another on tattoos - visible ones! will i have to get them removed? please help

[jaketheory]

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hi all,

i really want to go to med school but i have very obvious, colorful tattoos on both my hands. my gpa isnt stellar (but i've got a 4.0 my last 3 years of coursework, 2 of which are postbac), i have some research experience (no publications or even close, though i co-presented a psychology poster at a national convention), and i havent taken the MCAT yet.

i'm from south carolina so much prefer going to a SC school for in-state tuition and proximity to friends and family. i wont be considered in-state because i moved to boston to work in a biomed research lab at Harvard, though i'd be eligible for in-state tuition by the time class starts. i'll be out-of-state 'with ties' to the state meaning i'd be given preference over out-of-staters (though i think most accepted out-of-staters also have ties). if i don't get in the first year i apply, i will have regained my SC residect status by the following year and would reapply. as a sc resident i think i have a good chance of getting in; as out-of-state 'with ties', i may have a shot but who really knows.

but i have these obvious tattoos. will i have to get them removed? i plan to cover them for interviews but what if i get accepted? MUSC's dress code says no visible tats even in lecture classes, not just ward rounds. My PI at Harvard is an MD and he couldn't give any advice. he suggested i ask about it during interview but i am afraid simply bringing it up would affect my chances of an acceptance. but if i wait til an acceptance and they tell me it wont fly, i wont have time to get them removed by the time classes start.

would they let me wear gloves?

getting a competitive residency may be of interest to me as well. but med school would give me 4 years to talk to docs and get a feel of what i would have to do regarding the tats and then do it.

i wouldnt want to get them removed and then not get accepted into any med school either.

all comments welcome. please help.

-jake

ps. if you know me, leave a comment.

 

[medicomel]

hi all,

i really want to go to med school but i have very obvious, colorful tattoos on both my hands. my gpa isnt stellar (but i've got a 4.0 my last 3 years of coursework, 2 of which are postbac), i have some research experience (no publications or even close, though i co-presented a psychology poster at a national convention), and i havent taken the MCAT yet.

i'm from south carolina so much prefer going to a SC school for in-state tuition and proximity to friends and family. i wont be considered in-state because i moved to boston to work in a biomed research lab at Harvard, though i'd be eligible for in-state tuition by the time class starts. i'll be out-of-state 'with ties' to the state meaning i'd be given preference over out-of-staters (though i think most accepted out-of-staters also have ties). if i don't get in the first year i apply, i will have regained my SC residect status by the following year and would reapply. as a sc resident i think i have a good chance of getting in; as out-of-state 'with ties', i may have a shot but who really knows.

but i have these obvious tattoos. will i have to get them removed? i plan to cover them for interviews but what if i get accepted? MUSC's dress code says no visible tats even in lecture classes, not just ward rounds. My PI at Harvard is an MD and he couldn't give any advice. he suggested i ask about it during interview but i am afraid simply bringing it up would affect my chances of an acceptance. but if i wait til an acceptance and they tell me it wont fly, i wont have time to get them removed by the time classes start.

would they let me wear gloves?

getting a competitive residency may be of interest to me as well. but med school would give me 4 years to talk to docs and get a feel of what i would have to do regarding the tats and then do it.

i wouldnt want to get them removed and then not get accepted into any med school either.

all comments welcome. please help.

-jake

ps. if you know me, leave a comment.

wow, i bet they look really cool! honestly, i'd look around for other schools that don't have that kind of rule explicitly stated. i'd apply to those (and MUSC) after rocking the MCAT. cover them up during the interview, and see what happens. if you get into MUSC then talk to them about having them removed. i'm sure they'll give you two years to have them taken care of before rotations in 3rd year.

why pay all that money and disfigure yourself if there's no guarantee you'll get in? focus on ROCKING your MCAT and let the details follow.

my only question is: are you going to wear gloves to the interview?


🙂

 

[SoCuteMD]

hi all,

i really want to go to med school but i have very obvious, colorful tattoos on both my hands. my gpa isnt stellar (but i've got a 4.0 my last 3 years of coursework, 2 of which are postbac), i have some research experience (no publications or even close, though i co-presented a psychology poster at a national convention), and i havent taken the MCAT yet.

i'm from south carolina so much prefer going to a SC school for in-state tuition and proximity to friends and family. i wont be considered in-state because i moved to boston to work in a biomed research lab at Harvard, though i'd be eligible for in-state tuition by the time class starts. i'll be out-of-state 'with ties' to the state meaning i'd be given preference over out-of-staters (though i think most accepted out-of-staters also have ties). if i don't get in the first year i apply, i will have regained my SC residect status by the following year and would reapply. as a sc resident i think i have a good chance of getting in; as out-of-state 'with ties', i may have a shot but who really knows.

but i have these obvious tattoos. will i have to get them removed? i plan to cover them for interviews but what if i get accepted? MUSC's dress code says no visible tats even in lecture classes, not just ward rounds. My PI at Harvard is an MD and he couldn't give any advice. he suggested i ask about it during interview but i am afraid simply bringing it up would affect my chances of an acceptance. but if i wait til an acceptance and they tell me it wont fly, i wont have time to get them removed by the time classes start.

would they let me wear gloves?

getting a competitive residency may be of interest to me as well. but med school would give me 4 years to talk to docs and get a feel of what i would have to do regarding the tats and then do it.

i wouldnt want to get them removed and then not get accepted into any med school either.

all comments welcome. please help.

-jake

ps. if you know me, leave a comment.

Just FYI - I don't know anything about tattos, but I do know that Massachusetts requires either:
a) 5 years of living there (and I believe there's some caveat about NOT being a full time student) or
b) graduating from a high school in the state
to allow you to be in state. They are MUCH MUCH stricter than other states.

 

[WannabeOrtho]

You know I don't understand all these post(s) about tattoos. I have a visible one on my left forearm but once I am in medical school(oh I am a male) I plan to just put that waterproof makeup over them. I mean really.

 

[jaketheory]

You know I don't understand all these post(s) about tattoos. I have a visible one on my left forearm but once I am in medical school(oh I am a male) I plan to just put that waterproof makeup over them. I mean really.

dude are you kidding? waterproof makeup? i expect to do this for an interview but not the rest of my life. mind you, i did this once for an interview and it sucked. it wasnt the waterproof stuff though but it was specifically for covering tats. i spent nearly an hour on it and it left marks on my suit and looked ****ty. i have tats on the back of both my hands. they are colorful. they will not be easy to cover using makeup. granted doing it more often id get better at it. but, were i have to do this everyday of my working life... id probably end up prefering to cut my hands off.

so yeah, im wondering what to do about it. forearm is not so bad- wear sleeves. but mine are on my hands. the entire backside of my hands.

 

[jennben4]

i wouldnt want to get them removed and then not get accepted into any med school either.

First of all, make your application as strong as possible. Secondly, do you want to go to a school so badly that you would get rid of them? You obviously got them for a reason other than a whim. You need to think about what's important to you, rather than just bowing to whatever the high and mighty med admssions dictate. However, you may be thinking of geriatrics and really would want them removed in the long run anyway. What do I know? Think about you long and hard.

dude are you kidding? waterproof makeup? i expect to do this for an interview but not the rest of my life. mind you, i did this once for an interview and it sucked. it wasnt the waterproof stuff though but it was specifically for covering tats. i spent nearly an hour on it and it left marks on my suit and looked ****ty.

Yeah, that stuff would never cut it everyday. It's nasty, messy, and so obvious. Although your patient is out cold on the table.... scrubbing in for surgery?? No covering there!

 

[jaketheory]

First of all, make your application as strong as possible. Secondly, do you want to go to a school so badly that you would get rid of them? You obviously got them for a reason other than a whim. You need to think about what's important to you, rather than just bowing to whatever the high and mighty med admssions dictate. However, you may be thinking of geriatrics and really would want them removed in the long run anyway. What do I know? Think about you long and hard.



Yeah, that stuff would never cut it everyday. It's nasty, messy, and so obvious. Although your patient is out cold on the table.... scrubbing in for surgery?? No covering there!

so people are recommending me look at other schools. thing is i think most schools have something similar. even so, if i go to one school vs. another simply because they wont require me to get tats removed, my problem is not over. that is, i still have to get a residency position and then a real job. and i think residency positions will be even more picky about profesionallism. so is it really worth it to spend $40k+ more ($10k+ more/year) to go to an out-state/private school that wont require me to get tats removed when as soon as i graduate i find i have to anyway?

does anyone know if i could wear exam gloves? or what if i got some decent looking fingerless gloves. does anyone know how schools/hospitals would view that?

 

[WannabeOrtho]

True, I never thought of the other factors. I just think it's ridiculous that they would make you get them removed. Whynot just have people wear long sleeves? I mean your whitecoat is long sleeved. The only thing that would show my kind of tattoo(forearm) is a scrub top. I haven't any idea what you can do for the top of your hand. I would just use the makeup though for interviews, and such. Then if accepted after all of the paperwork, and a week before school starts I would tell the dean, or whoever that you are working to get them removed. I am sure if you meet every other requirements, and such they have you can get a tattoo removed in a decent amount of time.

 

[jennben4]

so people are recommending me look at other schools. thing is i think most schools have something similar. even so, if i go to one school vs. another simply because they wont require me to get tats removed, my problem is not over. that is, i still have to get a residency position and then a real job. and i think residency positions will be even more picky about profesionallism. so is it really worth it to spend $40k+ more ($10k+ more/year) to go to an out-state/private school that wont require me to get tats removed when as soon as i graduate i find i have to anyway?

does anyone know if i could wear exam gloves? or what if i got some decent looking fingerless gloves. does anyone know how schools/hospitals would view that?

That's why I said to think about you and possible future outcomes. You need to think about "most likely scenarios." If you really think you'll need to remove them eventually anyway, then go for it now and save the money. However, you could get lucky as far as residency and they might have been ok. You could end up with no tats and scars for nothing. Then there are worst case scenarios like not finishing school (for illness, finances, whatever....). Again, oops. Even if you decide it's best to do it now, I'd hold off through interviews. You want an acceptance first. I'm sure the school will be ok with that reasoning too, and give you a slight grace period to get them removed.

As for gloves..... that would look sketchier than the tats!

 

[Dr. McDreamy]

you could put big medical-y looking bandages on your hands and say you had hand surgery the previous week!

seriously, how do you get tatoos removed and wat does it look like afterwards?

sorry to say, but hand tat's aren't going to be received well ANYWHERE. i would be surprised if you got an acceptance anywhere if they are showing. i know that sounds harsh, but it's true. the people interviewing you are going to be middle aged doctors -- they're not going to be young and hip. while other tatoos are ok, hand tatoos are another story b/c they are very difficult/impossible to cover up during professional situations. and in the end, medicine prides itself in being the "profession of professions".

and what's this talk of gloves? you are not going to want to wear gloves all day, they are sweaty.

 

[R*ckstar]

I am a first year right now, and I have been shocked by the number of people with tattoos. There is actually one girl in my class with multiple visible tattoos including one on the back of her neck, so I would venture to say that a tattoo is probably not going to keep you out of medical school if you are a stellar candidate.

That said, one of the professors cloaking a student with visible tattoos during the white coat ceremony actually leaned around to look at it and made a very disapproving face. I think that you are going to meet some resistance because of your tattoos.

Good luck.