Re-using activity descriptions from prior application

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asdfpirate

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Hello,

I am a re-applicant currently putting together my W/A section. I had a (reasonably) successful cycle with 3IIs --> 3WL (2 T20 programs, 1 T30), but it's looking less and less likely that I will get off one of these and I need to think about next cycle pretty seriously now.

I completely overhauled my personal statement, but with respect to the work and activities, I'm wondering how much of it I can re-use from my previous application. I've replaced a most meaningful experience with my current gap year job and have made pretty substantial changes to some of my most meaningful activities, but I'm really struggling to find ways to re-write some of my older experiences. I liked what I had written previously and feel as though revising much would be doing myself a bit of a disservice, and many of them were so long ago that I don't really know how else I could reflect on them. I understand that in doing a re-application you need to demonstrate growth between the two cycles, and I think I've largely achieved that in how I updated my most meaningful activities and overhauled my personal statement.

TL;DR: How bad is it to re-use material pretty close to verbatim from your previous application if it's from a smaller, less prominent piece of your application? How about re-using material from some of your most meaningfuls?

TIA!
 
You had 3 interviews. It depends on how you wrote your activities, but it didn't seem to be the reason why you weren't successful. That said, if you didn't write your W/A effectively (i.e., you only used vignettes), you should probably rewrite it into a more straightforward, resume-like description that emphasizes how productive you were in each activity. I don't like if you focus on only 1 vignette to represent hundreds of hours of activities.

In short, mission fit and interview skills close the deal. Keep working on those.