Question of the Week: What Happens When an Applicant Isn’t Accepted?

April 14, 2017

Question: Hi HPA – I know that most students get into medical school but what about the ones who don’t? What do they usually do?

Answer: Of the approximately 50 students who were not accepted over the past four years, about 2/3 of them reapplied in a later year and were accepted. Most, but not all of them took two years – it is common to take a year to to address any areas of the candidacy that needed strengthening (and take a step away from a long, stressful to reflect and regroup), then put the application in at the end of that year to go through the interview year. Commonly students need additional academic preparation to bring their metrics up, time to retake the MCAT, time to gain more clinical exposure, or just time to be out in the real world and gain new perspectives and personal growth. We’ve had students reapply up to four times who were eventually accepted, and some who have expanded their school list to osteopathic (DO) schools or overseas MD programs to expand their options.

Of those who chose not to continue in the application process, some went into other health careers (dentistry, physician assistant, public health, nurse practitioner), some attended masters or doctoral programs to focus on the research aspect of health, some are approaching health as consultants, sales associates, or device makers in health-related companies, and some followed other passions to go into finance, software engineering, or law. It can be hard to track students who are not accepted since they often lose touch with our office, but we’re always happy to hear from past applicants about the directions in which life took them.

QOTW in 2016:  ISC 335
QOTW in 2015:  EEB 211