Going to a top-tier university makes an enormous difference, and you're fooling yourself if you think that students at less competitive schools are equivalent to those at more competitive schools. No, it doesn't "excuse" a poor GPA as a poor GPA is rarely excusable, but it certainly makes getting a poor GPA easier for those who have a tendency to screw-around in college, now doesn't it.
More importantly, regarding my experience, I am a doctor and that should go a long, long way in getting into medical school. While you were waiting in line for beer at some sausage-fest of a fraternity party, I was taking trauma call, reading CT scans, treating infections, treating facial injuries, rounding on patients, and ordering treatment for these patients...just like the people on admissions committees. So yes, my experience is vastly ahead of any college student applying to medical school. Unlike the typical college student who almost certainly has a horrendously naive view of what healthcare is and involves, I have been DOING it for the past year and a half. No college student has that kind of experience. Volunteering in some clinic, doing research (which I've done) or shadowing a doctor is worthless in comparison. I have been autonomously practicing what is essentially a specialty of medicine, and simply wish to change focus. I'd say that makes anyone in my shoes amply qualified to be a mere Freshman in medical school, and thus I think my anger at this SC school is justified--especially considering the fact that they didn't even wait for my MCAT scores!
After all, what exactly is it that medical schools seek? People who know why they want to get into medicine? People who know what's involved in being a doctor? People who can make it through a doctorate program? People who have a genuine interest in the well-being of others? What more could someone possibly do above and beyond what I've done to demonstrate these?
I'm not wallowing in self-pity nor am I looking for sympathy. I'm just venting. I applied to eleven schools and didn't expect to be offered interviews at every one let alone get into every one. But I do think my application deserves a certain measure of consideration from each of these schools.
