For Those of You Who Didn't Get Into a Top Tier Program

Pre-Med & Medical School Multiple Degree Programs
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<p>If you did not get into a top tier program, please do not feel bad about yourself, because if you do, you have let the college admissions get the best of you. The college admissions process is so subjective and based off of luck, that if you do not get in, it is in no way a reflection of you as a student or a person. What you or some other people may find as an impressive leadership position, could be easily overlooked by an admissions officer who didn’t drink enough coffee that morning. Many of you out there who thought you had a decent shot, but were rejected, can take solace in the fact that you are not the only one. I knew that I wasn’t the BEST candidate the colleges had ever seen, but I thought that I was a competitive applicant. My stats were:</p>

<p>SAT: 760V 780M 750W
SATII: 800 MathII, 780 USHist, 770 Chem, 760 BioM
GPA: 4.425W
Rank: about top 2.5% in a class of 760 students (you do the math)
Classes: took all honors classes in freshman and sophomore year, Took 8 AP Classes overall, got 5s in all the APs I took
School Activities: Varsity Boys Tennis since freshman year, State-level Orchestras, Yearbook Editor, part of NHS and Math Honor Society, active in Key Club
ECs: Active volunteer at a Rescue Squad, very active in my church (taught Sunday school several times, led small groups at the youth group, led small groups at a summer camp), more state-level orchestras, placed at several tennis tournaments, took part in a mini-medical school at UMDNJ-RobertWood, participated at the NYLF-Med (i know this isn’t much, but it shows my interest in med)
Med Exposure: my uncle is a cardiothoracic surgeon, my mom is a RN (mentioned it in 1 or 2 essays)
Essays: mostly wrote about my experiences at the Rescue Squad, also wrote about some personal experiences that affected me, i got my essays reviewed by a friend who went to princeton and is now in med school, he had also helped review the essays of another friend who is currently in the Rice/Baylor program
Recs: didn’t read them, but from what i heard at interviews, my teachers really liked me</p>

<p>So far I have gotten into the RPI/Albany, BU/BU Med School Programs, and have gotten interviews at several other mid-tier programs. However, I didn’t get an interview at Rice or Northwestern. On top of that, I didn’t even get into the regular undergrad at these institutions. I was wait-listed at both Rice and Northwestern. I thought I was going to be a competitive applicant to the med programs at rice and northwestern, but as it turned out even the undergrad wasn’t impressed by my stats. I worked my butt off throughout high-school, not only to be rejected from the med programs, but to be wait-listed at these mid-tier undergrads. So those of you who are thinking the same, please do not feel bad about yourself. If you feel that you are a good student, you are; the college admissions cannot change that, they had their own agenda to fulfill. You were most likely the victim of bad luck.</p>

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<p>hey congrats for bu and rpi.you have amazing stats.i cant imagine you being wait-listed.well good luck with everything.remember you are good and you will do well anywhere you go.</p>

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<p>hey,if people like us who has family in the field , they make it harder.I dont know why.I have friends siblings trying to go to med school. Not amazing but good stats and wont get in. Their friends who has no family in med field get in with same stats.They are biased thinking that Its not our decision.I dont have stats like you but I have kinda same situation.</p>

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<p>I understand your frustration, but trust me, Rice and Northwestern are not just “mid-tier” schools.</p>

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<p>I don’t know; I’ve been rejected by four BA/MD programs already, especially at one where I interviewed and felt that I would get in. Still waiting on three that I doubt I’ll get into. It’s really depressing and confidence-breaking because I wanted to get into one of these programs since I was a KID. All my dreams seem to be going down at this point, especially since I just lost the title of co-val at my school.</p>

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<p>BA/MD admissions are hardly about stats. It’s more about subjective stuff like essays, maturity, commitment to becoming a doctor, leadership, ability to work well in groups, etc. </p>

<p>The reason you didn’t get into the NU and Rice undergrad is because you may not have conveyed a high level of interest in attending those schools just for undergrad. If you contacted the schools and provided them with updates and actually showed interest in going to those schools, they would probably admit you in a heartbeat.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the support guys. </p>

<p>I just posted this thread because I wanted to remind everyone that if you are a good student, you will do well no matter where you go, even if you didn’t get accepted into a program. Please don’t let them get you down just because you were not accepted. Remember that most people still get into medical school the traditional way. You never know, maybe during your undergrad years, you’ll find another passion (possibly some bill gates or facebook-esque discovery). Remember that if you put your mind to it, you can determine the direction of your own future.</p>

<p>I understand that Rice and Northwestern are not necessarily “mid-tier”, but in comparison to the top-tiers, their undergrads should be considerably easier to get into, especially with competitive stats.</p>

<p>Spidey, I am sure that since you were able to get to this point, you are a very hard working person. Just keep at it, and you will be able to get wherever you want to be. Getting an interview at a program is no easy feat, so I assume you’ve been doing something right so far. Please don’t say that your dreams are going down, that cannot be farther from the truth. Keep your head held high, and don’t let the college admissions dictate your life. They have their own agendas (political, bureaucratic), and their decision is in no way reflective of your quality as a student and a person.</p>

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<p>Jack, you speak of contacting the schools with updates. Was I supposed to call the admissions office and ask to speak with an admissions officer? Or should I have sent in letters or something?</p>

<p>The reason I was a bit frustrated was because I saw people in my own school getting admitted into Northwestern and Rice with considerably lower stats and ECs. Some were not even in top 10%, and many of the classes they took were “easy A” classes. I am not certain, but from what I heard, their SATs were not as high either. As far as ECs go, none of them participated in sports nor held any leadership positions in school clubs. Outside of school, some may have had the typical “hospital volunteer” positions.</p>

<p>EDIT: now that i think about it 80% of those admitted from my school were females. i don’t know if that means anything though…</p>

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It seems to me that you only care that you were waitlisted because kids who were qualifed but had lower stats were accepted. Anyways, talk to your GC if you really want to go to those schools for undergrad. </p>

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But they did not apply for HPME. If an HPME applicant is rejected from the program but accepted into NU undergrad, it’s not all that likely that he or she would attend NU. The applicant would have probably applied to other BA/MD programs and may have even gotten into other BA/MD programs like you did. Because the class of 2008 is incredibly large, colleges have refrained from admitting highly qualified applicants who did not make it clear that they were genuinely interested in attending the school if admitted. </p>

<p>Basically, it does not make sense for colleges to admit you just because you have higher stats when there are other applicants who are also qualified but who are more likely than you to actually attend the university.</p>

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No, it does not mean anything. Don’t take the rejection so personally. You got waitlisted at a school you probably would not have attended anyways. (If you are serious about becoming a doctor, you’ll go to the BU SMED program.)</p>

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<p>Let me clarify this. You make it seem as if I am being selfish. However, I failed to explain the circumstances. The particular students that irritate me are the ones that have no morals when it comes to school. I have personally seen them cheat and lie in order to get a good grade in class. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy for my friends who have worked hard and earned that place in admittance. However, what bothers me is the fact that the other people who cheated and are being rewarded for it, and on top of that, their stats weren’t that impressive to begin with. For those of you who have gotten in, please don’t misinterpret me. I congratulate you all and wish you the best in your future endeavors.</p>

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<p>That is a valid point. I guess my mistake was that I made the focus of my application appealing to the medical school, wrongfully assuming that I would not be wait-listed.</p>

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<p>I agree with Newjack. BU SMED is a great program with a great reputation. In fact, I would consider it a top 5-7 BA/MD with a good undergrad and excellent med school. Don’t think that because you were not accepted to rice/baylor and HPME that you have to settle for a worse program.</p>

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<p>yea, Bu is very good.</p>

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<p>ya bu is good but have heard of grade deflation.</p>

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I knew this is where you were coming from. I only wanted to point out that getting into HPME and NU for undergrad are two completely different things.</p>

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<p>BU is very good.
Leadership and higher class rank might help you to get in top programs. Are you Asian?</p>

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<p>My son showed me this because I went to NUMS and my husband went to BU 6 year med. First, my husband got a 3.98 and stellar SAT’s almost 20 years ago and was rejected at both NU 6 year med and a whole host of ivy league schools, just like kids today… I decided to go to med school in college and opted for NU because I was from Chicago and was rejected at U of C. I almost dropped out of NU because of the 6 year meds; they were immature and socially awful. Now, my husband is a nationally recognized academic surgeon, head of his department (over many with Ivy League degrees). I have forged my own path in medicine. The bottom line is that it does not matter where you go, it’s how you decide to proceed with your life that matters.
P.S. I also went to two colleges, Sarah Lawrence followed by Princeton and hated both of them. I LOVED life after college, so don’t put too much stock in the short time that you spend there.</p>

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<p>Lao, yes I am asian. I had leadership positions in my church and as an editor in yearbook, unless that’s not enough.</p>

<p>hpg90, thanks for putting things into perspective for me. Your points have validity and you’ve given me a lot to think about. Thanks for giving me a different insight about where to take my future. I cannot agree more with you that how you lead your life that will determine where you turn up at the end of the day. That was the primary reason I started this thread: to remind people that the opinion of college admissions is no barometer of your success.</p>

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<p>eraser: I don’t really think that focusing your essay on NU’s HPME was the problem (cuz that’s what i did for my entire essay). But i do agree that the admissions probably felt that you weren’t really interested in the undergraduate school as much as feinberg. for me, i put NU as my first choice school for nat’l merit…that probably helped me a LOT; plus, this year application was crazy unpredictable. many of my friends, who are a lot smarter than me, either got waitlisted or rejected which i find completely suprising.</p>