Advice for Waitlist Limbo

[rmorriso]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I applied to med school this year as an undergrad senior, so I have no post-undergrad experiences yet. Numbers were pretty good

MCAT: 33Q
GPA: 3.45
Lots of extracurriculars including student government and leadership positions in the schools health sciences club but no medical/clinical/research experience outside of ER shadows and 18 months of volunteering in a children's hospital (I want to go into pediatrics).
I'm blind to my letter of recommendation (university committee style) but I feel that is definitely beneficial. I have great relationships with all the professors involved in writing it.

Anyways, I got 3 interviews (Georgetown, OHSU, and WVU) and am currently wait listed at all 3. None of the schools rank their list so I have no idea where I stand with any of them. I feel like my interviews went fairly well, confident enough that I don't feel like I adversely affected my application.

Now, if I dont get in this year, I do want to reapply next year (aka this year). However, its kinda a rock and hard place issue as far as looking into things I can do next year if I dont get in, because I dont want to contractually commit to something then have to break it if I do get off one of the wait lists.

So, just some experiencial questions... when should I seriously tank the hopes of getting off one of the wait list and really buckle down on looking into plans for next year? Should I hop on the reapplication AMCAS train right in the beginning of May? What sort of programs could I look into? I'm guessing I've probably missed the boat for post-graduate programs. I wouldn't mind doing research but would really love to find something that adds to my clinical experiences. Any other tidbits really would be appreciated as well! Thanks in advance!

 

[Surf Rx]

If you didn't apply broadly and only applied to a very few number of schools then I'd say that it would be alright to reapply this next cycle (just as long as you apply to a bunch of schools you haven't previously applied to). However, if you did apply broadly and to all the schools that you can see yourself going to, then I suggest to take the next year to add something to your application (applying again to the same schools with the same exact application is going to put you in the same situation that you are in now). As far as jobs go, you should do what you enjoy doing and maybe even get a job that you think will pay you the most. You don't have to get a clinical job, but you should maintain some level of clinical volunteering so it shows that you are still motivated to work in the medical field. You don't necessarily need any research experience unless you absolutely want to get into a school that is high up on the research rankings. Also, I wouldn't lose hope just yet on OHSU. I hear they pull people off of their waitlist like crazy. You might be able to find a thread about it from last year if you do a search. Good luck.

 

[rmorriso]

Thanks for the reply!

I applied to a fair amount of schools (14, got secondaries at 10), but in hind sight wasn't as smart as I could have been (I was unaware of the MSAR, for one example, and wasted some apps on schools which hardly look at out of state or have minimum GPA reqs). If I reapply to a few and hit others I didn't hit the first time, do you think its worth my time? Especially if I can get some sort of work in a free clinic, as a hospital tech, etc following graduation?

 

[NontradICUdoc]

You should contact the schools you were waitlisted at and see what you can do to get an acceptance right away next year. You probably applied early and if you did not, make sure that this time you do. Get all of your ducks in a row ASAP

 

[Orthodoc40]

No giving up on the waitlist until classes start!

 

[Surf Rx]

Thanks for the reply!

I applied to a fair amount of schools (14, got secondaries at 10), but in hind sight wasn't as smart as I could have been (I was unaware of the MSAR, for one example, and wasted some apps on schools which hardly look at out of state or have minimum GPA reqs). If I reapply to a few and hit others I didn't hit the first time, do you think its worth my time? Especially if I can get some sort of work in a free clinic, as a hospital tech, etc following graduation?

It depends. Did you apply pretty late in the process? Because if that's the case then it may be worth a shot to reapply. It's a gamble though because this whole process is crapshoot. The best bet would be to call the schools that you got rejected from and ask how you could improve your chances. The thing about getting some work in a free clinic, hospital, etc. following graduation is that you want to submit your application early. And if you submit before you even start any of these jobs then there's no way of indicating on the AMCAS app that you are going to do be doing these things. However, you could always update the schools later on or bring it up in the secondaries and interviews. Hopefully you kept your grades up this past year because that should help out some if you did.

 

[rmorriso]

You should contact the schools you were waitlisted at and see what you can do to get an acceptance right away next year. You probably applied early and if you did not, make sure that this time you do. Get all of your ducks in a row ASAP

Concerning calling and asking what I could do differently... when should I do that? Is it considered taboo to call asking about improving a reapplication while currently waitlisted?

It depends. Did you apply pretty late in the process? Because if that's the case then it may be worth a shot to reapply. It's a gamble though because this whole process is crapshoot. The best bet would be to call the schools that you got rejected from and ask how you could improve your chances. The thing about getting some work in a free clinic, hospital, etc. following graduation is that you want to submit your application early. And if you submit before you even start any of these jobs then there's no way of indicating on the AMCAS app that you are going to do be doing these things. However, you could always update the schools later on or bring it up in the secondaries and interviews. Hopefully you kept your grades up this past year because that should help out some if you did.

I didn't get my primary AMCAS in until mid June, but it didn't get processed until last week in July because of MCAT scores, and didn't get many secondaries to complete status until early October due to hang ups with my committee letter of recommendation (my professor basically forgot to write it over the summer and it had to be revised by every member of the committee). I don't know how "late" that is considered.

My cum. GPA has stayed pretty consistent this year, but my BCPM GPA has gone up from 3.38 to 3.46 (I've averaged a 3.74 BCPM GPA this year).

If I lock up a tech or volunteer position at a free clinic or hospital by, say first or second week of june (I have contacts back home), and submit my primary app by then, would I be on top of things pretty well, especially considering my MCAT scores are already on file and my committee letter of rec would already be ready to send for secondaries?

Thanks again for all the help. This is a really awkward process considering theres so much overlap between the two application periods.