Do you know anybody that kept trying, but never got in? I know some people that tried 2 years in a row, never got in, and gave up.

I know several people like this.

And what are they doing now?

One is a med tech in a path lab, One works for Lehman brothers and one works for a computer softtware company.

I knew a girl who applied 3 times over the span of 5 years and has never gotten in.
Whats really sad is that she would be done with school if she was accepted the first time around.

I've recently been accepted to both state schools (to which I?ve applied 3x). Who knows what breaks the rejection trend? I wish I did - I?d certainly share it with you. Maybe persistence has something to do with it.

Talking to your premed advisor is a really good idea. If you don?t have a pre-med advisor, you have a state-supported school, and I?m sure they?ll accommodate you.

Until then, perhaps the best I can offer is: Don?t get into the practice of postponing your happiness (for medical school, USMLEs, residency, fellowship, job, etc.). (I wish someone would have shared this nugget of advice with me ? ?though I probably would not have taken it).

getting a masters degree won't help you get into med school unless you did very well in that program. If you didn't get into med school because of a low gpa then go for a masters degree and improve your grades. If you didn't get in because of a low mcat score, then a masters degree will not help you. Take a year off and study for the mcat. If your gpa and mcat is low, then do a masters program or post-bacc and study for the mcat.

Also, it will never hurt to gain some clinical experience, volunteer, do something positive for the community, etc.

I have a girl friend who applied to something like 30+ schools and was rejected from every one of them (dismal MCAT and GPA, no experience, etc). She applied to one pharmacy school and was accepted there, and she will try applying to med school after she gets her PharmD. I'm very proud of her.

I have never encountered people that were not able to get in to schools at all...between Allopathic, Osteopathic, and Carribeam schools....

Not being able to get accepted in the US....sure...but again...there are many variable that play into this, and depending on one's determination, and the sacrifices that you are willing to make, I really believe we can all get in somewhere...its just a matter of where people are willing to go....

I agree with Yosh, it's always possible to get in somewhere. Yeah maybe not a US allopathic school but a caribbean or a DO school, perhaps even a med school in Australia or Europe.

Anyhow... a story to cheer you all up:

After my second year of univesity, I had a near-total thyroidectomy (and was VERY sick), still I wrote the MCAT and scored 25 (5 in verbal, 9 in bio and 11 in physics).... I applied to all 5 Ontario schools --> got 5 rejections.

So I was depressed over the next year and decided not to apply, but to strengthen my extra curricular activities (research)

Next summer I attempted to redo the MCAT but ended up voiding it right after the verbal section because I knew I failed it. I ended up applying to McMaster (no MCAT required) --> another rejection.

So last year I studied the WHOLE summer for my MCATs (I mean 3 months solid) and I applied to 20+ US med schools and 7 Canadian schools. Alas I get my MCAT scores back and I scored a 27 (7 in verbal and 10 in BS and PS), I was again depressed because my verbal killed me once again. In addition, I had some problems with my LOR (diff requirements here and in the US) and ended up being completed VERY late (in January....) so I received NO interviews and --> 27+ rejections

Seriously depressed for a few months, I decided to redo my MCATs one more time (fourth time sitting down to write it!) and apply to the caribbean (as meds is the only thing I want to do) and decided to give US/Canadian med schools one more shot. So I ended up with a 31O on my MCATs (7 verbal 12 BS and PS) and got in to St. George SOM as well as a US allopathic school.

So I'm off to the States next year and couldn't be happier... still though three years of waiting, agonizing and stressing... yes its hard but don't EVER EVER give up! keep trying and you WILL eventually get in!

chin up ordinary guy. Are you looking for inspiration from these stories? upitt's post is more constructive, and you should be too.

I worked in a lab this summer with a Research Associate who repeatedly brought up how he had tried to apply to medical school, never got in, and how much doctors suck. Um, can we say bitter? Not to mention that I was always in an awkward position in these recurring conversations!

I guess the moral of my story is 1) don't hold grudges for the rest of your life and share them with everyone you bump into and 2) don't settle for less than your dream. He did, and just look at the results!