Reapplicant Advice

[thinker12]

Hi everyone,

I applied to medical school last cycle(2019-2020) and will be a reapplicant the next time I apply. I took a gap year after undergraduate and applied the following cycle. My information is:

GPA: uGPA: 3.22 sGPA: 3.18
MCAT: 520 130/129/131/130
Undergraduate: Major: Neuroscience and Biochemistry
Undergraduate Institution: High ranking research university
Clinical Exposure: Volunteering <50 hours
Shadowing: <30 hours
Research: Multiple years with two labs( one in my home state, one where I went to school). No publications.

I know that I had multiple weaknesses when I applied and am looking to better those. I would appreciate any advice on what would be the best way to strengthen those areas. I am currently looking into Masters programs and would be aiming to reapply in 1-2 years time. My MCAT expired this cycle so I would need to retake it also.

I was looking to strengthen the research and clinical exposure through lab assistant/scribing positions. Would a full time scribe position be a better way to gain and show clinical exposure than further volunteering? Would a lab assistant/associate at a hospital or lab company help bolster the research area or should I seek out research roles at universities and research labs?

To bring up my GPA, I was looking into online and in person Master's programs in the sciences or applied areas like Bioinformatics. What alternatives to a masters program would there be to bring up my GPA? Is a masters in bioinformatics or another applied area viewed differently by medical schools in way that could negative impact my application?

Thank You in advance for all the advice.

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[labtech312]

You have to prove that you can hack it in medical school, of which your MCAT does a good job, but your GPA does not. I would say you would have to do 40+hours of a post-bacc with upper level science classes or do an SMP. Do not do a masters program in anything that is not an SMP, those masters programs are not comparable to the difficulty of medical school and will not give you the help you are looking for. It won't negatively help your application, but it also won't help in the sense that an SMP will.

You have a nice application, but you can't change your undergraduate GPA. However, you can produce a strong post-bacc or SMP GPA that shows that you can handle a medical school course load. If you do that you will have a mutch better shot. As Goro says, this is a marathon now, not a sprint. Take your time to produce a strong application over the next 1-3 years.

 

[Osteosaur]

I am not sure if a Master's will help you unless its an SMP. The GPA might be viewed or tracked separately at some institutions.

You might be better off doing post-bacc classes which might help boost your undergraduate GPA which will actually be matched against other applicants. I'd definitely check Goro's guide.

Honestly the lack of clinical volunteering is probably hurting you a lot. You basically spent a few weeks hanging around a hospital. Do at least a few hundred hours. You need to prove you like being around patients more-so than that you want to be a scientist. Its the top schools, which you are not in the running for, who really value research. That is not you. Work in a lab if you need a job and like it, it can definitely be an application booster.

Also because of your GPA you should shadow a DO and get a letter. I don't mean to be harsh but you're pretty much below the average MD applicant on all fronts but for that MCAT.

Very sorry your MCAT is expiring.

 

[Faha]

Where is your state of residence ? Are you willing to apply to DO schools? Your current stats are fine for almost all DO schools. You need another 20 hours of shadowing (preferably a DO ) and another 150+ hours of clinical volunteering.

 

[thinker12]

You have to prove that you can hack it in medical school, of which your MCAT does a good job, but your GPA does not. I would say you would have to do 40+hours of a post-bacc with upper level science classes or do an SMP. Do not do a masters program in anything that is not an SMP, those masters programs are not comparable to the difficulty of medical school and will not give you the help you are looking for. It won't negatively help your application, but it also won't help in the sense that an SMP will.

You have a nice application, but you can't change your undergraduate GPA. However, you can produce a strong post-bacc or SMP GPA that shows that you can handle a medical school course load. If you do that you will have a mutch better shot. As Goro says, this is a marathon now, not a sprint. Take your time to produce a strong application over the next 1-3 years.

Thank you very much for the advice. I will look into SMP programs. I was initially looking into other masters to keep alternative career path's possibly open since I would be applying after 1-3 years from now. Is there any data on reapplicants with specific masters programs? The reason I ask is because I was looking at certain online masters programs due to covid and wanted to see if there is any data on reapplicants with an online masters program?

I am not sure if a Master's will help you unless its an SMP. The GPA might be viewed or tracked separately at some institutions.

You might be better off doing post-bacc classes which might help boost your undergraduate GPA which will actually be matched against other applicants. I'd definitely check Goro's guide.

Honestly the lack of clinical volunteering is probably hurting you a lot. You basically spent a few weeks hanging around a hospital. Do at least a few hundred hours. You need to prove you like being around patients more-so than that you want to be a scientist. Its the top schools, which you are not in the running for, who really value research. That is not you. Work in a lab if you need a job and like it, it can definitely be an application booster.

Also because of your GPA you should shadow a DO and get a letter. I don't mean to be harsh but you're pretty much below the average MD applicant on all fronts but for that MCAT.

Very sorry your MCAT is expiring.

Thank you very much for the advice. I will definitely work to add more clinical volunteering experience before I reapply. Would a post-bacc program still be an option for me since I graduated over 2 years ago?

 

[thinker12]

Where is your state of residence ? Are you willing to apply to DO schools? Your current stats are fine for almost all DO schools. You need another 20 hours of shadowing (preferably a DO ) and another 150+ hours of clinical volunteering.

Thank you very much for the advice. I am a resident of Arizona. I was initially looking only at MD schools since I was looking at surgical specialties, but I am open to apply to DO schools. This might be an incorrect assumption, but I thought DO schools to surgical specialty is a more difficult path than MD to surgical specialty so I narrowed my focus to MD schools. If I were to work on gaining the additional clinical experience and shadowing over the next year, would it be a disadvantage/viewed as a negative if I applied to DO schools next cycle, which would be 3 years after my undergraduate?

 

[thinker12]

Thank you everyone for all the advice. I had an additional question. As a non-Texas resident and with my current stats, would it be possible/ a good idea to apply for Texas based medical schools? The only reason I ask is because my MCAT exam is still valid for the TMDSAS.

 

[Osteosaur]

Thank you very much for the advice. I will definitely work to add more clinical volunteering experience before I reapply. Would a post-bacc program still be an option for me since I graduated over 2 years ago?

I'm no expert other than sharing my own experiences as a re-applicant. I don't see why you couldn't take courses as a non-matric to beef up your GPA and prove you've got academic ability? That is largely what a post-bacc is.

SMP is a master's program linked to a medical school which, usually, guarantees an interview if you meet some cut-offs.

 

[Faha]

Thank you everyone for all the advice. I had an additional question. As a non-Texas resident and with my current stats, would it be possible/ a good idea to apply for Texas based medical schools? The only reason I ask is because my MCAT exam is still valid for the TMDSAS.

No. The TMDSAS schools accept few non residents. They also like applicants with high GPAs.

 

[Faha]

Thank you very much for the advice. I am a resident of Arizona. I was initially looking only at MD schools since I was looking at surgical specialties, but I am open to apply to DO schools. This might be an incorrect assumption, but I thought DO schools to surgical specialty is a more difficult path than MD to surgical specialty so I narrowed my focus to MD schools. If I were to work on gaining the additional clinical experience and shadowing over the next year, would it be a disadvantage/viewed as a negative if I applied to DO schools next cycle, which would be 3 years after my undergraduate?

Applying 3 years after undergraduate school is not an issue at any school.

 

[ndcpjf]

I agree with pretty much everything @Osteosaur said. At first glance, your MCAT is terrific (I know it might expire), but the GPA is low. I think you definitely still have a shot at MD schools given your MCAT. You can take some additional courses to bump up the uGPA while also demonstrating continued academic success. However, I think you could benefit heavily from some additional clinical exposure. Right now, when I look at your extracurriculars (granted I can't see the whole app) I think why medicine? With the research you seem like a PhD candidate more than someone interested in becoming a physician. If you can, I'd try to get involved with clinical position and perhaps even do some additional non-clinical volunteering on the weekends.

 

[Goro]

Hi everyone,

I applied to medical school last cycle(2019-2020) and will be a reapplicant the next time I apply. I took a gap year after undergraduate and applied the following cycle. My information is:

GPA: uGPA: 3.22 sGPA: 3.18
MCAT: 520 130/129/131/130
Undergraduate: Major: Neuroscience and Biochemistry
Undergraduate Institution: High ranking research university
Clinical Exposure: Volunteering <50 hours
Shadowing: <30 hours
Research: Multiple years with two labs( one in my home state, one where I went to school). No publications.

I know that I had multiple weaknesses when I applied and am looking to better those. I would appreciate any advice on what would be the best way to strengthen those areas. I am currently looking into Masters programs and would be aiming to reapply in 1-2 years time. My MCAT expired this cycle so I would need to retake it also.

I was looking to strengthen the research and clinical exposure through lab assistant/scribing positions. Would a full time scribe position be a better way to gain and show clinical exposure than further volunteering? Would a lab assistant/associate at a hospital or lab company help bolster the research area or should I seek out research roles at universities and research labs?

To bring up my GPA, I was looking into online and in person Master's programs in the sciences or applied areas like Bioinformatics. What alternatives to a masters program would there be to bring up my GPA? Is a masters in bioinformatics or another applied area viewed differently by medical schools in way that could negative impact my application?

Thank You in advance for all the advice.

What your app telegraphs to me is that you were expecting to get into med school solely on the basis of your MCAT and research. Your lack of clinical experience and nonclinical volunteering would be lethal even with a 3.99 GPA and several Cell papers. In fact, this isn't the


This is not the application of a person who dearly wants to be a physician. It is the application of someone who wants to be a doctor as long as it is convenient, and doesn't involve distractions from the lab, like dealing with patients.

What are you going to say when asked how you know you are suited for a life of caring for the sick and suffering? “That you just know”? Imagine how that will go over!

From the wise LizzyM: I am always reminded of a certain frequent poster of a few years ago. He was adamant about not volunteering as he did not want to give his services for free and he was busy and helping others was inconvenient. He matriculated to a medical school and lasted less than one year. He's now in school to become an accountant.

Even for DO, your GPAs alone would get you rejected from a fair number of DO schools. The lack of Ecs would just seal the deal.

Forget about anymore research. Your job now is to bulk up on the ECs and reinvent yourself.

Read this:

• Goro's advice for pre-meds who need reinvention

And here's the deal: You need to show AdComs that you know what you're getting into, and show off your altruistic, humanistic side. We need to know that you're going to like being around sick or injured people for the next 40 years.

I've seen plenty of posts here from high GPA/high MCAT candidates who were rejected because they had little patient contact experience.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all, but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimers or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.

Service need not be "unique"; it can be anything that helps people unable to help themselves and that is outside of a patient-care setting.If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients.

Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities. The key thing is service to others less fortunate than you. And get off campus and out of your comfort zone!

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching literacy or ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Meals on Wheels, mentoring immigrant/refugee adults, being a friendly visitor to shut-ins, adaptive sports program coach or Special Olympics.

 

[LunaOri]

1. Why do you want to become a physician (MD/DO)? You don't seem to have enough exposure to know what medicine is all about.
2. Plenty of DO's become surgeons, so don't let that myth hold you back from applying to DO programs.