Considering reapplication already, what do you guys think?

[Jayce]

I applied strictly to DO schools this past cycle and I interviewed at 1 school and was waitlisted. I'm thinking of reapplying and I wanted some feedback from you guys.

cGPA 3.24, sGPA 3.30 (if it matters, I have an upward trend throughout college from a 2.7 -> 3.6)
I took the MCAT twice. Lets not talk about the first one, 26 (9/8/9) for the 2nd one.
I did retake a few classes this year so I do expect my next GPAs to be somewhere around 3.3 cGPA and 3.4 sGPA. I have continued to work as a ED scribe and was promoted to scribe trainer this past year.

A bit more than 1 year of research, both bench and clinical (urology and psychiatry)
~200 hours of hospital volunteering
Shadowed MDs and DOs (Infectious Disease, Family, OMM) ~300 hours
A couple of clubs in college
ED scribe (~3000 hours?)

I emailed the admissions of the school I was waitlisted at and they were kind enough to send me some feedback. I didn't do that well on my interview at the school and I knew immediately. I was told by the school that it would be advantageous to be more passionate about what I talk about and apply earlier. I know I applied a bit late for someone with my stats (around July) and I did take a while submitting my secondaries.

I was wondering if it would be worthwhile to reapply this upcoming year. I would definitely be applying to more lower-mid tier DO schools.

What do you guys think? Should I just shoot for an SMP? Any advice on personal statement changes? Continue to take more classes to improve my GPA? Apply to Caribbeans?

I would appreciate any advice.

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[jwilliams1993]

This sounds EXACTLY like my first application cycle. I would definitely retake the MCAT, but do it quickly. The one thing you can do that I believe will benefit you the most is apply as early as you possibly can. Completely redo your personal statement. In between my first application and the second one, I really did find a passion. More accurately, I found a better way to reword and express that passion. Not getting in this year will fuel your fire, I can guarantee you that. I took a year of A&P in my gap year and it was very beneficial.

 

[Jayce]

When you say completely redo my PS, should I completely chuck my old one and just rewrite one? Should it be focused on what has happened this past year? Include elements of the last PS?

 

[italiancowgirl]

I disagree with taking the MCAT quickly unless you know you are going to do significantly better. It may help you in your case but it had better be a significant improvement! Your ECS don't look too bad to me. Your story sounds pretty vanilla. You reapply when you find your passion. Early apps won't overcome a boring interview. You need to be able to really feel and show exactly what is driving you. I rewrote my PS (yes from scratch) about 5 times before I got to a point where I could say what I wanted to say. If you need to ask if you think you will do well and how to get your emotions out in your PS then you probably need more time to get there. You may be excited and impatient to get there, but take time to solidify who you are and what you want to do in medicine (no I don't mean what specialty) before you hit submit. You might consider trying something really different and challenging for a year. I did a stint at Americorps which was an excellent learning and leadership building opportunity for me. There are lots of options out there. GL