15 activities for reapplications

[33md2b]

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I'll be a reapplicant for the 2016-17 cycle. The one thing I can't find information on is how to go about the 15 "Meaningful Things" part of the application. I have some new things to add from supplemental work, volunteering, etc. As an "Old Pre-med"; however, most my 15 things are based on my [former] career and other activities that have spanned 15 years or so. I didn't write about being on the "Student Government" in college because I thought writing about being a school principal was more relevant and meaningful, for example and therefore have not changed much.

I know it's important to write a new personal statement and new essays for 2ndaries. What have people done/heard about the 15 things essays? Is it acceptable to keep some of the same in this case? Do I keep the activity and write about a different aspect?

 

[futuremdforme]

What did you do to improve your application? If it was your MCAT that you had to improve, then I guess I wouldn't worry about changing your 15 things too much. If you are volunteering, update that, etc.

 

[throwaway948738]

I'll be a reapplicant for the 2016-17 cycle. The one thing I can't find information on is how to go about the 15 "Meaningful Things" part of the application. I have some new things to add from supplemental work, volunteering, etc. As an "Old Pre-med"; however, most my 15 things are based on my [former] career and other activities that have spanned 15 years or so. I didn't write about being on the "Student Government" in college because I thought writing about being a school principal was more relevant and meaningful, for example and therefore have not changed much.

I know it's important to write a new personal statement and new essays for 2ndaries. What have people done/heard about the 15 things essays? Is it acceptable to keep some of the same in this case? Do I keep the activity and write about a different aspect?

I'm about 90% sure that you weren't rejected bc of your activities and experiences.

It usually comes down to low MCAT, lack of significant research experiences, lack of a competitive science curriculum, and low GPA, probably in that order.

Unless you can fix those....

 

[33md2b]

I'm about 90% sure that you weren't rejected bc of your activities and experiences.

It usually comes down to low MCAT, lack of significant research experiences, lack of a competitive science curriculum, and low GPA, probably in that order.

Unless you can fix those....

Sorry...I may have been unclear...
My question is about if it's appropriate or not to repeat some of the significant activities that I reported on my 1st AMCAS application:

• Is it acceptable/appropriate to repeat some significant events on a reapplication of AMCAS?
• If yes...should I rewrite the synopses completely or is reusing a synopsis of an activity (e.g. Principal of a school; hasn't changed) acceptable?

Threads, forums, google, advisors, etc say consistently to rewrite a new personal statement and secondary applications, that adcoms look at previous apps side-by-side--makes sense.

I cannot find information on whether or not the activities sections can be repeated and if so...should I write new descriptions rather than having the same text as my 1st application.

Because I'm choosing 15 activities that span 18 years, I chose 15 significant things the first time around. I can swap out some of my 'weaker' activities for things I have done to improve my application (3-4 activities) and that I haven't written about. And my *most significant* 3 haven't changed either.

@throwaway948738 : I'm 100% sure that my activities and experiences had nothing to do with my rejections. 🙂 My MCAT has skyrocketed since last take and cGPA is 3.89 and sGPA is 3.68.

 

[DrMidlife]

If you know your activities weren't your problem, then this is entirely subjective.

Put yourself in the shoes of a reviewer, looking at your app as one of 50+ apps being reviewed in one sitting. Is it EASY to understand your story? Are you making the reviewer WORK to comprehend the narrative? Are there tweaks you can make to your activity descriptions that make them soft lobs to grab the attention of the reviewer and make the reviewer curious to meet you & find out more? Or have you put the reviewer to sleep as fast as the cookie cutter kiddoes do?

You have 15 boxes and too much to fit in them. The kiddoes have too little and fill those boxes with meaninglessness. Make this work in your favor. Whatever makes you digestible and invite-able is the way to go.

Best of luck to you.

 

[futuremdforme]

🙂 My MCAT has skyrocketed since last take and cGPA is 3.89 and sGPA is 3.68.

Congrats!

 

[banana_phone]

It usually comes down to low MCAT, lack of significant research experiences, lack of a competitive science curriculum, and low GPA, probably in that order.

Unless you can fix those....

Sorry to diverge, but this can't possibly be true? Lack of significant research experiences being more of a dealbreaker than low GPA? Say it isn't so.... @Goro @LizzyM @gyngyn @gonnif

I'm banking on that not being the case, as I will be applying with high GPA (and fingers crossed high MCAT, practice testing well) this cycle, but zero research experience.

 

[AlphaBeta<3]

Research experience is of medium importance to private medical schools and of low importance to public medical schools.
sGPA, MCAT, GPA trend up/down and cGPA (in that order) are of high importance.
Data is from AAMC survey 2014 with 127 medical admissions offices responding


View attachment 202074

I didn't know undergrad institution mattered :/

 

[DrMidlife]

I'm about 90% sure that you weren't rejected bc of your activities and experiences.

It usually comes down to low MCAT, lack of significant research experiences, lack of a competitive science curriculum, and low GPA, probably in that order.

Unless you can fix those....

I don't know where you get your information but I suggest it's incorrect as general med school app advice. This looks like the list for a thesis masters, and even then, low GPA would be very concerning.

Under no circumstances would GPA be considered so unimportant in a med school app. Any list has to include clinical exposure and strong letters of recommendation. MCAT and GPA are always #1 and #2.

It's unimaginable as a reviewer that I'd do the work to assess the "competitiveness" of a science curriculum with apps coming from across the country. Such a thing might be done in a tiebreaker with otherwise well-qualified applicants. There is of course regional and historical bias in favor of particular undergrad schools, which may or may not have anything to do with rigor or quality.

Some med schools strongly emphasize a research background, but in general the majority of undergrad "research" does not result in peer-reviewed pubs and isn't considered significant in any real sense. Research without pubs, which is the norm, is effectively an EC.

The med school prereqs ARE a competitive science curriculum. Graveyard of dreams, birthplace of business majors, no matter where you take them. The MCAT serves as a national normalizer of the prereq coursework. There are med schools that have specific upper div science requirements such as biochem or genetics, but such classes do not convert an applicant from "not competitive" to "competitive". The majority of successful premeds still major in bio.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Goro]

Some UG schools serve as feeders to med schools, because the quality of their product is a known.

I didn't know undergrad institution mattered :/

 

[mavric1298]

The advice I got recently from a dean of admissions who was reviewing my app and helping me as a reapp:

The activities section should have congruence from application to application, otherwise it has the potential to show that your "most meaningful" might not have actually been your most meaningful, and opens the possibility that you might not have been completely honest with your activities the first time around it everything is changed. If you have new or important things, then add them, but try to show that there was long term commitment to things, and even if you re-write the blurbs, don't go all willy nilly replacing everything