(Another) reapplicant advice thread

[darrylkalil]

Hi all,

Seeking some advice on my current situation( apologize for being long -winded) . Applied in the 2013-2014 MD cycle and received 4 interviews : 3 rejections and 1 waitlist ( Miami for MD and MD/mph). Anyways I'm debating my next step as I look to improve my application and was hoping for some help from anybody out there.

MCAT : 30
GPA: 3.4 with strong upward trend in cGPA and sGPA.
NC resident, interviewed at UNC, ECU, South Carolina-greenville and Miami

I graduated in 2013 and spent the last 12 months doing research in South AFrica( where I'm from but now have dual citizenship). I co-authored 2 papers in that time and also did a few months of clinical volunteering and also a few months of non-medical work.

Anyways all along I kind of thought my stats, particularly my GPA , were holding me back and so I also applied for some SMP type programs and am still sitting on an offer from VCU's CERT program which I have to decide on soon. However, some of the feedback I've received from med schools suggest that they want to see more clinical work out of me. One school in particular told me something along the lines of , " your GPA in your final 2 years was >3.8 so we believe you can handle the med school rigors, however we want to see you roll up your sleeves and get more involved in patient care than you have before." and also things like " you weren't able to really express your passion for medicine through your activities in your interviews. " The term CNA was mentioned quite a lot.

I know i've got a strong research back ground, i had one or two interviewers tell me as much. i also had one interviewer tell me she loved the way i wrote and presented myself on paper, so i know my application has some very strong points. with that being said, as the rejections rolled in I more and more looked to improve my stats for a reapplication, but maybe more clinical experience or a year of a CNA would benefit me more ...?

ayudame plz and thank you!


ETA: i've got OK clinical experience i would say, with a mix of international and domestic stuff. shadowing/volunteering all decent as well.

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[kthxbai]

You'll need to provide a breakdown of your hours for better advice.

But from what I can tell it sounds that you'll need more clinical exposure to convince yourself and adcoms that you want to be a doctor.

 

[Plecopotamus]

Hi all,

Seeking some advice on my current situation( apologize for being long -winded) . Applied in the 2013-2014 MD cycle and received 4 interviews : 3 rejections and 1 waitlist ( Miami for MD and MD/mph). Anyways I'm debating my next step as I look to improve my application and was hoping for some help from anybody out there.

MCAT : 30
GPA: 3.4 with strong upward trend in cGPA and sGPA.
NC resident, interviewed at UNC, ECU, South Carolina-greenville and Miami

I graduated in 2013 and spent the last 12 months doing research in South AFrica( where I'm from but now have dual citizenship). I co-authored 2 papers in that time and also did a few months of clinical volunteering and also a few months of non-medical work.

Anyways all along I kind of thought my stats, particularly my GPA , were holding me back and so I also applied for some SMP type programs and am still sitting on an offer from VCU's CERT program which I have to decide on soon. However, some of the feedback I've received from med schools suggest that they want to see more clinical work out of me. One school in particular told me something along the lines of , " your GPA in your final 2 years was >3.8 so we believe you can handle the med school rigors, however we want to see you roll up your sleeves and get more involved in patient care than you have before." and also things like " you weren't able to really express your passion for medicine through your activities in your interviews. " The term CNA was mentioned quite a lot.

I know i've got a strong research back ground, i had one or two interviewers tell me as much. i also had one interviewer tell me she loved the way i wrote and presented myself on paper, so i know my application has some very strong points. with that being said, as the rejections rolled in I more and more looked to improve my stats for a reapplication, but maybe more clinical experience or a year of a CNA would benefit me more ...?

ayudame plz and thank you!


ETA: i've got OK clinical experience i would say, with a mix of international and domestic stuff. shadowing/volunteering all decent as well.

You told us they said your clinical experience was weak, but you then tell us your clinical experience was OK. If you are in the more fortunate position (relative to most reapplicants) of having specific feedback on your app, take that feedback seriously. Get yourself more clinical experience. If you want more specific advice, you need to give a detailed breakdown if your ECs. I suspect you're raising questions as to whether you are really someone whose career ambitions just align with a PhD . . . you don't need the MD if you don't want to be in a clinical setting, and you haven't done enough to adequately demonstrate that you actually *want* to be in a clinical setting or even understand what it means. Ask yourself this: if you were a stranger (adcom) looking at your application, would you find it obvious that this applicant wants to be a clinician? that this applicant has a good sense of what s/he is committing to such that you're convinced he'd successfully complete all those hours of clinical training in residency? . . . or do you worry s/he would burn out, b/c the applicant already looks like they're trying to forgo clinical requirements while generously devoting time to a lab?