Is this enough to reapply?

[Alorai]

Ok so I applied for medical school for the 2010 entering class and I got rejected everywhere. But... I applied very, very late to every one of my schools (I was probably the last application they all got), and I only applied to tier 1 schools and my state school. I only got an interview from my state school, but got rejected after the interview. When I called for feedback, they told me that my interviewers said I "needed to be more involved in my community and health care." The lady at the admissions office said my MCAT/gpa were fine, and told me I had proved myself academically, but she said my interviewers thought I needed to know more about being a doctor in order to know if I really wanted to be one.

Here are my stats:
MCAT: 35 N (V-9, P-11, B-14)
cGPA: 3.75
sGPA: 3.83
Graduated from University of Kansas with a B.A. in Biochemistry and East Asia Languages and Cultures

I'm pretty sure my LOR's are fine because the admissions lady at KUMed told me I could reuse some of the letters, but said that it would look better if I got a new date on them.

My personal statement and secondary essays might not have been very good and I plan on spending a lot more time on them this year, and having lots of people look over them.

I have been volunteering at a clinic since Jan. 2009, and have been more involved since I graduated in Dec.

My EC's might not be as strong as other applicants, but I have about 2 and 1/2 years of research as well as the volunteering.

I plan on volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters and the United Way, but I don't know if it will significantly impact my application for next year.

I also plan on shadowing physicians, because that is something that was lacking in my application for the previous year.

Over the summer, I plan on training as an EMT and that will be my occupation for the 2010-2011 year.

This year I will apply early, maybe June or July and hope that that will significantly increase my chances, I will also apply to lower tiered schools.

One question though, would applying early decision to my state school greatly increase my chances for getting in? Or should I apply to a bunch of schools regular decision?

Also, will this be enough change for my new application to make me a strong candidate. I don't think my interviewing skills are very strong and my interview this year probably sucked, but I plan on practicing a lot with some relatives this year.

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[mooshika]

Do exactly what they said and don't waste a lot of time doing other stuff, even BB/BS unless it is healthcare related. EMT is good, but ED tech might be better, you are working directly with Docs. Just try and do what they said. That may be the reason you didn't hear from the other schools. They really want to see that you have spent time in and around the health care field - doing health education for kids is great too... volunteer in a medical office, get certified as a CNA... there a bunch of ways to do this.

m.

Ok so I applied for medical school for the 2010 entering class and I got rejected everywhere. But... I applied very, very late to every one of my schools (I was probably the last application they all got), and I only applied to tier 1 schools and my state school. I only got an interview from my state school, but got rejected after the interview. When I called for feedback, they told me that my interviewers said I "needed to be more involved in my community and health care." The lady at the admissions office said my MCAT/gpa were fine, and told me I had proved myself academically, but she said my interviewers thought I needed to know more about being a doctor in order to know if I really wanted to be one.

Here are my stats:
MCAT: 35 N (V-9, P-11, B-14)
cGPA: 3.75
sGPA: 3.83
Graduated from University of Kansas with a B.A. in Biochemistry and East Asia Languages and Cultures

I'm pretty sure my LOR's are fine because the admissions lady at KUMed told me I could reuse some of the letters, but said that it would look better if I got a new date on them.

My personal statement and secondary essays might not have been very good and I plan on spending a lot more time on them this year, and having lots of people look over them.

I have been volunteering at a clinic since Jan. 2009, and have been more involved since I graduated in Dec.

My EC's might not be as strong as other applicants, but I have about 2 and 1/2 years of research as well as the volunteering.

I plan on volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters and the United Way, but I don't know if it will significantly impact my application for next year.

I also plan on shadowing physicians, because that is something that was lacking in my application for the previous year.

Over the summer, I plan on training as an EMT and that will be my occupation for the 2010-2011 year.

This year I will apply early, maybe June or July and hope that that will significantly increase my chances, I will also apply to lower tiered schools.

One question though, would applying early decision to my state school greatly increase my chances for getting in? Or should I apply to a bunch of schools regular decision?

Also, will this be enough change for my new application to make me a strong candidate. I don't think my interviewing skills are very strong and my interview this year probably sucked, but I plan on practicing a lot with some relatives this year.

 

[Batzmarucy831]

I think it's better to apply early and get interviews early as opposed to ED, because there, you'd be restricted to one school until October. If you get rejected then, you have to scramble and apply elsewhere, which would be getting late.

I think you have a solid improvement with the additional clinical experiences, because I realized I was asked that alot on my interviews. Make sure you come out with good stories and how you understand the medical field.

Definitely apply broadly, since top tier schools are uber competitive. Good luck

 

[dragonfly99]

I think you should just apply earlier and that may fix a lot of your problem, along with rewriting the personal statement and getting some more clinical hours. The problem w/applying to your state school only is that you put all your eggs in 1 basket, and if they don't take you then your application to other places is too late. It looks like your numbers are good enough to get you interviews @some other places, if you get the rest of your application lined out, so it may be more of a risk to apply EDP (just my opinion). Part of it depends on how bad you want to go to your state school, and whether you think they want you (it does sound to me like they might, but then again one thing you learn in this process is that you can't necessarily trust everything people say in the interview process).

 

[sshashid87]

FWIW, United Way has a lot of good programs...a lot of them are fun, and they don't take up very much time. I only do 1-2 hours a week, and each week I try to do some different projects. But yeah, do the clinical stuff first, do you have shadowing or anything?

 

[Alorai]

Thanks guys for all the advice! I don't actually have any shadowing experience and am calling doctor's offices to get some. I was thinking about getting a CNA certification, do you think it's worth it? And the reason I would apply Early Decision is because KU (my state school) would probably be the easiest school for me to get into (although I really want to move away from kansas). I still want to do the EMT training, I was really excited about it and thought of it as a good way to get medical experience. Do ED techs really get more exposure to doctors? And would I need a certification for that? I'm going to do some United Way, and they have a few health outreach programs.

 

[GoodmanBrown]

Thanks guys for all the advice! I don't actually have any shadowing experience and am calling doctor's offices to get some. I was thinking about getting a CNA certification, do you think it's worth it? And the reason I would apply Early Decision is because KU (my state school) would probably be the easiest school for me to get into (although I really want to move away from kansas). I still want to do the EMT training, I was really excited about it and thought of it as a good way to get medical experience. Do ED techs really get more exposure to doctors? And would I need a certification for that? I'm going to do some United Way, and they have a few health outreach programs.

I think you're competitive enough that you don't need to apply ED. Especially since Kansas isn't your top choice. If it was your top choice, then sure, apply early to get a better shot. As is, go regular applications

Don't listen to the naysayers about EMT. I think it'll be great experience, and you can earn money doing it which is pretty important. You don't need exposure to doctors for your work stuff.

Do some volunteering too, in addition to the EMT thing. Maybe volunteer at a nursing home or with hospice or something. That will show them that you love to be a good person.

Finally, but most importantly, shadow some doctors! This is harder now that you're out of school, but it's pretty paramount. I know it's hard to find doctors willing to let you shadow, but do the leg-work. Even if you only find 2-3 doctors, once you get in good with them, shadow them each for a few days. That will help show you know what being a doctor is about.