2016 Nontrad Applicants' Progress Thread

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breezy16 said:
Update: 4IIs 3Rs 1 Hold. Currently delayed en-route out East; I blame the Pope @ MSG 😉

About 2 and a half weeks until I hear back from one school; over two months for another. Rough wait period!

How is everyone else faring?
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4 II (2 MD, 2 DO), 2 holds, 2 rejections, 23 to go. Got about a week :xf: until I hear back from CCOM. Congrats on your IIs!
 
breezy16 said:
Update: 4IIs 3Rs 1 Hold. Currently delayed en-route out East; I blame the Pope @ MSG 😉

About 2 and a half weeks until I hear back from one school; over two months for another. Rough wait period!

How is everyone else faring?
Click to expand...

11 II (8 MD, 3 DO). Had been hoping hoping hoping to hear back from the first DO maybe next week, though I hear through the grapevine that their committee might only meet on 3rd Thurs of every month, so it may be late October instead. 🙁 But I absolutely can't complain about how it's going. Just scared witless I'm going to end up that person with the many II and no acceptances. Ugh.

@timsk please tell me you applied to Case Western with all that research!
 
I feel like Elaine, but instead of soup, it's II's. Congrats on everyone's success! Definitely wish I could have submitted earlier, but things are as they are at this point. And so I wait! Fingers crossed us early-mid August folks start making it rain II's soon...

128715319728042501.jpg
 
Eccesignum said:
We're going to have to hold a Non-Trad board vigil for acceptance/rejections starting October 15th, haha.
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I have a lab class the entire afternoon of the 15th. Somehow I don't think my mind will be focused on running gels or counting bacterial colonies or whatever we are doing that day. On the plus side, I have some sort of phone phobia so I will be happy to just get emails or voicemail 😛
 
NonTrad16 said:
I feel like Elaine, but instead of soup, it's II's. Congrats on everyone's success! Definitely wish I could have submitted earlier, but things are as they are at this point. And so I wait! Fingers crossed us early-mid August folks start making it rain II's soon...

128715319728042501.jpg
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You got this. It's still only September! They say the later you submit the longer it takes to hear anything and that definitely seems to be true. The end of the cycle is still a looooong way away though.
 
gyrfalcon said:
I have a lab class the entire afternoon of the 15th. Somehow I don't think my mind will be focused on running gels or counting bacterial colonies or whatever we are doing that day. On the plus side, I have some sort of phone phobia so I will be happy to just get emails or voicemail 😛
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I'm off on the 15th and am kind of dreading it, lol.
 
I'll be on vacation across the country.

Not sure if a good or bad thing.
 
...can we talk again now?

I'm on a 24-hour EMS shift awaiting the Saturday trafficpocalypse. Hope everyone else is doing something more exciting than refreshing their email today. 🙂
 
Oh I am absolutely going to keep refreshing my email today. I'm going to keep refreshing my email like the capacity for refreshing my email was the next step in human evolution.

ImageUploadedBySDN Mobile1443268497.007704.jpg
 
Eccesignum said:
Was G-town the one that made you write a novel about how frikkin awesome they are?
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Yes. 1-2 pages? Ugh. Luckily Emory had a question about physicians' role in the community, so I used my answer for that for the Georgetown essay. I was honest about what I wrote, though; it worked for Georgetown because I got an II. Nothing from Emory yet, though. Oh well.

Update: 7 II (MD, two yesterday within a half hour of each other!) and no rejections/holds yet, but I'm expecting a few soon (mid-October is when the first acceptances/rejections are sent, correct?). AMCAS verified on 8/5.

My first interview is coming up on October 16, and they all take place between then and November 24. What have I done to myself...?
 
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entresuspiros said:
Yes. 1-2 pages? Ugh. Luckily Emory had a question about physicians' role in the community, so I used my answer for that for the Georgetown essay. I was honest about what I wrote, though; it worked for Georgetown because I got an II. Nothing from Emory yet, though. Oh well.

Update: 7 II (MD, two yesterday within a half hour of each other!) and no rejections/holds yet, but I'm expecting a few soon (mid-October is when the first acceptances/rejections are sent, correct?). AMCAS verified on 8/5.

My first interview is coming up on October 16, and they all take place between then and November 24. What have I done to myself...?
Click to expand...
Yeah that was the one. I really tore out a chunk of my soul for that one. Never getting that back. SIGH.

You'll be happy to hear that lots of schools have sent rejections already. There's a list thread on here. For now, I still find it mildly comforting/ominous: http://www.forums.studentdoctor.net/index.php?threads/Schools-That-Sent-Rejections-List..1162385/
 
So far I've got 7 IIs and zero news from my other 9 schools. All MD.
Very happy and blessed but also didn't expect so many so now the expense of flying all over the place is depleting my savings 🙁
 
idontknowwhatnametopick said:
So far I've got 7 IIs and zero news from my other 9 schools. All MD.
Very happy and blessed but also didn't expect so many so now the expense of flying all over the place is depleting my savings 🙁
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American Airlines (or any one airline)! Rack up those miles. I already have enough to cover a roundtrip flight to one of my interviews.

Ditto Marriott. The free stays rack up quite quickly if you join Marriott rewards; I'm pleased with them. Plus many have discounted rates if you tell them you're interviewing at X school and ask for the X school rate.
 
Eccesignum said:
American Airlines (or any one airline)! Rack up those miles. I already have enough to cover a roundtrip flight to one of my interviews.

Ditto Marriott. The free stays rack up quite quickly if you join Marriott rewards; I'm pleased with them. Plus many have discounted rates if you tell them you're interviewing at X school and ask for the X school rate.
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So far I've been lucky with student hosts so that's super nice.
 
pageantry said:
Yeah that was the one. I really tore out a chunk of my soul for that one. Never getting that back. SIGH.
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Hahahaha that's like me and Loyola's "Person for others" essay. I submitted that in the beginning of August and haven't heard a peep, they're probably reading mine like

Watsm.jpg
 
I was wondering if I could pick the brain of the non-trads here
Has anyone written a pre-interview letter of interest? I saw a couple of threads on the site, but most of them are pretty dated. I'm just curious if anyone has had success with them
 
tetley said:
I was wondering if I could pick the brain of the non-trads here
Has anyone written a pre-interview letter of interest? I saw a couple of threads on the site, but most of them are pretty dated. I'm just curious if anyone has had success with them
Click to expand...

From what I've read on the pre-allo board, pre-interview LOI are a waste of time -- if anyone's seen differently though please chime in. Obviously you're interested if you submitted a secondary. Pre-interview the only thing you can really do is submit an update if there's something significant, or an ITA email if you really are going to be in the vicinity.

Best of luck to you!
 
I feel like this is the thread where I can be a little more honest, so can I just say that all those pre-allo threads about how terrible it is to be a doctor scare the bejeezus out of me?

I have this feeling that for so many of the unhappy doctors, medicine ended up feeling like a step down from whatever they believed they deserved out of their life/effort. But for me, and I think maybe for a lot of nontrads, medicine would be a big step up from whatever we thought we deserved. Not just in money and status (questionable perks), but in terms of education, career opportunities, and relationships.

Does anyone else know these fears? How do you know you could be a happy doctor? I put together a lot of different pieces and it fits. But compared to the monolith of "Medicine is Miserable, Say Actual Doctors!!" sometimes it feels hard to hold together. What keeps you guys confident?
 
Eccesignum said:
Someone told me other day that I'm going to need interview detox once this is all over.

A cabana in the tropics for a week sounds nice to me!

(my credit card says no)
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Omg interviews are totally warping my personality.
 
pageantry said:
I feel like this is the thread where I can be a little more honest, so can I just say that all those pre-allo threads about how terrible it is to be a doctor scare the bejeezus out of me?

I have this feeling that for so many of the unhappy doctors, medicine ended up feeling like a step down from whatever they believed they deserved out of their life/effort. But for me, and I think maybe for a lot of nontrads, medicine would be a big step up from whatever we thought we deserved. Not just in money and status (questionable perks), but in terms of education, career opportunities, and relationships.

Does anyone else know these fears? How do you know you could be a happy doctor? I put together a lot of different pieces and it fits. But compared to the monolith of "Medicine is Miserable, Say Actual Doctors!!" sometimes it feels hard to hold together. What keeps you guys confident?
Click to expand...

I dunno. Working in a hospital and having known doctors from all over, some were pleasantly happy and some seemed totally miserable. And some seemed one way one day and another the next. I think just like in any career it's a matter of finding the type of thing you like to do and who you want to be doing it with. Your environment, co-workers, and sense of mission can influence your outlook so much.

Have you read Healing the Wounds by David Hilfiker? He does a really wonderful job of talking about motivation, burnout, and balancing physician happiness with what "needs to be done".
 
pageantry said:
I feel like this is the thread where I can be a little more honest, so can I just say that all those pre-allo threads about how terrible it is to be a doctor scare the bejeezus out of me?

I have this feeling that for so many of the unhappy doctors, medicine ended up feeling like a step down from whatever they believed they deserved out of their life/effort. But for me, and I think maybe for a lot of nontrads, medicine would be a big step up from whatever we thought we deserved. Not just in money and status (questionable perks), but in terms of education, career opportunities, and relationships.

Does anyone else know these fears? How do you know you could be a happy doctor? I put together a lot of different pieces and it fits. But compared to the monolith of "Medicine is Miserable, Say Actual Doctors!!" sometimes it feels hard to hold together. What keeps you guys confident?
Click to expand...

Obviously this is conjecture, but I think some of the burn out may simply have to do with how young many doctors were when they began this process. Deciding around 18 that you want to chug through eight years of school + residency + a possible fellowship is truly mind boggling. Additionally, not having real work experience (I'm talking career status, not summer jobs or on campus ones) probably makes them feel medicine is unique in having miserable people to work with and long hours to put in.

My prior career and the time to think things over (27 now) has pretty much convinced me this is where I need to be. 'Spose I'll find out in a few more years with direct experience though, huh? 😉
 
VegasPreMed said:
Obviously this is conjecture, but I think some of the burn out may simply have to do with how young many doctors were when they began this process. Deciding around 18 that you want to chug through eight years of school + residency + a possible fellowship is truly mind boggling. Additionally, not having real work experience (I'm talking career status, not summer jobs or on campus ones) probably makes them feel medicine is unique in having miserable people to work with and long hours to put in.

My prior career and the time to think things over (27 now) has pretty much convinced me this is where I need to be. 'Spose I'll find out in a few more years with direct experience though, huh? 😉
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That's exactly how I feel
both of my siblings are physicians, but they took different paths
my brother went straight through college, graduated a year early, did an mph while applying, then went med school>residency>chief year>fellowship with no break. he's kind of burnt out/jaded, but its because he started on his path at 17

my sister, on the other hand, did college/grad school, worked for three years in the private healthcare sector, then did a postbac/med school/is now a 5th year surgical resident and she is still so hyped every day that she goes in

I think that age and experience certainly make a difference, mostly because we've been on the outside and already know what the "what if you didn't do medicine" life would be like. For me, I am also 27 and I've been through so many interesting experiences in the past 5 years. I did graduate school, I did research, I consulted, but most importantly I grew up. Going in to medicine now, I am 110% certain that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life, and I am so much more mature and ready to appreciate the experience than I was when I came out of college
 
Eccesignum said:
1000th reply in this thread woooo! (I just had to do that)

Uh....here. Happy Monday!

View attachment 196596
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I think you earned that one.

And that's a great book rec, thanks. I feel like my life and background is a lot farther from medicine than it is for the rest of you folk who replied, tho. That's certainly part of my insecurity. But, in NYC, long-term, meaningful clinical experience for students is hard to come by. I *deduce* that I'd like it. I truly think it's me. I'm genuinely excited by the idea of the future I believe can unfold. But. It's a long application cycle. Just begun.
 
pageantry said:
I feel like this is the thread where I can be a little more honest, so can I just say that all those pre-allo threads about how terrible it is to be a doctor scare the bejeezus out of me?

I have this feeling that for so many of the unhappy doctors, medicine ended up feeling like a step down from whatever they believed they deserved out of their life/effort. But for me, and I think maybe for a lot of nontrads, medicine would be a big step up from whatever we thought we deserved. Not just in money and status (questionable perks), but in terms of education, career opportunities, and relationships.

Does anyone else know these fears? How do you know you could be a happy doctor? I put together a lot of different pieces and it fits. But compared to the monolith of "Medicine is Miserable, Say Actual Doctors!!" sometimes it feels hard to hold together. What keeps you guys confident?
Click to expand...


Honestly, a lot of that language somewhat contributed to my being a non-traditional applicant. I was pre-med in undergrad and was, through some weird luck, exposed to strictly gunners and disgruntled physicians ("Medicine just ain't what it used to be!"). I opted not to apply after graduating and that forced me to really seek out my interests and pursue what made me happy. By this route, I was doing work and completing grad school for things I found interesting and could get excited about...and in doing so met people who were excited about it too. And some of them were doctors...and they were happy! Imagine that!

I think a lot of what contributes to unhappiness is the difference between expectations vs. reality. Not just in medicine, either. If you go into this field expecting riches, respect, and ample free time and get none of it, you're going to be unhappy (but some people could get all that and still be unhappy). I also think an ability to be adaptable and flexible is important, and more applicants nowadays seem to be progressive and excited about making positive forward movement.

But like you said, I think a lot of the non-trad mentality is that we have thoroughly vetted all the options and we know the pros and cons of what a life in medicine means (not to say some traditional applicants don't). We know it won't be easy. We accept the sacrifices, but obviously the pros outweigh the cons for us. It'll be important for me to continue to remind myself of this throughout my career.

tl;dr follow your passion, find like-minded people excited about that same passion, don't be too hard on yourself, be adaptable, and keep reminding yourself why you're voluntarily doing something that forces you to refresh your email every 5 seconds and/or pull out your hair in anticipation of ANY news whatsoever
 
pageantry said:
I think you earned that one.

And that's a great book rec, thanks. I feel like my life and background is a lot farther from medicine than it is for the rest of you folk who replied, tho. That's certainly part of my insecurity. But in NYC long-term, meaningful clinical experience for students is hard to come by. I *deduce* that I'd like it. I truly think it's me. I'm genuinely excited by the idea of the future I believe can unfold. But. It's a long application cycle. Just begun.
Click to expand...

Eh. I've been in healthcare fewer years than I was in education. And before that I was in professional theatre, so distance traveled = major lulz. Being a nurse is also not the same as being a doctor, not by a long shot. I often think 'Oh man, if I get kicked in the feels this hard when things happen now it'll be ten times as not-awesome when I'm the one with the ultimate responsibility', but I think anyone who hasn't been a doctor can only deduce and observe. And being older and a bit more mature we're all given to the insecurity that comes with being able to step back and consider a larger picture.

It's a big world out there. The only thing I can do is remain convinced that even though life won't be perfect, there's something out there that'll leave me at the end thinking 'I did what I came here to do; I did my best to do good'.
 
pageantry said:
I feel like this is the thread where I can be a little more honest, so can I just say that all those pre-allo threads about how terrible it is to be a doctor scare the bejeezus out of me?

I have this feeling that for so many of the unhappy doctors, medicine ended up feeling like a step down from whatever they believed they deserved out of their life/effort. But for me, and I think maybe for a lot of nontrads, medicine would be a big step up from whatever we thought we deserved. Not just in money and status (questionable perks), but in terms of education, career opportunities, and relationships.

Does anyone else know these fears? How do you know you could be a happy doctor? I put together a lot of different pieces and it fits. But compared to the monolith of "Medicine is Miserable, Say Actual Doctors!!" sometimes it feels hard to hold together. What keeps you guys confident?
Click to expand...

Sometimes these sentiments make me question my path too... But in the end I believe that people have a general disposition of negativity or positivity no matter what environment/situation you put them in. And the actual physicians I've shadowed, worked with, encountered in real life have run the spectrum of happiness.
 
Wassup fellow non trads?

I see some new people joining our NON-TRAD COALITION -:punch::punch::punch::punch::punch::rage::rage::rage::rage::rage::rage:and some some good news/more invites.

I had a not so good September month-in regards of II: no II and two rejections. I've been working construction 7 days a week 10-12 hours days to make some dough to pay off these travels expenses. I left my home-base and I just got to Indianapolis today. I am staying in a room from airbnb (first time). Had to drop it off my suit to get pressed because the way that I folded and stuffed in my carry on was was not very "gentle". Although, I followed the instructions from the guy from men's warehouse who told me that the suit should be fine....NOT. I did not want to check in my luggage because I am flying 6 + places, so the cost would be over $100. My first II for this cycle this Wednesday , kinda of psyching/apprehensive. Then, I have another two within a week. I spent $1600+ on airfares, $300 on a rental car, $700+ on places to stay and + all the other little things. I have to bring home DA gold after this first round (hopefully). I've been working so much that I have not had enough time or energy to think about my interviews. S... is about to hit the fan for me. I am so jet lagged and away from the ocean :wacky:.


NON TRAD COALITION LET'S GO :zip:
 
B-wildered said:
Wassup fellow non trads?

I see some new people joining our NON-TRAD COALITION -:punch::punch::punch::punch::punch::rage::rage::rage::rage::rage::rage:and some some good news/more invites.

I had a not so good September month-in regards of II: no II and two rejections. I've been working construction 7 days a week 10-12 hours days to make some dough to pay off these travels expenses. I left my home-base and I just got to Indianapolis today. I am staying in a room from airbnb (first time). Had to drop it off my suit to get pressed because the way that I folded and stuffed in my carry on was was not very "gentle". Although, I followed the instructions from the guy from men's warehouse who told me that the suit should be fine....NOT. I did not want to check in my luggage because I am flying 6 + places, so the cost would be over $100. My first II for this cycle this Wednesday , kinda of psyching/apprehensive. Then, I have another two within a week. I spent $1600+ on airfares, $300 on a rental car, $700+ on places to stay and + all the other little things. I have to bring home DA gold after this first round (hopefully). I've been working so much that I have not had enough time or energy to think about my interviews. S... is about to hit the fan for me. I am so jet lagged and away from the ocean :wacky:.


NON TRAD COALITION LET'S GO :zip:
Click to expand...
good luck! I'm pulling for you
 
asyouwish29 said:
Honestly, a lot of that language somewhat contributed to my being a non-traditional applicant. I was pre-med in undergrad and was, through some weird luck, exposed to strictly gunners and disgruntled physicians ("Medicine just ain't what it used to be!"). I opted not to apply after graduating and that forced me to really seek out my interests and pursue what made me happy. By this route, I was doing work and completing grad school for things I found interesting and could get excited about...and in doing so met people who were excited about it too. And some of them were doctors...and they were happy! Imagine that!

I think a lot of what contributes to unhappiness is the difference between expectations vs. reality. Not just in medicine, either. If you go into this field expecting riches, respect, and ample free time and get none of it, you're going to be unhappy (but some people could get all that and still be unhappy). I also think an ability to be adaptable and flexible is important, and more applicants nowadays seem to be progressive and excited about making positive forward movement.

But like you said, I think a lot of the non-trad mentality is that we have thoroughly vetted all the options and we know the pros and cons of what a life in medicine means (not to say some traditional applicants don't). We know it won't be easy. We accept the sacrifices, but obviously the pros outweigh the cons for us. It'll be important for me to continue to remind myself of this throughout my career.

tl;dr follow your passion, find like-minded people excited about that same passion, don't be too hard on yourself, be adaptable, and keep reminding yourself why you're voluntarily doing something that forces you to refresh your email every 5 seconds and/or pull out your hair in anticipation of ANY news whatsoever
Click to expand...
I lub u guyz so much. *third whiskey-mocha slushy*

ImageUploadedBySDN Mobile1443487039.928679.jpg


^^^especially true right now
 
pageantry said:
I feel like this is the thread where I can be a little more honest, so can I just say that all those pre-allo threads about how terrible it is to be a doctor scare the bejeezus out of me?

I have this feeling that for so many of the unhappy doctors, medicine ended up feeling like a step down from whatever they believed they deserved out of their life/effort.

I think that is because majority of the doctors come from privileged backgrounds where they never had to struggle with commoners problems -money-rent-place to to sleep and etc....., therefore they may think they are entitled to "things" and deserve instantaneous self gratification for any hard work that they do. I also believe that younger generations are more likely to bitch and whine. Not saying that this is wrong, but the world out there can be savage, cruel sometimes and NOT FAIR. I like to think about all the people that are born with severe illnesses that are incurable. In general America is country that has golden opportunities, if one cannot make in here, unlikely will make anywhere else. I am not saying that is perfect here, but we are very spoiled with opportunities. So easy to get a food stamp card for example. I think that people are more often worried about the financial gain than having pride in what they are doing. Not that it is wrong or right, just different perspective.

But for me, and I think maybe for a lot of nontrads, medicine would be a big step up from whatever we thought we deserved. Not just in money and status (questionable perks), but in terms of education, career opportunities, and relationships.Does anyone else know these fears?

Yes, I embrace my fears but I tend to look the bigger picture
For me becoming a doctor is a honor. I feel that I was "blessed" with a heathy body without any major debilitating physical conditions. I've grew up seeing oppressive poverty and violence which crumbles the human soul and make rational people commit irrational things in order to survive. I've seen people living in sub-human conditions, seldom seeing in the US . The education opportunities and etc.. that comes to physician are definitely perks, but my main driving force is to give back and create a better world. Off course I don't mind the perks, I am not hypocrite, I don't want to struggle financially and would like to have a nice living standard.



How do you know you could be a happy doctor?
Happiness is a state of mind more often than not, IMHO. Haters are going to hate, lovers are going to love, no matter what they do. there are always exceptions

I put together a lot of different pieces and it fits. But compared to the monolith of "Medicine is Miserable, Say Actual Doctors!!" sometimes it feels hard to hold together. What keeps you guys confident?

My heart
Click to expand...


My two cents in this topic- did not want to offend anyone:
 
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