slapped with a thinvelope....now here is a question.

[Guest wileycoyote]

I was pretty happy with my essays, worked on em for months, had 5-6 people review. Now, without any feedback for those of us flat out rejected, what are people planning to do when they re-apply? try a whole new essay, minor mods, or leave as is?

 

w

 

ps I am an older applicant from Oakville.

[Guest jmh2005]

First of all, sorry to hear your news...way too many qualified people don't get invites...it truly isn't fair, they should interview more...

 

Second, why they didn't give feedback, I don't know, but this was what they did in the past (only in the past 2 years have they been giving feedback). Before, you had to request IN WRITING for your percentiles. I believe that the only feedback you will get will be percentiles. The best advice I can give is you is request this feedback. This way you will have an idea of where you stood...is it the GPA or Sketch or both that needs the improvement. I will go to admissions and ask them if they are taking written requests for feedback (which is likely, but not until June...).

 

You really need to look at your sketch...were you articulate, did you communicate your thoughts clearly and concisely, did you explain what you learned from your experiences and how you can apply them to your medical education and your future role as a Physician?? These are just some of the things that are looked at. Getting feedback from others is great, but not everyone will be critical and give you the feedback that may be needed (I don't know, just giving out some suggestions)...I know for one of my applications, now that I look back at it, I can't believe that someone had told me that what I had written was great!

 

The other thing to be said is the GPA...if your GPA is less than the average (i.e 3.55, I'm guessing here...) then your sketch has to be really, really good to get the interview. It may have been good, but just not quite good enough to get ranked in the top 385.

 

I'm sorry I can't be of more help. If you have anymore specific questions, I'll try to answer them.

 

Best of luck in the future.

[Guest macdaddyeh]

Wileycoyote:

 

I am sorry to hear about the news:\

 

It seems hyper-competitive to get into Mac with all the rejections across this board (with even more to follow tomorrow likely). It sounds like you worked really hard on your submission, as did I.

 

Although I can't speak as a successful interviewee (yet?), I would say work on making your answers to be extremely Mac specific rather than generic (but then again, maybe you did that!).

 

Hopefully you still have good news coming?! Remember, four months ago you submitted it and four months from now OMSAS will release a new package and you (we?) will be at it all over again.

 

I am, and always have been, a firm believer that things happen for a reason.

 

I have another saying to add to the compiled list, particularly for those God-fearing folks, if I may:

 

When God closes a door, he opens a window.

 

Translation: When one opportunity is closed to you, another one is likely and unexpectedly to arise in time. Maybe you will have more time this year to spend with kids? or maybe time to get a promotion or raise at work or to do more volunteer or community work or maybe you applied elsewhere or to another degree and are still waiting to hear.

 

Wileycoyote, I was rooting for you pal, and we are all in this together. I wish you and everyone else only the best.

 

For now, take it easy till those four months arrive. Don't beat yourself up. I hope to see you posting again with good news in the future!

[Guest MedsWannabe]

I wish I could be as positive as you....

 

This will be my 3rd mac rejection, when my thinvelope ultimately arrives.....

 

I haven't even received my rejection yet, and I think I need a hug.

[Guest macdaddyeh]

Why are you saying "when" your "rejection" arrives? Buck up! How can you know in advance that you've been shafted?

 

PS. Group hug:D

[Guest McObssession]

Big hug to MedsWannabe from me, too. Cheer up. We can do it!!!

[Guest MACbetty]

Hi all,

 

just thought i'd let you know that i got thinveloped today. I'm an OOP so my chances were even slimmer than most so i was expecting a rejection but still it feels like someone punched me in the stomach.

 

good luck to everyone else.

 

macbetty

[Guest macdaddyeh]

Macbetty:

Thanks for the update. How upsetting, not you too!

 

I hope you have other options. Do take care.

[Guest Biochem10]

I too got slapped with a thin envelope today, all the way out here in Montreal. I'm actually not to upset about it since Mac was not my first choice to begin with. I hope that all those die-hard Mac fans get interviews though. I'll be checking for updates...especially from you, macdaddey, you had me in suspense all morning! :lol

[Guest Tartuffe]

MACbetty,

 

I am really sorry for you... I feel like you (even if I have not received any letter thin or brown), I am an OOP so I am expecting to be th..... (I hate that word it gave me stomach ach):x

 

I have been preparing myself a lot to face that white thin thing, I even told my co-workers/friends that I failed in order to avoid explaination after that I got punched. But still now, I am scared to go back home to face it... it is not sad !!

 

Well after that, I think that I going vacationing in an asylum...might also improve my extra-curricular activities portfolio.

 

An other good thing is that next year... for the questions:

How do you face multiple demands in your life?

BLA....Bla... I have been able to that while waiting your thin..white..thing

 

 

What did you learn for a major failure in your life?

Blabla... If you want a brown one reapply

 

 

Why do you deserve an Interview?

After so many Thin..White..Thing, you have the power to stop this vicious cycle. It might be interesting to determine if I am perseverant, stubborn, leaving in a dream or unconscious.

 

Voillllllllllllaaaaaaaa !!!

[Guest MACbetty]

thanks for the condolences macdaddyeh and tartuffe

 

tartuffe, keep positive and don't give up yet! Macdaddyeh, i have a great feeling about you--remember, larger envelopes travel slower.

 

The reason i'm extremely disappointed is because i'm 34 and i think this was my last chance to apply and go to med school. i think now i will enjoy another year of travel and freedom with my husband and then we'll have babies instead of me going to med school when i'm 35. it's not good to wait too long to have our kids. i think medicine is a missed opportunity that i have to let go of.

 

anyway, i believe that this disappointment will lead to other opportunities in the future. at least now i can stop planning everything around med school interviews and med school starting in the fall; i can get on with my life.

 

Just in case you're wondering about my stats: i have 2 graduate degrees under my belt (one in science, the other in arts), i've volunteered in various capacities for more than 10 years, my GPA is average according to OMSAS (not including my graduate work), i speak two languages, i've published my scientific work in Nature, i've travelled around the world and i now write for major science magazines such as Scientific American on a regular basis. I thought i was an ideal, older candidate. I can't figure out what Mac wants; really, it seems like a crapshoot whether you get interviewed or not.

 

Perhaps if i would have mentioned in my sketch that i watched from my apartment on 8th Street in New York City as the World Trade Center towers got torpedoed by two jets and then witnessed them crumble to the earth, and that after seeing this disaster and spending a week in the lockdown zone in Manhattan, it gave me time to reflect on my life and that's when the desire to become a doctor was rekindled. Perhaps that would have gotten me an interview, but when i wrote the sketch i thought that mentioning 911 was too cheezy! Oh, well, c'est la vie. I'm on to better things for me.

 

Sorry for the download but it feels good to express my thoughts.

 

thanks to everyone on the board. i hope all your dreams come true!

 

Macbetty

[Guest mumfirst]

MACBetty,

 

I am sorry to hear your news. You are not still too old to apply, even if you take a couple of years to have babies! I had my daughter when I was 35 and have loved having the last few years with her at home. She is now 4 1/2 and while I know it will be very difficult to go through med school with a youngster, I don't want to look back and think that I passed up the opportunity. (although as of yet I have still to receive this year's news)

 

If watching the towers fall affected you (who wasn't affected by it?) and it was truly something that stirred up the old medicine thoughts somehow, then it wouldn't be cheezy to mention it. Last year when I wrote my autobio I left out a few things that were quite personal, extremely affected who I am today, and felt that it would look like I was looking for sympathy votes or something. When I look back on last year's essays I can't believe how dry and impersonal my responses were. Oh, it was well written and very "professional" but there is absolutely no way that any reader could get to know me. They knew what I had done, but not who I am. This year, I decided to open up, be more personal and let the readers in. We will see (hopefully by tomorrow) how that worked for me. :\ What I am trying to say is that as an older applicant (no offense, I am pushing 40 lol) you have a lifetime of experiences to offer - review your applications and see if you let the readers get to know you.

 

If it is really what you want to do, don't let it pass you by. Going to med school does not necessarily mean you have to put off having children either (although I am sure it is not easy). If you want it bad enough, keep chasing it!!!

[Guest peachy]

Wow, MACbetty, you sound like an incredible applicant. I tend to agree with there being a LOT of randomness in the process. Why didn't you apply to other schools? They are much more reliable - Mac requires the most luck of them all.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi macbetty,

 

I don't really know what to say, except, I'm sorry. One thing more: perhaps you might not want to entirely disregard the thought of applying to medical school in the future. A few years from now, once you have your children scuttling about you, you may still feel that burn for medicine. You still wouldn't be too late to apply, even then.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest macdaddyeh]

Macbetty:

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again; you're too good for Mac! (I'm still trying though;) . You have a very broad and rich set of experiences. You've obviously been overlooked in the "game" of the application process!

 

It is very good of you to vent and share the fact that you're upset. We feel your pain:\ .

 

BUT BUT BUT, I must say (in your own words) "don't give up!"

 

35 shmirtyfive--Have you seen the age variation at Mac? No te preocupes (Don't worry). Motherhood is always an option and I am glad you're considering it; medicine and motherhood can work symbiotically.

 

As to the process being a "crapshoot" I have no insight--I could only tell that if and when I get to the other side.

 

For now take care and soak up a good movie with a good bowl of ice cream (I recommend Breyers Cookie Dough!)

 

I'll let you know my news soon.

[Guest mumfirst]

Wileycoyote & Biochem10 - Sorry to hear about your thinvelopes. I would definitely try to find out your rankings so at least you know whether you were in the ballpark or not. In the meantime I would take the time to reflect on your reason for wanting to get into meds and take another look at your autobio. Good luck in your future applications, or if you have other interview options!!!

[Guest MACbetty]

hey, you guys are great. thanks for your support and kind words. i'm starting to feel a little less numb.

 

peachy: i only applied to Mac because i didn't write the MCAT and i was attracted by the shorter 3 year programme.

 

i may reapply next year, who knows. I certainly have lots of time to think about it.

 

now, for some ice cream.....

 

macbetty

[Guest Sil]

As I prepare to fail my cardio exam tomorrow after spending way to much time on this board

 

I just thought I tell Macbetty not to give up. According to a document that I saw in one of our boards at the U of O it says that the best time to have your kids is during med school. If I was married I would probably have a kid in second year and take a year off. I think med school is a lot work but you can still have children. A few women in my class have small kids (toddlers) and they seem to be doing just fine). I guess I would have to cut down the amount of time I spend on this board.

:lol

 

Now back to the pulmonary hypertension and the endless saga continues will mumfirst get the good envelop tomorrow (I certainly hope so) will Macdaddyeg be interviewing (hope so too), stay tuned until tomorrow (hopefully). The suspense really is too much!!

[Guest Sil]

And to all of those not interviewing don't give up!!! If you truly want medicine you eventually will get it (for some of us 7 years of undergrad). Hopefully for all of you less time

[Guest MedsWannabe]

Thanks for the group hugs.. in between that and drowning my sorrows in chocolate, I'm feeling better.

 

I haven't actually gotten my thinvelope yet- but I have been thinveloped by mac two times previously, and all of my friends have so far this year, so I am not expecting much! Hope for the best, expect the worst-- right?

 

Macbetty- I echo the sentiments... my mom (who's obviously quite a bit older than you!!!), is just going back to school this year, for nursing.... If you have a drive for medicine, don't let a measley thinvelope stop you.

[Guest ploughboy]

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Thinveloped on the Bruce/Grey county line...Drove down from Ottawa Friday for a bonspiel, but the mail didn't arrive until Monday. Stressful weekend!

 

It's a disappointment, but not a disaster. The most frustrating part of the whole experience was watching the 6pm news that night. One of the lead stories was an interview with an MD from Kincardine - discussing the lack of rural physicians ("Heeellooooo? I'm right over heeerrree!").

 

So it's plan "B" for me - tweaking the academic side of my application so that some other schools take me seriously. I have no doubt that I'll be practicing medicine in rural Ontario some day (maybe even before the Leafs win the Stanley Cup!) but it just won't be as soon as I'd like.

 

Good luck to all the Mac interviewees - I'm pullin' for ya.

 

pb

 

 

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[Guest Mikey59]

I thought I would lend some words of support to those of you first timers who didn't get an interview at Mac.

 

I applied last year (as a 2nd year University student) and was turned down by Mac pre-interview- BIG TIME. I was in the 98th percentile grade wise, and 10th percentile according to my autobiographical sketch. I maintained the same GPA, but really shifted gears outside of school. I stopped my clinical/volunteer work after graduation, and simply pursued life experiences and work that interested me, which I feel made me a stronger (and happier) applicant. A year can make a huge difference, and I think I was able to better express myself in the auto. submission second time around.

 

I was shocked to see a large envelope from Mac in the mail yesterday! The first time around, I think I tried to be too poetic and outside the box in my essays- this time I was simple and concise, answering the questions honestly with simple language. I also trimmed my autobiographical sketch from about 40 events that covered every mundane aspect of my life to 25-30 meaningful events.

 

Don't give up, I made the ultimate turnaround and I'm sure many of you can do the same. Best of luck!

[Guest macdaddyeh]

Mikey59:

 

Congrats to you! You also give good advice. When do you interview?

[Guest AT2]

Hi-- and congrats to you! What's your GPA if you don't mind me asking?

[Guest Mikey59]

AT2,

 

Adjusted for OMSAS, I had a 3.91. I noticed your other post about out of province applicants (I am OOP also). Your 3.89 is just fine, its way above Mac's average. The autobiographical submission is clearly a hurdle even for those with high marks and I think that's where your effort should be should you try again.

 

To the original poster of the thread:

Elaborating on what I said earlier, I did not use anything from my autobiographical submission from last year in this year's application and in my case, I think that's why I had a better result. I feel that if you are rejected first time around, you have no choice but to go in a different direction in terms of your essay content, tone and presentation when re-applying.