It's entirely possible that Emory plans to send out more interview offers, but with the interview dates themselves being just days away, it seems more likely that Emory has invited all the applicants they plan to invite.
For those of us who didn't/haven't received an invite, I think the next logical step is to begin assessing how our applications can be made more competitive for the next admission cycle.
For those of us who were most likely rejected because of a single detractor (I.e., a low GRE score) but who are competitive in all other areas, is it enough to improve the low GRE score, maybe shadow a few more times, and then re-apply? Or is the admissions committee going to expect to see a multitude of improvements made considering that we would have had 6+ months to make improvements?
I know that people are going to say, "AA programs don't want people who are interested in doing the minimum to get accepted," but there isn't an EMT program near where I live, and I would like to avoid taking on $30k-50k in student loan debt to get a master's degree. I would love to get a master's degree, but even the "cheap" programs at the local state university cost in that range.
Having said that, I'm not sure there's much else I can do to improve my application besides improving one of my GRE scores. My GPA is around a 3.6 and I already have my degree, so it's not really going to move around that much. I also have experience conducting an independent research project that I received college credit for. I have also shadowed for over 50 hours in several hospitals.
I have talked to a local technical school about enrolling in the CNA program, but I have been told by hiring coordinators at a few of the hospitals around here that CNA work involves a lot ass wiping, cleaning patients who have soiled themselves, washing soiled linens, etc. This will probably sound wimpy and pathetic, but I honestly don't think I can handle that kind work. I was always that kid in grade school who almost barfed when another kid would throw-up. I just don't think I'm cut out for taking care of patients in that kind of capacity. The blood and viscera during surgery doesn't bother me at all, but for some reason, the... "other stuff" does.
So unless I just suck it up and become a CNA and find a way to handle the work (which I would rather not do), I don't see what else I can do besides improve my GRE score. I think a master's degree would be the best option, but again, I'm not really in a position to be taking out thousands of dollars in loans on a degree that I'll likely never even use. On top of that, there are several people who have posted here who got master's degree and yet still didn't even get an interview offer. I have already completed a formal research project and (most likely) didn't get an interview, so I'm not sure that assisting in more research will help my chances next cycle if it didn't this time.
If I re-take the GRE and score very competitively for Emory's program (70th percentile or higher on both sections), do you think I'll be likely to get an interview offer next cycle, or will the admissions staff say, "His GRE scores are competitive now, but he hasn't done anything else but that? Forget it!"
Responses
« Back to index | View thread »