listing "reapplicant" as an experience on primary + personal statement

[ZaireTony]

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Hey all,

A couple questions if anyone would be kind enough to answer/ give your opinion on. First, is it a good idea to list being a re applicant as an experience in your primary application? I know it's a bit unusual but I really think it helped me a lot in improving my resolve, and gaining life experience. Has anyone ever tried this?

Second, I am just finishing my personal statement but I'm a little worried. I've noticed a lot of the example personal statements I've looked up online try to list and elaborate on as many of the experiences people mentioned in the rest of their application as possible. I just sort of...answered what they asked me to, but a lot of the experiences I had listed were cut out of the personal statement. What should I focus on, answering the question, or high-lighting as much of my application and strengths as possible?

 

[Astarael]

I don't think that you should go out of your way to mention that you are a reapplicant in your PS. You're supposed to be explaining why you want to be a doctor, and why you would be good at it; these are things that you should have figured out before you applied the first time and therefore aren't really informed by your status as a reapplicant. Now, if there is a natural reason for it to be brought up, that would be fine. Schools will know that you are a reapplying since you have to indicate it on AMCAS.

As for your second question, your PS should not be a recapitulation of your extra curricular activities. That's why there is an entirely separate section on the application to enter them. If a particular EC (or multiple ECs) was important for your decision to go into medicine, then it would absolutely be appropriate to talk about it. But recapping your ECs should not be the major thrust of your essay.

 

[RookTookIt]

I don't think that you should go out of your way to mention that you are a reapplicant in your PS. You're supposed to be explaining why you want to be a doctor, and why you would be good at it; these are things that you should have figured out before you applied the first time and therefore aren't really informed by your status as a reapplicant. Now, if there is a natural reason for it to be brought up, that would be fine. Schools will know that you are a reapplying since you have to indicate it on AMCAS.

On AMCAS you tell it which schools you are a reapplicant for. So unless you are applying to exactly the same list of schools as last time, some schools won't even know that you are a reapplicant. I wouldn't want to alert them to that, so I would leave anything about reapplying out of the primary. For the schools where you applied previously, you'll probably have a chance to address it in the secondary.

 

[gbmd15]

I don't think that you should go out of your way to mention that you are a reapplicant in your PS. You're supposed to be explaining why you want to be a doctor, and why you would be good at it; these are things that you should have figured out before you applied the first time and therefore aren't really informed by your status as a reapplicant. Now, if there is a natural reason for it to be brought up, that would be fine. Schools will know that you are a reapplying since you have to indicate it on AMCAS.

I would disagree. To me, re-applying shows true passion for medicine. Wanting to go through this excruciating process again says a lot for your desire to become a physician. I would think that it would distinguish you from those first time applicants who are applying for the heck of it.

However, I don't think it is an "experience" to write about in the ECs section.

 

[RookTookIt]

I would disagree. To me, re-applying shows true passion for medicine. Wanting to go through this excruciating process again says a lot for your desire to become a physician. I would think that it would distinguish you from those first time applicants who are applying for the heck of it.

However, I don't think it is an "experience" to write about in the ECs section.

25% of applicants were reapplicants this past application season. I wouldn't count on that as a distinguishing factor.

 

[venacontracta]

Being a reapplicant isn't really a positive thing. I wouldn't try and draw attention to it at every opportunity which is what you seem to be wanting to do.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Being a reapplicant isn't really a positive thing. I wouldn't try and draw attention to it at every opportunity which is what you seem to be wanting to do.

this

 

[raltima07]

this

👍

 

[Avoidthetiger]

I didn't mention I was a reapplicant on my AMCAS - some schools knew (ones that I had already applied to), others didn't. I didn't think it was worth mentioning - as I just wanted to appear as a strong applicant.

Most secondaries will ask you if you have applied to their school before, or to medical school before - and then ask you to write about all the stuff you have done since the last time you had applied. I would wait and write about your reapplicant experience then.

I also agree with David06. It's not a positive. It just means you failed to get an acceptance the first time. There are a lot of reapplicants out there.

 

[Astarael]

On AMCAS you tell it which schools you are a reapplicant for. So unless you are applying to exactly the same list of schools as last time, some schools won't even know that you are a reapplicant. I wouldn't want to alert them to that, so I would leave anything about reapplying out of the primary. For the schools where you applied previously, you'll probably have a chance to address it in the secondary.

This is a good point. I was just assuming that the OP would apply to a lot of the same schools, but it is definitely possible that mentioning it would put him/her at a disadvantage for schools he/she didn't apply at before.

I would disagree. To me, re-applying shows true passion for medicine. Wanting to go through this excruciating process again says a lot for your desire to become a physician. I would think that it would distinguish you from those first time applicants who are applying for the heck of it.

However, I don't think it is an "experience" to write about in the ECs section.

Honestly, the application process is not some sort of torture that you go through to prove that you want to do medicine. Yes it is difficult, but 45,000 people do it every year; as someone mentioned before, a significant portion of them are reapplicants. Reapplying is not going to show anyone your dedication to medicine-you do that through activities and interviews.

 

[estelyk]

Here is a post by a physician who is on the admissions committee at Ohio State. There is an interesting section on writing the PS for reapplicants. I thought it was pretty insightful, being a reapplicant myself. Hope this helps


http://medicine.osu.edu/students/admissions/reapplicantAdvice/Pages/index.aspx