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Didn’t get into med school the first time? There’s still hope! It’s normal to have to reapply — after all, medical school acceptance rates are under 50% on average. About 25% of applicants every year are reapplicants.
I’m Dr. Renee Marinelli, and I’ve helped hundreds of pre-meds make it into medical school, including second-time applicants. And guess what? I myself didn’t get in the first time! Below, I cover everything you need to know about applying for a second time, plus some handy tips on successfully reapplying.
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Does It Look Bad to Reapply?
No, it is not frowned upon to reapply to most schools as long as you can demonstrate significant growth on your new application. I recommend reapplying to old schools you still like as well as new schools you didn’t apply to last cycle.
Admissions committees will know you’re a reapplicant, and that prior rejection can make your medical education journey just a little bit harder.
Admissions boards may automatically think reapplicants failed to get in the first time for some reason that persists, so you may have to fight against that thought process. I’ve got some great tips for just this problem.
Use your reapplication as an asset. Mention in your personal statement — perhaps even in the Work & Activities section — that you’re a reapplicant and what is different about you from a year or more ago. Demonstrate how you’ve grown and developed yourself.
Watch This Webinar: Reapplying to Medical School — Getting Accepted the Second Time
Another option is to expand your school list to include Caribbean medical schools, which often welcome qualified re‑applicants.
7 Steps to Strengthening Your Application
Reapplying typically only works if you show a significant amount of growth since you last applied. (Or if you simply submit to schools that suit you better during the application process.)
Growth can come in many forms, but I specifically recommend improving your MCAT and other test scores, your GPA if possible, and the quality of your extracurricular activities.
You may ask the AdComs who first rejected you why you were rejected and for feedback on how to improve for a future cycle. They might reveal something about your application that you didn’t realize. Although AdComs are not required to respond, their advice may be highly valuable.
1. Improve Your Test Scores
Is it worth retaking the MCAT when reapplying? Better MCAT scores go a very long way. Improving your scores on situational judgment tests like Casper or PREview can also help though not as much.
If you got below a 511 on your MCAT, retake it. I suggest trying for at least a 511 if you want a chance at getting accepted the second go around.
If you got below a 506, that’s a big red flag for even mid-tier schools. Boost your primary application by studying hard and reaching for at least a 506 for DO programs and 511 for MD programs.
Read Next: Highest-Quality MCAT Practice Exams
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2. Consider a Post-Bacc
If your GPA is under 3.5 and you’re not the greatest test-taker, post-baccalaureate programs are a great option. Post-bacc classes can not only give you more knowledge and experience, they can also boost your GPA.
I recommend you have at least a 3.5 GPA when reapplying to med school, preferably higher than 3.6.
3. Seek New Experiences
In order to develop yourself as a med school candidate, you can seek new experiences that will bolster your application the second time around.
This step is based heavily on your personal circumstances. For some of my clients, I suggest more clinical experience. For others, I tell them to seek opportunities for them to demonstrate leadership or advocacy. Some may benefit from volunteering,internships, and research, too.
For your new application, it’s fine to use some of the same extracurriculars for Work & Activities as you used on your first application, but I think it’s best to show some new experiences, including new “most meaningful activities.”
You also need to understand where you may be lacking in the AAMC pre-med competencies. Then you can study those particular areas and seek out experiences that demonstrate growth in those areas. The 17 AAMC pre-med competencies are:
- Commitment to Learning and Growth
- Cultural Awareness
- Cultural Humility
- Empathy and Compassion
- Ethical Responsibility to Self and Others
- Interpersonal Skills
- Oral Communication
- Reliability and Dependability
- Resilience and Adaptability
- Service Orientation
- Teamwork and Collaboration
- Human Behavior
- Living Systems
- Critical Thinking
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Scientific Inquiry
- Written Communication
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4. Write a New Personal Statement
Do I need to rewrite my personal statement if I reapply? A brand-new personal statement is the way to go. The personal statement is where you can show the most improvement and explicitly speak about how you’ve grown over the past year. Using the same story or just repeating the exact text is a major red flag for programs that you haven’t grown or have nothing new to share.
The process of getting rejected and trying again is a pretty significant growth experience. Use this unique experience to connect with the admissions board, demonstrate self-improvement and determination, and stand out from the crowd.
Read More: Get the Most Out of Your Personal Statement
5. Request New Letters of Recommendation
Do I need new letters of recommendation when reapplying? New LORs can demonstrate growth, even if they’re from the same person as last year. The writer should be a witness to what you’ve done to improve since your previous application. The LOR writer should also be able to express this improvement eloquently.
You may use some of the same letter writers, but generally, it’s a good idea to get new letters — unless you explicitly got rejected due to academic scores alone. For example, if your MCAT was a 501 and now you have a 511, and your original LORs were already incredibly strong, you may be able to reuse the first batch.
Give your letter writers plenty of time to write their LORs, and don’t feel like a bother if you have to send reminders — sending a few reminders is normal.
6. Intentionally Determine Your School List
You may have been rejected for overshooting your school list. Get your MSC score to understand which schools make the most sense for your situation and consider applying where you may not have before.
If you only considered MD programs before, consider expanding to DO programs, which require lower average GPAs and MCAT scores for matriculants. For a small number of students, especially those who struggle to improve test scores and GPA after their first application cycle, it might be worth considering one of the best Caribbean medical schools.
MedSchoolCoach can help you curate your school list for the best acceptance rate without wasting your time. Use this free Med School Explorer database of all the US medical programs you can build your list with.
Build a strategic list of medical schools with Med School Explorer. View each school’s average GPA, MCAT, interview format, and more!
7. Apply Early
Was your original application submitted late in the summer? That may be one reason you were rejected. AMCAS and AACOMAS should be submitted in June if at all possible. Many schools technically allow you to submit until October or November, but I do not advise waiting till the last minute.
A common reason given by medical school reapplicants who eventually got accepted is that they were ill-prepared on the first cycle. Don’t find yourself unprepared for the rigorous application process; give yourself plenty of time to study for the MCAT, improve your experiences, and apply as early as you can.
Should You Invest in Admissions Consulting?
If you’re reapplying after a rejection, you should definitely invest in comprehensive admissions consulting. Students who use MedSchoolCoach’s consulting services DOUBLE their chances at getting accepted, which is all the more important when you consider the costs of another rejected application.
For each year you apply without being accepted, you are likely to spend at least a few thousand dollars, if not much more, on reapplying. Plus, you’ll be losing a year of income potential as a future physician, which amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars!
Yes, it’s true – admissions consulting costs money. But if it allows you to start earning more, faster, it may wind up being the best investment you ever make.
If you aren’t sure why you were rejected the first time — perhaps you had pretty good test scores and GPA but still didn’t get in — then admissions counseling is a slam dunk.
Check out MedSchoolCoach’s comprehensive consulting services that can 2X your chances of acceptance:
- Spotting and addressing gaps in your application
- School list development
- Recommendations for LoR writers and requests
- Personal statement development and editing
- Work & Activities development
- Secondary essay brainstorming and editing
- Interview skills prep, including mock interviews
Check out our Application Advising Packages! We help over 1,000 people like you every year get into medical school.
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How to Know if Med School Isn’t the Right Path for You
At some point, it may be time to throw in the towel. There’s no shame in changing course if it’s the right move for your future.
As much as you may want to follow a medical career path, here are some practical questions to help you know whether the healthcare is right for you:
- Am I okay with so much hard work?
- Am I willing to sacrifice time and energy in my 20s and 30s?
- Is my family pressuring me?
- Is my motivation primarily intrinsic or extrinsic?
- Can I be patient with my patients?
- Does my spouse or partner understand the sacrifices?
- Am I just in it for the money?
- Am I interested in science and health?
- Have I explored other careers thoroughly?
- Do I agree with the oath I have to take?
FAQs
Yes, I recommend that reapplicants alter their secondary applications. When you reapply to med school, you want to increase your chances compared to last time around in every possible way — that includes reworking your secondary essays to exhibit more competitiveness.
Should I apply to different schools?
Yes, I typically suggest applying to different schools from the ones you applied to last time, especially if you overshot programs when building your school list. However, I would not avoid schools you’ve already applied to altogether — especially if you really like the school.
Use your previous rejection to demonstrate how you’ve overcome adversity and grown as a human. What medical schools want to see is that you’re a well-rounded student who is adaptable and always self-improving.
How long you should wait depends on a few factors, including your test scores, your GPA, your extracurriculars, your clinical experience, and your research experience.
If you have strong grades and test scores, you might reapply as soon as possible (in the next application cycle, when possible). If you need to get some more shadowing experiences or stronger extracurriculars, you might need at least a year if not more to strengthen your new application.
I would also consider how many competitive schools you applied to in the first place. If you only applied to half a dozen highly competitive institutions, you might be a stronger applicant for most other schools, just not the ones you applied to.
First off, you probably should have applied only to schools you would have happily accepted an admissions offer from. It’s sort of a waste of time to apply to schools you’re not actually interested in.
Secondly, addressing the question, you should think carefully before rejecting an offer of acceptance in order to reapply to “better” schools. The reality is that all U.S. medical schools offering MD degrees offer similar training and opportunities for future doctors. Your chances of matching into your chosen specialty as a resident are about the same no matter which U.S. MD school you go to. For this reason, we usually recommend students take any offer they can get.
That being said, you could decline an offer and reapply next cycle if you wish. It won’t hurt your chances at any other school. I would just refrain from applying a second time around to the school whose offer you rejected.
Most medical schools ask if you’re reapplicant in their secondary application, so if you applied to a school last cycle, that school will probably know that you’re reapplying. Some schools even ask re-applicants to write a secondary essay explaining how their candidacy has evolved, so be prepared for a question like that.
For schools you did not apply to in the first place, they may not know you’re reapplying. However, they may see when you finished your pre-med track and notice that you could have applied to med school earlier. You may also mention that you are reapplying to demonstrate growth and determination.
DOUBLE Your Chances of Acceptance!
As somebody who has personally experienced medical school rejection, I get the disappointment. But there’s still hope! I got into medical school the second time around with some of the tips I mentioned in this article. I have used my own experiences to help thousands of pre-medical students and reapplicants make it into medical school.
Although a year can feel like an eternity, my year between getting rejected and then accepted felt like nothing in hindsight. But that year made me a better person. Use this year to grow as a human and overcome adversity. Show that growth in your next application. And don’t be afraid to ask for help. Pre-med advisors like me are here to make the admissions process easier.
Read Next: Using the MSAR to Choose Where to Apply to Medical School
Pair up with a physician admissions advisor and double your odds of acceptance. Join the 92% of MedSchoolCoach clients who get into medical school!
Renee Marinelli, MD
Dr. Marinelli has practiced family medicine, served on the University of California Admissions Committee, and has helped hundreds of students get into medical school. She spearheads a team of physician advisors who guide MedSchoolCoach students.
