Hi everyone, I'm re-posting this here too because I'm honestly not sure which forum is best for my question. So, I'm kind of in a sticky situation. I recently took my MCAT (originally scheduled for March) and received a lackluster score (501 123/126/124/128). After receiving advice from SDN, I decided to continue with my application and apply to 2 low-tier MD schools and 6 DO schools earlier this week. I was also waiting to hear back from my pre-health advisors but due to the pandemic and having graduated it's very difficult to get in contact with them. They got back to me yesterday after I had applied and advised that I not continue and retake instead. This got me thinking and ultimately, while I don't necessarily care if I'm an MD or DO, I won't get the chance to apply to programs that I really like and that does bother me. I'm thinking of withdrawing my applications altogether (haven't submitted secondaries yet), retaking the MCAT, scribing to get more clinical experience, and applying next cycle. However, I do realize I am now considered a reapplicant next cycle and if schools ask if I have applied to medical schools before, would this look bad? I'd say that I realized I could be a more competitive applicant if I waited a cycle to apply and wanted to give myself the best chance, but I'm worried I'll look indecisive or unmotivated and that this will affect me big time. Also, should I formally withdraw from the schools with a call or email or just not submit the secondary? Some schools I would potentially want to apply to again. Thank you!
Hi everyone, I'm re-posting this here too because I'm honestly not sure which forum is best for my question. So, I'm kind of in a sticky situation. I recently took my MCAT (originally scheduled for March) and received a lackluster score (501 123/126/124/128). After receiving advice from SDN, I decided to continue with my application and apply to 2 low-tier MD schools and 6 DO schools earlier this week. I was also waiting to hear back from my pre-health advisors but due to the pandemic and having graduated it's very difficult to get in contact with them. They got back to me yesterday after I had applied and advised that I not continue and retake instead. This got me thinking and ultimately, while I don't necessarily care if I'm an MD or DO, I won't get the chance to apply to programs that I really like and that does bother me. I'm thinking of withdrawing my applications altogether (haven't submitted secondaries yet), retaking the MCAT, scribing to get more clinical experience, and applying next cycle. However, I do realize I am now considered a reapplicant next cycle and if schools ask if I have applied to medical schools before, would this look bad? I'd say that I realized I could be a more competitive applicant if I waited a cycle to apply and wanted to give myself the best chance, but I'm worried I'll look indecisive or unmotivated and that this will affect me big time. Also, should I formally withdraw from the schools with a call or email or just not submit the secondary? Some schools I would potentially want to apply to again. Thank you!
Do whatever is best for you. Being a reapplicant is worse than not, but it's not fatal, and you will be a reapplicant whether you withdraw, don't submit secondaries, or go forward and aren't accepted. You are indecisive, and there is no avoiding looking like that if you terminate applications between primary and secondary. How else would you describe filing an application the first week of September and terminating it the second week of the month?
Either formally withdraw with an e-mail or phone call, or don't submit the secondary. Every school has thousands of applications to deal with. Absolutely no one is sitting around wondering where your secondary is. When you apply next year, the schools you applied to this year will see that you submitted a primary in 2020-21 and did not follow through. No one will care why, or whether you withdrew with a phone call or just didn't submit a secondary. Is it a negative? What do you think? Will it kill you? That depends on what next year's application looks like, as compared to the rest of their pool!
Either way, don't go forward this year because you are afraid of what withdrawing will look like. It's your life, and you don't need to settle for anything. Good luck.
