Re-applying after matriculating previously

[boxyloop]

Hi all,

Question here: I am re-applying from scratch (as an MS1) after having previously matriculated in the early 2010s (completed 1.5 years in med school.)

Do all schools have policies against admitting prior matriculants?

Thankfully, not worried about the application substance - did well in college, did well on original MCAT (need to retake), and did well at a great med school, leave of absence (and then dropout) was voluntary and based on a tech job that I went to. But am worried that the app will get summarily rejected at most places due to the prior matriculation rule.

Let me know; much appreciated!

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[deleted480308]

Hi all,

Question here: I am re-applying from scratch (as an MS1) after having previously matriculated in the early 2010s (completed 1.5 years in med school.)

Do all schools have policies against admitting prior matriculants?

Thankfully, not worried about the application substance - did well in college, did well on original MCAT (need to retake), and did well at a great med school, leave of absence (and then dropout) was voluntary and based on a tech job that I went to. But am worried that the app will get summarily rejected at most places due to the prior matriculation rule.

Let me know; much appreciated!

Having bailed once, how do you convince them you won’t again?

 

[boxyloop]

Not saying that it'll be a cakewalk or anything. I'm sure some schools would reject for that reason, although I think my story and aim is sincere. More curious as to whether most of them won't consider the application in the first place due to the rule.

 

[Goro]

Hi all,

Question here: I am re-applying from scratch (as an MS1) after having previously matriculated in the early 2010s (completed 1.5 years in med school.)

Do all schools have policies against admitting prior matriculants?

Thankfully, not worried about the application substance - did well in college, did well on original MCAT (need to retake), and did well at a great med school, leave of absence (and then dropout) was voluntary and based on a tech job that I went to. But am worried that the app will get summarily rejected at most places due to the prior matriculation rule.

Let me know; much appreciated!

DOA at my school. You've had your chance, and now it's time to move on.

 

[boxyloop]

Official policy or your opinion?

 

[Goro]

Official policy or your opinion?

Official policy. The only caveat might be if you left in good standing due to physical health reasons, even from a Carib school.

But the latter would require you to ace our SMP first.

Why did you leave? And was it a US school?

 

[Detective SnowBucket]

@boxyloop why don't you get a list of schools that you are in range for in terms of GPA that don't have killer average MCAT scores (something reasonable, that you could obtain) and call their admissions office and ask them if they take previously enrolled students.

Question is through, @Goro do you think they would be honest or would they tell him to apply just to take his application donati...fee.

 

[boxyloop]

@Goro - left to take a job at a tech company I was really excited about, where I've been for the last 5 years. Great experience, have learned a lot and worked with great folks, but ultimately came to the conclusion that medicine proper was far more impactful / what I wanted to do. And yes, the original med school was a US school (usually top 10 USNWR)

@Detective SnowBucket - that's good advice; I recently did that and a few seemed to indicate that they'd consider the application; a few others indicated that they wouldn't. Mostly posting here to hear if anyone had ever heard of it working 🙂

 

[Goro]

Were you dismissed due to academic or professionalism issues?
Or did you simply wirhdraw?

 

[boxyloop]

No no, not dismissed in any way. I withdrew voluntarily (technically a “leave”, which they often grant to students who do things like this), and then in 2016, my leave expired and I decided to withdraw rather than return.

 

[NTF]

There isn't a way you can finagle a return to your previous school?

 

[MusicDOc124]

@Goro - left to take a job at a tech company I was really excited about, where I've been for the last 5 years. Great experience, have learned a lot and worked with great folks, but ultimately came to the conclusion that medicine proper was far more impactful / what I wanted to do. And yes, the original med school was a US school (usually top 10 USNWR)

This suggests poor decision making and in some cases will be viewed as though that spot was taken from someone else who by now would be a doctor if they had taken the seat.

How would you convince a school that you won't leave again?

Your best opportunity if you did leave on good terms and in good standing is, as mentioned above, to contact the school you left.

 

[boxyloop]

About 20% of the class every year doesn't go into clinical medicine so I think their perspective will be more nuanced than that. On balance it may have been a bad decison given that I'm re-applying but I've had a great career in the tech world and expect the skills / connections to be important going forward, so probably not a horrible decision.

Yup - agree that original school is the best bet. They told me that given how far out it was / the fact that I had officially withdrawn, I couldn't pick back up immediately, but they would indeed consider the app if I hit the pre-reqs again.

 

[Goro]

About 20% of the class every year doesn't go into clinical medicine so I think their perspective will be more nuanced than that. On balance it may have been a bad decison given that I'm re-applying but I've had a great career in the tech world and expect the skills / connections to be important going forward, so probably not a horrible decision.

Yup - agree that original school is the best bet. They told me that given how far out it was / the fact that I had officially withdrawn, I couldn't pick back up immediately, but they would indeed consider the app if I hit the pre-reqs again.

Was this a US medical school? 20% of a class "not going into clinical medicine" sounds like Carib school. If this is correct, you have two red flags, major ones at that.

 

[paimei42]

Was this a US medical school? 20% of a class "not going into clinical medicine" sounds like Carib school. If this is correct, you have two red flags, major ones at that.

This sounds like stanford or UCSF

Siren Song Of Tech Lures New Doctors Away From Medicine

Medical school graduates around San Francisco Bay are far less likely to pursue medical residencies than those in other parts of the country. Instead, many are heading to health technology ventures.

www.npr.org