Kicked out, Hawai'ian Reapplying..Chance?

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HawaiinWarrior

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Aloha and greetings from the great State of Hawai'i!


I've been a long time lurker..maybe all the way back to high school? And now I'm writing my first post! I'm a 23-year old Mathematics teacher here in Waialee, Hawai'i. I studied Biology with a concentration in Education during my Undergrad. I'm a born and bred Virginian, and I attended College out there. As the title reads, I was accepted to Medical School as a part of an Early Admit program during my freshman year. Becoming a physician has been a life long dream, so that was a great time in my life. Fast forward to Junior year, I fell in love with someone who wasn't in love with me and that well, crushed me. It was the first big personal roadblock in my life, and it completely derailed me. Part of the stipulations of the early admit program included getting a 27 on the MCAT. Because I was so focused on this personal stuff, I didn't study for the first one at all, and was pretty depressed during my 2nd one. I scored a 23, and then a 25, and was subsequently kicked out of the program.


Senior year I realized my foolishness, btu was so shaken by the MCAT that I never wanted to do medicine again. I applied for Teach for America to escape the madness that had become my life, and got in. Senior year, I decided that what was keeping me from Medicine wasn't that I didn't have a passion for it, it was my fear of the MCAT. So I decided to pursue it one, last time. If I don't make it this cycle, I'm sticking with education, and entering into a 5-year principal in training program in Vermont Public Schools next year.


In Hawai'i I work as an EMT, shadow an awesome Hawai'ian Pediatrician who I adore, he's my most trusted advisor. I moonlight as a scribe weekend nights, and I coach girl's basketball at my middle school. I also coach quiz bowl and we went to States this year (bragging rights haha). I studied very diligently for my MCAT and scored a 34 on the third time. I got married two weeks ago, and for those of you who think love won't happen again...IT DOES!

Grades...so my AMCAS GPA is a 3.81 sGPA 3.64. Caveat: during undergrad I got the following “bad” grades:

Organic I (C+), Organic II (C+), Anatomy II (C).

Right now I am enrolled in my M.Ed. at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, and have been taking pre-med courses as well. I took the following courses and received A's in all of them: Organic I, Organic II, Anatomy II, Biochemistry, Immunology, Calculus I, Calculus II, and Ecosystems.


Also, because of my family I can only apply to the following schools:
Georgetown, George Washington, UMD, Howard, EVMS, Vtech, VCU, WVU, & UVARealistically, what's my chance? Give me a percentage and you'll make my day because I am a stats freak.


Anyways, GO HAWAII!!!!
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Time to ace everything from now on. Howard? Check out its mission statement, and do better homework. Forget U MD. Consider VCOM and the nearby DO schools as well. But I can't recommend LUCOM.
 
Goro said:
Time to ace everything from now on. Howard? Check out its mission statement, and do better homework. Forget U MD. Consider VCOM and the nearby DO schools as well. But I can't recommend LUCOM.
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Bump...

But also Goro, do you think I realistically only have a chance at Howard? I do not plan on applying to any DO Schools.
 
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HawaiinWarrior said:
Goro, do you think I realistically only have a chance at Howard?
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Goro is suggesting that unless you are African American or have a consistent pattern of dedicated service to underserved individuals, that you are not a good candidate for Howard, which has a strong mission to serve those communities.
 
HawaiinWarrior said:
Aloha and greetings from the great State of Hawai'i!


I've been a long time lurker..maybe all the way back to high school? And now I'm writing my first post! I'm a 23-year old Mathematics teacher here in Waialee, Hawai'i. I studied Biology with a concentration in Education during my Undergrad. I'm a born and bred Virginian, and I attended College out there. As the title reads, I was accepted to Medical School as a part of an Early Admit program during my freshman year. Becoming a physician has been a life long dream, so that was a great time in my life. Fast forward to Junior year, I fell in love with someone who wasn't in love with me and that well, crushed me. It was the first big personal roadblock in my life, and it completely derailed me. Part of the stipulations of the early admit program included getting a 27 on the MCAT. Because I was so focused on this personal stuff, I didn't study for the first one at all, and was pretty depressed during my 2nd one. I scored a 23, and then a 25, and was subsequently kicked out of the program.


Senior year I realized my foolishness, btu was so shaken by the MCAT that I never wanted to do medicine again. I applied for Teach for America to escape the madness that had become my life, and got in. Senior year, I decided that what was keeping me from Medicine wasn't that I didn't have a passion for it, it was my fear of the MCAT. So I decided to pursue it one, last time. If I don't make it this cycle, I'm sticking with education, and entering into a 5-year principal in training program in Vermont Public Schools next year.


In Hawai'i I work as an EMT, shadow an awesome Hawai'ian Pediatrician who I adore, he's my most trusted advisor. I moonlight as a scribe weekend nights, and I coach girl's basketball at my middle school. I also coach quiz bowl and we went to States this year (bragging rights haha). I studied very diligently for my MCAT and scored a 34 on the third time. I got married two weeks ago, and for those of you who think love won't happen again...IT DOES!

Grades...so my AMCAS GPA is a 3.81 sGPA 3.64. Caveat: during undergrad I got the following “bad” grades:

Organic I (C+), Organic II (C+), Anatomy II (C).

Right now I am enrolled in my M.Ed. at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, and have been taking pre-med courses as well. I took the following courses and received A's in all of them: Organic I, Organic II, Anatomy II, Biochemistry, Immunology, Calculus I, Calculus II, and Ecosystems.


Also, because of my family I can only apply to the following schools:
Georgetown, George Washington, UMD, Howard, EVMS, Vtech, VCU, WVU, & UVARealistically, what's my chance? Give me a percentage and you'll make my day because I am a stats freak.


Anyways, GO HAWAII!!!!
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As you are a self-proclaimed "stats freak", see: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...e-who-applied-with-your-cgpa-and-mcat.888650/

With the above graphs, what you won't be able to adjust for is schools that average all MCATs taken, so seek out those that consider only the most recent score.
 
Catalystik said:
As you are a self-proclaimed "stats freak", see: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...e-who-applied-with-your-cgpa-and-mcat.888650/

With the above graphs, what you won't be able to adjust for is schools that average all MCATs taken, so seek out those that consider only the most recent score.
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Thank you for your input. Realistically, is there like a 50% chance I would get into at least one of the schools on my list? If not, I feel like I should move onto the next thing and consider other possible careers because this is a really expensive venture. On a double teacher's salary we pull in about 90K a year but we travel a lot, so expense wise, I don't think I could take two application cycles.
 
I won't say your chances are mediocre, but as has been pointed out, you didn't investigate your school list very well, and should have applied more broadly to enhance your odds, especially since you don't know which schools judge you by most recent MCAT.

Georgetown, over 10,00 applications per year dilute your chances
George Washington, ditto
UMD, I wouldn't give up on this one, as their OOS matriculants have been a decent percent.
Howard, issues as mentioned above
EVMS,
Vtech, research focus, and you mention none
VCU,
WVU, you should have strong state ties for consideration
UVA seems to me it has a research focus, also, but your TFA might get you past that..

In general, you seem like a good applicant to me and probably still have a decent chance of acceptance despite the roadblocks you've put up for yourself. I'd hate to see you give up after one cycle, if it comes to that, especially as you didn't include DO medical schools on your list.
 
Catalystik said:
I won't say your chances are mediocre, but as has been pointed out, you didn't investigate your school list very well, and should have applied more broadly to enhance your odds, especially since you don't know which schools judge you by most recent MCAT.

Georgetown, over 10,00 applications per year dilute your chances
George Washington, ditto
UMD, I wouldn't give up on this one, as their OOS matriculants have been a decent percent.
Howard, issues as mentioned above
EVMS,
Vtech, research focus, and you mention none
VCU,
WVU, you should have strong state ties for consideration
UVA seems to me it has a research focus, also, but your TFA might get you past that..

In general, you seem like a good applicant to me and probably still have a decent chance of acceptance despite the roadblocks you've put up for yourself. I'd hate to see you give up after one cycle, if it comes to that, especially as you didn't include DO medical schools on your list.
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I do have a considerable amount of research, but it's all education focused. I've published twice and am currently writing a thesis based on a longitudinal study focused on Hawaiian ED reform. But, I know these medical schools are looking for science research, and I'm just not made for that.

Yes, I know, I cringe to think I let that guaranteed admittance fall out of my hands, however, TFA has been so transformative for me, and these past two years of my life, I would give up for nothing. UVA would be a dream, but I've taken my MCAT a horrendous 3 times, I feel like my chances are lowest for that school!

And yes, if I don't make it in this cycle, I have to start focusing on my career, and building it. Principalship is a much sought after position, and in the world of K-12, if you don't narrow your interests and start as early as your younger 20's, becoming a superintendent becomes much less of a possibility. If I can't entertain children at a Pediatric office all day, I'd love to make the decision on snow days one day...oh and of course help the students and build curriculum (lol..).
 
Catalystik said:
Just curious, but why didn't you include U Vermont on your list since you're prepared to relocate there as a backup?
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Oh wow, maybe I'm just stupid but I didn't even know Vermont had a Medical School. Is it too late to put in an application, I wonder?
 
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Bump, mainly because I'm wondering if Georgetown is a total reach school for me?
 
Catalystik said:
I won't say your chances are mediocre, but as has been pointed out, you didn't investigate your school list very well, and should have applied more broadly to enhance your odds, especially since you don't know which schools judge you by most recent MCAT.

Georgetown, over 10,00 applications per year dilute your chances
George Washington, ditto
UMD, I wouldn't give up on this one, as their OOS matriculants have been a decent percent.
Howard, issues as mentioned above
EVMS,
Vtech, research focus, and you mention none
VCU,
WVU, you should have strong state ties for consideration
UVA seems to me it has a research focus, also, but your TFA might get you past that..

In general, you seem like a good applicant to me and probably still have a decent chance of acceptance despite the roadblocks you've put up for yourself. I'd hate to see you give up after one cycle, if it comes to that, especially as you didn't include DO medical schools on your list.
Click to expand...

Also, for WVU what does strong state ties mean?
 
Strong disbelief in your "Hawai'ian" story. No Hawaiian puts the okina in there (because it doesn't belong in there), and it's Waialae, not Waialee. Living in Hawaii doesn't make you a Hawaiian, fyi.
 
seminoma said:
Strong disbelief in your "Hawai'ian" story. No Hawaiian puts the okina in there (because it doesn't belong in there), and it's Waialae, not Waialee. Living in Hawaii doesn't make you a Hawaiian, fyi.
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Oh I'm totally not Hawaiian, I've only lived here for little over one year! But I love Hawaiian culture, and the people. I don't plan on living here forever, but being a teacher for TFA here for around a year and two months has been one of the greatest cultural immersions of my life.
 
With such a small pool of schools, your odds aren't great, but they're not terrible. I find it interesting you'd rather give up on medicine entirely than consider the DO route. That, combined with several other things in your post (giving up after a cycle, letting a prior acceptance slip through your fingers, geographically limiting yourself) makes me question if you really want this. And I don't mean that in a negative way. I just mean that a person who is not entirely dedicated to medicine and could be happy doing other things often ends up miserable as the training drags on.

You might be able to get in, but ask yourself if you will find the sacrifice worthwhile. You're going to throw a lot of years at this, and sink a lot of money and long hours into it. Think about it, because if your heart isn't in it, med school will be the biggest mistake of your life.
 
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Agree with the above.

Also, by this cycle you mean applying in June right?

I really hope you're not submitting applications right now. As in late Oct/early Nov. If so, you're chances at the above schools are significantly lower.
 
alpinism said:
Agree with the above.

Also, by this cycle you mean applying in June right?

I really hope you're not submitting applications right now. As in late Oct/early Nov. If so, you're chances at the above schools are significantly lower.
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Yes, in June. I was initially thinking of applying this cycle, but I decided it was way too late in the game, that's mainly because I didn't know of my MCAT results until fairly recently, and didn't want to submit an AMCAS if I didn't have a strong MCAT Score. If I had, I would have definitely applied this year. Oh well, no sense in worrying about that.

And as far as my dedicated to medicine, I understand how you all would think like that by what I've written. After I failed the MCAT, I really re-evaluated what I wanted, and found I could have success without an MD. By reminding myself this all the time, I kept my thoughts away from the fact that deep down, I felt like a failed pre-medical student. So, I decided to forge ahead with my teaching career, but I find myself googling practice STEP I questions from time to time...I like medicine that much, diseases fascinate me that much. So like I said, I'm giving it one more shot. I know Medical School will not be easy for me, but I'm ready to give it everything if I get in.

Catalystik said:
WVU wants to educate folks who will stay in their state and practice medicine. Examples of strong state ties would include: went to college there, spent most of one's life there, spouse from there, multiple relatives in the state.
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This seems great, but I don't know anyone in WV. I wouldn't mind practicing there...wish medical schools had agreements like this because I feel a lot of state residents leave their state to go to other states for residency, and end up living there forever anyways. State loyalty has never made sense to me.
 
As earlier stated, I suggest you seriously think over whether you want to pursue medicine or not. If you do decide to pursue medicine, know that you will only start medical school in the Fall of 2016. You will have 4 years of medical school, 3-7 years of residency, and a possible fellowship. There's a good chance you will be in your late thirties before you will be an attending physician and only then will you receive a good salary. Furthermore, you will probably have to take a loan greater than $200,000 to pay for the tuition, fees, and living & miscellaneous costs for the 4 years of medical school. You have to pay off that loan too.

You just got married. You have the option to start earning money and enjoying your youth with your wife now. Furthermore, you can become a principal within 5 years and I assume you will be paid decently with benefits while you are in the principal training program.

As a medical student and especially as a resident, you will have very less free time to spend with your wife and any kids you may have. By joining medical school, you will be asking a lot out of your wife. You will really be taking your new relationship through the wringer. Ask yourself if it's worth it. Ask yourself now, when you can, as opposed to later, when you've already signed the six figure loan documents and you're locked in, for better or worse.
 
SkipJunior said:
As earlier stated, I suggest you seriously think over whether you want to pursue medicine or not. If you do decide to pursue medicine, know that you will only start medical school in the Fall of 2016. You will have 4 years of medical school, 3-7 years of residency, and a possible fellowship. There's a good chance you will be in your late thirties before you will be an attending physician and only then will you receive a good salary. Furthermore, you will probably have to take a loan greater than $200,000 to pay for the tuition, fees, and living & miscellaneous costs for the 4 years of medical school. You have to pay off that loan too.



You just got married. You have the option to start earning money and enjoying your youth with your wife now. Furthermore, you can become a principal within 5 years and I assume you will be paid decently with benefits while you are in the principal training program.



As a medical student and especially as a resident, you will have very less free time to spend with your wife and any kids you may have. By joining medical school, you will be asking a lot out of your wife. You will really be taking your new relationship through the wringer. Ask yourself if it's worth it. Ask yourself now, when you can, as opposed to later, when you've already signed the six figure loan documents and you're locked in, for better or worse.
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Thank you for your response, and to be honest, I don't know where to draw the line between starting my life and pursuing medicine. A lot of it has to do with family pressure, my mother in particular had hopes of me becoming a physician ever since I was 5. I did everything up until age 21 to prepare for a career in Medicine. Sometimes, I sit and think of all my life could've been had I not decided to pursue medicine. I decided to go to the easier state school instead of my dream school, because I wanted a higher GPA. I decided to spend my summers in a lab, instead of going to those study abroad programs I was accepted to. I decided to major in Biology instead of engineering, which had been a real passion of mine. I really lucked into teaching to be honest, and had I not found it, I would've been an unemployed sadsack living in Northern Virginia, so I extremely fortunate that my life has taken this trajectory.



But it's just so very difficult for me to give up the thought of medicine. First, because I do feel like I have a natural talent for it, I love talking to and taking care of people, and medicine genuinely interests me. But, moreso, I'm afraid of people laughing at me as another failed premed. I would be the first doctor in my family and even though I know this shouldn't affect my decision, it does, very much so.
 
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