As a consultant, I have the pleasure of meeting students with many different backgrounds and life stories. During this current cycle, I had the pleasure of working with a student who found incredible success as he was reapplying to medical school. Overall, he was applying for his third time. Between the past two cycles, he had only gotten one interview, which yielded into a waitlist and eventual rejection.
Strictly looking at his stats and resume, he almost had a perfect medical school application. He graduated from a respected university, had research from Harvard, several publications, and interesting hobbies. His MCAT was higher than the average for matriculants and while GPA was right on par with a stellar upward trend. So what went wrong?
Upon my initial evaluation of his application, the answer felt obvious. He had done all the right things, but from his essays, I didn’t understand why he needed to be a doctor. The application as a whole felt disconnected- from talking about cliches to discussing communication as a tutor to publishing research. What point was he trying to make?
When we met, I expressed my concerns, which he openly accepted. Since he was reapplying to medical school, I made it clear that we needed to rewrite the application in its entirety– not something any applicant wants to hear. However, as a third-time applicant to medical school, he was willing to do whatever it takes to finally see the coveted acceptance.
During the initial brainstorming process, it felt as though we were on two different pages. One of the questions I always start off with is “what you do you want the admissions office to know about you”? His answer: communication. The problem with this is that communication cannot be effectively used as a central theme. After all, communication is only one facet of a physician, but can easily be misconstrued as being a better fit for other fields such as social work or therapy. Through my numerous questions to him, I learned about his life– where he grew up, what his goals were, what made him unique as a candidate. The more I learned about him, the more I realized that none of this had actually made it into his application. Where were the stories about his childhood in a rural area? His passion for literature and philosophy? His volunteer experiences over the past 10 years at a homeless shelter? As I listened to the message he wanted to convey, his theme became clear: community. His new personal statement was framed by his experiences in his hometown, his work in his community, and concluded clearly by his goals.
Secondaries were no easy feat either. With probably close to a hundred essays, we brainstormed the high yield essays such as diversity and “why our program”. Knowing how high UCSF was on his list, and particularly how difficult it would be to score an interview invite as a reapplicant, we got work. Building off of his personal statement, he elaborated on his life’s story and reflected on how these experiences influenced his goals for the future. He connected this to the mission and opportunities offered at UCSF. For the “anything else you would like us to know” question, he wrote a beautiful reflection on how he had improved himself since the last application. It would have became obvious to anyone who read his essays how insightful he was. More importantly, it became clear what he would achieve if given the chance to become a physician.
Though he had already received an MD acceptance early on in the cycle, I nearly cried (happy tears!) when he forwarded me his invite from UCSF. Again, we knew this was a long shot, but seeing that invite from someone reapplying to medical school felt like we had done the impossible. As a top 5 school, we knew UCSF was perhaps one of the most competitive programs out there. Although he is still waiting to hear back post-interview, I am so proud to be part of his application journey.
My advice to anyone who is reapplying to medical school: you can earn an acceptance too. If you are planning to reapply to medical school, have someone you trust look at your application with fresh eyes. After reading your application they should be able to understand a few things: who you are as a person, why you need to be a doctor (as opposed to any other career), and what your goals are for a career in medicine. The application cycle is extremely stressful, but like my student, you never know when your dream program may take a chance on you.
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