Being notified that your health professional application was rejected can be a painful experience. Take this time to figure out where you went wrong. Remember that this is an opportunity to take the negative and turn it into a positive.

You may have applied at the wrong time, waited too close to the deadline, submitted an application that was light on clinical volunteering or was not competitive in terms of your GPA or standardized test score. Maybe your essay did not make it clear that you are passionate about becoming a physician, dentist, or other health professional, or perhaps you did not strike the admissions committee as being well-rounded. Perhaps you simply did not present yourself well during your interview. The reasons may vary but it is your responsibility to take the steps toward enhancing the weaknesses in your application.

The reason you were not offered an acceptance is because the health professional schools perceived shortcomings in your application. Most shortcomings can be changed, and given proper emphasis, your weaknesses can become strengths. You must be able to demonstrate that you made a turnaround; therefore in doing so, you must allow enough time before re-applying. You must show that you have made positive changes since your last application.

Make sure to reflect on yourself when filling out your new application and what has changed. Now is the time to re-write your personal statement from a re-applicant’s point of view. Why are you now a better candidate than last year? Think about what you have learned from your last application through now? What have you done to improve? And finally, use the interview to show how you have improved as an applicant.