Wait it out or commit to reapplying?

[st1nger92]

Profile: Asian male, 514 MCAT, 3.6x cGPA, 3.5x sGPA with ~3k clinical employment hours, ~800 research hours, ~200 service hours, 2 gap years

I'm winding down my first application cycle, and it has been a slaughter with only 1 DO II. I was pressured to apply to that school, and after interviewing and visiting, I feel that we are a not a good fit for each other. My application had a few weaknesses in hindsight: my service hours are low, my GPA could use some work, and I feel that my late secondary submissions (1 month turnaround) definitely hurt my chances as well. I also feel that I could've done better on the MCAT with several months of dedicated, full time prep rather than fitting in time when I could while full time working and researching.

Should I get rejected or waitlisted, I would immediately begin full time prepping for 3 months to raise my MCAT score, start a new volunteering position, and jump into a premed masters program to work on my GPA. I feel that with that plan, I would stand a good chance as a reapplicant to get accepted into a school which more closely aligns with my future goals as a physician. I am at a loss for what to do at this point. Is it better to wait it out and potentially gain an A at that school, in which case I'm effectively locked in, or withdraw prior to a decision so that I can reapply? Alternatively, I may get waitlisted or rejected by that school which would result in me enacting that plan anyway. Any words of advice on this situation would help!

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[Arbitas]

Profile: Asian male, 514 MCAT, 3.6x cGPA, 3.5x sGPA with ~3k clinical employment hours, ~800 research hours, ~200 service hours, 2 gap years

I'm winding down my first application cycle, and it has been a slaughter with only 1 DO II. I was pressured to apply to that school, and after interviewing and visiting, I feel that we are a not a good fit for each other. My application had a few weaknesses in hindsight: my service hours are low, my GPA could use some work, and I feel that my late secondary submissions (1 month turnaround) definitely hurt my chances as well. I also feel that I could've done better on the MCAT with several months of dedicated, full time prep rather than fitting in time when I could while full time working and researching.

Should I get rejected or waitlisted, I would immediately begin full time prepping for 3 months to raise my MCAT score, start a new volunteering position, and jump into a premed masters program to work on my GPA. I feel that with that plan, I would stand a good chance as a reapplicant to get accepted into a school which more closely aligns with my future goals as a physician. I am at a loss for what to do at this point. Is it better to wait it out and potentially gain an A at that school, in which case I'm effectively locked in, or withdraw prior to a decision so that I can reapply? Alternatively, I may get waitlisted or rejected by that school which would result in me enacting that plan anyway. Any words of advice on this situation would help!

What do you mean by "I was pressured to apply to that school?"

 

[bankedsynapse]

If you truly wouldn't be happy going to the school you're waiting on, working on reapplying isn't a bad idea.

That said, I don't really think your GPA and MCAT are necessarily the issue. My GPA and MCAT were lower than yours and I received a good amount of attention with both MD and DO A's. I would fill out a WAMC (over in the What Are My Chances forum) to get a more thorough assessment but I think in a lot of cases the issue is school list and lack of service. A list too top-heavy or focusing on schools who don't accepted many OOS applicants can torpedo an app, I have learned. And sometimes the service we have doesn't lend itself well to our 'story' or reads like checking a box. There could also be an issue in your writing (personal statement and secondaries) or a bad LOR, but most often it seems to be school list and service that are the culprits.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

It would help us if you completed a WAMC template. Just telling us how many hours you did reveals nothing about where you had problems. You did not tell us the result of your interview (offer, waitlist, or rejected).

Without an offer, you should be working on your reapplication... like today.

 

[Hollow Knight]

other people have answered your detailed questions but I just want to point out- lots of people with great applications wind up going DO because that’s just how brutal being a premed is these days. And there’s nothing wrong with DO, other than it’ll be harder for you to be a dermatologist.

Also, with the number of medical students increasing so much in the last several years, getting into a competitive specialty now is a bloodbath even at MD schools.

I say all that to say- be prepared for the possibility of going where you are accepted rather than where you would prefer. Most medical students in this country wind up at a school with “poor mission fit” because so many people want to do derm or ortho and not very many schools are focused on that. I usually tell people if you can’t stand FM, IM, peds, or general surgery not to go to med school at all

 

[AJS59]

If you're still waiting on acceptance, why would you turn down this DO School?

 

[harmonious_gazelle]

Profile: Asian male, 514 MCAT, 3.6x cGPA, 3.5x sGPA with ~3k clinical employment hours, ~800 research hours, ~200 service hours, 2 gap years

I'm winding down my first application cycle, and it has been a slaughter with only 1 DO II. I was pressured to apply to that school, and after interviewing and visiting, I feel that we are a not a good fit for each other. My application had a few weaknesses in hindsight: my service hours are low, my GPA could use some work, and I feel that my late secondary submissions (1 month turnaround) definitely hurt my chances as well. I also feel that I could've done better on the MCAT with several months of dedicated, full time prep rather than fitting in time when I could while full time working and researching.

Should I get rejected or waitlisted, I would immediately begin full time prepping for 3 months to raise my MCAT score, start a new volunteering position, and jump into a premed masters program to work on my GPA. I feel that with that plan, I would stand a good chance as a reapplicant to get accepted into a school which more closely aligns with my future goals as a physician. I am at a loss for what to do at this point. Is it better to wait it out and potentially gain an A at that school, in which case I'm effectively locked in, or withdraw prior to a decision so that I can reapply? Alternatively, I may get waitlisted or rejected by that school which would result in me enacting that plan anyway. Any words of advice on this situation would help!

If you can afford the costs of another application cycle (mentally, financially, etc), I would withdraw before the decision comes out. If you build your application some more this year, you can reapply and focus on submitting early and possibly retaking the MCAT. If you start now, you might be able to take the MCAT in April/May. Sorry your cycle didn't work out like how you expected, it's been super competitive/humbling to go through this process for sure.

 

[Med Ed]

Profile: Asian male, 514 MCAT, 3.6x cGPA, 3.5x sGPA with ~3k clinical employment hours, ~800 research hours, ~200 service hours, 2 gap years

You have an 89th percentile MCAT score. That wasn't the issue, and retaking is a waste of your time.

Your GPA is below average for matriculants, but not bad.

Your clinical employment hours are in line with someone who is in March of gap year #2.

Your research exists. Was it productive?

Your service is the killer. Undergrad + 2 gap years and you've got 200 hours? Were they a quality activity, at least, or crisis text line/charity dance marathon?

Of course, there may be issues with your writing, your narrative, and/or your rec letters that we can't readily see.

 

[wysdoc]

I agree with @Med Ed , if you jump into building up your volunteer activities, something in person with the people you are helping, you could apply again this summer.
If you started a full-time postbac program plus studying for the MCAT again, you would not have time for the community service things your application needs to round it out.

 

[eigen]

I agree with the others that your MCAT and GPA aren't likely to be the problem. I routinely have students accepted with lower, and would not recommend one of my advisees re-take the MCAT or work on an SMP with that GPA. It's low, but the time spent on "GPA repair" would be better spent on other things.

I also agree that your service hours are low. That's right about the minimum I'd want to see for someone applying while still an undergrad, and very low for someone after 2 gap years. Unless they're 200 hours of super high impact, meaningful service, that's likely to be the low spot in your application.

It's also possible there are issues with your materials: have you had someone review your statements, work and activities, etc? How are your letters?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Should I get rejected or waitlisted, I would immediately begin full time prepping for 3 months to raise my MCAT score, start a new volunteering position, and jump into a premed masters program to work on my GPA. I feel that with that plan, I would stand a good chance as a reapplicant to get accepted into a school which more closely aligns with my future goals as a physician.

Don't wait. You may miss the window to have a new MCAT for a reapplication (April-June window). How are you going to study differently and more efficiently because you don't want to tread water or drop. Goal is +10, or 524 for you.

In fact, if you had started these activities during your application cycle, you would already have significant hours to add that could have addressed the low experience hours issue.

An SMP is wasted money for a 3.5x GPA applicant.

Delayed timing and goal setting may be what undermines your reapplication. Don't doom yourself into another less than optimal cycle.

Read

The Time is Right: Prehealth Application Timelines - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

 

[Goro]

Profile: Asian male, 514 MCAT, 3.6x cGPA, 3.5x sGPA with ~3k clinical employment hours, ~800 research hours, ~200 service hours, 2 gap years

I'm winding down my first application cycle, and it has been a slaughter with only 1 DO II. I was pressured to apply to that school, and after interviewing and visiting, I feel that we are a not a good fit for each other. My application had a few weaknesses in hindsight: my service hours are low, my GPA could use some work, and I feel that my late secondary submissions (1 month turnaround) definitely hurt my chances as well. I also feel that I could've done better on the MCAT with several months of dedicated, full time prep rather than fitting in time when I could while full time working and researching.

Should I get rejected or waitlisted, I would immediately begin full time prepping for 3 months to raise my MCAT score, start a new volunteering position, and jump into a premed masters program to work on my GPA. I feel that with that plan, I would stand a good chance as a reapplicant to get accepted into a school which more closely aligns with my future goals as a physician. I am at a loss for what to do at this point. Is it better to wait it out and potentially gain an A at that school, in which case I'm effectively locked in, or withdraw prior to a decision so that I can reapply? Alternatively, I may get waitlisted or rejected by that school which would result in me enacting that plan anyway. Any words of advice on this situation would help!

I know that this will upset some tender snowflakes, but as of right now, you are rejected until you get that Accept email in your Inbox.

So yes, you should be working on Plan B and take a gap year to fill to holes in your ap.

"Pressured to apply"? By who, your parents?

 

[st1nger92]

I appreciate the insight from everyone! I think there was a bit of misunderstanding here: reapp prep is well underway, but my main question was more about doubling down on/guaranteeing a third gap year by effectively shutting down this cycle. While that question remains hard for me to answer, I did gain a lot of insight into my other predicament: the direction to take my possible next gap year. After reviewing all the responses, I'm starting to agree that a SMP or MCAT retake is most likely unnecessary. I was nervous about the high stat averages of the Asian male pool, but the consensus seems to be that my academic numbers are fine. I definitely agree that service hours are a weakness and should be my #1 priority at the moment.

Regarding my essay writing: I had my primary reviewed by many eyes, but my secondaries were not as thoroughly screened. Regarding LORs, I do not have any doubts there: I have great relationships with the people who wrote for me and I believe they are good writers.

All of this in mind, my priorities for the upcoming cycle has shifted very heavily to service hours. I’ll leave the academics alone and continue to focus on an improved school list, more extensive writing review (particularly with individuals who have a lot of experience with essay editing and the med school app process), and earlier application submissions. Thank you all for your responses! It’s been great to get so many helpful opinions.