I was admitted to a new school after being dismissed from my original school.

[Dismissed]

As this new cycle begins, I want to give some encouragement and advice to dismissed students.

I was officially dismissed from my original American medical school. I applied to medical school again and got into to another medical school (American, not Caribbean). Before applying, I scoured SDN looking for information on other students in my position, and almost all advice was negative and sometimes downright hostile. I only found a single example of a dismissed student gaining admission to another school on the forum (though I may have missed others). I have actual experience now and I would like to share some of mine so there is more information for dismissed students.

Admission to another school after a dismissal is possible, but it is context-dependent. Admission to another school is also very unlikely. However, anyone telling you that it is impossible is incorrect.

I must be clear, however. Admission after dismissal for severe academic or severe professionalism issues is even more unlikely. By severe academic issues, I mean situations such as repeating a basic science year and failing again on your second attempt, or failing USMLE Step 1 after several attempts. By severe professionalism issues, I mean situations such as falsifying documentation or academic honesty such as cheating on an exam. If you were dismissed for reasons such as these, I must unfortunately agree with the SDN consensus that your chances of admission to another school are very poor. In this situation, I think applying to others schools will be a lot of wasted effort and money and you will be more heartbroken in the end.

However, you can still have a good life. You can still be happy. I thought I would never get back in to medical school. It was really hard, and I did despair. I learned not to, but I had to take time to mourn the loss and to work to move on, staying busy with other things. Despite the despair, I found ways to enjoy my life and I eventually learned not be despondent. So you shouldn’t despair either. Even if you will never be a doctor and have to bear the burden of student debt, life can still be really amazing and worth living. One failure doesn’t define you, whether it was that school was too hard academically and even if you did something you knew was wrong that got you kicked out. You can accept there are things you might not be capable of and you can forgive yourself for making bad decisions. You will be OK as long as you keep working hard. You will be happy again.

If you believe that your situation is different from the typical dismissed student, as I did, here are some factors to be considered.

How competitive was your application to medical school the first time? If you had difficulty gaining admission to medical school the first time, applying to many schools for multiple cycles before gaining only one admission to a lower ranked school, then I believe your chances of readmission are poorer. However, if you had multiple admission offers in your first cycle and some to highly ranked schools, I believe your chances of readmission are higher.

Was the reason you were dismissed out-of-character for you, or is there a pattern? If you have a pattern of similar issues before, during, and after school, I believe your chances are poorer. If it seems more like an aberration for your normal behavior or considering your past achievements, I think your chances are better.

Are there compelling extenuating circumstances? If very unlikely circumstances came together to hammer you at the same time, and it seems unlikely such a confluence of events will reoccur, then as long as you can present a true and compelling narrative, then I think you will have a better chance.

Ultimately, the only way you will know for sure is to try. I think that for most dismissed students, sadly, trying will be fruitless. However, if you truly think your situation is different and choose to reapply, then here is what I think you should know.

Many schools do not consider students who have matriculated to another school, period. This is often listed on their website. It is pointless to apply to these schools and a waste of money. Many schools will consider a student who withdrew but not one who was dismissed. In this situation, you should contact the school and ask.

It is worthwhile to email the admissions officer of any school you are interested in to inquire if they will actually consider your application or reject you automatically. A fair number of schools actually do consider previously dismissed students.

This should go without saying, but do not lie on your AMCAS/AACOMAS about your previous medical school attendance. If you are caught doing this, it will severely damage your chances of readmission, likely permanently. You must answer honestly and clearly the sections where it asks about your academic, disciplinary, and criminal history. Any information your omit may be revealed at a later time resulting in retraction of an offer, or if your lie goes uncovered long enough, another expulsion after wasted effort and money.

Someone may reply to this thread saying that my application would have been dead on arrival at his school, which is undoubtedly true, but his school is not the only school in the country. There are options for people whose circumstances are unusual.

I wish all the applicants the very best of luck this cycle, and to students who have been dismissed or are facing dismissal, I know your situation is hard. I have been there. Have some faith and keep working hard. Life will be great as long as you keep trying whether or not you’re a doctor.

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[Angler]

I understand if you are unwilling to give details. I'm curious about timing, however. In what year of med school were you dismissed? How many years passed between dismissal and admission to your new school. Did you get any credit for coursework done at the old school?

 

[operaman]

Congrats on such an accomplishment!

Would love whatever details you feel comfortable providing. Obviously you would be fairly identifiable - I’m sure anyone at your new school probably has a suspicion who you are just from this post given how rare this situation is.

But to the extent comfortable:

1) how far along when dismissed?
2) any details around dismissal itself, ie were you truly dismissed or was there an agreement where you would withdraw?
3) did you reapply to your original school? Traditionally this is where I’ve seen some students have success. How did they respond to your app?
4) what makes you feel that this attempt at med school will go differently?

Thanks for sharing here!

 

[Dismissed]

Congrats on such an accomplishment!

Would love whatever details you feel comfortable providing. Obviously you would be fairly identifiable - I’m sure anyone at your new school probably has a suspicion who you are just from this post given how rare this situation is.

But to the extent comfortable:

1) how far along when dismissed?
2) any details around dismissal itself, ie were you truly dismissed or was there an agreement where you would withdraw?
3) did you reapply to your original school? Traditionally this is where I’ve seen some students have success. How did they respond to your app?
4) what makes you feel that this attempt at med school will go differently?

Thanks for sharing here!

My situation is so rare that I suspect I am easily identifiable, so I would prefer to limit the amount of information I share. I will answer questions 2 and 3.

2) I was officially dismissed.
3) I did not reapply to my first school.

Regarding question 2, as an aside, any students facing certain dismissal who are offered the chance to officially withdraw rather than be officially dismissed should take it. It is much easier to gain readmission with a voluntary withdrawal. Some schools make the dismissal unofficial in this manner as a kindness to the students.

 

[Dismissed]

I understand if you are unwilling to give details. I'm curious about timing, however. In what year of med school were you dismissed? How many years passed between dismissal and admission to your new school. Did you get any credit for coursework done at the old school?

Thank you for your interest. My situation is so rare that I am probably identifiable to anyone with real life knowledge of it. Hence, I’d like to minimize the amount of information I share.

I can answer one of your questions—I did not apply as a transfer so I had to start from my new school at the beginning, despite having credits from my previous school.

 

[deleted1139416]

Is your new school an MD or DO school?

 

[Dismissed]

Is your new school an MD or DO school?

I would like to keep this ambiguous to reduce my identifiability, but thank you for the question.

 

[deleted1139416]

I would like to keep this ambiguous to reduce my identifiability, but thank you for the question.

I would not have specified my first school except that the med student forums are split into MD and DO.

Thank you for the response. I mean no disrespect by this, but some DO schools (not all) are very easy to get into with very low to minimal standards. So it's kinda disingenuous to give people hope like this. I mean, isn't the entire point of your post to give people strength and hope? I'm not trying to manipulate you into answering, but I just feel like someone might read your post and get the wrong idea and spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours applying to MD schools. I go to a DO school myself so I am not blasting DO schools here. But that doesn't change the fact that some DO schools are as easy to get into as Caribbean.

 

[MateoGM416]

Thank you for the response. I mean no disrespect by this, but some DO schools (not all) are very easy to get into with very low to minimal standards. So it's kinda disingenuous to give people hope like this. I mean, isn't the entire point of your post to give people strength and hope? I'm not trying to manipulate you into answering, but I just feel like someone might read your post and get the wrong idea and spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours applying to MD schools. I go to a DO school myself so I am not blasting DO schools here. But that doesn't change the fact that some DO schools are as easy to get into as Caribbean.

I don't mean to derail the thread away from the OP's accomplishment, but I don't think it's disingenuous to not share that, especially if the OP is trying to maintain anonymity. A student who graduates from a brand new/partially accredited DO school in Idaho or Wyoming or whatever and matches in a community family med program in Mississippi or South Dakota is still going to be a doctor and will make more money than 99% of this country. There may be a difference between the type of student that gets into an MD program vs a DO program, but there's a much, much greater difference between someone who gets into a DO program and someone who can't get into med school at all.

Congratulations to OP.

 

[deleted1139416]

I don't mean to derail the thread away from the OP's accomplishment, but I don't think it's disingenuous to not share that, especially if the OP is trying to maintain anonymity. A student who graduates from a brand new/partially accredited DO school in Idaho or Wyoming or whatever and matches in a community family med program in Mississippi or South Dakota is still going to be a doctor and will make more money than 99% of this country. There may be a difference between the type of student that gets into an MD program vs a DO program, but there's a much, much greater difference between someone who gets into a DO program and someone who can't get into med school at all.

Congratulations to OP.

I never said there was a difference in school quality. Nor did I say newer DO schools have poor education. What I said was there is a difference between school admission standards between MD schools, established DO schools, and newer DO schools. Applicants shouldn’t be spending limited time and money at schools where they have a very unrealistic chance of getting into.

 

[operaman]

OP thank you for sharing here. This is definitely a perspective we don’t often see presented here.

Another question if you’re comfortable answering:

How long after your dismissal did you successfully reapply?

Maybe a range for anonymity?
<3 years
3-5 years
>5 years


Others:
Readmitted your first cycle trying or did it take you multiple tries?

Did you do anything to bolster your application or reassure prospective schools that you’d be better off this time? Another degree or some additional academic work maybe? Some other kind of work?

No need to give too many details, but some general sense of whether your app was pretty similar to the first go round, or whether you made some bold moves to show you were ready might help future readers here.

 

[theoceanman]

Thank you for the response. I mean no disrespect by this, but some DO schools (not all) are very easy to get into with very low to minimal standards. So it's kinda disingenuous to give people hope like this. I mean, isn't the entire point of your post to give people strength and hope? I'm not trying to manipulate you into answering, but I just feel like someone might read your post and get the wrong idea and spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours applying to MD schools. I go to a DO school myself so I am not blasting DO schools here. But that doesn't change the fact that some DO schools are as easy to get into as Caribbean.

I agree. A US MD/DO medical school is a FANTASTIC place for education, regardless of “name-branding”, as long you put in the work and effort during your time there. They will allow you to match somewhere to become a physician, and some established schools such as NYITCOM has matched into neurosurgery before in 2022. Given this, however, I have seen a few DO schools that have accepted applicants who have unique backstories and have accepted applicants with below-500 MCAT’s, to the extent that the MCAT score brings into question whether you truly studied for it or not, such as a 493 MCAT, which is the average MCAT boasted by Ross, a well-known Caribbean medical school. It certainly doesn’t seem out of the question that an applicant, with fantastic stats and EC’s who has left medical school due to personal reasons, wouldn’t be accepted at one of these DO schools.

The advice given by the OP is solid, especially with regards to medical school dismissal due to academics or dishonesty, which I believe to be significantly worse than a personal circumstance that arose (divorce, family loss, etc.). Congratulations to the OP for making it and hopefully you’ll have much more success in medical school this time around. Best of luck future doctor!

 

[Dismissed]

Another question if you’re comfortable answering:

How long after your dismissal did you successfully reapply?

Maybe a range for anonymity?
<3 years
3-5 years
>5 years


Others:
Readmitted your first cycle trying or did it take you multiple tries?

Did you do anything to bolster your application or reassure prospective schools that you’d be better off this time? Another degree or some additional academic work maybe? Some other kind of work?

No need to give too many details, but some general sense of whether your app was pretty similar to the first go round, or whether you made some bold moves to show you were ready might help future readers here.

I did not reapply immediately after my dismissal.

I did additional academic and clinical work.

I was readmitted in my first cycle.

I’m sure some people are curious about my stats. So I’ll say they are on the higher end and are generally considered highly competitive on this forum.

 

[Dismissed]

The advice given by the OP is solid, especially with regards to medical school dismissal due to academics or dishonesty, which I believe to be significantly worse than a personal circumstance that arose (divorce, family loss, etc.). Congratulations to the OP for making it and hopefully you’ll have much more success in medical school this time around. Best of luck future doctor!

Thank you, we all need good fortune.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Thanks for sharing, OP. Since the majority of dismissals are for academic or professionalism issues, I'm very curious what circumstances led to your dismissal, though I understand why you're not sharing.

Taken in that context, I would take this as this being the exception that proves the rule--most of the time a student who is dismissed will not be successful with a reapplication, so if one is going to try you need to have a really compelling reason WHY you think your case is an exception.

 

[Melchizedek]

Taken in that context, I would take this as this being the exception that proves the rule--most of the time a student who is dismissed will not be successful with a reapplication, so if one is going to try you need to have a really compelling reason WHY you think your case is an exception.

I agree with the bolded, and I'm glad OP gives this disclaimer in the post:

Ultimately, the only way you will know for sure is to try. I think that for most dismissed students, sadly, trying will be fruitless. However, if you truly think your situation is different and choose to reapply, then here is what I think you should know.

but I'm also guessing that 90% of the people who get dismissed and plan to reapply will always think "they are the exception"

Overall I'm happy for OP but afraid that people are going to over-extrapolate from this 1/10000000000 success story.

 

[Goro]

I agree with the bolded, and I'm glad OP gives this disclaimer in the post:



but I'm also guessing that 90% of the people who get dismissed and plan to reapply will always think "they are the exception"

Overall I'm happy for OP but afraid that people are going to over-extrapolate from this 1/10000000000 success story.

Indeed. In the decade that I've been on SDN, this is only the 2nd SDNer that I can recall who made it back in following a dismissal.

But congrats, OP!

 

[Just D.O. it]

some DO schools are as easy to get into as Caribbean.

Verifiably false.

You vastly overestimate what is required to get into even a "Big 3" Caribbean school.

While its true that brand new DO schools end up having to accept students with much lower stats than we are conventionally used to seeing people get admitted with, they still generally average 3.5+ and 500 minimum (with maybe a rough year or two where they'll fall slightly below that). For comparison Ross University (one of the "top" Caribbean schools) has an average MCAT of 495 and an average GPA of 3.2.

That is a very meaningful difference especially if you understand how the predictive capacity of the MCAT is designed to work.

 

[deleted1139416]

That is a very meaningful difference especially if you understand how the predictive capacity of the MCAT is designed to work.

Sure, there is a difference between a 495 and a 500.

But there is a much bigger and more meaningful difference between a 500 and a 512, which is the average accepted MD MCAT score.

So while you may have pointed out something in my post that was wrong, you also kinda proved my point LOL

 

[Just D.O. it]

you also kinda proved my point LOL

I'm not sure what you mean. Your point was, if I correctly understand, that new DO schools admit the same caliber of student as Caribbean schools.

I mentioned that it's not an accurate sentiment and the data doesn't support this.

How does the fact that the MCAT gap between DO and MD being wider negate the fact that there still is a significant gap between new DOs and carrib schools?

Also FWIW the average DO MCAT has climbed to 505. I believe my "low tier" state MD has an average MCAT of 507. Comparing the avg MCAT of the lowest tier DO school with MCAT avg for all MDs is disingenuous.

Also your claim that 500 vs 512 compared to 495 vs 500 is more "significant" is actually not entirely true if we are evaluating likelihood of success in medical school. I believe @Goro has talked about how the predictive capacity of the MCAT starts to get less meaningful once an applicant hits 500ish, but lower than that a student is a significant fail risk.

So what we find is that while new DO schools often have to take chance on some of these high risk students for the bottom 10-20% of their class,

At Caribbean schools even the average student has a questionable chance of making it through.

 

[deleted1139416]

I'm not sure what you mean. Your point was, if I correctly understand, that new DO schools admit the same caliber of student as Caribbean schools.

I mentioned that it's not an accurate sentiment and the data doesn't support this.

How does the fact that the MCAT gap between DO and MD being wider negate the fact that there still is a significant gap between new DOs and carrib schools?

Also FWIW the average DO MCAT has climbed to 505. I believe my "low tier" state MD has an average MCAT of 507. Comparing the avg MCAT of the lowest tier DO school with MCAT avg for all MDs is disingenuous.

Also your claim that 500 vs 512 compared to 495 vs 500 is more "significant" is actually not entirely true if we are evaluating likelihood of success in medical school. I believe @Goro has talked about how the predictive capacity of the MCAT starts to get less meaningful once an applicant hits 500ish, but lower than that a student is a significant fail risk.

So what we find is that while new DO schools often have to take chance on some of these high risk students for the bottom 10-20% of their class,

At Caribbean schools even the average student has a questionable chance of making it through.

Again, I am not talking about success in med school. I am talking about admission standards and the likelihood of getting in. These are two very different things.

Getting into most MD schools is MUCH harder than getting into a new DO school. And this difference is much wider than the difference between getting into a new DO school versus a Carib school. Ergo, a new DO school is much more likely to accept someone dismissed from med school than any American MD school. So anyone reading this post should be wary of that and focus on DO schools, especially newer DO schools.

 

[pierty]

The vast majority of users on this website are pre-meds or med students of a hyper-anxiogenic variety. They mimic sentiments and fears told to them by others who have done the same. I tend to think that there is a lot of harm done by this forum, particularly for those who are facing severe struggles or issues in their lives and are desperately seeking guidance. While by no means a rule for every user, it is certainly a common pattern on this website.

Not only are most responses un-empathetic, they range from minor to complete inaccuracy, and this holds true for a wide range of diverse cases and life situations.

Congratulations on surmounting your challenges, and thank you for sharing your story. Please do not feel the need - now, or ever - to provide detailed information to anyone who requests it. They do not hold your best interests at heart, only theirs.

Good luck on your journey - both to you, and to anyone else reading this that needs to hear it. You will do great.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

At some point it becomes not worth it though. Say OP already took out two years of loans now he or she will have 6 years of loans minus the opportunity cost of losing however many years of attending salary. This is coming from somebody who should be graduating med school at 27 but will graduate at 29 now because lost an acceptance from a prior cycle. Fortunately I had a pretty good job so opportunity cost wasn’t too bad

 

[Dantes]

Also curious what the reason was, but understand not sharing to keep it anonymous. I assume a professional dismissal would keep you from readmission to any school. You mention failing a repeat year as being "severe." Thus only thing I can imagine is maybe getting dismissed for academic reasons by a school with a harsher-than-average failure policy with no room for second chances, along with a convincing narrative of life stressors happening at the same time, coupled with an originally stellar application.

Regardless, congrats! Always like to hear stories about those who manage to become exceptions to the rule.

 

[operaman]

Congrats OP and thank you for sharing so much.

If you’ll indulge me another question (sorry I don’t think of them all at once!):

Did you have any faculty from your original med school supporting your new application?

Did you have faculty/mentors from your intervening academic and clinical work supporting you?

Another piece of advice commonly given to dismissed students seeking reentry is to get some med school faculty to go to bat for you. Would welcome your experiences and thoughts in this area and how/who you got to vouch for you.

Thank you again for sharing so much. The details really do help and will definitely help other students in a similar predicament. I would imagine the hardest decision point is whether or not it’s worth the expense and time of reapplying, and your story gives a good sense of the time and effort required as well as the baseline characteristics of a successful applicant.

 

[Dismissed]

Congrats OP and thank you for sharing so much.

If you’ll indulge me another question (sorry I don’t think of them all at once!):

Did you have any faculty from your original med school supporting your new application?

Did you have faculty/mentors from your intervening academic and clinical work supporting you?

Another piece of advice commonly given to dismissed students seeking reentry is to get some med school faculty to go to bat for you. Would welcome your experiences and thoughts in this area and how/who you got to vouch for you.

Thank you again for sharing so much. The details really do help and will definitely help other students in a similar predicament. I would imagine the hardest decision point is whether or not it’s worth the expense and time of reapplying, and your story gives a good sense of the time and effort required as well as the baseline characteristics of a successful applicant.

I had multiple letters of recommendation from faculty at my first school. I believe this helped my application.

I had multiple letters from my intervening clinical and academic work.

 

[operaman]

I had multiple letters of recommendation from faculty at my first school. I believe this helped my application.

I had multiple letters from my intervening clinical and academic work.

Thanks again! Sounds like you really did have a compelling re-app!

If you have time and think about, please consider updating/adding to this thread in the future. Would love to see how things go for you at the new school, and maybe one day when enough time passes you might be more comfortable giving additional details.

But what you’ve shared so far has helped a lot and pains a pretty good picture of what it takes.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Again, I am not talking about success in med school. I am talking about admission standards and the likelihood of getting in. These are two very different things.

Getting into most MD schools is MUCH harder than getting into a new DO school. And this difference is much wider than the difference between getting into a new DO school versus a Carib school. Ergo, a new DO school is much more likely to accept someone dismissed from med school than any American MD school. So anyone reading this post should be wary of that and focus on DO schools, especially newer DO schools.

I'm really not sure what you're trying to add to the conversation, @HipiMochi . You're not exactly breaking news that DO schools are easier to get into than MD schools, especially for newer DO schools. But saying that there is a bigger difference between MD vs DO compared to DO vs carib based solely on absolute difference in MCAT score is very bad use of statistics, for reasons including but not limited to: 1) many Caribbean schools don't even report their MCAT; 2) when you're talking about a very very large class size like 500-600 students as in places like SGU, then if the average MCAT is 495 then roughly half of the matriculants will have a lower score ; 3) none of this takes into account GPA. The bottom line is that even the newest US DO schools have some kind of standards, whereas anyone with a pulse can find a Caribbean school that will take them. And this is why it is notable that the OP is reporting managing to re-matriculate at *any* US medical school, because it really is pretty rare.

 

[deleted1139416]

I'm really not sure what you're trying to add to the conversation, @HipiMochi . You're not exactly breaking news that DO schools are easier to get into than MD schools, especially for newer DO schools. But saying that there is a bigger difference between MD vs DO compared to DO vs carib based solely on absolute difference in MCAT score is very bad use of statistics, for reasons including but not limited to: 1) many Caribbean schools don't even report their MCAT; 2) when you're talking about a very very large class size like 500-600 students as in places like SGU, then if the average MCAT is 495 then roughly half of the matriculants will have a lower score ; 3) none of this takes into account GPA. The bottom line is that even the newest US DO schools have some kind of standards, whereas anyone with a pulse can find a Caribbean school that will take them. And this is why it is notable that the OP is reporting managing to re-matriculate at *any* US medical school, because it really is pretty rare.

I am referring to the fact that DO schools, especially newer ones, are much more likely to accept someone who was dismissed from med school than MD schools. This is evidenced by the fact that the average MCAT of DO schools is much closer to Carib than it is to MD schools.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I am referring to the fact that DO schools, especially newer ones, are much more likely to accept someone who was dismissed from med school than MD schools. This is evidenced by the fact that the average MCAT of DO schools is much closer to Carib than it is to MD schools.

But saying that MD schools are more competitive than DO schools is obvious and doesn’t need to be debated.

What really happened is you said something over the top by saying that the difference in admissions standards between MD vs DO is greater than DO vs Carib. That is demonstrably false, and if you’re doubling down on that idea based solely on mean MCAT then that is very bad use of statistics as noted above.

 

[deleted1139416]

But saying that MD schools are more competitive than DO schools is obvious and doesn’t need to be debated.

What really happened is you said something over the top by saying that the difference in admissions standards between MD vs DO is greater than DO vs Carib. That is demonstrably false, and if you’re doubling down on that idea based solely on mean MCAT then that is very bad use of statistics as noted above.

Not sure what to tell you man. If it bothers you that much then I’ll take it back. Doesn’t change the fact that students with a prior dismissal should heavily focus on DO applications.

 

[VincentAdultman]

Anyway congrats OP!

 

[MyMp]

As this new cycle begins, I want to give some encouragement and advice to dismissed students.

I was officially dismissed from my original American medical school. I applied to medical school again and got into to another medical school (American, not Caribbean). Before applying, I scoured SDN looking for information on other students in my position, and almost all advice was negative and sometimes downright hostile. I only found a single example of a dismissed student gaining admission to another school on the forum (though I may have missed others). I have actual experience now and I would like to share some of mine so there is more information for dismissed students.

Admission to another school after a dismissal is possible, but it is context-dependent. Admission to another school is also very unlikely. However, anyone telling you that it is impossible is incorrect.

I must be clear, however. Admission after dismissal for severe academic or severe professionalism issues is even more unlikely. By severe academic issues, I mean situations such as repeating a basic science year and failing again on your second attempt, or failing USMLE Step 1 after several attempts. By severe professionalism issues, I mean situations such as falsifying documentation or academic honesty such as cheating on an exam. If you were dismissed for reasons such as these, I must unfortunately agree with the SDN consensus that your chances of admission to another school are very poor. In this situation, I think applying to others schools will be a lot of wasted effort and money and you will be more heartbroken in the end.

However, you can still have a good life. You can still be happy. I thought I would never get back in to medical school. It was really hard, and I did despair. I learned not to, but I had to take time to mourn the loss and to work to move on, staying busy with other things. Despite the despair, I found ways to enjoy my life and I eventually learned not be despondent. So you shouldn’t despair either. Even if you will never be a doctor and have to bear the burden of student debt, life can still be really amazing and worth living. One failure doesn’t define you, whether it was that school was too hard academically and even if you did something you knew was wrong that got you kicked out. You can accept there are things you might not be capable of and you can forgive yourself for making bad decisions. You will be OK as long as you keep working hard. You will be happy again.

If you believe that your situation is different from the typical dismissed student, as I did, here are some factors to be considered.

How competitive was your application to medical school the first time? If you had difficulty gaining admission to medical school the first time, applying to many schools for multiple cycles before gaining only one admission to a lower ranked school, then I believe your chances of readmission are poorer. However, if you had multiple admission offers in your first cycle and some to highly ranked schools, I believe your chances of readmission are higher.

Was the reason you were dismissed out-of-character for you, or is there a pattern? If you have a pattern of similar issues before, during, and after school, I believe your chances are poorer. If it seems more like an aberration for your normal behavior or considering your past achievements, I think your chances are better.

Are there compelling extenuating circumstances? If very unlikely circumstances came together to hammer you at the same time, and it seems unlikely such a confluence of events will reoccur, then as long as you can present a true and compelling narrative, then I think you will have a better chance.

Ultimately, the only way you will know for sure is to try. I think that for most dismissed students, sadly, trying will be fruitless. However, if you truly think your situation is different and choose to reapply, then here is what I think you should know.

Many schools do not consider students who have matriculated to another school, period. This is often listed on their website. It is pointless to apply to these schools and a waste of money. Many schools will consider a student who withdrew but not one who was dismissed. In this situation, you should contact the school and ask.

It is worthwhile to email the admissions officer of any school you are interested in to inquire if they will actually consider your application or reject you automatically. A fair number of schools actually do consider previously dismissed students.

This should go without saying, but do not lie on your AMCAS/AACOMAS about your previous medical school attendance. If you are caught doing this, it will severely damage your chances of readmission, likely permanently. You must answer honestly and clearly the sections where it asks about your academic, disciplinary, and criminal history. Any information your omit may be revealed at a later time resulting in retraction of an offer, or if your lie goes uncovered long enough, another expulsion after wasted effort and money.

Someone may reply to this thread saying that my application would have been dead on arrival at his school, which is undoubtedly true, but his school is not the only school in the country. There are options for people whose circumstances are unusual.

I wish all the applicants the very best of luck this cycle, and to students who have been dismissed or are facing dismissal, I know your situation is hard. I have been there. Have some faith and keep working hard. Life will be great as long as you keep trying whether or not you’re a doctor.

Hey. When you reapplied, did they ask for information from your previous school as to why?

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

I have seen a few DO schools that have accepted applicants who have unique backstories and have accepted applicants with below-500 MCAT’s, to the extent that the MCAT score brings into question whether you truly studied for it or not, such as a 493 MCAT, which is the average MCAT boasted by Ross, a well-known Caribbean medical school. It certainly doesn’t seem out of the question that an applicant, with fantastic stats and EC’s who has left medical school due to personal reasons, wouldn’t be accepted at one of these DO schools.

One-off or relatively rare instances of schools gambling on applicants with low MCATs but otherwise strong applications is very different from a school where most students haven't cracked a 500 on their MCAT.

 

[PaliRN95]

As this new cycle begins, I want to give some encouragement and advice to dismissed students.

I was officially dismissed from my original American medical school. I applied to medical school again and got into to another medical school (American, not Caribbean). Before applying, I scoured SDN looking for information on other students in my position, and almost all advice was negative and sometimes downright hostile. I only found a single example of a dismissed student gaining admission to another school on the forum (though I may have missed others). I have actual experience now and I would like to share some of mine so there is more information for dismissed students.

Admission to another school after a dismissal is possible, but it is context-dependent. Admission to another school is also very unlikely. However, anyone telling you that it is impossible is incorrect.

I must be clear, however. Admission after dismissal for severe academic or severe professionalism issues is even more unlikely. By severe academic issues, I mean situations such as repeating a basic science year and failing again on your second attempt, or failing USMLE Step 1 after several attempts. By severe professionalism issues, I mean situations such as falsifying documentation or academic honesty such as cheating on an exam. If you were dismissed for reasons such as these, I must unfortunately agree with the SDN consensus that your chances of admission to another school are very poor. In this situation, I think applying to others schools will be a lot of wasted effort and money and you will be more heartbroken in the end.

However, you can still have a good life. You can still be happy. I thought I would never get back in to medical school. It was really hard, and I did despair. I learned not to, but I had to take time to mourn the loss and to work to move on, staying busy with other things. Despite the despair, I found ways to enjoy my life and I eventually learned not be despondent. So you shouldn’t despair either. Even if you will never be a doctor and have to bear the burden of student debt, life can still be really amazing and worth living. One failure doesn’t define you, whether it was that school was too hard academically and even if you did something you knew was wrong that got you kicked out. You can accept there are things you might not be capable of and you can forgive yourself for making bad decisions. You will be OK as long as you keep working hard. You will be happy again.

If you believe that your situation is different from the typical dismissed student, as I did, here are some factors to be considered.

How competitive was your application to medical school the first time? If you had difficulty gaining admission to medical school the first time, applying to many schools for multiple cycles before gaining only one admission to a lower ranked school, then I believe your chances of readmission are poorer. However, if you had multiple admission offers in your first cycle and some to highly ranked schools, I believe your chances of readmission are higher.

Was the reason you were dismissed out-of-character for you, or is there a pattern? If you have a pattern of similar issues before, during, and after school, I believe your chances are poorer. If it seems more like an aberration for your normal behavior or considering your past achievements, I think your chances are better.

Are there compelling extenuating circumstances? If very unlikely circumstances came together to hammer you at the same time, and it seems unlikely such a confluence of events will reoccur, then as long as you can present a true and compelling narrative, then I think you will have a better chance.

Ultimately, the only way you will know for sure is to try. I think that for most dismissed students, sadly, trying will be fruitless. However, if you truly think your situation is different and choose to reapply, then here is what I think you should know.

Many schools do not consider students who have matriculated to another school, period. This is often listed on their website. It is pointless to apply to these schools and a waste of money. Many schools will consider a student who withdrew but not one who was dismissed. In this situation, you should contact the school and ask.

It is worthwhile to email the admissions officer of any school you are interested in to inquire if they will actually consider your application or reject you automatically. A fair number of schools actually do consider previously dismissed students.

This should go without saying, but do not lie on your AMCAS/AACOMAS about your previous medical school attendance. If you are caught doing this, it will severely damage your chances of readmission, likely permanently. You must answer honestly and clearly the sections where it asks about your academic, disciplinary, and criminal history. Any information your omit may be revealed at a later time resulting in retraction of an offer, or if your lie goes uncovered long enough, another expulsion after wasted effort and money.

Someone may reply to this thread saying that my application would have been dead on arrival at his school, which is undoubtedly true, but his school is not the only school in the country. There are options for people whose circumstances are unusual.

I wish all the applicants the very best of luck this cycle, and to students who have been dismissed or are facing dismissal, I know your situation is hard. I have been there. Have some faith and keep working hard. Life will be great as long as you keep trying whether or not you’re a doctor.

Congratulations on getting another acceptance. Did you mention your dismissal from the other school in the interview at all? If so, do you recommend doing that and how would you go about doing it. Thanks!

 

[Dismissed]

Hey. When you reapplied, did they ask for information from your previous school as to why?

Yes, it’s in the AACOMAS application. And when emailing schools asking if they accept dismissed students, some ask for a little more information to see if it’s worth you applying.

Congratulations on getting another acceptance. Did you mention your dismissal from the other school in the interview at all? If so, do you recommend doing that and how would you go about doing it. Thanks!

It was a big part of my personal statement, so any interviewers I had were aware of it. I don’t recall it being discussed much in my interviews. I think once I had gotten past the hurdle of “we’ll give him a chance” schools wanted to do a standard interview.

 

[mind_over_matter277]

My situation is so rare that I suspect I am easily identifiable, so I would prefer to limit the amount of information I share. I will answer questions 2 and 3.

2) I was officially dismissed.
3) I did not reapply to my first school.

Regarding question 2, as an aside, any students facing certain dismissal who are offered the chance to officially withdraw rather than be officially dismissed should take it. It is much easier to gain readmission with a voluntary withdrawal. Some schools make the dismissal unofficial in this manner as a kindness to the students.

I would imagine most schools would provide this option as they would be more than aware of the ramifications of a formal dismissal on the record. If they weren’t willing to do so, then it’s likely that there were serious issues that warrant an action like dismissal such as patient harm or academic dishonesty.

Usually, a student is aware that dismissal is on the table and can voluntarily withdraw before it reaches that point. I believe faculty in most health care programs have to have some kind of “conference” with each other before making it official. It’s pretty much a formality as the decision is already made.

I think you might be able to initiate an appeal before it becomes a dismissal. Like if you were on probation…you could initiate the process ahead of time. I’m not sure tho.

I never went to medical school but I read that dismissal from Medical colleges is far more common relative to that of other professional programs. A friend of mine who is now a fully licensed medical doctor informed me that at least 2-5% of students in each cohort are dismissed from his program every year. I believe 50-60 are admitted each application cycle.

He said the dismissals are often for arbitrary issues like sub par ratings on performance appraisals not necessarily academic issues. So basically evaluations that are highly subjective in nature and prone to more biases. Also, he told me that if 1 medical school professor dislikes a student, that person is basically going to be targeted. I guess the idea is that the professor will bad mouth and gaslight all other members of the faculty into generating the same perceptions of the students performance.

 

[xffan624]

I would imagine most schools would provide this option as they would be more than aware of the ramifications of a formal dismissal on the record. If they weren’t willing to do so, then it’s likely that there were serious issues that warrant an action like dismissal such as patient harm or academic dishonesty.

Usually, a student is aware that dismissal is on the table and can voluntarily withdraw before it reaches that point. I believe faculty in most health care programs have to have some kind of “conference” with each other before making it official. It’s pretty much a formality as the decision is already made.

I think you might be able to initiate an appeal before it becomes a dismissal. Like if you were on probation…you could initiate the process ahead of time. I’m not sure tho.

I never went to medical school but I read that dismissal from Medical colleges is far more common relative to that of other professional programs. A friend of mine who is now a fully licensed medical doctor informed me that at least 2-5% of students in each cohort are dismissed from his program every year. I believe 50-60 are admitted each application cycle.

He said the dismissals are often for arbitrary issues like sub par ratings on performance appraisals not necessarily academic issues. So basically evaluations that are highly subjective in nature and prone to more biases. Also, he told me that if 1 medical school professor dislikes a student, that person is basically going to be targeted. I guess the idea is that the professor will bad mouth and gaslight all other members of the faculty into generating the same perceptions of the students performance.

This may have occurred in some medical schools occasionally but I don't think anyone on this forum with knowledge of the subject would classify it as happening often. Most medical school dismissals are the result of multiple academic course and/or board exam failures after a lengthy period of attempted remediation. Or if professionalism issues following the same process of warnings and counseling with probation and then left with no other option.

 

[Dismissed]

He said the dismissals are often for arbitrary issues like sub par ratings on performance appraisals not necessarily academic issues. So basically evaluations that are highly subjective in nature and prone to more biases. Also, he told me that if 1 medical school professor dislikes a student, that person is basically going to be targeted. I guess the idea is that the professor will bad mouth and gaslight all other members of the faculty into generating the same perceptions of the students performance.

I do not believe that this common. In my experience at multiple medical schools and in reading the experiences of other dismissed students, the vast majority of dismissals are for academic failure.

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

I do not believe that this common. In my experience at multiple medical schools and in reading the experiences of other dismissed students, the vast majority of dismissals are for academic failure.

Yeah - as I understand the medical school attrition rate is around five percent. Some of those choose to leave. I had a couple of classmates that dropped out to return to previous lucrative careers. Others have different types of issues...health problems, academic issues, sometimes family issues. These are often combined. However, 95 percent is pretty good odds and I wouldn't say that med students at American schools are getting booted right and left.