Re-apply to the same or different schools?

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Hola.

I don't have access to a pre-med counselor so I'm hoping to have my SDN peers weigh in on this issue:

1) Re-apply to the same or different schools?

2) Same school if I got flat-out rejected?

3) Same school if I got put on hold and never given an interview?

4) Same school if I got interviewed and rejected?

5) Have a nice day. 👍

 

[nick_carraway]

What have you done to change your application? If significant improvements have been made, I'd apply to some of the same schools. You had a reason for applying to them in the first place, after all.

I'd also apply to a few more if your breadth of schools wasn't diverse enough the first time around.

Regardless, I think more information is needed (e.g. changes to app, which schools did you apply to in the first place, and at which ones did you get past the secondaries)

 

[RxnMan]

First, your choice of schools to apply to should be dictated by the state you live in (what schools are in your state) and whether an out-of-state school is private or state-funded (state-funded schools have to favor in-staters). Once you get to this point, then you have to decide how many apps to put out there. This depends on how competitive you are. There's no real distinction between which schools you should reapply at, except for two things:

1) Reapply at a place you interviewed at - If you were good enough to interview, that meant that they thought you were student material, but they liked someone else a little better. This next pool of applicants may be different, and they may like you better.
2) If you apply to a school you applied to before, then make sure that you've improved your app in some way. Schools may have a running log of applications, and they'll look at your last year's file to see if you've spent your year off well.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

I'd applied broadly last year but had a few major weaknesses that have been corrected. Nonetheless, my rule is:

-only reapply to schools I'd applied to 1st time; this was because I researched all of the schools thoroughly & feel that I'd not missed any schools that would fit my parameters well.

-only reapply to schools that I have spoken with about my application/what they look for in an applicant. My reason for this is that, although many schools seem straightforward in what they are seeking, one state school (that interviews OOS candidates) said they essentially only interview OOS candidates who are living in the state at that time. Another had a minimum MCAT section score of 10 for OOS, a 3rd requires MCAT score of 32 + 3.65 GPA including grad school work. Several schools require shadowing experience. I just don't feel comfortable applying to schools without knowing what they're looking for, this time around.

It helped a great deal in learning what each school is looking for, although this took time, there were a few schools that made my reapply list only due to these conversations.

If anything, I'd say reapplying to the same school shows dedication & commitment; at least that's how I'd explain it!