How bad is reapplying after being accepted?

[MrRizzler]

Hi all,

I am currently a second year medical student but I have a pre-med brother that I have been advising throughout his application process. He had 5 II, 2 A and 1 W this cycle. He interviewed at a T5 school (Harvard) but ended up getting rejected, and I guess he decided that he would rather reapply to Harvard than go to any of the state schools he was accepted to. Of course, I had a discussion with him regarding the fact that he is taking a big chance by rejecting his only acceptances and he may not get any acceptances next year or the year after that. He may never be a doctor if he decides to reapply, but he still went through with withdrawing his acceptances anyway against my advice. After he did that, I started searching and reading forum posts about how there is a stigma surrounding students that got accepted and reapplied, but I have never been in this situation so I was just wondering what kinds of questions the interviewers ask and what would be the best response to them in this situation. My questions for you guys are
1) How bad is it exactly to reapply after being accepted? How much does it weaken your application?
2) What do the interviewers ask about with regards to previous acceptances?
3) What is the best response to the interviewers about why he didn't attend medical school last cycle?
4) Do DO schools know you rejected an MD acceptance and is it worth also applying to them next cycle?

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[LizzyM]

What is his plan if another med school offer never materializes? Perhaps he is too full of himself to succeed in medical school and his hubris is a feature, not a bug, in the overall scheme of things.

Someone applying during a gap year, or in a second gap year when their application was good enough to get 5 interviews and 2 offers in an earlier cycle is going to raise some eyebrows. Why didn't he get in previously? or if he got in, why didn't he go? I hate to say that he's damaged goods now and will be lucky to get in anywhere. I'm not sure DO is the right path given that the DOs may yield protect and not interview someone they expect will jilt them for an MD offer.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

OP: Welcome to the forums. (for humor) May I suggest a different method of communication... if asked why he didn't attend medical school when he got an offer (or multiples)?

I don't want to advise someone blindly. You're the sibling so you know full well what your brother's like and what his motivation is. We don't know where else he interviewed or what his results were.

It is implied he has many other offers on the table. He better get to CYMS and pick a school among his many acceptances. By turning them down, he may effectively blacklist himself from applying to programs where he got offers.

It's like the adage of "the first thing you do when you're in a hole is to stop digging."

If his metrics are such that he got an interview at Harvard and offers at many other schools, the DO schools may wonder if your brother is "damaged goods." Maybe he's damaged goods now for turning down the sure thing, or maybe he's scared of the debt and never realizing his dream of world and time travel...

A little more seriously: if he feels he's Harvard material and not stoop to going to a state medical school, what makes us think he'd be happy going to a DO program?

 

[chilly_md]

I don't know if he applied to where you are a student at, but it appears he only is set on going to Harvard or a similar school. It would be great if he realized his mistake and gets off the WL if he did not already decline that school as well. Otherwise, there is not much you can do to if he willingly ignored your advice.

I do not see him getting interviewed again at those state schools that already offered him, and I do not see why he would think he'd get more interest as a reapplicant at only top programs.

 

[MrRizzler]

I don't know if he applied to where you are a student at, but it appears he only is set on going to Harvard or a similar school. It would be great if he realized his mistake and gets off the WL if he did not already decline that school as well. Otherwise, there is not much you can do to if he willingly ignored your advice.

I do not see him getting interviewed again at those state schools that already offered him, and I do not see why he would think he'd get more interest as a reapplicant at only top programs.

I am a student at one of the state schools he got accepted to but later ended up declining the acceptance. To be honest, I have no idea why he even interviewed at my school if he wasn't interested in going there. I gave him a personalized tour and did my best to help him with his interview but he still decided he'd rather not go there after he got accepted. The school he got waitlisted at is another Ivy League school, I'm not sure what his chances are of getting off that waitlist but I hope he does. Everything I read about reapplying after having an MD acceptance makes me think this next cycle will be near impossible for him to get another acceptance. As for why he thinks he's get more interest as a reapplicant, he believes that his application will be stronger next year because he will have more clinical experience during his gap year and he is planning to apply earlier this time. He believes that the reason he wasn't accepted to as many schools as he wanted is because he applied late (around October) instead of around June, which is something he hopes to rectify with this next cycle. I'm not entirely sure if applying earlier and with more clinical experience will offset the stigma associated that comes with being seen as "damaged goods" but I do hope he is able to see success with this next cycle.

 

[chilly_md]

I am a student at one of the state schools he got accepted to but later ended up declining the acceptance. To be honest, I have no idea why he even interviewed at my school if he wasn't interested in going there. I gave him a personalized tour and did my best to help him with his interview but he still decided he'd rather not go there after he got accepted. The school he got waitlisted at is another Ivy League school, I'm not sure what his chances are of getting off that waitlist but I hope he does. Everything I read about reapplying after having an MD acceptance makes me think this next cycle will be near impossible for him to get another acceptance. As for why he thinks he's get more interest as a reapplicant, he believes that his application will be stronger next year because he will have more clinical experience during his gap year and he is planning to apply earlier this time. He believes that the reason he wasn't accepted to as many schools as he wanted is because he applied late (around October) instead of around June, which is something he hopes to rectify with this next cycle. I'm not entirely sure if applying earlier and with more clinical experience will offset the stigma associated that comes with being seen as "damaged goods" but I do hope he is able to see success with this next cycle.

There's a decent chance if the other Ivy is Brown or Dartmouth, but Yale, Cornell, Penn and Columbia can be very competitive. Low clinical experience is usually bad for an application, but it sounds like he had enough if he interviewed at multiple places and received multiple acceptances. >250 hrs with high stats and appropriate service and research is plenty. There is a point of diminishing returns as well with clinical experience (ie not a big difference past 1000 hrs if he already had been working as an EMT, scribe or MA for instance).

I can see him getting an acceptance next year if there were schools like Rochester, UVA, Iowa etc that he did not apply to before and their secondary does not ask about prior acceptances/applications. There is a chance they may not think too much if he is younger, his MCAT and activities are all still pretty recent etc. But I don't think he'd necessarily be interested in them. You're a good sibling to keep an eye out for him still. I don't know how your dynamic is, but I'd have been very happy to attend school with my brother showing me the ropes if I was in his shoes.

 

[Goro]

Does your brother really want to be a doctor? In all seriousness, it seems like he is so sabotaging.

If he actually has a "Harvard or bust" mindset, that's not healthy.

 

[CBass2288]

I have nothing useful to add, but wanted to say how painful it is to read something like this. As someone who literally would have gone to wherever accepted him (as I feel like 75% or more applicants would), it's mind boggling to me that someone would turn down multiple state MDs and essentially blacklist themselves to reapply to the most competitive school in the country. Some pre-meds are truly insane. What it sounds like is ego/prestige over the genuine "calling" to be a doctor. Unfortunate actions for someone intelligent enough to get interviews at Harvard and Ivy's to make this kind of decision. Regardless, you seem like an awesome sibling and I would have jumped at the chance to go to medical school with my sibling if I was in that situation.

 

[mangopr]

This is actually an insane mentality. I truly hope the best for him, but it seems like he wants the fame and the prestige of being from a top school rather than genuinely wanting to be a physician.

 

[MrRizzler]

I have nothing useful to add, but wanted to say how painful it is to read something like this. As someone who literally would have gone to wherever accepted him (as I feel like 75% or more applicants would), it's mind boggling to me that someone would turn down multiple state MDs and essentially blacklist themselves to reapply to the most competitive school in the country. Some pre-meds are truly insane. What it sounds like is ego/prestige over the genuine "calling" to be a doctor. Unfortunate actions for someone intelligent enough to get interviews at Harvard and Ivy's to make this kind of decision. Regardless, you seem like an awesome sibling and I would have jumped at the chance to go to medical school with my sibling if I was in that situation.

Yeah... I get what you're saying. I felt the same way when I was applying. I would've been happy going ANYWHERE for my MD. I only got accepted to one school during my application cycle and I was so happy about it.

 

[Starr_key]

Hi all,

I am currently a second year medical student but I have a pre-med brother that I have been advising throughout his application process. He had 5 II, 2 A and 1 W this cycle. He interviewed at a T5 school (Harvard) but ended up getting rejected, and I guess he decided that he would rather reapply to Harvard than go to any of the state schools he was accepted to. Of course, I had a discussion with him regarding the fact that he is taking a big chance by rejecting his only acceptances and he may not get any acceptances next year or the year after that. He may never be a doctor if he decides to reapply, but he still went through with withdrawing his acceptances anyway against my advice. After he did that, I started searching and reading forum posts about how there is a stigma surrounding students that got accepted and reapplied, but I have never been in this situation so I was just wondering what kinds of questions the interviewers ask and what would be the best response to them in this situation. My questions for you guys are
1) How bad is it exactly to reapply after being accepted? How much does it weaken your application?
2) What do the interviewers ask about with regards to previous acceptances?
3) What is the best response to the interviewers about why he didn't attend medical school last cycle?
4) Do DO schools know you rejected an MD acceptance and is it worth also applying to them next cycle?

Does Harvard give feedback for students? Because if they liked him enough to interview him, then something must have come up with the interview for them to reject him.

Also, why didn't he just apply to Harvard if that's where he wanted to go? What was the point of applying to the other schools?

 

[LunaOri]

He would have been better off attending the school to which he was accepted, and aiming for a Harvard residency match. I sure hope it won’t end up damaging your relationship with your brother if you end up being a physician and he doesn’t.

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

In advance, I'll say it for you, "Ok Boomer". When I see something this silly, I bemoan the fact that male college students are rarely given the opportunity these days to spend a summer or two working in a factory or roofing houses. Every college educated old goat I meet says that working in a factory or on a construction site was the best class he had during his college years. I guarantee that if this kid saw how working class people earned a living, he'd jump on his state school acceptance like a fumble in the last minute of the fourth quarter.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

In advance, I'll say it for you, "Ok Boomer". When I see something this silly, I bemoan the fact that male college students are rarely given the opportunity these days to spend a summer or two working in a factory or roofing houses. Every college educated old goat I meet says that working in a factory or on a construction site was the best class he had during his college years. I guarantee that if this kid saw how working class people earned a living, he'd jump on his state school acceptance like a fumble in the last minute of the fourth quarter.

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[LizzyM]

Does Harvard give feedback for students? Because if they liked him enough to interview him, then something must have come up with the interview for them to reject him.

There may have been a very good reason that the school will never share with the applicant-- because it is just too sensitive. It is just hard to say, "you came across as an entitled, selfish, boorish, overly-confident, immature individual lacking in empathy or common sense."

 

[Chipmunk435]

If I remember correctly, Harvard’s secondary application clearly states that if you have been accepted elsewhere and declined for any reason they will not even review your application… so Harvard is out of the question anyways

 

[Brooklyn-doc97]

Hi all,

I am currently a second year medical student but I have a pre-med brother that I have been advising throughout his application process. He had 5 II, 2 A and 1 W this cycle. He interviewed at a T5 school (Harvard) but ended up getting rejected, and I guess he decided that he would rather reapply to Harvard than go to any of the state schools he was accepted to. Of course, I had a discussion with him regarding the fact that he is taking a big chance by rejecting his only acceptances and he may not get any acceptances next year or the year after that. He may never be a doctor if he decides to reapply, but he still went through with withdrawing his acceptances anyway against my advice. After he did that, I started searching and reading forum posts about how there is a stigma surrounding students that got accepted and reapplied, but I have never been in this situation so I was just wondering what kinds of questions the interviewers ask and what would be the best response to them in this situation. My questions for you guys are
1) How bad is it exactly to reapply after being accepted? How much does it weaken your application?
2) What do the interviewers ask about with regards to previous acceptances?
3) What is the best response to the interviewers about why he didn't attend medical school last cycle?
4) Do DO schools know you rejected an MD acceptance and is it worth also applying to them next cycle?

It is an honor to get accepted anywhere, but to try and zero in on Harvard is a very unrealistic demand to put upon yourself. I am not going to lie, as someone who is desperate for anyone to tell me yes, this situation reminds of the quote "Never look a gift horse in the mouth". I think that your brother really needed to have accepted one of the offers and count his blessings.