What should I do to prepare for reapplication?

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beptune

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Just got my first post-II decision, and it was a WL. One of my other interviews releases all decisions in March, but it has a very low post-II acceptance rate, so I expect an R. I have a third interview coming up soon, but all interviews from November onward are for WL positions. My cycle has overall been going poorly. I have 3 pre-II R's and 1 hold. Waiting to hear from 29 schools still, but many of them are 50+% through their interviews.

My stats are: 523, 3.98 GPA, 1Q Casper, white male from NY. My ECs are (as of primary submission): 1500h as an ED scribe, 500h wet lab research (w/ honors thesis, no pubs), 125h nonclinical volunteering (food pantry and homeless outreach for local Catholic churches), 100h undergrad TA, 100h primary care office assistant (nonclinical), and 100h shadowing (emergency medicine and plastic surgery). I have done an additional ~600h scribing and ~100h of nonclinical volunteering since submitting my app. I haven't really done anything new since submitting my primary except training new scribes. Does this warrant an update letter?

What should I do to prepare for reapplication? I have from now until May to do something new, and I assume it should be more volunteering. I'm sure I shot myself in the foot by applying with such low hours. I wonder if it seemed disingenuous to write about how meaningful it was when my hours were this low. The 1Q Casper obviously isn't helping, but I can't do anything about that. I also feel I am wasting my time as a scribe at this point, but there isn't really anything else I can do in just a few months.
 
Just got my first post-II decision, and it was a WL. One of my other interviews releases all decisions in March, but it has a very low post-II acceptance rate, so I expect an R. I have a third interview coming up soon, but all interviews from November onward are for WL positions. My cycle has overall been going poorly. I have 3 pre-II R's and 1 hold. Waiting to hear from 29 schools still, but many of them are 50+% through their interviews.

My stats are: 523, 3.98 GPA, 1Q Casper, white male from NY. My ECs are (as of primary submission): 1500h as an ED scribe, 500h wet lab research (w/ honors thesis, no pubs), 125h nonclinical volunteering (food pantry and homeless outreach for local Catholic churches), 100h undergrad TA, 100h primary care office assistant (nonclinical), and 100h shadowing (emergency medicine and plastic surgery). I have done an additional ~600h scribing and ~100h of nonclinical volunteering since submitting my app. I haven't really done anything new since submitting my primary except training new scribes. Does this warrant an update letter?

What should I do to prepare for reapplication? I have from now until May to do something new, and I assume it should be more volunteering. I'm sure I shot myself in the foot by applying with such low hours. I wonder if it seemed disingenuous to write about how meaningful it was when my hours were this low. The 1Q Casper obviously isn't helping, but I can't do anything about that. I also feel I am wasting my time as a scribe at this point, but there isn't really anything else I can do in just a few months.
School list? Your EC’s aren’t terrible. Your stats put you in the front to be reviewed at most programs
 
School list? Your EC’s aren’t terrible. Your stats put you in the front to be reviewed at most programs
New York Medical College
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
USF Health Morsani College of Medicine
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
SUNY Upstate Medical University Alan and Marlene Norton College of Medicine
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine
University of Michigan Medical School
Northwestern University The Feinberg School of Medicine
Albany Medical College
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Drexel University College of Medicine
Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Weill Cornell Medicine
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine
University of Virginia School of Medicine
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
Tufts University School of Medicine
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Alice L. Walton School of Medicine
University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix
Duke University School of Medicine
Emory University School of Medicine
University of Chicago Division of the Biological Sciences The Pritzker School of Medicine

IIs at NYMC (WL), Einstein, and USF. Hold at Upstate. R’s at Mayo, Rochester, CCLCM.
 
Previously

I already told you what you should do: 250 hours non-clinical community service (you only reported 100 in the WAMC and 125+100 here). 250 is bare minimum, and it would be good to show you can do more than the bare minimum vs. the apps you are compared against. If you feel you need to get a different clinical experience, start looking for it now so you can start in January (under ideal situations). Do hospice or senior assisted living. What is your purpose as a physician? It still doesn't sound like you have found what you want.

You sound disappointed because you think your metrics should be the ticket to more. Without more evidence of service orientation, I think you did very well with the 3 interviews you have, and you never know... trust the process.
 
Previously

I already told you what you should do: 250 hours non-clinical community service (you only reported 100 in the WAMC and 125+100 here). 250 is bare minimum, and it would be good to show you can do more than the bare minimum vs. the apps you are compared against. If you feel you need to get a different clinical experience, start looking for it now so you can start in January (under ideal situations). Do hospice or senior assisted living. What is your purpose as a physician? It still doesn't sound like you have found what you want.

You sound disappointed because you think your metrics should be the ticket to more. Without more evidence of service orientation, I think you did very well with the 3 interviews you have, and you never know... trust the process.
I did what I could to increase my commitment to the places I currently volunteer at. If I do have to reapply I’ll likely be closer to 400 hours, but we’ll see. To clarify more with the clinical experience, I don’t hate being a scribe, but I feel I’ve gotten as much as I could out of it. I’m considering going part time at least so I can fully commit to volunteering.

And yeah I am disappointed that my cycle isn’t going well. By what you said, it sounds like I shouldn’t have even gotten the 3 IIs I got based on the fact I couldn’t do the bare minimum for my stat pool. My top school is Einstein so I’m happy to have interviewed there, but I don’t really think I have a good chance.
 
Moving to WAMC.

I do generally agree that the best spot for you to help is by improving your non-clinical volunteer hours. I also agree that you're probably spinning your wheels on scribing, so if you were going to consider a job change now is the time to do so. If you were to do so, what would you do instead?

Finally, even with 2 WL and another outstanding decision, your odds of acceptance are not bad. That isn't actionable, because you need to assume you are rejected until you're not, but I wouldn't spiral. You're in the game still.
 
I did what I could to increase my commitment to the places I currently volunteer at. If I do have to reapply I’ll likely be closer to 400 hours, but we’ll see. To clarify more with the clinical experience, I don’t hate being a scribe, but I feel I’ve gotten as much as I could out of it. I’m considering going part time at least so I can fully commit to volunteering.

And yeah I am disappointed that my cycle isn’t going well. By what you said, it sounds like I shouldn’t have even gotten the 3 IIs I got based on the fact I couldn’t do the bare minimum for my stat pool. My top school is Einstein so I’m happy to have interviewed there, but I don’t really think I have a good chance.
Well, you interviewed already. You never know, you might actually get in despite your doubts. In the meantime, find something you’re really passionate about and do it. We don’t have your application, but your experiences should tie together and tell the story (and be the proof) as to how you have ascertained the reason why you want to become a physician; despite everything else you can do in life.

Your cycle isn’t going terribly, you got interviews and being on a WL doesn’t automatically mean “soft R”. Keep volunteering and do things with a purpose, not to just accumulate hours, ya know?
 
Moving to WAMC.

I do generally agree that the best spot for you to help is by improving your non-clinical volunteer hours. I also agree that you're probably spinning your wheels on scribing, so if you were going to consider a job change now is the time to do so. If you were to do so, what would you do instead?

Finally, even with 2 WL and another outstanding decision, your odds of acceptance are not bad. That isn't actionable, because you need to assume you are rejected until you're not, but I wouldn't spiral. You're in the game still.
Yeah I'm not really sure what I would do instead of scribing. I don't have any certs and can't afford the expensive courses for them. Maybe being an MA for a smaller practice or something but I'd really have to look more in-depth.
 
Well, you interviewed already. You never know, you might actually get in despite your doubts. In the meantime, find something you’re really passionate about and do it. We don’t have your application, but your experiences should tie together and tell the story (and be the proof) as to how you have ascertained the reason why you want to become a physician; despite everything else you can do in life.

Your cycle isn’t going terribly, you got interviews and being on a WL doesn’t automatically mean “soft R”. Keep volunteering and do things with a purpose, not to just accumulate hours, ya know?
Well yeah it's technically not over until it's over, but I need to prepare for the worst. In retrospect, my PS wasn't that good and reads more like a resume than a narrative, so I'm sure that's not helping either. I really tried to tailor secondaries and drive home a narrative with them though, and I am doing all my activities with a purpose for sure. I do hope my work pays off, but I'm not the optimistic type.
 
Well yeah it's technically not over until it's over, but I need to prepare for the worst. In retrospect, my PS wasn't that good and reads more like a resume than a narrative, so I'm sure that's not helping either. I really tried to tailor secondaries and drive home a narrative with them though, and I am doing all my activities with a purpose for sure. I do hope my work pays off, but I'm not the optimistic type.
Don't obsess over what you have already written; it still got you 3 interviews.

Submitting a new/revised PS with NEW experiences is desirable for a reapplicant. Therefore, get started. (I said, hospice or adult/senior living centers as possibilities.)
 
Yeah I'm not really sure what I would do instead of scribing. I don't have any certs and can't afford the expensive courses for them. Maybe being an MA for a smaller practice or something but I'd really have to look more in-depth.
MA seems reasonable. Lab tech, if you have any interest in that, though it could be challenging getting a slot if you tell them you are on WLs and could quit on a moment's notice.

Clinical positions like hospice care would be a good option. I'm leery of senior centers unless it's an actual medical facility
 
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