Craziest EC's/Life Experience on MDApps?

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flatearth22

flatearth22

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http://www.mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=23645

After a career in computers and then an era of travel and leisure, I decided to become a family physician in my small town (pop 2,000). As a non-traditional non-trad, I acquired quite the eclectic collection of Extra Curriculars. In addition to the cookie-cutter premed checkboxes like shadowing, tutoring, small town EMT, and an Americorps service project, I included bullet points like these:

professional scuba divemaster
spent a summer walking from mexico to canada
endowed a scholarship at Johns Hopkins (lol, I don't qualify for my own scholarship, besides I never applied there 🙂
climbed the tallest mountain in each state
lived on my boat for 5 years, sailing from Nova Scotia to Alaska via the Panama Canal

Hopefully it will make for some interesting interview conversations!​
Click to expand...


5kosvn.jpg
 
Doesn't really matter. The MCAT is the most important aspect of every application. Fortunately Mt Headed says he has a damn good one.
 
flatearth22 said:
http://www.mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=23645
After a career in computers and then an era of travel and leisure, I decided to become a family physician in my small town (pop 2,000). As a non-traditional non-trad, I acquired quite the eclectic collection of Extra Curriculars. In addition to the cookie-cutter premed checkboxes like shadowing, tutoring, small town EMT, and an Americorps service project, I included bullet points like these:

professional scuba divemaster
spent a summer walking from mexico to canada
endowed a scholarship at Johns Hopkins (lol, I don't qualify for my own scholarship, besides I never applied there 🙂
climbed the tallest mountain in each state
lived on my boat for 5 years, sailing from Nova Scotia to Alaska via the Panama Canal

Hopefully it will make for some interesting interview conversations!
Click to expand...
I want to be friends with him. Maybe a big buddy/little buddy kind of situation.
 
Why doesn't s(he) have interviews at ALLLLL the places?? 😱

and hooooooly moly mcat
 
intj said:
Why doesn't s(he) have interviews at ALLLLL the places?? 😱

and hooooooly moly mcat
Click to expand...


I'll bet the M in writing is holding him back 😛
 
spent a summer walking from mexico to canada
spent a summer walking from mexico to canada
spent a summer walking from mexico to canada
spent a summer walking from mexico to canada
Click to expand...
wat
 
That guy's lived a seriously awesome life (if true). Makes me feel like a suit.
 
nadaba said:
I want to be friends with him. Maybe a big buddy/little buddy kind of situation.
Click to expand...

Unless it was a leaky row boat I have no idea how it takes one 5 years to sail from Panama to Alaska.
 
I call BS. 42 MCAT with 3 interviews?

If it's true, BU really does reject everybody :laugh:
 
Chops369 said:
spent a summer walking from mexico to canada
spent a summer walking from mexico to canada
spent a summer walking from mexico to canada
spent a summer walking from mexico to canada
Click to expand...

hahaha.. :laugh:
 
Knocked Up said:
Doesn't really matter. The MCAT is the most important aspect of every application. Fortunately Mt Headed says he has a damn good one.
Click to expand...

Do you work for an MCAT prep company or something?
 
Gosh, I've never been called out like this in a post before, but I'm game. I'll answer any questions if you have them.

So far the only question I see is a photograph of flatearth22 asking me "is this real life?"

Yes, flat earth, it's all real. My complete application is even more bizarre.
 
MT Headed said:
Gosh, I've never been called out like this in a post before, but I'm game. I'll answer any questions if you have them.

So far the only question I see is a photograph of flatearth22 asking me "is this real life?"

Yes, flat earth, it's all real. My complete application is even more bizarre.
Click to expand...

What was it like walking from mexico to canada? Did you walk through/over highways? How long did it take?
I have thousands of questions in my head for you, can't type 'em all down.
 
MT Headed said:
Gosh, I've never been called out like this in a post before, but I'm game. I'll answer any questions if you have them.

So far the only question I see is a photograph of flatearth22 asking me "is this real life?"

Yes, flat earth, it's all real. My complete application is even more bizarre.
Click to expand...

Good luck on the interview trail. 🙂
 
MT Headed said:
(referring to me walking from mexico to canada)



I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 2005. It took me 5 months. My pack weighed 17 pounds. I lost 40 pounds.
Click to expand...

You answered my questions without even looking at them! Did you gain supernatural powers during your journey(s)?

Also, what did you eat in your sailing trip?
 
Stumpyman said:
You answered my questions without even looking at them! Did you gain supernatural powers during your journey(s)?

Also, what did you eat in your sailing trip?
Click to expand...

As long as he wasn't bashing the heads of baby seals for blubber, he is going to be gold.
 
ppfizenm said:
Unless it was a leaky row boat I have no idea how it takes one 5 years to sail from Panama to Alaska.
Click to expand...

(it was from eastern canada to alaska)

I spent a lot of time in port. The ocean is boring. Interesting people and interesting adventures are on land. Sometimes if a place caught my fancy I would stay there six months before raising anchor and moving on. I was in no hurry, and had no important appointments to keep. Most boating accidents happen on Sunday, because people "gotta sail through that storm and be back at work Monday morning".
 
MT Headed said:
Gosh, I've never been called out like this in a post before, but I'm game. I'll answer any questions if you have them.

So far the only question I see is a photograph of flatearth22 asking me "is this real life?"

Yes, flat earth, it's all real. My complete application is even more bizarre.
Click to expand...

You're my hero. I don't know what's more amazing - your extraordinary life experiences or the fact that you got a 42 MCAT and are looking at rural programs at [mostly] non-prestigious programs instead of prestige-whoring at big name schools like 99.8% of SDN would do if they had your stats (including myself).

Can you give me an internet high five so I can add it as an update to my schools and can get some more interviews?

internet-high-five.jpg



Also :laugh: at BU for rejecting you. Makes me feel a lot better about my own rejection from there.
 
Why medicine?

Just curious since you already did so many things in life.
 
Stumpyman said:
Also, what did you eat in your sailing trip?
Click to expand...

Surprisingly enough, the rest of the world eats food too. I did do some fishing if ciguatera wasn't a problem, but mostly I looked for fresh cheap food on shore, just like the people who live on whatever island or port I was visiting. My boat had an oven and microwave and stuff, it was kind of like a floating RV with sails. You can read about the lifestyle in magazines like Cruising World.
 
I second the why medicine question, and also, why now?
 
Could this be the most interesting man in SDN???
 
I'll bite. I don't think that I'm anything really special, but here goes:

- Graduated from high school in 1995 and screwed around in college for a while.
- That included seminary for 3 years.
- Decided that wasn't my thing, so I got in my car and drove west - figured that Fort Collins, CO was a good place to stop.
- Worked as a welder for a while - structural, buildings, bridges, etc.
- Bicycle mechanic for something like 4 or 5 seasons
- Decided to go study physics, so took a year to teach myself algebra and trig
- 4 years working for a company that builds and launch rockets to carry satellites into space. Yes, actually, I AM a rocket scientist.
- Wilderness EMT - backpacking, biking, bouldering all over the midwest - had nothing to do with wanting to become a doctor.

Not really all that significant - I'm a pretty normal guy I think.
 
GS Mikami said:
Why medicine?

Just curious since you already did so many things in life.
Click to expand...

After getting the travel bug out of my system I found peace back in my home community in Montana. I also had an odd epiphany: now that I am middle aged I realize life is less about what I can create and more about what I can give. The question was: give what?

Then I noticed... every time I pursued an activity I pursued it to such a degree that it involved some kind of health care too. Skiing? Ski patrol. Scuba? Rescue diver. Mountaineering? Wilderness EMT. I feel like medicine has been pursuing me much longer than I have been pursuing it.

Medicine is how I can put my skills and talents to their best use serving the people in my hometown.


On the practical side, there are no mid-level job opportunities (nurse, PA, etc) in my tiny town. So if I want to upgrade from EMT, I'll have to join the medical clinic.
 
MT Headed said:
After getting the travel bug out of my system I found peace back in my home community in Montana. I also had an odd epiphany: now that I am middle aged I realize life is less about what I can create and more about what I can give. The question was: give what?

Then I noticed... every time I pursued an activity I pursued it to such a degree that it involved some kind of health care too. Skiing? Ski patrol. Scuba? Rescue diver. Mountaineering? Wilderness EMT. I feel like medicine has been pursuing me much longer than I have been pursuing it.

Medicine is how I can put my skills and talents to their best use serving the people in my hometown.


On the practical side, there are no mid-level job opportunities (nurse, PA, etc) in my tiny town. So if I want to upgrade from EMT, I'll have to join the medical clinic.
Click to expand...

Quite a compelling reason you got.

Mr. MT Head, if I was an adcom, you will be the one guy I wanted to talk in person.

Good luck in your application :luck: I gotta feeling that you're not going to need much of it.
 
Which area of Montana are you in?
 
Kalamazoo said:
Which area of Montana are you in?
Click to expand...

While I go to school in the flat eastern half, I am from (and am headed back to) the mountainous western half when I'm done with all this. I own a log cabin at 7,000ft above sea level. Beyond that I'd like to keep a smidgen of privacy.

If you really want to know who I am or where I'm from it isn't too hard to cross check a couple of websites and put it all together. Not that it's anything spectacular; I haven't done anything famous. I'm really just an ex-computer engineer looking for a second career that fits me. I liken myself to a modern day Ed Roberts without all the entrepreneurship (or a personal wikipedia page!).
 
Similar to how a movie was made about Chris McCandles (from IMDB: After graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life.)

You need one too.

If we ever meet on the interview trail, shake your hand, I must.
 
MT Headed said:
While I go to school in the flat eastern half, I am from (and am headed back to) the mountainous western half when I'm done with all this. I own a log cabin at 7,000ft above sea level. Beyond that I'd like to keep a smidgen of privacy.

If you really want to know who I am or where I'm from it isn't too hard to cross check a couple of websites and put it all together. Not that it's anything spectacular; I haven't done anything famous. I'm really just an ex-computer engineer looking for a second career that fits me. I liken myself to a modern day Ed Roberts without all the entrepreneurship (or a personal wikipedia page!).
Click to expand...

I asked because almost all of my extended family lives in Western Montana (Polson, Charlo/Ronan, Missoula,etc). I've spent a lot of time out there. Just curious really. Not trying to "call you out."
 
Ok, forget about the ECs and experiences. How the heck did you study for the MCAT????? A 42 is mighty beastly score.
 
I think the most interesting man from the Dos Equis commercials was taught by this guy.
 
Knocked Up said:
Ok, forget about the ECs and experiences. How the heck did you study for the MCAT????? A 42 is mighty beastly score.
Click to expand...

A 42 is kick azz! 🙂
 
MD Odyssey said:
I'll bite. I don't think that I'm anything really special, but here goes:

- Graduated from high school in 1995 and screwed around in college for a while.
- That included seminary for 3 years.
- Decided that wasn't my thing, so I got in my car and drove west - figured that Fort Collins, CO was a good place to stop.
- Worked as a welder for a while - structural, buildings, bridges, etc.
- Bicycle mechanic for something like 4 or 5 seasons
- Decided to go study physics, so took a year to teach myself algebra and trig
- 4 years working for a company that builds and launch rockets to carry satellites into space. Yes, actually, I AM a rocket scientist.
- Wilderness EMT - backpacking, biking, bouldering all over the midwest - had nothing to do with wanting to become a doctor.

Not really all that significant - I'm a pretty normal guy I think.
Click to expand...

1. You aren't special
2. This isn't a thread to boast about YOUR own experience
3. This thread is now about MT Headed
 
MT Headed said:
After getting the travel bug out of my system I found peace back in my home community in Montana. I also had an odd epiphany: now that I am middle aged I realize life is less about what I can create and more about what I can give. The question was: give what?

Then I noticed... every time I pursued an activity I pursued it to such a degree that it involved some kind of health care too. Skiing? Ski patrol. Scuba? Rescue diver. Mountaineering? Wilderness EMT. I feel like medicine has been pursuing me much longer than I have been pursuing it.

Medicine is how I can put my skills and talents to their best use serving the people in my hometown.


On the practical side, there are no mid-level job opportunities (nurse, PA, etc) in my tiny town. So if I want to upgrade from EMT, I'll have to join the medical clinic.
Click to expand...

What was your favorite dive site? Or did you not go out recreationally diving much?
 
there was a guy on here a few weeks that said he served as an active combat medic for some country's military. I think that is right up there.
 
😱 that is all.....

oh and the Dos Equix man was well played 😀

Edit: Why weren't you my father growing up?!!?
 
Frazier said:
At the risk of sounding like a skeptic, I'm having a hard time figuring out why someone: 1) with a 42 mcat, 2) a respectable gpa, 3) awesome & well-rounded EC's would be getting hated on by so many schools... What is the glaring weakness that we aren't seeing?

[that is, unless you actually have more II's and just haven't updated your MD apps lately]
Click to expand...


Age: 41
 
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