3rd Time Applicant for 2020-2021

[Redemption Arc]

Hi everyone,

For those who haven't read my post in the WL Support Thread for 2018-2019, I'm planning on my third application to medical school. One of my schools has not posted a decision, but I'm assuming it's a rejection. Here's a summary of my application and my rundown of both cycles:

CA, Non-URM, Male, Graduated from T20 equivalent.

2017-2018 cycle (my second gap year):

cGPA: 3.50
sGPA: 3.40

I graduated with a cGPA of 3.47, and I took 2 upper division biology courses through my school's affiliated extension program and got A's in both courses. I have 5 C's that are mostly concentrated in my junior year, but I recovered in my senior year. No D's, F's, or W's.

MCAT: 519 (Jan 2017)

Shadowing: 8 hours, psychiatry

Employment: Scribing, projected at 2100 hours, est. 4 months completed at time of submission.

Research: 1 year/est. 200 hours psychology research. Two posters were presented at on-campus events.

Volunteering: 1 quarter (est. 60 hours) molecular biology lab teaching assistant; 2 quarters (est. 170 hours) general chemistry teaching assistant; 4 years (500 hours) clinical volunteering in Asian American communities (teaching about hypertension, taking vitals, etc.) with 9 months (120 hours) of intermittent leadership opportunities throughout my membership; 100 hours of generic hospital volunteering.

ECs: violinist for 17 years, martial arts experience

LORs: Chemistry (professor I taught for and took a class under), my PI (psychology/neuroscience), Physics/Astronomy, and 1 physician that I worked with

Result: 0 interviews. I sought feedback from a couple schools, and the general advice I got was that there was no single red flag that prevented me from receiving an interview. I acknowledge that on paper, my application was not very eye-catching aside from both the MCAT and my longitudinal volunteering in Asian American communities.

2018-2019 cycle (my third gap year):

Shadowing: + 30 hours FM shadowing, +8 hours cardiology shadowing

Leadership: Accepted chief medical scribe position at my workplace (projected 2000 hours, est. 3 months completed at time of submission)

Publication: Second author publication in a non-flagship journal, topic is related to my longitudinal volunteering in Asian American communities

New LORs: My boss (former AdCom at a local school), another letter from a physician I worked with

I also wrote a new personal statement, revised my activities, and wrote new secondaries.

Result: 4 interviews. I still have not solicited feedback, but I will be. Of the 4, only one of them I felt to have an explicitly bad feeling afterwards, though I realize applicants are not the best judges of their interview skills.

School List (unless otherwise specified with the year, I applied twice to these schools)

Albany Medical College (2017)
Boston University
Brown University (2017)
Case Western Reserve University
Chicago Medical School
Cornell (2018)
Creighton University
Dartmouth University
Drexel University
East Virginia Medical School (2017)
Emory University
George Washington University
Georgetown University
Hofstra University
Indiana University (2018)
Keck School of Medicine
Loyola University Stritch College of Medicine
Mayo-AZ (2017)
Mayo-MN (2017)
Medical College of Wisconsin
New York University (2018)
Oakland University (2017)
Ohio State University
Penn State University (2018)
Quinnipiac (2017)
Saint Louis University (2018)
Sidney Kimmel Medical College
Stanford University (2017)
Stony Brook University
SUNY Downstate
Temple University
Tufts University
Tulane University
University of Arizona at Tucson
University of California, Davis
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Riverside
University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Francisco
University of Cincinnati (Interviewed > Rejected)
University of Colorado (2018)
University of Illinois (2018, Interviewed > No Decision)
University of Iowa (Interviewed > Rejected)
University of Miami (2017)
University of Minnesota (2018)
University of Pittsburgh
University of Rochester
University of South Florida (2018, Interviewed > Waitlisted > Now Rejected)
Virginia Commonwealth University
Wake Forest University (2017)
Wayne State University (2018)

Schools I did not apply to:
Albert Einstein, NYMC, University of Vermont (all 3 required LORs from a faculty member in my major department, I do not have one)
California Northstate, CUSM (no match list published at the time)
Loma Linda (not religious)
DO schools (I told myself if I did not receive any MD interviews by a certain date, I would apply DO; I ended up with 2 by that date so I didn't apply)

Plans:

I am not re-applying in this current cycle, so I'm shooting for 2020-2021. I will be applying to DO schools this time around so I would appreciate suggestions.

Retake the MCAT: Not retaking the MCAT would mean that I would be unable to apply broadly since a lot of schools require a score within 3 years of the matriculation date. I'm really dreading this much more than the first time because now a bar has been set; I scored perfect in one section so there's literally no margin for error there, and just one or two questions can throw my score off in other sections. Luckily UWorld exists for the MCAT now which wasn't around when I took it. One question though: given that admissions can see all past MCAT scores, what influence, if any, does an expired MCAT score hold?

Employment: I've resigned from my scribe position because my lease will be ending and I don't see the benefit of being a scribe for >2 years. I'll be moving back the SF Bay Area and living at home, but I'm not 100% sure on what I'll be doing. Unfortunately I do not have a lot of wet lab experience or clinical research under my belt, so going for a research assistant or CRC job will be difficult. I'm considering Americorps which I genuinely think will be a fun experience, and I'm thinking about substitute teaching on a part-time basis (it's a low bar for acceptance). I would appreciate any further suggestions.

I'll also be working on my interview skills as it's obvious that I was good enough on paper for several schools but I sunk myself at my interviews. I'll be soliciting feedback from my interview schools.

Is there anything else I should be doing? Anything I should not be doing? Are there schools you would take off of this list or add? Are there any schools that specifically do not want third time applicants? Do I need to take classes? UC Berkeley Extension would be an option for me.

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[Nugester]

@Goro

Sorry I won't be of much help. Good luck and I hope you get in when you apply!

 

[Schwifty]

I’m sorry you have to reapply again. Clearly you are good on paper, so really work on those interview skills. Best of luck to you OP!

 

[Faha]

It would help your chances if you take science courses at a local college in the coming year to increase your sGPA and cGPA (basically a DIY post bacc).
You were just unlucky this past cycle. Usually most applicants with 4 interviews will receive an acceptance . When you reapply next year include DO schools and I suggest including all these:
Western
TUCOM-CA
TUNCOM
AZCOM
BCOM
RVUCOM
UIWSOM
KCU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
DMU-COM
CCOM
MU-COM
PCOM
CUSOM
VCOM (all 3 schools)
LECOM (all schools)
For MD schools as long as your repeat MCAT is at least 516 you can include all these:

Albany Medical College (2017)
Boston University
Case Western Reserve University
Chicago Medical School
Creighton University
Dartmouth University
Drexel University
East Virginia Medical School (2017)
George Washington University
Georgetown University
Hofstra University
Indiana University (2018)
Keck School of Medicine
Loyola University Stritch College of Medicine
Mayo-AZ (2017)
Medical College of Wisconsin
Oakland University (2017)
Ohio State University
Penn State University (2018)
Quinnipiac (2017)
Sidney Kimmel Medical College
Temple University
Tufts University
Tulane University
University of Arizona at Tucson & Phoenix
University of California, Davis
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Riverside
University of California, San Diego
University of Cincinnati (Interviewed > Rejected)
University of Colorado (2018)
University of Illinois (2018, Interviewed > No Decision)
University of Iowa (Interviewed > Rejected)
University of Miami (2017)
University of Pittsburgh
University of Rochester
University of South Florida (2018, Interviewed > Waitlisted > Now Rejected)
Virginia Commonwealth University
Wake Forest University (2017)
Wayne State University (2018)
You could add these schools:
CUSM
California Northstate
Kaiser
Seton Hall
NOVA MD
TCU-UNT
Obviously that is a lot of secondaries to complete but you have a whole year to pre-write them. Give us an update next June.

 

[Osteosaur]

I've been there as a 3.6, 515, multi-time re-applicant. Its not a good feeling as time starts to pass you by.

You should go DO. Right now you are a little fish in a big pond. You're a mediocre MD candidate applying to places like Mayo and Brown. You want to be a big fish in a little Pond. I got 7 DO interviews when I broke down and went for it my last try. That was up from maybe 2-3 MD interviews a cycle.

Your MCAT is good but your GPA is holding you back. You live in a competitive state. And while journal articles and scribing are good, they are not the sort of wow-factor that makes up for a 3.5 when everyone else has a 3.75.

 

[crossroad]

I feel your frustration as a reapplicant myself. I have no hard data to support this claim, but I feel that the biggest thing holding people back from acceptance post interview are holes in the application: not good enough mcat, not good enough gpa, not good enough interview performance, not enough clinical/service, etc. You can get interviews having a deficiency in an area, but I feel that it’s much harder to get an acceptance when they can just accept someone with for example, 3.8/517 and a well-rounded app.

As for potential “holes” I hypothesize there are some things you can address:

• GPA- while not terrible, it’s not good either. You’d be less than 10th percentile for some schools. Consider more classes, masters, smp, the like. Did you explain why you had poor performance in your junior year? Make sure this is reasonable and clearly conveyed
• Interview skills- hardest to judge, but come prepared with solid solid answers for why Medicine and why our school
• Leadership- so many school missions now say “we want to educate future leaders...” you really want to have some solid leadership positions. You might have some already - really drive home your impact as a leader, that your position was not just a formality

If you can’t stand the idea of burning years and cash on more classes, do DO for sure. Yes it’s not what you wanted, especially since you had a 519 mcat. But a middling GPA is the hardest to overcome. If you don’t apply this year, you will need to retake the mcat. Don’t worry about doing worse- you have to do it, no option involved, so just put your best efforts on it. As for which schools don’t like reapplicants, I only know that Einstein limits applicants to two cycles.

One other alternative is americorps/teach for America/peace corps. Those are always well received but with your background I don’t think many schools question your service orientation. However one thing about these positions is that they can be solid leadership experiences which is always beneficial to your app.

Best of luck!

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

Hi everyone,

For those who haven't read my post in the WL Support Thread for 2018-2019, I'm planning on my third application to medical school. One of my schools has not posted a decision, but I'm assuming it's a rejection. Here's a summary of my application and my rundown of both cycles:

CA, Non-URM, Male, Graduated from T20 equivalent.

2017-2018 cycle (my second gap year):

cGPA: 3.50
sGPA: 3.40

I graduated with a cGPA of 3.47, and I took 2 upper division biology courses through my school's affiliated extension program and got A's in both courses. I have 5 C's that are mostly concentrated in my junior year, but I recovered in my senior year. No D's, F's, or W's.

MCAT: 519 (Jan 2017)

Shadowing: 8 hours, psychiatry

Employment: Scribing, projected at 2100 hours, est. 4 months completed at time of submission.

Research: 1 year/est. 200 hours psychology research. Two posters were presented at on-campus events.

Volunteering: 1 quarter (est. 60 hours) molecular biology lab teaching assistant; 2 quarters (est. 170 hours) general chemistry teaching assistant; 4 years (500 hours) clinical volunteering in Asian American communities (teaching about hypertension, taking vitals, etc.) with 9 months (120 hours) of intermittent leadership opportunities throughout my membership; 100 hours of generic hospital volunteering.

ECs: violinist for 17 years, martial arts experience

LORs: Chemistry (professor I taught for and took a class under), my PI (psychology/neuroscience), Physics/Astronomy, and 1 physician that I worked with

Result: 0 interviews. I sought feedback from a couple schools, and the general advice I got was that there was no single red flag that prevented me from receiving an interview. I acknowledge that on paper, my application was not very eye-catching aside from both the MCAT and my longitudinal volunteering in Asian American communities.

2018-2019 cycle (my third gap year):

Shadowing: + 30 hours FM shadowing, +8 hours cardiology shadowing

Leadership: Accepted chief medical scribe position at my workplace (projected 2000 hours, est. 3 months completed at time of submission)

Publication: Second author publication in a non-flagship journal, topic is related to my longitudinal volunteering in Asian American communities

New LORs: My boss (former AdCom at a local school), another letter from a physician I worked with

I also wrote a new personal statement, revised my activities, and wrote new secondaries.

Result: 4 interviews. I still have not solicited feedback, but I will be. Of the 4, only one of them I felt to have an explicitly bad feeling afterwards, though I realize applicants are not the best judges of their interview skills.

School List (unless otherwise specified with the year, I applied twice to these schools)

Albany Medical College (2017)
Boston University
Brown University (2017)
Case Western Reserve University
Chicago Medical School
Cornell (2018)
Creighton University
Dartmouth University
Drexel University
East Virginia Medical School (2017)
Emory University
George Washington University
Georgetown University
Hofstra University
Indiana University (2018)
Keck School of Medicine
Loyola University Stritch College of Medicine
Mayo-AZ (2017)
Mayo-MN (2017)
Medical College of Wisconsin
New York University (2018)
Oakland University (2017)
Ohio State University
Penn State University (2018)
Quinnipiac (2017)
Saint Louis University (2018)
Sidney Kimmel Medical College
Stanford University (2017)
Stony Brook University
SUNY Downstate
Temple University
Tufts University
Tulane University
University of Arizona at Tucson
University of California, Davis
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Riverside
University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Francisco
University of Cincinnati (Interviewed > Rejected)
University of Colorado (2018)
University of Illinois (2018, Interviewed > No Decision)
University of Iowa (Interviewed > Rejected)
University of Miami (2017)
University of Minnesota (2018)
University of Pittsburgh
University of Rochester
University of South Florida (2018, Interviewed > Waitlisted > Now Rejected)
Virginia Commonwealth University
Wake Forest University (2017)
Wayne State University (2018)

Schools I did not apply to:
Albert Einstein, NYMC, University of Vermont (all 3 required LORs from a faculty member in my major department, I do not have one)
California Northstate, CUSM (no match list published at the time)
Loma Linda (not religious)
DO schools (I told myself if I did not receive any MD interviews by a certain date, I would apply DO; I ended up with 2 by that date so I didn't apply)

Plans:

I am not re-applying in this current cycle, so I'm shooting for 2020-2021. I will be applying to DO schools this time around so I would appreciate suggestions.

Retake the MCAT: Not retaking the MCAT would mean that I would be unable to apply broadly since a lot of schools require a score within 3 years of the matriculation date. I'm really dreading this much more than the first time because now a bar has been set; I scored perfect in one section so there's literally no margin for error there, and just one or two questions can throw my score off in other sections. Luckily UWorld exists for the MCAT now which wasn't around when I took it. One question though: given that admissions can see all past MCAT scores, what influence, if any, does an expired MCAT score hold?

Employment: I've resigned from my scribe position because my lease will be ending and I don't see the benefit of being a scribe for >2 years. I'll be moving back the SF Bay Area and living at home, but I'm not 100% sure on what I'll be doing. Unfortunately I do not have a lot of wet lab experience or clinical research under my belt, so going for a research assistant or CRC job will be difficult. I'm considering Americorps which I genuinely think will be a fun experience, and I'm thinking about substitute teaching on a part-time basis (it's a low bar for acceptance). I would appreciate any further suggestions.

I'll also be working on my interview skills as it's obvious that I was good enough on paper for several schools but I sunk myself at my interviews. I'll be soliciting feedback from my interview schools.

Is there anything else I should be doing? Anything I should not be doing? Are there schools you would take off of this list or add? Are there any schools that specifically do not want third time applicants? Do I need to take classes? UC Berkeley Extension would be an option for me.

Remember there are so many routes of getting into medical school. At this point, I highly recommend looking into conditional acceptance programs. Temple has two, Tulane has an anatomy one (highly recommend this) , and there are so much more out there

 

[saratonin]

Hey! I am a third time applicant too, and I feel for you, it ****ing sucks. However, you continue to improve yourself and that’s amazing! Also, it seems like you got interviews at great schools but with no results. You don’t get interviews like that if you’re a bad applicant, maybe you need to tweak some interview skills! My second time applying I got 4 interviews and was waitlisted at 3 and rejected from the last. I highly recommend doing more interview prep, bc it ultimately helped me get the A third time around!! I did 8 mock interviews before my four real ones third cycle, and I also took an improv class which helped me think more quickly and have more confidence. It could just be that final step for you. Hang in there. You’re gonna get to the finish line!

 

[GreenDuck12]

Would you consider moving to establish residency in a state that is less hostile to premeds? I think your stats are more competitive in Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and Oregon. All of those states, except OR and NM, have multiple medical schools with a heavy in state preference.

 

[Goro]

Would you consider moving to establish residency in a state that is less hostile to premeds? I think your stats are more competitive in Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and Oregon. All of those states, except OR and NM, have multiple medical schools with a heavy in state preference.

It's not as easy as simply moving to a new state.

 

[mwsapphire]

I feel your frustration as a reapplicant myself. I have no hard data to support this claim, but I feel that the biggest thing holding people back from acceptance post interview are holes in the application: not good enough mcat, not good enough gpa, not good enough interview performance, not enough clinical/service, etc. You can get interviews having a deficiency in an area, but I feel that it’s much harder to get an acceptance when they can just accept someone with for example, 3.8/517 and a well-rounded app.

As for potential “holes” I hypothesize there are some things you can address:

• GPA- while not terrible, it’s not good either. You’d be less than 10th percentile for some schools. Consider more classes, masters, smp, the like. Did you explain why you had poor performance in your junior year? Make sure this is reasonable and clearly conveyed
• Interview skills- hardest to judge, but come prepared with solid solid answers for why Medicine and why our school
• Leadership- so many school missions now say “we want to educate future leaders...” you really want to have some solid leadership positions. You might have some already - really drive home your impact as a leader, that your position was not just a formality

If you can’t stand the idea of burning years and cash on more classes, do DO for sure. Yes it’s not what you wanted, especially since you had a 519 mcat. But a middling GPA is the hardest to overcome. If you don’t apply this year, you will need to retake the mcat. Don’t worry about doing worse- you have to do it, no option involved, so just put your best efforts on it. As for which schools don’t like reapplicants, I only know that Einstein limits applicants to two cycles.

One other alternative is americorps/teach for America/peace corps. Those are always well received but with your background I don’t think many schools question your service orientation. However one thing about these positions is that they can be solid leadership experiences which is always beneficial to your app.

Best of luck!

Is that really it? I think if they feel you aren't well rounded- enough on paper, these programs won't interview you in the first place. There are plenty of other applicants to choose from if they feel you aren't well rounded enough. I feel like if they didn't like your app on paper enough they just wouldn't spend the resources- I more think it's OP's interview skills. 4 interviews has to mean you're good enough on paper- I can see what you mean with just 1 or 2 invites though.

 

[GreenDuck12]

It's not as easy as simply moving to a new state.

Given what the OP posted above with two application cycles without receiving an in state interview and their interest in signing up for an americorps program, you don't think the OP would be more competitive in another state? NM, NV, and AZ all have a pretty wide range of GPA / MCAT scores for accepted students and matriculants. All three states have pretty low bars to be considered an in state resident.

 

[Sky138]

Even if the OP moved to a different state, I’m fairly certain they have to prove their commitment to said state to be considered a true resident. If the OP answered on their secondary that they want to serve their new state simply because they live there that might not be very compelling. In doing so, they might have sacrificed a school where they have a proven commitment as shown by the fact they’d be a three time applicant. Just my two cents

 

[Goro]

Even if the OP moved to a different state, I’m fairly certain they have to prove their commitment to said state to be considered a true resident. If the OP answered on their secondary that they want to serve their new state simply because they live there that might not be very compelling. In doing so, they might have sacrificed a school where they have a proven commitment as shown by the fact they’d be a three time applicant. Just my two cents

This.

 

[GreenDuck12]

Even if the OP moved to a different state, I’m fairly certain they have to prove their commitment to said state to be considered a true resident. If the OP answered on their secondary that they want to serve their new state simply because they live there that might not be very compelling. In doing so, they might have sacrificed a school where they have a proven commitment as shown by the fact they’d be a three time applicant. Just my two cents

That's a fair point

 

[Meerkatology]

even though u did apply to alot of schools, at a quick glance it seems to me the list mostly consists of middle/high tier schools, for which Gpa is likely being the deal breaker. other than the inclusion of DO schools, i would focus more on middle/low tier MD schools.

i know ppl want to get back to cali, but cali schools are super competitive. i personally wouldn't expect any acceptance from cali schools with these stats.
i had a similar GPA as u, and a higher(i think?) MCAT. i had a 37R back when it was out of 45T. i didn't have a remote shot at any cali school, or anything high tier - i can only imagine things are harder now.
many schools on ur list probably has average 3.7+ gpa among the applicants.

while are u are reapplying with a bit more EC, i dont think ur application has changed too drastically from prior cycles. at least not the big things like gpa/mcat. so probably changing the range of schools will help much more than getting a few more hours of this or that.

ive been out of the loop for a while so im no an expert, just 2c. u do have better ec's than i did though

 

[erdoc111]

You have had so many years at this point... I wonder why you still don't have over 50 hours of shadowing and lots and lots of nonclinical/humanitarian volunteering because you have had so much time. Why no soup kitchen or habitat for humanity or hospice?
And get back to your college and meet with your department of major and ask for a recommendation if that is holding you back. They just may help you out!

 

[DO_or_Die]

go DO, you will be a physician. You are losing out on $X00,000's by not starting medical school. I work with multiple DO's in an inpatient setting and you would never even know the difference, they are called "doctor" and highly respected.

 

[lalalaaaaaa]

I was a third time applicant way back when and now I'm a resident, so it can be done! That being said there are a few things that jump out to me about your app.
- You need to get more/new clinical volunteering.
- Focus on DO.
- It's probably too late now, but more science courses would be super helpful. An SMP isn't a terrible idea if it has a guaranteed direct linkage.
- You need to have reinvented yourself a bit as a 3rd time applicant. Schools will want to see that you saw your shortcomings, overcame them, and grew as both an applicant and as an individual. That means at least one new LOR, new experiences, new personal statement, etc.

 

[TinyGirlBigDreams]

Hi everyone,

For those who haven't read my post in the WL Support Thread for 2018-2019, I'm planning on my third application to medical school. One of my schools has not posted a decision, but I'm assuming it's a rejection. Here's a summary of my application and my rundown of both cycles:

CA, Non-URM, Male, Graduated from T20 equivalent.

2017-2018 cycle (my second gap year):

cGPA: 3.50
sGPA: 3.40

I graduated with a cGPA of 3.47, and I took 2 upper division biology courses through my school's affiliated extension program and got A's in both courses. I have 5 C's that are mostly concentrated in my junior year, but I recovered in my senior year. No D's, F's, or W's.

MCAT: 519 (Jan 2017)

Shadowing: 8 hours, psychiatry

Employment: Scribing, projected at 2100 hours, est. 4 months completed at time of submission.

Research: 1 year/est. 200 hours psychology research. Two posters were presented at on-campus events.

Volunteering: 1 quarter (est. 60 hours) molecular biology lab teaching assistant; 2 quarters (est. 170 hours) general chemistry teaching assistant; 4 years (500 hours) clinical volunteering in Asian American communities (teaching about hypertension, taking vitals, etc.) with 9 months (120 hours) of intermittent leadership opportunities throughout my membership; 100 hours of generic hospital volunteering.

ECs: violinist for 17 years, martial arts experience

LORs: Chemistry (professor I taught for and took a class under), my PI (psychology/neuroscience), Physics/Astronomy, and 1 physician that I worked with

Result: 0 interviews. I sought feedback from a couple schools, and the general advice I got was that there was no single red flag that prevented me from receiving an interview. I acknowledge that on paper, my application was not very eye-catching aside from both the MCAT and my longitudinal volunteering in Asian American communities.

2018-2019 cycle (my third gap year):

Shadowing: + 30 hours FM shadowing, +8 hours cardiology shadowing

Leadership: Accepted chief medical scribe position at my workplace (projected 2000 hours, est. 3 months completed at time of submission)

Publication: Second author publication in a non-flagship journal, topic is related to my longitudinal volunteering in Asian American communities

New LORs: My boss (former AdCom at a local school), another letter from a physician I worked with

I also wrote a new personal statement, revised my activities, and wrote new secondaries.

Result: 4 interviews. I still have not solicited feedback, but I will be. Of the 4, only one of them I felt to have an explicitly bad feeling afterwards, though I realize applicants are not the best judges of their interview skills.

School List (unless otherwise specified with the year, I applied twice to these schools)

Albany Medical College (2017)
Boston University
Brown University (2017)
Case Western Reserve University
Chicago Medical School
Cornell (2018)
Creighton University
Dartmouth University
Drexel University
East Virginia Medical School (2017)
Emory University
George Washington University
Georgetown University
Hofstra University
Indiana University (2018)
Keck School of Medicine
Loyola University Stritch College of Medicine
Mayo-AZ (2017)
Mayo-MN (2017)
Medical College of Wisconsin
New York University (2018)
Oakland University (2017)
Ohio State University
Penn State University (2018)
Quinnipiac (2017)
Saint Louis University (2018)
Sidney Kimmel Medical College
Stanford University (2017)
Stony Brook University
SUNY Downstate
Temple University
Tufts University
Tulane University
University of Arizona at Tucson
University of California, Davis
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Riverside
University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Francisco
University of Cincinnati (Interviewed > Rejected)
University of Colorado (2018)
University of Illinois (2018, Interviewed > No Decision)
University of Iowa (Interviewed > Rejected)
University of Miami (2017)
University of Minnesota (2018)
University of Pittsburgh
University of Rochester
University of South Florida (2018, Interviewed > Waitlisted > Now Rejected)
Virginia Commonwealth University
Wake Forest University (2017)
Wayne State University (2018)

Schools I did not apply to:
Albert Einstein, NYMC, University of Vermont (all 3 required LORs from a faculty member in my major department, I do not have one)
California Northstate, CUSM (no match list published at the time)
Loma Linda (not religious)
DO schools (I told myself if I did not receive any MD interviews by a certain date, I would apply DO; I ended up with 2 by that date so I didn't apply)

Plans:

I am not re-applying in this current cycle, so I'm shooting for 2020-2021. I will be applying to DO schools this time around so I would appreciate suggestions.

Retake the MCAT: Not retaking the MCAT would mean that I would be unable to apply broadly since a lot of schools require a score within 3 years of the matriculation date. I'm really dreading this much more than the first time because now a bar has been set; I scored perfect in one section so there's literally no margin for error there, and just one or two questions can throw my score off in other sections. Luckily UWorld exists for the MCAT now which wasn't around when I took it. One question though: given that admissions can see all past MCAT scores, what influence, if any, does an expired MCAT score hold?

Employment: I've resigned from my scribe position because my lease will be ending and I don't see the benefit of being a scribe for >2 years. I'll be moving back the SF Bay Area and living at home, but I'm not 100% sure on what I'll be doing. Unfortunately I do not have a lot of wet lab experience or clinical research under my belt, so going for a research assistant or CRC job will be difficult. I'm considering Americorps which I genuinely think will be a fun experience, and I'm thinking about substitute teaching on a part-time basis (it's a low bar for acceptance). I would appreciate any further suggestions.

I'll also be working on my interview skills as it's obvious that I was good enough on paper for several schools but I sunk myself at my interviews. I'll be soliciting feedback from my interview schools.

Is there anything else I should be doing? Anything I should not be doing? Are there schools you would take off of this list or add? Are there any schools that specifically do not want third time applicants? Do I need to take classes? UC Berkeley Extension would be an option for me.

Hi. I read your post and I really feel for you. I'm so sorry you have to go through this extremely demoralizing and soul-crushing process more than once. I'm not sure if it's too late to help you with your primary app considering it's already July, but I am more than happy to share my experience with you and what I've learned.

I'm a 2019-2020 cycle applicant who was accepted to Keck SOM of USC on a deferred admission offer, meaning I'll start fall 2021 at Keck without having to reapply this cycle. My stats were similar to yours but slightly worse (message me and I'll share them with you) and I graduated from a Cal State University.

After reading your post, you look fine on paper. However, if you want to be successful this cycle, you need to do some real introspection on your motivations for going into medicine. Why do you want to be a physician? How have your extracurriculars given you insight into the patient population you hope to serve and the kind of physician you want to be one day? What have you learned from your experiences and how have they prepared you for a career in medicine?

The answers to these questions need to be consistent across your primary, secondary, and interview. During the interview, you should answer questions with specific examples of how you handled certain situations, ethical dilemmas, etc. More importantly, make sure that the narrative you told in your primary and secondary apps is emphasized during your interview. I studied for my interviews everyday at least a month in advance and I studied for them like I was studying for the MCAT. I practiced daily and got feedback from multiple people. It's your story, yes, but saying it clearly and concisely takes practice and you have to rehearse saying them out loud (do NOT memorize your answers though otherwise it will come across as rehearsed and robotic, but you should have a good idea of the points you'd like to hit if said question was asked). For Keck specifically, I formulated answers based on the interview questions posted on the SDN Interview Feedback section for Keck and practiced saying them out loud. During my interview, I actually had an answer in mind for every question they asked me.

Most of all, be genuine and be yourself. If your intentions to become a physician are to help people in general or a specific population of people, then own it. Yes, this is generally why people want to become a physician, but the experiences that have led you to come to this conclusion are unique to you and you alone. So your story is still compelling even if you want to become a physician to help people.

Stop focusing on what you think the schools are looking for and focus more on why you want to become a physician, why you think you're ready for the rigors of medical school, and what you intend to do with medicine once you are a physician. Look inward and I guarantee that your responses and interview performance will come across as much more genuine and compelling this time around.

Message me if you want to chat more about my experience or if you have a specific question. I'm more than happy to help you and I really wish you the best of luck this time around!