still very worried.  That still means half the people like me don't see their dreams come to fruition.

Summer

          Now, I admit that I painted a bleak picture up above.  There was a chance for true salvation, though.  There was still the MCAT, weighted equally or sometimes even more than GPA.  Yes, the MCAT, perhaps the most feared standardized test of all.  It was not something I was terrified of or just hoping to get through like so many other pre-meds... I couldn't afford for it to be like that.  It was my chance for salvation.  I needed to ace it.  Immediately after graduation, I dug in and studied for the MCAT for a straight month.  I studied night and day for a full time job.  My girlfriend told me later that during the study time I developed a weird facial twitch.  It went away.

          Two weeks into my prep, I took a practice test and hit an absurd score.  Top 1% of the top 1%.  I was ecstatic.  A week later I did it again.  And again.  In fact, every practice test I took after that was somewhere in the top 1%.  I went in and took the MCAT, expecting to crush it.  To my dismay, one section was incredibly difficult, much more so than on the practice tests, although the other two were about what I expected.  I took the month off while the test was being graded and went on vacation in South Carolina with my girlfriend.  I told my parents to check the score for me and let me know when I got back.  Halfway through the vacation, I got a call from my parents.  Despite the one tough section: top 1% score.  Salvation is here.

Application Process

          I finished my main application in June.  I wrote my secondary applications through July and early August as I received them, and Cornell finished their pre-health committee letter - the most important recommendation letter - in early September, completing my application.  This was late.  Most medical schools operate on a rolling admissions basis, so the earlier you have a complete application, the better your chances of admission are.  

          Having done my part months before but having to wait so long for Cornell to finish their part was incredibly frustrating.  I knew interviews were slipping through my fingers and each day put me at a greater disadvantage, but I also knew that I had done well enough on the MCAT that my chances of admission somewhere were still very high.  Besides, there was nothing I could do.

Interviews Begin

          Eventually Cornell completed my letter.  The day after my letter was complete, one school called me to schedule an interview.  Two days after that, I received an interview invitation from a second school in the mail.  I was in business, and business started off looking real good.

          Things slowed down, though.  If there is one thing I can emphasize about the application process, it's that it is a huge waiting game.  I waited a month for my Cornell letter to be complete.  I waited a month or two between interview invitations before the actual interview.  And I have, at this point, still been waiting months for other interviews and to hear back from places where I have already interviewed. 

          Applying to medical school is a long waiting game.  The scary truth is that some kids wait right up until the day before orientation to come off of a school's waiting list.  If it's that or reapplying next year... well, you gotta do what you gotta do.

These Days

          Right now I am in a good position.  I have had a total of 5 interview invitations, which is a lot, especially for someone in my GPA bracket.  I have had two, and I have three more to go.  And I am expecting to hear back from the first two very soon.