Re-applicant Advice

[koalabearkia]

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This is my first cycle and it's looking like i'll have to reapply. I'm currently on two waitlists.
Applied to 30+ schools using the WARS System

GPA: 3.9
sGPA: 3.9
MCAT: 518 (130/128/128/132)
CA
ORM

Short term research with 1 mid author publication in bioinformatics and a minor leadership role.
40 hours clinical shadowing with a neurologist
150 hours ER volunteering
75 hours non clinical volunteering in a Food Pantry.

I understand my ec's are weak and likely the cause of me needing to reapply. I'm looking for honest constructive feedback on how and where I would be able to improve my app in my coming gap year.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

My guess for why you have to reapply is likely your school list. I think the best thing you can do next year is try to bump up your shadowing hours and do some more research. Try to find a position as a lab tech or research assistant.

Don't exclusively apply to schools that match your MCAT and GPA. Apply to schools that you might consider an 'undershoot'. There is no such thing as a "safety" school when it comes to med school.

Kevin W, MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[GreenDuck12]

Could you provide some additional details such as a school list, a list of interview offers and post interview decisions?

 

[koalabearkia]

Here is my school list:

Albert Einstein College of Medicine - POST II WL
Baylor College of Medicine - R
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine - R
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons - Silent
Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell - R
Emory University School of Medicine - Silent
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth - R
Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine - Silent
Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California - R
Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine - R
Ohio State University College of Medicine - Silent
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University - R
Stanford University School of Medicine - R
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University - R
University of California, Davis, School of Medicine - R
University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine - R
University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine - R
University of California, Riverside School of Medicine - R
University of California, San Diego School of Medicine - R
University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine - R
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine - R
University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine - R
University of Michigan Medical School - R
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine - R
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine - R
University of Utah School of Medicine - R
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry - R
Wake Forest School of Medicine of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center - R
Weill Cornell Medicine - R

I also applied to a few TMDSAS schools and got the R from all of them except UTSW where I managed to get an II -> WL.

Any suggestions on what schools to add/remove?

Also why do you suggest research assistant vs scribe?

 

[erdoc111]

I would recommend a few hundred hours of hands on service volunteering such as meals on wheels or habitat for humanity. Also, a hundred hours clinical volunteering that shows your compassion, such as hospice. That should help a lot and you will gain valuable life experiences. If you shadow, do it in primary care. Of course, call the schools and see if you can get feedback. Redo your essays incorporating your new experiences. Call your premed advisor and ask them if they can check out your recommendations and see if there is a problem with them. The fact that you got some interviews is a good sign in the recommendation department. I am guessing that your ECs were just too weak. Hopefully, you will get off a waitlist. You have excellent stats!

 

[Sky138]

I think you need a lot more EC’s because I think it’s hard, if not impossible, to sell yourself in 4-5 activities. If I were you I’d pick up scribing/research, a hobby or two, several shadowing experiences, and some volunteer work helping underserved groups. If hope you don’t have to reapply but if you do seriously consider doing a gap year. If you add some of these and reapply immediately they can definitely tell you’re trying to check boxes. Thus if you took more time, spaced things out a little then it’ll appear more natural

 

[treewave]

This is my first cycle and it's looking like i'll have to reapply. I'm currently on two waitlists.
Applied to 30+ schools using the WARS System

GPA: 3.9
sGPA: 3.9
MCAT: 518 (130/128/128/132)
CA
ORM

Short term research with 1 mid author publication in bioinformatics and a minor leadership role.
40 hours clinical shadowing with a neurologist
150 hours ER volunteering
75 hours non clinical volunteering in a Food Pantry.

I understand my ec's are weak and likely the cause of me needing to reapply. I'm looking for honest constructive feedback on how and where I would be able to improve my app in my coming gap year.

I recommend that you consider taking one of the post-bac programs at a medical school you are interested in attending. Tulane has a program only for students who have been waitlisted to any US medical school, so if you are interested in moving ahead this year, you could apply. This is what is posted about their program:
The Anatomy Certification & Leadership Program students have a unique experience taking classes with Tulane medical students. If they meet or exceed the medical student mean, ACLP students are interviewed for a place in the next medical school class. If accepted into Tulane medical school, ACLP students will then serve as teaching assistants in the gross anatomy course during their first year of medical school. ACLP students will take Medical Histology and Leadership in Healthcare in the winter and spring. Opportunities are provided for mock interviews, research, volunteering at one of several community hospitals. ACLP students participate in advanced dissection in the spring adding their creative talents to the Tulane Digital Dissector and the real-time structure syllabus technology. To enhance skills in teaching ACLP students will complete a series of educational sessions on the art of being a teaching assistant/peer teacher.

 

[GreenDuck12]

Here’s the good news: your GPA and MCAT are excellent, which is usually the hardest thing to rehab in an application. Like you said your ECs need to be your focus. If you are fresh out of undergrad then the lack of EC’s would cause me to question how serious you are about medicine and how well you understand what you’re getting into. Given how few interview invites you received, I don’t think you should reapply this cycle. Had you been granted more interviews, it would’ve shown that schools considered you to be a serious candidate. Given that that did not happen, and that your application really won’t have changed that much, I would recommend a gap year focusing on building ECs.

I would recommend getting a job in a hospital as a scribe or a research assistant/clinical coordinator. Scribe will give you clinical hours which you need, and research is a big plus at all the schools you applied to. Look into volunteering at free clinics or small community hospitals. They typically need more support than large university hospitals and will let volunteers do/see more. Also look into volunteering with vulnerable populations in a non clinical setting. Having these experiences will give you much more to talk about in an application and much more to think about in terms of how medicine intersects with other challenging dynamics within our communities.

If you take the next year to work, gain some experience, save some money, and work on your written application materials, you will be in a much stronger position when you reapply. You will also be able to answer the question “how has your application changed” much more fully.