Re-Applicants

Priority Deadline for Re-Applicants: May 1, 2013 by 11:59pm
Final Deadline for All Applicants: June 3, 2013 by 11:59pm

  • HPAO will not provide an updated Committee Letter for any applicant who applied and was accepted to a professional school in a previous application cycle and turned down the offer because they did not like the option they received.  Applying to professional school is a serious process and applicants should not apply to programs they would not want to attend.

Who is a Re-Applicant?

For the standards of the Health Professions Advising Office, a re-applicant is an individual who has previously participated in the Health Professions Advising Office's Committee Process and completed a mock interview.  Even if you withdrew your AMCAS/AACOMAS/AADSAS application in a prior application cycle, if you completed this mock interview you are considered a Re-Applicant by the HPAO.

Are You Ready to "Re-apply"? Here is what the Professional Schools will be assessing: 

There are many reasons why an applicant may not be accepted to professional school. Some of the most common reasons are GPA- Science and/or Overall, Test Score- MCAT, DAT, or OAT, limited patient interaction and clinical experience, late submission of application or supplemental documents, or any combination of the reasons.

Before you move forward with your application, you should consider the following:


Have I strengthened my weaknesses since my previous application?
There is no mystery to this process or secret code you need to break. In general, professional schools are concerned with:
  • Overall and science GPA
  • MCAT/DAT/OAT
  • Personal Statement
  • Clinical Exposure to medicine/dentistry, etc.
  • Activities and leadership, particularly related to community service and volunteerism
  • Research

Have I eliminated any questions/concerns in my application such as the issues mentioned above?
Have I provided myself enough time to build a competitive application or am I rushing back into this application cycle?

Re-applicant Pre-Health Packet

Download this document from the HPAO website. Fill out document completely and submit to the HPAO office by the established deadline for re-applicants. Keep in mind that incomplete packets will not be accepted! Answering all questions is required! Be sure to view the Timeline for important dates and deadlines.

Transcripts:

If you have taken any new coursework of any type, an official transcript (copy or original) is required from all institutions where coursework was completed.

Personal Statement:

Personal statements are only reviewed for priority applicants.

It is common practice to update a personal statement that was used in a previous application cycle, even if you withdrew your application. Consider including new experiences (e.g. clinical, research, or community service) when writing your personal statement along with the following: explaining why you want to be a doctor, providing some background information about yourself, and relevant experiences you have participated in to solidify this decision. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you update your personal statement.

Visit this page for helpful tips about writing your Personal Statement and plan to attend a Personal Statement Workshop (offered in the Spring).

Letters of Recommendation:

As a re-applicant, it is encouraged that you update your letters, especially if you are several years removed from the application process.  The following are several options for you to consider as you proceed with application process:

  • Letters of recommendation that are one year old may be used and supplemented with new additional letters, however, letters that are older than one year may not provide an Admissions Committee with pertinent and updated information. Please review the FAQ section before making any changes to your veCollect account.
  • You may also choose to replace your previous letters with completely new letters. Keep in mind that two Science letters from professors who have taught you in a classroom setting are still required for professional schools.
  • If you are changing programs such as medical to dental, you do want to update your letters so they are addressed to the appropriate program. HPAO will not forward letters which refer to the incorrect program.

veCollect

HPAO utilizes veCollect, a secure web-based service for the collection and storage of recommendation letters. Applicants who activated a veCollect account in a previous cycle do not need to create or activate a new account. Since the HPAO suspends accounts at the conclusion of our committee cycle, your account may be suspended. Simply contact the HPAO if you are unable to log into your account and your account will be reactivated.

Reapplicants who are planning to apply to medical, dental, and podiatry school in the current applicant cycle and have not yet requested an account need to begin this process. Refer to the veCollect Instructions for Students for more information.

What if I have hard copies of my letters in the HPAO?

If you have any letters of recommendation that have been submitted to the HPAO office as a hard copy, you must have each letter scanned and added to your veCollect account. Create an evaluator and letter record for each of your letters on file. You will be required to sign the FERPA statement for each letter. Do not enter the email address for your recommender. Instead, you should put mgrunber@umd.edu in the email field. You will then click the envelope icon to send an email request to Mike. The hard copy of your letter will be scanned and uploaded to your veCollect account. Please allow 2-3 weeks for this process to be complete.

Mock Interview:

Re-applicants will not complete an additional mock interview, as your previous participation in the Committee Process would have provided this opportunity.

Committee Letter:

Keep in mind that the Committee Letter is a Letter of Evaluation and not a Letter of Recommendation. Re-applicant students will have their Committee Letter updated upon submission of a complete Pre-Health packet.  A Credentials Form must be submitted to the HPAO once secondaries/supplemental applications have begun to be submitted to professional schools.

Within the common application, you will be asked to enter the following: 

  • Is your letter a committee letter, letter packet or individual letter?

  • Name of recommender

  • Requested email address
Refer to the Credentials Forwarding Service page for the appropriate responses to these questions. PLEASE NOTE: Re-Applicants will still enter Wendy Loughlin as the primary author, regardless of the advisor actually updating your letter, as she signs off on all Committee Letters.