Is it time to prepare for the next cycle?

[mantis toboggan MD/PhD]

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Hello,

I am a TX resident and have applied to all TX schools and about 16 DO schools and I have only heard from a few schools. I am currently sitting on one waitlist for a DO school and nothing else. My stats are 508 MCAT (With 122 in CARS), 3.75 sGPA/cGPA, 150 clinical hours at the time of my application (but I have updated my app so now I have at least 400 clinical hours and am projecting about 1000 total), 150 nonclinical volunteering hours, almost 2 years of research, and about 60 hours of shadowing with an MD, and many other extracurriculars. The main deficiencies I've noticed are my poor CARS score and the fact that I was complete at most schools by around August/September. I also did turn in my secondaries a few weeks after I got them since I was taking summer classes and prioritizing TX secondaries. Are these the main problems with my app? I know the cycle isn't over but it's January and I haven't heard much. The most I have heard, after my waitlist, are emails from a few schools asking if I'm still interested and some rejections. Should I just prepare for the next cycle? Any help is appreciated.

Also here is my school list:
AT Still
CCOM - Rejected
DMU-COM - pre-II hold
KCU-COM - pre-II hold
LMU-COM
NYITCOM
OSUCOM
PCOM
UIWSOM - pre-II hold
WVSOM
Western
WCUCOM
TCOM
SHSUCOM - Rejected
AZCOM - Waitlist

The schools with blanks mean I haven't heard from them.

 

[nicobean]

Hmm in my opinion, with those stats, I feel like you should have had a more successful DO cycle. Are there any other red flags in your app? Was your writing solid? Are you certain on the quality of her LORs? Seems like there's another piece to this puzzle. The CARS score is low, but given your overall score was still a 508 and the GPA is solid, it doesn't seem like that would be the sole reason for Rs with DO schools. However, I would encourage retaking the MCAT if you reapply as if you raise your CARS score, you would definitely have a very solid score for most MD schools.

 

[Bwesternn]

Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. I think you nailed the aspects of your app you need to improve on. Pre-write your essays and have them proofread early so you can apply early. Your CARS score is low, so like the above post, I would agree that you should strongly consider retaking the MCAT.

I hope you get off the waitlist though

 

[mantis toboggan MD/PhD]

Hmm in my opinion, with those stats, I feel like you should have had a more successful DO cycle. Are there any other red flags in your app? Was your writing solid? Are you certain on the quality of her LORs? Seems like there's another piece to this puzzle. The CARS score is low, but given your overall score was still a 508 and the GPA is solid, it doesn't seem like that would be the sole reason for Rs with DO schools. However, I would encourage retaking the MCAT if you reapply as if you raise your CARS score, you would definitely have a very solid score for most MD schools.

I feel like my essays were solid. Same with my LORs. I was able to get an interview invite at least so maybe that means those parts were ok? I'm not sure. Am I going to have to rewrite all my essays?

 

[mantis toboggan MD/PhD]

Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. I think you nailed the aspects of your app you need to improve on. Pre-write your essays and have them proofread early so you can apply early. Your CARS score is low, so like the above post, I would agree that you should strongly consider retaking the MCAT.

I hope you get off the waitlist though

Am I going to have to rewrite all of my essays? I thought my personal statement was solid. I had many people proofread it and Im not sure how much I can change it.

 

[nicobean]

I feel like my essays were solid. Same with my LORs. I was able to get an interview invite at least so maybe that means those parts were ok? I'm not sure. Am I going to have to rewrite all my essays?

If you reapply you have to rewrite most of it anyways since you don't want to submit the same exact essays with the same exact stories since I believe the consensus is most med schools will find that lazy and show lack of improvement between cycles.

 

[Bwesternn]

You should rewrite your essays, yes.

 

[LindaAccepted]

Hello,

I am a TX resident and have applied to all TX schools and about 16 DO schools and I have only heard from a few schools. I am currently sitting on one waitlist for a DO school and nothing else. My stats are 508 MCAT (With 122 in CARS), 3.75 sGPA/cGPA, 150 clinical hours at the time of my application (but I have updated my app so now I have at least 400 clinical hours and am projecting about 1000 total), 150 nonclinical volunteering hours, almost 2 years of research, and about 60 hours of shadowing with an MD, and many other extracurriculars. The main deficiencies I've noticed are my poor CARS score and the fact that I was complete at most schools by around August/September. I also did turn in my secondaries a few weeks after I got them since I was taking summer classes and prioritizing TX secondaries. Are these the main problems with my app? I know the cycle isn't over but it's January and I haven't heard much. The most I have heard, after my waitlist, are emails from a few schools asking if I'm still interested and some rejections. Should I just prepare for the next cycle? Any help is appreciated.

Also here is my school list:
AT Still
CCOM - Rejected
DMU-COM - pre-II hold
KCU-COM - pre-II hold
LMU-COM
NYITCOM
OSUCOM
PCOM
UIWSOM - pre-II hold
WVSOM
Western
WCUCOM
TCOM
SHSUCOM - Rejected
AZCOM - Waitlist

The schools with blanks mean I haven't heard from them.

While you could still get in and I hope you do, you are smart to start planning for reapplication. here are a few suggestions:

• If you haven't shadowed a DO, do so.
• Apply earlier.
• Would you consider retaking the MCAT, preparing again, and trying to raise the CARS? Don't do it, if you think you can't raise it.

I saw there was some discussion in other posts in this thread about rewriting your activities, MMEs and PS. As a reapplicant you want to show growth and dynamism. If you submit the same PS, are you showing that you learned anything in the intervening year? Have the experiences you've had not change or matured you in any way? Changed your perspective? Obviously without seeing your PS, I can't really comment. However, I don't recommend submitting the same PS that didn't work last time. It's possible that your rejection was entirely due to other factors that you've addressed. However, I don't think yo should make that assumption, and it's rare that a piece of writing can't be improved or added to in order to reflect the growth that you've experienced this year.

 

[mantis toboggan MD/PhD]

TH

While you could still get in and I hope you do, you are smart to start planning for reapplication. here are a few suggestions:

• If you haven't shadowed a DO, do so.
• Apply earlier.
• Would you consider retaking the MCAT, preparing again, and trying to raise the CARS? Don't do it, if you think you can't raise it.

I saw there was some discussion in other posts in this thread about rewriting your activities, MMEs and PS. As a reapplicant you want to show growth and dynamism. If you submit the same PS, are you showing that you learned anything in the intervening year? Have the experiences you've had not change or matured you in any way? Changed your perspective? Obviously without seeing your PS, I can't really comment. However, I don't recommend submitting the same PS that didn't work last time. It's possible that your rejection was entirely due to other factors that you've addressed. However, I don't think yo should make that assumption, and it's rare that a piece of writing can't be improved or added to in order to reflect the growth that you've experienced this year.

Thank you for the insight especially about the essays! I'm confident I can find a DO to shadow, but I currently don't know if I can retake my MCAT again. While I have been preparing for a retake, I just have been feeling very unmotivated and slightly depressed about my results. Also, The thought of having to reapply is a little overwhelming right now.

 

[LindaAccepted]

You're most welcome.

Regarding the MCAT, don't take it until you can prepare and think you will do better. You certainly don't want it to go down. The med school application process can be overwhelming, but many have reapplied successfully. And as I said above, you're smart to start planning for it.