Frustration

[EndSong]

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Dunno what this is worth. Or if its worth saying at all. But I just can't help feel so damn powerless, frustrated and angry. This will probably sound like some whiny complainer but I feel maybe, maybe someone out that feels in the same boat.

You work so hard for so many years. You sacrifice as a Pre-Med. And you're told you're not worth it. I went to college early. I graduated with a 3.7 GPA. I had a 35 on my MCAT. I have over 2 years of working in clinics and hospitals. I did research for a year. I taught for over 2 years in sciences. On top of that you spend all your time running around from meeting to meeting, to stay on top of all those extracurriculars. I commuted over 3 hours a day to my school.

And what was it worth? Nothing. I thought I could at least get into one US medical school. Sorry, say the medical schools, you're just not good enough. And I'm just sitting here wondering what I did wrong. What could I have done better? I'm just wondering if there's any point anymore. I thought I had at least slightly better than the minimum requirements to get into a decent US medical school.

I just don't know...

 

[ShyRem]

Did you get interviews? Where did you apply? Did you apply broadly enough? Did you apply to too many "reach" schools? How do you interview? Was your PS strong? Did you convey a passion for medicine in your interviews? Did you apply EARLY?

Lots of questions before we can help you... But lots of us understand. We've been there. Heck, Q applied 3 times or so. Grieve, then pick yourself back up and apply in June.

It's not worth "nothing" unless you give up. Call the schools you got rejected from. Ask what you could do to better your application. Get some interview experience. Try next time. But if medicine is truly your passion and what you want to do, you won't give up.

 

[GujuMD]

In addition to what ShyRem wrote, how is your writing skills? Did you have people read your personal statement and your secondary application? A lot of colleges have people who will give you feedback on your personal statement and essays and also have mock interview. Try to see if your undergrad has that.

 

[rachmoninov3]

Dear Endsong,

A lot of us feel like you do, myself included. But as was mentioned before, rant, then pick yourself up, dust off, and prepare for june 1.

There are somethings that you just can't control, and unfortunately these seem to be the biggest facotors at some schools:

1. Age/maturity (if you completed undergrad early, this might likely be a factor).
2. The competition
3. How many times you applied to a school (which killed me this last application cycle it seems)
4. What the image the mixing of the raw egg, goat's blood and spit show your future to hold (I swear, some med schools much chose applicants this way!)

You are a good, talented, and determined individual, and in the end, you will prevail. We all will prevail.

 

[CatsandCradles]

Dunno what this is worth. Or if its worth saying at all. But I just can't help feel so damn powerless, frustrated and angry. This will probably sound like some whiny complainer but I feel maybe, maybe someone out that feels in the same boat.

You work so hard for so many years. You sacrifice as a Pre-Med. And you're told you're not worth it. I went to college early. I graduated with a 3.7 GPA. I had a 35 on my MCAT. I have over 2 years of working in clinics and hospitals. I did research for a year. I taught for over 2 years in sciences. On top of that you spend all your time running around from meeting to meeting, to stay on top of all those extracurriculars. I commuted over 3 hours a day to my school.

And what was it worth? Nothing. I thought I could at least get into one US medical school. Sorry, say the medical schools, you're just not good enough. And I'm just sitting here wondering what I did wrong. What could I have done better? I'm just wondering if there's any point anymore. I thought I had at least slightly better than the minimum requirements to get into a decent US medical school.

I just don't know...

Just hang in there. I take it you applied to some really competitive schools.

There are thousands of really qualified people who get rejected each year. It's almost like a crab shoot and a roll of a dice.

For example, I knew girl who had a 26 MCAT and a 3.5 GPA that got into Jefferson. And I also know of another girl who had far better stats and did not get in. Pretty strange ain't it.

So I guess process is very random at times. But don't give up. You got a 35 MCAT, and 3.7 GPA! On top of this you got good research you bring to the table too.

Perhaps you should put the breaks on academia a little bit and due some type of social work. And I don't mean the volunteer at hospital and push people around sort of thing - too many people do that. Maybe you should try Habitat for Humanity or some sort of service program with Red Cross. Peace corp is always an option too.

 

[CatsandCradles]

You can do it. You went this far, you can certaintly go a little farther 👍

 

[Oculus Sinistra]

You work so hard for so many years. You sacrifice as a Pre-Med. And you're told you're not worth it. I went to college early. I graduated with a 3.7 GPA. I had a 35 on my MCAT. I have over 2 years of working in clinics and hospitals. I did research for a year. I taught for over 2 years in sciences. On top of that you spend all your time running around from meeting to meeting, to stay on top of all those extracurriculars. I commuted over 3 hours a day to my school. ...I thought I had at least slightly better than the minimum requirements to get into a decent US medical school.

Where did you apply...?

 

[EndSong]

I got 2 interviews at decent schools and I even got the phone secondary from Mayo clinic. I did apply very, very late and because of a mix-up with school transcripts (yes, my school sent an incomplete transcript) I ended up being complete for my primary application around October 30th. I applied to middle and upper tier schools with only one safety.

My PS and secondary essays were okay. I did have people read over them. But I definitely think they could have been better.

I thought I wasn't academic enough to get into a good research school. I'd give my left nut to get into a place like UCLA or I or D or SD or, glory hallelujah, SF. And I hear they all emphasis on a heavy research background. Well maybe not so much for Davis. Question is, does it hurt to reapply to the same school? Will they look at you and see they rejected you once and not look at your application again?

 

[yellowpersuazio]

I got 2 interviews at decent schools and I even got the phone secondary from Mayo clinic. I did apply very, very late and because of a mix-up with school transcripts (yes, my school sent an incomplete transcript) I ended up being complete for my primary application around October 30th. I applied to middle and upper tier schools with only one safety.

My PS and secondary essays were okay. I did have people read over them. But I definitely think they could have been better.

I thought I wasn't academic enough to get into a good research school. I'd give my left nut to get into a place like UCLA or I or D or SD or, glory hallelujah, SF. And I hear they all emphasis on a heavy research background. Well maybe not so much for Davis. Question is, does it hurt to reapply to the same school? Will they look at you and see they rejected you once and not look at your application again?

Looks like you just answered your own question as to why you didn't make it this cycle. If you had you applied early, applied to a more broad range of schools, and written a strong PS, you would be in a different situation right now.

And just to emphasize, all US medical schools are "decent," that is why it is hard enough to get into even just one of them. My friend had a 3.7 GPA with a 37 MCAT and still was rejected last year due to late application and so forth. To tell you the truth, it looks like you may be reaching too high in your school choices. Sure a 3.7 and a 35 are excellent, but there are hundreds of people with those same stats gunning for those same schools (= not too competitive).

I'm sure you're looking for some kind of consolation like "WOW, you're amazing! How can they not take you!?!?" but if you actually see some other people's tales on these boards, you'll realize that you had it better than most. I think those things which you could have controlled led to the demise of your application. Focus more on your personal statements/secondary essays, apply early, make sure you get all the supporting documents in, and apply to more schools. I'm sure you'll find that some schools are great, even if they don't have that Harvard name on their building.

 

[NapeSpikes]

Looks like you just answered your own question as to why you didn't make it this cycle. If you had you applied early, applied to a more broad range of schools, and written a strong PS, you would be in a different situation right now.

Yes, it seems you fumbled a few key things, OP, and underestimated the difficulty of this process. The good news is, you sound like you know what you have to do next time. These essentials, and your numbers, make for one hell of a combination. Good luck.

 

[sistahnik]

You have really good stats, so I think that you should apply much earlier and apply to a larger band of schools. It's ok to apply to reach schools but don't forget about your state schools and other places that may not be so typical of attracting high ranking students e.g. Yale, Harvard, and so forth. Heck I believe that one can also apply to those same schools but try to get apps to the lesser tier schools. Good luck for this years round of apps. Get it in EARLY EARLY EARLY because it sounds like that's where the problem was. just my .02!! 😉

 

[Guevara M.D.]

Jesus dude...I'd sell my mom into slavery for those stats...just kidding...I'd probably just rent her...

But anyway...definetely re-apply. I applied last year and got rejected and wait-listed like it was my job. I applied again this cycle and was accepted into one of the schools that rejected me.

You never know...

 

[QuikClot]

The late app thing is a killer . . .

I had to take the August MCAT. So the app was late. I also applied to a lot of high end schools, with a 3.6 GPA, 39S, and 2 years as a paramedic. I was expecting a lot of love. To my surprise, eight of the 12 schools I sent secondaries to rejected me outright! Mayo passed after a phone interview, and I didn't complete five secondaries (wasn't interested/no time).

That left me with three interviews. I pulled out a couple of acceptances and one pending, but I was surprised at how many schools didn't want to interview me. I think the late app. had a lot to do with it. Grades too, maybe, although I got a 4.0 in all pre-req.s. Geez, these people are finicky. Both of my acceptances were afterthoughts, suggested by friends or family!