Advantages in Reapplying?

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CaVaBien

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Hello all,

Current pre-med student here (starting med school this Fall woohoo!) trying to advise a friend... She's considering applying this year with borderline GPA and pending MCAT scores (she'll take it in August). To get her application in by the end of June, she's also going to have to list organic chem as a "future course" (but all other pre-req's are complete) and submit her transcript separately later. In a nutshell, she probably won't be very competitive this cycle and fully expects to be rejected. But she thinks that the benefits of being a reapplicant will outweigh the cost of this year's weaker application.

My thinking is that there might be some benefit to reapplying: it shows the determination and absolute intent that schools like to see. If she gets her "name in the system" this year, fully expecting to apply again next year as a more competitive applicant, won't she give herself some advantage? Or am I only imagining advantages to reapplying?
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NO NO NO
She should absolutely wait until she has everything set. She needs to wait until next years cycle
 
Hmm. But what can I tell her when she asks why? Is there no advantage at all? If nothing else she would be more familiar with the process, and she would have a start on a personal statement. There is of course the additional cost in time and money, but she can afford both right now.

You seem to type "NO" with such vehement capslockiness that I'm thinking this could significantly hurt her chances. If so, how? Many thanks.
 
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CaVaBien said:
Hmm. But what can I tell her when she asks why? Is there no advantage at all? If nothing else she would be more familiar with the process, and she would have a start on a personal statement. There is of course the additional cost in time and money, but she can afford both right now.

You seem to type "NO" with such vehement capslockiness that I'm thinking this could significantly hurt her chances. If so, how? Many thanks.
Click to expand...

You have it completely backwards. Reapplicants are stigmatized, don't think otherwise. No one wants sloppy seconds. To PLAN to be a reapplicant is such a bad idea it boggles the mind.

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk
 
Taking it that late is going to be troublesome especially with everything borderline. Best is to get everything in and be set. And if she needs to improve her grades, she can look into smp or just taking undergrad courses.
People on SDN tend to be more tense and apprehensive of the application cycle.
She will not get punished as a reapplicant.
What schools are looking for are 1. can she handle the courses(through gpa/mcat). 2. is she committed to medicine(that means when she reapplies, she should still be doing things that are health-related).
ADCOMS are reasonable people, they aren't as scary as SDN portray them to be.

You never mentioned her EC or other stuffs that she has done. hey you never know, chance is slim but her overall application might grab a seat even if her grades are borderline.
 
qwerty2012 said:
Taking it that late is going to be troublesome especially with everything borderline. Best is to get everything in and be set. And if she needs to improve her grades, she can look into smp or just taking undergrad courses.
People on SDN tend to be more tense and apprehensive of the application cycle.
She will not get punished as a reapplicant.
What schools are looking for are 1. can she handle the courses(through gpa/mcat). 2. is she committed to medicine(that means when she reapplies, she should still be doing things that are health-related).
ADCOMS are reasonable people, they aren't as scary as SDN portray them to be.

You never mentioned her EC or other stuffs that she has done. hey you never know, chance is slim but her overall application might grab a seat even if her grades are borderline.
Click to expand...

She's a non-traditional applicant with some volunteering and a year of cancer research. I was going to advise her not to do this, but then thought she might be onto something. Guess not. It frightens me that I just had a craving for reapplicant matriculation rate data...so glad this is all behind me. Wishing you all the best of luck and understanding adcoms! :luck:
 
CaVaBien said:
She's a non-traditional applicant with some volunteering and a year of cancer research. I was going to advise her not to do this, but then thought she might be onto something. Guess not. It frightens me that I just had a craving for reapplicant matriculation rate data...so glad this is all behind me. Wishing you all the best of luck and understanding adcoms! :luck:
Click to expand...

She might be. But I doubt she is alone in this, I am sure there were many other applicants before her who shared similar fate :rolleyes:.

Only thing is remain optimistic and put in the efforts(since she is already diving into this cycle).

and GL.
 
Reapplicants ARE stigmatized. Qwerty, not sure where you have your information, or who gave it to you, but applying one time and doing it right is better for multiple reasons, since you seem unfamiliar I'll list them

1. it costs at LEAST double the money
2. They will question what has changed in her app from one year to the next, a 0.4pt GPA change isn't significant, neither is additional volunteer hours
3. They will question why she wasn't accepted the first time, it doesn't matter that she applied late
4. Her chances are slim to none with a 'borderline' GPA and unknown MCAT applying late, she needs to apply june 1st for her best chances
5. If she has a poor MCAT she will need to retake it anyway to have any chance, the next one is Jan which is WAAAAAAY too late
6. Some schools have lifetime cutoffs for the number of apps you can submit, why waste one KNOWING it is a BS app with no chance?
7. Again, $$ why waste it?
8. Why have to add additional questions in the minds of the Adcoms?
9. Why add additional questions about your reapplicant status to an already long process?
10. Reasonable people? Do you know them? Are you on one? They are people, and they are looking for THE BEST candidates, what about "had to reapply" screams BEST APPLICANT???
 
SBB2016 said:
Reapplicants ARE stigmatized. Qwerty, not sure where you have your information, or who gave it to you, but applying one time and doing it right is better for multiple reasons, since you seem unfamiliar I'll list them

1. it costs at LEAST double the money
2. They will question what has changed in her app from one year to the next, a 0.4pt GPA change isn't significant, neither is additional volunteer hours
3. They will question why she wasn't accepted the first time, it doesn't matter that she applied late
4. Her chances are slim to none with a 'borderline' GPA and unknown MCAT applying late, she needs to apply june 1st for her best chances
5. If she has a poor MCAT she will need to retake it anyway to have any chance, the next one is Jan which is WAAAAAAY too late
6. Some schools have lifetime cutoffs for the number of apps you can submit, why waste one KNOWING it is a BS app with no chance?
7. Again, $$ why waste it?
8. Why have to add additional questions in the minds of the Adcoms?
9. Why add additional questions about your reapplicant status to an already long process?
10. Reasonable people? Do you know them? Are you on one? They are people, and they are looking for THE BEST candidates, what about "had to reapply" screams BEST APPLICANT???
Click to expand...

You are absolutely right on a lot of factors. But I am not pressing my opinions on the friend's decision.
Whatever she chooses to do, it will be her decision. Who knows, it might work out.
 
She is asking for advice. The best advice is that she should wait. "who knows it might work out" is NOT good advice.

OP, tell your friend to wait, she doesn't have the stats to pull off that late of an application. I have a friend who applied late with a 3.95 and a 40S and HE DID NOT GET IN.... He had to reapply... he had stellar ECs...
 
qwerty2012 said:
You are absolutely right on a lot of factors. But I am not pressing my opinions on the friend's decision.
Whatever she chooses to do, it will be her decision. Who knows, it might work out.
Click to expand...

Excellent backpedal.
 
Timing is the important factor here. They won't touch her application until everything is in, which would mean closer to Sept/Oct if she takes an August MCAT. I did the same thing last year, it was a total pain and most schools have a solid group already interviewed/set to interview by then. Even with an interview, it will be tougher to get accepted. Granted, she also needs to prove she was medical school minded and productive in that gap year. And she will need LORs for the year she applies, which are awkward to go back and get. Either way it's probably best to wait if she can. If not, she should get as personal as she can with the admissions directors at her schools she is interested in.
 
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hi, guys, I did not prepare well for the application this year. I only got accepted by one school which I don't want to go. should I go or try another year ? need your advise.thanks
 
You should go. Being a reapplicant with an acceptance is 1000x worse than being a reapplicant. If you didn't want to go to the school you probably shouldn't have applied, interviewed, etc
 
SBB2016 said:
You should go. Being a reapplicant with an acceptance is 1000x worse than being a reapplicant. If you didn't want to go to the school you probably shouldn't have applied, interviewed, etc
Click to expand...

I am not trying to argue you on being a re-applicant. But for a lot of students, their opinions of their applied schools change after extensive visits/interviews..etc And also factors like raising tuitions and so on. I am just sayin..

Med school is a marriage. You try to date as many girls as possible to get a feel what you like before you committee.
 
Wow, do you have any clue what you're talking about?
When you're a reapplicant, you have to DISCLOSE that you had an acceptance to a medical school. They're going to ask you WHY you didn't accept it... There are MANY threads on here discussing this exact situation, and the answer is ALWAYS take the acceptance and run, because you may not get another one
 
SBB2016 said:
Wow, do you have any clue what you're talking about?
When you're a reapplicant, you have to DISCLOSE that you had an acceptance to a medical school. They're going to ask you WHY you didn't accept it... There are MANY threads on here discussing this exact situation, and the answer is ALWAYS take the acceptance and run, because you may not get another one
Click to expand...

No. I fear you now. You are the police that patrols the street when I speed pass a red light. or doing something illegal.. :scared:

who cares. the her friend isn't even posting.
 
qwerty2012 said:
No. I fear you now. You are the police that patrols the street when I speed pass a red light. or doing something illegal.. :scared:

who cares. the her friend isn't even posting.
Click to expand...

Did you miss the post by the person who asked if they should take their acceptance or not??? Clearly you're missing something...
 
qwerty2012 said:
No. I fear you now. You are the police that patrols the street when I speed pass a red light. or doing something illegal.. :scared:

who cares. the her friend isn't even posting.
Click to expand...

Trolololol

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk
 
CaVaBien said:
Hello all,

Current pre-med student here (starting med school this Fall woohoo!) trying to advise a friend... She's considering applying this year with borderline GPA and pending MCAT scores (she'll take it in August). To get her application in by the end of June, she's also going to have to list organic chem as a "future course" (but all other pre-req's are complete) and submit her transcript separately later. In a nutshell, she probably won't be very competitive this cycle and fully expects to be rejected. But she thinks that the benefits of being a reapplicant will outweigh the cost of this year's weaker application.

My thinking is that there might be some benefit to reapplying: it shows the determination and absolute intent that schools like to see. If she gets her "name in the system" this year, fully expecting to apply again next year as a more competitive applicant, won't she give herself some advantage? Or am I only imagining advantages to reapplying?
Click to expand...

No. You want to get all your ducks in a row before you pull the trigger. Reapplicants have a harder road. They need to how substantial improvement just to get looked at in subsequent years. Applying on a whim with some deluded notion that you will subseuently look persistent is foolish.
 
qwerty2012 said:
I knew you were just joking. SDN is all serious tho. You got SBB all heated up. LOL.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about yourself in second person?

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk
 
I am missing where I got all heated up... I just think you're clearly missing something... L2D agreed with me, so the point is now moot...
 
Wait so I'm confused,

In my case, I have a 3.75 and a pending MCAT retake in late July. My app won't be out in schools until September which is really late. If I don't get accepted this cycle and apply to the same schools it looks bad?
 
Basically, yes. Reapplicant status isn't a 'good' thing. Don't let people try to confuse the issue with "but you're showing determination"... BS, they will scrutinize your application for what has changed, and if nothing has, and they rejected you last cycle, they'll probably reject you this cycle. Additionally, there was a guy in my LECOM interview group that was on his FOURTH interview with them, both of the women doing the interview ROLLED THEIR EYES at him. I kid you not. They let him reapply year after year, collect his money, and don't offer him a seat... is that determination or stupidity???
 
So what exactly counts as a large enough improvement?

-I'm slated for a .5 GPA raise by next year
-leadership spot
-two volunteer areas

On top of everything else I have now, is that not enough to set me apart next year if I don't get in? I know you're not supposed to go in with the idea of reapplying but since my application will in schools by September it just seems too late to hope for anything.
 
That is a decent improvement, a 3.0 to a 3.5 is a big jump...
 
Woops, decimal points matter. I meant a .05 (3.75 to a little over 3.8)

That's not too big of a difference, but it's as high as I'll get it when I'm done with my UG. Do you think the big thing that ruins reapplicants is not improving enough the next time around?
 
If you are still taking courses, and your GPA is going up, that is a change and improvement. Just make sure your app is better than the first time around... If you haven't applied and are thinking of applying this year and again next year, I would say wait and just apply next year, saves money, and if your app will be stronger next cycle, you're more likely to get in... It really is better to have all your ducks in a row first and do it one time the right way...
 
09ine said:
Woops, decimal points matter. I meant a .05 (3.75 to a little over 3.8)

That's not too big of a difference, but it's as high as I'll get it when I'm done with my UG. Do you think the big thing that ruins reapplicants is not improving enough the next time around?
Click to expand...

Definitely.

What makes you think a med school will all the sudden change their mind after an entire year? They declined you for a reason, and if you don't improve whatsoever, or minimally, chances are your fate will be the same as it was the last time you applied.

As for your case, your GPA is already strong, I'm assuming your sGPA will stay around the same as well. If your GPA was a 3.35 going up to a 3.4 that might be a different case, but with a GPA of 3.75 right now I'd focus more on other aspects of my application (EC's/MCAT/LORs/PS/etc.)
 
I'd liked to point out something.

Applying to med school not only takes a financial toll but ALSO emotionally as well.

A lot of variables you have absolute no control over--> I learned this the hard way.

You want to be the best candidate and apply when you are the strongest and FRESH.

Sometimes applicants over-estimate a lot of variables.

And when you get accepted even if the school looks kind of questionable, take it and run. -> I tell you this first hand.

Just think of as getting a job where at least you will be making good salaries NO matter where you go.
 
Deleted. Created a new thread. I think there should be a delete button.
 
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