Applying and getting rejected, get you blacklisted??

[informme]

I heard from many friends that if you apply to a med school and they don't accept you, that you will be somewhat "blacklisted" and it will be much more difficult to get into that school the next time you apply (they keep a file on you and know you've been rejected).

Is this true?

Because I'm a New York resident, I was going to send an application to every NY med school when I was ready to apply; but after hearing this, I feel that I should "save" some NY schools in case I get rejected everywhere so that I would have a chance there with an improved application the year after...

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[ChairmanMao]

I heard from many friends that if you apply to a med school and they don't accept you, that you will be somewhat "blacklisted" and it will be much more difficult to get into that school the next time you apply (they keep a file on you and know you've been rejected).

Is this true?

Because I'm a New York resident, I was going to send an application to every NY med school when I was ready to apply; but after hearing this, I feel that I should "save" some NY schools in case I get rejected everywhere so that I would have a chance there with an improved application the year after...

Not true. Every year 50,000 people apply for 20,000 spots. That means 30,000 get rejected. Where do they go? Certainly not into another profession. Instead, they just retake the MCAT, maybe take a few more classes and then reapply again. In this day and age, there's no stigma against rejected applicants. Everyone knows how competitive it is - this is especially true if you apply to few schools or if you applied too late for the cycle (October November) when the next years class are already filled. Besides that, no medical school is going to waste 30 minutes pouring over your previous application from another cycle.

 

[AdemTD]

I heard from many friends that if you apply to a med school and they don't accept you, that you will be somewhat "blacklisted" and it will be much more difficult to get into that school the next time you apply (they keep a file on you and know you've been rejected).

Is this true?

Because I'm a New York resident, I was going to send an application to every NY med school when I was ready to apply; but after hearing this, I feel that I should "save" some NY schools in case I get rejected everywhere so that I would have a chance there with an improved application the year after...

I haven't heard of this. However, you do need to make significant improvements in your application if you aren't accepted the first time.

 

[shemarty]

However, applying, getting accepted, turning it down, and applying again in hopes of getting in somewhere better...is frowned upon.

 

[matth87]

LSU 44% of pre-med students accepted are re-applicants. Not sure how that compares with other state schools, since we are ranked like #49th in education haha.

 

[0Complications]

I actually think University of Colorado prefers second time applicants.

 

[Mattabet]

However, applying, getting accepted, turning it down, and applying again in hopes of getting in somewhere better...is frowned upon.

Agree. The other thing to avoid would be using the same application materials at the same places (if it wasn't good enough the first time, they're not apt to change their minds).

But reapplying doesn't hurt you, especially if you've addressed some weaknesses in the unsuccessful application.

 

[LiveUninhibited]

Some schools explicitly state on their websites that if you have been rejected twice, not to try at their school a third time. But provided you made improvements to your application, applying a second time does demonstrate that you're serious about medicine. I have been told that some schools look upon that aspect favorably.

 

[Evergrey]

I actually think University of Colorado prefers second time applicants.

Bad news for me, I took this year off to have a stronger app.. lol

 

[0Complications]

Bad news for me, I took this year off to have a stronger app.. lol

I don't think it will be a bad thing. They certainly take first year applicants, but they only ~29% of their students right out of college.

I certainly don't think having a stronger app will hurt you there.

 

[mvenus929]

Bad news for me, I took this year off to have a stronger app.. lol

Colorado likes non-trads and semi-non-trads. If you're competitive, you'll be ok

 

[batman1983]

I heard from many friends that if you apply to a med school and they don't accept you, that you will be somewhat "blacklisted" and it will be much more difficult to get into that school the next time you apply (they keep a file on you and know you've been rejected).

Is this true?

Because I'm a New York resident, I was going to send an application to every NY med school when I was ready to apply; but after hearing this, I feel that I should "save" some NY schools in case I get rejected everywhere so that I would have a chance there with an improved application the year after...

Yes and no. I think if you get to the interview stage at a school and are not accepted, your chances decrease significantly in subsequent attempts at that school. Moreover, some schools do look down on reapplicants. Its weird, but I was granted interviews at UCSD and UCLA in my 3rd attempt, to only have interviewers at both schools that seemed to looked down on it.
However, as long as you continue to improve you application, you will still have a chance as a reapplicant.

 

[shemarty]

I don't think it will be a bad thing. They certainly take first year applicants, but they only ~29% of their students right out of college.

Are you confusing first-time applicant with straight-out-of-college applicant?

I have a hard time believing that any particular school prefers reapplicants. But I can understand a school preferring older students who have more life experience.

 

[0Complications]

Are you confusing first-time applicant with straight-out-of-college applicant?

I have a hard time believing that any particular school prefers reapplicants. But I can understand a school preferring older students who have more life experience.

No. I'm not confusing the two. I was wondering if I should have made that more clear in my original post, but I didn't.


I'm just going off speculation. I know plenty of students who have been accepted there and every single one of them is a reapplicant.

The percentage of students accepted to UCD's program directly out of college does not account for the number of times they have applied, just simply whether they rolled into med school directly post undergrad or not.

Assuming that they accept ~170 instate students a year (which they did this year), that means only ~50 are accepted directly out of school. The others are either reapplicants or have taken a gap year (This is assuming the percentage is constant between instate and OOS). That means 120 students had some form of gap year, and considering that they are instate, I would assume that ~90-100 were reapplicants. This is just my best guess though. I can't verify the reapplicant numbers, only the percentage of students accepted directly out of undergrad.

 

[hewmanoid]

Not really. If you're a first-time reapplicant with much improved above-median credentials, I would accept you without a doubt! But, seriously if you keep applying unsuccessfully year after year, I think you could be blacklisted. In fact, you can only apply to the same schools two or three times max. I guess this is their way of saying you're on the list.

 

[0Complications]

Not really. If you're a first-time reapplicant with much improved above-median credentials, I would accept you without a doubt! But, seriously if you keep applying unsuccessfully year after year, I think you could be blacklisted. In fact, you can only apply to the same schools two or three times max. I guess this is their way of saying you're on the list.

This I know for sure is not true. At least not at all schools.

 

[3pin3phrine]

Lies. They may ask you on the application if you have applied before in the past and what you have done to strengthen your profile. But, it should not hurt at all as long as you are offering more to the table than the year before.

 

[hewmanoid]

This I know for sure is not true. At least not at all schools.

At least many of the schools I applied to. Wasn't a generalization.

 

[mvenus929]

I'm just going off speculation. I know plenty of students who have been accepted there and every single one of them is a reapplicant.

The percentage of students accepted to UCD's program directly out of college does not account for the number of times they have applied, just simply whether they rolled into med school directly post undergrad or not.

I know 1 person accepted to the medical school (I know lots of people accepted to the dental school there) directly out of undergrad... she was two years ahead of me in school. The other person I know accepted to the medical school was a non-trad who returned to undergrad for one reason or another. I'd say it was just to fulfill pre-reqs, but it seemed like he took almost an entire biology degree's worth of classes, yet dropped out as soon as he got his acceptance.

Those are the only two I know who actually went to Colorado. The other handful of people I know in medical schools chose to go to the military med school (I can never get the acronym right) or DO school. I don't know if they were accepted or not.

However, I also know that myself and one other girl in my class were flat out rejected from Colorado straight out of undergrad. So, yeah, they like non-trads a lot more.

 

[0Complications]

I know 1 person accepted to the medical school (I know lots of people accepted to the dental school there) directly out of undergrad... she was two years ahead of me in school. The other person I know accepted to the medical school was a non-trad who returned to undergrad for one reason or another. I'd say it was just to fulfill pre-reqs, but it seemed like he took almost an entire biology degree's worth of classes, yet dropped out as soon as he got his acceptance.

Those are the only two I know who actually went to Colorado. The other handful of people I know in medical schools chose to go to the military med school (I can never get the acronym right) or DO school. I don't know if they were accepted or not.

However, I also know that myself and one other girl in my class were flat out rejected from Colorado straight out of undergrad. So, yeah, they like non-trads a lot more.

Well, I think you've certainly got a great shot at it this year based on your app. Maybe I'll see you at interviews, if I'm given one...

 

[shemarty]

That means 120 students had some form of gap year, and considering that they are instate, I would assume that ~90-100 were reapplicants.

This is a strange assumption. Not everybody tries to apply straight out of college. Taking time off is becoming increasingly common. Just because 120 students had some form of gap year(s), you can't assume that the vast majority of them are reapplicants.

 

[0Complications]

This is a strange assumption. Not everybody tries to apply straight out of college. Taking time off is becoming increasingly common. Just because 120 students had some form of gap year(s), you can't assume that the vast majority of them are reapplicants.

I wouldn't make that assumption in other states, but Colorado outright tells people that didn't get in that they favor reapplicants in the process...

They offer individuals who didn't get in a day where they can check on their competitiveness, learn what was strong/weak in their application, and they get a paragraph from the dean describing why they ultimately decided to waitlist/deny their application.

During this day they have stated that they favor reapplicants in the process. This is what I'm basing my assumption on. Like I said before though, I could be wrong about the specific number of reapplicants...


On another note, the adcom's also stated they place 75% of their admission decision on the interview once student land their interview spot, and they heavily weigh verbal reasoning on the MCAT.

 

[shemarty]

On another note, the adcom's also stated they place 75% of their admission decision on the interview once student land their interview spot, and they heavily weigh verbal reasoning on the MCAT.

At Colorado? Because I'm sure this varies widely from school to school.

Good thing I didn't apply there, I got a 9 in VR

 

[0Complications]

At Colorado? Because I'm sure this varies widely from school to school.

Good thing I didn't apply there, I got a 9 in VR

Yeah, sorry. I thought I was keeping to the CO theme. Yes, the info I just gave is only for CO. Other schools most likely do things differently.


Well, I'm sure in your case they would have made an exception.

 

[vickpick]

blacklisted? far from that... i think like 50% of the matriculants every year are reapplicants..

 

[nick_carraway]

I wouldn't make that assumption in other states, but Colorado outright tells people that didn't get in that they favor reapplicants in the process...

They offer individuals who didn't get in a day where they can check on their competitiveness, learn what was strong/weak in their application, and they get a paragraph from the dean describing why they ultimately decided to waitlist/deny their application.

During this day they have stated that they favor reapplicants in the process. This is what I'm basing my assumption on. Like I said before though, I could be wrong about the specific number of reapplicants...


On another note, the adcom's also stated they place 75% of their admission decision on the interview once student land their interview spot, and they heavily weigh verbal reasoning on the MCAT.

See this is why I wish I applied to Colorado in my first cycle so I could know for sure what went wrong. Instead, I was grasping at straws in terms of possible improvements.

For their essay on a challenge in life, I wrote about having to reapply to medical school and all the great things that I had to do in the past 2 years to be ready to reapply. The issue is that I never applied to Colorado the first time. Any idea if this will be a red flag?

 

[0Complications]

See this is why I wish I applied to Colorado in my first cycle so I could know for sure what went wrong. Instead, I was grasping at straws in terms of possible improvements.

For their essay on a challenge in life, I wrote about having to reapply to medical school and all the great things that I had to do in the past 2 years to be ready to reapply. The issue is that I never applied to Colorado the first time. Any idea if this will be a red flag?

I can't say, man.

It's an interesting take on the essay though, that's for sure. But I think it has a lot of potential and they are making a big push to steer away from numbers (can only confirm for instate) and towards well rounded candidates, so I'm sure your essay could work well for you.