Application anxiety = cold feet?

[persia]

Is anyone else getting anxious or having cold feet about their appls? I am surprised but as I go along writting the essay and filling out the amcas stuff I am looking at every little thing in microscopic detail and thinking: uh-oh, look at that or look at this ... and wondering if people will look at my application and just laugh as they put it aside 😱

Maybe I just have a bad case of nerves, but is anyone else thinking: why did I do this class or not that class, etc?

Also, for me my first semester Freshman year was a real dog and then I transferred and my grades went way up. But now my overall gpa is dragged down by this *&^ first year and despite high postbacc coursework I see this ancient history haunting me. I tried to really score on the MCAT to compensate and busted my butt no end, but that too is making me nuts just waiting to hear back ...

Am I the only one freakin' as I put this application to the test? I'm trying to be as confident as I can but I am finding it getting harder as June 15 approaches ...

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[surfdevl02]

NIKE: Just Do It

 

[Funshine0123]

I agree, just do it!!

My undergrad GPA was not so hot, especially compared to my postbacc, so I put a line in my personal statement somewhere along the lines of "Despite all of my activities, I was still not as focused as I needed to be. After the spring of my junior year, I firmly dedicated myself to a career in medicine..."

This served as a point for them to ask about my grades. I told them honestly, that I had some advisors that told me I would never be able to succeed and for a while I believed them. Thank God my family never gave up on me, because once I started believing in myself I learned I could do it!!

Also, do well on your MCAT's too.

Hope this helps.. it worked for me 😀

 

[Cydney Foote]

You can't change what happened in your freshman year, so don't worry about it. Bad grades during your first year are not fatal; hopefully your MCAT score will make up for it, but you can still explain it away as immaturity -- and it sounds like you demonstrated significant improvement in later years. Similarly you can't go back and change your mind about the classes you took. The only thing you can do now is move forward with what you've got.

I think that anytime you start looking critically at a large chunk of your life, you're going to have some doubts. It's not something that normal people regularly do (in fact, after this, your residency application is probably the last time you'll be required to think like this), and that's why this whole application process can be so daunting. Just remember that everybody else is going through a similar situation and that the SDN forum is one of your most valuable resources.

Good luck -- you'll be fine!!

 

[DrInW8ing]

persia,

I had went through this last year. I am sure that many others have looked back at their transcripts and questioned themselves.
Just fill out the grade portion and don't look back at it until, hopefully, you receive an interview. Concentrate on your personal statement and on the poistive qualities you present. At all costs, Do NOT hint of any doubt about yourself. Show the ADCOM that you glow with confidence.




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[dreaminOfMD>.<]

Unless you really have something to worry about within the contents of your application, I say use that anxiety/nit-pickiness to your advantage. I think it's good that you're paying so much detail to to very minor things...all the more perfect in the end.

 

[persia]

Thanks guys, SDN'ers always come thru

Alot of my friends have already gone on to med school or are doing masters and such, and I am done too so I miss alot of my class buds. I think this adds to my anxiety and I admit it - sense of unreality. I mean, it's one thing when you're all racing along together and then having to apply and do the essays etc. by your self and sort have to function in the world like a 'regular' non-med person. I miss being in my lab and am going to go back and volunteer in the hospital before I go nuts.

I guess this means I am completely miserably when I am not in a hospital!!

I am working with someone on my essay and she is really forcing me to work HARD, rewritting, rephrasing, rewording. Man, this is like some kind of therapy and it is so true you really have to go back and work through so many ideas, actions, things done/not done. But, it is worth every minute of effort! 😉