So I’m an older non-trad applicant and all my friends in medicine are current residents or M3/M4s. As Thanksgiving approaches, I was thinking back on how their app cycles went years ago and realized that out of the first 5 friends in med school/residency I thought of, 4 of them were reapplicants. Of those 4, 1 is at a T5, 2 are at T30s, and 1 just started her surgery residency at Harvard (BWH).

I know this process is so difficult and reapplying is tough (and expensive), but in the long run, all my friends are much happier at schools they got into their second cycle than where they felt they would have ended up if their first cycle was successful. Reapplying doesn’t mean you aren’t meant to be a doctor!! They also told me that in the long run, one extra gap year and the costs to reapply felt like nothing compared to how long training is and how much tuition costs (RIP lol) so even though it seems like a big deal right now, in a couple years this will all feel like a distant memory.

Happy to share what they felt like improved their apps if anyone is interested!