Reapply next cycle or wait until 2017?

[purplecricket]

Hello! So I'm currently applying but so far have ended up with some IIs, one wait list, a couple holds, some rejections, lots of silence. At the moment I'm trying to figure out what my plan is for the upcoming year. My lease is up in a couple months so that's part of what's driving me to think about this now.

Currently I am working full time at a non-science or medical related office job (really just needed the money, none of the research jobs I interviewed for wanted to take on someone who would potentially leave in a year). Other than that I've continued with my clinic volunteer position which I attend once a week. Not much else, which is my biggest concern about reapplying right away.

I think the biggest weaknesses in my application are my clinical experiences and my MCAT score. I have 2 years of volunteering at a clinic and a little less than 100 hrs of physician shadowing (MD & DO). Interview skills could definitely be improved upon as well. My ideas about strengthening my app would be to get a job that was more relevant, re-taking the MCAT and adding some different ECs. The problem is I don't know if I can get all that done between now and June. I'm kind of torn, I don't necessarily want to wait two years to matriculate, but I also don't want to rush in and end up with another unsuccessful cycle. Thoughts?

More relevant info: UG sGPA sucked, so I did a post-bacc and a master's. Graduated in 2014, so no coursework since then.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DeathandTaxes]

What's your MCAT score GPA?

 

[italiancowgirl]

Reapplying unprepared will be way more detrimental in the long run than waiting and improving. Sorry, medicine has to be played for the long game. Patience will be your friend. Of course without numbers I have no idea if you mean a "poor mcat" as 24 or 30 (I don't know what those are in the new numbers). Take your time, and do the work to round out your application.

 

[CyrilFiggis]

You had interviews which is a good thing. The general rule of thumb is to not re-apply immediately if you didn't get any IIs. However, in your case, it doesn't seem that you spent your application year really doing much else than work. So except for higher hours and a new personal statement, not much has changed. As for your job, the type of work really isn't consequential. I've been at the same job for 5 years and it's completely non-science related. It is in the career field that I got my undergrad degree in though.

That said, I wouldn't reapply this year. Be patient and take your time. In May, contact the schools you've been waitlisted or on hold and ask for feedback on your application. Each school may give different thoughts, but at least you'll know in the eyes of that school how they viewed your application. Also, take a step back and reevaluate your personal statement. Are you being too humble or too boastful? Are you spending too many characters on insignificant details? This is the only time you get to write about why you will be a kick-ass, empathetic, successful physician without any prompt. Take advantage.

Hopefully, in a few months you'll get pulled off a waitlist and this whole thread will be moot!

 

[chonc]

I've been in your shoes, and I know it's a tough position to be in. As Cyril mentioned, I would highly recommend doing an exit interview because this gives you a perspective from the other side of the table -- maybe it wasn't your lack of clinical experience or low MCAT but something else. I was told to get more "life experience". Personally, I waited it out because I had nothing new or different to say in the span of 3 months. Risking another failed app cycle wasn't worth it to me. The extra year in limbo sucks but only so much as you focus on it. On the other hand... I had some friends who re-applied immediately after not getting in, and they were successful the second time (and third for one person) around. Obviously you know from having done secondaries that schools will ask what you've changed in between applications, so be prepared to address that adequately.

 

[CyrilFiggis]

I've been in your shoes, and I know it's a tough position to be in. As Cyril mentioned, I would highly recommend doing an exit interview because this gives you a perspective from the other side of the table -- maybe it wasn't your lack of clinical experience or low MCAT but something else. I was told to get more "life experience". Personally, I waited it out because I had nothing new or different to say in the span of 3 months. Risking another failed app cycle wasn't worth it to me. The extra year in limbo sucks but only so much as you focus on it. On the other hand... I had some friends who re-applied immediately after not getting in, and they were successful the second time (and third for one person) around. Obviously you know from having done secondaries that schools will ask what you've changed in between applications, so be prepared to address that adequately.

And @purplecricket for what it's worth, I was fortunate to speak directly with one of the deans from a place I interviewed. Our convo was basically:
DEAN: "We wanted to see a bit more of this....."
ME: "Oh, well, I actually did all of that during my gap year."
DEAN: "That's great. Have you submitted a primary to us?" (our talk was in mid-June)
ME: "Yes."
DEAN: "Great. Look forward to reviewing your file this year"

Three months later, interview. That may be the exception, but sometimes it just that easy.

 

[purplecricket]

Thanks everyone! I took the new MCAT last summer, ended up w/ 71% overall percentile (not sure how to interpret the new numbers wrt the old ones). Undergrad cGPA ~3.2, sGPA 3.0 (hence the post-bac). Graduate cGPA 3.87, sGPA 3.86 (combining both post-bac grad certificate and M.S.) ETA: these are my AMCAS GPAs.

I would rather not rush into a new cycle considering less than 6 months is not enough time IMO to overhaul my app, also I just don't have much new stuff to talk about. Also wondering if it would be necessary to take some sort of coursework if I do wait until 2017 to reapply since at that point it will have been a few years since I graduated.

 

[gyngyn]

Thanks everyone! I took the new MCAT last summer, ended up w/ 71% overall percentile (not sure how to interpret the new numbers wrt the old ones). Undergrad cGPA ~3.2, sGPA 3.0 (hence the post-bac). Graduate cGPA 3.87, sGPA 3.86 (combining both post-bac and M.S.)

I would rather not rush into a new cycle considering less than 6 months is not enough time IMO to overhaul my app, also I just don't have much new stuff to talk about. Also wondering if it would be necessary to take some sort of coursework if I do wait until 2017 to reapply since at that point it will have been a few years since I graduated.

That's about a 28+. Do you have previous MCAT tries?
With a few retakes, you could get your gpa well into DO range. Many of them seem to consider graduate gpa in their consideration as well.

 

[Goro]

Agree 100% with my learned colleague. OP, despite your reinvention GPA-wise, your MCAT score is barely on life support for MD schools. So you need to either retake and ace it (~513+), or go for DO schools, where you're quite competitive. Start with VCOM at the top of your list.

That's about a 28. Do you have previous MCAT tries?
With a few retakes, you could get your gpa well into DO range. Many of them seem to consider graduate gpa in their consideration as well.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Your masters GPA and post-bacc GPA dont get averaged. What happens is your masters GPA is separate. Your post-bacc GPA and UG GPA get calculated together based on total credits of each. So how many credits of post-bacc work do you have and what is your GPA including post-bacc and UG GPA?

For example if you took 30 post-bacc credits and had a 3.8 over them, calculate them with your credits from UG that led to a 3.2/3.0. If you had 120 credits of 3.2/3.0 work, 30 credits of a 3.8 might put you at 3.35/3.2 as a very rough estimate.

For MD programs a masters GPA wont have much impact. For DO schools it can as gyngyn pointed out. 71st percentile/506 is a 29. 29 is a fine score for DO schools and given your post-bacc work(which will improve your listed 3.2/3.0) and your masters work, you are a solid candidate for many programs.

To improve your MD odds, an MCAT retake should be the first step. A retake to roughly 85th-90th+ percentile is the first thing that will likely be crucial to make you competitive. If you can achieve this, depending on your state, how many credits of post-bacc you have and your correct GPA calculations, you might have a shot at an MD acceptance. If MD is the end goal and you can get your MCAT up to around the range I highlighted an SMP would be something to seriously consider as well.

 

[purplecricket]

Agree 100% with my learned colleague. OP, despite your reinvention GPA-wise, your MCAT score is barely on life support for MD schools. So you need to either retake and ace it (~513+), or go for DO schools, where you're quite competitive. Start with VCOM at the top of your list.

Good thing I've got an interview there coming up

 

[purplecricket]

Your masters GPA and post-bacc GPA dont get averaged. What happens is your masters GPA is separate. Your post-bacc GPA and UG GPA get calculated together based on total credits of each. So how many credits of post-bacc work do you have and what is your GPA including post-bacc and UG GPA?

For example if you took 30 post-bacc credits and had a 3.8 over them, calculate them with your credits from UG that led to a 3.2/3.0. If you had 120 credits of 3.2/3.0 work, 30 credits of a 3.8 might put you at 3.35/3.2 as a very rough estimate.

For MD programs a masters GPA wont have much impact. For DO schools it can as gyngyn pointed out. 71st percentile/506 is a 29. 29 is a fine score for DO schools and given your post-bacc work(which will improve your listed 3.2/3.0) and your masters work, you are a solid candidate for many programs.

To improve your MD odds, an MCAT retake should be the first step. A retake to roughly 85th-90th+ percentile is the first thing that will likely be crucial to make you competitive. If you can achieve this, depending on your state, how many credits of post-bacc you have and your correct GPA calculations, you might have a shot at an MD acceptance. If MD is the end goal and you can get your MCAT up to around the range I highlighted an SMP would be something to seriously consider as well.

My post bac was a graduate-level certificate program, so it looked like AMCAS calculated it together. My AACOMAS GPAs significantly higher from retakes. If my DO apps don't work out this cycle retaking the MCAT is def my first step.

 

[purplecricket]

Just wanted to say thank you for everyone's input! I did get a D.O. II after I posted this thread (keeping my fingers crossed!) If it doesn't work out this cycle, I think I'll go ahead and wait a year, retake the MCAT, try to get some different EC experiences. Just hope the un-related job thing doesn't hurt me - found out I could make more money dog sitting for a local company than I do at my office job and I'm seriously considering it

 

[purplecricket]

I'm back! So ended up being wait listed at the D.O. school. What I've gathered after 3 interviews and 3 wait lists is I'm a weak interviewee, so I'll need to invest in some help with that for a future cycle.

I'm curious if anyone thinks it would be worthwhile to go back and take some additional undergrad science courses to help out my weak uGPA? I did retake some classes back in undergrad to prep for D.O. applications, though I don't know how much a few classes will help considering I have a degree's worth of undergrad credits already.

 

[gyngyn]

I'm back! So ended up being wait listed at the D.O. school. What I've gathered after 3 interviews and 3 wait lists is I'm a weak interviewee, so I'll need to invest in some help with that for a future cycle.

I'm curious if anyone thinks it would be worthwhile to go back and take some additional undergrad science courses to help out my weak uGPA? I did retake some classes back in undergrad to prep for D.O. applications, though I don't know how much a few classes will help considering I have a degree's worth of undergrad credits already.

The beauty of DO grade replacement is that they actually replace your old (bad) grade with the new (presumably good) one. This brings up the gpa quite quickly if you start with the lowest grades. We (MD)don't do this.

 

[purplecricket]

Agree 100% with my learned colleague. OP, despite your reinvention GPA-wise, your MCAT score is barely on life support for MD schools. So you need to either retake and ace it (~513+), or go for DO schools, where you're quite competitive. Start with VCOM at the top of your list.

Quick question, the biggest problem with my DO app this cycle was submitting late and not applying broadly, would it be worth submitting DO-only this upcoming cycle (if I can't claw my way off the wait list) with my application and MCAT as-is, but early?

AACOMAS undergrad GPAs: overall UG - 3.37, science UG - 3.3, plus graduate GPAs above.

 

[Goro]

Yes.

would it be worth submitting DO-only this upcoming cycle (if I can't claw my way off the wait list) with my application and MCAT as-is, but early?

 

[purplecricket]

Yes.

Thank you! I can't really justify taking two years to try and improve my app if I have a shot at a DO spot I'd be very happy and grateful to have.