Applying with a good chance of re-applying next year

[pazan]

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I'm a current junior and had no intention on applying this year due to my lowish GPA (3.4)--I'm set on staying in California so that probably isn't going to cut it. I was hoping to improve my GPA to a 3.5 my senior year and apply with a pretty solid application. But, I did well enough on my MCAT (35T -- 13P, 11V, 11B) to consider applying this time around to some mid-tier schools that are at very best high-matches and more realistically reaches (UC's, USC, maybe some OOS). My boss (a physician) recommended this course, noting that if I don't get accepted this year, I could always more broadly apply the next with an improved GPA and possibly a publication (I'm writing up a paper for him right now).

I'm a bit hesitant to do this. Not only is applying expensive, but I'm worried about being stigmatized as a re-applicant. I was hoping some of you could shed light on your experiences as re-applicants and if anything was different the second time around or you received any negative criticism from ad coms because you hadn't gotten in the first time. Do you guys recommend applying before my application is at its best, or should I just hold off until next year? Thank you!

 

[relentless11]

I'm a bit hesitant to do this. Not only is applying expensive, but I'm worried about being stigmatized as a re-applicant. I was hoping some of you could shed light on your experiences as re-applicants and if anything was different the second time around or you received any negative criticism from ad coms because you hadn't gotten in the first time. Do you guys recommend applying before my application is at its best, or should I just hold off until next year? Thank you!

Apply when you think you are ready, however don't be dissappointed if you have to reapply, especially if you are applying to the UC's. Your MCAT is good, GPA is bit low, but definitely beyond the primary app cut-offs. Time is a non-issue in this game. Re-applying a second time is not frowned upon. However I think UCLA does frown upon reapplying a 3rd time according to their website.

The real key is that there should be SIGNFICANT improvement compared to the last time. Nobody wants to re-read the same application from last year, with just a few classes added, and a new extracurricular. More importantly, all weaknesses should have been addressed if you have to reapply. My friend didn't get into med school the first time through. Ended up doing a masters (his GPA wasn't a problem) to get documented research experience (masters by thesis), and then did a year doing medical aid missions abroad. Got new letters of recommendations from his grad program, obviously had more coursework, and more extracurriculars over a 2 year time period. Thats significant. Obviously thats all relative too--I'm sure some people can do something significant in 1 years time as well.

Good luck! (I mean it...being a fellow Californian, and here at UCD--its though!)

 

[pazan]

Thanks for the advice. I'm really leaning toward not applying this year and wasn't going to... until my boss was persuading me to apply (he's a dean at the medical school and has admissions committee experience, so his opinion is worth a lot).

 

[relentless11]

Thanks for the advice. I'm really leaning toward not applying this year and wasn't going to... until my boss was persuading me to apply (he's a dean at the medical school and has admissions committee experience, so his opinion is worth a lot).

True, which dean is he? I've run into the deans of admissions at all 5 UC's thanks to our pre-AMSA conferences up here, all are very helpful. However there's tons of other deans out there who can provide useful advice, but the dean of admissions usually have a better grasp of the current competition, and standards that the adcoms are dealing with.

IMO you're pretty competative for out of state schools. All up in the air for UC's, even if your MCAT or GPA was higher. Even then, it might not even be a GPA/MCAT issue. The UC pre-meds tend to have pretty good applications given their close relations with their respective med schools. I'm assuming you're at one of the UC's too, or Stanford or USC. Therefore you know what opportunities are available to us. The problem is, UC pre-meds (along with Stanford/USC pre-meds) all want to get into a CA med school. So the people who get in, are the ones that have unique backgrounds.

A few years back, a med student here at UCD from the class of....2001/2002, she was telling me how one of the big points that got her in (in addition to good grades/MCAT), was the fact that she spent a year playing competative soccer in Europe. Over at UCSF, I think they had a former Raider's football player, another guy was an ex-US Army Ranger, and I think more recently, some guy was a former Air Force pilot who then flew for FedEx and then decided to go to med school. My PI who did the MSTP at UCSF already went to grad school before hand, then did the Peace Corps for a year I believe.

The take home message is you your stats look good, but the question is who are you applying against. Nobody can really predict that. I do know that one of my students is applying this year. My student has a 3.8 GPA, 34 on the MCAT (?), 3 years of medical aid missions and research in 3rd world countries, 3 years of competing at the NCAA Div II (and now I) level, and 2 publications (2 more this year). Uncountable hours of clinical experience. This student will also have a masters degree upon matriculation into med school. One shouldn't be discouraged by these stats though. Just do what makes you unique. Obviously, not everyone likes to or can play sports, but there are always other things to do that you ENJOY and are JUST AS MEANINGFUL. So think about that one when you ponder applying or not. Good luck!