Potential ReApp

[InquisitiveOne]

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Cali resident here,

So, this app cycle has not gone as well as I would have hoped. Numerically, I'm decent/averagish, 3.7 BCPM, 3.7 GPA, and 33 (10V, 10P, 13B) MCAT. I have really good volunteer and leadership experiences. So, Im thinking that my primary correction for next time around will be timing. This year my primary was submitted late July and most, if not all, my secondaries were finished by mid-September. But I think with the CBT anything later than June is too late... Do re-applicants in California get any extra love? I am developing a love/hate for the golden state 🙂

 

[Myuu]

Cali resident here,

So, this app cycle has not gone as well as I would have hoped. Numerically, I'm decent/averagish, 3.7 BCPM, 3.7 GPA, and 33 (10V, 10P, 13B) MCAT. I have really good volunteer and leadership experiences. So, Im thinking that my primary correction for next time around will be timing. This year my primary was submitted late July and most, if not all, my secondaries were finished by mid-September. But I think with the CBT anything later than June is too late... Do re-applicants in California get any extra love? I am developing a love/hate for the golden state 🙂

Yeah, I would definitely submit the primary (which will very conveniently already be mostly filled in) as soon as the gate opens, with as short a turnaround for secondaries as possible while maintaining quality. Where did you apply this cycle? Do you have interviews/waitlists?

 

[dragonfly99]

Definitely try again. Your numbers definitely look strong enough to get in somewhere...it's just stiff competition and sometimes you just need to give it another shot.

It's been a while since I applied to med school, but was your app. really THAT late? I mean, from what you describe I wouldn't call that late...but maybe things have changed a lot in the past 8-9 years (yeah, I'm old).

How many schools did you apply to, and how many interview invites did you get?

I think you should consider applying to a lot of out of state private schools that take out of state folks, in addition to all your state schools. There are just a lot of good applicants in California, most likely.

Lastly, I wonder if your personal statement(s) and LOR's did as good a job of selling your application as you think. If you applied to a lot of places (like 12-15 at least) and didn't get any interviews at all, I'd be very suspicious of some problem(s) there.

Don't forget to keep up your health care related volunteer work...

 

[talbo]

I would definitely try again and I think your numbers are pretty decent. Like the previous poster I would think that there are other factors besides applying late since your application wasn't that late. When I applied the first time, I turned in everything in oct/nov so I consider that late. I would also suggest applying more broadly.

I would have someone read ur PS (actually a couple of friends or professors) to give you feedback. It sounds like your activities are awesome, are they weaved into your PS? Also, for me, I think one of my LOR was soso, so I asked the LOR writer this year if he can write me a longer LOR n stronger. I am suprised you didn't get any interviews from CA. Did you get interviews elsewhere you applied? You should ask schools why you didn't get an interview and they can give you feedback. Maybe something you thought was excellent was mediocre or good such as ur letters? I am sure you have good letters but you want to make sure your app is close to the max potential you can have given that everything else such as GPA n MCAT are set in stone as of now.

This is my 2nd time applying and last year UC Davis rejected me saying that I should do a SMP (don't know where they got that from), but this year they were the first UC school to give me an interview. I got interview at UCLA both cycles so I think you will be okay. Good luck and make sure you keep urself busy in the year off if you do reapply.

 

[InquisitiveOne]

Thanks for the help 🙂

Yeah, in retrospect I feel that my personal statement was a weak point in my application. I think it may have sounded ideological, slightly cliche, and probably even a little vague... Next time, I want to build upon more of my clinical experiences.

Secondly, while I feel that I have solid recommenders, I believe that I did not do a good job helping them with their letters. I believe that I gave them my personal statement/transcripts, and given what I have already said about my PS, this could have made it difficult for them to make a case for me 🙁

Nevertheless, I have received some interviews late in the game, so some of these perceived weaknesses might not be as big as a problem as I think. However, knowing that I could do a lot better next time around is bitter/sweet...

Thank you all again for the suggestions 🙂