In recent years, more than half of applicants to allopathic medical schools have not been accepted, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. This disconcerting statistic is a source of anxiety for many hardworking premedical students.
The good news is that almost always, where there is an unsuccessful medical school application, there is a logical explanation for it. Therefore, it’s worth considering some of the most common reasons for a medical school rejection and how to help prevent or overcome it.
Low GPA and MCAT Scores
The most obvious reason for a medical school rejection is a low GPA or MCAT score. Either can hinder an applicant from making it past the first round in the admissions process, as many schools screen out applicants who don’t meet a school’s minimum cut-off. Even those who do meet the minimum may be rejected on the basis of their scores if their numbers fall below the average.
A common misconception is that medical schools only look at an applicant’s overall GPA and MCAT score. In reality, most admissions committees scrutinize transcripts to see how you performed on different courses and assess your performance on each section of the MCAT.
The best way to overcome weak numbers is to prevent them in the first place by putting together a strong plan early on for success in courses and on the Medical College Admission Test.
In school, having a consistent study schedule as opposed to last-minute study is essential, especially for challenging science classes. When it comes to the MCAT, carefully planning the timing of the test and setting aside enough time to prepare will reduce the likelihood of a bad outcome.
One popular approach to MCAT study that is gaining popularity is longitudinal preparation, which involves incorporating small amounts of MCAT preparation over a more extended period of time.
For those who have already taken the MCAT once or finished most of their college coursework, there are ways to overcome poor performance. Depending on your circumstances, you may consider taking or retaking the courses in which you performed poorly.
Alternatively, you can enroll in a postbaccalaureate or special master’s program to improve your academic performance. Even if the new courses don’t drastically boost your GPA, an upward trend in academic performance will not go unnoticed.
If you didn’t do well on the MCAT the first time around, make sure to regroup and modify your prep strategy. And remember, many successful med school applicants didn’t do well on the MCAT the first time.
Lack of Commitment to Medicine
This is one of the most crucial reasons an applicant is rejected from med school, even in the presence of strong academic performance and good test scores. There are a few issues that may signal a lack of commitment to the medical profession.
The first is insufficient experience in the clinical setting. When admissions committees review an application, they want to know that the applicant understands what being a doctor entails and is making an informed decision to enter this profession. When someone has not spent enough time volunteering in a hospital or shadowing physicians, it suggests a lack of understanding of the work doctors do.
The exact nature of the clinical experience is also important. A few years ago, one student who had volunteered only at an orthopedic surgery practice was told by an admissions committee that his background did not show an interest in medicine more broadly.
The best clinical experiences allow premeds to shadow or work alongside physicians. Also, look for experiences that offer broad exposure to common medical conditions. The student in the example above successfully reapplied to medical school after getting six months of experience in an emergency room scribing with physicians.
A second indicator that an applicant is not committed to medicine is an inability to effectively articulate “Why medicine?” in the application or interviews. Before you write your essays, consider what aspects of being a doctor excite you most. Delineate these reasons and draw on your unique experiences to back up your reasoning.
Some applicants make the mistake of citing reasons unrelated to the clinical care of patients. For example, a student may talk about entering the medical profession to find cures for disease or to advocate for policies that increase access to health care. These are noble goals that many physicians pursue, but by themselves, they are not compelling enough to land you a spot in a medical school class.
A medical degree is unique for the opportunity it affords to be up close with patients, diagnosing disease and making clinical decisions about treatment. You have to show that this kind of work excites you if you want to truly convince medical schools to admit you.
Rushing to Apply to Medical School
A successful application to med school requires many parts. As mentioned earlier, a strong academic record, solid MCAT scores and in-depth clinical experience are all essential elements. Other extracurricular activities, like research and leadership, can also help a student stand out and secure admission.
Unfortunately, at the expense of starting med school earlier, some premeds apply hastily, before they have had a chance to achieve all that’s needed for a strong application.
When planning your premed path, it’s important to be realistic and work off a timeline that allows you to do well. If this means taking a gap year to gain more extracurricular experience, retake the MCAT or improve your academic record, that is completely reasonable. Don’t compare yourself to other applicants and remember that it’s not a race.
A Poorly Presented Application
While this may sound trivial, it’s not uncommon for us to audit a prior medical school application and find simple mistakes in the application that suggest a lack of attention to detail. Keep in mind that an oversight does not have to be a spelling mistake or grammar error.
A few years ago, a student had mistakenly put the name of the wrong school in a supplemental application, and another had forgotten to make sure the font style and size in a document were the same throughout. While schools may let these errors go if they are isolated incidents, multiple instances of oversight may suggest that the applicant is not diligent and attentive to detail.
In the end, it all comes down to careful planning. From how you present your application and the timing of it to how you plan your premedical journey, be sure to have a solid strategy in place. Chances are, with a good strategy, you will not have to think about why you were rejected from medical school.
