Top 5 Reasons Applicants are Rejected

Every year, thousands of medical school applicants are rejected for a variety of reasons. We’ve already covered the most important criteria medical schools look for, but according to medical school admissions officers there are five main reasons why medical schools will reject an applicant. They are:

1. Poor grades and/or MCAT scores. Many schools screen applicants based on minimum GPA and MCAT scores and will automatically reject an applicant that falls below a certain threshold. The general rule of thumb is that you should have an overall GPA of 3.5 with a strong performance in the sciences and a minimum overall score above 500 on the MCAT. If your MCAT scores are lower (not much lower) but your GPA is outstanding, especially if your undergraduate school was rigorous and competitive, your chances are better.

2. Lack of clinical experience. One of the common questions an admissions committee member will ask is, “How can this applicant possibly know that he or she wants to be a doctor if he or she has never spent a reasonable amount of time in a clinical setting?” If you’re applying to medical school, you better demonstrate your interest through clinical experiences. It’s difficult to convince someone looking at your application or interviewing you that you’re serious about medicine if you have not done anything to prove it. The most favorable applicants have shadowed doctors, volunteered at clinics or hospitals, or participated in premed programs that included time spent with physicians.

3. Narrow choice of schools. Unless a student has outstanding grades, remarkably high MCAT scores, exceptional extracurricular activities, and excellent interview skills, he or she must apply to a wide range of medical schools. Competition is fierce. Some national schools receive more than 14,000 applications and are very selective in who they accept. You may think that a 3.5 GPA and a score of 510 on the MCAT will get you into Harvard or Duke, but it most likely will not. So cover all your bases and include both your dream medical schools and five to seven less selective schools that would more likely accept you, given your academic record.

4. Poorly written essay. Sometimes the difference between getting an interview and an outright rejection comes down to the essay. In borderline cases, an essay will certainly convince an admissions committee member that you’re someone who deserves further consideration. A poorly written essay, on the other hand, will make the rest of your application seem less desirable. If it doesn’t answer the questions of why you want to be a doctor, what led you to this decision, and what you’ve done to cultivate your interest in medicine, your application will simply be one of the thousands that are rejected.

5. Poor interview skills. The last step in the process is the medical school interview, which can be a make or break event for some applicants. This is the last chance an ad-missions committee member has to get to know the applicant and answer any questions or any lingering doubts about academics, volunteer work, desire to be a doctor, etc. It’s also an opportunity for the applicant to make a convincing argument as to why he or she would make a good candidate for the school’s program. Getting this far into the process is a good sign, but some applicants who would otherwise get accepted fall short simply because they’re not prepared or didn’t practice beforehand. Don’t assume that the interview is simply a formality. Take it seriously.

From: The New Medical School Preparation & Admissions Guide, 2025, 5th Edition