Should I reapply this cycle? If so, what should I do (differently)?

[MrMassador]

Hi everyone,

I apologize for asking such a applicant specific question but I'm currently in dire need of some advice.

Last cycle, I applied to approximately 25 MD schools across the country, all within the top 50 and most within the top 40 (specifically, I believe UC Davis or Georgetown were the lowest ranked). I received secondaries to all except Vanderbilt and ultimately received 3 interviews at UC Davis, USC, and UCSD (interview dates were 1/9, 1/16, and 1/26, respectively). Unfortunately, I got waitlisted to all three and am currently in desperation mode hoping to get accepted. However, as the next AMCAS cycle is about to open soon, I need to start contemplating whether I should reapply this cycle or not.

First off, some details about my application so you all know, to some extent, where I stand amongst the pool of applicants.

California Resident (specifically, born/raised in Sacramento)
School: UCLA (at time of application, 3rd year; currently 4th year)
Major: Chemistry
cGPA: 3.91 (currently 3.94)
sGPA: 3.88 (currently probably 3.9)
MCAT: 516

Physical Sciences: 131
CARS: 127
Biological Sciences: 130
Psych/Soc.: 128​

Research: Study serotonin in mice in an analytical chemistry lab (2.5 years). No papers (though a couple were recently submitted but authorship would be relatively minor), 1 Summer Research Fellowship
Work Experience: Sales Associate for Sprint and Verizon (~1000 hours)
Clinical Experience: Volunteer at hospital; shadow nurses, doctors, residents, etc... while also assisting with patient care whenever possible (445 hours, currently ~550 hours)
Leadership Experience: President & Founder of Hide & Seek Club @ UCLA. Public Relations Coordinator of volunteer program at hospital (see above; responsible for recruiting applicants 4 times a year. Approximately ~500 applicants per cycle)
Misc.: Undergraduate Teaching Assistant for gen. chem, ochem, and molecular bio. (900 hours)

Stuff NOT on last cycle's application
Shadowing: Shadowed anesthesiologist (20 hours)
Clinical Experience: Host/Work at health clinics for Westminster, CA (underserved Asian population) (~100 hours)
​

One caveat to consider about last year's application was that my AMCAS wasn't submitted until July 24th (took MCAT July 9th so I waited for my score before submitting). Application was processed around August 9th. Most secondaries were submitted in late August/early September with a couple leaking in as late as late September/early October.

As far as interviews are concerned, I felt like they went, for the most part, well. I felt confident at UC Davis, USC was a tad shaky in that one of my interviewers was pretty cold, and UCSD was okay (had recently received news about being waitlisted at UCD and USC, so I wasn't feeling too hot). Overall, certainly not bad but they weren't *perfect* either.

Additionally, I felt like my letters of recommendation were from professors whom I had close relationships with as a student and/or undergraduate teaching assistant. Unfortunately, no letters from doctors but I did have letters from my PI and the supervisor of the volunteering program I am involved with.

Anyways, with all that said, I wanted to ask you all A) what you think went/is wrong with my application B) should I reapply this cycle and C) what in my application (specifically personal statement, secondaries) should I change/improve? I feel a bit unconfident in submitting what is mostly the same application as last year and I don't think my "reasons for going to medical school" have changed much from last year's. Whether I reapply this cycle or not, I will try to find work as a medical scribe or as a lab tech for my current PI. I will most likely also continue volunteering at the hospital, working health clinics in Westminster, CA, and possibly furthering my current research (even if unpaid). I also hope to find some work at health clinics for the homeless and/or tutoring homeless children in Los Angeles.

Well, that's about it. Thank you so much for getting through this post. Any help/advice/criticism is greatly appreciated Hope you all have a great night and a fantastic 3-day weekend (for those of you in the US)!

​

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[TheBiologist]

a 3.91 from UCLA as a chemistry majors and 95% MCAT, not to mention well above average EC's. Top 50 shouldn't have been a problem with those stats as there are plenty of target schools within that 50

I have absolutely no ******* idea

edit: wait, how much volunteering/community service is included in those hours?

 

[MrMassador]

a 3.91 from UCLA as a chemistry majors and 95% MCAT, not to mention well above average EC's. Top 50 shouldn't have been a problem with those stats as there are plenty of target schools within that 50

I have absolutely no ******* idea

edit: wait, how much volunteering/community service is included in those hours?

The ~550 hours of clinical experience were performed at a pretty high-tier hospital in Westwood (Ronald Reagan Medical Center, to be exact). Besides my work at clinics in Westminster (which I recently started doing around January), I didn't have much other community service.

As a side note, thank you for your kind words I've been feeling pretty tender lately as a result of those waitlists so it's encouraging to hear that I'm not too far away from med school (hopefully!)

 

[ill be a doc soon]

Your stats arent the problem obviously, you have good ECs, so it is probably something in your personal statement and secondaries... Did you come off as immature at all?
I dont really see anything more you can do so you should definitely apply this summer, and make sure you submit in June. Add in some mid tiers as well.
Oh, and btw... LETS GO BRUINS CLASS OF 2017.

 

[TheBiologist]

do you mind posting your school list?

 

[MrMassador]

Your stats arent the problem obviously, you have good ECs, so it is probably something in your personal statement and secondaries... Did you come off as immature at all?
Oh, and btw... LETS GO BRUINS CLASS OF 2017.

In my personal statement/secondaries, I tried my best to stay away from the typical "pre-med" response. In other words, I tried to be as honest as I could with my points and I tried to stay away from pompous vocabulary in lieu of a more conversational tone. If you're interested, I wouldn't mind sharing my personal statement if you'd like to take a look. It'd never hurt to get a second pair of eyes looking at it!

 

[MrMassador]

do you mind posting your school list?

Schools highlighted in red were ones I was either rejected from or didn't do a secondary for (because I chose not to or because I never received one)

 

[TheBiologist]

Schools highlighted in red were ones I was either rejected from or didn't do a secondary for (because I chose not to or because I never received one)

wait, so what are the schools not in red?

 

[MrMassador]

wait, so what are the schools not in red?

Just schools that I applied to. I received secondaries to all of them but may not have interviewed there (as I mentioned above, only interviewed at USC, UCD, and UCSD). I was pretty lazy when highlighting the school in red so it's not necessarily a comprehensive list in terms of highlighting

 

[ill be a doc soon]

In my personal statement/secondaries, I tried my best to stay away from the typical "pre-med" response. In other words, I tried to be as honest as I could with my points and I tried to stay away from pompous vocabulary in lieu of a more conversational tone. If you're interested, I wouldn't mind sharing my personal statement if you'd like to take a look. It'd never hurt to get a second pair of eyes looking at it!

Im not really a good judge when it comes to personal statements, tbh. But you should definitely apply this summer, and make sure you submit in June. I dont really know much more you can do to improve your application. Perhaps the adcoms on here can pitch in.

 

[TheBiologist]

Just schools that I applied to. I received secondaries to all of them but may not have interviewed there (as I mentioned above, only interviewed at USC, UCD, and UCSD). I was pretty lazy when highlighting the school in red so it's not necessarily a comprehensive list in terms of highlighting

so you were rejected from pretty much every other school; very weird you didn't get interviews from Dartmouth, Gerogetown, riverside, irvine, and davis. you are even above average for Duke

 

[cloudstrife2054]

Did you start your application like 6 months before submitting it?

Tell me the opening to your personal statement, or send it to me via PM if you're comfortable and tell me what interview questions you were asked and how you answered them.

 

[DrHart]

3 interviews is good - and means your stats were fine and there weren't any huge red flags. My guess is that you could improve your interviewing. California is tough though. Perhaps consider more OOS mid-low tiers that take a lot of OOSers.

 

[jcorpsmanMD]

You have great stats, I recommend you apply to Texas medical schools via TMDSAS. A lot of California residents end up going to school here, state is FULL of mid-tiers and we have a couple of great schools too. (UTSW, Baylor) just a thought, it's cheap too.

 

[Faha]

Obviously your greatest success was with the UC's so apply to all of them again. For OOS schools I suggest these:
Boston University
Tufts
Rochester
Hofstra
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
Wake Forest
Oakland Beaumont
Medical College Wisconsin
Rosalind Franklin
St. Louis
Tulane
Creighton

 

[JStiz]

Something that I would suggest if you do reapply is to submit your application the first day you are able, and to turn around your secondaries within a week (pre-write essays).

I was late when I submitted, and I think this really hurt the interviews that I recieved (my stats were also comparable to yours). My application was also finalized in July and secondaries submitted by August/September. I noticed that my friends with weaker applications who submitted day 1 had twice as many interviews as I did come the end of interview season. It seemed like some schools just never got to my application, and when they did, they had already interviewed and accepted someone just like me lol...

Wishing you the best!

 

[MrMassador]

so you were rejected from pretty much every other school; very weird you didn't get interviews from Dartmouth, Gerogetown, riverside, irvine, and davis. you are even above average for Duke

To be fair, I didn't actually send a secondary for Duke nor Riverside, though Irvine was submitted before UCSD's and around the same time as USC's (both of which I had interviews too). Do you think the fact that I submitted my primaries in late July has an influential factor as to why I didn't get any acceptances this cycle?

 

[MrMassador]

Something that I would suggest if you do reapply is to submit your application the first day you are able, and to turn around your secondaries within a week (pre-write essays).

I was late when I submitted, and I think this really hurt the interviews that I recieved (my stats were also comparable to yours). My application was also finalized in July and secondaries submitted by August/September. I noticed that my friends with weaker applications who submitted day 1 had twice as many interviews as I did come the end of interview season. It seemed like some schools just never got to my application, and when they did, they had already interviewed and accepted someone just like me lol...

Wishing you the best!

Yeah, I'm hoping that the date my I submitted my applications plays a part in how this cycle turned out. Do you mind if I ask if you were able to get any acceptances despite submitting your apps late?

 

[JStiz]

Yeah, I'm hoping that the date my I submitted my applications plays a part in how this cycle turned out. Do you mind if I ask if you were able to get any acceptances despite submitting your apps late?

Sorry I just saw this (not on SDN too much). I ended up getting one acceptance (interviewed at three; two waitlisted), and I am extremely grateful as it was one of my top choice schools. Looking back, I took a huge risk. Sadly, there are not always enough seats for all the (sometimes very highly) qualified applicants, so don't get discouraged! If you have to, make good use of your gap year (which many times are perceived favorably by adcoms) and be the first one to turn in your secondaries!

 

[jordansnfootbal]

To be fair, I didn't actually send a secondary for Duke nor Riverside, though Irvine was submitted before UCSD's and around the same time as USC's (both of which I had interviews too). Do you think the fact that I submitted my primaries in late July has an influential factor as to why I didn't get any acceptances this cycle?

That's def it. Again apply the first day the AMCAS opens. If you submitted your primary app in late July you probably did not get your secondaries in till September. Trust me I applied a 2nd time with the same stats and 2 new ECs but submitted 1 month earlier and received way more interviews. The schools you interviewed at you probably did okay if you got waitlisted but improve the interview skills. Other than that your personal statement or secondaries may have been the reason.

 

[cloudstrife2054]

One thing I have learned from my pre med advisor is do not just use ideas. Use personal examples from your life because that is what makes you unique. During interviews, don't hesitate to do something to stand out however weird it may be, but obviously keep it professional, do not take off your shirt and show a scar of a surgery. I was told by an adcom member someone actually did that. I know a guy who got into dental, he brought the sculpture of a tooth he made. It showed he loves dentistry and has the manual dexterity to be a dentist.

 

[Kingsmen2018]

It scares the hell out of me seeing people with stats and EC like yours not being accepted.It really could be due to a later submission as well. The only thing I can think of is that you can improve on your interviewing. Also, expand your school list and add safety schools. As you've probably realized its better to go to a mid/low their school than no school at all.

GL M8

 

[Gollum1985]

What's sad is I saw a thread where a URM had a 502 and average GPA and was accepted into a UC med school. Asians have a harder time getting into med school especially into a UC med school. Apply to private out of state med schools and I will be shocked if you don't get in.

 

[SuaveCardigans]

What's sad is I saw a thread where a URM had a 502 and average GPA and was accepted into a UC med school. Asians have a harder time getting into med school especially into a UC med school. Apply to private out of state med schools and I will be shocked if you don't get in.

You realize people are more than MCAT scores right?

 

[gyngyn]

What's sad is I saw a thread where a URM had a 502 and average GPA and was accepted into a UC med school. Asians have a harder time getting into med school especially into a UC med school. Apply to private out of state med schools and I will be shocked if you don't get in.

In WAMC, we focus on what will help OP.
Fortunately, he doesn't need your advice as he has been accepted.