Potential Re-Applicant WAMC next cycle + Advice for a improved application
Started by fakeeagle
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Where is your state of residence ? Which schools did you apply to and where were your interviews ?
Welcome to the forums.
What is your school list and decisions made?
How were your answers to questions about your clinical experience on your interview day? What did you do with the non-profit group?
What is your school list and decisions made?
How were your answers to questions about your clinical experience on your interview day? What did you do with the non-profit group?
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You could still potentially get more interviews. Did you have good LOR?
PI knew me well, and my clinical LOR writer wasn't a physician (admin), but knew me well as well. My ug professors, not sure, I certainly don't think they knew me super well, though I asked them if they could write strong LORs, and all said yes without reservations.
Your list of schools that you applied to was top heavy. Did you apply to any of your state public schools. If you reapply, include schools such as UMass, Iowa, Hofstra, Colorado, Arizona (Phoenix) and Western Michigan.
So finishing the most of your applications in late august and september definitely hurt you. But nothing on here screams red flag to me. You seem like an excellent student who checked all the boxes so to speak. Maybe not having enough clinical experience is an explanation?
Possible explanations- your app was quite poorly written, you got dogged in one of your letters (although it doesn't seem that way to me), your interviews were awful. Or again, clinical experience, although that would be nitpicky IMO.
I'd be happy to read your personal statement and a couple of your activities if you want to DM me just to see if that is the issue.
As far as things to do in the mean time- definitely try to get buddies who are med students/people in this forum/anyone knowledgeable to read your app, watch you interview, etc. Next cycle, you get your app in as soon as possible. Don't agonize over those essays, have friends proofread them and submit them.
It won't hurt you to do something more clinical; MA, hospice volunteer, EMT, etc in your gap year, if you have a gap year.
The other explanation, assuming none of the above is true, is that your list was just too competitive. There are lots of students with 4.0 GPAs and 52x MCAT scores who still don't get into any of the schools to which you applied (I was one of those students). It's just astonishingly competitive these days.
Nothing wrong with applying to fancy schools, but always apply to your in-state MD(s) and a couple of nearby reputable DO schools as well.
Possible explanations- your app was quite poorly written, you got dogged in one of your letters (although it doesn't seem that way to me), your interviews were awful. Or again, clinical experience, although that would be nitpicky IMO.
I'd be happy to read your personal statement and a couple of your activities if you want to DM me just to see if that is the issue.
As far as things to do in the mean time- definitely try to get buddies who are med students/people in this forum/anyone knowledgeable to read your app, watch you interview, etc. Next cycle, you get your app in as soon as possible. Don't agonize over those essays, have friends proofread them and submit them.
It won't hurt you to do something more clinical; MA, hospice volunteer, EMT, etc in your gap year, if you have a gap year.
The other explanation, assuming none of the above is true, is that your list was just too competitive. There are lots of students with 4.0 GPAs and 52x MCAT scores who still don't get into any of the schools to which you applied (I was one of those students). It's just astonishingly competitive these days.
Nothing wrong with applying to fancy schools, but always apply to your in-state MD(s) and a couple of nearby reputable DO schools as well.
applied to all my in state schools, public or private, and heard nothing back. Are there any other schools I should add?
You could try St. Louis, Georgetown, Vermont and Tufts.
You are smart to plan for reapplication and hope for acceptance.
Possible reasons for a rejection:
1. Limited clinical experience, which you are addressing.
2. Late submission, which you can easily fix next time around.
3. Top-heavy school list, which you can also fix.
I'd also suggest that you get an experienced eye to review your primary and at least some of your secondary applications. It seems like you should have received more IIs -- if your app presented you well.
Possible reasons for a rejection:
1. Limited clinical experience, which you are addressing.
2. Late submission, which you can easily fix next time around.
3. Top-heavy school list, which you can also fix.
I'd also suggest that you get an experienced eye to review your primary and at least some of your secondary applications. It seems like you should have received more IIs -- if your app presented you well.
The project is unusual and may appeal to a few programs focused on system improvements. Read
www.studentdoctor.net
IMO, it feels more like research than a typical clinical experience.
Your service program sounds great but it might not sway the screeners and adcom members that you have shown service orientation. I don't know what you did to call it. Maybe that's the challenge others had with your file and why it got rejected by many. Leadership or service?
Descriptions matter as you have left many details out for doxx reasons.
Regardless you say you have interviews scheduled.
Carle Illinois College of Medicine: Physician Innovators | SDN
Carle Illinois College of Medicine integrates engineering principles into their curriculum, aiming to create physician innovators.
www.studentdoctor.net
Your service program sounds great but it might not sway the screeners and adcom members that you have shown service orientation. I don't know what you did to call it. Maybe that's the challenge others had with your file and why it got rejected by many. Leadership or service?
Descriptions matter as you have left many details out for doxx reasons.
Regardless you say you have interviews scheduled.
Chances of acceptance increase significantly when you reapply assuming you have gotten meaningful research/clinical experience in the gap year even if there is no change in stats. Many programs value the grit and persistence you show by reapplying.
To add onto this point I’d say at least half of my class if not more are reapplicants. Basically nobody was 23 when we started back in the day
