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Calling non-trad reapplicants
- Thread starter skougess
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I'm so sorry, @skougess! I know how disappointing this is. I applied to medical school three times before finally getting in on the fourth attempt. The first time I applied I really shouldn't have. I had no ECs and a low GPA. But the second and third times I had maintained a 4.0 in a post-bacc and had a good MCAT and had added some ECs and it was frustrating to no end to have put in so much work and to feel like I could do well in med school if I were just given the chance.
It's easy to get depressed after rejection but try to let this motivate you rather than take the wind out of your sails. Don't lose your momentum! Take this time to keep getting more clinical experience through volunteering and shadowing. Maybe try to get a job in a healthcare-related field or a research position (letters of rec!). If you are still connected to your post-bacc program, see if you can get advising from them about why you didn't get in this round and make the necessary changes next time (common issues like school list, essays, applying early, etc.) If you have not been strengthening your ECs since the last time you applied, I would not apply this round but wait for the next round in order to show that you have made significant enough changes. I know it seems like a long time but in the grand scheme of this career path it isn't much. In the meantime, keep your chin up, try to get support from your friends and loved ones, and save as much money as you can for when you do get in!
It's easy to get depressed after rejection but try to let this motivate you rather than take the wind out of your sails. Don't lose your momentum! Take this time to keep getting more clinical experience through volunteering and shadowing. Maybe try to get a job in a healthcare-related field or a research position (letters of rec!). If you are still connected to your post-bacc program, see if you can get advising from them about why you didn't get in this round and make the necessary changes next time (common issues like school list, essays, applying early, etc.) If you have not been strengthening your ECs since the last time you applied, I would not apply this round but wait for the next round in order to show that you have made significant enough changes. I know it seems like a long time but in the grand scheme of this career path it isn't much. In the meantime, keep your chin up, try to get support from your friends and loved ones, and save as much money as you can for when you do get in!
@doyouhaveaflag thank you for your response. It's helpful just to know I'm not alone. As I'm sure you remember, it feels like you are the only one going through it while it's happening! This quote really resonated with me:
I am going to keep on trucking, continuing my volunteer experiences and gaining new ones along the way. Hopefully next cycle will have a better turn out!
I am going to keep on trucking, continuing my volunteer experiences and gaining new ones along the way. Hopefully next cycle will have a better turn out!
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Great plan! I really hope it works out for you next time around!
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Skougess, you're definitely not alone. I was in your situation last spring, and it's easy to take it personally. I found it helpful to look at the process of med school admissions as something like playing poker: a game depending partly on skill and partly on luck. That let me take a step back and look at the process a bit more objectively, which was helpful both for deciding what to change for the next round and in keeping me from taking my lack of admission on the first try as a personal failure. If you're still struggling with this, it might help to try out different ways of looking at it. It's a difficult and mostly opaque process, so all I can suggest is to find a way not to take it personally so that you can focus on your next application.
If you're still feeling crippled by sadness, anger, fear, and frustration, you might consider getting professional help. Please don't take this as a criticism. It's just that I've known people who learned some great ways to cope with difficult situations from psychologists, and others who found that psych meds transformed their lives, and since I suspect we'll all have many more difficult situations ahead it might be good to be prepared.
If you're still feeling crippled by sadness, anger, fear, and frustration, you might consider getting professional help. Please don't take this as a criticism. It's just that I've known people who learned some great ways to cope with difficult situations from psychologists, and others who found that psych meds transformed their lives, and since I suspect we'll all have many more difficult situations ahead it might be good to be prepared.
QofQuimica
Seriously, dude, I think you're overreacting....
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Two suggestions:
1) Have a Plan B, and don't put all your (psychological as well as professional) eggs in one basket. I applied to med school at age 30 during my last year of grad school, and I decided up front that I was only going to apply once. I was applying for post docs at the same time that I applied to medical school. Obviously I got into med school since I'm an attending now. But if I hadn't gotten in, I was ready to take a job in my old field (chemistry). I didn't have my entire personal and professional life riding on getting into med school.
2) If you do decide to apply a second time, you need a game plan for this. Start with some serious introspection about what went wrong this year. You said your stats are stellar, so there was some other problem. Did you have a bad LOR? Bad essays? Bad interview skills? Bad app strategy? Until and unless you figure out what you did wrong this year, you won't be in a position to fix that problem so that you have a successful round two. Don't even think of reapplying until you have figured out and fixed whatever prevented you from getting in on the first go-round.
Best of luck to you, and feel free to come join us in the Nontrad forum as well.
1) Have a Plan B, and don't put all your (psychological as well as professional) eggs in one basket. I applied to med school at age 30 during my last year of grad school, and I decided up front that I was only going to apply once. I was applying for post docs at the same time that I applied to medical school. Obviously I got into med school since I'm an attending now. But if I hadn't gotten in, I was ready to take a job in my old field (chemistry). I didn't have my entire personal and professional life riding on getting into med school.
2) If you do decide to apply a second time, you need a game plan for this. Start with some serious introspection about what went wrong this year. You said your stats are stellar, so there was some other problem. Did you have a bad LOR? Bad essays? Bad interview skills? Bad app strategy? Until and unless you figure out what you did wrong this year, you won't be in a position to fix that problem so that you have a successful round two. Don't even think of reapplying until you have figured out and fixed whatever prevented you from getting in on the first go-round.
Best of luck to you, and feel free to come join us in the Nontrad forum as well.
