In the event of not being accepted to medical school...

[The Hopeful]

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In the event of not being accepted to medical school this cycle, I will reapply of course. But in the year I will not be in a medical school, I should be involved with research and the medical community so as to improve my application chances. So do I start applying to different positions now, even though I may be still accepted to a medical school for next Fall? For the SDN-ers of past and present - what did you do with your year to improve your chances of getting into medical school the next application cycle?

Thank-you,
The Hopeful 🙂

 

[Microglia]

In the event of not being accepted to medical school this cycle, I will reapply of course. But in the year I will not be in a medical school, I should be involved with research and the medical community so as to improve my application chances. So do I start applying to different positions now, even though I may be still accepted to a medical school for next Fall? For the SDN-ers of past and present - what did you do with your year to improve your chances of getting into medical school the next application cycle?

Thank-you,
The Hopeful 🙂

Good question. Depends on what you think your chances are of getting in this cycle. If you're sitting on 13 interviews and just nervous because you didn't hear back within 10 days of them being able to tell you, wait it out. If you haven't received an II, your stats are below the average applicant, and your EC's and recs are iffy, you could start thinking about what you're going to do during that gap year. It's too early to apply for jobs, they typically start within a month of the interview. Research programs, grants, etc., however, you could start thinking about now. Hope this helps!

 

[zacharyw]

If you don't get in this year, you probably want to find something that more service based than research based gig. School that cares about research tend to be top heavy, and if you don't get in this cycle, those school won't look at you next cycle. Mid to low tier schools tend to care more about service, so if you do something along those line, you'd be positioning yourself to better match up with those schools' missions.

 

[Lollygag]

Well in the event that you're not accepted into medical school, your first priority should be figuring out what was lacking in your application that resulted in you not being accepted. If you have very little clinical experience, then you need to spend that time getting it. If you had a below average MCAT score, then you need to spend that time studying for a retake. And overall, just do some self evaluation-- Did you apply only to top 20 schools with no research experience? Could one of your LOR's been weak?

You need to figure out what went wrong and then fix it, I've heard that some medical schools will allow you to meet with them and they'll discuss the weaknesses in your app. You should consider doing this if you can't figure it out yourself. Unless you're apply for top tier schools, I think it's unlikely that you would have been rejected because you didn't have research experience. So you should do the research if you're interested, but don't overlook the weaknesses in your application.

 

[SN12357]

In the event of not being accepted to medical school this cycle, I will reapply of course. But in the year I will not be in a medical school, I should be involved with research and the medical community so as to improve my application chances. So do I start applying to different positions now, even though I may be still accepted to a medical school for next Fall? For the SDN-ers of past and present - what did you do with your year to improve your chances of getting into medical school the next application cycle?

Thank-you,
The Hopeful 🙂

It's too early to apply to jobs for next year. You can't tell people that you'll only take the job if you don't get into medical school while the chances you'll get in are still fairly high.

If you think you'll need a job next year after graduation start looking around Feb.

 

[kyamh]

If you interviewed then it's probably a good idea to wait until March to see if you are accepted. If you are not accepted then you still have plenty of time to look for a job. Personally, I wouldn't count on a waitlist and plan to get a job anyway.

Remember that it's more important to find a job as opposed to finding the perfect job. Too many of my friends are currently struggling because they didn't want to settle for a job they like less...now they can't make rent. If you find a job that pays you then you can still use explain how your experience adds to your future as a physician. You can then use your free time to volunteer and shadow.

 

[The Hopeful]

This is great advice, and I truly appreciate all your input. I have one II so far, but I do want to have a back-up plan. Also, I would like to improve upon my MCAT score and I like the service over research recommendation. Now, I will have to take this information and plan accordingly!

Thank you again,
The Hopeful