I'm a reapplicant who only applied to a single school last year. How much does this hurt me?

[Doctor_Slug]

For a variety of reasons, I nearly didn't apply last year. Very late in the cycle, I decided to go for it, and applied to the single school that I had the best chance of getting in on (my only state school). I knew it was a longshot, and was fully prepared to reapply, but decided that if there was any hope in not having to wait another year, this was it.

I ended up waitlisted, but ultimately was not accepted. I've filled out my reapplication for ~20 schools this year, and am nearly done with my secondary apps. Of course, I have to check a lot of boxes saying that I applied last year, and in some cases I have to list schools (of which there was only one).

Is this a red flag for them? I've continued to volunteer and shadow in the interim, as I would have if I had simply decided to wait a year.

Also, follow-up question: one of the 15 schools is the same one from last year. They have an essay about how I would contribute to the diversity of the campus. It's the same as last-year's essay, and I haven't become diverse in any new or exciting ways. How bad would it be to reuse this essay, or to only make minimal changes?

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[gyngyn]

Also, follow-up question: one of the 15 schools is the same one from last year. They have an essay about how I would contribute to the diversity of the campus. It's the same as last-year's essay, and I haven't become diverse in any new or exciting ways. How bad would it be to reuse this essay, or to only make minimal changes?

It looks lazy.
There is always a better way to say something.

 

[festivespartan]

For a variety of reasons, I nearly didn't apply last year. Very late in the cycle, I decided to go for it, and applied to the single school that I had the best chance of getting in on (my only state school). I knew it was a longshot, and was fully prepared to reapply, but decided that if there was any hope in not having to wait another year, this was it.

I ended up waitlisted, but ultimately was not accepted. I've filled out my reapplication for ~20 schools this year, and am nearly done with my secondary apps. Of course, I have to check a lot of boxes saying that I applied last year, and in some cases I have to list schools (of which there was only one).

Is this a red flag for them? I've continued to volunteer and shadow in the interim, as I would have if I had simply decided to wait a year.

Also, follow-up question: one of the 15 schools is the same one from last year. They have an essay about how I would contribute to the diversity of the campus. It's the same as last-year's essay, and I haven't become diverse in any new or exciting ways. How bad would it be to reuse this essay, or to only make minimal changes?

I basically did the same thing last year and have already been accepted to the one school I really put a good application into last year, so it doesn't look bad in itself. I was also waitlisted but not ultimately accepted. Don't use the same essay, you need to make at least minor changes to it or it will come off as lazy. You definitely need to speak with that one school about improvements to be made to your application, but they're now more familiar with you as an applicant and if you show that you're willing to take their advice and make those improvements and be persistent in your efforts to get accepted to their school, they will probably view that pretty favorably.

 

[kwu]

I also applied to one school last year and applying again this year. I made changes to almost all my essays. However, these changes do not have to be substantial. For example, better wording, sentence structure, removing redundant sentences, adding a couple of sentences... etc.

 

[Doctor_Slug]

I also applied to one school last year and applying again this year. I made changes to almost all my essays. However, these changes do not have to be substantial. For example, better wording, sentence structure, removing redundant sentences, adding a couple of sentences... etc.

Have you gotten any interview invitations? How many schools did you apply to this year?

 

[kwu]

Have you gotten any interview invitations? How many schools did you apply to this year?

I did not get an interview from that school, however, I got a secondary. The school I applied to do screen for secondaries though.

 

[septalridge]

For a variety of reasons, I nearly didn't apply last year. Very late in the cycle, I decided to go for it, and applied to the single school that I had the best chance of getting in on (my only state school). I knew it was a longshot, and was fully prepared to reapply, but decided that if there was any hope in not having to wait another year, this was it.

I ended up waitlisted, but ultimately was not accepted. I've filled out my reapplication for ~20 schools this year, and am nearly done with my secondary apps. Of course, I have to check a lot of boxes saying that I applied last year, and in some cases I have to list schools (of which there was only one).

Is this a red flag for them? I've continued to volunteer and shadow in the interim, as I would have if I had simply decided to wait a year.

Also, follow-up question: one of the 15 schools is the same one from last year. They have an essay about how I would contribute to the diversity of the campus. It's the same as last-year's essay, and I haven't become diverse in any new or exciting ways. How bad would it be to reuse this essay, or to only make minimal changes?

I don't know for sure if it's a red flag or not, but a singular school application might make for an interesting point of discussion if you get to the interview stage, as it seems very likely to be brought up. It might be worthwhile to think about how to can respond to this query in a flattering manner.

 

[meraki_soul]

I don't know for sure if it's a red flag or not, but a singular school application might make for an interesting point of discussion if you get to the interview stage, as it seems very likely to be brought up. It might be worthwhile to think about how to can respond to this query in a flattering manner.

How would they know OP only applied to a single school?

 

[septalridge]

How would they know OP only applied to a single school?

They might ask you.

 

[Doc_Ock]

Third-time re-applicant here. It doesn't. At all. There are other things you need to be worrying about.