Disadvantage of having to reapply

[JRmed]

My question is.. do medical schools really frown on re-applicants?
Im in the position where my gpa and mcat are mediocre and I know it is a bit late in the application process now to send out my primary application.. so i'm wondering if it would be more advantagous for me to wait until next so i can apply earlier and raise my grades a bit or if i should just go ahead and apply now and see what happens... I know it will cost money but i feel it might be a good investment if i get accepted and as long as it doesnt hinder me when i apply for a second time the next year. So what do you guys think?

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[POWP]

dude you have to show an improvement...so it sort of takes away value from what you have already done initially.

you have to rewrite your personal statement, even if it was excellent before.

you have to get additional LORs, some extra experiences....this all must happen and your gpa, and mcat have to be solid...


think about if you have all that happen the following cycle, if not then dont apply.

 

[faith2]

i do not know where to post this, maybe you can help. if you complete your file early, and do not hear anything is this a rejection especially if the school participates in rolling admissions? Rolling admissions does it mean that if the file comes in and they look at it and dont respond is that a negative sign

Thanks

 

[buffywannabe]

You should look on teh school specific threads. Some schools have not yet started sending out interview invites. Even if the school has started sending them out they may only be sending them out to amazing candidates. You are not rejected until they send you a letter, or all interview slots are filled. Good Luck!

 

[housefish26]

They aren't frowned upon, as I've found out from other people in this forum. However, reapplying is a huge pain in the ass. As a reapplicant myself, I wish I had taken the time to get it right the first time. Look at yourself very critically and don't be afraid put off applying for a year.

Get the clinical experience, get the grades, get a good MCAT, apply early, and be satisfied knowing that you gave it your best shot and not some half-assed, hastily put-together application.

That's my two cents anyways.

 

[dragonfly99]

If you already applied once and had not good results, chances are high the result will be the same if you reapply and have a similar application, particularly if you apply late. You won't get in without a competitive application, very likely. Applying repeatedly without showing you did anything much to improve could potentially hurt you, at least a little.

 

[Food]

Blahghgh.. I'm feeling really frowned upon these days.

 

[anna01106]

My question is.. do medical schools really frown on re-applicants?
Im in the position where my gpa and mcat are mediocre and I know it is a bit late in the application process now to send out my primary application.. so i'm wondering if it would be more advantagous for me to wait until next so i can apply earlier and raise my grades a bit or if i should just go ahead and apply now and see what happens... I know it will cost money but i feel it might be a good investment if i get accepted and as long as it doesnt hinder me when i apply for a second time the next year. So what do you guys think?

i agree with what many of the above said. i know lots of people who had to apply 2, 3 times before getting in. people also keep telling ME to keep trying if i don't get in the second time around.

personally i feel like if you didn't get in the first time around and know that you really really want to become a doctor then you would have the motivation to spend the next 1,2,n years doing things that will improve your application such as more ECs, shadowing, volunteering. studying for the MCAT again is always a pain and not fun for anyone, but i guess that's part of the system.

so i would say, if you're not confident you will get in this year, WAIT. beef up your application, raise your gpa and mcat. the process is long, expensive, stressful, and tedious. plus the second time around you're going to have to tell them what you've done since your last app etc etc.

 

[nabeel76]

dude you have to show an improvement...so it sort of takes away value from what you have already done initially.

you have to rewrite your personal statement, even if it was excellent before.

you have to get additional LORs, some extra experiences....this all must happen and your gpa, and mcat have to be solid...


think about if you have all that happen the following cycle, if not then dont apply.

I don't see why you would have to rewrite your ps if you know that that was not a weakness in your application? If your ps was excellent and whatever you said in it still applies, as I imagine it would, then you don't have to rewrite it.

I also don't see why a second application would de-value any part of your application that was strong the first time around? For example, if you have above a 3.7 GPA the first time around well then obviously your GPA wasn't the reason that you didn't get in. You do NOT need to take an additional year of coursework to try and raise it to a 3.75 - 3.8 for the sake of showing improvement. Same goes for the MCAT - if your score is above the average of the schools your applying to.

In a nutshell, if you are a reapplicant you NEED to identify your weaknesses and work on only THOSE aspects of your application. So if your PS happens to be a weakness well then by all means rewrite it. If its your GPA or MCAT, EC's, Volunteering etc. well then work on those areas. However, you don't need to fix whats not broken.

 

[ofoshoukno]

Something has to change...and change significantly. You say that you have mediocre stats, well that does not bode well for you. Your going to be bringing a knife to a gun fight(where many people have high stats and insane extracurricular activities). Case in point: someone at my interview in the last cycle was a lieutenant on a US nuclear submarine, hows that for leadership!?

bottom line, you need to distinguish yourself by something or another.

 

[njbmd]

My question is.. do medical schools really frown on re-applicants?
Im in the position where my gpa and mcat are mediocre and I know it is a bit late in the application process now to send out my primary application.. so i'm wondering if it would be more advantagous for me to wait until next so i can apply earlier and raise my grades a bit or if i should just go ahead and apply now and see what happens... I know it will cost money but i feel it might be a good investment if i get accepted and as long as it doesnt hinder me when i apply for a second time the next year. So what do you guys think?

There is no "investment" in reapplication. If you know that you are not competitive (uGPA, MCAT and the rest of the application), put that money to use getting competitive and wait. This is not the year to apply and "hope". There is no advantage or disadvantage to reapplying other than wasting money.

 

[baratheonfire]

So if you have the money, there's nothing wrong with playing the field the first time around instead of waiting?

 

[gyngyn]

So if you have the money, there's nothing wrong with playing the field the first time around instead of waiting?

Some schools only accept a single re-application. This burns one of those chances.
Other schools screen re-applicants "differently."
Many re-applicants can be successful with either a stronger application or better strategy, but a strong first application is always preferred.

 

[Ad2b]

Some schools only accept a single re-application. This burns one of those chances.

I applied this year to one school only to get the verification process started, and presumed I would add the remainder of the schools once MCAT was taken. I did not take the MCAT and pulled my application from that one school.

Presumably, if this particular school is like that, I'll have burned my first chance and be given only the upcoming cycle. Right? wouldn't matter "why" I withdrew... I did.

 

[gyngyn]

I applied this year to one school only to get the verification process started, and presumed I would add the remainder of the schools once MCAT was taken. I did not take the MCAT and pulled my application from that one school.

Presumably, if this particular school is like that, I'll have burned my first chance and be given only the upcoming cycle. Right? wouldn't matter "why" I withdrew... I did.

Yes. Thankfully, it is only one school (and their policy may differ).

 

[Ad2b]

@gyngyn - thank you. It is what it is. No regrets.