2020-2021 Re-Applicant Support Thread

[sun_flower580]

Hi! I am a re-applicant for the 2020-2021 cycle. I just thought this thread would be a good place for questions and helping each other navigate through this tedious process, etc.
Two questions I have: When do you guys plan on submitting your primary application for AMCAS and TMDSAS (if applicable)? Also, did you guys mention failing to get in the first time in your personal statements or any essays bc I was debating on whether this would help me or hurt me to talk about?
Honestly I have not changed all too much for this cycle. I will be re-taking my MCAT in July, so hopefully w that comes a major score boost, as my original score was on the very low side. I also have gotten new volunteering hours and tutoring job from the last year. I will be working a non-medically related full time job in the gap year and am currently seeking some type of steady shadowing or hospital volunteer opportunity to show pursued medical interest.

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[mdtobe061]

I have more volunteering and two straight semesters of 4.0. I'm holding out for more clinical work though per the advice of my advisor. I didn't include my first round at all. Just made sure my PS was different but conveyed my thoughts and why I would be a good physician.

 

[M&L]

Hi! I am a re-applicant for the 2020-2021 cycle. I just thought this thread would be a good place for questions and helping each other navigate through this tedious process, etc.
One question I have: When do you guys plan on submitting your primary application for AMCAS and TMDSAS (if applicable)? Also, did you guys mention failing to get in the first time in your personal statements or any essays bc I was debating on whether this would help me or hurt me to talk about?
Honestly I have not changed all too much for this cycle. I will be re-taking my MCAT in July, so hopefully w that comes a major score boost, as my original score was on the very low side. I also have gotten new volunteering hours and tutoring job from the last year. I will be working a non-medically related full time job in the gap year and am currently seeking some type of steady shadowing or hospital volunteer opportunity to show pursued medical interest.

i applied for several years before getting accepted, and it was really stressful.

Just personal opinion: DO NOT MENTION failing to get in the first time. First of all, a lot of ppl dont. Talk about it only if their secondary asks about it, or if they ask during interview, and if they do, focus on how you are grateful for not getting in, because that extra year helped you grow and change. Application essays have limited space and it should be used to important stuff, - like, why do you want to be a doctor, what are serious adversities you might have experienced, etc. Of course, others might disagree with me, but if i was reading the essays and someone wouldve written about not getting in, i would think "really? if this is his/her idea of serious stuff, how am i supposed to trust him/her with life threatening things, and how am i supposed to trust that person talking to patients who are going through things?" .
About timing, when i reapplied, i re-took my MCAT in January, and applied in May on the first day the applications were open. Literally, i was sitting on the computer, and clicked the button 15 min after they were open. My application was verified in only 24 hours. This might be jumping the gun a bit, but i just wanted to be sure that i did everything i could. Definitely apply as EARLY as you humanly can. And submit the secondaries as soon as you receive them. Academic advisor in NIH told me to ideally submit secondaries within 24-48 hours of receiving them, because this gives the school impression that they are your top choice. I dont know if this is correct or not, but i did it, and received a good number of interviews, especially considering my mediocre MCAT and GPA, and multiple MCAT attempts.

 

[mdtobe061]

i applied for several years before getting accepted, and it was really stressful.

Just personal opinion: DO NOT MENTION failing to get in the first time. First of all, a lot of ppl dont. Talk about it only if their secondary asks about it, or if they ask during interview, and if they do, focus on how you are grateful for not getting in, because that extra year helped you grow and change. Application essays have limited space and it should be used to important stuff, - like, why do you want to be a doctor, what are serious adversities you might have experienced, etc. Of course, others might disagree with me, but if i was reading the essays and someone wouldve written about not getting in, i would think "really? if this is his/her idea of serious stuff, how am i supposed to trust him/her with life threatening things, and how am i supposed to trust that person talking to patients who are going through things?" .
About timing, when i reapplied, i re-took my MCAT in January, and applied in May on the first day the applications were open. Literally, i was sitting on the computer, and clicked the button 15 min after they were open. My application was verified in only 24 hours. This might be jumping the gun a bit, but i just wanted to be sure that i did everything i could. Definitely apply as EARLY as you humanly can. And submit the secondaries as soon as you receive them. Academic advisor in NIH told me to ideally submit secondaries within 24-48 hours of receiving them, because this gives the school impression that they are your top choice. I dont know if this is correct or not, but i did it, and received a good number of interviews, especially considering my mediocre MCAT and GPA, and multiple MCAT attempts.

Hi! Since this cycle's applications won't be submitted until July 10th, is it still reasonable to be "early" if you submit early June/second week of June? My advisors recommended that date for me. Now I do not know if that would be late.

 

[Kenken514]

Hi! I am a re-applicant for the 2020-2021 cycle. I just thought this thread would be a good place for questions and helping each other navigate through this tedious process, etc.
Two questions I have: When do you guys plan on submitting your primary application for AMCAS and TMDSAS (if applicable)? Also, did you guys mention failing to get in the first time in your personal statements or any essays bc I was debating on whether this would help me or hurt me to talk about?
Honestly I have not changed all too much for this cycle. I will be re-taking my MCAT in July, so hopefully w that comes a major score boost, as my original score was on the very low side. I also have gotten new volunteering hours and tutoring job from the last year. I will be working a non-medically related full time job in the gap year and am currently seeking some type of steady shadowing or hospital volunteer opportunity to show pursued medical interest.

I am going to submit before June 10th so that I have a month to get verified. I don't have a ton of updates, mainly I just continued my volunteer stuff and my RA job and shadowed another doctor. I am not mentioning it. I've changed my school list quite a bit so as far as they are concerned this is the first time I'm applying. If a school cares, they'll ask on their secondary or in an interview. In my gap I'm hoping to get a clinical job and do some volunteer work as well.

 

[expressojoe]

I am going to submit before June 10th so that I have a month to get verified. I don't have a ton of updates, mainly I just continued my volunteer stuff and my RA job and shadowed another doctor. I am not mentioning it. I've changed my school list quite a bit so as far as they are concerned this is the first time I'm applying. If a school cares, they'll ask on their secondary or in an interview. In my gap I'm hoping to get a clinical job and do some volunteer work as well.

Kinda the same thoughts here. I spoke with a schools admin that rejected me this cycle for feedback. Per their advice I'll apply this cycle with only additional research, teaching exp and some covid non-clinical volunteering. I wasn't able to do any clinical work this year bc I was working pretty much everyday at two jobs over two different states (thus little down time). They suggested that if I got a new clinical job, I can update them with a letter a few months after applying and it will be considered.

 

[M&L]

Hi! Since this cycle's applications won't be submitted until July 10th, is it still reasonable to be "early" if you submit early June/second week of June? My advisors recommended that date for me. Now I do not know if that would be late.

yeah, just try to be as quick as you can. Dont rush though, if it makes any sense - make sure that you are comfortable with your essay. Read it multiple times, and make sure it really speaks to who you are, and why this is important to you.

 

[docrose]

yeah im also planning on submitting it in the first 10 days-ish of june but hopefully not much later than that. 1 month seems reasonable for verification. rather submit about a week or so "late" and have better essays than eh essays that screw up a whole app cycle

 

[sun_flower580]

i applied for several years before getting accepted, and it was really stressful.

Just personal opinion: DO NOT MENTION failing to get in the first time. First of all, a lot of ppl dont. Talk about it only if their secondary asks about it, or if they ask during interview, and if they do, focus on how you are grateful for not getting in, because that extra year helped you grow and change. Application essays have limited space and it should be used to important stuff, - like, why do you want to be a doctor, what are serious adversities you might have experienced, etc. Of course, others might disagree with me, but if i was reading the essays and someone wouldve written about not getting in, i would think "really? if this is his/her idea of serious stuff, how am i supposed to trust him/her with life threatening things, and how am i supposed to trust that person talking to patients who are going through things?" .
About timing, when i reapplied, i re-took my MCAT in January, and applied in May on the first day the applications were open. Literally, i was sitting on the computer, and clicked the button 15 min after they were open. My application was verified in only 24 hours. This might be jumping the gun a bit, but i just wanted to be sure that i did everything i could. Definitely apply as EARLY as you humanly can. And submit the secondaries as soon as you receive them. Academic advisor in NIH told me to ideally submit secondaries within 24-48 hours of receiving them, because this gives the school impression that they are your top choice. I dont know if this is correct or not, but i did it, and received a good number of interviews, especially considering my mediocre MCAT and GPA, and multiple MCAT attempts.

Ok thank you for this!!! Gave me the clarity I needed. I re-did them and geared it toward talking about the failure but I’m gonna scratch that and re-gear it again lol

 

[M&L]

Ok thank you for this!!! Gave me the clarity I needed. I re-did them and geared it toward talking about the failure but I’m gonna scratch that and re-gear it again lol

you know, i would encourage you to stop, and forget WHY you are writing it for a second, - like, forget that you need to make a good impression. Instead just really try to self-reflect. WHY do you want to do this? WHO ARE YOU as a person? what makes you tick? Recent event with COVID-19 made a lot of us question who we are, as well as question our values and motivations. Use this essay as a way to reflect what you have dug up. Put it on paper, and then read it, and see what happened. And work from that.

 

[sun_flower580]

you know, i would encourage you to stop, and forget WHY you are writing it for a second, - like, forget that you need to make a good impression. Instead just really try to self-reflect. WHY do you want to do this? WHO ARE YOU as a person? what makes you tick? Recent event with COVID-19 made a lot of us question who we are, as well as question our values and motivations. Use this essay as a way to reflect what you have dug up. Put it on paper, and then read it, and see what happened. And work from that.

thank you very much !! this is good advice, it’s been easy to write these just as something to cross off of a list. gonna try and do some soul searching this weekend and hopefully get some new inspiration/good self reflection

 

[M&L]

Ok thank you for this!!! Gave me the clarity I needed. I re-did them and geared it toward talking about the failure but I’m gonna scratch that and re-gear it again lol

remember, each one of us is unique, each one of us has a story to tell. what IS your story? No two people are alike. It is so easy for us to sometimes get trapped into comparing ourselves with others: "he has better grades, she has higher MCAT scores, they went to better school, blah blah blah". But at the end of the day there is absolutely no point in comparing. You will still not be able to erase these differences, but you WILL drive yourself crazy. As an immigrant, i compared myself for years with others. I was jealous of opportunities they had - going to american high school, for example (i was 21 when i moved here). I was jealous of those who have a family, i was jealous of those who had wealthy family who could support them financially through college, since i had to work 40-50 hours a week while going to school full time... Sometimes i thought - if i didnt have to work full time while studying in biochemistry major with math minor full time, how much better could my grades have been? If i had more then 3 weeks to prepare for my MCAT (in the evenings, after work), how much higher would my MCAT have been? Could have i gone to top 10? possibly. When i got into my current school, i once again started comparing myself. I am older. I have an accent, etc, etc, etc. But then i looked around and realized - all the hard experiences that i perceived as negatives actually made me who i am. I had to work harder to get into medical school than anyone i know, and i had to walk farther for it, and instead of belittling myself i should be proud. i have a STORY to tell. MY story. that is different from everyone else. so i told that story in my essay, and despite my mediocre scores and MCAT i had 6 interviews (5 attended), which turned into 4 acceptances and 1 WL that i withdrew from. And i honestly believe that it is because of my story.
So, tell your story. Dig into who you are. There is no perfect answer, there is no perfect "staple" essay that will get you accepted. Be the real person, reflect who you are.

and after you put that on paper, give it to someone experienced to read, in case if what you wrote is really raw and needs to be worked on (i was arrogant enough to not give my essay to ANYONE to read. dont be like me))

 

[slayer28]

Hello everyone, I applied in the 2018-2019 application cycle and only ended up with 1 interview that turned into a WL. I am reapplying for this cycle and wanted to see if anyone can give feedback on my medical schools list. I'll also give some stats about me to give you an idea.

I am an international student.
Undergrad GPA: 4.0 (I did my undergrad in a small-sized liberal arts college)
MCAT: 518
currently doing a research-based Masters program

Any feedback or advice on the school list would be very helpful and appreciated

The following is my school list:

Washington University School of Medicine*

Feinberg School of Medicine*

University of Chicago*

Cleveland Lerner College of Medicine*

University of Illinois College of Medicine

Saint Louis University*

Medical College of Wisconsin*

Boston University

University of Connecticut School of Medicine

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School*

New York Medical College

University of Pittsburg

Penn State School of Medicine

Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook

Thomas Jefferson University (Kimmel)

Columbia University*

Tulane University School of Medicine

University of Virginia School of Medicine

University of Colorado School of Medicine

 

[RJ McReady]

Just after a quick glance, I would say the following:
1. Your list is too short, you should add 10-15 schools
2. You have a lot of state schools on your list that don’t take a lot of OOS (or international) students
3. You need more mid-tiers as your top schools are still reaches with your MCAT (not saying it’s impossible to get II’s at them, just difficult)
4. Out of your list of 20 schools, 6 are top 20...(goes back to #3)

 

[slayer28]

Just after a quick glance, I would say the following:
1. Your list is too short, you should add 10-15 schools
2. You have a lot of state schools on your list that don’t take a lot of OOS (or international) students
3. You need more mid-tiers as your top schools are still reaches with your MCAT (not saying it’s impossible to get II’s at them, just difficult)
4. Out of your list of 20 schools, 6 are top 20...(goes back to #3)

I honestly feel like most of the mid-tier schools are the ones that are state schools and prefer more the residents of their own state.

 

[RJ McReady]

I honestly feel like most of the mid-tier schools are the ones that are state schools and prefer more the residents of their own state.

I don’t think that is the case
I had stats similar to, but not even as good, as yours (516, 3.9+) and I got several interviews. With your stats, I’m shocked you only got one interview.
Off the top of my head, I would say you're missing a lot of potential private schools where you would be a great candidate
For example
Tufts
BU
USC Keck
Rush
Wake Forest
Einstein
Mt Sinai
Loyola Chicago
Creighton
RFU-Chicago Med
Drexel
Temple
Miami

Also there are some public schools aside from the ones you list that take more OOS applicants:

Michigan
Vermont
Cincinnati
USF Morsani

I would also ask @Goro or @Faha, they are really helpful when it comes to making a good school list.
Good luck!

 

[Goro]

Hello everyone, I applied in the 2018-2019 application cycle and only ended up with 1 interview that turned into a WL. I am reapplying for this cycle and wanted to see if anyone can give feedback on my medical schools list. I'll also give some stats about me to give you an idea.

I am an international student.
Undergrad GPA: 4.0 (I did my undergrad in a small-sized liberal arts college)
MCAT: 518
currently doing a research-based Masters program

Any feedback or advice on the school list would be very helpful and appreciated

The following is my school list:

Washington University School of Medicine*

Feinberg School of Medicine*

University of Chicago*

Cleveland Lerner College of Medicine*

University of Illinois College of Medicine

Saint Louis University*

Medical College of Wisconsin*

Boston University

University of Connecticut School of Medicine

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School*

New York Medical College

University of Pittsburg

Penn State School of Medicine

Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook

Thomas Jefferson University (Kimmel)

Columbia University*

Tulane University School of Medicine

University of Virginia School of Medicine

University of Colorado School of Medicine

Please don't hijack threads. Suggest making your own, and we'll be glad to help. Also need your state of residence.

 

[prospectivegopher]

If my app is ready, should I submit tomorrow or wait until after I retake the MCAT on July 7th? I have a previous score of 495 from last summer and my practice test scores are currently >505 with 6 weeks of studying to go. My app will have that new date listed as pending, but I don't want to be pre-screened out.

 

[sasquatch123]

Does anyone know if there are any risks to just putting down one school for now for the sole purpose of getting verified, and then adding schools once you are verified?

Will schools know that you didn't add them right away? what is the deal w this?

 

[Kenken514]

Does anyone know if there are any risks to just putting down one school for now for the sole purpose of getting verified, and then adding schools once you are verified?

Will schools know that you didn't add them right away? what is the deal w this?

You can definitely do this. That’s what I’m doing because I don’t want to pay for all my schools and then possibly get off a waitlist while waiting to get verified. If you add them before July 10th it’ll get sent on July 10th and then as you add more schools it’ll get immediately sent. They won’t know when you add them v. when you got verified. I wouldn’t worry about them thinking “well we didn’t get his app until July 15th so he must’ve added me later than other schools and therefore doesn’t want to go here.” You’re totally okay to do this.

 

[expressojoe]

Would sending in primary by June 15th be late? Amcas usually only takes three weeks to verify and that should still give time to send app to schools on July 10th

 

[sasquatch123]

You can definitely do this. That’s what I’m doing because I don’t want to pay for all my schools and then possibly get off a waitlist while waiting to get verified. If you add them before July 10th it’ll get sent on July 10th and then as you add more schools it’ll get immediately sent. They won’t know when you add them v. when you got verified. I wouldn’t worry about them thinking “well we didn’t get his app until July 15th so he must’ve added me later than other schools and therefore doesn’t want to go here.” You’re totally okay to do this.

Thank you! exactly what I wanted to hear haha

 

[deleted1043308]

Would sending in primary by June 15th be late? Amcas usually only takes three weeks to verify and that should still give time to send app to schools on July 10th

That’s what I’m doing and my advisor said it should be no problem!

 

[micro_glia]

You can definitely do this. That’s what I’m doing because I don’t want to pay for all my schools and then possibly get off a waitlist while waiting to get verified. If you add them before July 10th it’ll get sent on July 10th and then as you add more schools it’ll get immediately sent. They won’t know when you add them v. when you got verified. I wouldn’t worry about them thinking “well we didn’t get his app until July 15th so he must’ve added me later than other schools and therefore doesn’t want to go here.” You’re totally okay to do this.

If you add more schools later would it take a longer time to receive secondaries than if you added those schools when you submit the primary app?

 

[deleted1043308]

If you add more schools later would it take a longer time to receive secondaries than if you added those schools when you submit the primary app?

No, not really. Just let 2-3 business days for it to be transmitted!

 

[ApplyingMDForClass2024_89]

For reapplicants, how closely do medical schools compare your initial application and secondaries to your reapplication and reapplication secondaries?

I know that you should write all new essays. But will medical schools compare and see / ask you if you talked about different things or described things in different ways by cross-referencing?

 

[M&L]

For reapplicants, how closely do medical schools compare your initial application and secondaries to your reapplication and reapplication secondaries?

I know that you should write all new essays. But will medical schools compare and see / ask you if you talked about different things or described things in different ways by cross-referencing?

i have no information about directly comparing - i literally do not know about it, but i do know for a fact that they ask you what you did differently, etc. They asked me that in all the schools. Also, since i took MCAT multiple times, they asked me what i did differently in studying that caused my score to shoot up. In some schools i felt like they are not really asking questions, but in others (WVU comes to mind) they asked A LOT of questions about that during interview.

 

[HouseJC]

I'm not a re-applicant. In fact, this is the first time I'm applying, so I don't know what I'm doing here. In terms of "if schools will compare your initial vs. current (most recent) application", a lot of the school's secondary essays will ask if you are re-applicant and if so, how have you improved yourself. So, I'm guessing the answer to your question is a "yes". Also, from listening to Dr. Gray's podcasts, he is saying that some schools keep your old application file and some don't, so I'd recommend emailing the schools to ask

 

[HouseJC]

Would sending in primary by June 15th be late? Amcas usually only takes three weeks to verify and that should still give time to send app to schools on July 10th

I think you will be late, as everything is backlogged at AMCAS due to COVID-19 (based on how they are handling with transcripts). In the verification thread, the wait between processing and verification is already 5 days (based on my most recent post) and I submitted right on May 28th. So, my advice is get your app in as fast as you can (but with doing the due diligence in proof-reading etc.)

*Sorry, I didn't mean to ba debby-downer in my post. Apologies if I came across in that way*

 

[sandycheeks25]

Hey everyone! Just throwing in some positivity here. I'm about to take the MCAT for the third time tomorrow cuz I bombed it twice (yeah, yikes) last year. Feeling so much more confident this time around. Gonna submit my primary in a few days, too. We've got this!

 

[HouseJC]

Hey everyone! Just throwing in some positivity here. I'm about to take the MCAT for the third time tomorrow cuz I bombed it twice (yeah, yikes) last year. Feeling so much more confident this time around. Gonna submit my primary in a few days, too. We've got this!

Hello @Sucky Limes , good luck tomorrow and kick the MCAT butt

 

[sandycheeks25]

Hello @Sucky Limes , good luck tomorrow and kick the MCAT butt

You are so sweet! Thank you so much!!

 

[expressojoe]

How would it still be late? Verification is 5 days right now. Even if it extends to 3-4 weeks by the 15th, that will still be right before the first wave of apps sent out to schools. Our is it that you expect verification to take even longer?

 

[clouds9]

For reapplicants, how closely do medical schools compare your initial application and secondaries to your reapplication and reapplication secondaries?

I know that you should write all new essays. But will medical schools compare and see / ask you if you talked about different things or described things in different ways by cross-referencing?

I was never asked about past applications. At one school, I mentioned that this was the second time I interviewed at the school, and my interviewer looked surprised and said something like "oh I didn't know that!"

 

[mdtobe061]

Hi all, so I've been doing crisis text line but does anyone know who to put as your contact? I have my coach's email but not phone number.

 

[caterwaiter]

Hi all, so I've been doing crisis text line but does anyone know who to put as your contact? I have my coach's email but not phone number.

I believe either a phone number or an email is required for a contact, but not both.

 

[caterwaiter]

In the event not everyone saw/received the AMCAS Operations Update email:

"Please note that due to the rapidly changing environment, AMCAS verification may take up to eight weeks for the 2021 cycle. Currently, verification of submitted applications are tracking ahead of this timeline. You will receive application status updates via email and we will continue to post daily processing updates to our Twitter feed (@AMCASinfo) and on our website."

 

[expressojoe]

I recently got a physician to shadow thought won't be able to do so until August. Would I be able to list projected hours on the amcas?

 

[caterwaiter]

I recently got a physician to shadow thought won't be able to do so until August. Would I be able to list projected hours on the amcas?

Yep! You can project hours through like July or August 2021 (when you would theoretically be starting medical school, should you be accepted).

 

[andalukia]

I recently got a physician to shadow thought won't be able to do so until August. Would I be able to list projected hours on the amcas?

Oh I don't believe you can put in an activity that hasn't started - the start date can't be set in a future month. Do you have other shadowing experiences that you are mentioning? You could tack it on there if you wanted to as a note and then use it as an update later in the cycle.

 

[expressojoe]

Oh I don't believe you can put in an activity that hasn't started - the start date can't be set in a future month. Do you have other shadowing experiences that you are mentioning? You could tack it on there if you wanted to as a note and then use it as an update later in the cycle.

I do I actually shadowed the physician before, so I'll just make a note in the description and send an update letter few months down the road

 

[Bada Bing]

I was never asked about past applications. At one school, I mentioned that this was the second time I interviewed at the school, and my interviewer looked surprised and said something like "oh I didn't know that!"

I'm a reapplicant, too. Do you have any tips for how to answer the ubiquitous "how has your application improved?" secondary question? And also, if the secondary asks whether I'm a reapplicant but it's my first time applying to that school, what should I say?

 

[ismyexistenceamemeyet]

I'm a reapplicant, too. Do you have any tips for how to answer the ubiquitous "how has your application improved?" secondary question? And also, if the secondary asks whether I'm a reapplicant but it's my first time applying to that school, what should I say?

For “How has your application improved?”: If you’ve gotten more hours on shadowing, scribing, volunteering, research, etc., include them first. I’d cap it off with any reflections/learning you’ve done over the past year. My suggestion is showcasing anything you’ve learned as a result of these additional experiences and showing a deeper understanding of the unique contributions you can bring to the class. I think this reflection is what really ties your (improved) application together.

And usually when a school asks if you’re a reapplicant, they usually mean if you’re a reapplicant to their school. So in this case, no, you’re not a reapplicant.

 

[clouds9]

I'm a reapplicant, too. Do you have any tips for how to answer the ubiquitous "how has your application improved?" secondary question? And also, if the secondary asks whether I'm a reapplicant but it's my first time applying to that school, what should I say?

For “How has your application improved?”: If you’ve gotten more hours on shadowing, scribing, volunteering, research, etc., include them first. I’d cap it off with any reflections/learning you’ve done over the past year. My suggestion is showcasing anything you’ve learned as a result of these additional experiences and showing a deeper understanding of the unique contributions you can bring to the class. I think this reflection is what really ties your (improved) application together.

And usually when a school asks if you’re a reapplicant, they usually mean if you’re a reapplicant to their school. So in this case, no, you’re not a reapplicant.

This is a good start!

I think this is basically a time to show how dedicated you are to medicine. You did not get in, but you can show that you have the persistence to continue working toward your dream of becoming a doctor!

I went through a very serious tragedy that I don't want to discuss because I will compromise my anonymity. I talked about overcoming the adversity this tragedy caused and how it has made me want to work with underserved communities.

For my first application, I took the September MCAT so I also talked about getting everything in early on the reapplication cycle.

I talked about how I had more responsibilities at my job and I briefly discussed an activity that wasn't on my previous application.

At a school where I previously interviewed, I told them that I had been working on my interview skills. (they gave me another interview, and this time I didn't get rejected post interview)

I was able to get interviews at 4 schools that had the "how has your application improved?" question.

 

[hosie618]

Would it be smart to put certified in basic life support in the activities/experiences section and if yes, what would I really put as the description?

 

[sipsiphooray]

Would it be smart to put certified in basic life support in the activities/experiences section and if yes, what would I really put as the description?

If you can slip it in along with one of your other activities I think it would be worth it. Otherwise maybe in the awards section? I don't think it's wise to have it be one of your 15 activities though. If you manage to mention it with another activity, you also don't need to describe it much since most of the characters will be taken up by the activity itself.

 

[hosie618]

If you can slip it in along with one of your other activities I think it would be worth it. Otherwise maybe in the awards section? I don't think it's wise to have it be one of your 15 activities though. If you manage to mention it with another activity, you also don't need to describe it much since most of the characters will be taken up by the activity itself.

thank you so much!!

 

[Kenken514]

Would anyone be willing to help me with my school list? Is there thread specific for school list help?

 

[juliannewman]

Would anyone be willing to help me with my school list? Is there thread specific for school list help?

Post in the WAMC board

 

[retro2021]

Hi all, I recently submitted my primary (tossed everything from last cycle and rewrote it all). Last cycle I rushed my PS as I was racing to retake the MCAT. This time I sent it to 7 people of different ages and walks of life. As vulnerable and revealing as that felt, hearing a wide array of feedback from people who both had/didn't have a healthcare background was invaluable. Everything from "delete this entire paragraph, it does nothing for you", to "this metaphor is painful" (lol) or "I'm confused". It can be painful and exhausting, but so worth it. Of course I have no idea how my primary will fare this cycle or be received, but I'm glad I at least have an idea of how structure/tone came off broadly to others. I highly recommend! Most likely this is well-known advice, but just wanted to share my experience.

Also found it really helpful/inspiring to watch the "Application Renovation" series on the Medical School Headquarters channel on YT. You're able to see a lot of real application examples (don't plagiarize of course!), which can help get the juices flowing if you're feeling stuck.

Excited to go on this journey with all of you! We got this.