Reapplying while being waitlisted

[Tessy]

Hi, I have a problem and hope somebody can help me. I applied to MD and DO schools last year. (3.9 GPA, 24 MCAT (I know, it sucks), great LOR's). I am waitlisted at one DO school and they are going to look at the wait-list in July. I still yet have to hear from 3 schools, but at this time of the year I have no hope left. I have been studying to take MCAT again and plan to do it in May. I wanted to reapply and fill out the AMCAS application at the beginning of May, but now, since I am wailisted, I am not sure what to do. If I get off wait-list, I will lose $1000-2000 that I am going to spend for applications and secondaries, if I do not get off waitlist, I will be late in the game (well, later than I would like to be). I really feel I can do better on MCAT this time around. What is the best thing to do?
Any input will be appreciated.
Thank you.

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[froggiepremed]

Hi, I have a problem and hope somebody can help me. I applied to MD and DO schools last year. (3.9 GPA, 24 MCAT (I know, it sucks), great LOR's). I am waitlisted at one DO school and they are going to look at the wait-list in July. I still yet have to hear from 3 schools, but at this time of the year I have no hope left. I have been studying to take MCAT again and plan to do it in May. I wanted to reapply and fill out the AMCAS application at the beginning of May, but now, since I am wailisted, I am not sure what to do. If I get off wait-list, I will lose $1000-2000 that I am going to spend for applications and secondaries, if I do not get off waitlist, I will be late in the game (well, later than I would like to be). I really feel I can do better on MCAT this time around. What is the best thing to do?
Any input will be appreciated.
Thank you.

Think about this logically...
1. You do apply:
a. you do not get in, so yay! you did the right thing
b. You do get in, darn you wasted 2000K but you got into med school
2. You pray you get off the waitlist:
a. you do not get in, and you waste a year
b. you do get in, and lucky you!

So, play the odds game if you want. But is 2000K really worth another year?

 

[Tessy]

Thans, froggiepremed, that's what I thought.
Another question concerning job for the next year. I started looking for a job in a lab recently and wondered if I have to sign a contract or commit myself to a certain period of time if I am offered a position. Let's say I start working in July and get off waitlist in August. Are there any penalties for quitting that job? How does this work out?
Thank you.

 

[kuangwchang]

The majority of them will ask for a 1 year commitment. I don't think they ask for contracts. It's up to you if you feel okay telling them you can commit then bail before 1 year.

 

[kateycat]

Tessy, i'm in a similar situation. read this thread, i think its good advice about how to spend as little money as possible until you know for sure that you're not getting in this year...
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=389215

 

[t33sg1rl]

Tessy,
I was in a similar position. My situation was less expensive because I did not need to retake the MCAT, but a few years ago in May, I was left holding 0 acceptances, 4 waitlists, 2 rejections. It felt horrible. Ultimately, though, I knew that part of the reason none of those 4 waitlists were acceptances was that I had not applied early. (I wasn't late, either-middle of the pack-but at two interviews they outright told us we were interviewing for the waitlist).
So I bit the bullet and filed my AMCAS June 1 like a good girl, and forked over almost $600 for another go-round.
Three weeks later I was verified and waiting for secondaries, and one of my waitlists turned into an acceptance. Sure, it would have been nice to have that $600 in my pocket instead of theirs, especially with scrambling to move and everything, but that money went to buy me some peace of mind that if reapplication was my destiny, then I was doing everything I could to maximize my chances. I spent the month of June confident that my bases were covered-I wasn't freaking out waiting for the phone to ring, because I knew that I was OK either way.

p.s. Call any schools that waitlisted you with your new, higher MCAT scores. Many schools use a formula to rank their waitlists, and bumping up closer to 30 might move you up quite a few spots on the list.