Why do people reapply to med school?

[hedge0hog]

I've already decided that if I don't get in this year, I am not reapplying. I've wasted enough years already and need to make a career for myself. Of course if I got in, I would be happy to attend. You don't study for mcat, write out all those essays, and spend several k just for fun. So?

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[RuSkaya]

I don't know about other people, but there's really no other career I want.

 

[Evergrey]

I think it's fairly obvious... if you want something badly enough, why would you give up so easily? You didn't think becoming a physician was gonna be a cakewalk, did you?

If someone gets rejected, they have the opportunity to update their application and apply again the next year. A LOT can improve in that gap year.

 

[CafeMed]

I think it's fairly obvious... if you want something badly enough, why would you give up so easily? You didn't think becoming a physician was gonna be a cakewalk, did you?

If someone gets rejected, they have the opportunity to update their application and apply again the next year. A LOT can improve in that gap year.

Agreed, I didn't want to give up after just one shot. I've made significant improvements in my app and feel I have a much better chance this year. However, if I don't get in this time around, I will not be reapplying for a 3rd time.

 

[fizzle]

I've already decided that if I don't get in this year, I am not reapplying. I've wasted enough years already and need to make a career for myself. Of course if I got in, I would be happy to attend. You don't study for mcat, write out all those essays, and spend several k just for fun. So?

If I hadn't reapplied, I wouldn't be sitting here with an acceptance this year, would I?

 

[hedge0hog]

If I hadn't reapplied, I wouldn't be sitting here with an acceptance this year, would I?

maybe that acceptance isn't worth it if you've basically spent the whole year unemployed. i dont know about you, but I would not be able to get a meaningful job for a year. And i do not have the money to partake in leisure the way a retired doctor might!

 

[hedge0hog]

I don't know about other people, but there's really no other career I want.

i could least at least 5 careers that i'd want but am not qualified for.

 

[hedge0hog]

I think it's fairly obvious... if you want something badly enough, why would you give up so easily? You didn't think becoming a physician was gonna be a cakewalk, did you?

If someone gets rejected, they have the opportunity to update their application and apply again the next year. A LOT can improve in that gap year.

are you saying i did not spend a lot of time and effort on the application cycle? lets just say if you put me on a cross like that Jesus and let me hang for several minutes, it would be nothing compared to how much pain and suffering I have gone through. You know if you get a terrible, but noncritical injury, you may be very uncomfortable for several months. say you have your arm in a cast. But I have been uncomfortable for over a year. Just think about all the man-hours I spent on mcat studying(and did better than 98% of test-takers), how much time I spent writing all that bull****. And then waiting... I went completely nuts today because my mom!! sent email to saint george and asked them if they'd want me. Can you imagine that? And then she showed her email account and said "look someone wrote you a letter, why are you mad at me?". And I havent talked to her for several hours and now she asks me "why are you mad at me? what did I do?". I think if you apply to medical schools for more than 1 yr, it is because you are coerced by outside influences such as your relatives.

 

[Myuu]

maybe that acceptance isn't worth it if you've basically spent the whole year unemployed. i dont know about you, but I would not be able to get a meaningful job for a year. And i do not have the money to partake in leisure the way a retired doctor might!

I don't know about fizzle, but I'm making more money in my off year than I ever have. Which isn't to say I'm raking in the dough, but rather that you can be gainfully employed and reapplying to med school at the same time.

 

[hermit]

I was the same way - if I wasn't accepted, I was going to do something else. But I got in on the first try. Don't believe what you read on SDN. Getting in is not as hard as they make it sound.

 

[closer23]

are you saying i did not spend a lot of time and effort on the application cycle? lets just say if you put me on a cross like that Jesus and let me hang for several minutes, it would be nothing compared to how much pain and suffering I have gone through. You know if you get a terrible, but noncritical injury, you may be very uncomfortable for several months. say you have your arm in a cast. But I have been uncomfortable for over a year. Just think about all the man-hours I spent on mcat studying(and did better than 98% of test-takers), how much time I spent writing all that bull****. And then waiting... I went completely nuts today because my mom!! sent email to saint george and asked them if they'd want me. Can you imagine that? And then she showed her email account and said "look someone wrote you a letter, why are you mad at me?". And I havent talked to her for several hours and now she asks me "why are you mad at me? what did I do?". I think if you apply to medical schools for more than 1 yr, it is because you are coerced by outside influences such as your relatives.

...are you serious? God, I hope you're a troll.

 

[hedge0hog]

I was the same way - if I wasn't accepted, I was going to do something else. But I got in on the first try. Don't believe what you read on SDN. Getting in is not as hard as they make it sound.

There is a good chance that I am getting rejected everywhere.

 

[hedge0hog]

I don't know about fizzle, but I'm making more money in my off year than I ever have. Which isn't to say I'm raking in the dough, but rather that you can be gainfully employed and reapplying to med school at the same time.

I cannot get any meaningful job with my degree. Actually I can, but the minimum requirement is 4yrs. And I'll be happy to take it if I am rejected. Though if I am accepted I will not even apply for it.

 

[Myuu]

I cannot get any meaningful job with my degree. Actually I can, but the minimum requirement is 4yrs. And I'll be happy to take it if I am rejected. Though if I am accepted I will not even apply for it.

What degree did you get?

 

[cbrons]

are you saying i did not spend a lot of time and effort on the application cycle? lets just say if you put me on a cross like that Jesus and let me hang for several minutes, it would be nothing compared to how much pain and suffering I have gone through. You know if you get a terrible, but noncritical injury, you may be very uncomfortable for several months. say you have your arm in a cast. But I have been uncomfortable for over a year. Just think about all the man-hours I spent on mcat studying(and did better than 98% of test-takers), how much time I spent writing all that bull****. And then waiting... I went completely nuts today because my mom!! sent email to saint george and asked them if they'd want me. Can you imagine that? And then she showed her email account and said "look someone wrote you a letter, why are you mad at me?". And I havent talked to her for several hours and now she asks me "why are you mad at me? what did I do?". I think if you apply to medical schools for more than 1 yr, it is because you are coerced by outside influences such as your relatives.

to that whole post of yours

additionally I think the fact that your mom thought it was okay to send an email to some school on your behalf speaks volumes about your autonomy. You should not apply to med. school because your parents want you to.

 

[hedge0hog]

what degree did you get?

biology

 

[hedge0hog]

to that whole post of yours

additionally I think the fact that your mom thought it was okay to send an email to some school on your behalf speaks volumes about your autonomy. You should not go to med. school because your parents want you to.

Hopefully my parents haven't actually contacted any schools that I had applied to. But I think that anybody who takes several years (not 1) to apply to medical schools while doing some meaningless jobs like "lab research assistant at $10/hr" or "postbac" is controlled by the same parents or motivations or whatever.

 

[SpanishFly]

are you saying i did not spend a lot of time and effort on the application cycle? lets just say if you put me on a cross like that Jesus and let me hang for several minutes, it would be nothing compared to how much pain and suffering I have gone through. You know if you get a terrible, but noncritical injury, you may be very uncomfortable for several months. say you have your arm in a cast. But I have been uncomfortable for over a year. Just think about all the man-hours I spent on mcat studying(and did better than 98% of test-takers), how much time I spent writing all that bull****. And then waiting... I went completely nuts today because my mom!! sent email to saint george and asked them if they'd want me. Can you imagine that? And then she showed her email account and said "look someone wrote you a letter, why are you mad at me?". And I havent talked to her for several hours and now she asks me "why are you mad at me? what did I do?". I think if you apply to medical schools for more than 1 yr, it is because you are coerced by outside influences such as your relatives.

this post, and your original one sound to me like huge cries for help, and I don't mean that in an antagonistic way at all. It just tells me that your not happy with where your life is headed, like you feel you have no control over the situation and that nobody is listening to you. I'm not a psychiatrist and I'm not trying to psychoanalyze you, it just sounds that way, because I think I can partially relate to what you may be going through (i could be very wrong however).
I took two classes last semester for fun, since I reapplied this year and I also found a great job full time, so its not to say that it can't be done, it just might not be what you want to do for the rest of your life, but I mean just like medicine, any career that you want to do will take some time and investment.
This break from school has been really helpful for me, its made me reevaluate a lot of things in my life, maybe it would do the same for you, because you sound like a very angry and frustrated person, and I agree with you, that if this is the way your feeling now, then maybe you shouldn't reapply. Your talking about studying for the mcat etc. etc. well guess what, EVERYONE here is going through some form of the same thing. If you want to succeed in life, you have to be willing to invest something into it, and to me, it sounds like you don't want to do that. So your either lazy, or maybe medicine really isn't your passion. You kind of hinted at it, but maybe your doing this for your family and not yourself??

 

[TooMuchResearch]

I cannot get any meaningful job with my degree. Actually I can, but the minimum requirement is 4yrs. And I'll be happy to take it if I am rejected. Though if I am accepted I will not even apply for it.

You could try applying for Americorps programs or something...you certainly won't get rich, but at least you'll be able to pay rent (depending on where you live...my friend lived in a major metro area where a windowless, leaking apartment cost roughly her entire monthly living stipend, but at least she got food stamps). A lot of their jobs seem to have meaning...you could assist elderly folks, help at risk high school students get into college, plant trees, etc.

 

[fizzle]

maybe that acceptance isn't worth it if you've basically spent the whole year unemployed. i dont know about you, but I would not be able to get a meaningful job for a year. And i do not have the money to partake in leisure the way a retired doctor might!

Actually, I have a good job right now, but it's not something I'd want to do for more than a year. It's not as if I'm doing nothing on my year off.

 

[Karen12345]

I am reapplying for the same reason for which I applied the first time.

 

[Myuu]

Hopefully my parents haven't actually contacted any schools that I had applied to. But I think that anybody who takes several years (not 1) to apply to medical schools while doing some meaningless jobs like "lab research assistant at $10/hr" or "postbac" is controlled by the same parents or motivations or whatever.

I'm making $17 as a research assistant. The going rate's pretty good for this area--way more than I'd ever get peddling books. Is it "meaningful" in terms of my life's work? Not terribly, but it's interesting and kept my brain active while I was applying.

Edit: With a bio degree!

 

[armybound]

maybe that acceptance isn't worth it if you've basically spent the whole year unemployed. i dont know about you, but I would not be able to get a meaningful job for a year. And i do not have the money to partake in leisure the way a retired doctor might!

I'd happily spend 2 years unemployed than 45 years wishing I had a job I only tried once for and gave up on.

if you really would give up on med school after 1 application cycle, I don't see how you're committed enough to stick through the REALLY crappy stuff.

 

[hedge0hog]

You could try applying for Americorps programs or something...you certainly won't get rich, but at least you'll be able to pay rent (depending on where you live...my friend lived in a major metro area where a windowless, leaking apartment cost roughly her entire monthly living stipend, but at least she got food stamps). A lot of their jobs seem to have meaning...you could assist elderly folks, help at risk high school students get into college, plant trees, etc.

Oh my God!! That's a meaningful jobs?? "help(how?) at risk high school students or elderly folks so you could live off foodstamps in some desolate metro area". Maybe that is meaningful if the alternative is to not work at all! Such ridiculous job can only be justified by the ridiculous idea of applying to medical schools multiple times even though you were clearly told "not qualified"(doesn't matter if it's academically or ethically or whatever) the first time.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

I'm making $17 as a research assistant. The going rate's pretty good for this area--way more than I'd ever get peddling books. Is it "meaningful" in terms of my life's work? Not terribly, but it's interesting and kept my brain active while I was applying.

Edit: With a bio degree!

Yeah, research assistant jobs seem alright if you can get them. The starting rate at my local big research university is between $14-20/hr depending on the lab and applicants qualifications.

 

[armybound]

Oh my God!! That's a meaningful jobs?? "help(how?) at risk high school students or elderly folks so you could live off foodstamps in some desolate metro area". Maybe that is meaningful if the alternative is to not work at all! Such ridiculous job can only be justified by the ridiculous idea of applying to medical schools multiple times even though you were clearly told "not qualified"(doesn't matter if it's academically or ethically or whatever) the first time.

if you really think everyone gets rejected because they're "not qualified," you don't understand the process very well.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Oh my God!! That's a meaningful jobs?? "help(how?) at risk high school students or elderly folks so you could live off foodstamps in some desolate metro area". Maybe that is meaningful if the alternative is to not work at all! Such ridiculous job can only be justified by the ridiculous idea of applying to medical schools multiple times even though you were clearly told "not qualified"(doesn't matter if it's academically or ethically or whatever) the first time.

I kindly ask you to remove the quotation marks from the bolded portion above as it is not a quotation. Methinks it's time to find a new thread...

 

[hedge0hog]

I am reapplying for the same reason for which I applied the first time.

Oh really? How about if you get rejected again? and again? Then your accomplishment in life will not be work but 'applying'.

 

[shadowdawg6]

I've already decided that if I don't get in this year, I am not reapplying. I've wasted enough years already and need to make a career for myself. Of course if I got in, I would be happy to attend. You don't study for mcat, write out all those essays, and spend several k just for fun. So?

Because when you want something bad enough, you don't let a few rejections get in your way. That's how winning is done.

 

[hedge0hog]

if you really think everyone gets rejected because they're "not qualified," you don't understand the process very well.

I can be not qualified because I am a douchebag. Or because I have a 2.0 gpa. Whatever. If you get rejected by 20 schools, you are statistically a reject.

 

[Myuu]

Oh really? How about if you get rejected again? and again? Then your accomplishment in life will not be work but 'applying'.

This is generally why we have:
a) a back-up plan
b) a vested interest in why we didn't make it the first time
c) the motivation to address those insufficiencies and apply again

 

[Myuu]

I can be not qualified because I am a douchebag. Or because I have a 2.0 gpa. Whatever. If you get rejected by 20 schools, you are statistically a reject.

I've already been rejected by 20 schools.

 

[hedge0hog]

this post, and your original one sound to me like huge cries for help, and I don't mean that in an antagonistic way at all. It just tells me that your not happy with where your life is headed, like you feel you have no control over the situation and that nobody is listening to you. I'm not a psychiatrist and I'm not trying to psychoanalyze you, it just sounds that way, because I think I can partially relate to what you may be going through (i could be very wrong however).
I took two classes last semester for fun, since I reapplied this year and I also found a great job full time, so its not to say that it can't be done, it just might not be what you want to do for the rest of your life, but I mean just like medicine, any career that you want to do will take some time and investment.
This break from school has been really helpful for me, its made me reevaluate a lot of things in my life, maybe it would do the same for you, because you sound like a very angry and frustrated person, and I agree with you, that if this is the way your feeling now, then maybe you shouldn't reapply. Your talking about studying for the mcat etc. etc. well guess what, EVERYONE here is going through some form of the same thing. If you want to succeed in life, you have to be willing to invest something into it, and to me, it sounds like you don't want to do that. So your either lazy, or maybe medicine really isn't your passion. You kind of hinted at it, but maybe your doing this for your family and not yourself??

I think medicine in my case maybe an overvalued stock(if i get rejected). I have invested a lot of time and money in the application process. Anything more would be counterproductive.

 

[SpanishFly]

Oh my God!! That's a meaningful jobs?? "help(how?) at risk high school students or elderly folks so you could live off foodstamps in some desolate metro area". Maybe that is meaningful if the alternative is to not work at all! Such ridiculous job can only be justified by the ridiculous idea of applying to medical schools multiple times even though you were clearly told "not qualified"(doesn't matter if it's academically or ethically or whatever) the first time.

If you can't understand how serving others and helping them improve the quality of their lives would be a purposeful existence, then I don't think you understand the concept of medicine at all. You don't want to help at risk students or elderly people, thats fine (it was just one example), but for you to at least not understand the underlying point is disturbing. Seems to me like the only reason you even applied to med is because you think it will make you rich and because your mommy wants you to. I discussed people like you with one of my interviewers, but I just thought you were a myth.

 

[RySerr21]

I can be not qualified because I am a douchebag. Or because I have a 2.0 gpa. Whatever. If you get rejected by 20 schools, you are statistically a reject.

But if you get accepted by 1, then the previous 20 rejections dont mean ****.

 

[halekulani]

maybe that acceptance isn't worth it if you've basically spent the whole year unemployed. i dont know about you, but I would not be able to get a meaningful job for a year. And i do not have the money to partake in leisure the way a retired doctor might!

uh
i don't know about you but i have a job. in fact, tons of people applying currently have jobs.

if you can't get a job after graduating from college, that's your problem

 

[hedge0hog]

This is generally why we have:
a) a back-up plan
b) a vested interest in why we didn't make it the first time
c) the motivation to address those insufficiencies and apply again

But if I take my back-up plan after getting rejected then b and c are no longer necessary. And it is ludicrous to say that if you give up after 1st try you did not have interest in medicine. Why would I have applied all the effort that I already have if I did not have interest in medicine? It's like if some girl does not want me but if I offer her a lot of money or attention I might have a chance. Sometimes I might be willing to do that for her and sometimes it is just not worth it!

 

[hedge0hog]

uh
i don't know about you but i have a job. in fact, tons of people applying currently have jobs.

if you can't get a job after graduating from college, that's your problem

I can say that my back-up plan (a multi-yr commitment) would likely be a much better job than most of those jobs that rejected premeds are doing. It is not as good as medicine. But I can take that job, or go to med school, or be unemployed. I don't want just any job.

 

[hedge0hog]

If you can't understand how serving others and helping them improve the quality of their lives would be a purposeful existence, then I don't think you understand the concept of medicine at all. You don't want to help at risk students or elderly people, thats fine (it was just one example), but for you to at least not understand the underlying point is disturbing. Seems to me like the only reason you even applied to med is because you think it will make you rich and because your mommy wants you to. I discussed people like you with one of my interviewers, but I just thought you were a myth.

haha funny that people like you only work in americorps so you could get into med school... people like you apply to med school several times while acquiring meaningless activities if they werent good enough to get in the 1st time around. Would you consider a career in Americorps? I doubt you'd be posting on sdn, if you would.

 

[halekulani]

well i don't know how you came to the irrational conclusion that the guy must be unemployed if he has an acceptance.

wah?

 

[halekulani]

I think medicine in my case maybe an overvalued stock(if i get rejected). I have invested a lot of time and money in the application process. Anything more would be counterproductive.

so let me get this straight

med school + residency ~ 7+ years before reaching a target salary where you find "value" in this "stock" of a career path

but if you have to wait just 1 additional year to get in, the career is now overvalued? awesome logic there, buddy.

 

[DrSno]

are you saying i did not spend a lot of time and effort on the application cycle? lets just say if you put me on a cross like that Jesus and let me hang for several minutes, it would be nothing compared to how much pain and suffering I have gone through. You know if you get a terrible, but noncritical injury, you may be very uncomfortable for several months. say you have your arm in a cast. But I have been uncomfortable for over a year. Just think about all the man-hours I spent on mcat studying(and did better than 98% of test-takers), how much time I spent writing all that bull****. And then waiting... I went completely nuts today because my mom!! sent email to saint george and asked them if they'd want me. Can you imagine that? And then she showed her email account and said "look someone wrote you a letter, why are you mad at me?". And I havent talked to her for several hours and now she asks me "why are you mad at me? what did I do?". I think if you apply to medical schools for more than 1 yr, it is because you are coerced by outside influences such as your relatives.

This is one of the best postings I've seen.

Even funnier is that people are responding to you seriously.

 

[redlight]

:troll:

 

[nick_carraway]

I don't understand what your deal is. People are offering their insight into why they would pursue their dreams given their personal situations.

These people weighed the cost/benefit and created an overall strategy that will make them competitive for med school. That formula is different for each person and it makes no sense why you're accusing others of personal defects just because your ideas don't mesh with theirs.

For them, at this stage in their life, they would rather lose some money in the short term for job security and happiness and a nice paycheck later on and it doesn't do you any good to create a thread because you're unhappy with Mom and attack others who are making a lot more sense than you are.

Besides, why are you complaining about the hours spent on the MCAT, essays, and school? You're stressing about a sunk cost and it's a cost that many others have had to pay too. Others just don't let it deter them from future gains.

If you don't want to apply again, fine. Just don't accuse others have having personal shortcomings when they refuse to give up so easily.

 

[DrSno]

I don't understand what your deal is. People are offering their insight into why they would pursue their dreams given their personal situations.

These people weighed the cost/benefit and created an overall strategy that will make them competitive for med school. That formula is different for each person and it makes no sense why you're accusing others of personal defects just because your ideas don't mesh with theirs.

For them, at this stage in their life, they would rather lose some money in the short term for job security and happiness and a nice paycheck later on and it doesn't do you any good to create a thread because you're unhappy with Mom and attack others who are making a lot more sense than you are.

Besides, why are you complaining about the hours spent on the MCAT, essays, and school? You're stressing about a sunk cost and it's a cost that many others have had to pay too. Others just don't let it deter them from future gains.

If you don't want to apply again, fine. Just don't accuse others have having personal shortcomings when they refuse to give up so easily.

Ummm, the OP was just trying to stir **** up. Posters like him shouldn't be taken seriously because that's what they want.