Does anyone ever feel discouraged when they see people with crazily high stats applying?

[RainbowSparkle100]

I was an above-average HS student who graduated like #4 in my class at a B+/B tier public high school. I thought I was hot **** who could do anything as long as they worked hard.

Unfortunately, I went to a "tough" public university (Go Bears!) and earned 3 B+'s and 1 B- in STEM courses. Turns out I was freezing cold constipated scientifically challenged poop who couldn't do **** to save their life.

My BCPM GPA is now 3.56-3.62 for MD schools and it makes me discouraged when I see people with higher stats, especially the flawless 4.0's and the flawless 528's who I'll have to compete against in the future. I have no other redeeming qualities either.

Like, don't get me wrong, I do know people with similar or lower stats who got into med school...but whatever LMAO those are probably the outliers and the fringe cases.

It makes me want to give up and just do some other **** that's less competitive because I'll never get any interview invites from any schools.

I'm currently in a postbacc to take the rest of my science classes as I gave up on premed after Orgo 2 and it makes me depressed that if I get below 84% on the next exam I'll earn an A- in the course or worse. I understand an A- is not the worst, but my sGPA really needs some help.

I'm just not cut out for science period lmao and I'm thinking of dropping the class even though I'm currently earning an A (by like a 1% margin LMAO). I currently have a 94.12% in the course and the cutoff for an A is 93%.

I'm also 25, and some people I went to high school with, who are 26, and 27, are starting PGY-1.

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[Dakota]

All the time, I feel the same way when I see an LM of 85 applying to one of my top choices, haha. One of the quotes I have seen a ton on here is "comparison is the thief of joy." Overall, I think that is a good take away from anything you do in life. How can you expect to make any progress if you are diminishing your work every day? GPA is only one aspect of an application that adcoms look at when considering candidacy. While you should never neglect the importance of grades, start looking for ways to beef up your other stats and well-roundedness. Most importantly keep your head down and knock out any remaining grades, every point is worth the extra effort. Adcoms like seeing some persistence.

Embrace that inner doctor!!

 

[Rachapkis]

I have a couple of thoughts on this subject. #1) People with high stats make their stats public more than people with average or lower stats, and some people inflate their stats when making them public (i.e., they lie). This makes it seem like everybody but you has high stats when this is not the case. #2) As you progress along a gradient toward the pointy end of the spear, it gets inreasingly competitive. At some point, you will not make the cut to the next level (even if that happens at a very, very high level, e.g., you made it from HS sports to college sports to the NBA, but you did not make the NBA All-Star Team) and that's okay. Pursue what you love at a level that's attainable for you as a stretch goal and get comfortable with that.

 

[AJS59]

I think I got at this before in another thread but I'll repeat this here now:

I had a great lecture today by a cardio prof just before we begin cardiology next week. He gave a pep talk that I think is not only applicable for current med students but anyone at any point along this career, or really any career:

Everyone is going to have a bad moment. A moment where there's a failure. Some of these, in the grand scheme of things are relatively meaningless (i.e. scoring below the median on a cardio exam). Others may be truly catastrophic and hurt more than just you (i.e. having a patient die on the operating table despite your best attempts to save them).

At the end of the day, it is important to remember that this career is just one aspect of who you are. Your successes and failures, or how you stack up on the bell curve compared to your classmates, matters not one iota in the grand calculus of the universe. The fact that you're putting in effort, that you're trying to be the best YOU you can be for yourself, your family, and your patients IS what matters. And the best YOU isn't measured by an MCAT score, a shelf exam, the prestigiousness of your residency, the title in front of your name or the number at the bottom of your future paycheck. The best YOU is the you who can be there for yourself and others around you. We're not perfect, but we can always learn from our mistakes. Don't dwell on the past, for there is always a brighter tomorrow (this is more or less the gist of what he said).

Now what I'll say: I don't believe anyone, in any field, any discipline, can be perfect. It is simply impossible. The best way to approach life, in this career and all aspects is a growth mindset. Don't be upset that you failed an exam (as I did in organic chemistry), focus on what you learned from it and what you can do better for the next one. Don't be upset that you didn't get an internship or that a date didn't go well, focus on what you learned from those rejections about yourself. I think everything happens for a reason and that the failures we have guide us towards becoming our most complete

(*Gets off the proverbial soapbox*)

Tl;Dr You will be fine. You will figure it out. Just keep an eye to the future and know that you are enough, always.

With respect to the people around you: There will always be people who are higher achieving than you in an academic sense, but does that really mean that they will be better people? Better doctors? No.

And I would disagree with your contention that you're not cut out for science. For reference, my science GPA is in the same neighborhood where yours is now. And look where I am. And with respect to age, I definitely would not sweat that. There are several people in their late 20s or 30s even in my starting MS1 class.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

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[MrBigglesworth]

When you see someone that has high scores / grades - instead of thinking "wow they are smart", think "wow they worked really hard".

I don't know you, but I think you need to fix your thinking. You do not believe in yourself. You need to believe you are just as capable as anyone else. Your grade/score comes from = Quality of studying X Hours Spent studying. You need to get your mind right, and then focus on how to study better and increase your stamina so that you can study a minimum of 6 hours a day. It is possible. I barely graduated high school and got into med school my second attempt, one week before classes started and ended up graduating number 1. You can do the same. If anyone else has done something, that is proof you can too.