3rd Time Applicant Stigma???

[buffywannabe]

I just got done reading Dr. Freedman's article on Medical school admissions: lessons learned and saw that she said there is a significant stingma to being a 3rd time applicant. Is this true? I have only been applying to nearby schools because I don't have the money to travel for interviews . I have a 34N and 3.7 so i think i should be able to get in but this makes me really nervous! Does anyone out there know anything about applying a 3rd time? I think most people just give up after the second time...

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[saylorsdad]

If I do not get in this time I will be a third time applicant, and will not give up. I think the biggest thing is to continue to improve your application. The burden of proof is on us to improve. Like you I have only applied to schools near my location, but will broaden my application for this next year if unsuccessful.

 

[LaTortuga]

I was a third time applicant and am finally heading to medical school this fall. If there is a stigma, who cares? Put it out of your mind and focus on the job ahead of you. As a third time applicant, I definitely agree that the burden of proof is on us, and regardless of how many attempts you make, you must continue to show growth in your application.

Being a third time applicant definitely has its pitfalls ... self doubt, expense, and the all important element of time. Some people will probably walk away after 2 rejections. I definitely thought about throwing in the towel, but instead of walking away, I decided to hunker down and learn from all of my past mistakes (applying late, applying narrowly and to too many reach schools, not having enough clinical/shadowing experience, and not doing enough to educate myself about the problems/issues facing the medical community).

At least for me, finally making the leap from re-applicant to earning an acceptance letter took taking a brutally honest look at my application and working hard for 2 years to make it better. Look at your MCAT - can you improve it by a few points? Look at your GPA - can you add a few more tenths/hundreths of a point by taking extra classes? Revisit the essays - was something missing? Look at your EC's - are they current? Can you add more volunteering/shadowing experience to your resume? Think about your past interviews ... what was missing? Was there a perception that you don't know what you're getting into? Do you have enough drive, motivation and enthusiasm to make it through medical school?

Perhaps one of the best things that I did between the 2nd and 3rd application was making sure to take advantage of exit interview opportunities. The comments of adcom members helped me focus in on the weak parts of my application.

One thing to be wary of as a 3rd time applicant is to read each school's fine print regarding re-applicants. Some will only allow students 2 attempts, so be careful not to waste your money. Sure, being a third time applicant is definitely a difficult road to walk ... but there needn't be any stigma (at least in your own mind). Apply with the same vigor and determination of someone applying for the first time. The journey is long ... but it makes getting that first acceptance letter oh so sweet.

My favorite question is: What do you call someone who has to apply three times before getting into med school?

Doctor!

Bottom line: Just do all you can do to avoid having to make that 3rd application attempt: Apply broadly (as much as you can possibly afford ... many posters here recommend applying to 20-30 schools) and apply smart & early (make sure you can go to interview day knowing that you have done everything you could possibly imagine to improve your app). If you do happen to end up in the 3rd time around crowd ... it's no big deal. What really matters is making sure your application gets stronger with each attempt, rather than reaching a plateau.

 

[gman33]

Limiting yourself to local schools is really taking a chance. You have nice stats, so you should get in somewhere, but applying broadly will give you your best shot. Take out some loans for travel if need be.

If you really are going to limit yourself, have you thought about applying EDP to a local school? Call a school of interest and see what they think about that. I had a strong preference to stay local because of my wife's job. I ended up applying EDP and that worked out. Just be sure to talk to someone and make sure you have a good shot before going down that road.

 

[netminder]

I was a third time applicant and am finally heading to medical school this fall. If there is a stigma, who cares? Put it out of your mind and focus on the job ahead of you. As a third time applicant, I definitely agree that the burden of proof is on us, and regardless of how many attempts you make, you must continue to show growth in your application.

Being a third time applicant definitely has its pitfalls ... self doubt, expense, and the all important element of time. Some people will probably walk away after 2 rejections. I definitely thought about throwing in the towel, but instead of walking away, I decided to hunker down and learn from all of my past mistakes (applying late, applying narrowly and to too many reach schools, not having enough clinical/shadowing experience, and not doing enough to educate myself about the problems/issues facing the medical community).

At least for me, finally making the leap from re-applicant to earning an acceptance letter took taking a brutally honest look at my application and working hard for 2 years to make it better. Look at your MCAT - can you improve it by a few points? Look at your GPA - can you add a few more tenths/hundreths of a point by taking extra classes? Revisit the essays - was something missing? Look at your EC's - are they current? Can you add more volunteering/shadowing experience to your resume? Think about your past interviews ... what was missing? Was there a perception that you don't know what you're getting into? Do you have enough drive, motivation and enthusiasm to make it through medical school?

Perhaps one of the best things that I did between the 2nd and 3rd application was making sure to take advantage of exit interview opportunities. The comments of adcom members helped me focus in on the weak parts of my application.

One thing to be wary of as a 3rd time applicant is to read each school's fine print regarding re-applicants. Some will only allow students 2 attempts, so be careful not to waste your money. Sure, being a third time applicant is definitely a difficult road to walk ... but there needn't be any stigma (at least in your own mind). Apply with the same vigor and determination of someone applying for the first time. The journey is long ... but it makes getting that first acceptance letter oh so sweet.

My favorite question is: What do you call someone who has to apply three times before getting into med school?

Doctor!

Bottom line: Just do all you can do to avoid having to make that 3rd application attempt: Apply broadly (as much as you can possibly afford ... many posters here recommend applying to 20-30 schools) and apply smart & early (make sure you can go to interview day knowing that you have done everything you could possibly imagine to improve your app). If you do happen to end up in the 3rd time around crowd ... it's no big deal. What really matters is making sure your application gets stronger with each attempt, rather than reaching a plateau.

Well said, Tortuga. I am working on applying my second time right now and I agree completely. I have to say that I have heard from a bunch of people who eventually made it into MD programs that many successful people had to apply more than once.

So if it ends up being more than twice, I agree, you're still a physician. Good luck to all.

 

[dragonfly99]

This all sounds like superstition/voodoo,
First of all, tons of people have to try 2x to get in...tons!
Three times would definitely be harder (mentally and otherwise) as an applicant...I do not see why the adcoms should care though. They should only care how good an applicant you appear to be, not whether you've tried to get in before. I think that you just have to show you continued to improve your application, and maybe have an explanation of why you think you didn't get in the first two times, b/c some interviewers might ask you that.

 

[DrDre2001]

This all sounds like superstition/voodoo,
First of all, tons of people have to try 2x to get in...tons!
Three times would definitely be harder (mentally and otherwise) as an applicant...I do not see why the adcoms should care though. They should only care how good an applicant you appear to be, not whether you've tried to get in before. I think that you just have to show you continued to improve your application, and maybe have an explanation of why you think you didn't get in the first two times, b/c some interviewers might ask you that.

I agree with this.

And i even think it could be a good thing in some adcom's minds. What better way to show that you are really dedicated to this than to show that you have persisted through numerous denials, yet still have come back to take some post bacc classes or whatever it is you are doing now to improve your app and then apply again?

 

[deewhit12]

 

[NOLA1]

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[dragonfly99]

deewhit,
Your GPA was really high. MCAT should be good enough to get into several schools. What was your major? How many upper level science courses did you take? Who wrote your LOR's? Any from physicians? Did you have multiple people read your personal statements? Did you apply early? Did your MCAT score come in late in the application cycle? What is your state school(s)? How many volunteer hour(s) in a health care setting did you have? A lot of adcoms want to see you doing stuff for free, in addition to any paid jobs you have. I know it's hard when working, but they want to see that someone is really dedicated to helping others.

The sports won't help that much, since a lot of people on adcoms are not very athletic, and to be fair being athletic isn't necessarily a critical quality in a physician. I was a college athlete too, so I sympathize with how much work that must have taken to do 3 sports and do so well academically, but don't assume that some nerdy adcom members will know this. Some will be impressed, but others will just consider it like they would some other extracurricular activity that might only take a few hours/week.

 

[235750]

she said there is a significant stingma to being a 3rd time applicant. Is this true?

Lol I applied I think a total of 5 times before I got in....so if this is true my stigma would've developed into a pretty nauseous smell by now.

It's all just a matter of finances. How long can you afford to play this ridiculous game? Can you find ways to make it more economical? If it's your dream like it was for me, just keep at it, you'll get in eventually.

And not to be a downer, but as someone who's had experience applying a lot of over the years...the competition is only getting worse each time. So, not to put too fine a point on it, but you should expand your schools for sure, and if you haven't already submitted your primary, you are behind.

Also, talking to several pre-med advisors with your coursework in front of you might help as SDN is good for only general advice.

Good luck to you!

 

[BruceBanner]

To the OP:

The reason why you havent gotten in with those stats is likely because you applied too narrowly, or there may be some glaring gap in your application, i.e. no clinical experience, etc. The Golden Rule of med school application is apply early and broadly!!

I am a second-timer this year. Everyone's case is different. Some folks have limitless funds to apply to 20+ schools and do Master's programs, take MCAT prep courses, etc. I do not. What I DID change this year is I applied early...like less than two weeks after the cycle opened, I applied more broadly, and I got new and updated letters. Also, you have to be realistic. Dont waste money on schools that are notoriously ultra-competitive.

As far as a 3rd time goes, it's up to you. Dont worry about any supposed 'stigma'. That's b.s. There is a lot of things to consider: age, cost, what it will take to imrove your weak areas, etc.

 

[Destro96]

34S....3.95 (state school so I guess it means jack)...captain of 3 intercollegiate sports teams in college...NCAA all-american in track and field...masters degree in neurobiology....seriously, wtf...am I just a horrible interviewer???

This is really demoralizing to me as someone with a 29Q and a 3.85 who only got two interviews and ended up on one wait list. 3.95/ 34S is like top 12 territory.

And if these people do not realize the dedication and time commitments of DI athletes, they are blindly incompetent at what they do.

I did not play a DI sport. That being said, having gone to college and knowing what people who did went through (2 hour practice in the morning before class and another one afterward), the 3.95 up against a time commitment like that is amazing.

Arbitrary and capricious often does not begin to properly describe this process.

 

[anxiousteen]

I'm currently on 4 waitlists but not holding out too much hope for this year....going to give it one more try this coming cycle, but I'm really resenting the fact that I have to do the whole applying process again whilst waiting and begging to come off a waitlist.

anyway, my question is that I'm not sure what to do to show improvement...from my first try to my second i improved my MCAT score and got a full time job working as a physiologist at a cardiovascular center at a major hospital. I thought that was enough to show improved application, and it did help me get more interviews I think. However I really havent done much this past year besides work full-time at that same job and go through the process of applying to 20 schools and interviewing and all that. so i guess i should just apply to a bunch of schools i havent tried yet for my third try??

here are my stats, I'm really not sure what i'm doing wrong here:

34S....3.95 (state school so I guess it means jack)...captain of 3 intercollegiate sports teams in college...NCAA all-american in track and field...masters degree in neurobiology....seriously, wtf...am I just a horrible interviewer???

it's pretty obvious to me what you're doing wrong is the interview. if you have 4 interviews it means, you had 4 chances. really show the school you know your stuff. read an interview book. read up about medical ethics and health care policy. read up about the school's mission statement. i'm reapplying this year, and i'm definitely going to do that. remember that you should be directing the interview

 

[Chuck's Right Foot]

I just got done reading Dr. Freedman's article on Medical school admissions: lessons learned and saw that she said there is a significant stingma to being a 3rd time applicant. Is this true? I have only been applying to nearby schools because I don't have the money to travel for interviews . I have a 34N and 3.7 so i think i should be able to get in but this makes me really nervous! Does anyone out there know anything about applying a 3rd time? I think most people just give up after the second time...

It took me 3 times. Most of my success came from schools I was a first time applicant to. Only one school I had applied to previously let me in.

Good luck!

 

[fahimaz7]

If I do not get in this time I will be a third time applicant, and will not give up. I think the biggest thing is to continue to improve your application. The burden of proof is on us to improve. Like you I have only applied to schools near my location, but will broaden my application for this next year if unsuccessful.

QFT.

I was waitlisted twice before I was finally accepted. In the mean time, I completed a thesis-based master's degree, in cancer biology, and moved to the medical school that I wanted to attend for a research position (clinical).

Good luck.