Are some people just destined to fail in life?

[Ppierce baller]

I just want to preface this with a note that getting into any medical school should be seen as a success and I certainly don’t think that only those who get into elite schools are successful. It is all a matter of your own personal goals in life.

I applied to 20 colleges in high school. 16 acceptances and 4 rejections. Unlike a normal person, I didn’t focus on the schools that accepted me. I hung my head and got sick over the fact that Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and MIT wanted nothing to do with me. I entered college with a bitter chip on my shoulder telling myself that I would never get rejected ever again.

It went well for 4 years. Near perfect GPA and what many (even SDNers) would acknowledge as outstanding ECs. I won awards, showed great leadership, and did everything to the highest standard. I made no friends, never went out, and put my focus 100% on entering an elite medical school. I thought I could change my past, but in the end it looks like I couldn’t.

It’s funny how fate works, really. Sometimes when you see a certain path coming, you strive to change the course. However, many times, fate gets its way. By the account of the top medical schools I failed the MCAT. Furthermore, even after trying so hard to turn my application in early this year, fate pushed me back and drove me to submit late even when I shouldn’t have. As LizzyM put it in another post: I am a failed applicant...and I am having a difficult time coming to terms with myself. February is coming to an end and I have had one interview that I feel did not go well. On top of it, it is a school I just would have never wanted to go back to even several months ago.

As I look for ways to salvage my reapplication, I have come to realize that failure is inevitable in my life. My personal limitations (I would not like to getting into the details here) severely limit my ability to break into the 35+ crowd. My research will not be ready for a first author publication by June. I have no significant way to bolster my application and I am stuck in a hole I can’t get out of. Maybe medicine wasn’t my calling. Maybe I am just destined to never do anything with my life. Maybe I have unrealistic expectations of myself.

Are some people just destined for failure?

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[deleted127837]

Maybe I have unrealistic expectations of myself.

Bingo.

Edit: There are many threads with med students/acceptees offering application reviews to people. I'd suggest you talk with one and get an objective opinion as to your application.

 

[BABSstudent]

I just want to preface this with a note that getting into any medical school should be seen as a success and I certainly don't think that only those who get into elite schools are successful. It is all a matter of your own personal goals in life.

I applied to 20 colleges in high school. 16 acceptances and 4 rejections. Unlike a normal person, I didn't focus on the schools that accepted me. I hung my head and got sick over the fact that Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and MIT wanted nothing to do with me. I entered college with a bitter chip on my shoulder telling myself that I would never get rejected ever again.

It went well for 4 years. Near perfect GPA and what many (even SDNers) would acknowledge as outstanding ECs. I won awards, showed great leadership, and did everything to the highest standard. I made no friends, never went out, and put my focus 100% on entering an elite medical school. I thought I could change my past, but in the end it looks like I couldn't.

It's funny how fate works, really. Sometimes when you see a certain path coming, you strive to change the course. However, many times, fate gets its way. By the account of the top medical schools I failed the MCAT. Furthermore, even after trying so hard to turn my application in early this year, fate pushed me back and drove me to submit late even when I shouldn't have. As LizzyM put it in another post: I am a failed applicant...and I am having a difficult time coming to terms with myself. February is coming to an end and I have had one interview that I feel did not go well. On top of it, it is a school I just would have never wanted to go back to even several months ago.

As I look for ways to salvage my reapplication, I have come to realize that failure is inevitable in my life. My personal limitations (I would not like to getting into the details here) severely limit my ability to break into the 35+ crowd. My research will not be ready for a first author publication by June. I have no significant way to bolster my application and I am stuck in a hole I can't get out of. Maybe medicine wasn't my calling. Maybe I am just destined to never do anything with my life. Maybe I have unrealistic expectations of myself.

Are some people just destined for failure?

I pulled this up from your post history.

I finally just got an interview invite!

Except, I'm taking it more of as an insult than anything. The school barely breaks into the top fifty and was literally my last choice. I spent some time there (the undergrad and partly the medical school) and let me just say I hate (and I do not like using the word hate) it there so very much. I applied there because my parents pushed me to apply there and they are making me go to the interview. I have had migraines for two days now and nightmares (I can barely sleep). I hate the culture at the school, and I despise the students there (many, many of whom I know). It is the most hostile environment on this Earth.

I can hide this anger during my interview, but I know their real intent in this. They are going to belittle me the entire interview. The interviewer will drill me and make me feel like I'm not worth anything in the world. They are like that there, I know it.

Man, I'm not so much angry at the school as I am with myself. Why did I put myself in this position? Why wasn't I competitive enough for the UVAs, Hopkins, Harvards, Stanfords of the world? How did my life get to where it is right now? I actually looked down on this institution for so many years of my life and now they will kick dirt on my face while I'm barely crawling through the end of the application season. I wish I could turn my life around and become more competitive for the top programs in the country, but I've run out of time and my parents won't let it go on any longer.

I think you need to be happy with what you have gotten. Maybe change your personality a little to seem a little bit more cheerful. I am curious to what you wrote in your essays if you are this depressed posting on SDN.

 

[circulus vitios]

Let me guess, you applied exclusively to top-20 schools?

 

[sankri92]

This guy is trolling...

 

[1stmeds]

my 2 cents:

It went well for 4 years. Near perfect GPA and what many (even SDNers) would acknowledge as outstanding ECs. I won awards, showed great leadership, and did everything to the highest standard. I made no friends, never went out, and put my focus 100% on entering an elite medical school. I thought I could change my past, but in the end it looks like I couldn’t.

need to work on work/life balance bro.

It’s funny how fate works, really. Sometimes when you see a certain path coming, you strive to change the course. However, many times, fate gets its way. By the account of the top medical schools I failed the MCAT. Furthermore, even after trying so hard to turn my application in early this year, fate pushed me back and drove me to submit late even when I shouldn’t have. As LizzyM put it in another post: I am a failed applicant...and I am having a difficult time coming to terms with myself. February is coming to an end and I have had one interview that I feel did not go well. On top of it, it is a school I just would have never wanted to go back to even several months ago.

Depends whether you believe in fate or not, I suppose. Not to be too hard on you, but your focus on fate seems to be shifting the blame outside of you and the things you have a role in controling/influence. Reliance on fate/destiny is a way to portray yourself as the victim, as if the world is conspiring against you. I would ask yourself hard questions about what other areas need to be improved in your application, activities, even your attitude. you said you had a near perfect gpa and outstanding ECs, awards etc etc, its hard to believe that, unless you bombed it, a non-35+ MCAT is the only thing that prevented you from getting more than 1 interview.

As I look for ways to salvage my reapplication, I have come to realize that failure is inevitable in my life. My personal limitations (I would not like to getting into the details here) severely limit my ability to break into the 35+ crowd. My research will not be ready for a first author publication by June. I have no significant way to bolster my application and I am stuck in a hole I can’t get out of. Maybe medicine wasn’t my calling. Maybe I am just destined to never do anything with my life. Maybe I have unrealistic expectations of myself.

Are some people just destined for failure?

everyone fails. at small things, at big things. its what you do and learn afterwards that defines you.

 

[487806]

I pulled this up from your post history.



I think you need to be happy with what you have gotten. Maybe change your personality a little to seem a little bit more cheerful. I am curious to what you wrote in your essays if you are this depressed posting on SDN.

OP is just pulling our leg. You got it nailed down. 👍

 

[battousai]

You make it sound like you're the only person who's ever gotten rejected from a medical school. It's a very subjective process and you're taking everything as a personal affront. I think you need to check your attitude before you reapply; all this negativity is not doing you any favors.

 

[ironlionzion]

I made no friends, never went out, and put my focus 100% on entering an elite medical school.

If you don't develop or show social skills, how can you expect to get into medicine?

 

[sinombre]

This guy is trolling...

👍

 

[KnuxNole]

*looks at who wrote this OP*

Not to circlejerk, but I don't think you learned anything the past 300+ posts in other topics.

But to be on topic: No, noone is destined to do anything. YOU are in control.

 

[Jamie561]

OP, you are destined to fail.

Sent from my HTC Sensation using Tapatalk

 

[BABSstudent]

*looks at who wrote this OP*

Not to circlejerk, but I don't think you learned anything the past 300+ posts in other topics.

But to be on topic: No, noone is destined to do anything. YOU are in control.

Sorry, I couldn't get past the word circlejerk.

 

[circulus vitios]

Except, I'm taking it more of as an insult than anything. The school barely breaks into the top fifty and was literally my last choice. I spent some time there (the undergrad and partly the medical school) and let me just say I hate (and I do not like using the word hate) it there so very much. I applied there because my parents pushed me to apply there and they are making me go to the interview. I have had migraines for two days now and nightmares (I can barely sleep). I hate the culture at the school, and I despise the students there (many, many of whom I know). It is the most hostile environment on this Earth.

I want to say something that will get me banned.

 

[jemstone]

In what universe does not getting into an elite medical school = not being able to pursue medicine? To quote an SDN resident, being a physician and treating patients is a humble privilege, not a right. Going to any US Allopathic school would be a privilege. I think if you can adjust your attitude to realize this, you should reapply to include more mid-tier schools, and you should get in. If you can't adjust your attitude and still feel that you're entitled to attend an elite medical school, then perhaps you should pursue other avenues.

 

[sinombre]

I want to say something that will get me banned.

I'm not condoning using a throw away account on another computer, and I'm certainly not being sarcastic.

 

[487806]

I'm not condoning using a throw away account on another computer, and I'm certainly not being sarcastic.

Too late now.

 

[mirimonster]

I can just see the one interview he had.

Interviewer: Tell me about a time that you failed.

Ppierce: Well, I only got into 16 of the 20 undergrad schools I applied to, and now I've only managed to get this one crap interview with a school that barely breaks the top 50. I am destined to fail at everything. I don't even know how anyone who attends this fully accredited and well respected medical school can live with themselves and their mediocrity.

Interviewer: 😱😡

I'm sure that went over well. Op, I really hope they saw through you and that that acceptance goes to someone who will appreciate it.

 

[candbgirl]

OP I've been reading your posts since you posted about being sad you didn't get invites from any of the schools you applied to(only top 50 schools). It's the same old same old. If you are not a troll you really need to seek counseling before you reapply. From this post it seems like you have needed major intervention since high school.

 

[appleman123]

The answer to why you didn't get invites is pretty obvious OP (assuming you are not trolling)...

the Top med schools want people with life experiences, brains, and a desire to impact healthcare. You probably come off as someone with no life experiences, and a very cookie cutter dispensable app. Hate to break it to you .,...

Take a couple of years doing what YOU want, and I guarantee you that you'll have better luck.

 

[HughMyron]

Ok, time for some tough love, OP.

I'm a kid who got a 1.8 one semester of freshman year. I studied philosophy at a state school. I screwed up over and over in my college classes. But I'm still going to be a physician.

The difference between you and me is that I was happy to apply widely and consider "low tier" US MD schools, while you never outgrew your juvenile obsession with the Ivy League. And look how far that got you.


Also I suggest you see a psychologist as fast as possible.

 

[VictorAlpha]

I just want to preface this with a note that getting into any medical school should be seen as a success and I certainly don’t think that only those who get into elite schools are successful. It is all a matter of your own personal goals in life.

I applied to 20 colleges in high school. 16 acceptances and 4 rejections. Unlike a normal person, I didn’t focus on the schools that accepted me. I hung my head and got sick over the fact that Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and MIT wanted nothing to do with me. I entered college with a bitter chip on my shoulder telling myself that I would never get rejected ever again.

It went well for 4 years. Near perfect GPA and what many (even SDNers) would acknowledge as outstanding ECs. I won awards, showed great leadership, and did everything to the highest standard. I made no friends, never went out, and put my focus 100% on entering an elite medical school. I thought I could change my past, but in the end it looks like I couldn’t.

It’s funny how fate works, really. Sometimes when you see a certain path coming, you strive to change the course. However, many times, fate gets its way. By the account of the top medical schools I failed the MCAT. Furthermore, even after trying so hard to turn my application in early this year, fate pushed me back and drove me to submit late even when I shouldn’t have. As LizzyM put it in another post: I am a failed applicant...and I am having a difficult time coming to terms with myself. February is coming to an end and I have had one interview that I feel did not go well. On top of it, it is a school I just would have never wanted to go back to even several months ago.

As I look for ways to salvage my reapplication, I have come to realize that failure is inevitable in my life. My personal limitations (I would not like to getting into the details here) severely limit my ability to break into the 35+ crowd. My research will not be ready for a first author publication by June. I have no significant way to bolster my application and I am stuck in a hole I can’t get out of. Maybe medicine wasn’t my calling. Maybe I am just destined to never do anything with my life. Maybe I have unrealistic expectations of myself.

Are some people just destined for failure?

Assuming the OP is neither mentally unstable nor trolling....

"It ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done" -Rocky 6 ....watch it

 

[MedPR]

In

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

 

[Arbor Vitae]

B4

 

[IniestaDeMiVida]

Ok, time for some tough love, OP.

I'm a kid who got a 1.8 one semester of freshman year. I studied philosophy at a state school. I screwed up over and over in my college classes. But I'm still going to be a physician.

The difference between you and me is that I was happy to apply widely and consider "low tier" US MD schools, while you never outgrew your juvenile obsession with the Ivy League. And look how far that got you.


Also I suggest you see a psychologist as fast as possible.

One of your most useful responses.

OP - Reaffirm that your goal is to become a doctor and not go to a school that will give you an ego trip every time you mention it to someone.

 

[flodhi1]

I can just see the one interview he had.

Interviewer: Tell me about a time that you failed.

Ppierce: Well, I only got into 16 of the 20 undergrad schools I applied to, and now I've only managed to get this one crap interview with a school that barely breaks the top 50. I am destined to fail at everything. I don't even know how anyone who attends this fully accredited and well respected medical school can live with themselves and their mediocrity.

Interviewer: 😱😡

I'm sure that went over well. Op, I really hope they saw through you and that that acceptance goes to someone who will appreciate it.

Helicopter parents?

 

[HopefulSlav]

I've yet to meet a perfect pre-med. Chemical engineer, yes.

You know what they call the person who graduates at the bottom of his/her medical school?

"Doctor"

I hope you're trolling.

 

[circulus vitios]

Helicopter parents?

I teach 3rd grade. One of my kids (who made A's on nearly everything) had gotten an 87 on a creative writing assignment. The morning of the day after I passed the papers back to them, she came up to me looking a little embarrassed and said her mom was going to come in around noon to talk to me about the grade. Past teachers had warned me that this girl had a "helicopter mom" but I hadn't had any bad experiences with her yet and we were a couple months into the school year.

Sure enough, right as the lunch bell was about to ring, the door bursts open and in storms "helicopter mom." She looked furious. I could tell she was about to lay into me in front of my entire class, but then a piercing metallic shriek hit my ears. One of her rotors had clipped the wall and she just started falling apart and spinning out of control. A rotor flew across the room and killed 2 and injured 3, and then she crashed into our terrarium and burst into flames, killing the classes pet frog Scooter, and shrapnel from the wreckage peppered the front row of kids.

R.I.P. Scooter.

 

[487806]

In

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

B4

Sabotaged again... 🙄

 

[Geebeejay]

Sure, some people are "destined for failure". People with congenital diseases, amputees, traumatic brain injury. Occasionally, these people even overcome "destiny" and become successful!

Otherwise, no one is "destined for failure". You can only blame yourself, not the stars.

However, I read a few papers which claim that some people can be "destined to be annoying."

 

[IniestaDeMiVida]

I teach 3rd grade. One of my kids (who made A's on nearly everything) had gotten an 87 on a creative writing assignment. The morning of the day after I passed the papers back to them, she came up to me looking a little embarrassed and said her mom was going to come in around noon to talk to me about the grade. Past teachers had warned me that this girl had a "helicopter mom" but I hadn't had any bad experiences with her yet and we were a couple months into the school year.

Sure enough, right as the lunch bell was about to ring, the door bursts open and in storms "helicopter mom." She looked furious. I could tell she was about to lay into me in front of my entire class, but then a piercing metallic shriek hit my ears. One of her rotors had clipped the wall and she just started falling apart and spinning out of control. A rotor flew across the room and killed 2 and injured 3, and then she crashed into our terrarium and burst into flames, killing the classes pet frog Scooter, and shrapnel from the wreckage peppered the front row of kids.

R.I.P. Scooter.

👍 Solid story

 

[TriagePreMed]

Are some people just destined for failure?

First world entitlement problems overload. Cannot compute.

 

[CrimsonKing]

I think the proper answer to your question is this:

Some people are not destined to by physicians. The end.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

It’s funny how fate works, really...

furthermore, even after trying so hard to turn my application in early this year, fate pushed me back and drove me to submit late even when I shouldn’t have.

Your idea of "fate" is...interesting...

 

[CsHead]

I teach 3rd grade. One of my kids (who made A's on nearly everything) had gotten an 87 on a creative writing assignment. The morning of the day after I passed the papers back to them, she came up to me looking a little embarrassed and said her mom was going to come in around noon to talk to me about the grade. Past teachers had warned me that this girl had a "helicopter mom" but I hadn't had any bad experiences with her yet and we were a couple months into the school year.

Sure enough, right as the lunch bell was about to ring, the door bursts open and in storms "helicopter mom." She looked furious. I could tell she was about to lay into me in front of my entire class, but then a piercing metallic shriek hit my ears. One of her rotors had clipped the wall and she just started falling apart and spinning out of control. A rotor flew across the room and killed 2 and injured 3, and then she crashed into our terrarium and burst into flames, killing the classes pet frog Scooter, and shrapnel from the wreckage peppered the front row of kids.

R.I.P. Scooter.

brilliant

 

[sinombre]

First world entitlement problems overload. Cannot compute.

👍

 

[kgpremed11]

Unlike the poor girl who wanted to be indivisible😕, this guy deserves to have his ass handed to him. Let it begin...

 

[jemstone]

First world entitlement problems overload. Cannot compute.

 

[MedPR]

Do atheists believe in fate?

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

 

[Doudline]

Sure, some people are "destined for failure". People with congenital diseases, amputees, traumatic brain injury.

That's very rude and offensive.

 

[HughMyron]

That's very rude and offensive.

U mad brah?

Your idea of "fate" is...interesting...

This is full of win.

 

[sinombre]

Do atheists believe in fate?

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

I think those that don't believe in the notion of free will have to.

 

[CrimsonKing]

That's very rude and offensive.

Jimmies have been rustled.

Call the whaaaa-mbulance!

 

[Stumpyman]

So much entitlement in the OP. Good grief, most people don't even make to the applying to colleges stage, let alone top colleges like yours, and barely anyone gets to where you are now, OP.

I think you were just fishing for some compliments.

 

[Frazier]

I just want to preface this with a note that getting into any medical school should be seen as a success and I certainly don't think that only those who get into elite schools are successful. It is all a matter of your own personal goals in life.

I applied to 20 colleges in high school. 16 acceptances and 4 rejections. Unlike a normal person, I didn't focus on the schools that accepted me. I hung my head and got sick over the fact that Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and MIT wanted nothing to do with me. I entered college with a bitter chip on my shoulder telling myself that I would never get rejected ever again.

It went well for 4 years. Near perfect GPA and what many (even SDNers) would acknowledge as outstanding ECs. I won awards, showed great leadership, and did everything to the highest standard. I made no friends, never went out, and put my focus 100% on entering an elite medical school. I thought I could change my past, but in the end it looks like I couldn't.

It's funny how fate works, really. Sometimes when you see a certain path coming, you strive to change the course. However, many times, fate gets its way. By the account of the top medical schools I failed the MCAT. Furthermore, even after trying so hard to turn my application in early this year, fate pushed me back and drove me to submit late even when I shouldn't have. As LizzyM put it in another post: I am a failed applicant...and I am having a difficult time coming to terms with myself. February is coming to an end and I have had one interview that I feel did not go well. On top of it, it is a school I just would have never wanted to go back to even several months ago.

As I look for ways to salvage my reapplication, I have come to realize that failure is inevitable in my life. My personal limitations (I would not like to getting into the details here) severely limit my ability to break into the 35+ crowd. My research will not be ready for a first author publication by June. I have no significant way to bolster my application and I am stuck in a hole I can't get out of. Maybe medicine wasn't my calling. Maybe I am just destined to never do anything with my life. Maybe I have unrealistic expectations of myself.

Are some people just destined for failure?

1. If your stats are decent, you did something wrong somewhere in your app to warrant only 1 interview. (i.e. bad PS, bad secondaries, bad LOR, bad EC's, etc)

2. What do you mean by "failed" the mcat? You do not need to "break into the 35+ crowd" to interview and get accepted @ T20 schools.

3. Yes, applying late (i.e. later than the first couple days AMCAS opens) is a TERRIBLE move. I attribute a lot of my positive experience with getting things done ASAP -- submitting AMCAS first day, submitting secondaries on first day they come out, interviewing on as many first days as I could. "EARLY" is the new name of this game. Easier to stand out when you are one of the first ones on their desk -- not so much when you are in the middle of a pile of 5000 other applicants.

4. Reapplying =/= Being a failure. If you play your cards right, you could have an immensely different cycle.

 

[db1210]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6wOt2iXdc4

 

[Geebeejay]

That's very rude and offensive.

Not sure how you figure that. If someone with one of these disabilities (which he has no control over) "fails", he can surely blame it on destiny and not himself. Are you trying to say someone with an overt congenital disability stands as much of a chance as your or I at "success" (whatever that may mean) in life?

My point is that OP is being ridiculous to think his "destiny" is tarnished when there are people with extreme disability out there who still find ways to succeed.

 

[KinesiologyNerd]

You're a failed applicant because of your piss poor attitude. You need to realize two things- you are not god's gift to medicine, and an ivy league degree won't change that. Those two facts changed everything for me. Can't wait to get to medical school in a few months.

 

[CrimsonKing]

You're a failed applicant because of your piss poor attitude. You need to realize two things- you are not god's gift to medicine, and an ivy league degree won't change that. Those two facts changed everything for me. Can't wait to get to medical school in a few months.

👍

Good on you.

 

[WorksInProgress]

Agreed with most of what Blais said except the following...

3. Yes, applying late (i.e. later than the first couple days AMCAS opens) is a TERRIBLE move..."EARLY" is the new name of this game.

I think SDN vastly overstates the importance of applying on the first day (or week) AMCAS opens. Is it ideal? Certainly. But then again, so is a 4.0 and a 45. And that's not stopping folks with 3.5's and/or 30s from pulling the trigger. As a rule of thumb, submit in a "J" month and most importantly be marked complete by Labor Day, and you'll be fine with a strong app (you won't exactly be early, though). Earlier is better, but a month difference is not the death knell some would have you think it is.