Mitch,
This will be my last post here for the night. I have better things to do such as study. Nonetheless, I laugh at your "flipping burgers" comment. Having a 3.3 isn't all that good, but it's not all that bad if you graduate in electrical engineering and have a near perfect BCMP GPA. A 36 MCAT with a 13 in the physical sciences helps as well. Sure, I'll flip burgers. We all know CA schools are tough to get into, that's why you apply to private schools as well. Hell, if it's so hard in CA, move and establish residency elsewhere. That's where flipping burgers comes in. One year of that full time makes you a resident of a state for tuition and admission. If you stats where better than mine, and MANY people have me beat by a mile in that dept., it begs the question "Of the 126 US medical school, why wasn't even one going to give you the chance?" Did you spit in the interviewer's face? You DID get an interview? I have never met anyone with a 3.5+ and a 30 MCAT who did not get into a US school. It may not happen the first time, but it WILL. Now as you keep trying to convince yourself you made the right decision, realize that if you did in fact have a 3.5/30 MCAT, it was foolish. Unless you merely submitted the same application multiple times, you would have gained admission some place. My pre-med advisor said to me "You really have no chance." This was before I had taken the MCAT or compelete my pre-med requirements. I recently returned to that campus, and learned she's no longer employer there. Getting in isn't that hard IF you play your cards right. We have a student with a undergraduate 2.6 GPA (no joke). He's originally from CA, now 33, and did some incredible things. I should mention that he DID later earn a PhD and is probably the strongest science student here.

you just met someone with a 36 MCAT who didnt get in anywhere. I didnt apply to cali, but IL. and i had a classmate who had a 4.0 and 37 MCAT and she didnt get , though she did apply to Cali. she was quite sought after for residncy with her 266 step 1. so i dont think she was lying about her undergard info.

Nah, dud, you need to check you dictionary again. This was written by Rossloss, who is a med student from Wisconsin and has a whooping 3.3 GPA. How dare you question his spelling?

you just met someone with a 36 MCAT who didnt get in anywhere.

I said 3.5+/30. One needs the grades AND the MCATs.

and i had a classmate who had a 4.0 and 37 MCAT and she didnt get , though she did apply to Cali. she was quite sought after for residncy with her 266 step 1. so i dont think she was lying about her undergard info. [/b]


I find this EXTREMELY hard to believe. Clearly, this woman is not aptitude deficient. Many schools (including the CA) schools use a "secret" admission formula. In Illinois those stats would have automatically earned a seat in UIC. The only way I can even come close to believing this is true, is if she had a horrendous interview (punched the secretary and urinated in the lobby), was a convicted felon, or went to a cupcake community college. Even the latter, with that MCAT, would earn one a seat SOMEWHERE. Unless she only applied to Stanford and UCSF (which see those stats in nearly every application), I think she's pulling your chain. A 4.0 student with a 37 MCAT who chooses Ross over reapplication DESERVES to suffer any hardships to come.

Rossloss, who is a med student from Wisconsin and has a whooping 3.3 GPA

Come on, get it right. That's a 3.3 in EE with a near perfect BCMP GPA. You did better, right?

Let's stop responding to this rossloss character's obnoxious posts. Let him return to the soil, Amen.

Hello Rossloss,
first I might commend you on your unabashed devotism to amerocentrism and egotism in general. You would make a valuable backing mouthpiece for George Bush and his croanies. Do you ever wonder why so many nations in the world despise ( very literally!!) america. It is because of individuals such as yourself who subscribe to the notion ( indulgently so, I might add) that if it " ain't U.S" it's not the best. With respect to medical innovation and biotechnology, some of the most promising work currently being turned out originates from schools and colleges in europe, asia, and Australia. You've probably heard of these places. They are inhabited with thinking individuals and wonderful cultures actually thrive in these places. I suggest you pay a visit and leave your ego in the back pastures of wisconsin. Moreover, you've probably heard the addage " its not the size of the man in the fight, but the size of the fight in the man" In this respect I can assure you that in medicine, as with most everything in life, an individuals success is a tribute to how hard they have worked, how well they are liked based on personality( take note) and also how open minded they are ( P.S travelling can help with this) .By the way my MCAT was verbal 11, bios 10, and phys 9. My GPA stands at 3.42 with a double major in philosophy and chemistry. I received an "s" on the writing portion of the MCAT which is 96-99.8 percentile, and I will attend Ross in january. My reasons for attending ross are numerous and varied. here are just a few: (1) It will provide a welcome 16 months away from amerocentrists and the climate of fear so prevalent in the U.S. (2) Although I am an american citizen I plan to practice in Ireland where I was born and raised ( please note Ross graduates along with graduates from all over the world are welcomed here having passed a standardized test, which U.S medical graduates must also take) (3) I excelled in my education in the U.S and believe I can do so at Ross, and achieve the anestheiology residency I want (4) Physiology is physiology wherever you go. What?, do you believe that harvard graduates get the lowdown on renal homeostasis? (5) Finally, the proof is in the pudding. Take a look at all the relevant statistics for IMG's in this country. They are in virtually every speciality and sub-speciality, making unbelieveable money. Remember, you are only in Dominica for a mere 16 months!!( oh no!! I have to go live on a beautiful island in the carribean for a year and a half. How will I ever live without starbucks?) Your undergraduate education and the remainder of your medical education are completed in the U.S ( for whatever thats worth!) Your attitude is sickening, and is probably a large part of the reason why you failed out of Ross to begin with mr. "Rossloss". Or maybe you just don't have what it takes to become a physician, namely compassion, intelligence and a general disdain for ignorance . If your brother needs some advice, tell him to come talk to me . I plan to succeed at Ross, and will be able to offer unbiased, unbittered, impartial advice

__________________
" great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds"
( Albert Einstein)

RossLoss,

In medicine, one thing will always be true: nobody has a monopoly on information. You should open your mind to this fact. Once you begin to accept this, you will realize that it is not the school that makes a good doctor, but the tenacity and willingness of the individual within to become a good doctor. I think you may find some foreign grads may give you a run for your money out in the real world; after all, we are well aware of the negative stigma some attach to foreign schools, but we believe in ourselves to excel as medical professionals. If you simply rely on an institution to make you an MD, then I wouldn't want you to be my doctor; but if you are the type of individual who will proactively take charge of the knowledge, and more importantly, the opportunities presented to you, then you have a better chance at excelling in medicine.

You are defenitely an accomplished student. Your GPA and MCAT scores are very impressive. But I don't think that those numbers will get you anywhere in the real world as opposed to some of the previous years' grads from Ross (or any other foreign medical school) who can proudly put the letters 'M' and 'D' behind their names because they had the gumption to do what was necessary to earn it.

by the way RL, my grades were above 3.5. yes, i applied to UIC, got no interview. I did interview at northwestern and loyola. there goes your supposed formula. as for my friend, yes, i never saw her grades from undergrad. but i did see her step 1 score sheet. and yes, i beleive if she got a 266 on step 1, she probably was telling the truth about her undergrad scores. I have come across a few people who spout crap like you in residency. all are med students. once they get the MD,and work among ross (and other FMG)grads, they realise that you can get a very good education in some place other then the northwoods. and yes, they soon realise that sometimes, these people can even be much better then a US trained Doc. so be prepared when you get into residency to eat your words. its not a question of if you eat them, its a question of when. the real world has a big shock in store for you my friend. be prepared.

You mean to tell me that you had an UNDERGRADUATE GPA of 3.5 and a 36 MCAT and failed to get an interview ar UIC? Are you a resident of Illinois (not simply a tax payer but a legal resident for the purposes of admission - a very different set of criteria applies). High graduate grade point average impress no one because grades in grad schools are notoriously inflated. UIC uses an admission formula for which you should have at least received an interview with those numbers. The only other thing I can think of is you must have gone to a "cupcake" school. Assuming did your undergrad in IL, schools such as Northern, Western, Eastern, are downweighted by the forumula to account for perceived differences in standards. I personally believe this is unfair as ANY school has adequate ability to educated a pre-med. A 3.5 at Western is not given the same weight as a 3.5 from U of C. So if you went to a "third or fourth tier" school multiply your UNDERGRAD GPA by .9 to get a rough estimate at where the admission committee places it. I went to a "prestigious" university (whatever that means) but came out with a relatively low GPA. However, it was not considered inflated and was adequate for admission. Furthermore, age IS indeed a factor. Statistically, the numbers drop off considerably for applicants over the age of 30. I don't know how old you are, but most 22 year olds with those numbers never have a problem. Did you interviews go well? After they got to know you, they may have felt you are not the person they were expecting. A friend of mine embelished his application and it bit him in the ***.