Unsuccessful Cycle - What to do from here? #WEWILLREBUILD
Good Day Everyone - Feisty Citron here, feistier than ever.
I had an unsuccessful cycle (25-26 AY)
My app in a nutshell that had 32 secondaries -> 1 ii -> 1 post interview R (Rest were post 2nday Rs)
- 510 MCAT (125/128/126/131), 3.65 cGPA, 3.5 sGPA
- 1.3K Paid Clinical as MA for Trying to Conceive Patients and Egg Donor IVF Coordinator (Fertility Clinic, FT)
- 1K leadership in Two Filipino Student Orgs (Positions: President, VP, Historian, and Treasurer) THESE WERE MY PASSION PROJECTS
- 75 hours in Clinical Research (Project was ethnographic study re: Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations, summer internship). This resulted in an abstract and poster presentation
- 100 Hours as Cell and Molecular Bio TA
- OTHER: 1K in Dental Clinic Work experience (Admin, not patient facing)
- Shadowing: 100 hours in IM and Outpatient Orthopedic Surgeon
- Volunteer: 100 hrs for Filipino Graduation, 20 at cat shelter at time of applying (200 projected)
- LORS: 1 NP from Work, 1 MD from Work, 1 MD Mentor, 2 College profs, 1 College Prof/Filipino Club Supervisor
- OIE: Caregiver for Grandmother with Alzheimer’s throughout College/College DURING Distance Learning
What went wrong according to the one school I interviewed at:
- Unbalanced MCAT, doesn’t really correlate with my upward trend / good grades in my higher division bio classes
- I should consider more community outreach for underserved populations
- I come off strong in my interviews which overshadows the softer, compassionate, and empathetic side of my writing
BONUS: I think my school list wasn’t the best mix, as my volunteer is low for service schools in my stats range. The reeeaach schools were a reeeeaaach with no pubs. ORM High SES if that matters.
Strengths:
- Writing was great
- My PASSION is definitely a strength, and it was noted by the adcom that I love what I do (ECs and Job)
WHATS NEW SINCE THEN:
- New promotion to IVF CRC for Phase 3 clinical trial. I’m the lead CRC for our site and it’s 50/50 patient facing and research admin duties. I lead one of the top enrolling clinics in the United States. (Additional 1K hours)
- I continued volunteering at the cat shelter
- Led a period product drive at work and donated them to the local non profit that targets period poverty
That being said: I am planning for an MCAT retake, but I am also applying for a Masters program. How do I be successful for my next cycle? On a personal level, not being accepted by my Alma mater destroyed me. However, I am also taking this as a sign that maybe I am not meant for a straight path to medicine! I really wanna go back to a school environment and explore living out of my hometown, so pursuing a masters might be a good endeavor in the mean time as well. HOW SHALL I REBUILD? How do I get better for my next cycle?! Encouraging thoughts and feed back please!