My Reapplicant Strategy

[Corvid]

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[BillrothI]

Hey Corvid,

We're in very much the same boat! I think your list looks great. You might want to add a few more lower-tier schools, but otherwise I think you have a very good shot of landing an acceptance this cycle. You made some substantial improvements since last year and your application looks quite impressive.

Good luck!

-Bill

 

[DrMidlife]

I don't see a reapplicant disadvantage here - that's just how it goes in California, and you have substantial improvement. You were above the bar for acceptance before, you got crowded out, and now you're well above the bar. You could almost relax.

Remind me, did you get interviews last time?

As for school list, you can go one of two ways here.

Way #1: hold out for a UC. This is the sanest thing to do, even if it takes longer. And by "hold out" I mean keep applying until it happens. In this case, the other schools on your list don't matter.

Way #2: Git 'er done. Add everything in Texas (this only works because of your numbers) and Ohio. Add Creighton, RFU, etc. Accept that your cost of attendance will be so ridiculous that it makes the adults in your life drop their jaws and wonder if you have a brain tumor.

And let me remind you: unfriendly advice has value with your PS and interview skills. Leave your mom/gf/bf/roommate/classmates out of it.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Corvid]

I don't see a reapplicant disadvantage here - that's just how it goes in California, and you have substantial improvement. You were above the bar for acceptance before, you got crowded out, and now you're well above the bar. You could almost relax.

Remind me, did you get interviews last time?

As for school list, you can go one of two ways here.

Way #1: hold out for a UC. This is the sanest thing to do, even if it takes longer. And by "hold out" I mean keep applying until it happens. In this case, the other schools on your list don't matter.

Way #2: Git 'er done. Add everything in Texas (this only works because of your numbers) and Ohio. Add Creighton, RFU, etc. Accept that your cost of attendance will be so ridiculous that it makes the adults in your life drop their jaws and wonder if you have a brain tumor.

And let me remind you: unfriendly advice has value with your PS and interview skills. Leave your mom/gf/bf/roommate/classmates out of it.

Best of luck to you.

No interviews last time. I talked to a few schools, both said my app did not have any discrepancies or red flags (including the letters). For one school I didn't fit their mission statement that well (loyola - they wanted more community service activities) and the other two schools simply was beaten out by higher stat applicants. I submitted last night, so I think I'll add a couple of low tiers to round out the list.

A lot of schools I picked on my list have more modest OOS costs (most were in the 45-50k range, I didn't and won't apply to schools with insane OOS tuition above 55k - I saw some schools had were 80k+... insane). I do believe I have a shot at CA this time around, so hopefully all goes well and I end up at a UC.

Hey Corvid,

We're in very much the same boat! I think your list looks great. You might want to add a few more lower-tier schools, but otherwise I think you have a very good shot of landing an acceptance this cycle. You made some substantial improvements since last year and your application looks quite impressive.

Good luck!

-Bill

Thanks Bill! Hopefully we both have a great cycle this time around. I'll likely heed your advice and add a few more lower-tiers.

 

[mirabelle]

This is a cross-post from my WAMC thread, I feel the thread should have gone here in the first place:

Hello all,

As a re-applicant, I feel I'm already at a disadvantage this time around. Last year I applied with a 31 MCAT (11 VR, 9 PS, 11 BS) with a poor school list that had too many reaches. I didn't receive any interviews. I applied my senior year as an undergrad. Applying this coming cycle will mean I will have a 2 year gap in education.

Since then, I have studied hard to improve my MCAT (~11 weeks while working full time). I received the score today and was thrilled to receive a 36 (10 VR 😕, 12 PS, 14 BIO 🙂). My ECs have improved as well. Over the summer I had a great research experience (I was lacking in basic research) and was able to secure a job as a lab tech in research (a cancer lab 😀).

On top of this I have completely re-written my PS and experiences. I have had multiple people here on SDN give me advice and critique my paper. I've had friends I know who have been through the process critique my PS. I'm sure it is much, much better this time around. I have also secured two new LORs to reflect two of my new experiences.

Anyway, here's a summary of my app profile (experiences in blue are new)

3.97+ GPA from a a fairly competitive UC), 36 MCAT, 31 first time. CA Applicant.

280+ hours volunteering at a hospital
200+ hours assisting a medical treatment (I classified it as "other" but it is shadowing/actually helping the doctor with his treatment)
700+ hours part time job as a lab assistant (this was during school)
200+ hours as a TA for two courses
200+ hours doing clinical research
365+ hours as a research assistant in plant biology - half-time employment
900+ hours as a lab tech in cancer research - full-time
300+ hours music as a hobby (picked it up last summer)
100+ hours building a robot arm

I just pulled the trigger and applied to these 20 schools. Thoughts on this list? I am willing to add ~5 more if needed! I have the 2015 MSAR, too. I seek advice because I've heard conflicting info on how schools look at two MCAT scores. I heard from some that the schools on my list either consider the most recent or the best set. Others tell me that schools just straight up average them, even if they say they only take the most recent. Green schools are schools I am not a re-app at.

UC Irvine
UC San Diego
UCLA
UCSF
UC Davis
UC Riverside
Boston
NYU
NYMC
Drexel
Wake Forest
Med College of Wisconsin
St. Louis University (SLU)
Albert Einstein
University of Michigan
Jefferson
Georgetown
University of Cincinnati
University of Rochester
University of Pittsburgh

Thanks for the help everyone, it's much appreciated. The community here is amazing. I wouldn't have been able to significantly improve my app without the advice I received here.

I wish you the best of luck

 

[BeancheBlanco]

Your application looks great. Only thing missing is community service, but your list is perfect for you. Mostly research-based schools and not many service-based. Any particular reason for Cincinnati? You are a Cali resident, correct? I guess it's a relatively OOS-friendly public school, but seems kind of random.

 

[Corvid]

Your application looks great. Only thing missing is community service, but your list is perfect for you. Mostly research-based schools and not many service-based. Any particular reason for Cincinnati? You are a Cali resident, correct? I guess it's a relatively OOS-friendly public school, but seems kind of random.

I know of a family friend who went there. Her dad said it was a good school that takes a good number of OOS applicants. So I went ahead and added it.

Also, you are right about the community service (specifically non-clinical). Unfortunately, I just have my hospital volunteering. This is the main reason I avoided applying to schools like Rush and Loyola.

Thanks for the feedback!