What does it feel like to get into medical school the moment you discover your first acceptance? I would love to hear personal experiences in this regards.
In my jammies, at home, alone, was going to make ramen at 4 pm because I missed lunch, decided to check my portal, saw the congrats, almost burned down the house because all the water had boiled away while I was busy notifying friends and family.
Which is kind of ironic, as you were completely free before and just had an enormous burden shouldered upon you.It feels like a huge burden is lifted off of your shoulders and then you get an overwhelming feeling of relief and excitement.
Yes it is ironic that the pressure and stress that comes along with the application process can definitely feel like a burden, when in fact the journey hasn't even started yet and there will be many more obstacles to overcome.Which is kind of ironic, as you were completely free before and just had an enormous burden shouldered upon you.
Eh, for most people I don't think it's fair to say that getting into med school is a low hurdle to vault. Only ~44% of applicants get accepted into any med school, whereas ~96% of med students graduate medical school and almost 100% of US MD's find jobs after residency/fellowship. Of course it's true that things after undergrad get significantly harder, but so many more people trip over the hurdle of undergrad than they do any other hurdle in trying to become a doctor that once you get your med school acceptance, it's virtually guaranteed that you'll end up as an attending if you want to.It's a good feeling and you'll buy the sweatshirt and definitely take your victory lap or two. But it's only the first of many achievements you'll be hoping for, and in many ways, one of the lowest hurdles you'll get to vault. You punched your ticket but the ride hasn't started yet. In four years you'll be on SDN posting about how nice it will be to match. And after that finding a job. And so on. Never ending journey. Enjoy!
Looking back, the stress of admission was positively adorable compared to the stress of block week. Get ready for the real pain to start But enjoy the hell out of yourself in the meantime.Yes it is ironic that the pressure and stress that comes along with the application process can definitely feel like a burden, when in fact the journey hasn't even started yet and there will be many more obstacles to overcome.
Well 96% of med school grads won't get the residency of their dreams (match for US Allo is about 93% with about 80% getting one of their first three choices amongst that minority they actually got interviews), and I don't know what job market you are looking at but many doctors do struggle to find good jobs in certain specialties these days. Ask a pathologist if 100% of his peers found jobs. I know quite a few people in certain specialties who have been in protracted job searches due to geographic limitations. The so called guaranteed lifetime employment you hear bandied around here is a bit of an exaggeration. Sorry but this pathonly gets harder. Med school is a small hurdle. The people who didn't make it were culled away, making the competition fiercer from here on out.Eh, for most people I don't think it's fair to say that getting into med school is a low hurdle to vault. Only ~44% of applicants get accepted into any med school, whereas ~96% of med students graduate medical school and almost 100% of US MD's find jobs after residency/fellowship. Of course it's true that things after undergrad get significantly harder, but so many more people trip over the hurdle of undergrad than they do any other hurdle in trying to become a doctor that once you get your med school acceptance, it's virtually guaranteed that you'll end up as an attending if you want to.
Like I said in my first post, I recognize that things continue to get significantly harder; my point is that once you've been accepted into med school, you can be relatively confident that you'll end up as a practicing physician, which is an enormous relief to those who weren't even sure they'd get an acceptance at all.Well 96% of med school grads won't get the residency of their dreams (match for US Allo is about 93% with about 80% getting one of their first three choices amongst that minority they actually got interviews), and I don't know what job market you are looking at but many doctors do struggle to find good jobs in certain specialties these days. Ask a pathologist if 100% of his peers found jobs. I know quite a few people in certain specialties who have been in protracted job searches due to geographic limitations. The so called guaranteed lifetime employment you hear bandied around here is a bit of an exaggeration. Sorry but this pathonly gets harder. Med school is a small hurdle. The people who didn't make it were culled away, making the competition fiercer from here on out.
Eh, for most people I don't think it's fair to say that getting into med school is a low hurdle to vault. Only ~44% of applicants get accepted into any med school, whereas ~96% of med students graduate medical school and almost 100% of US MD's find jobs after residency/fellowship. Of course it's true that things after undergrad get significantly harder, but so many more people trip over the hurdle of undergrad than they do any other hurdle in trying to become a doctor that once you get your med school acceptance, it's virtually guaranteed that you'll end up as an attending if you want to.
Aren't the match rates for the most competitive specialties in the mid-70's to low-80's (I may be misinformed, please let me know if that's the case)? That hardly seems dismal or fierce compared to a 44% chance of getting into med school (yes, I recognize that the competition is entirely another level). I'm of course not saying that it's easy to match into your top choice program/specialty, but at the end of the day I'd much rather land a mid-tier residency in my 2nd or 3rd choice specialty than not have the chance to practice medicine at all.That's because you haven't felt the pressure to match at your number 1 specialty choice or location. Yes everyone graduates but are they going to be able to practice the field they really want? The match rates into surgical subspecialty fields like ortho, ENT, plastics, etc very dismal and competition fierce. Add that to the fact you may have family and confined to only a small section of the country can make matching into your choice program a better feeling than getting into med school.
That's because you haven't felt the pressure to match at your number 1 specialty choice or location. Yes everyone graduates but are they going to be able to practice the field they really want? The match rates into surgical subspecialty fields like ortho, ENT, plastics, etc very dismal and competition fierce. Add that to the fact you may have family and confined to only a small section of the country can make matching into your choice program a better feeling than getting into med school.
Aren't the match rates for the most competitive specialties in the mid-70's to low-80's (I may be misinformed, please let me know if that's the case)? That hardly seems dismal or fierce compared to a 44% chance of getting into med school (yes, I recognize that the competition is entirely another level). I'm of course not saying that it's easy to match into your top choice program/specialty, but at the end of the day I'd much rather land a mid-tier residency in my 2nd or 3rd choice specialty than not have the chance to practice medicine at all.
At first I was like "Yes! I got into med school!" and then as time went by it was more like "Oh ****, now I have to go to med school"
Match rates are pre-SOAP, but if you "match" into a second specialty you still matched. I presume you really mean "SOAPed" into a second specialty. Which is a pretty awful situation to be in because all your friends are excited for match day while you are in turmoil having already been rejected by everyone who interviewed you and trying to find a spot from the scraps.The US senior match rate is pre SOAP and shows the match rate for the preferred (ranked higher) specialty only. For example, applicant didn't match into preferred specialty but matched into second specialty so that still counts as unmatched in the US senior category. Can anyone confirm if my understanding is correct?
Rates are 70% after not giving interviews to most who applied, and a ton of self selection. So to make the first big cut to only be in that 30% who won't get to do your desired field is pretty devastating. Remember that you aren't applying to things like ortho or derm on a whim-- you've been doing targeted research and away rotations and in some cases fine tuning your CV for years. So being in that 30% who don't make the cut is pretty tough. And the options tend to be to take a research year and try again next year, or settle for whatever fell through the cracks in SOAP. It's not like you can miss ortho and say, that's fine I'll just do X. The dream backup jobs are rarely available in soap. You are fighting for things that did not fill, sometimes for a reason.No you're right that those match rates for competitive specialties are in the 70-80s but when other people are matching 95+% to their preferred specialty it's pretty bad. But for a lot of people, not being able to practice the field they want is devastating. And the possibility of matching into a spot after reapplication is even slimmer so the stakes are very high. Personally, I would rather quit than do IM or gen surg if I didn't match into my current field.
Also, it's very unlikely that people apply to 2 let alone 3 different specialties during an application because of time and money for interviews, etc. But I think you meant to say 2nd or 3rd choice in the same specialty which is very much what happens to a lot of people and they do fine.
I can't comment on the SOAP thing as it just started the year I matched so I don't really know much about it.
Well 96% of med school grads won't get the residency of their dreams (match for US Allo is about 93% with about 80% getting one of their first three choices amongst that minority they actually got interviews)
Most students at U.S. medical schools don’t have much to worry about. Historically, about 94 percent of U.S. medical graduates match successfully on the first try. An additional 3 percent find a residency during the scramble. A few more students stumble into positions between Match Day and graduation.