Withdrew while passing, thoughts on reapplying?

[ChemistBuzzLightyear]

Hey all. Considering reapplication. Have already talked to one admissions counselor who said I have a fair chance (what "fair" means is another story!), so I will probably do what she said and reapply. That being said, I just wanted opinions from others. Here is my situation.

24 year old, married with one child, 3.72 GPA chem/cell bio major, cum laude with 5 or 6 chemistry awards. Probably like most applicants. 31R MCAT. Could definitely retake the MCAT and get a higher score, as I only studied for one week beforehand last time.

I finished one year of medical school, minus the cumulative end of year exam, in good academic standing (it was a pass/fail school). I applied late to the cycle (took the MCAT really late due to a summer internship that required 1-1.5 hour travel each way to and from said internship; also the reason why I only had one week of serious study) and received one interview. Interviewer said he was surprised that I only had one. I was wait listed and eventually pulled from the wait list. I chose to attend rather than reapplying early the next cycle. My wife and I arrived in the city, which was 15 hours away from the closest friend or family. She is a nurse and found a job, but became depressed because she couldn't find friends, activities, or a church. The culture in this city was very much different than we had expected. The people were not very welcoming or polite. They weren't trying to be rude, but they just had a different culture that was not as warm and friendly as ours. My wife was pregnant with our child and became depressed. She would cry often, upset at the lack of friends and support. As a new husband, it affected me and caused me to be down (not depressed, but just sad and apathetic) because I couldn't make her happy. I failed two tests after this point, both of which I successfully remediated. I made the decision to withdraw and get us out of the city before it wrecked my marriage and before my son was born. I do not regret that decision for a minute. The dean of students at my school said I would have exactly a zero chance of getting back in should I leave.

After I withdrew, I began to bounce around different ideas in my head for careers, now that my medical career was effectively over before I began. It went from PhD chemist to PhD physicist to engineer etc. every once in a while I would reconsider medicine despite the dean saying it was impossible. I am considering reapplying because I can't get it out of my head. There are 3 schools within close proximity to family and friends. I have wanted to be a doctor since I was 9 and had worked every second of my life up until I withdrew to achieve that goal.

I have talked to one admissions person at one school. She said that if I wish to reapply, that I would NEED to do a ton of community service/volunteering and shadowing to show I am still interested. She also said to apply as soon as the cycle begins and to fill out one of the alternative essays to explain myself and my situation. And to expect to reapply several times. That was one person at one school, though. I know SDN has many admission folks and just wanted a second/third/tenth opinion on the matter.
What do you guys think? What would you do and do you have any advice? Thanks in advance. I have read the other posts on here and I can definitely appreciate brutal honesty.

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[QofQuimica]

I think you had a choice between medicine and your family, and you chose your family. While it's not impossible for you to try reapplying, it won't be easy for you to gain admission to another school. I suggest that you do the following:

First, contact your old school and see if the dean would be willing to write a letter of rec attesting that you were in good standing and left because of family reasons.

Second, contact the schools you're considering and explain your situation. Ask what they would advise you to do to maximize your competitiveness for admission to their medical school.

Third, have a Plan B that entails pursuing a different career. Because if the first two things don't go well, you will likely need to accept that you cannot go to medical school, at least for the foreseeable future.

Hope this helps, and best of luck.

 

[ChemistBuzzLightyear]

Thank you. I appreciate the time you took to compose the reply.

I will look into doing this with the other 2 schools that are nearby that I haven't contacted and see what happens. Thanks again.

 

[deleted480308]

I know this is more personal advice than medical application advice...but consider birth control during application season and med school if you get in. It's possible the pregnancy exagerated her depression. My own wife had a pretty rough time during her two pregnancies but as soon as the kids were born she immediately bounced back. Those months were rough months for us. For what it's worth...even if the med school thing doesn't happen, I think you made the right choice.

also, shadow a DO and add DO schools to your application. Your stats are above avg for them and they anecdotally are a sympathetic to non-trads with stories

 

[ChemistBuzzLightyear]

Thank you. And yeah, birth control would be a big deal. To be honest, we were using birth control and decided that the time was right to have a child, as things were not particularly hectic at that point in time. Bad idea for my career. Good idea for my family. My son is precious and I obviously don't regret him. I appreciate your insight and your kind words. I really think I made the right choice too.

I will consider DO schools and shadow some DO physicians. I am not one of those "ALLOPATHIC IS THE ONLY WAY" kind of folks. Clearly DOs are as capable as MDs in many fields. I have a friend who actually chose a DO school over allopathic schools and is loving it. Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it.

 

[Silent Cool]

Hey all. Considering reapplication. Have already talked to one admissions counselor who said I have a fair chance (what "fair" means is another story!), so I will probably do what she said and reapply. That being said, I just wanted opinions from others. Here is my situation.

24 year old, married with one child, 3.72 GPA chem/cell bio major, cum laude with 5 or 6 chemistry awards. Probably like most applicants. 31R MCAT. Could definitely retake the MCAT and get a higher score, as I only studied for one week beforehand last time.

I finished one year of medical school, minus the cumulative end of year exam, in good academic standing (it was a pass/fail school). I applied late to the cycle (took the MCAT really late due to a summer internship that required 1-1.5 hour travel each way to and from said internship; also the reason why I only had one week of serious study) and received one interview. Interviewer said he was surprised that I only had one. I was wait listed and eventually pulled from the wait list. I chose to attend rather than reapplying early the next cycle. My wife and I arrived in the city, which was 15 hours away from the closest friend or family. She is a nurse and found a job, but became depressed because she couldn't find friends, activities, or a church. The culture in this city was very much different than we had expected. The people were not very welcoming or polite. They weren't trying to be rude, but they just had a different culture that was not as warm and friendly as ours. My wife was pregnant with our child and became depressed. She would cry often, upset at the lack of friends and support. As a new husband, it affected me and caused me to be down (not depressed, but just sad and apathetic) because I couldn't make her happy. I failed two tests after this point, both of which I successfully remediated. I made the decision to withdraw and get us out of the city before it wrecked my marriage and before my son was born. I do not regret that decision for a minute. The dean of students at my school said I would have exactly a zero chance of getting back in should I leave.

After I withdrew, I began to bounce around different ideas in my head for careers, now that my medical career was effectively over before I began. It went from PhD chemist to PhD physicist to engineer etc. every once in a while I would reconsider medicine despite the dean saying it was impossible. I am considering reapplying because I can't get it out of my head. There are 3 schools within close proximity to family and friends. I have wanted to be a doctor since I was 9 and had worked every second of my life up until I withdrew to achieve that goal.

I have talked to one admissions person at one school. She said that if I wish to reapply, that I would NEED to do a ton of community service/volunteering and shadowing to show I am still interested. She also said to apply as soon as the cycle begins and to fill out one of the alternative essays to explain myself and my situation. And to expect to reapply several times. That was one person at one school, though. I know SDN has many admission folks and just wanted a second/third/tenth opinion on the matter.
What do you guys think? What would you do and do you have any advice? Thanks in advance. I have read the other posts on here and I can definitely appreciate brutal honesty.

Explain your situation and I'd bet one of the DO schools would take you. I know of people who were *kicked out* and admitted somewhere else. You are in much better standing.

That said, it's certainly unusual, but I'm pretty sure one of the DO schools will take you. As someone else mentioned, make *sure* to get a letter of good standing from a dean. That will be a key component to your application.

good luck.

 

[Goro]

I concur with my learned colleague. While my school is loathe to admit med school "rejects" as it were, or, more kindly, someone who has already matriculated at another med school, your story is a VERY valid reason for withdrawing.

IF your med school transcript shows that you indeed were passing, I think you can be lucky for another go around.

I think you had a choice between medicine and your family, and you chose your family. While it's not impossible for you to try reapplying, it won't be easy for you to gain admission to another school. I suggest that you do the following:

First, contact your old school and see if the dean would be willing to write a letter of rec attesting that you were in good standing and left because of family reasons.

Second, contact the schools you're considering and explain your situation. Ask what they would advise you to do to maximize your competitiveness for admission to their medical school.

Third, have a Plan B that entails pursuing a different career. Because if the first two things don't go well, you will likely need to accept that you cannot go to medical school, at least for the foreseeable future.

Hope this helps, and best of luck.

 

[BrawnsNBrain]

Totally off topic, but I know 2 people who let their marriages fall apart because of medical school. You kept your marriage alive by sacrificing the career you love. Here's to hoping someone is kind enough to let you back in for round 2.

Good luck sir

 

[ChemistBuzzLightyear]

Thank you. That is very kind and means a lot to me.