Re-applying

[gildas]

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Hello guys. Well I applied this cycle, only received one interview and no acceptance so far. I am planning on reapplying for the next cycle and I was wondering, for those of you who have gotten acceptance reapplying, what did you do to make your application more competitive? Retake the MCAT, more volunteering, and what else? I just want to make my mark this time around.
Any input will be appreciated. Thanks guys.

 

[Ralantha]

Hello guys. Well I applied this cycle, only received one interview and no acceptance so far. I am planning on reapplying for the next cycle and I was wondering, for those of you who have gotten acceptance reapplying, what did you do to make your application more competitive? Retake the MCAT, more volunteering, and what else? I just want to make my mark this time around.
Any input will be appreciated. Thanks guys.

Just the fact that you were offered an interview tells me that your base stats can't be that bad. Have you looked at your school selection at all? You might want to consider different schools for the second round of applications, and definately try to touch base with the school that interviewed you if you're not accepted. I was a little optimistic myself the first time I applied; you need a range of schools, not just schools like Northwestern, Wash U, and Berkley 😉

 

[mj1878]

The things I changed from my first application cycle (no interviews) to this one(2 interviews, 2 acceptances) were:

1)Retook the MCAT
2)Applied EARLY

Of the two, I'd say that, given your interviews this cycle, applying early seems to be your best bet at changing your luck. It depends though. If your MCAT was marginal, then retaking it and doing awesome might tip the scales in your favor.

 

[eram]

I applied in 2004 and had 2 interviews = 2 waitlists...I have a really low GPA, and my MCAT wasn't enough to make up for it at the time.

I re-took the MCAT (August...should have taken April), brought my score up 5 points, and *tried* to apply early (which never happened b/c one delinquint LOI only made it to schools in December to complete my apps.).

I'm finishing my MPH now (which in the grand scheme didn't really help my application since the program is Pass/Fail...but it helped in other ways), which has given me a couple publications, more focused research experience, and most importantly a better realization of what I really want out of medicine. It gives you a lot to talk about in interviews too 🙂

Oh, and before my interviews I really did a lot of research about the school and thought about my reasons for that school/medicine/all that good stuff. In 2004, I kind of just went in and tried to be myself, but I was put on the defensive about my GPA...they love it when you're really genuinely interested in the school and aren't faking it just for an acceptance.

I also applied to a large range of schools (and glad I did). I got interviews for some programs that I never thought I would, and I got passed over by places like my state school (Penn State) where I thought I'd be a shoo-in with my MCAT score...Pick your schools wisely and do a ton of reserach before you put in the normal safety schools like Drexel, Temple, etc. who get flooded with applications every year.

In the end it was worth it, so keep your head up...I'm sitting on two acceptances - each to a program that I'm extremely interested in (UNMC's Rural Health = awesome; and an MD/PhD in Rural Sociology). Put your ego away and just find where you'll be happy 🙂

I guess a take home message is its not just your stats/activities but take a good look at how you do the process too...for those of us without a 4.0 and 45 MCAT we can't just apply and sit back and watch schools fight over us like many of the people in the Pre-Allo forum.

 

[rockchalkdoc]

I reapplied this is year and have been accepted at one school and am still waiting to hear from another. The best thing I did was get a job at a hospital. Both schools informed me that it showed I was dedicated to becoming a doctor.

 

[GujuMD]

I reapplied this is year and have been accepted at one school and am still waiting to hear from another. The best thing I did was get a job at a hospital. Both schools informed me that it showed I was dedicated to becoming a doctor.

What kind of job did you do at the hospital?

 

[DoctorFunk]

I think one of the most important things you can do to improve your chances is to contact admissions directors at schools to which you applied to ask about the aspects of your application that kept you out. I did this and it really helped me hone in on the aspects of my application that were weak links.

When I reapplied I had taken a few extra classes in graduate level genetics/evolution, picked up an EMT-Basic cert., did a very minimal amount of shadowing, and volunteered for 5 months at an ER. I felt like these were fairly valuable to my application, especially the volunteering as I had no volunteer experience on my first app, but the most important thing I did was apply early. I essentially made it a priority to turn every application in at the very earliest opportunity, and I think it paid off greatly. This is one aspect that we can all control when we are reapplying, and there is no reason not to let punctuality pay off for you.

My advice: seek some objective evaluation of your application from med students who gained admission or preferably admissions directors, address any of their concerns, and turn things in early, early, early. These steps should improve your chances quite a bit. Best of luck!