Disorganized first application and PS

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Hi, thanks for sharing your pre-med journey and congrats on your new little one! I'm sure it can't be easy juggling several roles as a parent on a nontraditional pre-med route. But! I will say this. Your first app (regardless of errors) is not an unforgivable mistake. In fact, I see it as a good baseline that shows what you can improve upon. I did something similar - I applied once and it wasn't a weak application, but it certainly wasn't as strong as the application I submitted on my second cycle. I really used that year to cross off some pending things from cycle one. Here's my feedback: you did PERFECT with obtaining a really strong post-bac GPA. Your MCAT is stellar. Your biggest room for improvement is the essay. It needs to tell your story, it needs to be error free and 100% authentic. It needs to encompass your resilience as a reapplicant and must demonstrate dedication to the field of medicine. I'm happy to take a look for ya! LORs need to be from people who know you and I would say a minimum of one year knowing you is a great start. Physicians are great references to ask but don't ask a physician who doesn't truly know you - you'll only play yourself.

Ultimately, you're off to a great start and don't think for a second that your first submission will overshadow the greatness in your second!

-Lauren
 
Hi, thanks for sharing your pre-med journey and congrats on your new little one! I'm sure it can't be easy juggling several roles as a parent on a nontraditional pre-med route. But! I will say this. Your first app (regardless of errors) is not an unforgivable mistake. In fact, I see it as a good baseline that shows what you can improve upon. I did something similar - I applied once and it wasn't a weak application, but it certainly wasn't as strong as the application I submitted on my second cycle. I really used that year to cross off some pending things from cycle one. Here's my feedback: you did PERFECT with obtaining a really strong post-bac GPA. Your MCAT is stellar. Your biggest room for improvement is the essay. It needs to tell your story, it needs to be error free and 100% authentic. It needs to encompass your resilience as a reapplicant and must demonstrate dedication to the field of medicine. I'm happy to take a look for ya! LORs need to be from people who know you and I would say a minimum of one year knowing you is a great start. Physicians are great references to ask but don't ask a physician who doesn't truly know you - you'll only play yourself.

Ultimately, you're off to a great start and don't think for a second that your first submission will overshadow the greatness in your second!

-Lauren

Hello! Would you mind looking over my PS. I am a reapplicant as well I spent the year taking courses and improved my GPA from a 3.56 to a 3.63 and scienceGPA from a 3.39 to a 3.47. I also retook the MCAT and went from a 507 to a 515. During this time I struggled with my mother being diagnosed with Stage 3 C ovarian cancer. However, I am really struggling with putting it in my PS in a way that does not seem like I am asking for sympathy especially because my initial personal statement (that I submitted last year) talked about my mother's drug addiction as a child and how it led me to want to pursue medicine. I am also enrolled in a masters program for next year.
 
I'm so sorry to hear about your mom, but I agree it's an important story to tell. I am leaving for a medical mission tomorrow morning so if you can message me your documents by this afternoon, I'll try and have some feedback for you by this evening. I can give a much more detailed response when I return in a week as well. 🙂

-Lauren
Hello! Would you mind looking over my PS. I am a reapplicant as well I spent the year taking courses and improved my GPA from a 3.56 to a 3.63 and scienceGPA from a 3.39 to a 3.47. I also retook the MCAT and went from a 507 to a 515. During this time I struggled with my mother being diagnosed with Stage 3 C ovarian cancer. However, I am really struggling with putting it in my PS in a way that does not seem like I am asking for sympathy especially because my initial personal statement (that I submitted last year) talked about my mother's drug addiction as a child and how it led me to want to pursue medicine. I am also enrolled in a masters program for next year.
 
I'm so sorry to hear about your mom, but I agree it's an important story to tell. I am leaving for a medical mission tomorrow morning so if you can message me your documents by this afternoon, I'll try and have some feedback for you by this evening. I can give a much more detailed response when I return in a week as well. 🙂

-Lauren
Thank you! I think I saw this message too late but if I am still working on it a week from now I will definitely send it to you!
 
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