His Application Was Really Good, but Why Didn’t He Get Accepted? | Application Renovation (S3 E18) 

He’s likeable, writes beautifully and by all indications will make a great doctor. When even Dr Gray can’t find much to criticize you know these med schools missed out on an absolute gem.

He has such a strong application and you can tell how dedicated he is, I hope he gets off the waitlist at that one school!

My husband’s dad passed the fall he was not accepted to med school- we were already married at the time. (His first cycle.) Had he been in med school he wouldn’t have been at the hospital with his mom and brother and he would have felt the pressure to be in class. He was accepted the next cycle and 20 years later is an amazing physician still. You’re going to do GREAT. I’m so sorry for your loss. We have lived this and you will come out of it stronger for walking through this. My husband spent the year working at a physicians office for minimum wage but it was the experience that counts.

Sorry about your dad's passing last year. I think the gap year is for the best. You'll be at a much better headspace to handle med school when you get in. Best wishes.

What a strong applicant, seems he must’ve slipped through the cracks at all the top schools he applied to. I’m sure whatever he does over the gap year/s will strengthen his application even more and will get him tons more interviews in the next cycle.

his app is soooooooo good its crazy he hit every box, he's personable, stories are funny, super smart kid... this vid is TERRIFYING tbh lol he's a way stronger applicant than me

Seeing his application getting rejected felt very unpleasant! His application almost mirror the application I seek to build. There are just not so many things one can do to stand out from the pool of applicants aside from making achievements that in itself, is more difficult than a med school acceptance. But it is the competitiveness of medicine that makes becoming a doctor such an attractive career choice though, and as an incoming college freshman, I would still be working towards becoming a physician. Even though all the pre-meds here would be competing against each other for the same spot, I wish everyone good luck!!

To everyone watching, Dr. Gray’s advice helped me get into an MD with a 500 MCAT and a 3.68 GPA. Listen to him because I honestly don’t think I would’ve made it without these videos.

This honestly scares me. You can do everything right and still not get in.

he seems so humble and genuine. wish the best for him. amazing application too!

Wow, what the heck...I'm so sorry to hear what happened. I wish you the best of luck and I know we need more physicians like you!

I wish him the best. He seems like an amazing person and I know he’ll be a fantastic physician.

I wish we could send this video to all of the schools that he applied to and plead his case. Clearly he has a good heart, and you can tell his Dad's death is painful to talk about. God Bless you; you will be a wonderful doctor!!

Crazy he didn’t have more success. Hope he gets off the WL

New fan of the channel here. What you’re doing over here is incredible work. Binged 50 videos these last few days. Appreciate everything you do 🤝

Thank you so much for sharing. Few applications on App Renovation are already this well refined, and when Dr. Gray gets this nitpicky we're able to get a great look into why something is subtly imperfect. Big lesson in school choice here

what a kind humble genuine honest individual. So sad his father died recently. I hope he has made it!

Thank you for including secondaries!

He looks like a very good person, and I wish him all the good luck!

clearly a very strong applicant and i hope he gets off the waitlist this cycle. i think his school list was definitely top heavy with a lot of low-yield schools also. my other thought is that his secondary essays seem rushed with many typos.

This was such a great application. Thank you for sharing your story

he's literally perfect!

I am kind of dumbstruck looking at this guy's application because it's very similar to my own, and for me this really hammers home the importance of target vs. reach schools. Many of these schools are a reach even for stronger applicants though.

it's honestly insane to me that he didn't get in. his application is so good, even if there was only 1LOR, I think his other accolades speak for themselves?? i really hope he gets off that waitlist :')

Just bought the new book Dr.Gray, keep up the good work!

He's gonna be a great doctor

That insane CAR score right there dang!

I feel so bad for this guy, I know he's going to make an amazing physician someday.

great to see another GT pre med

I'll be honest, I think this kid didnt make it because he doesnt have an "x factor" that makes him incredibly unique and stand out from the rest of the pack. He's gunning down top 30s, and these are schools that weed through 1000s of 3.9 519+, and he didnt bring alot to the table. But like Dr. Gray said, theres nothing you can really do to drastically change that, not everyone is a D1 athelete, 3 pubs, Nonprofit starters. I think he should have applied to schools based on fit rather than just stats, but the problem is he's a tad too generic, making him a fit by stats rather than by passion. Best of luck to this wonderful student.

I see a lot of people focusing on the LORs. Would love to know if that was a packet/committee letter or truly just one letter. I’m guessing it was the former, and in that case it shouldn’t be an issue. If it’s the later, then we found our reason why he didn’t get in.

He seems like such an amazing person and would make an incredible doctor one day. Good luck with everything and the next cycle!! You got this :)

Taking some time off and regroup, I believe you will do well next time applying.

crazy he didnt get more interviews - got me scared

I don’t even think his school list is that competitive! He has some schools that are less prestigious. Who knows what went wrong-which is the scary part

My application is frighteningly similar to this gentleman's app. I was also obese as a child and was bullied as a result. Additionally I overcame the same challenge with long distance running. Furthermore, I have similar activities and background to this applicant. I feel that while his stats and activities were impressive, I found his writing to be unspiring and overall dificult to read. I found myself getting lost in reading his essays since his writing did not flow as freely as I wished. Additionally his secondary essays such as the "goals" prompt was very repetitive.

He's gonna get in one day!! I know it!!

I plan on going to medical school to be a psychiatrist, I am barely going to college this fall so I don't have much experience but I want to know what I should do for my application. My desire to become a psychiatrist is driven by my experiences with my family and my own self, so would it be too specific to talk about these motivations in my personal essay? You said that I people shouldn't state a specific career path in the application, but I am really deadset on being a psychiatrist (or even a neurologist) because of my motivations. Of course, things could always change as I go through college, but as of now, that is what I want. like I wouldn't be talking about mental illness, but how seeing my mom struggle with it severely and how that motivated me to become a psychiatrist. Especially since her disorder is surrounded with stigma and such. I want to explain how I desire to rewrite those narratives, come up with different methods of therapy/healing and help people in need. It's probably basic though :/

For the shadowing, if you shadowed multiple doctors, do u just choose one name and contact info in that section?

I wonder if it’s because he’s is Asian and schools are just discriminating since they already have their quota of Asians. This guy is a phenomenal applicant and should reapply.

Wow. This terrified me.

Hi Dr. Gray, I was a bit confused by what you said at 15:20. I am currently writing my personal statement and have been getting it checked out by a couple of medical students, and they encouraged me to do "call-backs" in my personal statement, connecting my experiences caring for patients with my own experience as a patient. They say that it "connects my overall theme" well. What do you say about this? Do you think it is okay to put "call-backs" in my personal statement?

I think the applicant should have shared more about how he felt during those patient interactions and how his work was meaningful and the effects it had for his patients while transversely incorporating the motive for why wanting to pursue medical school, versus typing up "I" redundantly. There were some moments where he talked about how he felt about his patients, but it was not strongly convincing as to why medicine. Also, I think it's best to show versus tell, have the reader see exactly to what is going on.

Surprised no one is saying the obvious. This kid didn't get in because he is an Asian male with two parents that have PhDs. He doesn't fit the underprivileged minority student who had to overcome racism and poverty that schools are looking for these days. I'll probably be banned from youtube for saying it, but this kid should be outraged over this obvious discrimination. His application is excellent; he should have gotten offers from all over. I wish you the absolute best man. Maybe apply to Mercer and Morehouse, being in Ga like your undergrad.

If you’re in Gainesville I’d really like to know if you offer any advice or help directly. Especially to people just entering college.

A really strong application! I think a broader school list would've helped, especially applying DO as well-the more schools you can apply to (within reason), the better the odds.

There is an elephant in the room here. He is an Asian male, who frequently will have to produce a “more perfect” application than any other. In addition, the process has become more of a crapshoot with very low acceptance rates that defy explanations. When schools care more about boosting stats to raise their rankings to increase alumni donations, it is more about whether a school thinks the applicant will commit to the school than whether the candidate is qualified.

He mentions one bad grade - a C in Abstract Algebra is nothing to be ashamed of lol. Those upper level math classes are killer.

I think he should of applied to some more safety schools just in case.

i think having at least 2 more LORs would have really helped

Honestly his school was really competitive, especially since a lot of them are state schools

Success in clinical Medicine is primarily about having very finely tuned soft skills/EQ and leadership skills. You are treating a person not a disease. You can tell very quickly at med school interview which candidates display these skills.

I do think that schools are also looking for students that fits their mission statement and what they particularly are trying to do to build their own community. I would say it is a mistake to not apply to at least one in-state school since you’re most likely going to get accepted if you do. (There is a preference for in-state student) The bigger the medical school usually the less picky they are about certain aspect but still a good rounded student should be considered. Though if you want to apply to your favorite school go ahead but certain schools have certain preferences for certain type of student this goes from college to medical school. (Maybe a mathematical mindset might not be what they are looking for but more teamwork, leadership, and being able to understand patient, etc) At the end of the day once the school spots are filled your chance of getting in is 0 to none. (Would recommend applying to big public medical college that has 250+ spots)

I’m pretty sure he is prob a Texas applicant applying to out of state public schools that makes it really difficult even with those stats

He seems so nice and like a great applicant. I wish he would move his hand from in front of his mouth though :/

The most meaningful research experience was only for 65 hours over 3 years? That comes out to working only about 1.8 hours per month, and this is most meaningful for him! hmmmm.

Does he have an IG or something? Would love to stay in contact to see where his journey takes him!! Will make an excellent physican💪🏼

wow you should have seen my face throughout this like how the fuck

Honest question... Could his race and parent's educational background have prevented his acceptance?

Honestly just school choice, most top 20s want much more research and pubs

He’s Asian, that’s likely why he didn’t get in. Unfortunately you can’t do an application renovation video on don’t be Asian. It is kind of depressing watching these videos with my 3.5gpa, no research, and little volunteering. I guess 30 somethings just have different apps than 20 somethings. Good luck to him.

The only thing I really saw that was missing was non-clinical volunteering

I hate to say this, but most students I saw with excellent applications who were not accepted were asian male. Simply based on this phenomenon, I can't help thinking there is some bias in the application process.

Is it possible that his lack of non STEM classes had an impact

*Anxiety rises*

I just got accepted this cycle too with only a 508 Mcat. Dr. Gray’s advice was a huge help! 😄

Competition is why.

Would playing piano at the hospital count as clinical hours?

Am I the only one who thinks contractions do not belong in professional writing? 🥴

People reading secondary essays are trained to screen out applicants based on specific things they are looking for. The secondary essay question that was asking about diversity and what can you contribute to the MEDICAL SCHOOL community is really asking about what he can contribute to the incoming class, not about improving solutions in clinical research and patient care. It was asking about what can you contribute to the class, not as a physician but as a classmate. The question also emphasized that they are really committed to choosing their students based on what they can contribute and all he said was math. Are they going to contribute leadership? A non-trad point of view? Oh, I see he is going to add math to the class. Some schools screen based on specific answers that they are looking for (whether it be mission statement or their core values) and he was unable to provide that answer or even answer the question. It just shows that he did not do enough research on what the school was looking for. Since the next question is asking about leadership, it seems like the school values leadership a lot and he probably would not be screened out if he said he can add leadership to the class or tutor his classmates or something helpful that the school values. I’m not sure if he did the same with his other secondaries, but the most common mistake is not doing enough research on the school and not answering what the question is really asking. :)

yikes by the time i apply 4 years down the line, competition will kill me lol

If he put his hands on his mouth throughout the interview. He will never get in.

....I am so confused

wondering why his hand is in front of his mouth all the time

Trading options...put and call contracts. Readers may feel it's sort of like gambling.

he trade stocks of course he got rejected

hmm, I hope in his interview he didn't talk through his fist. Did I miss an explanation of that... like did he just get jaw surgery and didn't want to show the stitches?

should he have applied md phd? he wants to do research in oncology.

Kinda late to this video but looking at his personal statement, I can see why he may have not gotten into medical school. I feel his personal statement is good enough but not great. His stories were great in concept but his writing felt a bit inconsistent. I bet some admissions committees saw his grades, demographic information, etc. and expected him to have a more cohesive essay, considering he was applying to mostly top medical schools. I hope he got into medical school by now since he more than deserves to be there. I still don't get how people like him get rejected for not being perfect but others who are far from perfect join medical school and quit immediately.

He's East Asian, so he's competing with other East Asians who trump his excellent application. His 519 MCAT and 3.8 GPA competes against an army of East Asian applicants who have MCATs in the 520s and 3.9 to 4.0 - and great extracurriculars to boot! That's the #1 reason he got rejected, but Dr. Gray thinks race doesn't matter so he didn't mention it. Whenever a black applicant gets accepted with a 505 MCAT and a 3.3 GPA, he brushes aside that race had an impact. #2 reason this student got rejected was that he had an overly ambitious school list.

If he was URM he would have gotten in. This entire app cycle is such a crapshoot and so disappointing.

I hope that he doesnt have his hand in front of his face during his interviews.

I feel that this student is lacking a lot of confidence. He seems nervous and edgy all the time. I think he would benefit from learning to be prouder and more sure of himself. I know he is probably using a mic, but his mouth was covered the entire time. All the same, he seems to not want to speak up on behalf of himself and put himself forth as an able and confident person. I suspect that’s why he wasn’t successful. I hope he has since gotten an offer.

I don't think it was meant to be for him to get in this cycle with his dad passing. He is a great applicant!

The stats is not really impressive among the ORMs, the schools he applied to are thus too top-heavy. My son sent out his primary application roughly one month ago. He has a 3.9 GPA from an Ivy-league University, a GMAT score of 523, and he has always wanted to serve people as a physician. However, as a ORM, uderstanding the reality, my son's humble dream is to be admitted to any of the medical schools in USA that want him!

He only had one LOR? That’s why he didn’t get in. He doesn’t meet the LOR requirements for most schools.

I feel like watching these videos is going to make my application knock it out of the park. Who agrees?

The 700 hours of pharmacy technician volunteering makes me feel like you actually want to be a pharmacist instead!

Seems unconfident. Just from a body language perspective, he's covering his mouth while talking the whole time.

He answered the “diversity question” by saying he’s good at math. He brought math into his activities. The host likes his approach but he didn’t get in to any medical schools. Begs the question...

in the grand scheme of things, he's actually an ordinary applicant.. his list of schools are looking for extraordinary activities. he's not working with any professors on research ideas he came up with, he hasn't gotten any awards, wrote books, etc. not saying he has to cure cancer, but there are thousands of asians who are just as qualified as he is, so it's harder to stand out. also, covering mouth was kinda awkward

Just a suggestion; stop using your hand to cover your mouth. That's seriously problematic body language.

Bro why cant this guy talk without covering his mouth it’s weird

Compassionate care (empathy) is part of someone's essence, it cannot be taught. A patient do not care about your GPA or MCAT when they're sick. Medical schools aren't seeking Einstein's with horrible bedside manners. This youngman looked good on paper. I believe it was the interview that got him waitlisted. If you're the medical professional interviewing, you can smell disingenuous a mile away.

I know exactly why this kid didn't get into med school. He's below the standard for asian male applicants and his school wasn't a top 10. He's wait-list fodder, no wonder so many med schools didn't take the opportunity to interview him. He needs to apply to D.O. programs or try the Carribbean!

The creepy bread totally yawn because cook scientifically stitch qua a obsequious limit. different, hanging trigonometry

He probably didn’t get accepted because he covered his mouth with his hand during the interview