What does it feel like getting into an MD school?

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hugh2012

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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.

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I was in an airport when I got in my #1 school. I literally dropped my suitcase, my jaw dropped, I just said "wow" a bunch, stammered something, then proceeded to loudly call everyone in my family to let them know. I excitedly, unbelievingly said "I got in" so much as I paced that I was getting stares. Didn't even care.
 
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I was sitting at my apartment, and after reading the email and heading to the bar with my friends, it felt a lot like being absolutely plastered drunk. Great feeling, I recommend it to anyone and everyone.
 
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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"
 
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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.
 
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It feels like a huge burden is lifted off of your shoulders and then you get an overwhelming feeling of relief and excitement.
 
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.

Now I want ramen :(
 
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It felt like a New York City sidewalk because that's where I sat when my knees gave out.
 
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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! :)
 
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It's been two months and it still hasn't really sunk in for me. I had myself really convinced that I wasn't going to get in and so I was just in complete shock when I was accepted. So happy of course, but shocked. Now it makes all those times I worried about A- grades and only having xyz hours of shadowing seem silly. If you're a perfectionist like me, and I suspect most people on here are, you realize that acceptance alone cannot make you happy every day all the time. And with a goal you've been dedicating so much time to it seems like it should. I feel like that's important to say too alongside the "OMG I was completely stoked" comments. I can't wait to get started but in my time off I'm also trying to do other fulfilling things.
 
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It feels like a huge burden is lifted off of your shoulders and then you get an overwhelming feeling of relief and excitement.
Which is kind of ironic, as you were completely free before and just had an enormous burden shouldered upon you.
 
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Which is kind of ironic, as you were completely free before and just had an enormous burden shouldered upon you.
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.
 
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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! :)
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.
 
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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.
Looking back, the stress of admission was positively adorable compared to the stress of block week. Get ready for the real pain to start :D But enjoy the hell out of yourself in the meantime.
 
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I expected to curl into a ball and cry my eyes out for days on end, especially since this was my second time applying after a disastrous 2015 cycle. When I got the email, though, I just stared at it blankly for about 10 minutes. I didn't get any sleep the night prior because I was so anxious about decisions being released that day, so my first assumption was that I was hallucinating. I walked over to my roommate and was like: "Does this say what I think it says?..."

Once I got the confirmation, I felt literally a thousand pounds released off of my chest. I immediately called my parents to let them know their son was going to be a doc, and that day was the first time I had ever heard my dad cry.
 
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It was really exciting at first, and now its more of just a relief that I'm not worrying all the time about not getting in. Also a relief to be able to get an A- and not care. Still exciting though!
 
Depends on your situation. I'm sure for all applicants it's a huge sigh of relief. But, I think it's much more gratifying for those who get their first acceptance late in the cycle or in the summer off of the waitlist or after multiple cycle attempts or even defy all odds w/ low stats. Getting accepted to medical school is a huge barrier that at times seems unsurmountable. But, for me it's a constant reminder of how lucky I am to be in such a privileged position.
 
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.
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.
 
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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.
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.

And I didn't say that 100% of docs find their ideal jobs in their ideal locations. But when you grow up with one unemployed parent and the other employed sporadically, the unemployment rate of physicians looks incredibly appealing in spite of "geographical limitations."

You can claim that med school is a small hurdle, and I don't really have the right to disagree since I haven't gone through it yet, but I do know that almost everyone makes it over that hurdle.
 
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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.

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.
 
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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.
 
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.

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?
 
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It felt great. And then normal life resumed.
 
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.

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.
 
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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"

Lol that's so true! We spend so much time and energy getting in. I found out last December but I had a gap year to relax, then when summer came around I was like oh...I actually have to complete 4 years of medical school now. The excitement wears off once reality sets in but I have to say I'm enjoying the ride so far :)
 
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?
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.
 
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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.
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.

The higher you climb in a career, the further you'll have to fall. The landings don't look as soft from above.
 
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i found our at the airport and jumped up and down for 5 minutes =)
 
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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)

Hello Law2Doc, I thought your first statement is alarming and depressing. Could it be possible that you've made an error? I did a web search and I found a April, 2015 Slate article regarding this topic. It states:

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.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/healt..._scramble_foreign_doctors_and_a_shortage.html
 
Forget "Slate" -- a lot of that article, especially the part about the "physician shortage" is pretty dubious. the NRMP publishes its statistics directly. Most years US allo match rates are between 93-94%. For 2015 they list it at 93.9%, a relatively good year, with only about 51% of those matching getting their first choice. The "scramble" doesn't exist any more (an example of an error in that article) -- the process is called SOAP now, and it's fairly different.

Not sure how that's alarming or depressing. (And your Slate article is actually even less positive). It's just the reality. Most people will match but there are no guarantees in life and getting the specialty or program you want are not things you can bank on. The competition goes up, not down, once you get into med school.
 
I was at work when I found out I was accepted, and I had to fight really hard not to yell in front of a busy clinic area where patients were milling about. I basically spent the next day or two in disbelief and found myself whispering aloud "I'm going to be a doctor" under my breath at random occasions. Then excitement kicked-in on full gear and hasn't really died since! :D
 
It was the best wake up call I ever received. I was taking a nap and thought the phone ringing was my alarm. So glad I didn't try to snooze because I would have rejected the call. Ever since then it has been an amazing feeling to know that if I continue to work hard it is guaranteed that I will be a doctor. The tightest part of the bottleneck is behind me, but the hardest work is ahead! It is both exciting and terrifying but for now I am really enjoying a care-free life with no responsibilities besides waking up and going to work. No studying, no exams, no stress...... for now :p
 
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My partner and I cried for a minute (he was with me when I got the call) and then I felt a huge sense of relief.
 
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How it feels to chew 5 gum
 
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The obverse of how I felt immediately after the MCAT.
 
Your on cloud 9 for 15 minutes... Then you come back down to earth and it's back to your regularly scheduled program.
 
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