waitlisted and preparing for reapplication

[Desperad0oo7]

First some stats:

graduated from a top 5 liberal arts college with 3.5 GPA (both science and cumulative) took MCAT twice, scoring 33 on both (10/9/14 then 11/10/12) first time around I didn't study that much (5 days total) the second I did and was averaging 35 on my practice tests, that was in July, so not too long ago.

I graduated in 09 and since then I have been working as a full-time research assistant working on my own project at the stanford school of med.

I applied to MD/PhD programs only, since that is really what I want to do as opposed to MD or PhD only. I applied to 12 programs and was pretty much rejected by all (no interviews) except one which put me on the wait list.

One of the biggest problems with my application this cycle was being late. (submitted in late aug, verified in mid sep, secondaries in late sep to mid oct)

Also, I am an international student who is limited by which programs I can apply to. There are really less than 20 decent programs that accept international students. I did not submit secondaries to 4 of the AMCAS designated programs. would these count as reapplications?

my plan now is to start preparing to retake the MCAT on may 7th (limited dates in CA) and send my applications as soon as possible this time around in case I dont get in off the waitlist.

my question is, would a better MCAT + early submission be sufficient for reapplication?

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[Bernoull]

First some stats:

graduated from a top 5 liberal arts college with 3.5 GPA (both science and cumulative) took MCAT twice, scoring 33 on both (10/9/14 then 11/10/12) first time around I didn't study that much (5 days total) the second I did and was averaging 35 on my practice tests, that was in July, so not too long ago.

I graduated in 09 and since then I have been working as a full-time research assistant working on my own project at the stanford school of med.

I applied to MD/PhD programs only, since that is really what I want to do as opposed to MD or PhD only. I applied to 12 programs and was pretty much rejected by all (no interviews) except one which put me on the wait list.

One of the biggest problems with my application this cycle was being late. (submitted in late aug, verified in mid sep, secondaries in late sep to mid oct)

Also, I am an international student who is limited by which programs I can apply to. There are really less than 20 decent programs that accept international students. I did not submit secondaries to 4 of the AMCAS designated programs. would these count as reapplications?

my plan now is to start preparing to retake the MCAT on may 7th (limited dates in CA) and send my applications as soon as possible this time around in case I dont get in off the waitlist.

my question is, would a better MCAT + early submission be sufficient for reapplication?

Are u reapplying as MSTP, u may be more competitive going str8 MD (ur gpa's on the low side for MSTP) and then as an M1 apply to MSTP if u still want to. How r ur ECs?

 

[Desperad0oo7]

Yes, applying as MSTP. I do realize my GPA is on the low side. It was mainly due to one very bad semester in senior year when I had some personal circumstances. Because I graduated in 3.5 semesters that took its toll. Which is why I decided to take two years after college to do fulltime research. I also did an undergraduate thesis which I wrote the grant for with my PI.

right after college I did a fellowship in nonproliferation research in the chem and bio terrorism research department for 2.5 months.

I don't have much clinical experience inside the US but I have 180 hours of shadowing a cardiologist in Libya and 180 hours of shadowing/volunteering in a medical lab in Jordan.

I feel that I can do better on the MCAT if I do it again since the last one really seemed to be at the very wrong end of variance. would that not be enough to make up for my GPA?

I am also interested in public health research in the future. Would going to MPH and getting a good GPA help my case?

 

[Mindscrew]

MPH can help if from a good school and only IF the grades are not pass/fail. meaning they are convertable by AMCAS. Check on that first. For example, Yale MPH cannot be converted so will not help GPA calc.

Other schools will only want master's programs in the hard sciences. So if you're looking to do grade improvement, consider that as well.

Lastly, I would suggest finding a professor at one of the universities you are interested in and ask if they would let you start your PhD portion with an understanding that after 1 year you would apply to the MD part with their full support.

And yes apply in June.

 

[Bernoull]

Yes, applying as MSTP. I do realize my GPA is on the low side. It was mainly due to one very bad semester in senior year when I had some personal circumstances. Because I graduated in 3.5 semesters that took its toll. Which is why I decided to take two years after college to do fulltime research. I also did an undergraduate thesis which I wrote the grant for with my PI.

right after college I did a fellowship in nonproliferation research in the chem and bio terrorism research department for 2.5 months.

I don't have much clinical experience inside the US but I have 180 hours of shadowing a cardiologist in Libya and 180 hours of shadowing/volunteering in a medical lab in Jordan.

I feel that I can do better on the MCAT if I do it again since the last one really seemed to be at the very wrong end of variance. would that not be enough to make up for my GPA?

I am also interested in public health research in the future. Would going to MPH and getting a good GPA help my case?

From someone who did a masters, pls don't do grad sch for the purposes of "improving" med school admission odds. It's worth next to nothing in this regard. If u're genuinely interested in a MPH and would do it even after getting into med sch, by all means go for it, just don't have any delusions about impressing adcoms. U're are competitive for MD, MSTP i'm not too sure (judging solely from ur numbers, great research exps notwithstanding) so it's ur call.

Gdluck

 

[dragonfly99]

You should consider doing some volunteer work in US hospital(s) while yo you continue your research. I think you should consider applying to MD programs. From there you could easily do a master's or PhD later if you want. Many people apply for PhD and/or MSTP program from within an MD program. If you only want MSTP, then you may need both a higher GPA and higher MCAT. However, I think that even for MSTP they would want to see more familiarity with the US medical system, as evidenced by doing volunteer work and perhaps some shadowing too.