Reapplying to Med School: How to Strengthen Your Primary Application
With matriculation data from the AAMC indicating approximately 40% of applicants successfully get a seat in a medical school each year, that means 60% of applicants are left deciding whether or not to reapply. While an unsuccessful application cycle is difficult to handle both financially and emotionally, reapplicants who demonstrate growth, determination, and resilience on a subsequent application can not only be competitive but can also earn a well-deserved seat in a medical school program!
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The Keys to Success for a Reapplicant: Significant and Meaningful Updates
If your first application was not successful, simply doing a “copy-paste-repeat” is not a good use of your time or resources. It is important to evaluate the components of your primary application critically, seeking areas where you can work on significant and meaningful updates:
- Significant updates can include quantitative improvements in your cumulative GPA, BCPM (biology, chemistry, physics, math) GPA, MCAT score, CARS (Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills) subscore, and total number of hours spent shadowing, volunteering, or working in a patient-facing clinical setting.
- Meaningful updates can relate to gaps in your prior application. Do you need volunteer work that is medical or clinical? Do you need experience supporting and meeting the needs of a local, underserved community group? Do you need more diversity in your overall premed portfolio?
Which Pieces of the Primary Application Do Reapplicants Have to Update?
It may be tempting to reuse the majority of your writing from your prior application. However, if you have completed one or more additional gap years, your new experiences should be infused into new and updated application components.
Personal Statement
Admissions committees will want a fresh perspective on your personal statement and your answer to the question of why you want to pursue medicine. If you had a “lightbulb” moment that prompted your interest in a medical career and you mentioned it in your prior personal statement, that narrative root can remain. However, the supporting stories and depth of reflection should be updated.
Work and Activities
If your original writing of your work and activities was solid and told a clear, concise story of both your responsibilities and how these experiences helped you grow and learn, some of these can stay the same. For example, your position as a chemistry teaching assistant two years ago during undergrad need not change. On the other hand, new experiences or additional work completed during your gap year – such as research work, leadership roles, and clinical care – should all be written as new activities.
Letters of Recommendation
You may use your prior letters of recommendation. However, I would strongly urge you to consider the following question: “Would any new letters offer an updated, current view on the strength of my candidacy?” If you started a new position and your supervisor could write a strong letter, or you’ve continued working in a research lab and your principal investigator (PI) could add additional paragraphs into their prior letter, take the time to ask!
School List
Is it “bad” to apply to the same schools again? No. Should you consider applying to some new schools during your reapplication cycle? Yes! Cultivating a school list takes time and is a critical component of the overall process. Using a database such as the Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) can help you make informed decisions on your competitiveness based on recent matriculation data, in-state versus out-of-state acceptance rates, the school’s mission statement, and how your background aligns with the school’s values.
Additional Tests
Some schools require the AAMC PREview exam, some require the Casper test, and some schools “recommend” taking one of these situational judgment exams. Once you finalize your school list, be sure to check each school’s individual requirements and sign up for one or both of these extra exams if necessary.
Timing
Whether you are applying through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS), the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service (AACOMAS), or the Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service (TMDSAS), my recommendation is the same: submit early! Early applications (hopefully) get through the verification process first and, subsequently, get sent to medical schools in the first wave. This sets applicants up for the best possible scenario of having their application seen by adcoms early, with competitive applicants being offered those all-important early interview slots.
It takes time, fortitude, and perseverance to reapply to medical school. Accepting critical feedback to work on areas needing improvement and taking the time to craft a stronger primary application can be key to a successful acceptance!
If you’re planning to reapply to medical school, Accepted can help! Schedule a free consultation with an Accepted expert. We can assist you in creating a reapplication strategy that works for your unique situation.
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