Reapplicant Advice (School list, GPA remediation, etc.)

[DietCokeLover<3]

Hi everyone,

I applied for the first time this cycle but unfortunately received no interviews. After being told by my undergrad admissions office that I shouldn’t be concerned about my academic performance, I now know that my GPA (particularly sGPA) was most likely screening me out of interviews. I’m now looking into doing a diy post-bacc or SMP, and wanted to get some thoughts on those, as well as any other advice based on my initial application. Here are the stats + ECs I applied with:

Submitted primary June 16th. Secondaries were completed from July to Mid-August, all within a 2-week turnaround time.

1. 3.45 cGPA, 3.27 sGPA (MAJOR upwards trend, averaged 4.0 cGPA, 3.73 sGPA my last two years of undergrad)
2. 504 MCAT (126/125/125/128) ----> 511 (126/129/126/130)
3. Residence - MN
4. White Female
5. Undergraduate - t20 public university
6. Clinical Experience - 2500 hours as Medical Assistant at dermatology office (paid), 450 hours Anesthesia Tech (paid), 400 hours as Telemetry tech (paid),
7. Research - 1000 hours as research assistant in Alzheimer’s research (No pubs, 1 poster presented at 2 symposiums)
8. Shadowing - 50 (hours w/Anesthesiology, Geriatrics, oncology, orthopedic surgery, hospitalist)
9. Non-clinical volunteering - 50 hours with dementia community outreach, 200 hours with Girls on the Run
10. Leadership - 700 hours over two years holding two VP positions in my sorority
11. Scholarship/Awards - IBM Watson Scholarship Recipient, Dean’s list spring 2023, 2024

School list (MD only):

• Albany
• Drexel
• Eastern Virginia Medical School
• Geisinger Commonwealth
• Indiana University
• Loyola
• Medical College of Wisconsin
• Oakland
• Pennsylvania State
• Quinnipiac
• Rosalind Franklin
• SUNY Downstate
• University of Minnesota
• University of Wisconsin
• University of Vermont
• Wayne State
• West Virginia

Thoughts on my cycle:

• I set expectations pretty low, was hoping to hear from Minnesota and/MCW d/t ties in both states
• Obviously limiting factor was GPA, although I was told I had good experiences/activities/personal statement to counteract this
• Letters of rec could have been stronger (strong LOR from PI, strong letter from psych prof, weaker letter from neurobio prof, strong letter from MD I was acquainted with but unable to shadow)

What I’ve added to my application:

• Work: current job as MA was anticipated hours, have since gained more experiences to write about/discuss in interviews, will be getting 2 new, strong LORs from MDs I work with
• Shadowing: 12 hours with endocrinologist, more hours to come (other specialties)
• Volunteering (clinical): hospital patient transport (3 hours/week)
• Volunteering (non-clinical): Alzheimer’s Association as community educator (~2 hours/week)

As previously stated, I am planning to do either an SMP or post-bacc (and absolutely ace my classes) to address issues with my GPA
However, I am wondering if this will be enough to reapply to MD schools for the 2026-2027 cycle (assuming I continue to keep up with volunteering, shadowing, continuing with research and/or clinical experience.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post! Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated 🙂

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[wysdoc]

Do you mean you received no interviews?

 

[DietCokeLover<3]

Do you mean you received no interviews?

Apologies for the error - no interviews is correct

 

[Mr.Smile12]

What courses would you take for a DIY postbac? Any feedback from Minnesota med? When did you get the 511?

 

[DietCokeLover<3]

What courses would you take for a DIY postbac? Any feedback from Minnesota med? When did you get the 511?

1) Classes that mimic medical school curriculum per @Goro's advice
2) Minnesota said they were unable to provide feedback but registered for their Reapplicant Workshop in April (also potentially meeting with MCW in April)
3) 511 MCAT from last April, so should still be good for when I reapply?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

1) Classes that mimic medical school curriculum per @Goro's advice
2) Minnesota said they were unable to provide feedback but registered for their Reapplicant Workshop in April (also potentially meeting with MCW in April)
3) 511 MCAT from last April, so should still be good for when I reapply?

Great... take good notes from that Reapp Workshop. Some of it may be generic advice, but it would be interesting if some advice about writing resonates with you.

While I'm at it, non-clinical volunteering: Girls on the Run, so you're a "coach"? What do you mean by "outreach" for the dementia non-profit?

I think you don't have (any) service orientation activities: food distribution, shelter volunteer, job/tax preparation, legal support, transportation services, or housing rehabilitation. You must have 150 hours when you submit your application to avoid getting screened out at most schools.

I trust you have an upward trend with your GPA's. Could you share year-by-year breakdown? I want to be sure before I suggest taking an SMP.