Penguin_Zoo
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- Sep 18, 2023
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Hello everybody,
I am a current applicant and had a few questions about the mechanics of applicant evaluation behind-the-scenes. I was wondering if I could get clarity to how my current cycle might go/whether there are programs that I might apply to (albeit late, now that we are well into the cycle) in order to improve my odds of success.
I read through the "What are my chances?" post and have some questions, partially as they relate to me but also generally.
To give background about myself: I have an undergraduate GPA of 3.4 (much worse than “ok" according to the WAMC post), a 518 MCAT, and strong research experience in basic science (several first/co-first author papers published, another first author paper in preparation, and supporting authorship). I took a couple years post-grad to work full-time in a lab, so it’s not like I was an exceptionally productive undergraduate researcher. All of the papers are in good journals for my field and one is in a particularly well-regarded scientific journal. There are some personal circumstances to contextualize my GPA (loss in the family during junior year). My grades after junior year clearly improved (3.96 / 4.0 for each term of senior year), but with the caveat that I took one course in the summer leading up to senior year which I bombed and which singlehandedly makes the "upward trend" seem less dramatic on at least my AMCAS term-level grades section. Additionally, I had to work part or full-time throughout college to help support family, which I touch on during parts of my application. Though it seems like these are less important factors, for additional context I attended a T10 institution for college and am an overrepresented minority in medicine/science.
I generally think that admissions committees will try to view my grades, glaringly the weakest part of my application, in the context of other accomplishments and life narrative. At the same time, I had the disconcerting experience of very quickly (within a few days to little over a week post-completion) receiving rejections from a number of the 30 schools I applied to, with silence so far from the other programs. This made me realize that the personal context might never be evaluated by committees if they filter out my application on the basis of GPA. Obviously, I can't be sure, but the speed with which I got rejected from some of the programs makes me feel that it's probably unlikely that anybody took the time to actually read through my application.
So far, the programs I got rejected from were definitely reaches based on my GPA, although every school I applied to is a reach based on my GPA. I tried to apply broadly (8 "T20" schools, 15 from the next 20, and 7 from the next), but I now have rejections from each of those groupings. I did exclusively apply to MSTPs, which might have been a mistake. I am worried that I have already been rejected by the other programs but that I won’t know until the end of the cycle when they send formal notices.
When schools filter through applicants and try to figure out interviewees, do they typically read through the whole application first? Or do most schools have internal GPA/MCAT cutoffs so that they don't have to dedicate resources towards reading through a bunch of personal statements? Is "holistic review" shorthand for "we will read through your entire application before rendering a decision" or am I just being naive in hoping that holistic review processes will benefit me? Finally, does anybody know if there are programs particularly known for being sympathetic to grade fluctuations and varied life experiences that I could still apply to at this point? I am willing to add more programs if it would improve my odds, although I am averse to non-fully funded programs. In a pool of so many highly qualified applicants, does my GPA disqualify me as an MSTP/MD-PhD candidate, and should I start looking at other careers?
Thank you in advance for any insight, help, or testimonials! I understand that for most applicants, GPA & MCAT (if not also research) correlate at least somewhat closely. I’m having difficulty determining whether any programs will make the effort to figure out why my profile features such a big deviation or whether admissions committees simply have too many applications to even bother. Nobody in my family has attended med school, let alone MD/PhD, and all of my other resources and mentors have given very conflicting advice. I am hoping that the collective wisdom and experience of SDN might provide me with some clarity.
I am a current applicant and had a few questions about the mechanics of applicant evaluation behind-the-scenes. I was wondering if I could get clarity to how my current cycle might go/whether there are programs that I might apply to (albeit late, now that we are well into the cycle) in order to improve my odds of success.
I read through the "What are my chances?" post and have some questions, partially as they relate to me but also generally.
To give background about myself: I have an undergraduate GPA of 3.4 (much worse than “ok" according to the WAMC post), a 518 MCAT, and strong research experience in basic science (several first/co-first author papers published, another first author paper in preparation, and supporting authorship). I took a couple years post-grad to work full-time in a lab, so it’s not like I was an exceptionally productive undergraduate researcher. All of the papers are in good journals for my field and one is in a particularly well-regarded scientific journal. There are some personal circumstances to contextualize my GPA (loss in the family during junior year). My grades after junior year clearly improved (3.96 / 4.0 for each term of senior year), but with the caveat that I took one course in the summer leading up to senior year which I bombed and which singlehandedly makes the "upward trend" seem less dramatic on at least my AMCAS term-level grades section. Additionally, I had to work part or full-time throughout college to help support family, which I touch on during parts of my application. Though it seems like these are less important factors, for additional context I attended a T10 institution for college and am an overrepresented minority in medicine/science.
I generally think that admissions committees will try to view my grades, glaringly the weakest part of my application, in the context of other accomplishments and life narrative. At the same time, I had the disconcerting experience of very quickly (within a few days to little over a week post-completion) receiving rejections from a number of the 30 schools I applied to, with silence so far from the other programs. This made me realize that the personal context might never be evaluated by committees if they filter out my application on the basis of GPA. Obviously, I can't be sure, but the speed with which I got rejected from some of the programs makes me feel that it's probably unlikely that anybody took the time to actually read through my application.
So far, the programs I got rejected from were definitely reaches based on my GPA, although every school I applied to is a reach based on my GPA. I tried to apply broadly (8 "T20" schools, 15 from the next 20, and 7 from the next), but I now have rejections from each of those groupings. I did exclusively apply to MSTPs, which might have been a mistake. I am worried that I have already been rejected by the other programs but that I won’t know until the end of the cycle when they send formal notices.
When schools filter through applicants and try to figure out interviewees, do they typically read through the whole application first? Or do most schools have internal GPA/MCAT cutoffs so that they don't have to dedicate resources towards reading through a bunch of personal statements? Is "holistic review" shorthand for "we will read through your entire application before rendering a decision" or am I just being naive in hoping that holistic review processes will benefit me? Finally, does anybody know if there are programs particularly known for being sympathetic to grade fluctuations and varied life experiences that I could still apply to at this point? I am willing to add more programs if it would improve my odds, although I am averse to non-fully funded programs. In a pool of so many highly qualified applicants, does my GPA disqualify me as an MSTP/MD-PhD candidate, and should I start looking at other careers?
Thank you in advance for any insight, help, or testimonials! I understand that for most applicants, GPA & MCAT (if not also research) correlate at least somewhat closely. I’m having difficulty determining whether any programs will make the effort to figure out why my profile features such a big deviation or whether admissions committees simply have too many applications to even bother. Nobody in my family has attended med school, let alone MD/PhD, and all of my other resources and mentors have given very conflicting advice. I am hoping that the collective wisdom and experience of SDN might provide me with some clarity.
