He may also want to consider applying to Quillen at ETSU. Highly favorable to in-state applicants.
He did shadow primary care providers ā internal medicine practice, cardiologist, and a pulmonologist. His clinical hours are almost all volunteer hours at a Veteransā Hospital in the Emergency Department.
IMHO
High Mcat does not always cover low GPA, neither Extensive ECs. Your Sās GPA is below average for all med schools, that is a big minus. Do not believe the Youtube you see that some low GPA candidates got into med school, they are the exceptions.
But with a TN resident in highly protected IS schools, you might have a chance. But do not stop there, he also should apply for DOs extensively and make sure he also shadow some DOs and get LORs.
Cardiology and pulmonology arenāt primary care. Primary care includes: non-specialist IM, peds, FM, OB/GYN, and geriatrics.
Any non-medical community service hours with the less fortunate/vulnerable populations? Thatās what I meant by community service. Adcomms are looking for demonstration of altruism and service to others.
Biochem is a hard major. With a 3.47 GPA and 522 MCAT, he probably would get into TN state schools (strong in-state preference). Only thing he might think at this point is - whether he can get into higher ranked schools. He can calculate where his final GPA would be if he gets all Aās in senior year, but with the 3/4 of classes already taken, doubt how much can his GPA be raised (probably around 3.6ish?). Even with a 3.6 GPA and 522 MCAT, heās still not that competitive for top schools, then why waste another year?
I would say it depends on the patient population within the clinic. I know many board certified cardios/pulms who are the PCP for people where that is their primary health condition. They are the ones who manage all their screening and any other conditions that can be managed without specialist input (e.g. well controlled diabetes, early osteoarthritis, infrequent and drug responsive migraines, etc) and they are who the patient goes to first with any new issues.
D received her first interview invite last week. She just returned from visiting friends in that city/state and is going to head back in a week or so. She is very excited!
I have a question about clothing. Do girls ever wear business dresses to business casual meet and greets or would that be too formal? By dress I donāt mean a suit skirt. I mean a dress with short sleeves that does not have a flowy skirt and falls a couple of inches below the knee. She would wear it with flats. Or would a pair of black slacks and a button up shirt be considered more business casual? The best way to describe the pants are ponte pants that are cut at the ankle (not cropped). They arenāt as form-fitting as skinny pants, but they arenāt as loose around the legs as her suit pants. They are similar to these but are black. Would something like this be okay for a meet & greet or would a dress be better?
https://www.whitehouseblackmarket.com/store/product/comfort+stretch+slim+ankle+pants/570223003?color=1145&catId=cat210003
I think itās too early to start worrying about not getting an interview.. There is at least 7 months of interview season ahead. Hopefully September will bring an invite or two for each of them. I know the wait is hard, but donāt start worrying this soon. Some schools havenāt even started interviewing yet. From what Iāve read, people should not be concerned about not having any interviews until Thanksgiving. I know thatās easier said than done.
What month did your son receive his last interview when he applied?
The post above was in reply to @momworried
My rule of thumb for meet and greet where only students meet is that you donāt wear flipflops and cut off shorts but you donāt want to look too formal in a suit. Something that falls under business casual (for men - it is khakhis type pants and buttoned shirt) is the right way to go.
Hereās a guide to business dress (professional and casual) from McComb Career Services Officeā
https://my.mccombs.utexas.edu/BBA/Career-Services/~/media/32064768E0CC4E89A3BB22764B9B8575.ashx
@icuinNm he had 2 interviews in January which resulted in a wait list. One of them turned into acceptance in mid may. But most of his interviews were done by mid October. He had his first 2 acceptances on October 15 which took the pressure off.
Actually most schools are interviewing already. And I know about the thanksgiving rule. But usually when you have an amazing application and all your ducks line up in a row you start interviewing early. Definitely by your state schools. Thatās why Iām concerned.
@icuin, personally I find those pants completely acceptable for a meet and greet. Are you talking about the night before her interview get together? I canāt remember what my daughter wore to those events but I know they weāre not any part of her business suit, more likely a dress or slacks with a cardigan.
@WayOutWestMom, Thanks for the great guide! I will forward this to D.
@CottonTales, Thanks for your input. From what info I can gather, on day one the applicants will have the campus tour, a luncheon meet and greet and a QA session. Day 2 is for interviews. At first I was a little worried about the pants, but I now think they will be fine with a button-up blouse and flat shoes.
Thanks ā I donāt have all the lingo correct! The pulmonologist was actually in a hospital and was head of the ED, so they were in the ER most of the days.
Yes, he also has a good bit of community service generally ā two mission trips (in the U.S.), and working at an Urban Farm that supplies fresh food to the needy.
He has had two advisors (one a former Harvard admissions member) suggest that he wait and apply in May because the scholarship money in-state may run low this late in the cycle and if he gets his GPA up just a bit - to a 3.6 he will have a shot at higher tier schools. So now he is leaning towards waiting out this cycle. ugh, so many decisions!
Just a FYI, for interview outfits, with heels, have your daughter have a pair of flats in her purse. Completely acceptable to change for the tour. @icuinNm
@momworried, Are these applicants from the same state as your S? Schools donāt necessarily interview in the order the apps are received. Yes, the do skim some of the cream off the top, but that doesnāt mean their invites wonāt come. I think my D has a very competitive app, but her inbox isnāt overflowing with invites. You just have to trust that your friendās kids have great apps and let the process play out. This is what I have had to tell myself many times.
Agree. Glanced last page of SDN threads for last cycle and following this cycle threads. All that I could infer is, it is a looooooooooong and unpredictable process. It starts from May 1 (TX) and ends in June 30th the following year, 14 months. So many acceptances and aid offers in June. So, apply and move on with your life. It is very hard to predict any aspects, review process or secondary invitation process, interview process or acceptance process. It varies from school to school, state to state.
Here is the sample. Yāday was a bloodbath for USC. So many rejects. Few picked to give a feel for it.
- 3.94, 519, IS, SoCal, well rounded ECs
- I got 11 IIs so far, 6 of them from Top20, so I doubt I have weak PS, ECs or LORs! But again who knows
- I literally laughed at my first rejection having several interviews in hand, look at the bright side, you are wanted by other schools! 11 other schools!
But some schools do meaningful things. They are transparent and post current cycle status. There is a post from U of Michigan by a current student that they complete interviews for OOS first before winter. May be they know CA student may not know how to walk on a sleet!
Also it appears some school engage more to get the interview done than others. For example, yāday interview at UCSD post, the earliest interview date is end of Nov. But in UTMB still able to accommodate interview by Sep end or Oct. Of course some schools call lot of folks for interview like CWRU 1266 where as New Mexico only 300.
Andorvw just curious how did you find a good private tutor? My son is mainly having a problem with CARS and the experiments. Critical thinking and passages is not his strength. He is planning on taking the MCAT again next Spring if he doesnāt get in this cycle. He already did the Kaplan Live online class but we are thinking perhaps a few private tutoring sessions might be helpful.
I believe Kaplan and TPR both offer one-on-one tutoring, both in-person or on-line.
D1 worked as a one-on-one tutor for Kaplan before med school; so did D2.