3 time reapplicant who got into 3 schools now a 3rd year

[lalalaaaaaa]

Hey everyone! So it totally sucks to be a reapplicant. I've been in your shoes. Three times. But if you keep working hard in your time off (have a little bit of fun too) you WILL get there. I'm a third year med student now, just got a research fellowship to take a year off to work in global health, and overall loving med school. Keep the course!

If anyone has any questions I'll try to be of help/support.

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[rta5]

Thanks for sharing your support. I was going to apply this year but dont feel ready so Ill be applying in 2018-2019 cycle with a 3.3 gpa and 515 MCAT. I have worries that I might be a reapplicant because of my low gpa and also the fact that Im ORM but seeing some threads here gives me hope. What strategies do you think helped you the very last time you applied? For those that are applying, what advice do you have to "give yourself the best chance of acceptance?" For example one way of helping your application is applying early? If you could tell us what did you improve on your third application and what was your strengths that would help alot! Also did you have any connections or any other "epiphany's" you realized were essential or really helpful in gaining your acceptance and also your own confidence and experience?

 

[lalalaaaaaa]

Thanks for sharing your support. I was going to apply this year but dont feel ready so Ill be applying in 2018-2019 cycle with a 3.3 gpa and 515 MCAT. I have worries that I might be a reapplicant because of my low gpa and also the fact that Im ORM but seeing some threads here gives me hope. What strategies do you think helped you the very last time you applied? For those that are applying, what advice do you have to "give yourself the best chance of acceptance?" For example one way of helping your application is applying early? If you could tell us what did you improve on your third application and what was your strengths that would help alot! Also did you have any connections or any other "epiphany's" you realized were essential or really helpful in gaining your acceptance and also your own confidence and experience?

Good questions! One of the big things for me was reworking the "reason" I want to go to med school. Initially I was trying to sell myself on having done research and science is really great and all that crap. I had national average scores for matriculated students so numbers didn't kill me. But for me, I realized I didn't really like research all that much and was trying to sell a version of myself that wasn't what I really wanted (not sure if that makes sense or not). Anyways, I realized I wanted to medicine to work with patients and at the core of that was a dedication to service. So I reaffirmed that by doing two years of AmeriCorps. This allowed me to put together a really strong application that brought together my activities along with my reason for going into med school that I could sell in a more honest and unique way that when I was just out of college.

That was some A+ rambling so, tl;dr, do some reflection --> find out what you need to do to make yourself a better person and stronger applicant --> do that --> go to med school --> go into a **** load of debt --> be a doctor -->>>>>>>>>>>>>> retire happy

 

[deleted289061]

Good questions! One of the big things for me was reworking the "reason" I want to go to med school. Initially I was trying to sell myself on having done research and science is really great and all that crap. I had national average scores for matriculated students so numbers didn't kill me. But for me, I realized I didn't really like research all that much and was trying to sell a version of myself that wasn't what I really wanted (not sure if that makes sense or not). Anyways, I realized I wanted to medicine to work with patients and at the core of that was a dedication to service. So I reaffirmed that by doing two years of AmeriCorps. This allowed me to put together a really strong application that brought together my activities along with my reason for going into med school that I could sell in a more honest and unique way that when I was just out of college.

That was some A+ rambling so, tl;dr, do some reflection --> find out what you need to do to make yourself a better person and stronger applicant --> do that --> go to med school --> go into a **** load of debt --> be a doctor -->>>>>>>>>>>>>> retire happy

What if you couldn't do something like AmeriCorps? Like I have a family with 2 kids. Any suggestions on how to get involved? I've worked in a hospital as a nursing assistant, a phlebotomist, and a medical lab tech so I feel like I have a lot of experience to pull from but tying it together in my PS is really difficult for me. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

 

[TDHG]

Did you change descriptions in your primary applications between each cycle? I've received some feedback from some schools and they felt my primary application descriptions were my weak point. Is there any particular way you choose to write about your experiences, without it sounding like a resume?

 

[lalalaaaaaa]

What if you couldn't do something like AmeriCorps? Like I have a family with 2 kids. Any suggestions on how to get involved? I've worked in a hospital as a nursing assistant, a phlebotomist, and a medical lab tech so I feel like I have a lot of experience to pull from but tying it together in my PS is really difficult for me. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

AmeriCorps is definitely not an option for everyone and has a lot of downsides. Getting some kind of interesting either leadership position or patient related experience is key. You can sell yourself better in application and interview if you do something you're passionate about. Doesn't necessarily have to be Healthcare related but that would be best.

Ask yourself is "what experiences do I have that show I want to be a doctor" (ie clinical experiences) and "what experience do I have that show I will be a good doctor" (ie leadership, service, etc)

If you don't have convincing answers to those questions, definitely start looking for things!

 

[lalalaaaaaa]

I

Did you change descriptions in your primary applications between each cycle? I've received some feedback from some schools and they felt my primary application descriptions were my weak point. Is there any particular way you choose to write about your experiences, without it sounding like a resume?

I didn't change too much between 1st and second because I hadn't done that much "new" stuff that was meaningful. Third time was a total overhaul.

As for writing, it's easy to tell if an experience is a check box or something your passionate about. Make sure you're doing things you're passionate about, and also make sure to get really strong experiences that you are invested in. Also in your PS being able to write about a meaningful relationship with a patient or someone you have worked with is invaluable.

 

[alcat17]

Hi! Thank you so much for posting on here! I would love to get your perspective on my situation. I applied this last cycle, had 2 interviews at MD schools which I think went okay, but didn't get in. My GPA is 3.93 and my original MCAT was 499 (49th percentile). My MCAT is obviously an issue, and I've already started studying to take it again in June. I have one additional volunteer experience that I can add to my application this year, and I'm going to set up another one. I also am a scribe, so I have a lot of clinical hours. I am thinking of volunteering at a hospice center as well. I am planning on reapplying this next cycle. I am living and breathing the MCAT right now and am doing everything I can to get a really good score. Do you think I have a decent chance of getting in somewhere this time? I don't want schools to think I am jumping to apply again, but I don't want to have to wait another 2 years to apply either. I think for me the issue was the MCAT and I am planning on changing that, as well as doing some more volunteer work. What more do they want?

 

[lostnconfused]

Thank you

 

[DameJulie]

What was your rational/motivation on applying 3rd time, given that getting rejected twice is frustrating enough?

And did you have much loops to jump-through when you applied again? For example, did you get grilled upon at interviews on why you are applying again?

I am wondering what are some anticipated adversities to apply as a 2nd-time applicant.

 

[lalalaaaaaa]

Bumping this. I'm now a 4th year surgical resident and about to submit my app for trauma surgery/acute care surgery fellowships. Have been able to do some amazing things as a medical student and resident, but it's a long road to be sure! Just wanted to let everyone know that if a cycle didn't work out this year, there is still hope! You can still work hard and get into medical school. It's hard to be a reapplicant, but it doesn't have a reflection on you as a person so try and keep your head up and still enjoy your pre-medical years (a majority of your free time goes away once you step into medicine).

My perspective now is that maybe not going to med school is a good option for some people, so don't look down on yourself for not getting in at all. Turns out a lot of people get into medicine and realize it's hard to get out (ironic, I know). Fortunately I enjoy the work as a resident for the most part, but it's super hard and all encompassing (surgery more so than some other specialties). But going into something totally different than medicine or being a PA or midlevel is also a great option if medicine isn't for you for whatever reason. Saves you tons of time/money and still get a lot out of it. Anyways, I dont have any good advice for applying to medical school at this point, but definitely work hard and learn to enjoy the grind!

 

[porpoise]

Bumping this. I'm now a 4th year surgical resident and about to submit my app for trauma surgery/acute care surgery fellowships. Have been able to do some amazing things as a medical student and resident, but it's a long road to be sure! Just wanted to let everyone know that if a cycle didn't work out this year, there is still hope! You can still work hard and get into medical school. It's hard to be a reapplicant, but it doesn't have a reflection on you as a person so try and keep your head up and still enjoy your pre-medical years (a majority of your free time goes away once you step into medicine).

Really appreciate re-applicant success stories.
How did you change your school list and timeline when reapplying ?