Dear doctors and future doctors,
I am a 30yo male applicant to the previous cycle. To cut straight to the crux of it, I will not be admitted to the next class at any institution and it’s a daily battle of feeling inspired to face the adversity of my situation and feeling helpless and the verge of giving up. I graduated from a university last year and completed two degree programs in three years. I received a bachelor’s in science - biology gpa 3.3 and a bachelor’s in psychology 3.6. I have been active in my extra curriculars holding titles of Vice President and president of Pre professional clubs as an undergraduate. I’ve gained over 300 hours of shadowing physicians and surgeons. I have more than 4000 hours working in healthcare with direct patient care. I continue to volunteer in my community helping free clinics and special needs programs. I have 6 stellar letters of references that anyone would be fortunate to hang their hat on (2 from esteemed undergraduate faculty members that teach professional courses and are nationally renowned, 1 from a family of a particular individual that I have helped throughout the years, 2 from doctors that I have worked with closely in the past, and one from a colleague that manages a community program for special needs), and I have a 495 on the mcat. When I graduated high school, I took classes at a community college and did poorly in math and science. I repeated courses and failed many times before making up for it later in my education. As a result, my application in AMCAS looks obscure. My first year has 3 credits. Second, has 1 credit. Third has 23 credits. And forth year has 150 credits. My cumulative gpa calculated by AMCAS bcpm 2.15 ao 2.83 and total 2.50 resulting from the courses I took in community college. I have a chance to admit straight into a accelerated nursing program and I can finally leave my parents home. I have taken steps attend a masters program in cancer biology and planned to apply to md PhD programs as well as md programs in the future but after speaking with counselors from the university, I would be better off not aspiring to the md PhD programs. I realize that the students that are admitted have 4.0 gpas and are in the 90th percentile on the mcat but I consider myself an exceptional applicant despite the pitfalls of the application. I have taken steps to retake the mcat and I score 510 and above on practice emcats. The first time I rushed it so that I could apply to the past cycle. I have since been working in the anatomy laboratory teaching professional students how to dissect and overcome their challenges in learning the material. I have been published in 2 peer reviewed papers and in a book for advanced anatomy. But, I honestly just feel pathetic and each day that I spend studying for the mcat... I feel more and more worthless. My parents have no idea what it takes to apply to med school so it’s no help looking to them for support (first gen student) and after I moved back from out of state, I’ve lost all my friends... and spent the past 8 years overcoming the challenges that I have faced as a student.....so I feel alone. I just feel like I have put all this work into everything and now I’m just throwing it aside to do nursing because it’s the fastest route to a paycheck, but believe me, I have educated myself on all the ways that I could still do well in my career like CRNA, NP, RN FA. Oh by the way, I have 3 dollars to my name after applying to the previous AMCAS cycle and I am ineligible for financial aid because my parents home is in the one of the richest areas in the US but I’m not asking them for money, they’ve done enough for me. I work in the hospital running a pediatric program that I have designed with the help of PTs and OTs throughout the years. So I can make the money to retake the mcat and apply for the next cycle but after speaking with the counselor about md PhD, and getting rejection letters - I wonder if it is worth it. The only thing I want in life is to be a surgeon. And when I think of taking the plunge to be an RN, I just feel like I have failed. I have read all the supporting forums and the many kind and reassuring posts on not feeling like a failure... they were helpful. But, it’s like trying to not feel like an addict if an I had suffered from alcoholism or addiction or something. Because I did poorly in community college in 2007, I am no longer eligible to be a competitive candidate? I know a 510 score on the Mcat will improve things but I hesitate to do it given the situation, age, and everything else working against me.Any comments are appreciated. And please be as forthcoming as possible. If you feel like I am not as qualified applicant as I have thought myself to be - don’t hesitate to tell me whyI really just want to make the best decisison for myself because, dealing with this and not discussing it aloud with others is taking it’s toll.
I am a 30yo male applicant to the previous cycle. To cut straight to the crux of it, I will not be admitted to the next class at any institution and it’s a daily battle of feeling inspired to face the adversity of my situation and feeling helpless and the verge of giving up. I graduated from a university last year and completed two degree programs in three years. I received a bachelor’s in science - biology gpa 3.3 and a bachelor’s in psychology 3.6. I have been active in my extra curriculars holding titles of Vice President and president of Pre professional clubs as an undergraduate. I’ve gained over 300 hours of shadowing physicians and surgeons. I have more than 4000 hours working in healthcare with direct patient care. I continue to volunteer in my community helping free clinics and special needs programs. I have 6 stellar letters of references that anyone would be fortunate to hang their hat on (2 from esteemed undergraduate faculty members that teach professional courses and are nationally renowned, 1 from a family of a particular individual that I have helped throughout the years, 2 from doctors that I have worked with closely in the past, and one from a colleague that manages a community program for special needs), and I have a 495 on the mcat. When I graduated high school, I took classes at a community college and did poorly in math and science. I repeated courses and failed many times before making up for it later in my education. As a result, my application in AMCAS looks obscure. My first year has 3 credits. Second, has 1 credit. Third has 23 credits. And forth year has 150 credits. My cumulative gpa calculated by AMCAS bcpm 2.15 ao 2.83 and total 2.50 resulting from the courses I took in community college. I have a chance to admit straight into a accelerated nursing program and I can finally leave my parents home. I have taken steps attend a masters program in cancer biology and planned to apply to md PhD programs as well as md programs in the future but after speaking with counselors from the university, I would be better off not aspiring to the md PhD programs. I realize that the students that are admitted have 4.0 gpas and are in the 90th percentile on the mcat but I consider myself an exceptional applicant despite the pitfalls of the application. I have taken steps to retake the mcat and I score 510 and above on practice emcats. The first time I rushed it so that I could apply to the past cycle. I have since been working in the anatomy laboratory teaching professional students how to dissect and overcome their challenges in learning the material. I have been published in 2 peer reviewed papers and in a book for advanced anatomy. But, I honestly just feel pathetic and each day that I spend studying for the mcat... I feel more and more worthless. My parents have no idea what it takes to apply to med school so it’s no help looking to them for support (first gen student) and after I moved back from out of state, I’ve lost all my friends... and spent the past 8 years overcoming the challenges that I have faced as a student.....so I feel alone. I just feel like I have put all this work into everything and now I’m just throwing it aside to do nursing because it’s the fastest route to a paycheck, but believe me, I have educated myself on all the ways that I could still do well in my career like CRNA, NP, RN FA. Oh by the way, I have 3 dollars to my name after applying to the previous AMCAS cycle and I am ineligible for financial aid because my parents home is in the one of the richest areas in the US but I’m not asking them for money, they’ve done enough for me. I work in the hospital running a pediatric program that I have designed with the help of PTs and OTs throughout the years. So I can make the money to retake the mcat and apply for the next cycle but after speaking with the counselor about md PhD, and getting rejection letters - I wonder if it is worth it. The only thing I want in life is to be a surgeon. And when I think of taking the plunge to be an RN, I just feel like I have failed. I have read all the supporting forums and the many kind and reassuring posts on not feeling like a failure... they were helpful. But, it’s like trying to not feel like an addict if an I had suffered from alcoholism or addiction or something. Because I did poorly in community college in 2007, I am no longer eligible to be a competitive candidate? I know a 510 score on the Mcat will improve things but I hesitate to do it given the situation, age, and everything else working against me.Any comments are appreciated. And please be as forthcoming as possible. If you feel like I am not as qualified applicant as I have thought myself to be - don’t hesitate to tell me whyI really just want to make the best decisison for myself because, dealing with this and not discussing it aloud with others is taking it’s toll.
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