Reapplying

[Dancin' Kat]

Hi All,
I'm currently applying for the Fall 2001 class, and while maybe it's too early to freak out about not getting interviews (my secondaries were in pretty late), I'm trying to cope by considering reapplying. Any thoughts on how to be a successful reapplicant? If I've received a good number of secondaries and am currently doing medically related activities, is considering applying early for the 2002 class a bad idea/too soon?
Thank you in advance, and please don't beat me up if you all think this is a lame question!

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[abbeydesert]

You sound like you're on the right track. I was in a similar situation to yours: applied late to the entering class of 2000, only one interview and promptly rejected. I got really frustrated after getting all the rejections last year- but I managed to somehow keep going, reapply, complete another AMCAS and umpteen secondaries, work to pay the exorbitant application fees, continue volunteering and taking classes, etc. After reapplying early this cycle (sent the AMCAS in on June 1), I got 4 interviews and two acceptances and will be starting med school in August. I FINALLY made it! Keep up your medically related activities, do well in your classes, and make sure you get the AMCAS and secondaries in as early as possible. Also, take a good hard look at your application- if you find anything negative, do whatever it takes to remedy the situation. Make sure you apply to a sufficient number of schools - this process is such a ridiculous crapshoot, you want to do everything possible to maximize your chances of getting in somewhere. Whatever you do, don't let rejection get you down. Medical school admissions is a highly subjective, often flawed process and it really pays to be persistent. Best of luck to you!

 

[kimberlicox]

Kat....

Please consider setting an appointment with a medical school admissions person and see what advice they can give you on how to strengthen your application. I'm plagarizing other's posts here but stress to this person that you are not currently an applicant (or have been rejected) and are not looking for specific information on how to get into THAT school but rather what can you do to make your application more competitive when you do reapply.

It is futile to reapply with the same application. Therefore, if your gpa, MCATs, activities, letters, personal statement, etc. haven't changed - please make sure that they do before reapplying - especially if you haven't been successful in getting interviews. In your case, it MAY be that you simply applied so late that many spots were taken; hard to tell without more data. IMHO, you would be well advised to seek some professional words of wisdom before laying out your hard earned dollars.

Best of luck!

 

[Cobragirl]

Kat,
I'm in the same situation as you at this point. While I did have my initial app in by June 15th, most secondaries in by late Aug/early Sept, my MCAT was lost by the testing center and so I had to retake it in October and then wait (AGAIN) for my scores. Basically, my applications weren't "complete" until November because of this mess! I have gone to one interview (waitlisted) and have another next Friday, but I haven't heard a word from ANY of the other schools, so I'm beginning to assume that my chances are getting pretty slim. I'm not really looking forward to studying for the MCAT again (I'd like to bring my score up a little more before/if I reapply) but I'm scared not too. Since I've already graduated, and need to pay off some bills before I head of to med-school, I won't be taking any classes to boost my gpa (it doesn't really need any boosting, luckily). Unfortunately, by not taking aditional classes, the numbers on my app won't change much, so I'm going to try to change up some other stuff...I begin working in the ER on Monday, I'm working full-time, and I'm going to try to concentrate on really making my personal statements stand out this time. Last year, my personal statements were good, but after the fact, I realized I had left out some details that might have helped out more.

It's hard to be in this "limbo" situation...I feel very strongly that, had my MCAT not been delayed, I would have had several more interviews by now, and probably an acceptance or two. Instead, I'm faced with going through this whole process again, shelling out another couple thousand dollars for app fees, travel, etc. (I had to sell a car last year to afford them!) At the same time, I might end up being one of those people that gets the late acceptance and all this worrying, studying, and preparing will be unneccessary!

 

[Malftap]

I agree with the previous posters. You should talk to the admission people to get an ideal on what you can improve. A lot of people will suggest to go back and take classes to improve your gpa. Realize if you are graduated if you take a few classes it won't put a dent into your gpa. My advice would be to do some volunteer work and also try to find a research position. Those two things will really help your application status.

 

[Doc Oc]

Dancin' Kat,
Hopefully this will be some encouragement: It took me two tries to get accepted to medical school. The first time I applied, I had a 3.1 GPA and a 24 MCAT. I had very few extracurriculars since I worked 50 hours a week to pay my tuition. I also did not mention this fact on my personal statement because at the tiem I thought it would look like I was making up excuses for my low GPA. Finally, I found two spelling mistakes in my essay. This very poorly constructed application to medical school was sent in by me in mid-July. I think I knew I wouldn't get in from the moment I dropped it in the mailbox.
And I didn't. I didn't even get an interview. Even worse, my three state schools rejected me without a secondary, and they show preference to state residents, so I should have had a good chance with them. I was definitely pretty depressed, and I decided to think about my choice of future profession for a year before applying again. In that time, I started doing all the things I wanted to do while in college (I applied after junior year, and graduated the day after I received my last rejection). I took violin lessons,taught anatomy, worked in a biomechanics lab, worked in a genetics lab, got a gym membership, and joined Big Brothers Big Sisters. I took graduate classes through my schools alumni lifelong ed program (which lets you take any grad class you want without enrolling in a program, but you must get the prof's permission first, and earned the highest grade in every class. After a year, I decided to bite the bullet and take a prep course for the MCAT. I studied my butt off, and improved in every section, and even went up a letter in my writing score ( Q to R). I applied this year, and received seven interview invites (4 MD, 3 DO), went to five of them, and was accepted by 3 schools and wait-listed by 2 others. I withdrew the rest of my apps. Anyway, i have to get to wrk (AHHH, the time!), but the point is, if you have to apply again, you can do it, and the time spent in between just may make you think your first rejections were a belssing in disguide. Good luck!! (Sorry I had to cut this off, but I'm going tpo be so late. AH!)

 

[jimi]

This is just a minor note, but on many of the application it said that if you are going to reapply, you should not do it right away. You should a take a little time to work on things.

I know I went into the application process telling myself if I didn't get in, I'd take another year off and do all the different types of activities that I enjoyed and that would also prepare me for med school.

I think if money is an issue, taking an extra year in between would be wise. Then you know you have time to make some real improvements. Obviously the schools would applaud that time and the effort you put into preparing yourself.

But seriously, I really think it's too early to give up for this year! Stay optimistic!

 

[Mango]

Just remember, even if you're late getting the apps in, if your stats are high for the school, your chances are still great of being accepted. I say this because even though you may get waitlisted, you will be ranked on the list based on stats, not on when your app was turned in. So I hope that makes you feel a bit better.

Incidentally, I know this because it happened to me. I turned in my recommendations very late (like December), and therefore didn't interview until Jan-March. I was waitlisted at three of the four schools that I interviewed at, but was accepted to all four (FYI, I only applied to five schools completely).

Take home message: most schools take a substantial number of waitlisters, if your stats are good, you should be one of them. Good Luck, Mango