I am a re-applicant on 2 waitlists. The main feedback I received from schools was that I need more clinical experience. However, 2 schools said that simply submitting earlier should result in interviews this year ( I turned in primary July 3 and secondaries early September for those schools). I am ready to submit my application tonight but I will be shadowing a doctor the week of June 24-28. Is it worth it to wait until June 29 or 30 to submit so I can have that experience on my primary or should I submit now and write about shadowing in my secondaries. I have no previous shadowing experience and only clinical experience is 200 hours ER volunteering which is 100 more than last year.
Submission Advice
- Thread starter day11
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The real issue with your app was not the day of primary submit. July 3rd is still early. The problem was when you submitted your secondaries. September is a full 3 months after. You need to submit your secondaries in the same month you got them, sooner the better.
You waited until now to get more clinical experience? Shadowing doesnt really constitute clinical experience, but it's better than nothing.
I would not put anything on your primary that's taking place days before you submit it. Also, a few days difference between June 24th and June 29th is not going to make *that* big of a difference.
Just submit and mention that you're currently shadowing a doctor in your interviews. Like I said though, shadowing isnt weighed too heavily in admissions.
You waited until now to get more clinical experience? Shadowing doesnt really constitute clinical experience, but it's better than nothing.
I would not put anything on your primary that's taking place days before you submit it. Also, a few days difference between June 24th and June 29th is not going to make *that* big of a difference.
Just submit and mention that you're currently shadowing a doctor in your interviews. Like I said though, shadowing isnt weighed too heavily in admissions.
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I agree. Some last-minute shadowing won't impress adcoms. Just submit early and mention it in your secondaries/updates.
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Outta curiosity... did you change anything else about your application besides 100 extra hours of volunteering and a few hours of shadowing? Are you better able to say this year why medical school is for you than you were at this time last year?
I worked as a full time research associate at a drug company this year so on the science side of medicine yes. On the clinical side nothing else besides the 100 more hours. My state residency changed and I was told I should get interviews just because I will now be applying to my top choices as an in state resident.
yea I thought about doing that and I am in CNA class currently in case I dont get off waitlists and 2014 application doesn't work out but 4 schools told me to reapply this year so I figure its worth a shot because from what I've heard I don't think it would have a negative effect if I did have to apply a third time.
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IMO this is a terrible attitude to have. You should go in with the best application you can have, not with a slightly stronger application and a contingency in case you don't get in again. It's a lot of time and effort (not to mention funds) to apply to med school, and the heartbreak of rejection. I also wouldn't say that there's no harm if you have to apply three times. If you apply twice, you can claim that you had a weakness in your application that you fixed. If you apply three times, you obviously didn't put forth the effort to fix the problems in the first place. But in the end, it's your decision whether to reapply or not.
I got rejected everyone my first time applying because of lack of clinical experience. I worked at a physicians office through my application year, but still didn't feel like I addressed that particular weakness, so I took another year off and became a phlebotomist. Best decision I ever made... I was able to make enough money in the year and a half that I was working to pay back all my student loans and my credit card debt, and go to med school with $7K in savings (drop in the bucket compared to med school costs, but it was sufficient to allow me to travel a bit and buy all my furniture and whatnot when I moved cross country to start). I also grew up a ton during those two years, and I'm a better person for it.
Yea its been a really tough decision. Because I agree as I was working on my application I was like yea I have 1500 hours more bench research on vaccines and 100 more volunteer hours but is that really making my application better in med schools eyes. I keep going back and forth like yes obviously I need more clinical, but then those 4 schools telling me to reapply earlier right away this year keeps giving me hope. who knows...
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Look at it from another angle, then. If you wait a year, how will your application be different next year? Will you be submitting on the first day, will you have more/different clinical experience, will you be a better person, will you still want to go into medicine, etc.
It will be way better next year but im thinking I might as well try this year if there is no risk of it negatively effecting my 2015 application
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Disagree. Re-applying does negatively affect your 2015 application should you not succeed. Think carefully about this. Being a 3rd time re-applicant is always a red flag. I think some schools don't even allow more than 3 tries, so you're basically at the end of your rope.
If you really, really want to apply this year - then apply only to those two schools that suggested you had a fighting chance applying earlier. This way, you don't burn all your bridges - and believe me, applying 2x with a weak application is burning your bridges.
My recommendation is: If your app will be way better next year, apply next year! By the way, what are your stats? How many schools did you apply to the first time around? Did none of the other rejections provide any feedback? Because it isn't really clear what happened outside of these 4 schools you're mentioning, making it difficult for us to gauge what your chances are this year.
Yea that was actually my plan to apply to those 4 schools and the 2 that I am on waitlists because then for those 6 school if I applied next year I would be a 3rd time but for all others I would be 1st or 2nd correct? I think im just gonna call a ton of schools and ask them about because a negative effect from applying 3 times is the only reason I wouldn't apply today. My application is ready and waiting but this thread has scared me. 3.9 and 31
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You mention "first time" and second time applicant in the same breath like it doesn't make a difference. I don't think you realize how huge the distinction between a first time applicant and a reapplicant is. Some schools will not treat your app the same ever after the first time.
Your stats are good, which leads me to believe you probably need to a) apply earlier b) improve your statement. You say that your app will be much better next year, why?
If its because you became a CNA and realized it wasnt enough for you, then yes your app would be much better. Because you'll have a few more hundred hours of shadowing? If so,then you are mistaken. The topic of lacking clinical experience is only a concern if you can't convince the committee that youve had enough clinical exposure to solidify your conviction in becoming a doctor as opposed to other professions. This is different for every individual, which is why the ideal number of clinical hours runs the gamut of a little to a lot. You be the judge of that.
Bottom line, save yourself the agony and wait if you think your app will be better next year. Your chances of success at any school will not only be better, you'll also likely have greater chance of having multiple acceptances, and therefore more choices to choose from.
But don't take my word for it. Ask your advisors too. What I think you need to get to the bottom of is why you didn't get in the first time with stats like those. Which schools did you apply to? Were you applying within range of their avg mcats? OOS? IIS?
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