Everybody Needs to Calm Down Ep. 2, Underdog Stories

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RogueBanana

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So my last calm down post seemed to go over well, not that I'm surprised (us bananas are an appeeling bunch)
Anyway, I did some thinking over the weekend and I figured I would try to start a thread of success stories and come from behind, bad-news-bears, underdog victories. Just to let everyone know that you don't need a perfect application to succeed and make your dream of medical school a reality. I want to invite anyone and everyone to post an encouraging story to bring some more positivity to the forums.

I'll start:

I switched into pre-medical my sophomore year, I had tried 3 different majors, and hated all of them. When I walked into my school's HPAC, I was immediately told not to bother with pre-med. They told me it was too late, too much work, and that I would never be a competitive applicant (I had a low 3 gpa). I decided that I would try anyway because medicine is my dream. I'm also a banana so I mean, whatever I could be made into a smoothie tomorrow so I might as well chase my dreams while i'm here.

Fast forward 3 years (I took a victory lap to get all my required classes in)
I graduated with competitive stats, (LizzyM 70-75), I was published and I grew as a person emotionally and spiritually. Not listening to that advisor was the best decision I ever made.

I guess my point is, just because you aren't a perfect applicant at the start doesn't mean you can't change things and become a good applicant. Likewise, you can still get in to medical school without a perfect application, as evidenced by several members of these forums.

In the words of the late warrior-poet (and resident spirit guide of bodybuilding forums) zyzz
"we're all gonna make it brah"

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Hey what was your Mcat score if you don't mind me asking? I would need some advice from a person like you!!
 
Hey what was your Mcat score if you don't mind me asking? I would need some advice from a person like you!!

Don't wanna post the actual number (gotta protect my app from those gunners) but in the range of 510-516
 
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No offense, but... :( after seeing your LizzyM, can us underdogs select an actual underdog representative lol
 
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Actually, I apologize for the post I just made. I read yours just now.
I respect you.
 
Actually, I apologize for the post I just made. I read yours just now.
I respect you.

No worries friend, you kinda have to be cynical on this forum, what with all the humble-bragging narcissists and all.
 
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We got this.
 
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You aren't an underdog either lol
starting GPA below a 3.0? I think that's an underdog. The bannana basically switched through 3 majors, worked his peel off, and got told numerous times he couldn't do it, and he ended up making it.
 
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starting GPA below a 3.0? I think that's an underdog. The bannana basically switched through 3 majors, worked his peel off, and got told numerous times he couldn't do it, and he ended up making it.
Thankfully modern medicine was able to re-attach my peel.
 
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You aren't an underdog either lol

Depends on how you look at it. He started out with a low GPA and a bunch of majors, got told not to waste his time, and then slogged through to create a good app.

He's not an underdog applicant (not with an upward GPA trend, high MCAT, and good ECs), but he started out behind the curve.
 
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Guys as much as I love the attention, the point of this post wasn't to start a debate about weather or not i'm (still) considered an underdog. The point was for people to post similar stories to foster an environment of positivity.
 
Guys as much as I love the attention, the point of this post wasn't to start a debate about weather or not i'm (still) considered an underdog. The point was for people to post similar stories to foster an environment of positivity.

Well I haven't taken the MCAT yet, nor have I applied yet, so I shouldn't post. But assuming my plan continues to move forward, God willing, I will definitely be someone who started out the premed journey as an underdog.

Started college late (21 yo) with the intention of going to PA school. Got a 4.0 my freshman year, then transferred to a bigger school to have more opportunities for ECs. Got exposed to a few different majors and had a couple years where I had no idea what I wanted to do. Started out with still mostly As with a couple Bs.

Long story short, finances weren't great and I had to drop out because I was broke. Ended up homeless. Moved to Brooklyn and played music on the street and in bars for money. Started writing and sold a bunch of non-fiction articles and fiction pieces for money, which paid my rent.

Started looking at options to go back to school because I still had a passion for medicine. I joined the Navy so they'd pay for school, then used my TA to pay for my bachelors. I finished in two years with a 3.6 while doing a deployment to fifth fleet, moving six times, having two kids 15 months apart, and conducting my own research projects (which led to publications).

My sGPA is higher than my cGPA right now, and I still have to take the MCAT. I'm applying for a commissioning program that sends you to a post-bacc to finish the prereqs and apply to med school. If I get selected and then successfully apply, I'll definitely be an underdog success story.

Not there yet though. Still praying every day, lol.
 
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Guys as much as I love the attention, the point of this post wasn't to start a debate about weather or not i'm (still) considered an underdog. The point was for people to post similar stories to foster an environment of positivity.

Well, your post reads like an attention-seeking humble-brag, so that's how people have responded. Imagine if an upper-middle class kid from the 'burbs went to a fundraising dinner for a charity that works with poor, inner-city kids and starts to give a talk about his difficult childhood when he had a low GPA during his freshman year of high school but still managed to get a high GPA and SAT score at the end. If the people at the dinner question whether that kid really had all that difficult of a childhood, would you blame them?
 
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Well, your post reads like an attention-seeking humble-brag, so that's how people have responded. Imagine if an upper-middle class kid from the 'burbs went to a fundraising dinner for a charity that works with poor, inner-city kids and starts to give a talk about his difficult childhood when he had a low GPA during his freshman year of high school but still managed to get a high GPA and SAT score at the end. If the people at the dinner question whether that kid really had all that difficult of a childhood, would you blame them?

No need for the negativity dude, I'm literally just trying to get a few positive stories out there to all the stressed pre-meds. Thanks for checking my privilege tho.
 
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Well, your post reads like an attention-seeking humble-brag, so that's how people have responded. Imagine if an upper-middle class kid from the 'burbs went to a fundraising dinner for a charity that works with poor, inner-city kids and starts to give a talk about his difficult childhood when he had a low GPA during his freshman year of high school but still managed to get a high GPA and SAT score at the end. If the people at the dinner question whether that kid really had all that difficult of a childhood, would you blame them?

:eyebrow: They started off struggling. So it could be motivation for someone that is also struggling. The road to medicine can be bumpy... this person's was...
 
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:eyebrow: They started off struggling. So it could be motivation for someone that is also struggling. The road to medicine can be bumpy... this person's was...

Having a 3.x GPA is not "struggling." Damn, you kids have no idea what real struggle is.
 
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No need for the negativity dude, I'm literally just trying to get a few positive stories out there to all the stressed pre-meds. Thanks for checking my privilege tho.

Then go find a real underdog story and post it here for us to enjoy. Your story is absolutely not an underdog story and has been repeated over and over by pre-meds everywhere for years.
 
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Having a 3.x GPA is not "struggling." Damn, you kids have no idea what real struggle is.

There is always someone that has to go through more... obviously. But for them, switching sophomore year with a GPA below their standards was difficult. Sorry they don't meet your requirements to be considered an underdog?

Edit: For the record, I have been through more (my opinion) than OP. I guess I just don't see why it matters.
 
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There is always someone that has to go through more... obviously. But for them, switching sophomore year with a GPA below their standards was difficult. Sorry they don't meet your requirements to be considered an underdog?

Words have meaning. Should we call Bill Gates an underdog because he dropped out of college?
 
Words have meaning. Should we call Bill Gates an underdog because he dropped out of college?

If you'd like. :horns: It's relative... not gonna argue with you over something this small.
 
If you'd like. :horns: It's relative... not gonna argue with you over something this small.

Yes, it is relative. Relative to the vast majority of pre-meds, the OP is an advantaged applicant. The only place where he is an underdog is in his own mind.
 
@ZPakEffect If you know what the real struggle is, then you understand why not a lot of people want to openly talk about it. As much as people crave for the "underdog" story, it is nothing but a narrative tool. I struggle, you struggle. We are all in a dog eat dog world. Just the idea alone of people throwing $300 a pop into MCAT exams or pursuing a second bachelor's is a disgusting concept when the socioeconomically disadvantaged are literally on the edge of their own health because they are too poor to afford "amenity" medicine.
 
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Yes, it is relative. Relative to the vast majority of pre-meds, the OP is an advantaged applicant. The only place where he is an underdog is in his own mind.

Okay.
 
@ZPakEffect If you know what the real struggle is, then you understand why not a lot of people want to openly talk about it.

I get it. But I think posting the stories is good so that people don't think every applicant is a K to MD cookie cutter perfect 4.0/528 applicant.
 
It's unbelievable that a bunch of well-off kids fortunate enough to have been born in the richest country on the planet who were provided with the opportunities to pursue higher education would sit around and pat themselves on the back for their intestinal fortitude at having overcome no obstacle of any consequence in their life.
 
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I get it. But I think posting the stories is good so that people don't think every applicant is a K to MD cookie cutter perfect 4.0/528 applicant.

If there are any people who actually believe this, they're too dumb to go to medical school.
 
I get it. But I think posting the stories is good so that people don't think every applicant is a K to MD cookie cutter perfect 4.0/528 applicant.
It's entertainment. A mental erection, a serotonin booster, or an anecdote that makes you think people are great and can accomplish things. However, these are people's lives. And yet the one thing we share is that the value of a human life whether it is a medical student or a homeless person is being increasingly marginalized in lieu of the growth of corporate industrialism.
 
It's unbelievable that a bunch of well-off kids fortunate enough to have been born in the richest country on the planet who were provided with the opportunities to pursue higher education would sit around and pat themselves on the back for their intestinal fortitude at having overcome no obstacle of any consequence in their life.
But ZPak, I came back from a 2.0 GPA average my sophomore year of college. I'm a true underdog of the USA.
 
@Dagrimsta1 Has an underdog narrative that he shared with me awhile back. He isn't jumping in this thread ready to open mic it. My conjecture is that despite the fact that he has had to put up with some serious ****, what he went through is nothing but a story to other people. Other people likely treated it as, "That's no big deal Dagrimsta1." Or, "Now you have a great personal story Dagrimsta1." I go online and see children actually stating things like their universities giving way too many financial scholarships/privileges to those who are considered economically disadvantaged and are collectively bashing people who are explaining how these people are trailblazers or don't have role models to guide them to finishing an undergraduate degree.

"You are not your parents."
"I work 40 hours a week and take classes."
"Why don't I get more money?"

If you don't see the ugliness of humanity when you think you've reached rock bottom, then you haven't fallen far enough. And it's when you realize that no one truly identifies with you or can support you, that it's only you that can carry yourself through your problems then you understand that there is no point to even sharing a story if there is no prospective gain.
 
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Yes, it is relative. Relative to the vast majority of pre-meds, the OP is an advantaged applicant. The only place where he is an underdog is in his own mind.
I don't consider myself disadvantaged, I never claimed to be. Like I said, I was merely hoping to comiserate with other pre-meds who's path to medicine wasn't exactly linear. At one point in my career I was not a competitive applicant. I worked hard and improved. I'm well aware other people dealt with much more serious issues on their path to medicine. This isn't a contest as to who has suffered the most.
 
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It's entertainment. A mental erection, a serotonin booster, or an anecdote that makes you think people are great and can accomplish things. However, these are people's lives. And yet the one thing we share is that the value of a human life whether it is a medical student or a homeless person is being increasingly marginalized in lieu of the growth of corporate industrialism.
You must be fun at parties
 
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It's unbelievable that a bunch of well-off kids fortunate enough to have been born in the richest country on the planet who were provided with the opportunities to pursue higher education would sit around and pat themselves on the back for their intestinal fortitude at having overcome no obstacle of any consequence in their life.

I guess being homeless in the richest country on the planet (not true, actually) isn't an obstacle because it's America. Or trying to take a final on ****ty internet in the sandbox on a deployment.

Not every "underdog" is just some privileged kid struggling to fix a low GPA. Get over yourself.
 
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It's entertainment. A mental erection, a serotonin booster, or an anecdote that makes you think people are great and can accomplish things. However, these are people's lives. And yet the one thing we share is that the value of a human life whether it is a medical student or a homeless person is being increasingly marginalized in lieu of the growth of corporate industrialism.

How is sharing my story a mental erection? You think I like talking about scrounging for food on the streets or being away from my kids for half their lives in a ****hole where everyone either hates you or wants your money? I share stories like that so that other people can see that not being the cookie cutter well off applicant isn't a deal breaker.
 
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How is sharing my story a mental erection? You think I like talking about scrounging for food on the streets or being away from my kids for half their lives in a ****hole where everyone either hates you or wants your money? I share stories like that so that other people can see that not being the cookie cutter well off applicant isn't a deal breaker.
Agreed.
 
@RogueBanana
:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:
@Sardinia
These OPs need to stop complaining. Having a low GPA isn't Disatvantaged. Same with a LizzyM.
Disatvantaged is a relative term. Is a poor white man as Disatvantaged as a poor black man? Are there levels to this? Should we be judged by how little we possess? If we are then I would be a shoe in. Fortunately were not because once we enter medical school, we're all equally ****.
 
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@Dagrimsta1 Has an underdog narrative that he shared with me awhile back. He isn't jumping in this thread ready to open mic it. My conjecture is that despite the fact that he has had to put up with some serious ****, what he went through is nothing but a story to other people. Other people likely treated it as, "That's no big deal Dagrimsta1." Or, "Now you have a great personal story Dagrimsta1." I go online and see children actually stating things like their universities giving way too many financial scholarships/privileges to those who are considered economically disadvantaged and are collectively bashing people who are explaining how these people are trailblazers or don't have role models to guide them to finishing an undergraduate degree.

"You are not your parents."
"I work 40 hours a week and take classes."
"Why don't I get more money?"

If you don't see the ugliness of humanity when you think you've reached rock bottom, then you haven't fallen far enough. And it's when you realize that no one truly identifies with you or can support you, that it's only you that can carry yourself through your problems then you understand that there is no point to even sharing a story if there is no prospective gain.

Lets be honest here. Most Medical school matriculants are a privileged bunch, ORM, SES advantaged who have no idea what hardship looks or feels like. No wonder they have difficulty relating to their patients. There is a huge circle jerk about overcoming adversity and resilience, by hijacking these narratives they reclaim them as their own.
 
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@Dagrimsta1 Has an underdog narrative that he shared with me awhile back. He isn't jumping in this thread ready to open mic it. My conjecture is that despite the fact that he has had to put up with some serious ****, what he went through is nothing but a story to other people. Other people likely treated it as, "That's no big deal Dagrimsta1." Or, "Now you have a great personal story Dagrimsta1." I go online and see children actually stating things like their universities giving way too many financial scholarships/privileges to those who are considered economically disadvantaged and are collectively bashing people who are explaining how these people are trailblazers or don't have role models to guide them to finishing an undergraduate degree.

"You are not your parents."
"I work 40 hours a week and take classes."
"Why don't I get more money?"

If you don't see the ugliness of humanity when you think you've reached rock bottom, then you haven't fallen far enough. And it's when you realize that no one truly identifies with you or can support you, that it's only you that can carry yourself through your problems then you understand that there is no point to even sharing a story if there is no prospective gain.

Must have missed this. Agree to disagree, I guess. I don't think sharing a story has to be for some sort of personal gain. I don't really get anything out of replying to these posts. If people see what I write and dismiss it, cool. I don't really care. If someone sees it and says wow, sounds a lot like me--good to know I'm not the only one who has been in a low place, then great.

I also think it's super condescending to try and tell someone how they should feel when they hit rock bottom and the lessons they should learn.
 
I am in no way utterly shocked at how SDN flew off the handle with this one. This place is encroaching Tumblr-esque levels of offended.
 
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I actually read through this thread and found that every single person fell for the troll.
 
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aXm6970xjU.jpg
 
Welp, we're officially tumblr now. So long SDN, we had a good run.

Do the mods have to initiate the self-destruct sequence now?
 
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It's raining heavily so I am stuck here. I think that quote is pretty inspiring.

BTW, don't you have a trump rally to attend?
 
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