Should I reapply this cycle?

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BalboaRocky

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Hello,

I was planning on reapplying for a 3rd cycle and wanted to make sure I am ready after implementing advice I have received.

I am currently on the waitlist for 1 MD school and 2 DO schools.

I am hesitant to attend the DO schools if accepted due to being far from home for likely 8 years and underwhelming campus visits.

Looking back on my previous application,
I had a 518 MCAT and a 3.9 GPA
1300 hours working in a psych unit
400 hours as a nurse assistant
120 hours as an ED Tech
400 hours of research
40 hours volunteering
0 hours shadowing
1 LOR from a Doc
3II, 3 WL

Along with my lack of volunteering and shadowing, my list was too top heavy and I rushed my secondaries.

For this new cycle,
2000 additional hours as an ED Tech, promoted to Team Lead position
80 hours of volunteering as a mentor for at risk adolescents
30 hours of volunteering at a soup kitchen
60 hours of shadowing between 3 ER Docs
2 additional LOR from Docs

Would schools consider this enough improvement in my application to be worth applying this cycle?

Would these additions be considered sufficient improvement to reapply this cycle?

Also, would declining a potential acceptance be viewed negatively by other schools in the future? Some physicians I’ve spoken with think taking another year is perfectly fine, while others believe I should attend wherever I’m accepted.

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

Thank you in advance.
 
Hello,

I was planning on reapplying for a 3rd cycle and wanted to make sure I am ready after implementing advice I have received.

I am currently on the waitlist for 1 MD school and 2 DO schools.

I am hesitant to attend the DO schools if accepted due to being far from home for likely 8 years and underwhelming campus visits.

Looking back on my previous application,
I had a 518 MCAT and a 3.9 GPA
1300 hours working in a psych unit
400 hours as a nurse assistant
120 hours as an ED Tech
400 hours of research
40 hours volunteering
0 hours shadowing
1 LOR from a Doc
3II, 3 WL

Along with my lack of volunteering and shadowing, my list was too top heavy and I rushed my secondaries.

For this new cycle,
2000 additional hours as an ED Tech, promoted to Team Lead position
80 hours of volunteering as a mentor for at risk adolescents
30 hours of volunteering at a soup kitchen
60 hours of shadowing between 3 ER Docs
2 additional LOR from Docs

Would schools consider this enough improvement in my application to be worth applying this cycle?

Would these additions be considered sufficient improvement to reapply this cycle?

Also, would declining a potential acceptance be viewed negatively by other schools in the future? Some physicians I’ve spoken with think taking another year is perfectly fine, while others believe I should attend wherever I’m accepted.

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

Thank you in advance.
You can withdraw from the DO waitlists if you want, it’s not the same stigma as withdrawing from an actual acceptance
When reapplying, don’t apply to them again though, and don’t apply to any MD or DO school you don’t wish to attend if accepted
 
You can withdraw from the DO waitlists if you want, it’s not the same stigma as withdrawing from an actual acceptance
When reapplying, don’t apply to them again though, and don’t apply to any MD or DO school you don’t wish to attend if accepted
Makes sense, thought I would be okay with moving away

Just wondering what the stigma of withdrawing an actual acceptance is? Would other schools look at it unfavorably and not accept you for it? Would MD schools be able to see withdrawing a DO acceptance?

Thank you
 
Makes sense, thought I would be okay with moving away

Just wondering what the stigma of withdrawing an actual acceptance is? Would other schools look at it unfavorably and not accept you for it? Would MD schools be able to see withdrawing a DO acceptance?

Thank you
All the apps ask if you have been accepted or withdrawn from a med school before.
 
CT

UConn
OSU-COM
LECOM Bradenton
I suggest these schools if you reapply:
UConn
Quinnipiac
Vermont
Tufts
UMass
Boston University
Dartmouth
Brown
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
New York Medical College
Albany
Rochester
Hackensack
Drexel
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Georgetown
George Washington
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
Wake Forest
Methodist (when it opens)
USF Morsani
Miami
NOVA MD
Belmont
Alice Walton
Roseman
TCU
Creighton
St. Louis
Ponce (St. Louis)
Rosalind Franklin
Northwestern
Medical College Wisconsin
Western Michigan
Oakland Beaumont
Iowa
Colorado
 
On whether you had enough of a significant improvement:
1) From zero to 60 hours of shadowing will help. I would keep building with shadowing physicians outside the ER.
2) Non-clinical community service: you didn't describe what you did before. You added a lot of teaching/mentoring. I disregard activities with fewer than 50 hours, so I can't give you credit for the soup kitchen work (others might have a lower threshold). Keep building more in your food distribution work and not so much on teaching/tutoring. Regardless, the take-home: you likely had zero service orientation hours (though you didn't describe your volunteering before) and having a non-zero number will help a bit. But I don't know if you had anything else to begin with; so no improvement here, and your application remains in jeopardy to getting screened out.
3) If any school gives you an offer, take it. Why torture yourself for an additional with no guarantees. You applied to these schools for a reason, even if you became disenchanted. Do you want to be a doctor or do you just want the prestige?
 
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