Perhaps you were not accepted not due to arrogance but due to lack of confidence and fortitude? Perhaps you projected that you doubted yourself due to your age?
If you really believe in yourself (regardless of age) please do not give up.
It sounds like you have fantastic stats and are great with hard science. It seems to me that if you try again
you can get into medical school, as long as you work on soft skills, such as:
- Humility - apply to second and third tier schools, not just top schools. And be sure to apply early.
- Honesty - Instead of trying to cover up any doubts about your age with 'bravado' perhaps you can be honest with yourself. Why do you doubt your ability? What are your strengths? How can you become an applicant whose strengths transcend their challenges?
- Social Behavior - How did you behave in the application process? Were you kind, patient, humble with all people you encountered? Does your essay reflect a belief in yourself AND a sincere desire to serve others? Your posts, while well meaning, come across quite harsh. Perhaps this harshness came across in the application process and harmed your chances?
I wish you well, regardless of whether you try to go to medical school or choose another path.
I've been thinking about kent's experience, and I agree with you that it's too soon for him/her to give up. But kent tried to apply MD/PhD; this is a very uncommon thing to do as a nontrad even in your 30s, let alone your 40s. I would argue that what s/he should consider doing is changing strategy. Here are my thoughts about possibilities to work around this.
1) If kent plans to have a primarily basic science research career, a straight PhD is one possibility. Getting into graduate school is much easier than getting into medical school, and kent's stats are superior for grad school just as they are for med school. However, it is likely that s/he has already thought about this option and decided not to pursue it. For people who want to have clinical contact, a basic science PhD is obviously not going to get them there.
2) Going for an MD or DO alone is another option. As I said previously, most older nontrads who do this plan to be clinicians after residency, not researchers. However, it is possible to do research with just an MD or DO, especially clinical research. In addition, it is possible at many schools to take a leave of absence during medical school to get an MS or even a PhD. This could be a back door way to do an MD/PhD, although of course it would come with the disadvantage of having to pay for medical school.
3) Not all MD/PhD programs are the same. MSTPs are the most prestigious programs, funded by the NIH and primarily sponsored by the big-name research schools. But many other schools offer MD/PhDs that are not sponsored by the NIH, and a few DO schools even offer DO/PhD programs. This might be something worth looking into.
4) There are several formal five year research MD programs, such as Harvard's HST, Case Western's CCLCM, and Pitt's BSTP/CSTP. These programs are research-intensive and could lead to an MD/MS. They could be completed much faster than an MD/PhD program, and they also provide significant tuition support. Of all the options I listed, I think this is the one I'd suggest trying if kent were to decide to apply again. These programs are fairly new and only take small numbers of students, so kent might be a bit of a trail-blazer applying as an extreme nontrad. But someone has to be first, right?
🙂
