- Joined
- Nov 30, 2007
- Messages
- 67
- Reaction score
- 115
I am currently applying to residency programs, which is making me look back on my days applying to medical school and it is instilling in me a strong desire to give back to my pre-med counterparts. Those were not good times. I was not your average candidate--I was a non-science major with a 3.0 science GPA and a 3.5 all over, When I came to sdn for advice, all I remember was people were MEAN. Everyone told me to give it up, I would never become a doctor, and they laughed in my face. At best I could perhaps hope for DO, which I was opposed to because I really wanted to do ortho and I knew that would be a harder road. People told me I must not know how to study or that I was undisciplined or that I was hopeless or I was a joke. I had a good story, but people did not know me at all, and they felt they could judge me. (There's something to be said about not getting life or career advice on an anonymous online forum). Perhaps it was other candidates who were insecure about their own applications needing to pull me down to build themselves up. One of the reasons I was a non-science major was precisely because I couldn't stand to be around pre-med students who acted like that. I decided to take an extra year, did a do-it-yourself post-bacc, got a 34 on the MCAT and applied the next year for MD schools. I finished the cycle with at least 5 schools to choose from (who remembers?), a number of interview I turned down, and a matriculation into a school I was very happy with. I am now applying for ortho residency programs.
The reason I write all of this is I feel like pre-med students are a very unique breed and the application process is extremely stressful. It can be so easy to lose perspective. When I reached out back when I was in college, unsure of how competitive I was (because I was borderline before my post-bacc) I wish I had someone there to offer me a word of encouragement and to show me some direction instead of shoot me down and tell me I was hopeless. I ended up in a very good school and I'm hoping my story shows other people not to let other people tear you down. There's a certain skewed logic in asking other pre-med students for admissions advice because you're all in the same situation and likely have the same information. Don't get me wrong, admissions is competitive, and it is important to be realistic about your chances, but at the same time, I find other people will ofter try to bring you down when they feel unsure about their own qualifications. You don't need a 4.0 and a 45 to get into medical school and you don't need to get into the #1 medical school in the country to become a doctor. I'm happy to answer any questions about what it's like to be in medical school and to offer any mentorship to those who find they are in a similar situation that I was in when I was applying. You will be applying for things for the rest of your life; I think going through the stress of it now makes it easier later on.
The reason I write all of this is I feel like pre-med students are a very unique breed and the application process is extremely stressful. It can be so easy to lose perspective. When I reached out back when I was in college, unsure of how competitive I was (because I was borderline before my post-bacc) I wish I had someone there to offer me a word of encouragement and to show me some direction instead of shoot me down and tell me I was hopeless. I ended up in a very good school and I'm hoping my story shows other people not to let other people tear you down. There's a certain skewed logic in asking other pre-med students for admissions advice because you're all in the same situation and likely have the same information. Don't get me wrong, admissions is competitive, and it is important to be realistic about your chances, but at the same time, I find other people will ofter try to bring you down when they feel unsure about their own qualifications. You don't need a 4.0 and a 45 to get into medical school and you don't need to get into the #1 medical school in the country to become a doctor. I'm happy to answer any questions about what it's like to be in medical school and to offer any mentorship to those who find they are in a similar situation that I was in when I was applying. You will be applying for things for the rest of your life; I think going through the stress of it now makes it easier later on.