How to improve application for next time?

[|||||]

I applied this past cycle to over 20 schools (which I identified based on my research interests) and received zero interviews. How can I best improve my application in 2 years?

(Some details slightly altered to protect anonymity)

Primary submitted: Early August
Secondaries submitted: Early September

GPA: 3.75
MCAT: 510 (128, 126, 128, 128)

Research:

4 years in one lab (2 undergrad, 2 full time post-undergrad), 1 first author paper submitted, 2 poster presentations, 3 oral presentations​

Shadowing: ~70 hours, various specialties

Clinical volunteering: 300 hours in the ED, 250 hours in a free health clinic

Nonclinical volunteering: 150 hours youth mentoring

Other ECs:

Triathlon club, 4 years as a competitive athlete
2 semesters Teaching assistant, 1 year Student council​

Known concerns:

Application was submitted too late
MCAT score is low, and probably need to retake​

What will definitely change for next cycle:

My paper was published, but not before I was rejected from the majority of schools
I’m going to be second author on another paper within the next year, and will also probably have another presentation​

The question is, what do I do for the next 2 years while I prepare to apply again? I’ve already worked full time as a research tech for almost 2 years since finishing undergrad. I’m considering doing the NIH IRTA program, as that would help me get another strong LOR. I’ve also been told to consider either working in industry, or finding a lab at university that I’m interested in attending and try to work as a tech there.

Thank you!

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[bluelamin]

my question is why are u waiting another 2 years to reapply? why dont u just reapply for the 2018-2019 cycle

 

[|||||]

my question is why are u waiting another 2 years to reapply? why dont u just reapply for the 2018-2019 cycle

Since I probably need to retake the MCAT, and I'm working full time, I'm not sure that I'd have enough time to ensure a much better score within the next few months. It's possible that I could, but I want to plan in case I'm not ready.

 

[Fencer]

Make sure that your essays reflect that you developed an increased resolve to pursue a physician-scientist career... Your application would be more competitive even with your current MCAT.

 

[narla_hotep]

Primary submitted: Early August
Secondaries submitted: Early September

That's not awfully late, but kinda borderline. Try pre-writing and submitting earlier next year bc you already have an idea of what the app is like.

GPA: 3.75
MCAT: 510 (128, 126, 128, 128)

Both totally reasonable for MD admissions, but a bit on the low side for MD/PhD. I don't know enough about this process to definitively say you need to retake the MCAT, but it probably wouldn't hurt to try and improve your score.

Your shadowing, volunteering, and EC's look okay to me.

Publications are definitely not a requirement, but can still help your application. Glad you got some submitted

Your research is fine, quite good amount of time in fact, just make sure you're describing it well on the research essay in your application.

Speaking of essays, definitely have someone read those if you haven't before. Make sure you show a passion for medicine in your personal statement and for research in your why MD/PhD essay.

As for what to do the next year... Don't be discouraged, a lot of MD/PhD applicants take extra time between undergrad and entering the program. The NIH post-bacc is actually a good idea for something to do, and based on my school at least, very common among accepted MD/PhD applicants.

 

[|||||]

Thank you both. In addition to my MCAT, it seems that my essay could be a point of improvement. I think my personal statement and “why MD/PhD” essays from this cycle logically explained my reasons for pursuing both degrees, but I have gotten feedback saying that they didn’t seem “personal” enough. I’m not exactly sure how I address that problem, but it’s something I’ll have to think about.

 

[starfun21]

I think I'd generally agree with everything above. It doesn't look like there are any major red flags from what you have presented -- your GPA and MCAT aren't "rockstar" range necessarily (and neither were mine, so please don't beat yourself up too much here!), but I wouldn't expect that they would exclude you from interviews at 20+ schools. You also have pretty extensive research time and solid clinical/volunteer work for these types of programs. Nice job!

So I'd suggest three things:

1. As above, thoroughly examine your essays. Make sure they avoid a few big no-nos (arrogance/ignorance, insulting certain sub-specialties even accidentally -- such as saying things like how you didn't want to be "just" a doctor because you love research, etc). Also make sure that your essays really tell your story powerfully and show who you are. The "rule" I sometimes use to help friends with their essays is to have them go through their PS and highlight any sentences that could have been written by literally any applicant. For example, "Doctors are compassionate, humble, and hard-working..." Sure, that's a great sentiment, but it doesn't actually tell me anything about YOU. Similarly, if your essay is written about someone else (like your mom/dad/grandma/etc or another hero of yours): I might walk away knowing that you admired somebody, but the only person I could really describe to the admissions committee would be whoever your essay is actually about. These types of errors tend to be the most common that I see in my peers' applications -- perhaps this helps?

2. Evaluate your school list. 20+ programs is a very solid number and should be plenty. You mentioned that you identified them based on research interest, which is good -- but how did your stats line up with each school? Right now, I believe the average number of schools that most people apply to is around 15. The general rule here is that 5 of those should be "reach" schools (where the average stats are higher than yours), 5 should be "target," and 5 should be "safety." Is there any chance that you mainly applied to top-tier schools / ivy leagues / etc? It is definitely OK to take some chances on crazy awesome schools, but if your whole list leans heavily towards programs that pretty much all have higher averages, it's unfortunately an uphill battle. :/

3. Think through your letters of recommendation. I know this isn't very helpful to put on SDN since you can't really know what people wrote about you, but try to recall if there were red flags in any of your interactions with your writers (like profs saying they can only write about your work inside of the class on tests, etc, or saying they will write one if you can't find anyone else.... haha I'm not even sure now how this might go, but just the only other major thing I can think of that you'd want to consider!). If you're not certain that a letter is positive, see if you can find other sources.

I'm really sorry things didn't go more positively for you this cycle!! I know the whole process is so draining and so stressful. I hope things go a lot better in the future. Hang in there!

 

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Thanks a lot!

1. I’ll definitely review my essays, and have others look over them as well.
   
   
2. 20+ schools was definitely a lot, and I’ll probably cut it down next time. A lot of the schools were higher tier, especially given my stats. But I was at least hoping for an interview or two. I’ll rethink my strategy.
   
   
3. LoRs are something I hadn’t thought of. 3 of 4 I expect to be very strong (2 from research PIs and 1 personal/non-science). My fourth was probably somewhat generic since a lot of students ask this professor for a letter, even though I knew him better than most students. If I don’t apply this coming cycle, and apply in the following cycle, I should be able to get another strong letter.

 

[starfun21]

Thanks a lot!

1. I’ll definitely review my essays, and have others look over them as well.
   
   
2. 20+ schools was definitely a lot, and I’ll probably cut it down next time. A lot of the schools were higher tier, especially given my stats. But I was at least hoping for an interview or two. I’ll rethink my strategy.
   
   
3. LoRs are something I hadn’t thought of. 3 of 4 I expect to be very strong (2 from research PIs and 1 personal/non-science). My fourth was probably somewhat generic since a lot of students ask this professor for a letter, even though I knew him better than most students. If I don’t apply this coming cycle, and apply in the following cycle, I should be able to get another strong letter.

Hi there!!

In regards to #2, I apologize if I implied that 20+ schools was a lot or too many! I don't necessarily think that's the case, especially if you can afford it. I also applied to around 20 schools, even though it meant spending my entire savings from the 4 jobs I worked in college (so sad)... I still think that was worth it for me. My main point though is that you want to make sure your list is very well balanced and not top-heavy. So on a list of say 21 schools, that would mean something like 7 from each of the categories I mentioned above: dream/reach, target, and safety.

Your plan sounds good! Looking back at your original post, I would also actually add on a #4 and probably place it above most of the other things I said earlier in terms of improving your chances. I know you had asked more about what you could do in the meantime, but I really wanted to emphasize:

4. Apply early!!!!!!! I can tell you for sure that my program fills the majority, if not all, of its spots by around the time they would have received or started processing your secondary application. In terms of application strategy, especially if your application is borderline, it is my opinion that applying early is the absolute BEST thing you can do. The timing of your app is one of the very few things in this process that you can control completely. My motto during application season was, "If I'm the first application they see, then I'm the best application they've seen!" Silly, I know, but there is some truth to that -- the earlier you apply, the less people you are competing against, for more available seats. Plus if the school's committee reviews each application every time they go to give out invites (or even reviews those who they still consider "competitive"), they are seeing your application more and more times, and maybe finding something that they like a little more each time or growing more likely to take a little chance by interviewing you.

I honestly think just by applying early without changing much else, you'll have a significantly better chance next year. But also making some tweaks to essays and being diligent about your school list would probably be the best plan to move forward, at least in terms of application strategies!!

 

[starfun21]

Also!! Sorry for another post. I forgot to add one more piece of advice that may help as you reconsider your personal statement:

Aside from going through and highlighting the parts that are generic (i.e. any medical student could have written those sentences), I highly recommend having someone who doesn't know you very well read your PS. Once they're done, ask them how they would describe you based only on that essay. This is a super powerful test -- do your words actually convey your compassion? Does the essay show your resilience or your thoughtfulness? What impression will someone who really doesn't know you (like an ADCOM) walk away with after reading it?

Again, good luck!