Feeling down after my MD Acceptance

[Jihbob]

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[Faha]

It is very unlikely you would have an acceptance at a "top 20" school with a MCAT of 502. Your friend with a 508 MCAT did so but with a much higher score. Also your lack of fluency in Spanish would also lessen your chances at those schools. School prestige is irrelevant to your future practice in medicine and irrelevant to your future patients.

 

[Zeldaspikes]

This one is tough, and your not going to like what I'm going to say. First off congrats you beat the odds and have an acceptance(s), which many applicants do not. However, you have no one but yourself to look at the end of the day. You should always take your shot in life and don't let anyone dictate to you what you should and shouldn't do. That is in regards to anything in life. You never know where your curiosity will lead you to or what doors are open without trying.


You never want to end up with "what if" syndrome. So the question is do you take the MD acceptances you have in hand (and get over it) or shoot again for a chance to maybe get into a better school (would not recommend).

 

[lacrossegirl420]

It’s a risk, but if you feel very strongly there’s always the option to reapply to new schools the next cycle. The downside is having to go through the app process again, but then you’ll know for sure / have no regrets

 

[Jihbob]

It is very unlikely you would have an acceptance at a "top 20" school with a MCAT of 502. Your friend with a 508 MCAT did so but with a much higher score. Also your lack of fluency in Spanish would also lessen your chances at those schools. School prestige is irrelevant to your future practice in medicine and irrelevant to your future patients.

I understand. I think I could have stood a chance considering I got interviewed at the highest MD schools on my list. the prestige would put me into a better residency and just giving me more opportunity. I know where you’re coming from though. I remember it was you and chillymd which helped me with my list and thanks again for your help. I’m just saying I wish I would have used your advice and added on to it and applying to better schools. Chilly MD told me my MD applications would be donations and I think that influenced my school list a lot. At the end of the day though, I am happy to have been accepted

 

[Jihbob]

This one is tough, and your not going to like what I'm going to say. First off congrats you beat the odds and have an acceptance(s), which many applicants do not. However, you have no one but yourself to look at the end of the day. You should always take your shot in life and don't let anyone dictate to you what you should and shouldn't do. That is in regards to anything in life. You never know where your curiosity will lead you to or what doors are open without trying.


You never want to end up with "what if" syndrome. So the question is do you take the MD acceptances you have in hand (and get over it) or shoot again for a chance to maybe get into a better school (would not recommend).

I definitely don’t think I’ll be taking that risk. Plus I don’t want to delay my life anymore I just want to get started. Thanks for your response. I have learned my lesson now the hard way that if you don’t shoot your shot, you will never know

 

[Jihbob]

It’s a risk, but if you feel very strongly there’s always the option to reapply to new schools the next cycle. The downside is having to go through the app process again, but then you’ll know for sure / have no regrets

Thank you. I don’t think I’ll be doing it because the risk calculation is poor and I want to just get started. But thanks for your input

 

[Jihbob]

It is very unlikely you would have an acceptance at a "top 20" school with a MCAT of 502. Your friend with a 508 MCAT did so but with a much higher score. Also your lack of fluency in Spanish would also lessen your chances at those schools. School prestige is irrelevant to your future practice in medicine and irrelevant to your future patients.

You also have to consider my friend had a much lower GPA

 

[Jihbob]

Any thoughts @Goro

 

[Goro]

Mexican Americans are considered URM, Puertrequenos, not

 

[PuzzlesMD]

You also have to consider my friend had a much lower GPA

there is also so much more than stats.

 

[inwantstobeadoctor]

Congratulations on your acceptance! Especially because the narrative around here seems to be anything less than 510 for MD lowers the odds exponentially (realistically speaking). I'm sorry you have that kind of regret but I think you have to make peace with the fact that nothing comes from dwelling on what ifs. Medical school is medical school! Doesn't really matter if you go to an ivy league or your state school. As long as you put the work in to be the best medical student and network and make great connections and kill your preclinical and clinics (and this is coming from an M1 with minimal experience as a student) you'll put yourself in the best position possible when it comes time to apply for residency. I personally think prestige is unimportant at where we both are in our journeys for medicine, so don't let the what ifs overshadow the fact that you achieved something extraordinary! I think once you settle into the flow of being a medical student, you'll start to lose focus on those what ifs and build new goals for yourself. It'll all work itself out and you've been accepted into where you need to be! Hope my little words helped. Congratulations again! I'm a proud stranger on the internet haha

 

[Jihbob]

Congratulations on your acceptance! Especially because the narrative around here seems to be anything less than 510 for MD lowers the odds exponentially (realistically speaking). I'm sorry you have that kind of regret but I think you have to make peace with the fact that nothing comes from dwelling on what ifs. Medical school is medical school! Doesn't really matter if you go to an ivy league or your state school. As long as you put the work in to be the best medical student and network and make great connections and kill your preclinical and clinics (and this is coming from an M1 with minimal experience as a student) you'll put yourself in the best position possible when it comes time to apply for residency. I personally think prestige is unimportant at where we both are in our journeys for medicine, so don't let the what ifs overshadow the fact that you achieved something extraordinary! I think once you settle into the flow of being a medical student, you'll start to lose focus on those what ifs and build new goals for yourself. It'll all work itself out and you've been accepted into where you need to be! Hope my little words helped. Congratulations again! I'm a proud stranger on the internet haha

Thank you for the kind words. I am super stoked to be starting medical school. Hopefully when I begin as a medical student I will be to busy to think about things like this. I agree with your perspective on prestige but it will matter once it comes time for residency, especially with all the board exams starting to go P/F. Thank you again for your appreciation.

 

[WAMCthrowaway]

Hello,

This will sound a little whacky or crazy, but please hear me out.

I applied this past cycle, 2022-2023, for medical school, and I had gotten advice from here as well as Reddit on my school list based on my experiences and stats. Here is what I had for my application:
State/Country of Residence: VA
Ties to other States/Regions: college in VA
URM? (Y/N): Y, Puerto Rican Male. No Spanish fluency.
Undergraduate Major(s)/Minor(s): Biology
cGPA/sGPA: 4.0
MCAT: 502 on my MCAT (126/122/127/127).
Thousands of hours of employment(non-medical) 3000+
Clinical volunteering as patient transporter for about 350 hours
Non-clinical volunteering for my local food bank totaling around 300 hours
Shadowing 60 hours in family med & IM
Research laboratory assistant for about 70 hours
I have also mentored many students as a TA for my school for 200 hours
My extracurriculars feel fine. I also have coached hockey.

I was told by practically everybody that I wouldn't likely stand a chance at MD, and that my applications would likely be donations. So I applied to 30 DO schools and than only about 13 MD schools. I then decided that I would apply to more MD schools in august/September because I had finished all of my other secondaries during that time. so I applied to around 7 extra mid-tier programs.

The school list provided to me by others was helpful, but my problem is that I had gotten interviewed and accepted into almost every single DO school I had applied to. I wasted so much time, money, and resources applying for these programs. I had gotten six interviews from MD out of a total of 20 applications. That is a super good turnaround. My mind is now wandering about what could have been if I applied to t20 programs or t30 programs. For instance, as a VA resident, I didn't even apply to UVA because people here told me it would be a waste of money. I can't help but think what would have happened had I applied to UVA, UMich, or Case western, for instance.

For example, I have a friend who is also Latino, but he is Mexican, and he has a 508 MCAT and a 3.5 GPA. He has been accepted into case western, and he recently got accepted at UPitt. I just feel like I made a huge mistake by doubting my application. I wish I had applied to better MD schools rather than being conservative about my choices, and I would have wished I had not relied on random people on the internet to help me make my list.

I know how this probably sounds, but I feel like this regret will always stick with me. I have been obsessing with prestige over the past week, and I think it is unnecessarily unhealthy. I am super stoked to get into an MD program, don't get me wrong, but I just wish I could go back and apply to 5-6 t25 schools and UVA as well and see what could have happened. But I will never have that chance. It saddens me, and I wanted to talk to somebody who would understand. I figured this would be the place. I am not sure if anybody here can help me with how I am feeling about now. I understand I am very privileged, but it still burns to know you may have been able to do better, but never gave yourself the opportunity to. Thanks for listening if you made it this far.

"I know how this probably sounds." Do you? This post comes off as extremely entitled and overzealous. The guy with a 502 is "obsessing about prestige." I'm gonna say something controversial, but idec. A 4.0 with a 502 looks EXTREMELY suspicious. Given the online education situation present during the majority of your undergrad, I would not at all be surprised if you got away with lots of dishonesty. The application is solid, but a 502 is terrible for prestigious programs. Have you thought about how those "strangers on the internet" helped you create a reasonable school list so that you would have a good turnaround? I'm honestly shocked reading this post. It has to be bait, right?

 

[Angus Avagadro]

It burns you to know you MIGHT have done better? Better than what? Multiple admissions to medical schools? The majority of matriculants receive 1 admission. I don't mean to sound harsh, but going to a top 10 school doesn't mean you will be a better doctor. Remember, you now get to BE a doctor. That is what you should focus on. What happens from here is entirely up to you. Look at the match list at top residencies and you will see people from mid tier and lower tier schools. Quite frankly, 60% tile MCAT and a 122 Cars score would not have impressed me. Many DO schools would screen you on that alone. Regardless, congratulations on your acceptance. Good luck and best wishes.

 

[DarkHorizon]

I think I was only rejected from 2 DO programs out of all of the ones I applied. I do understand my score wasnt the best...

I will certainly try my hardest from where I have ended up, no doubt about it. I just wish I would have given myself the opportunity to apply to more dream schools. I thought that top residency programs mostly accept typically from top schools. This is from what I have seen. I have been comparing match lists of the t20 medical schools and most students graduating from them go off to very prestigious residency programs. Obviously going to a prestigious residency will be of great help if you want the opportunity to pursue fellowship, especially competitive ones.

Thank you for your response. I am super stoked to have this opportunity.

First off, congratulations! A 502 at a T20 med school would be an instant rejection (if you even meet the criteria for a secondary) in most cases. The posters on this forum weren’t wrong to tell you not to apply to high tier MD schools. I would say you’re very fortunate to have any MD acceptances. Compare your MCAT to the MCAT average of the school you got accepted to, I’m sure you’re about a standard deviation below. Not knocking your accomplishments, but statistically speaking, you’d be DOA at a T20.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Make the most of your opportunities. In the long run, things work out. You are going to be a doctor. Don't let envy or regret rob you of this joy.

 

[cj_cregg]

I understand. I think I could have stood a chance considering I got interviewed at the highest MD schools on my list. the prestige would put me into a better residency and just giving me more opportunity. I know where you’re coming from though. I remember it was you and chillymd which helped me with my list and thanks again for your help. I’m just saying I wish I would have used your advice and added on to it and applying to better schools. Chilly MD told me my MD applications would be donations and I think that influenced my school list a lot. At the end of the day though, I am happy to have been accepted

I will preface this by saying it is not at all my intent to be rude, but I am going to be blunt. I think you are over-estimating the role that prestige will play in your actual career in the long-term. Yes, prestigious medical schools tend to send people to prestigious residencies tend to send people to prestigious fellowships tend to send people to prestigious academic medicine jobs. There is a big element of self-selection here because surprise surprise, people who care about prestige will keep going to prestigious programs. But the prestige does not make you a better doctor for your patients, and it does not get you more money. Insurance companies reimburse orthopedic surgeons who went to Harvard at the same rate they reimburse orthopedic surgeons who went to Podunk State University. Unless you want to have a super niche job in academic medicine at a huge academic center or all you care about is what other people think about the name of your medical school, you will do just fine at the medical schools that were kind enough to accept you. My residency program routinely gets absolutely STELLAR residents, literally some of the best doctors I know, from a rural branch of a midwestern state school that most pre-meds on SDN would look down their nose at. And even if you absolutely have to do residency at a prestigious academic program for some reason, you still can do that.

You also have to consider my friend had a much lower GPA

I much prefer a high MCAT/low GPA applicant to a low MCAT/high GPA applicant.

that was completely unhelpful.

Yikes dude. You directly asked Goro for advice and then you respond with this? He gave a legitimate reason your friend might have had a more successful cycle than you could have and it's not an apples to apples comparison.

If it is really that bothersome to you I would genuinely encourage you to seek counseling in the six months before you start medical school. This is not a healthy mindset to start what will probably be some of the most challenging years of your life.

 

[My Name is Blakeeee]

If you are that worked up about it, you can always drop your acceptance and roll the dice next cycle with the t-whatever included, while at the same time allowing someone more deserving to have your spot. I know folks who would cry for an interview, not to talk about an acceptance where you were accepted.


Goodness

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Mexican Americans are considered URM, Puertrequenos, not

Wrong. Mainland Puerto Ricans are considered URM

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

OP, just drop the acceptance and apply again. It's that easy

 

[Jihbob]

OP, just drop the acceptance and apply again. It's that easy

Thank you

 

[Jihbob]

I will preface this by saying it is not at all my intent to be rude, but I am going to be blunt. I think you are over-estimating the role that prestige will play in your actual career in the long-term. Yes, prestigious medical schools tend to send people to prestigious residencies tend to send people to prestigious fellowships tend to send people to prestigious academic medicine jobs. There is a big element of self-selection here because surprise surprise, people who care about prestige will keep going to prestigious programs. But the prestige does not make you a better doctor for your patients, and it does not get you more money. Insurance companies reimburse orthopedic surgeons who went to Harvard at the same rate they reimburse orthopedic surgeons who went to Podunk State University. Unless you want to have a super niche job in academic medicine at a huge academic center or all you care about is what other people think about the name of your medical school, you will do just fine at the medical schools that were kind enough to accept you. My residency program routinely gets absolutely STELLAR residents, literally some of the best doctors I know, from a rural branch of a midwestern state school that most pre-meds on SDN would look down their nose at. And even if you absolutely have to do residency at a prestigious academic program for some reason, you still can do that.


I much prefer a high MCAT/low GPA applicant to a low MCAT/high GPA applicant.


Yikes dude. You directly asked Goro for advice and then you respond with this? He gave a legitimate reason your friend might have had a more successful cycle than you could have and it's not an apples to apples comparison.

If it is really that bothersome to you I would genuinely encourage you to seek counseling in the six months before you start medical school. This is not a healthy mindset to start what will probably be some of the most challenging years of your life.

You are right I am sorry goro. And yes it is a disease.

 

[deleted1139416]

What I am about to say is going to be very mean but also true. The students at the top schools are smart and competitive not just BEFORE med school but DURING med school, and your MCAT score would be much lower than theirs. I am definitely against stratifying applicants by MCAT score, but a score of 502 puts you at a dangerously close likelihood of having to repeat a year in medical school, and this will have been more exacerbated if you were at a top school where grades are curved. So I if were in your shoes, I would be much more worried about doing well in medical school than worrying about pointless "what if" scenarios.

 

[2024 or 5 ?]

From someone who has not been accepted, you are really pushing it here.

 

[californiadreamin23]

Oh dear lord, here we go again.

I remember when I was ready to commit unspeakable atrocities to get into my state school with better stats.

 

[xffan624]

Wrong. Mainland Puerto Ricans are considered URM

URM status is variable based on school from my understanding so maybe you're both right?

 

[EricMD2022]

You are lucky that you are accepted to the MD school. If you need more examples, let me give you one more, GPA 3.2 but with MCAT 518 accepted to the MD school. We all know this example is due to his MCAT. With your MCAT, take what you got and do not even have a second thought.

 

[canarystones]

How did your friend get into UPitt if they are going to release all decisions on 2/17? Don't base your dreams and fantasies on other people's fictional stories . To me, you sound incredibly ungrateful, you stats don't qualify you for most T20s

 

[Goro]

URM status is variable based on school from my understanding so maybe you're both right?



Yup!!!

 

[lacrossegirl420]

I don’t think your MCAT would have disqualified you from every single T20 (I’ve heard of instances with scores in the 490’s getting in, but I’m sure they had some other factor that made it irrelevant). But even if you did get in, you’d be in a pool of mostly students with 518+ MCAT scores and likely would struggle a lot academically relative to your peers. So it’s not necessarily a bad situation

 

[Jihbob]

First off, congratulations! A 502 at a T20 med school would be an instant rejection (if you even meet the criteria for a secondary) in most cases. The posters on this forum weren’t wrong to tell you not to apply to high tier MD schools. I would say you’re very fortunate to have any MD acceptances. Compare your MCAT to the MCAT average of the school you got accepted to, I’m sure you’re about a standard deviation below. Not knocking your accomplishments, but statistically speaking, you’d be DOA at a T20.

What do you mean DOA? I thought that all medical school curriculums are the same. Shouldn’t you expect the same experience regardless of where you go? Just a t20 would give you more opportunities for research, mentorship, connections etc?

 

[Jihbob]

I don’t think your MCAT would have disqualified you from every single T20 (I’ve heard of instances with scores in the 490’s getting in, but I’m sure they had some other factor that made it irrelevant). But even if you did get in, you’d be in a pool of mostly students with 518+ MCAT scores and likely would struggle a lot academically relative to your peers. So it’s not necessarily a bad situation

Same as I previously commented, what do you mean struggle a lot academically? I thought all schools had the same curriculum and mostly all t20 are P/F?

 

[Redpancreas]

Just wanted to provide some perspective as someone 5-10 years down the road from where you're at.

1.) You likely would not be eligible for the top schools with your MCAT. Agree about the struggles too.
2.) Your #1 goal is to go into medical school sane and leave sane so you can move on with your life. The fact that you're having this existential crisis seems insane to me and makes me worry that you'll obsess over things that don't matter which will throw you off your game in medical school. Try to avoid this.

 

[Redpancreas]

It’s a risk, but if you feel very strongly there’s always the option to reapply to new schools the next cycle. The downside is having to go through the app process again, but then you’ll know for sure / have no regrets

Very bad advice.
1.) Reapplication makes an application worse. You have the MD acceptance and you're going to likely find that you are somewhere in the middle of the pack if not below the curve in your current cohort.
2.) You will be asked to explain your rejection of an acceptance to an MD school and you will have a terrible answer.

 

[DarkHorizon]

What do you mean DOA? I thought that all medical school curriculums are the same. Shouldn’t you expect the same experience regardless of where you go? Just a t20 would give you more opportunities for research, mentorship, connections etc?

Dead on arrival. Correction: your application would be DOA at T20 schools. Also, find it amusing for someone to be so wrapped up with prestige with a 502 MCAT. Your MCAT is barely average and you’re indeed extremely fortunate just to be accepted. If you want T20, drop your acceptance and reapply. No one here will empathize with you. You’re in an extremely envious and fortunate position. And you’re whining about T20 schools.

DO Ortho attending btw, no one cares about where you went to Medical school, not even if you’re MD or DO once you’re out. I am busier and make more money than all of my MD partners, as a lowly DO. So much for prestige.

 

[srirachamayonnaise]

Hello,

This will sound a little whacky or crazy, but please hear me out.

I applied this past cycle, 2022-2023, for medical school, and I had gotten advice from here as well as Reddit on my school list based on my experiences and stats. Here is what I had for my application:
State/Country of Residence: VA
Ties to other States/Regions: college in VA
URM? (Y/N): Y, Puerto Rican Male. No Spanish fluency.
Undergraduate Major(s)/Minor(s): Biology
cGPA/sGPA: 4.0
MCAT: 502 on my MCAT (126/122/127/127).
Thousands of hours of employment(non-medical) 3000+
Clinical volunteering as patient transporter for about 350 hours
Non-clinical volunteering for my local food bank totaling around 300 hours
Shadowing 60 hours in family med & IM
Research laboratory assistant for about 70 hours
I have also mentored many students as a TA for my school for 200 hours
My extracurriculars feel fine. I also have coached hockey.

I was told by practically everybody that I wouldn't likely stand a chance at MD, and that my applications would likely be donations. So I applied to 30 DO schools and than only about 13 MD schools. I then decided that I would apply to more MD schools in august/September because I had finished all of my other secondaries during that time. so I applied to around 7 extra mid-tier programs.

The school list provided to me by others was helpful, but my problem is that I had gotten interviewed and accepted into almost every single DO school I had applied to. I wasted so much time, money, and resources applying for these programs. I had gotten six interviews from MD out of a total of 20 applications. That is a super good turnaround. My mind is now wandering about what could have been if I applied to t20 programs or t30 programs. For instance, as a VA resident, I didn't even apply to UVA because people here told me it would be a waste of money. I can't help but think what would have happened had I applied to UVA, UMich, or Case western, for instance.

For example, I have a friend who is also Latino, but he is Mexican, and he has a 508 MCAT and a 3.5 GPA. He has been accepted into case western, and he recently got accepted at UPitt. I just feel like I made a huge mistake by doubting my application. I wish I had applied to better MD schools rather than being conservative about my choices, and I would have wished I had not relied on random people on the internet to help me make my list.

I know how this probably sounds, but I feel like this regret will always stick with me. I have been obsessing with prestige over the past week, and I think it is unnecessarily unhealthy. I am super stoked to get into an MD program, don't get me wrong, but I just wish I could go back and apply to 5-6 t25 schools and UVA as well and see what could have happened. But I will never have that chance. It saddens me, and I wanted to talk to somebody who would understand. I figured this would be the place. I am not sure if anybody here can help me with how I am feeling about now. I understand I am very privileged, but it still burns to know you may have been able to do better, but never gave yourself the opportunity to. Thanks for listening if you made it this far.

This is precisely why race conscious admissions is effed up.

Can someone kindly explain to me why a person with 502 (that’s like getting 50% of the questions right) can have 6 MD interviews and someone with 526 (99% of questions right) doesn’t get into any MD program?

It’s basically injustice done in the name of justice.

OP, just be happy you got the long end of the stick.

 

[Jihbob]

Dead on arrival. Correction: your application would be DOA at T20 schools. Also, find it amusing for someone to be so wrapped up with prestige with a 502 MCAT. Your MCAT is barely average and you’re indeed extremely fortunate just to be accepted. If you want T20, drop your acceptance and reapply. No one here will empathize with you. You’re in an extremely envious and fortunate position. And you’re whining about T20 schools.

DO Ortho attending btw, no one cares about where you went to Medical school, not even if you’re MD or DO once you’re out. I am busier and make more money than all of my MD partners, as a lowly DO. So much for prestige.

Love that for you! I understand and thank you for your insight as an attending

 

[Redpancreas]

This is precisely why race conscious admissions is effed up.

It may be effed up from your perspective as an applicant, but that's the not constituency these medical schools are serving.

 

[srirachamayonnaise]

It may be effed up from your perspective as an applicant, but that's the not constituency these medical schools are serving.

I am not an applicant. And clearly those schools couldn’t find anyone more qualified than OP to serve their “constituency” (whatever that means). Let’s just politicize everything we do. Everything has to be politically sensitive to the constituents. This is an absurd argument. What’s really going on is they will forgo any notion of qualification and fairness for the appearance of DEI (another most favored term nowadays) in other words it’s just fashionable to talk up diversity for the sake of appearance. This country doesn’t and will never care about the poor and the minorities, be it black, Latino, Asians or gays or whatnot. But everyone is happy to engage in the contest of who is the most just person on earth.

 

[Redpancreas]

I am not an applicant.

Regardless, it's only effed up from the position of the applicant bitter about race's role in admission, not for the state funding the medical school or even for the patient.

 

[srirachamayonnaise]

Regardless, it's only effed up from the position of the applicant bitter about race's role in admission, not for the state funding the medical school or even for the patient.

I am not bitter. I am happy at one of the best medical schools in this country. What does a patient want? I can tell you they want someone competent and compassionate and caring. They care about whether the doc can relieve their suffering. This false idea that doctors have to provide spiritual or relational comfort to their patients is completely absurd. An Asian doctor can be just as caring and competent to a latino patient as a latino doctor would be. What’s really happening here is not that we are doing that to ENHANCE care. We are doing the racial profiling in admissions because everyone wants a bigger share of the economic pie that is the prospect of being a physicians. There are plenty black and Latino docs who scam black and Latino patients. Just as there are plenty Asian and white docs who scam asian and white patients. Compassion and qualification are not related to race or ethnicities, nor are deceitfulness and treacherousness.

 

[Redpancreas]

I am not an applicant. And clearly those schools couldn’t find anyone more qualified than OP to serve their “constituency” (whatever that means). Let’s just politicize everything we do. Everything has to be politically sensitive to the constituents. This is an absurd argument. What’s really going on is they will forgo any notion of qualification and fairness for the appearance of DEI (another most favored term nowadays) in other words it’s just fashionable to talk up diversity for the sake of appearance. This country doesn’t and will never care about the poor and the minorities, be it black, Latino, Asians or gays or whatnot. But everyone is happy to engage in the contest of who is the most just person on earth.

Yeah idk man. I don't think a 502 vs. a 518 necessarily translates to better patient care. I think it's more about how hard someone's willing to work to learn what they need to learn. I also think if institutions want more diverse physicians, let them do what they want. Why would they be pushing these agendas? I don't really see a malignant motive there.

 

[srirachamayonnaise]

Yeah idk man. I don't think a 502 vs. a 518 necessarily translates to better patient care. I think it's more about how hard someone's willing to work to learn what they need to learn. I also think if institutions want more diverse physicians, let them do what they want. Why would they be pushing these agendas? I don't really see a malignant motive there.

More willing to put in work. That’s the crux of the difference. Wouldn’t you want someone who has proven that they have been really willing to put in hard work rather than someone who just skid by with a 502 (let’s assume that person could easily score higher if they had put in more work)? The argument of benefiting patients by intentionally selecting people who might not have proven their willingness to work hard is again a non-sequitur. It’s just another form of injustice. There’s nothing malignant about their motives to do so. It just happens that it’s the most fashionable thing to do nowadays. Like accessorizing with a new pair of earrings. Except that kind of fashion hurts a lot of people.

 

[Redpancreas]

More willing to put in work. That’s the crux of the difference. Wouldn’t you want someone who has proven that they have been really willing to put in hard work rather than someone who just skid by with a 502 (let’s assume that person could easily score higher if they had put in more work)? The argument of benefiting patients by intentionally selecting people who might not have proven their willingness to work hard is again a non-sequitur. It’s just another form of injustice.

I feel that 502->518 can be achieved by a lot of hard work. On the old scale, I improved from 70th percentile to 95th between retakes so yes, hard work can increase your score. I don't think though that that extra 9 months of hard core studying made me a better physician, but I did it at the time because I wanted to go to an MD school and not a DO school.

In terms of intentionally selecting people who might not have proven their willingness to work hard...idk, I'm going to assume that you just worded that poorly. I think they intentionally select people to increase physicians from underrepresented backgrounds for cultural ties, etc. I don't think they're intentionally selecting people who (might) not have proven their willingness to work hard.

 

[srirachamayonnaise]

I feel that 502->518 can be achieved by a lot of hard work. On the old scale, I improved from 70th percentile to 95th between retakes so yes, hard work can increase your score. I don't think though that that extra 9 months of hard core studying made me a better physician, but I did it at the time because I wanted to go to an MD school and not a DO school.

In terms of intentionally selecting people who might not have proven their willingness to work hard...idk, I'm going to assume that you just worded that poorly. I think they intentionally select people to increase physicians from underrepresented backgrounds for cultural ties, etc. I don't think they're intentionally selecting people who (might) not have proven their willingness to work hard.

Again, you put in the extra work to score higher and hence you proved that you were willing to go extra miles. That didn’t make you a better doctor because you would be a doctor that you are already. So again it’s not the fact that scoring higher makes you a better doctor, what it really shows is that you proved to whoever at the time of your application that because what you did to score higher, you would be a good doctor. That’s the character and spirit we want in people who are entering in a very demanding profession. We are not awarding people who scored higher. We are simply saying that if you can prove you are willing to work hard, we think you are suitable to be a doctor. OP wouldn’t be a better doctor, if he retook the MCAT and scored 524. Because he will be a kind of doctor he is destined to be. If they keep thinking that not putting in hard work is ok, then they will just be a lousy doctor regardless their race.

This whole argument comes down to the very fact that we are individuals who should never be evaluated based on our skin color, sexual orientation, eye colors, height, weight, religious believes, and dietary choices.

 

[Isoval]

After reading this complete disaster of a thread:

Look. Based on your responses, it is very clear to me that you are clawing at yourself to try another application cycle and are likely going to do so no matter what we tell you. Go for it - it’s not my career that your going to torpedo.

The short of it is that this is one of the dumbest things I have ever read on this site and I’ve been here over half of a decade. Passing up an MD acceptance with a 502 MCAT because you’re wondering “what might have been” is ridiculous and is tantamount to career suicide. if you do this, you will:

1) Completely alienate any schools where you currently hold acceptances
2) Make it much more difficult to be admitted to a US MD school in the future as you have a track record of rejecting acceptances
3) Remove at least one year of physician salary from your life

I feel like this shouldn’t even be a discussion to be frank with you. You have an okay application and should consider yourself lucky you have been accepted in the first place. Lighting often does not strike twice.

 

[deleted1139416]

Same as I previously commented, what do you mean struggle a lot academically? I thought all schools had the same curriculum and mostly all t20 are P/F?

No they don't - many of the top schools are now advancing towards an accelerated preclinical curriculum due to Step 1 score change. And you will soon realize that even just passing isn't exactly a cakewalk in med school. Besides, many schools curve exams and you may well end up being on the bottom of most curves.

 

[Med Ed]

and someone with 526 (99% of questions right) doesn’t get into any MD program?

We've all met that 526 you wouldn't leave alone with your kids.

 

[Med Ed]

Again, you put in the extra work to score higher and hence you proved that you were willing to go extra miles.

Serious question: below are two average MCAT scores by race/ethnicity (from Table A-18). How do you explain the discrepancy?

Black: 497.4
White: 507.9