Reapplying to Medical School: Every Major Question Answered
/Learn whether reapplying to medical school looks bad, if you can use past letters of recommendation, if you should change your personal statement, and much more to get in after your first attempt
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Part 1: Introduction to reapplication to medical school
If you’re worried about being a medical school reapplicant, you’re not alone. In fact, since only roughly 40% of applicants matriculate into U.S. MD programs in any given application cycle, nearly 60% of applicants face the decision to pursue a different career or to reapply.
While the process is essentially the same, the thought of reapplying to medical school routinely leads to anxiety. You may have read on online forums or heard from others that reapplicants are viewed less favorably than their first-time-applicant counterparts.
You may have also received conflicting guidance around how to approach reapplication to ensure that you get into med school the second (or third) time around. Should you change your personal statement or use the one you previously submitted? Can you use past letters of recommendation? Can you reapply to the same medical schools, or should you apply to a completely different school list?
Fortunately, our team has helped hundreds of reapplicants achieve success with the medical school admissions process. In fact, we routinely receive messages like these:
This guide is meant to answer your questions and provide direction on how to improve your application from one cycle to the next. The med school application process consumes significant time, emotion, attention, and finances, so you’ll want to make sure to go through it as few times as possible.
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Part 2: Does reapplying to medical school look bad?
Many reapplicants worry that they’ll somehow be viewed as “damaged goods” by med school admissions committees, leading to a sharp decline in their chances of getting in.
According to AAMC data, during the 2023 application cycle (i.e., for admissions into the Fall 2023 entering class), there were a total of 52,577 applicants, 37,726 (71%) of whom were first-time applicants, and 14,851 (29%) of whom were reapplicants. (Note: AAMC does not specify how many reapplicants were applying a second or third time, etc.)
While we know that 43% of the total applicant pool matriculated into medical school that year, AAMC does not provide information about how many matriculants were first-time applicants vs. reapplicants. Unfortunately, therefore, the available data does not help us answer this question directly.
However, even if it turned out that first-time applicants got into medical school at a higher rate than reapplicants, it would not necessarily mean that reapplicants are viewed less favorably simply because they’re reapplicants.
Perhaps first-time applicants who matriculate into med school are stronger applicants to begin with. For instance, suppose a student with a 3.8 GPA and 515 MCAT score gets in the first time they apply but a student with a 3.2 GPA and 502 MCAT score does not. If the latter student reapplies with the same numbers, they will again be uncompetitive for most MD programs. In other words, any issue with the reapplicant label more likely indicates correlation than causation.
Based on our nearly 20 years of admissions experience, we have not observed any sort of “reapplicant stain” that would lower your admissions odds. If you have the GPA and MCAT score (i.e., stats), as well as the right extracurricular activities to get into medical school, you can be competitive during application cycles beyond your first. We write this with confidence because we successfully help many reapplicants each year who initially express concern about a “medical school reapplicant disadvantage.”
More than 50% of non-matriculating students from any given year do not apply during the following cycle, or the cycle after that. As a reapplicant, you will be among the minority of individuals who did not allow one or two disappointing attempts to keep you from pursuing your dream career.
By leveraging your application materials to impress upon admissions committees your continued commitment to medicine, you can be viewed as an asset to the larger medical community.
Reapplying to medical school, therefore, does not look bad. Approached correctly, it can look good.
Can I reapply to the same medical schools?
You can absolutely be viewed as a competitive applicant by medical schools that previously rejected you, granted that you meaningfully improve aspects of your application that may have initially kept you out. (More on how to improve future applications below.)
At the same time, you should be honest with yourself about your odds of getting into a specific school given your stats and extracurricular background. Since applying to each school requires time, attention, and an application fee that can be devoted elsewhere, you’ll want to approach your school list deliberately.
Should I wait a year between my original application and reapplying?
It depends on your activities and competitiveness in the first place.
For instance, if you applied to medical school with 20 hours of patient exposure the first time around and will only have 50 hours at the time of your reapplication, it’s probably best to wait another year and use the time to strengthen your application in that regard.
On the other hand, if you had a strong application to begin with and received multiple interview invitations the first time around, you should take that as a sign that you did a lot of things right but need to make a few improvements to achieve admissions success next round. Even if you did not receive many, or any, interview invitations, you could still successfully reapply if you meaningfully improved your admissions profile since your initial application cycle.
This could mean an improved MCAT score and/or increased extracurricular hours. Either one can go a long way to showing admissions committees you have what it takes to succeed in medical school and are committed to becoming a doctor.
Just to be competitive, you’ll need 200 hours of community service/volunteering, 50 hours of shadowing, and 200 hours of patient exposure. That’s not including leadership experiences and research which can both weigh heavily on your application depending on the school you’re applying to. Our recommendations for extracurricular hours are much higher.
(Further reading: How to Choose the Right Extracurricular Activities for Medical School)
Can I reapply to medical school if I’ve received an acceptance?
We commonly receive this question from students who have been accepted to a medical school that, for whatever reason, isn’t what they’d hoped for. Sometimes students even wonder if they can reapply after they’ve already enrolled. The answers to these questions are complex, but we’ve provided some general guidance below.
First of all, if you’ve enrolled in a medical school, you will have to disclose this on your AMCAS application if you reapply. Moreover, it’s typically not recommended to be enrolled in one medical program while applying to others. Instead, you might consider attempting to transfer medical schools; however, this is a difficult process with low rates of success.
Therefore, if you’ve received a medical school acceptance but are determined to reapply, it’s best not to enroll in the school that accepted you.
However, this raises a separate but related question of whether it’s ever advisable to turn down a medical school acceptance in order to reapply. A broad rule of thumb is that it usually isn’t worth it.
Given the sheer statistical difficulty of getting into medical school, you risk not getting in anywhere upon reapplication. Furthermore, medical schools within the same data pool (e.g., all MD schools or all DO schools) will likely know that you turned down an acceptance, which may lead them to view your application unfavorably.
Certain situations often merit exceptions, such as serious illnesses, legal matters, or family issues that have since been resolved. Once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, like receiving a prestigious fellowship (e.g., the Rhodes or the Marshall) or making the Olympic team, may be treated in a similar light. On the other hand, “I thought I could get into a better school” is less likely to be viewed as a solid reason for turning a program down.
That said, we have observed over the years that the general recommendation to never decline a medical school acceptance is often made for the following reason: most people simply don’t have an example of someone who got in and successfully reapplied the following cycle!
In our experience, there are occasionally accepted applicants whose admissions outcomes still show room for improvement. Each applicant’s situation is unique, and we have supported numerous “accepted reapplicants” with success.
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Part 3: Can you reuse your application when reapplying to medical school?
Can I use the same letters of recommendation when reapplying to medical school?
(Note: AMCAS does not retain recommendation letters from previous application cycles. Therefore, you’ll need to resubmit letters you’d like to reuse.)
You can indeed use past letters of recommendation as a reapplicant. However, you may want to consider removing certain letters, adding new ones, or updating existing ones. Always optimize for overall application quality, not for minimal work.
When to add or remove letters:
If you were uncertain about the strength of a letter during your previous application cycle and you’re able to obtain one that meets the same requirement, you’re probably better off submitting the new one in lieu of the old.
For example, suppose you previously submitted a science letter from a freshman year biology professor whose class you took four years ago but did not keep in close contact with. Since that letter may be somewhat generic, you may want to ask your post-baccalaureate program biochemistry professor to write a new letter on your behalf.
Another reason to add a letter is if you began participating in a meaningful activity since your first application and have developed a relationship with a mentor who can speak to qualities that capture the student and person you are today.
When to update existing letters:
On some occasions, you’ll be able to submit letters that are largely the same but update them to reflect recent achievements or developments.
For instance, you may have received a letter of recommendation during your first application cycle from a research PI in whose lab you had worked for two years. If you continued working in their lab during your first application year and published a manuscript, you’ll want to ask your PI to add a paragraph or two describing your recent contributions to the lab, any new insights they have about you, and so on.
Should I change my personal statement when reapplying to medical school?
Yes, admissions committees expect you to write a new personal statement when reapplying to medical school.
While your new essay can focus on a similar theme and communicate the same qualities from your previous personal statement, the anecdotes should change.
Suppose you have an incredibly strong public health background and described in your previous personal statement how your work in that field informs your medical work, and vice versa. In your new personal statement, you can again discuss the transactional influences of public health and medicine through new anecdotes, recently developed insights, and your continued commitment to medicine.
Moreover, you’ll want to make sure to retain the core reasons for wanting to be a physician. Otherwise, admissions committees may question your authenticity. If they don’t trust you, schools are unlikely to admit you.
For instance, if your previous personal statement focused on commitment to your local community but your new personal statement centers around research, readers will be wonder whether you’re attempting to write what you assume they want to hear.
We often get asked whether your new personal statement must explicitly mention that you’re a reapplicant or focus on mostly on experiences since your initial application. You do not need to mention in your essay that you are a reapplicant. Moreover, while your personal statement would likely benefit from discussing some of your most recent experiences, you should never force the issue if it would detract from your overall essay theme.
Should I change my Work and Activities section when reapplying to medical school?
Assuming they were well written to begin with, some Work and Activities section descriptions can remain the same, whereas other should change or be updated.
Experiences with no new updates or insights (e.g., shadowing you completed three years ago) need not be changed. On the other hand, you can add new activities or modify descriptions. You should modify descriptions whenever you can: a) improve the writing; b) update the description (e.g., a new publication); or c) both.
Your “most meaningful” activity selections can also stay the same. However, if you have new experiences to share, you’ll probably want to rewrite the 1325-character-limit “most meaningful” descriptions. In addition, you should keep one or two of your “most meaningful” selections the same in most instances. Otherwise, you’ll risk being viewed as inauthentic.
Should I change my secondary essays when reapplying to medical school?
It depends on the quality of your responses and whether your answers have changed. For instance, if you experienced your greatest challenge since submitting your previous secondaries, then yes, your adversity essay topic should change. If not, you could write about the same topic, modifying it as needed to write the strongest possible essay.
Remember that your secondary essays say a lot more about you than just the topic you’ve chosen to write about. How effective is your communication? Is your point coming across clearly and succinctly? There are always ways to improve your writing even if your topic hasn’t changed.
The bottom line when making decisions about what to rewrite vs. what to keep the same is this: Optimize for quality, not for minimal work. Your goal is to get into med school in as few attempts as possible, so give every application cycle your best effort.
(Further reading: Medical School Secondary Essays: The Complete Guide)
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Part 4: How to improve your application when reapplying to medical school
It’s natural to feel discouraged and wonder what went wrong during your previous application cycle(s). Were your stats too low? Did you obtain the right letters of recommendation? Were your personal statement and secondary essays well written? Did you apply early, or did you submit applications too late? Did you do poorly in your interviews?
(Note: To learn more about common medical school application mistakes, we encourage you to read the following guide: How Hard Is It to Get Into Medical School?)
As you think through how to improve your application before reapplying, you’ll first want to ensure that you’ve controlled for all possible variables before coming to firm conclusions. For instance, if you submitted your secondaries in October, don’t assume you were rejected due to subpar rec letters or a 507 MCAT score. Moreover, if you have a strong GPA or MCAT score, you can quickly rule out that your stats were the reason you didn’t get in.
We can’t stress this point enough. Students confidently and routinely tell us how they need to simply conduct research for a year or apply earlier to achieve a successful outcome. Once we review their application, however, we notice things like poorly written essays, an overly competitive school list, and so on.
In addition, some students with, say, a 3.8 GPA and 517 MCAT score even ask us whether they should take additional courses or retake the MCAT. A review of their application shows us that they had a weak extracurricular foundation and subpar essays.
To maximize your odds of getting in as a reapplicant, you’ll want to honestly evaluate every aspect of your application. Sometimes, the areas you think you messed up on are fine, whereas issues you overlooked could have played a major role in your rejections.
Here are some steps you can take to improve your application from round to round:
1. Ask admissions committees for feedback.
Some admissions committees will be willing to provide feedback about issues they observed within your application, as well as what you can do to increase your chances during a future admissions cycle. Just make sure to ask politely and communicate a sincere desire to improve your candidacy.
Note that most schools will not give you feedback, either as a matter of policy or because they’re busy, so don’t be surprised if you don’t hear back.
2. Improve your GPA or MCAT score.
If your GPA or MCAT score falls outside the range typically expected for MD program admissions, you’ll want to consider taking steps to boost them during your gap year.
To raise your GPA, consider a post-baccalaureate program, Special Master’s program (SMP), or extension courses, among other options. Achieve high grades in science courses at a reputable school whenever possible, especially in areas where you previously struggled, to show admissions committees that you’re ready to handle the rigors of medical school.
To raise your MCAT score, consider taking a course or receiving 1:1 tutoring, especially around test strategy. (Learn more about our MCAT tutoring.)
3. Strengthen your extracurricular profile.
You’ll want to attain a certain number of hours or demonstrate a certain level of achievement within the following activities: shadowing; patient exposure, community service/volunteering, and research. Before you reapply, make sure to address any holes in your extracurricular activities during your gap year so that admissions committees don’t question your commitment to the field.
A gap year is a fantastic time to increase your extracurricular hours, but merely spending more time on particular activities isn’t always what adcoms are looking for.
Remember that medical school admissions committees are also thinking of the type of community that will be fostered by their student body. When considering how to strengthen your extracurricular profile, take the time to research the ethos of each school you apply to and find extracurricular activities that match.
For instance, perhaps one of your top schools prides itself on its commitment to assisting rural populations, but your extracurricular profile showcases your leadership skills by mentioning how you managed a student political organization in your essays.
Leadership skills are certainly a quality adcoms desire but when tough decisions need to be made on who to accept they will prioritize candidates who more closely align with their school’s philosophy. Among a pool of talented applicants with fantastic scores, deciding between one with a 3.8 GPA and a 515 MCAT or a 3.9 GPA and a 517 MCAT can come down to what each candidate may contribute to the campus community.
If your scores are excellent but you were passed over, it’s worth looking at all aspects of your application and deeply scrutinizing what you can change.
4. Develop your school list deliberately.
Deciding where you apply is one of the most underrated, yet critical aspects of the admissions process. Getting your school list wrong can mean the difference between acceptance and rejection. Some students underestimate just how hard it is to get into medical school or apply to an overly competitive list based on their stats (e.g., only top-tier schools, no DO programs).
Given the resources involved in applying to medical school, you’ll want to go through this process as few times as possible, so approach your school list extra thoughtfully when reapplying.
Determining your school list is not only a matter of checking average GPA and MCAT scores at particular institutions to see if the numbers align with yours. You’ll need to think about these scores strategically.
For example, if the school you’re interested in also reports these scores among matriculants, you can look at the average applicant score compared to the average matriculant score to get an idea of which students are weeded out based on their numbers.
Also, remember to check what type of average score a school is reporting, namely its measure of central tendency. This can help you get an idea of your competition. Usually, schools report either a median or a mean.
The mean is the type of average you likely most often encounter. Adding together all of the values in a set and dividing by the number of values in that set will give you the mean. This is a middle number of the weight of those values, but this number can be skewed if the majority of those values are heavily weighted to one side or the other.
For instance, if you’re applying to the University of Arizona - Phoenix (which reports mean values) and the range of applicant MCAT scores was from 500 - 520 but ¾ of applicants had MCAT scores above 515, a reported average of 515 may be arrived at because of that weighting. This school is not reporting the actual middle score among all applicants.
On the other hand, the median is the true central value as it is the point where an equal number of scores exist above and below it. In the example above, the reported score may be 510—a substantial difference to 515! Make sure you understand this difference when creating your school list so that you have a better idea of your likelihood of entry regarding how your scores measure up.
Furthermore, you may be applying to schools whose reported average GPA and MCAT scores align with your own but they happen to be located in a different state at a school that only accepts a small number of out-of-state applicants every year. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t apply if you really want to attend that school, but take a hard look at your stats since from the start, you’ll be at a disadvantage in an already highly competitive field.
5. Apply early.
Students focus on submitting AMCAS as early as possible but neglect to send in their secondary applications within the first two weeks of receiving them. However, schools don’t review your work until after your secondaries have been submitted. We strongly advise you to pre-write your essays and apply as early as possible without sacrificing quality.
(Further reading: The Ideal Medical School Application Timeline)
6. Practice your interview skills.
If you received three or more interview invitations but did not get into medical school the first time you applied, take that as a sign that you need to work on your interview skills. Medical schools only invite interviewees who look “good enough” on paper, so you probably did several things right when you previously applied.
(Further reading: How to Ace Your Medical School Interviews & MMI Interview: The Ultimate Guide)
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7. Rejection is sometimes just redirection
If you’re like many medical school hopefuls, being rejected the first time around can be extremely disheartening, causing you to wonder what went wrong and possibly even rethinking your entire future.
It’s important to remember that rejection is sometimes merely redirection. Simply because you didn’t get into the medical schools you wanted on the first try likely just means you need to rethink your applications and school list.
Perhaps the applicant pool for the schools you applied to was particularly strong that year. Schools routinely publish admissions data for each class and it’s worthwhile to consider the applicant pool in the year that you didn’t get accepted to gain insights as to where you might improve in the next round.
For example, due to Covid-19, many applicants weren’t able to stand out with extracurriculars or shadowing opportunities as they might have done in a normal year. Additionally, one year just may have had a higher percentage of excellent GPAs and MCAT scores.
This can also help you with your school list. By considering the class profile and applicant statistics at each school you apply to, you can get a better idea of your chances and how to target the institution you want.
If you’ve got a 3.7 GPA and a 510 MCAT, you’re a great candidate for many mid-level schools. If the average MCAT at the schools you applied to is around 517 for that year, you may be doing yourself a disservice by putting the effort into applying again with the same stats. Redirecting your efforts to where you have a better chance of success is often a winning strategy.
There’s no guarantee the applicant pool will be similar in the following year, but by analyzing the data, you can get an idea of where you may have fallen short. This can inform decisions such as retaking the MCAT or enrolling in a post-bacc course to raise your science GPA.
Final thoughts
Getting rejected from every medical school can feel incredibly discouraging and lead you to question everything in your previous application, from your grades and test scores to your recommendation letter choices and extracurriculars.
Rather than give up or guess what went wrong, it’s important to focus on the things you need to improve or change moving forward and put aside the rest. By reviewing your unsuccessful application honestly and deliberately approaching your next attempt, you’ll increase your odds of becoming a medical student.
About the Author
Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world's foremost experts on medical school admissions. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into medical school using his exclusive approach.