Best Of

Hi Brooke,

This is Maria Lofftus, one of Kaplan's Medical School Admissions Consultants. In addition to my work with Kaplan students, I was the assistant dean of admissions at UC San Diego School of Medicine and the chair of the National Committee of Admissions for the AAMC.

Congratulations on your decision to apply what you have learned in the current application cycle to the 2025/2026 cycle. It's wise to start preparing early for a possible reapplication because waiting to hear a final decision from your schools may not happen until well after the 2025/2026 application opens.

Preparing to reapply includes an objective evaluation of an applicant's credentials to identify opportunities for improvement. This assessment is best done with the assistance of people familiar with the application process, such as a pre-med advisor, physician mentors, or feedback from a med school's admissions staff. Some factors, such as improving MCAT scores, may be done relatively quickly. In contrast, others, such as gaining substantive clinical, research, teaching, or social advocacy experience, may take a bit longer.

In addition to the three core application components you have identified, I think one other component most applicants fail to consider deeply enough when considering where to apply is their "fit" to a particular medical school. When most applicants think of "fit," they consider GPA, MCATs, and state residency, and those are certainly factors to consider. Many applicants will further screen schools on factors critical to the applicant. However, very few consider how their interests and professional goals (as documented by their experiences, academic courses, and life) align with the physician an individual medical school hopes to graduate. This is the issue behind the question, "Why did you apply to us?" and "Why should we accept you?" It can take significant time and research to identify medical schools for which you are a good "fit" and candidate.

Wishing you every success.

Hi Bianca! Don't be discouraged, when I took my first diagnostic exam I scored far below what I was anticipating! I have always struggled with test taking but for some reason I really felt like I would do better than I did! The diagnostic exam was kind of a wake up call for me to make sure I kick my studying into high gear and do get the resources I knew I needed. For example, I realized maybe I should apply for testing accommodations for my testing anxiety! It is important to be your own advocate and study/get the resources that will help you best! I completely agree, stay strong!! This March will be my 2nd test and I am so hopeful now that I have prepped how I needed to and advocated for myself!