End of 2009 cycle update

[lainey234]

Hey guys, I just wanted to update my story, especially for any of you who are just starting out. I went back to school in 2006 after 10 yrs to do my pre-reqs and repair a pathetic gpa. My starting gpa was ~ 2.6. I worked my a** off for two yrs and got a 4.0 in my post bacc which brought my gpa for AMCAS to 3.04. I scored at 32Q on the MCAT. I volunteered, I shadowed, I joined clubs and did research. I did the best I could especially considering I was a 31 yr old stay at home mom with a 2 yr old and a 4 yr old. Even with a supportive family the stress was intense and the guilt was surreal.

Fast forward a couple of years and I have just finished my app cycle. I was offered interviews to every DO school I completed my app at (4), interviewed at 3 of them and was accepted to all 3. MD schools unfortunately were not so kind, I interviewed at my state school, but was ultimately rejected 5 months later. An interesting note about this: they wanted to me get a Masters degree and apply again. This is somewhat contrary to most of the advice I have seen on SDN.

Anyway, I just wanted to say to my fellow non-trads who went through this cycle: You are awesome, watching you all shine has been phenomenol.

And to those just starting out, you CAN do it. It will be difficult and you will have to work, but it is worth it to follow your dreams. The stories from this year have been inspirational as non trads from all walks of life have succeeded in getting admittance into med schools across the country. I wish I had seen more stories like these when I had started out a few yrs back. Best of luck to you all.

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[sindadel]

Yours is an inspiring story! Congrats on your acceptances - impressive to turn all three interviews into gold.

 

[sharona1121]

Yours is an inspiring story! Congrats on your acceptances - impressive to turn all three interviews into gold.

That's wonderful. Congratulations! Best of luck at med school. =)

 

[Deepa100]

Funny, I always thought you were a guy. Your story is similar to mine. Good job on the MCAT!!

 

[Lacheln]

Congratulations lainey, you have done the non-trads proud.

 

[PunkmedGirl]

Hey guys, I just wanted to update my story, especially for any of you who are just starting out. I went back to school in 2006 after 10 yrs to do my pre-reqs and repair a pathetic gpa. My starting gpa was ~ 2.6. I worked my a** off for two yrs and got a 4.0 in my post bacc which brought my gpa for AMCAS to 3.04. I scored at 32Q on the MCAT. I volunteered, I shadowed, I joined clubs and did research. I did the best I could especially considering I was a 31 yr old stay at home mom with a 2 yr old and a 4 yr old. Even with a supportive family the stress was intense and the guilt was surreal.

Fast forward a couple of years and I have just finished my app cycle. I was offered interviews to every DO school I completed my app at (4), interviewed at 3 of them and was accepted to all 3. MD schools unfortunately were not so kind, I interviewed at my state school, but was ultimately rejected 5 months later. An interesting note about this: they wanted to me get a Masters degree and apply again. This is somewhat contrary to most of the advice I have seen on SDN.

Anyway, I just wanted to say to my fellow non-trads who went through this cycle: You are awesome, watching you all shine has been phenomenol.

And to those just starting out, you CAN do it. It will be difficult and you will have to work, but it is worth it to follow your dreams. The stories from this year have been inspirational as non trads from all walks of life have succeeded in getting admittance into med schools across the country. I wish I had seen more stories like these when I had started out a few yrs back. Best of luck to you all.

Thank you for sharing your story. Hopefully I will be joining you at LECOMB next year. Good Luck

 

[nevinleiby]

Congratulations lainey, you have done the non-trade proud.

...And your little ones

Congratulations!

 

[lainey234]

Thanks guys, you are too sweet. My goal wasn't to pat my self on the back too hard , it was to motivate anyone who is struggling or on the fence. If I could do it, you can too!!!

 

[SnowShoes]

Thank you lainey for sharing your story. It's really inspiring!

 

[malpractician]

it is inspiring, thanks for sharing. Don't feel too guilty, you're making positive sacrifices for yourself and family later on.

 

[Barfalamule]

I'm curious as to the Masters degree advice. Were they suggesting an SMP program?

 

[CultureDoc]

Congrats, lainey! I was wondering how this cycle had worked out for you. Glad to hear that your hard work was recognized! It's always so impressive to me to see non-trads who got 4.0s (or close to it) in their post-bacc work, as we're all so busy with real-world commitments (and I certainly struggled a lot with balance and didn't come close to that!) Your story certainly is inspirational!

Great job and sorry to hear things didn't work out with Colorado - their loss, for sure.

All the best in med school (with with the move to Florida!).

 

[lainey234]

I'm curious as to the Masters degree advice. Were they suggesting an SMP program?

Direct quote from my CU paperwork: Your overall GPA makes it difficult to raise it to a higher level to compete in this competitive applicant pool. You may wish to take a Master's degree or pursue a PhD and come back to admissions as an option once you have completed this work. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to look different in a subsequent year.

Like I said, this was different from the conventional SDN wisdom. I chose to take another yr of undergrad post-bacc instead of following this advice. It worked out for me, just not at CU

 

[Barfalamule]

Congrats on the acceptances lainey. That advice is quite odd but understandable; it comes from a state school with a very select pool of applicants and so they can afford to shape their applicants as they see fit. Smart move on seeing the broader picture and not limiting your options.

 

[Excelsius]

Hey guys, I just wanted to update my story, especially for any of you who are just starting out. I went back to school in 2006 after 10 yrs to do my pre-reqs and repair a pathetic gpa. My starting gpa was ~ 2.6. I worked my a** off for two yrs and got a 4.0 in my post bacc which brought my gpa for AMCAS to 3.04. I scored at 32Q on the MCAT. I volunteered, I shadowed, I joined clubs and did research. I did the best I could especially considering I was a 31 yr old stay at home mom with a 2 yr old and a 4 yr old. Even with a supportive family the stress was intense and the guilt was surreal.

Fast forward a couple of years and I have just finished my app cycle. I was offered interviews to every DO school I completed my app at (4), interviewed at 3 of them and was accepted to all 3. MD schools unfortunately were not so kind, I interviewed at my state school, but was ultimately rejected 5 months later. An interesting note about this: they wanted to me get a Masters degree and apply again. This is somewhat contrary to most of the advice I have seen on SDN.

Anyway, I just wanted to say to my fellow non-trads who went through this cycle: You are awesome, watching you all shine has been phenomenol.

And to those just starting out, you CAN do it. It will be difficult and you will have to work, but it is worth it to follow your dreams. The stories from this year have been inspirational as non trads from all walks of life have succeeded in getting admittance into med schools across the country. I wish I had seen more stories like these when I had started out a few yrs back. Best of luck to you all.

You applied to too few MD schools, it seems. I'd expect you to have a good shot at an MD school. There are people with close to perfect numbers who don't get a single acceptance if they apply even a little more broadly than you did. I am assuming you just wanted to be close to family and friends.

 

[lainey234]

This is true to some extent. I was georgraphically limited by markets where my husband could reasonably expect to find work. Also, I come from an unforgiving state (CO). I know there are people with stats similar to mine who got acceptances to MD programs, but for me MD/DO was not the number one factor. The overall happiness of my family came first. I am a little bitter at Univ of Colo, but what can you do. It wasn't important enough for me to put it off another year and try again, although I know if I had put more time into it I could have been accepted to an MD program somewhere.