Reapplying

[Guest MicroMaster]

Should I reapply? I was flat-out rejected this round, but feel that I should have stood a better chance? Does anyone get in after subsequent years if they were not even waitlisted the year prior?

 

Thanks

[Guest DancingDoc]

Many people in Dal Med that I know got in only after having applied more than once. I have one friend who was rejected (flat out I think too) two or three times and is now in first year med. So it is totally possible to reapply and get in (in fact probably just proves how committed you are ...not necessarily true but a nice thought? I don't know if they look at that ). Just try to find out what experiences they are needing you to have. Do you have any experience dealing with patient/sick people? Have you spent anytime volunteering? do you have longterm commitments to an activity? were you enthousiastic about what your experiences when discussing them in your interview? Did you show you truly have a passion for medicine? etc.... Definitely apply again if this is what you truly want to do, don't give up hope!!

[Guest JewelLeigh]

I agree with DancingDoc...and on top of those comments, I encourage you to seek feedback regarding your application at the end of this admissions cycle. It could easily be that one area was lacking and that if you improve that area, you would quickly become competitive. A feedback meeting will take some of the mystery out of why you weren't as successful as you had hoped. Much luck

[Guest MicroMaster]

Yeah, I have some volunteer experience (IWK playroom, Cancer Society Camp, IWK Spiritual Care , some committees, all for several years), some good work experience (patient attendent, research assistant), and I am finishing my Masters in Microbiology now. I figured that I was okay... my MCAT is decent, although my undergrad is okay, it's nothing to boast about.

 

I will definately be having a follow-up meeting, but it seems like such little time to fix something that totally sunk you previously. Any tips on reapplying?

 

Anyone know how in depth the follow-up will be? Should I get a *real* sense of how I did, or will it just be a lot of: well, maybe try this or that? Will they tell me, for instance, that they want me to have certain experiences before I am admitted. This does however go against my normal philosophy of doing somthing soley for the purpose of being rewarded (especially by admission).

 

Any thoughts?

[Guest lovelyladylumps]

From what you say, it sounds like you have quite a few relevant volunteer and work experiences. Would it be possible then that you didn't make the MCAT or GPA cut-offs? I certainly am not asking you to post your marks or anything...just saw that you mentioned you weren't strong in those areas. Also, what kind of Masters are you doing? A course-based one or a thesis-based one? They might consider your graduate marks in the GPA calculation if it is a course-based Masters (and this would likely be in your favour, as most people do better in their graduate courses compared to their undergraduate ones).

[Guest MicroMaster]

I am sure that I made the cut-offs. I was slightly higher than the average accepted MCAT score from last year, and My GPA is well above the minimum. My grad work is thesis-based. Maybe I wasn't considered "productive enough"

[Guest DancingDoc]

Hi again,

The volunteer stuff you mentioned sounded really great. Maybe try really thinking hard about what it is that made those experiences relevant to you wanting to/bettering yourself to become a doctor. From everyone I have talked to, Dal wants to see that you are enthousiastic about wanting to be a doctor and that you know what you are getting yourself into. do your experiences reflect that and if so did that come across in the interview?

 

I assume you did get an interview since you said you were rejected this round, so how did the interview feel? Did the interviewers really get to know you? Or was it a more factual interview? If it was more factual maybe try to think about how to let the interviewers know not just the student but also the person (ex: if asked "tell me about yourself" how would you answer if you were not allowed to talk about school or just list activities?). Were you confident (but not over confident) in your abilities? If you are OOP (i.e. not a maritimer) since your files are reviewed a lot before the interviews, honing up on your interview skills would be vital because that is definitely a make or break point. Even if you are a maritimer, the interview may be what you need to work on.

 

Stronger essays could be another factor. Did anyone proofread them for you to make sure your thoughts came across clear? Did you support everything you said with good examples of specific things in your own life?

 

You mentioned that you thought maybe your grad work was not considered productive enough. Is this just you trying hard to find something that could be at fault or do you feel you were unproductive? If so why? How can you improve on that? Was your supervisor one of your references, would they have said all good things (or at least not fatal negative comments). References are just flags to my understanding, but if they mentioned unproductivity this could have affected your file review.

 

I really wish you the best of luck next year MicroMaster. Rejection is not fun for sure, but (and I'm sure this doesn't help any) there are too many good applicants for all the medical school spots. Not getting accepted does not mean you are not a good applicant, it may just mean you did not convince Dal sufficiently that you are a good applicant. Hopefully you will convince them next year!

[Guest scooter]

Hey,

I:m one of those flat out refused at both Dal and Mun one year and acceptted and waitlisted the next. Dal accepts something like 38% reapplicants- that is a little too high to be coincidence (ie, i don:t think 38% of all people applying are re-applicants).

 

I never managed arranging a meeting with Dal, but i did with Mun and they were EXTREMELY helpful and candit. She said, this is good, but we would like to see more of this and that. No there isn:t a lot of time to get more things but there is the summer and some real hospital face time couldn:t hurt. But it sounds like you are covered in this department.

 

I think the essays are really really important. Not just for the adcom after, but the interviewers as well. My essay was 1000% better this time and sure enough from the top the interviewers were friendlier. Keep that fact in mind when you are writing your essay. Also, schools tend to have writing help available- even if you have to pay for it, it could be really valuable. They can help you make your essay more clear and personable, because what seems obvious to you and your friends who proof-read --might not come off the same way to a stranger.

 

My last suggestion is to do something crazy cool this summer to set you apart from the rest. And that you can really easily talk about. I mean you sound like a great candidate overall but make yourself more unique...just an idea- i dont know what others think about it. (so yeah if you cured cancer or build a school for the blind or somthing like that, that would definately help:p )

 

Good luck and I really don:t think you should be the slightest bit discouraged.

[Guest Mimicat65]

There are many many people at Dal who applied more than once - do not give up. As someone mentioned, the acceptance rate for reapplicants is a bit higher than for the applicant pool in general. Try to get feedback, but don't expect it to be too specific at Dal, unless there is something glaringly missing in your application (which it doesn't sound like in your case). But don't just reapply without doing something to show that you are trying to improve your application. In other words, I wouldn't just passively sit out the year and reapply. I don't think anyone needs to make a major life change (exotic travel/volunteer stuff) in order to set themselves apart (although that is great if you view this year as an opportunity to do something like that you wanted to do for a while and never had a chance). But I think the committee would probably like to see that reapplicants have take tangible steps to improve their applications, such as additional clinical experiences, increased number of volunteer hours, taking a course or self-learning in something that might be useful in the medical field (2nd language, sign language) or just something you are interested in that makes you you. I'm kind of rambling, but basically I think the interviewers probably want to see your level of committment and your efforts to be the strongest applicant you can be.