A Culture of Lies (and an Open Letter to Adcoms)

[MDforMee]

Dear Adcoms,

I recently graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor's in Biochemistry, and received my diploma frame, yesterday. However, the shippers made a mistake and sent me the diploma frame for MDs graduating from the David Geffen School of Medicine, as shown here:

I plan on returning the diploma frame with a stamped letter addressed to the David Geffen School of Medicine in the box, and a paper included asking politely that the stamped letter be placed in the outgoing mail. That letter will be as follows:
___________________________________________

Dear Constituents of the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine,

I recently graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor's in Biochemistry. However, the UCLA store mistakenly shipped the wrong diploma frame to me. They sent the diploma frame embossed with the David Geffen School of Medicine signature, and sadly, I did not graduate from your medical school. So, I included this letter in the box that I returned the diploma frame in, and asked that the UCLA store politely forward it to you.

Anyhow, I am a non-traditional pre-medical student who has, over the years, shown a consistent dedication to helping others through -- frankly -- work that no one else wants to do, such as being a CNA in long term care and tutoring (for free) at inner city community colleges, while spending untold thousands of hours and dollars struggling to achieve my goal of becoming the best doctor that I can be for me, not you. In fact, I even dropped out of nursing school and returned to community college, going on to UCLA for a hard major where it was either sink or swim.

And swim I did. Doing well at UCLA, and on the MCAT, I'm now working on a Master's Degree at UCD in Pharmacology and Toxicology in order to become more competent in my future prescriptive decision making, and because I have a real interest in the interplay between pharmacology and medicine. Also, from what I've seen in clinical situations, there is an increasing gap between clinical and pharmaceutical knowledge due in part to what I believe is people lacking adequate, basic science backgrounds by way of less rigorous majors and easier Universities. I'm also happily doing real research, performing in silico drug modeling by writing computer programs that draw from the complex kinetics of drug/receptor interactions (this isn't easy).

However, during my first years in community college, I had semesters of straight F's in easy courses as I moved around the state looking for work. I may be white, but my family is poor, my parents are disabled, and I was the first in my family to attend college. I did poorly in high school, and I didn't know that I'd one day want to attend medical school when I was in my late teens/early 20s. Some of the greatest hits in my family are: drug addict homeless people (2 cousins, 1 aunt), 2 mechanics (1 cousin, 1 uncle), unemployed auto painter (1 uncle), 1 stenographer (1 aunt), 1 construction worker (1 uncle), and my grandparents were poor and either mechanics or stay at home wives. I have no siblings. Long story short, I've earned a 3.6c and 3.58s over the last 180 units, enough for nearly two bachelor's degrees in rigorous coursework, but due to my early grades, my cumulative GPA is a 3.08c and 3.28s.

Anyhow, I'm not asking for you to feel sorry for me, but I would like to say that I find it unfortunate that our medical school admissions system doesn't always catch applicant's files like mine due to cumulative GPA screening policies. And, occasionally people like SOME OF the members of the Student Doctor Network forum (that do not care about helping others and are consistently and systematically, even, looking for ways to cheat the system)* make it through the cracks and into excellent medical schools like the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA by basically living insular, self-centered existences, cranking out high GPAs and not much else in life. Make no mistake, these people do not care about helping others; some have been pushed into medicine by their parents and/or culture, or are doing it for money.

I'm kind of joking, here, but this quote speaks the truth: do you remember the movie Cliffhanger? Well, as John Lithgow's character holds his own wife hostage in the movie, trying to get a money translocator from another character, he says something that's always stuck with me. Lithgow asks his on screen wife, "Do you know what true love is?" Then, with a twist of his head and a forceful pursing of his lips, hisses "Sac-ri-fiiice" as he shoots her dead.

Well, I've sacrificed more than you'll ever know to achieve my dream of becoming a doctor. I'm doing it to help others, and for myself. I believe that what I've seen in the clinical setting, the maturity I've gained over the years in the real world busting my ass, and from persevering in spite of starting this game 100 miles down the road from everyone else yet going on to an excellent Universities (and succeeding at them) will help me add perspective to your medical school class that is altogether unique and undoubtedly a contribution that stands on its own.

In closing, I hope that the fingerprints I've left behind on this erroneously shipped UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine diploma frame leave behind an indelible mark from someone who will not stop doing the best that he can to achieve his goal of one day becoming a physician, no matter what school he goes to.

Signed,

MDforMee


*http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/a-culture-of-lies-and-an-open-letter-to-adcoms.1055807/
*http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/changing-name-for-urm-advantage.1055903/

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[487806]

Dear Adcoms,

I recently graduated from UCLA with a Bachelors in Biochemistry, and received my diploma frame, yesterday. However, the shippers made a mistake and sent me the diploma frame for MDs graduating from the David Geffen School of Medicine, as shown here:

I plan on returning the diploma frame with a stamped letter addressed to the David Geffen School of Medicine in the box, and a paper included asking politely that the stamped letter be placed in the outgoing mail. The letter will be as follows:
___________________________________________

Dear Constituents of the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine,

I recently graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor's in Biochemistry. However, the UCLA store mistakenly shipped the wrong diploma frame to me. They sent the diploma frame embossed with the David Geffen School of Medicine signature, and sadly, I did not graduate from your medical school. So, I included this letter in the box that I returned the diploma frame in, and asked that the UCLA store politely forward this letter to you.

Anyhow, I am a non-traditional pre-medical student who has, over the years, shown a consistent dedication to helping others through -- frankly -- work that no one else wants to do, such as being a CNA in long term care and tutoring (for free) at inner city community colleges, while spending untold thousands of hours and dollars struggling to achieve my goal of becoming the best doctor that I can be for me, not you. In fact, I even dropped out of nursing school and returned to community college, going on to UCLA for a hard major where it was either sink or swim.

And swim I did. Doing well at UCLA, and on the MCAT, I'm now working on a masters at UCD in Pharmacology and Toxicology in order to become more competent in my future prescriptive authority, and because I have a real interest in the interplay between pharmacology and medicine. Also, from what I've seen in clinical situations, there is an increasing gap between clinical and pharmaceutical knowledge due in part to what I believe is people lacking adequate, basic science backgrounds by way of less rigorous majors and easier Universities. I'm also happily doing real research.

However, during my first years in community college, I had semesters of straight F's in easy courses as I moved around the state looking for work. I may be white, but my family is poor, my parents are disabled, and I was the first in my family to attend college. I did poorly in high school, and I didn't know that I'd one day want to attend medical school when I was in my late teens/early 20s. Some of the greatest hits in my family are: drug addict homeless people (2 cousins, 1 aunt), 2 mechanics (1 cousin, 1 uncle), unemployed auto painter (1 uncle), 1 stenographer (1 aunt), 1 construction worker (1 uncle), and my grandparents were poor and either mechanics or stay at home wives. I have no siblings. Long story short, I've earned a 3.6c and 3.58s over the last 180 units, enough for nearly two bachelor's degrees in rigorous coursework, but due to my early grades, my cumulative GPA is a 3.08c and 3.28s.

Anyhow, I'm not asking for you to feel sorry for me, but I would like to say that I find it unfortunate that our medical school admissions system doesn't always catch applicant's files like mine due to cumulative GPA screening policies. And, occasionally people like SOME OF the members of the Student Doctor Network forum (that do not care about helping others and are consistently and systematically, even, looking for ways to cheat the system)* make it through the cracks and into excellent medical schools like the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA by basically living insular, self-centered lives, cranking out high GPAs and not much else in life. Make no mistake, these people do not care about helping others; some have been pushed into medicine by their parents and/or culture, or are doing it for money.

I'm kind of joking, here, but this quote speaks the truth: do you remember the movie Cliffhanger? Well, as John Lithgow's character holds his own wife hostage in the movie, trying to get a money translocator from another character, he says something that's always stuck with me. Lithgow asks his on screen wife, "Do you know what true love is?" Then, with a twist of his head and a forceful pursing of his lips, hisses "Sac-ri-fiiice" as he shoots her dead.

Well, I've sacrificed more than you'll ever know to achieve my dream of becoming a doctor. I'm doing it to help others, and for myself. I believe that what I've seen in the clinical setting, the maturity I've gained over the years in the real world busting my ass, and from persevering in spite of starting this game 100 miles down the road from everyone else yet going on to an excellent Universities (and succeeding at them) will help me add perspective to your medical school class that is altogether unique and undoubtedly a contribution that stands on its own.

In closing, I hope that the fingerprints I've left behind on this erroneously shipped UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine diploma frame leave behind an indelible mark from someone who will not stop doing the best that he can to achieve his goal of one day becoming a physician, no matter what school he goes to.

Signed,

MDforMee


*http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/a-culture-of-lies-and-an-open-letter-to-adcoms.1055807/
*http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/changing-name-for-urm-advantage.1055903/

Nice work man. Hopefully you get an endorsement from @Spinach Dip for your eloquent letter.

 

[seeinghowitgoes]

So zero judgement, I'm literally just honestly curious, what do you hope to accomplish with that letter?

I can see downsides - most obvious that it annoys somebody and potentially haunts you in the future (aka it somehow makes its way to an attending who reads it as self-rightgeous or simply ill-informed, which causes issues; lesser offenses have caused greater issues for people) - but I am having trouble with the upsides (just because I can't really see anybody with influence reading the letter or changing their mindset because of it, unless its purely for the therapeutic effects that sharing one's thoughts can have).

Again, more power to you and/or everybody else who decides this is the right action to take, just been curious as to what exactly people hope to accomplish as I've been reading over the "culture of lies" thread (which seems to be a mix of the grounded and egregious).

 

[Goro]

OP, it's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

 

[QuinnTheEskimo]

The thing that pisses me off about this letter is that you diss mechanics and put them on the same level as drug addicts. Wtf dude? Seriously? I'm supposed to cry for you because you have 2 mechanics in your family? Automatic reject right there.

 

[Ismet]

The thing that pisses me off about this letter is that you diss mechanics and put them on the same level as drug addicts. Wtf dude? Seriously? I'm supposed to cry for you because you have 2 mechanics in your family? Automatic reject right there.

+1. That paragraph is baaaaad. I would even ding you for talking about the drug addicts in your family in that way. Doesn't show much compassion on your part.

 

[youmed]

What's the purpose of the letter again?

 

[I like meowmix]

Is this satire? You're actually sending a letter to the med school because a campus store sent you the wrong frame?

 

[MDforMee]

you guys need to lighten up

This really happened, though. I'm practicing parts of my ps, too.

Was the drug addict thing too much? It's true. What, is there a way you would prefer to communicate that my family is really poor and destitute?

 

[Santana90]

What I see is a pompous letter. Oh hey look at me I'm a ucla grad and I have noble intentions unlike these people on sdn that I don't really know. Oh btw I'm doing a masters not because I need it but because I don't want to be one of those people "lacking basic science backgrounds by way of less rigorous majors and easier universities." I'm also doing REAL research because other peoples research at lesser institutions are bogus; my research is really hard. I'm a diamond in the rough, don't miss my app when I apply .

And oh yeah mechanics and construction workers are basically drug addicts.

 

[BamaNicole]

I wish I could afford a frame for my degree. Those things are expensive.

 

[Santana90]

you guys need to lighten up

This really happened, though. I'm practicing parts of my ps, too.

Was the drug addict thing too much? It's true. What, is there a way you would prefer to communicate that my family is really poor and destitute?

It's true guys! Me so poor! *posts a picture taken with his iPhone 5*

 

[youmed]

Real research part cracked me up.

 

[Ismet]

Was the drug addict thing too much? It's true. What, is there a way you would prefer to communicate that my family is really poor and destitute?

First of all, avoid using the word "destitute" and maybe adopt a better mindset. If you go into medicine thinking that drug users, mechanics, construction workers, etc are "destitute," you're going to have a really hard time connecting with patients. It's nice that you aspire to become a doctor and be the first in your family, but you can do it with humility and RESPECT for other people. I'm not even going to get into the medicine behind addiction, but addiction affects people of all walks of life, rich or poor, educated or uneducated. If a committee member reading your essay has a family member or close friend who suffers/has suffered from addiction, or is a mechanic or any other blue-collar job, that's not going to get you a good score.

You can talk about drug addiction in your PS, but you should not do it in a judgmental light. Drug use/abuse in my family was actually the main part of my PS and the reason why I majored in neuroscience and pursued a research internship at NIDA.

If you had that paragraph or something similar in your PS, that would be an app-killer in my opinion. Satire or not, you come off as extremely pompous and judgmental, two qualities that aren't desired in a medical school applicant.

 

[XmedBarney]

you guys need to lighten up

This really happened, though. I'm practicing parts of my ps, too.

Was the drug addict thing too much? It's true. What, is there a way you would prefer to communicate that my family is really poor and destitute?

Bro, I think you have the puzzle pieces to write a killer life story (it everything in your letter is true).

But that's not what you wrote, to me it comes across as :-

1. Over the top
2. Egotistical
3. Resentful rather than reflective (this, a lot of this)

*In fact you come of as an ungrateful person, that will turn their back on you as they are done with you.(Which I don't think is true, but this piece does sound like that.)

And it overall just doesn't make you seem like a likeable person. The reader should be able to empathize with you, should root for you. Everyone is a sucker for a good "pull-yourself-up-by-the bootstraps" story, but that's not what this is, but I also think you have the ingredients for it. I recommend more self-reflection and urge you to take a pragmatic look at your own and other's circumstances.

 

[MDforMee]

Thanks for being a good audience, everyone. I had fun writing it.

I'll polish it up and repost it once I get back home.

 

[KnuxNole]

Is this satire? You're actually sending a letter to the med school because a campus store sent you the wrong frame?

I assumed this entire topic was 100% a joke. Which would make sense, as a parody topic to the other one.

Mechanics and construction workers aren't that much different to doctors. Normal, average Americans.

 

[Doudline]

Looks like no MD for you. God responded to our prayers at last.

 

[wiloghby]

motherFin crazy letter

Honestly, as an AdCom I would rather read "Mbuto, pass me another baby. I think this one has died."

entitlement and condescension everywhere! it's ridicucrunk!

I am sure that wasn't your intention, but as an exercise for future drafts, try this: I want you to seal your letter in an envelope. Then I want you to imagine you are a med school faculty member and you've never even met the guy who wrote that letter. You don't know anything about him other than what he wrote to you in this letter. Now open the envelope, read the letter, and tell me what impression you get.

 

[Chipster.]

Honestly, as an AdCom I would rather read "Mbuto, pass me another baby. I think this one has died."

entitlement and condescension everywhere! it's ridicucrunk!

I am sure that wasn't your intention, but as an exercise for future drafts, try this: I want you to seal your letter in an envelope. Then I want you to imagine you are a med school faculty member and you've never even met the guy who wrote that letter. You don't know anything about him other than what he wrote to you in this letter. Now read the letter and tell me what impression you get.

You rang?

 

[Chipster.]

Dear Adcoms,

I recently graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor's in Biochemistry, and received my diploma frame, yesterday. However, the shippers made a mistake and sent me the diploma frame for MDs graduating from the David Geffen School of Medicine, as shown here:

I plan on returning the diploma frame with a stamped letter addressed to the David Geffen School of Medicine in the box, and a paper included asking politely that the stamped letter be placed in the outgoing mail. That letter will be as follows:
___________________________________________

Dear Constituents of the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine,

I recently graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor's in Biochemistry. However, the UCLA store mistakenly shipped the wrong diploma frame to me. They sent the diploma frame embossed with the David Geffen School of Medicine signature, and sadly, I did not graduate from your medical school. So, I included this letter in the box that I returned the diploma frame in, and asked that the UCLA store politely forward it to you.

Anyhow, I am a non-traditional pre-medical student who has, over the years, shown a consistent dedication to helping others through -- frankly -- work that no one else wants to do, such as being a CNA in long term care and tutoring (for free) at inner city community colleges, while spending untold thousands of hours and dollars struggling to achieve my goal of becoming the best doctor that I can be for me, not you. In fact, I even dropped out of nursing school and returned to community college, going on to UCLA for a hard major where it was either sink or swim.

And swim I did. Doing well at UCLA, and on the MCAT, I'm now working on a Master's Degree at UCD in Pharmacology and Toxicology in order to become more competent in my future prescriptive decision making, and because I have a real interest in the interplay between pharmacology and medicine. Also, from what I've seen in clinical situations, there is an increasing gap between clinical and pharmaceutical knowledge due in part to what I believe is people lacking adequate, basic science backgrounds by way of less rigorous majors and easier Universities. I'm also happily doing real research, performing in silico drug modeling by writing computer programs that draw from the complex kinetics of drug/receptor interactions (this isn't easy).

However, during my first years in community college, I had semesters of straight F's in easy courses as I moved around the state looking for work. I may be white, but my family is poor, my parents are disabled, and I was the first in my family to attend college. I did poorly in high school, and I didn't know that I'd one day want to attend medical school when I was in my late teens/early 20s. Some of the greatest hits in my family are: drug addict homeless people (2 cousins, 1 aunt), 2 mechanics (1 cousin, 1 uncle), unemployed auto painter (1 uncle), 1 stenographer (1 aunt), 1 construction worker (1 uncle), and my grandparents were poor and either mechanics or stay at home wives. I have no siblings. Long story short, I've earned a 3.6c and 3.58s over the last 180 units, enough for nearly two bachelor's degrees in rigorous coursework, but due to my early grades, my cumulative GPA is a 3.08c and 3.28s.

Anyhow, I'm not asking for you to feel sorry for me, but I would like to say that I find it unfortunate that our medical school admissions system doesn't always catch applicant's files like mine due to cumulative GPA screening policies. And, occasionally people like SOME OF the members of the Student Doctor Network forum (that do not care about helping others and are consistently and systematically, even, looking for ways to cheat the system)* make it through the cracks and into excellent medical schools like the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA by basically living insular, self-centered existences, cranking out high GPAs and not much else in life. Make no mistake, these people do not care about helping others; some have been pushed into medicine by their parents and/or culture, or are doing it for money.

I'm kind of joking, here, but this quote speaks the truth: do you remember the movie Cliffhanger? Well, as John Lithgow's character holds his own wife hostage in the movie, trying to get a money translocator from another character, he says something that's always stuck with me. Lithgow asks his on screen wife, "Do you know what true love is?" Then, with a twist of his head and a forceful pursing of his lips, hisses "Sac-ri-fiiice" as he shoots her dead.

Well, I've sacrificed more than you'll ever know to achieve my dream of becoming a doctor. I'm doing it to help others, and for myself. I believe that what I've seen in the clinical setting, the maturity I've gained over the years in the real world busting my ass, and from persevering in spite of starting this game 100 miles down the road from everyone else yet going on to an excellent Universities (and succeeding at them) will help me add perspective to your medical school class that is altogether unique and undoubtedly a contribution that stands on its own.

In closing, I hope that the fingerprints I've left behind on this erroneously shipped UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine diploma frame leave behind an indelible mark from someone who will not stop doing the best that he can to achieve his goal of one day becoming a physician, no matter what school he goes to.

Signed,

MDforMee


*http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/a-culture-of-lies-and-an-open-letter-to-adcoms.1055807/
*http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/changing-name-for-urm-advantage.1055903/

Also, assuming this is real (god I hope it isn't), why wouldn't you just send the letter yourself? They'll have no idea where it comes from either way. Two thumbs up for dramatics, I guess...?

 

[chizledfrmstone]

I wish I could afford a frame for my degree. Those things are expensive.

I know right! I'm cheap so I just got a gaudy picture frame and used it for my diploma. I think it was like $15. If I had graduated from UCLA I probably would have splurged and gotten a real one.

At least with a $80+ frame I would have something to B*tch about!

 

[wiloghby]

I know right! I'm cheap so I just got a gaudy picture frame and used it for my diploma. I think it was like $15. If I had graduated from UCLA I probably would have splurged and gotten a real one.

At least with a $80+ frame I would have something to B*tch about!

lol... i appreciate the humility it takes to say that: Not to let everyone know that it's only worth $15 to display to the world that you graduated from U of A, but that you would consider spending more if you graduated from somewhere else.

I too have a rough relationship with my alma mater. I understand.

 

[MDforMee]

Also, assuming this is real (god I hope it isn't), why wouldn't you just send the letter yourself? They'll have no idea where it comes from either way. Two thumbs up for dramatics, I guess...?

So, I hate to disappoint my SDN friends, but I don't have time to rewrite my satirical spiel. I have a date, tonight.

But, since you are here and reading this, yes, the things in my letter are true, and no, it's not meant to be taken seriously. It's satirical, and like I said, I'm practicing parts of my personal statement.

I do agree that I need to tone down the phony bravado for my personal statements, but if I could describe the feeling I've had over the years of doing menial labor and attending mediocre schools (Carl's Jr for 2 years, 3 years as a CNA, 1 year at a sperm bank [no, I wasn't a donor], 4 years of manual labor including day labor, working at painting and repair shops, digging ditches, you name it, as well as attending 5 community colleges and a low tier state school), well, let's just say that I'd like to convey to adcoms reading my file that I have an appreciation for doing difficult, undesirable work, perhaps more so than the majority of applicants.

As far as family members being addicted to drugs, it's also true. I do believe that the PC term is "substance abuse disorder" according to the DSM, so in all respects, I'll change that part out of sensitivity for their illnesses. Looking back on what I wrote, I suppose that I just don't have much tolerance for them after watching what they've done to their lives and never tried to fix.

So, thanks again, audience. I really do like SDN, except that sometimes people here occasionally seem disinterested in actually helping people. My point in writing the original post is to say that there actually are people out there that aren't gaming the system, that have done years of grunt work to get to where they are in life, enduring a lot of personal hardship and sacrificing many many things to pursue this journey we're on AND DO have a legitimate interest in helping the little people.

 

[xffan624]

So, I hate to disappoint my SDN friends, but I don't have time to rewrite my satirical spiel. I have a date, tonight.

But, since you are here and reading this, yes, the things in my letter are true, and no, it's not meant to be taken seriously. It's satirical, and like I said, I'm practicing parts of my personal statement.

I do agree that I need to tone down the phony bravado for my personal statements, but if I could describe the feeling I've had over the years of doing menial labor and attending mediocre schools (Carl's Jr for 2 years, 3 years as a CNA, 1 year at a sperm bank [no, I wasn't a donor], 4 years of manual labor including day labor, working at painting and repair shops, digging ditches, you name it, as well as attending 5 community colleges and a low tier state school), well, let's just say that I'd like to convey to adcoms reading my file that I have an appreciation for doing difficult, undesirable work, perhaps more so than the majority of applicants.

As far as family members being addicted to drugs, it's also true. I do believe that the PC term is "substance abuse disorder" according to the DSM, so in all respects, I'll change that part out of sensitivity for their illnesses. Looking back on what I wrote, I suppose that I just don't have much tolerance for them after watching what they've done to their lives and never tried to fix.

So, thanks again, audience. I really do like SDN, except that sometimes people here occasionally seem disinterested in actually helping people. My point in writing the original post is to say that there actually are people out there that aren't gaming the system, that have done years of grunt work to get to where they are in life, enduring a lot of personal hardship and sacrificing many many things to pursue this journey we're on AND DO have a legitimate interest in helping the little people.

Still sound like an @ss. Especially the "little people" line at the end. I hope you mature a little bit and get that chip off your shoulder before you enter medical school.

 

[BamaNicole]

I know right! I'm cheap so I just got a gaudy picture frame and used it for my diploma. I think it was like $15. If I had graduated from UCLA I probably would have splurged and gotten a real one.

At least with a $80+ frame I would have something to B*tch about!

I looked at my school's web site and fancy school diploma frames are like 150 bucks. No way I could afford that.

 

[Modeselektor]

For someone in a terrible situation doing all they can for what they love and believe to be right, you certainly have enough time on your hands for spite.

 

[Jimsy]

I know right! I'm cheap so I just got a gaudy picture frame and used it for my diploma. I think it was like $15. If I had graduated from UCLA I probably would have splurged and gotten a real one.

At least with a $80+ frame I would have something to B*tch about!

U of A is an awesome school man! I got their basketball team winning the national championship this year BEAR DOWN!

 

[dbeast]

Mbuto. Pass me the baby.

Edit: damn, somebody beat me to it.

 

[Santana90]

Nice try trying to buffer the criticism but I don't think you wrote it as a satirical piece in the first place. You don't have to write a self-glorifying essay to "show" that there are people in the world going into medicine with genuine intentions.

Ps. Undergrad prestige don't matter. You're a competitive applicant if you work hard to become one. I'll always see you as an elitist dbag for calling my alma mater a "bottom of the barrel" institution.

 

[TheRobin]

Excellent use of satire, OP.

 

[Ismet]

As far as family members being addicted to drugs, it's also true. I do believe that the PC term is "substance abuse disorder" according to the DSM, so in all respects, I'll change that part out of sensitivity for their illnesses. Looking back on what I wrote, I suppose that I just don't have much tolerance for them after watching what they've done to their lives and never tried to fix.

It doesn't matter what you call it, it's the way you talk about it and your lack of understanding that's the problem.

 

[terp720]

lol... i appreciate the humility it takes to say that: Not to let everyone know that it's only worth $15 to display to the world that you graduated from U of A, but that you would consider spending more if you graduated from somewhere else.

I too have a rough relationship with my alma mater. I understand.

why pay big bucks for a frame that has the name of the school anyway? You already shelled out a ton and have the name on the diploma itself.

 

[wiloghby]

So, I hate to disappoint my SDN friends, but I don't have time to rewrite my satirical spiel. I have a date, tonight.

But, since you are here and reading this, yes, the things in my letter are true, and no, it's not meant to be taken seriously. It's satirical, and like I said, I'm practicing parts of my personal statement.

I do agree that I need to tone down the phony bravado for my personal statements, but if I could describe the feeling I've had over the years of doing menial labor and attending mediocre schools (Carl's Jr for 2 years, 3 years as a CNA, 1 year at a sperm bank [no, I wasn't a donor], 4 years of manual labor including day labor, working at painting and repair shops, digging ditches, you name it, as well as attending 5 community colleges and a low tier state school), well, let's just say that I'd like to convey to adcoms reading my file that I have an appreciation for doing difficult, undesirable work, perhaps more so than the majority of applicants.

As far as family members being addicted to drugs, it's also true. I do believe that the PC term is "substance abuse disorder" according to the DSM, so in all respects, I'll change that part out of sensitivity for their illnesses. Looking back on what I wrote, I suppose that I just don't have much tolerance for them after watching what they've done to their lives and never tried to fix.

So, thanks again, audience. I really do like SDN, except that sometimes people here occasionally seem disinterested in actually helping people. My point in writing the original post is to say that there actually are people out there that aren't gaming the system, that have done years of grunt work to get to where they are in life, enduring a lot of personal hardship and sacrificing many many things to pursue this journey we're on AND DO have a legitimate interest in helping the little people.

I feel kinda bad for speaking on this. I really feel conflicted about helping you, as you must be a non-trad and so I would expect rather older compared to the typical matriculant (as am I!) In fact our stories are somewhat similar. So, because I suspect you are older than those applying straight from college at age 22, I find your apparent lack of maturity and perspective rather concerning.

But I'm going to give you the best tip you've gotten in this thread anyway.

You know how you continue, in your letter, and in this post above, to compare yourself to other people?

Don't.

Your personal statement is about you and your journey. It's not about how you are more deserving. It's not about how much more responsible you are than your infantile family members. It's not about whether your story shows you care more than that super phony applicant they're interviewing next week. Really..re-read your letter and your post I am replying to and notice how many times you are comparing yourself to others -- even the people that most normal people would hold dear to them -- just so you can demonstrate that you are better than them. That's the wrong way to try to make yourself stand out.

Many people include a parent or grandparent in their essays. Often times, they'll reflect on an illness they had and how caring for them helped them realize their path in life. (Not suggesting you should do this). But imagine you've read 234 of those personal statements in a year, and then you read a letter from a guy who says he comes from a family with health problems, etc., but instead uses it to show that he just wants to get the heck away from them and go to medical school so he doesn't have to be some kind of gross underachiever like they are.

Your application would go straight into the trash bin.

I am sorry if this message is harsh; just try to appreciate it as constructive criticism and see if you notice that pattern of comparing yourself to other people in your letter/PS. Your PS should tell the committee about you and what your path has been and how it pertains to your passion for medicine. It shouldn't be a persuasive essay on the topic "Why are you better than everyone else in your family and in our applicant pool?"

 

[pietachok]

. . . shown a consistent dedication to helping others through -- frankly -- work that no one else wants to do, such as being a CNA in long term care and tutoring (for free) at inner city community colleges, while spending untold thousands of hours and dollars struggling to achieve my goal of becoming the best doctor that I can be for me, not you . . .

. . . Master's Degree at UCD in Pharmacology and Toxicology in order to become more competent in my future prescriptive decision making, and because I have a real interest in the interplay between pharmacology and medicine. Also, from what I've seen in clinical situations, there is an increasing gap between clinical and pharmaceutical knowledge due in part to what I believe is people lacking adequate, basic science backgrounds by way of less rigorous majors and easier Universities. I'm also happily doing real research, performing in silico drug modeling by writing computer programs that draw from the complex kinetics of drug/receptor interactions (this isn't easy) . . .

. . . Some of the greatest hits in my family are: drug addict homeless people (2 cousins, 1 aunt), 2 mechanics (1 cousin, 1 uncle), unemployed auto painter (1 uncle), 1 stenographer (1 aunt), 1 construction worker (1 uncle), and my grandparents were poor and either mechanics or stay at home wives . . .

I know you were attempting satire/humor, but when I read this, it makes me want to do anything other than invite the author to sit and have a chat with me. Your reader sees you patting yourself on the back, conveying that accomplishments shared by many applicants are exquisitely unique and below you, insulting clinicians who don't have a master's in pharm, and denigrating family for having totally respectable life roles/job. A PS needs to make people want to teach you, work with you, hang out with you. This is like a flashing "@sshole" sign on your application. Honestly, as a non-trad who gives a lot of feedback on other non-trads' personal statements, I hesitate to even respond to your post, b/c I found it so off putting that I don't want to in any way help the smug person who wrote that stuff.

 

[Ashley1989]

For some reason it's a running joke in my school to say "I'm about ready to say screw it and go be a mechanic" when one is stressed from school or about to take a really hard exam. I gritted my teeth for years every time I heard it, but I kept quiet because I knew they weren't being serious. Then one day I couldn't take it anymore, blew up, and told the person off for being a pretentious jerk. Oh, the satisfaction.

Going to school is a privilege, and a privilege that I myself have been able to have through generations of my family members who were farmers, floor waxers, maids, seamstresses, factory workers, and yes, even mechanics that all came to this country to make a better life for their children. Sometimes I feel like I have had to step on the backs of dozens of my family members to get to where I'm at, so I will never look down on them.

 

[seeinghowitgoes]

We seem to be pretty liberal with our use of the word "satire" on here lol

Regardless, to OP, if you're actually looking for it, I think @wiloghby, as usual, provides some good grounded advice. Best of luck man.

 

[MDforMee]

I do appreciate the advice from you, wiloghby, and from others in this thread, so thanks for taking the time to write these things out. The main point in what I wrote -- as wiloghby stated -- that's paradoxically causing contention among all of you is that there are comparisons I'm making to groups of people.

But, let me make something clear: this letter isn't a PS. I wrote the letter in order to highlight flaws in the medical school admissions process, and to define for admissions committee members where people are exploiting the system through lies and less than admirable tactics in the following areas:
1. Choice of University
2. Choice of Major
3. URM policies
4. Extracurricular/Work Activities
... and titled the thread "A Culture of Lies..." accordingly.

I stated this as "Anyhow, I'm not asking for you to feel sorry for me, but I would like to say that I find it unfortunate that our medical school admissions system doesn't always catch applicant's files like mine due to cumulative GPA screening policies. And, occasionally people like SOME OF the members of the Student Doctor Network forum (that do not care about helping others and are consistently and systematically, even, looking for ways to cheat the system)* make it through the cracks and into excellent medical schools."

No offense to all of you, but this is the truth as I see it. Further, what I haven't done is cheat the system or pursue this career path for the wrong reasons.

I want you all to marinate on something, though. Do you honestly think that students in the eponymous David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA took the easy route in life? Or any medical school, for that matter? Because I don't. I believe in making the most of one's situation, and of striving to become more than just a name with initials behind it. This is life. Going the extra mile is what makes us able to help others in the first place.

What I won't do now, or ever, is watch life slip by without making the biggest and brightest impact on it that I can. You can expect me to claw and fight my way through this mofo with everything I've got, until my dying breath says I'm not done, yet. If that steps on your toes, so be it. I'm going to be the best that I can be for me, not you. There is no second place.

 

[Lucca]

I do appreciate the advice from you, wiloghby, and from others in this thread, so thanks for taking the time to write these things out. The main point in what I wrote -- as wiloghby stated -- that's paradoxically causing contention among all of you is that there are comparisons I'm making to groups of people.

But, let me make something clear: this letter isn't a PS. I wrote the letter in order to highlight flaws in the medical school admissions process, and to define for admissions committee members where people are exploiting the system through lies and less than admirable tactics in the following areas:
1. Choice of University
2. Choice of Major
3. URM policies
4. Extracurricular/Work Activities
... and titled the thread "A Culture of Lies..." accordingly.

I stated this as "Anyhow, I'm not asking for you to feel sorry for me, but I would like to say that I find it unfortunate that our medical school admissions system doesn't always catch applicant's files like mine due to cumulative GPA screening policies. And, occasionally people like SOME OF the members of the Student Doctor Network forum (that do not care about helping others and are consistently and systematically, even, looking for ways to cheat the system)* make it through the cracks and into excellent medical schools."

No offense to all of you, but this is the truth as I see it. Further, what I haven't done is cheat the system or pursue this career path for the wrong reasons.

I want you all to marinate on something, though. Do you honestly think that students in the eponymous David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA took the easy route in life? Or any medical school, for that matter? Because I don't. I believe in making the most of one's situation, and of striving to become more than just a name with initials behind it. This is life. Going the extra mile is what makes us able to help others in the first place.

What I won't do now, or ever, is watch life slip by without making the biggest and brightest impact on it that I can. You can expect me to claw and fight my way through this mofo with everything I've got, until my dying breath says I'm not done, yet. If that steps on your toes, so be it. I'm going to be the best that I can be for me, not you. There is no second place.

Is your position then that Medical admissions should take into consideration what University the student went to, what their major was, and the purity of their intentions as important? Since everyone takes the same pre-reqs I honestly don't see why University or Major should matter. If you wanted to prove something, why not go into engineering? By your logic, anything less than MIT EE, Physics, Chem triple major (or any degree from CalTech) should be the "easy way out".

None of what you said changes the fact that the letter you wrote is extremely arrogant, bitter, and offensive. Not to mention needlessly elitist. I say needlessly since you don't have a Rhodes, Marshall or Goldwater since those are three most prestigious academic scholarships in the nation, if not the world.

 

[MDforMee]

Is your position then that Medical admissions should take into consideration what University the student went to, what their major was, and the purity of their intentions as important? Since everyone takes the same pre-reqs I honestly don't see why University or Major should matter. If you wanted to prove something, why not go into engineering? By your logic, anything less than MIT EE, Physics, Chem triple major (or any degree from CalTech) should be the "easy way out".

None of what you said changes the fact that the letter you wrote is extremely arrogant, bitter, and offensive. Not to mention needlessly elitist. I say needlessly since you don't have a Rhodes, Marshall or Goldwater since those are three most prestigious academic scholarships in the nation, if not the world.

This letter has nothing to do with anyone but myself. I'm stating that people are abusing loopholes, and using my struggles to highlight this fact.

Had you attended 5 community colleges, changed diapers as a CNA for 3 years, and worked fast food, only to say NO I'M NOT SETTLING FOR ANYTHING BUT MY BEST and worked YOUR ASS OFF for years to get your GPA over a 3.0 in difficult schools so that you can apply in the first place, you'd know what I'm talking about.

 

[Lucca]

This letter has nothing to do with anyone but myself.

Had you attended 5 community colleges, changed diapers as a CNA for 3 years, and worked fast food, only to say NO I'M NOT SETTLING FOR ANYTHING BUT MY BEST and worked YOUR ASS OFF for years to get your GPA over a 3.0 in difficult schools so that you can apply in the first place, you'd know what I'm talking about.

You're right. No one but you knows anything about hardship and overcoming obstacles.

I mean, I have a 4.0, am an immigrant for political refugee reasons, learned english as a second language and have been conducting research since the second I stepped on my college campus, but yah. Youre right. It was easy, I barely worked for it.

 

[MDforMee]

You're right. No one but you knows anything about hardship and overcoming obstacles.

The attitude of condoning people abusing the system for advantages here has got to be stopped. That's it. Case closed.

 

[Ismet]

I was going to respond again, but I think it might just be best to walk away...

Best of luck in your application. Just know that you can work your butt off to improve your GPA and make your application as competitive as possible, but if you continue with the arrogance in your writing, your chances will be slim.

 

[Lucca]

The attitude of condoning people abusing the system for advantages here has got to be stopped. That's it. Case closed.

Wait, so this thread wasn't about you? I thought it was "all about you and no one else", but now it's about other people? You still haven't adressed my concerns from my first reply. What is it about unis and majors that makes you so elitist as to how they should be evaluated?

 

[sourdoughllama]

This letter has nothing to do with anyone but myself. I'm stating that people are abusing loopholes, and using my struggles to highlight this fact.

Had you attended 5 community colleges, changed diapers as a CNA for 3 years, and worked fast food, only to say NO I'M NOT SETTLING FOR ANYTHING BUT MY BEST and worked YOUR ASS OFF for years to get your GPA over a 3.0 in difficult schools so that you can apply in the first place, you'd know what I'm talking about.

I think the other posters are just telling you you could try telling your story without making it sound like a sob story brah. People aren't saying your struggles aren't real. Just don't laundry list them and cry about it afterwards. Tell it as you've had obstacles and how you've overcome them.

 

[MDforMee]

I was going to respond again, but I think it might just be best to walk away...

Best of luck in your application. Just know that you can work your butt off to improve your GPA and make your application as competitive as possible, but if you continue with the arrogance in your writing, your chances will be slim.

I can agree to this, and I can see parts of myself that may be mistaken for arrogance. If that's the way that I come across, I apologize, and that's not the way that my post was intended.

Wait, so this thread wasn't about you? I thought it was "all about you and no one else", but now it's about other people? You still haven't adressed my concerns from my first reply. What is it about unis and majors that makes you so elitist as to how they should be evaluated?

Dude, I've put in 180 semester units at a 3.6 through really hard courses to get my GPA over a 3.0 (3.08c) so that I can apply in the first place. You really have no idea what it takes to do something like this. This was do or die, for me. Struggling like this puts you in a different mindset.

I think the other posters are just telling you you could try telling your story without making it sound like a sob story brah. People aren't saying your struggles aren't real. Just don't laundry list them and cry about it afterwards. Tell it as you've had obstacles and how you've overcome them.

Thanks, I will keep this in mind. It's been difficult, but I will keep moving forward and take your suggestions into consideration.

 

[ninjaman22]

I got one of those $10 frame from Walmart for my diploma!

 

[Euxox]

This is what I saw when I read your post.

Dear Constituents of the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine,

I recently graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor's in Biochemistry. However, the UCLA store mistakenly shipped the wrong diploma frame to me. They sent the diploma frame embossed with the David Geffen School of Medicine signature, and sadly, I did not graduate from your medical school. So, I included this letter in the box that I returned the diploma frame in, and asked that the UCLA store politely forward it to you.

Anyhow, I am a non-traditional pre-medical student who has, over the years, shown a consistent dedication to helping others through -- frankly -- work that no one else wants to do essentially every other premed does, such as being a CNA in long term care and tutoring (for free) at inner city community colleges, while spending untold thousands of hours and dollars struggling to achieve my goal of becoming the best doctor that I can be for me, not you and as a premed, I think I have a better idea of what makes a good doctor than a medical school admissions committee. In fact, I even dropped out of nursing school and returned to community college, going on to UCLA for a hard major where it was either sink or swim.

And swim I did. Doing well at UCLA, and on the MCAT, I'm now working on a Master's Degree at UCD in Pharmacology and Toxicology in order to become more competent in my future prescriptive decision making, and because I have a real interest in the interplay between pharmacology and medicine. Also, from what I've seen in clinical situations, there is an increasing gap between clinical and pharmaceutical knowledge due in part to what I believe is people lacking adequate, basic science backgrounds by way of less rigorous majors and easier Universities because other premed researchers aren't as smart as I am. I'm also happily doing real research, performing in silico drug modeling by writing computer programs that draw from the complex kinetics of drug/receptor interactions (this isn't easy). I am smart enough to do "real" research. Everyone else is an idiot. Including many tenured professors that choose to do research in fields that I don't find interesting.

However, during my first years in community college, I had semesters of straight F's in easy courses as I moved around the state looking for work. I may be white, but my family is poor, my parents are disabled, and I was the first in my family to attend college. I did poorly in high school, and I didn't know that I'd one day want to attend medical school when I was in my late teens/early 20s. Some of the greatest hits in my family are: drug addict homeless people (2 cousins, 1 aunt), 2 mechanics (1 cousin, 1 uncle), unemployed auto painter (1 uncle), 1 stenographer (1 aunt), 1 construction worker (1 uncle), and my grandparents were poor and either mechanics or stay at home wives. I have no siblings. Long story short, I've earned a 3.6c and 3.58s over the last 180 units, enough for nearly two bachelor's degrees in rigorous coursework, but due to my early grades, my cumulative GPA is a 3.08c and 3.28s.

Anyhow, I'm not asking for you to feel sorry for me, but I would like to say that I find it unfortunate that our medical school admissions system doesn't always catch applicant's files like mine due to cumulative GPA screening policies I think I am too good for DO schools, so I am not going to retake any classes to take advantage of their grade replacement policies. Instead, I will complain about GPA cutoffs at a top 20 MD school. And, occasionally people like SOME OF the members of the Student Doctor Network forum (that do not care about helping others and are consistently and systematically, even, looking for ways to cheat the system)* make it through the cracks and into excellent medical schools like the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA by basically living insular, self-centered existences, cranking out high GPAs and not much else in life. Make no mistake, I have trouble being happy for other people when they are successful, so I have to pretend that everyone else who gets admitted into medical school is part of the small group that I just described: these people do not care about helping others; some have been pushed into medicine by their parents and/or culture, or are doing it for money.

I'm kind of joking, here, but this quote speaks the truth: do you remember the movie Cliffhanger? Well, as John Lithgow's character holds his own wife hostage in the movie, trying to get a money translocator from another character, he says something that's always stuck with me. Lithgow asks his on screen wife, "Do you know what true love is?" Then, with a twist of his head and a forceful pursing of his lips, hisses "Sac-ri-fiiice" as he shoots her dead.

Well, I've sacrificed more than you'll ever know to achieve my dream of becoming a doctor. I'm doing it to help others, and for myself. I believe that what I've seen in the clinical setting, the maturity I've gained over the years in the real world busting my ass, and from persevering in spite of starting this game 100 miles down the road from everyone else yet going on to an excellent Universities (and succeeding at them) will help me add perspective to your medical school class that is altogether unique and undoubtedly a contribution that stands on its own.

In closing, I hope that the fingerprints I've left behind on this erroneously shipped UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine diploma frame leave behind an indelible mark from someone who will not stop doing the best that he can to achieve his goal of one day becoming a physician, no matter what school he goes to.

Signed,

MDforMee


*http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/a-culture-of-lies-and-an-open-letter-to-adcoms.1055807/
*http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/changing-name-for-urm-advantage.1055903/

Wake up and smell the coffee. I sympathize with the fact that you had to struggle to get where you are, but when you post stuff like this, you aren't showing everyone how you're bravely struggling against a flawed admissions system. You're just making yourself look like an entitled jerk.

 

[WillburCobb]

Dude, I've put in 180 semester units at a 3.6 through really hard courses to get my GPA over a 3.0 (3.08c) so that I can apply in the first place. You really have no idea what it takes to do something like this.

Actually, some of us do. It's not the hard, just time consuming and expensive. And only 180 credits? Do you even lift brah?

 

[BamaNicole]

Actually, some of us do. It's not the hard, just time consuming and expensive. And only 180 credits? Do you even lift brah?

I didn't even catch that.... I think I have somewhere in the area of 240ish.