If on waitlists, when to reapply?

[ldybugg82]

For those of you on waitlists, how long will you wait before you reapply? I can only hope a waitlist turns into an acceptance before June 30, but if not, should I spend the $$$ to reapply right away or should I wait until August until the waitlists are all played out. This cycle was costly enough, and next cycle I'll apply to more schools, so saving $700+ dollars is a couple months rent.

Also, can you start to fill out the 2008 AMCAS but not submit it if you were to get off a waitlist? Is there a cancel option?

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[BrownianMotion]

if anything you could reapply and list only one school on your reapplication and then when you get verified you could add more on later so that you dont have to pay for them all right away...

 

[tdd340]

I know it seems rough but by waiting you are putting yourself in the exact same situation that got you in trouble this cycle if you don't get off the waitlist. I would submit AMCAS to a smaller list of about your top 10 school as soon as possible (June 1) and then wait and see what happens with the waitlist, if no movement then add more in Early Aug.

 

[meah]

That's some cheap rent! But I'm wondering the same thing, too. I'm trying to focus on waitlist hope for right now. In this process, it seems like you can never tell what's going to happen. So - my advice (to myself, too) is to focus on waitlists til at least the end of June, and decide the next step then.

 

[DrVanNostran]

I plan on submitting my AMCAS on June 1st to the schools that I am WLd at and a few more *for sure* schools. Then as I get verified, I will add more depending on the situation.

(hopefully this does not have to happen)

 

[IceMan0824]

Fill out the AMCAS and submit it with one school. You can always add schools later, but at least you've guaranteed that your file will be reviewed and processed early. If you do get off the WL, you're down only $130.


2. Changing Your Application
Can I add schools after I certify and submit my initial AMCAS application?
Yes. You may re-enter your certified and submitted AMCAS application at any time to add additional medical school choices or designations, as long as the deadline has not passed for the school you wish to add. You must re-certify and re-submit the application at that time, and this must be done by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) of the deadline day.

AAMC site

 

[ldybugg82]

Fill out the AMCAS and submit it with one school. You can always add schools later, but at least you've guaranteed that your file will be reviewed and processed early. If you do get off the WL, you're down only $130.

That sounds like a good plan. If I were thinking, I would have thought of that myself.

So then if an acceptance comes along, you just contact the schools and tell them to close your file?

Thanks for advice everyone!

 

[IceMan0824]

That sounds like a good plan. If I were thinking, I would have thought of that myself.

So then if an acceptance comes along, you just contact the schools and tell them to close your file?

Thanks for advice everyone!

If an acceptance comes along, contact AAMC, not the schools, to withdrawal your application.
You could send a letter to the school as a courtesy, but I doubt the school would have reviewed your file by the time you wish to withdrawal.

 

[parrotlet]

Time is not your friend as a re-applicant.

After early June your chances of getting in off a wait list should decrease as most movement on the list slows down by mid June.

The key to acceptance is to get secondaries into your "most likely" schools by the end of July at the latest.

Apply to your 10 most likely schools in june. Add more later on if you can afford it.

 

[beegeforty4]

Sorry for the ignorance...but I don't understand. If you reapply to a school you're on a waitlist for, they take you off the waitlist for the current year's matriculation?

It would seem to me that if you're on a waitlist they'll keep you on it until you get another acceptance or take your name off the list, not if you reapply...

 

[FenderHM]

have you not learned anything? have your AMCAS ready to go the day they start accepting them... then worst case youll be first in line for next year, best case you lose a few bucks but you're starting med school in the fall!

 

[Steve203]

I was in your exact same position last year...I was on 4 waitlists and kind of wanted to wait it out before I submitted my AMCAS...but I'm glad I submitted early.

If you submit early, then hopefully you can interview and get accepted to one of your top choices early....that way you don't have to fly all over the place for interviews. If you think about it, the price of the application will probably be comparable to one plane ticket.

 

[beegeforty4]

have you not learned anything? have your AMCAS ready to go the day they start accepting them... then worst case youll be first in line for next year, best case you lose a few bucks but you're starting med school in the fall!

That's what I was going to do but the way people were talking on this post, it seemed that schools looked down on you if you reapply while being on the waitlist...

 

[ut2010]

Definitely submit your AMCAS application as soon as possible. You want to be ahead of the game.

At the same time, keep sending letters of interest to your waitlisted schools.

One thing you should consider, however, is to make sure have something new to add to your application this cycle. If not, you should make your application more competitive first before reapplying.

I applied three times and made the mistake of not changing much in my application between the first and second time I applied. It cost me alot of time and money.

Good Luck

 

[chevaliermalfet]

Definitely submit your AMCAS application as soon as possible. You want to be ahead of the game.

At the same time, keep sending letters of interest to your waitlisted schools.

One thing you should consider, however, is to make sure have something new to add to your application this cycle. If not, you should make your application more competitive first before reapplying.

I applied three times and made the mistake of not changing much in my application between the first and second time I applied. It cost me alot of time and money.

Good Luck

I was actually going to ask a question about that exact thing. I am looking to apply again in the '07-'08 cycle, and I was wondering if y'all could give me some advice about whether or not I've improved my application enough for this to make sense.

Since my application in '06-'07, my GPA has gone up about .05, and my BCPM GPA has also risen about that much or more (which pushes my BCPM GPA above a 3.6, whereas before i was below). I can also add that I've been working as a chemistry tutor since winter, declared chemistry as a minor, secured a summer job at a summer camp, and finally got a club started at my school in the fall. The question is, do you think this is enough to make a re-application legit?

A complicating factor in my case is that my AMCAS wasn't verified until around Aug. 30th last year, and I had some hold ups with my letters of rec, and so I don't know how much of my application troubles come from that, and how much from the application. So another question is, even if the above doesn't constitute "significant improvement," do you think it prudent to try again because of my somewhat late submission?

Thank you guys in advance for your help, and here's hoping it doesn't come to this for any of us!

 

[kateycat]

so along the same lines.....

when should you reapply to a school you're still currently waitlisted at? do i need to wait until classes have started in august to add them to my list of primaries (making the app a little later than i'd like) or can i send it in before that?

 

[deleted77919]

The key issues when considering reapplying are 1) Why didn't I get in the first go round and 2) What have I done in the intervening time to improve my application.

If the problem is that you didn't apply broadly enough then immediately reapplying might be worthwhile. If the problem is your MCAT and/or GPA are low then you probably haven't done much in between your last rejection and your reapplication, and thus there is not any reason to believe things will be different this time around. In this case it would be better to take a year off, improve upon your deficiencies and then reapply.