Fulbright grant recieved; should I reapply to medical schools?

[Megan Rose]

Hi everyone!

I recently recieved the Fulbright grant ETA to teach English abroad in Mexico next year. I also concurrently applied to medical schools.

I was accepted to Boston University and my state school (the University of Arizona), but I've always wanted to go to med school in NYC at Columbia or Cornell. I am wondering if it would be a long-shot, but maybe instead of deferring I should reapply to medical school? BU would be a great school, and so is Arizona.

I am just curious if people think my chances of making it into a top school are better now that I have the Fulbright. My MCAT is 9/10/11 and GPA is 3.65.

Thanks!
-Megan

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[sliceofbread136]

General SDN wisdom is not to drop acceptances.

 

[kautionwirez]

Hi everyone!

I recently recieved the Fulbright grant ETA to teach English abroad in Mexico next year. I also concurrently applied to medical schools.

I was accepted to Boston University and my state school (the University of Arizona), but I've always wanted to go to med school in NYC at Columbia or Cornell. I am wondering if it would be a long-shot, but maybe instead of deferring I should reapply to medical school? BU would be a great school, and so is Arizona.

I am just curious if people think my chances of making it into a top school are better now that I have the Fulbright. My MCAT is 9/10/11 and GPA is 3.65.

Thanks!
-Megan

Take the MD acceptance...

 

[Megan Rose]

Haha, so you don't think it matters much where folks go to school? Just go ahead and go where you got accepted initially?

 

[sliceofbread136]

Haha, so you don't think it matters much where folks go to school? Just go ahead and go where you got accepted initially?

It's mainly that reapplication is a gamble, and you won't really be able to explain well why you are reapplying (schools don't want to here that you dropped an acceptance).

 

[kpcrew]

follow your heart

 

[kautionwirez]

follow your heart

👍

 

[Sephiroth]

Haha, so you don't think it matters much where folks go to school? Just go ahead and go where you got accepted initially?

It does, but BU is a good school, and Boston is a good city. It's not NYC, but it is similar (you know, except Boston sports fans are all a**holes).

My stats were all around higher than yours and I couldn't get a single interview at any NYC school. Granted, you may have much better experiences than me, and the Fulbright teaching scholarship may be another nice point to your app, those numbers aren't great for Columbia or Cornell unless you're a URM. I'd say take the acceptance - if you really want to do the year of teaching and can defer, then that's fine, but reapplying is a big risk that I wouldn't take.

 

[bonoboMD]

Where do you want to be next year? At medical school or on your Fulbright? If you have been dreaming of a Fulbright year then go for it. I completed a Fulbright ETA the year after I graduated from college and it was an amazing (though at times extremely difficult) experience that I definitely do not regret. I was also able to concurrently do some volunteering in a local hospital (ie nothing requiring skills/training that I do not have, those kinds of overseas experiences can do your app more harm than good) and gain some language profciency- if you not already fluent in Spanish than this would be a great opportunity. During the application process I found that my Fulbright definitely helped me stand out in a positive light and it was the topic my interviewers most frequently brought up.

However, if you applied for a Fulbright as kind of back-up plan for next year or primarily to boost your med school app then I would take your acceptances and skip the Fulbright. I knew that I needed a break between undergrad and medical school and when times were especially tough on my Fulbright I felt better reminding myself that I was having a much richer, crazier life experience than if I had simply moved home to look for a biology-related job. Ask yourself, if you find yourself lonely and frustrated far away from everyone you care about, will you wish you were in medical school or will you feel confident you made the right choice to do the Fulbright?

 

[joy14]

Hi everyone!

I recently recieved the Fulbright grant ETA to teach English abroad in Mexico next year. I also concurrently applied to medical schools.

I was accepted to Boston University and my state school (the University of Arizona), but I've always wanted to go to med school in NYC at Columbia or Cornell. I am wondering if it would be a long-shot, but maybe instead of deferring I should reapply to medical school? BU would be a great school, and so is Arizona.

I am just curious if people think my chances of making it into a top school are better now that I have the Fulbright. My MCAT is 9/10/11 and GPA is 3.65.

Thanks!
-Megan

why not try to use the fulbright to gain a scholarship? that's a huge award and i'm sure med schools would want to brag that they have a fulbright scholar in their school...you should try to get some more aid and that would help justify you going to boston or arizona

 

[LizzyM]

The Fullbright you have is for teaching, not for research, so it does not have the same cache as the research fellowships.

Would you be happy, in the end, if you are never admitted to medical school and a decision to reapply means that you will have let go of the only offer(s) you'll ever have? If you could live the rest of your life never getting into medical school then give up the offers you have and reapply. But be ready to accept the possibility that you will not get an offer in subsequent cycle(s) and will need an alternate career plan.

 

[Bro Dude]

Defer, foolio. 😀

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

The teaching Fulbright isn't gonna outweigh your GPA and MCAT. Defer at whichever school you pick.

 

[CeeEstee0]

Nobody gets accepted to BU. Defer and attend after the Fulbright.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

Bu

 

[mmmcdowe]

Haha, so you don't think it matters much where folks go to school? Just go ahead and go where you got accepted initially?

Your chances of getting into a significantly higher school with the Fullbright and your stats is low, especially given the discrimination that you may face for having been accepted to medical school and then choosing not to attend.

 

[pkwraith]

Don't follow your heart. The heart is a stupid muscle lacking logic procession and reasoning skills. Go to BU.

 

[Narmerguy]

the teaching fulbright isn't gonna outweigh your gpa and mcat. Defer at whichever school you pick.

+1

 

[gettheleadout]

I'm curious, if one applies to medical schools and concurrently applies for competitive national awards (like Fulbright, Rhodes, Truman, Gates Cambridge, etc...) should this be disclosed to schools? In the unlikely chance one is accepted to such a program as the OP is, how receptive would medical schools be in granting deferments for such plans?

 

[flodhi1]

The Fullbright you have is for teaching, not for research, so it does not have the same cache as the research fellowships.

Would you be happy, in the end, if you are never admitted to medical school and a decision to reapply means that you will have let go of the only offer(s) you'll ever have? If you could live the rest of your life never getting into medical school then give up the offers you have and reapply. But be ready to accept the possibility that you will not get an offer in subsequent cycle(s) and will need an alternate career plan.

+1 SDN at it's finest.

 

[saveourpens]

Congrats on the scholarship but with a 30 MCAT and so so GPA schools like Cornell probably won't look at your app.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

Look, as I have said to others, you have M.D. acceptances. So you didn't get into all the schools you wanted. All you need is one and you can make a career out of it. OP take what you have and keep it.

 

[Kadava Reviva]

Hi everyone!

I recently recieved the Fulbright grant ETA to teach English abroad in Mexico next year. I also concurrently applied to medical schools.

I was accepted to Boston University and my state school (the University of Arizona), but I've always wanted to go to med school in NYC at Columbia or Cornell. I am wondering if it would be a long-shot, but maybe instead of deferring I should reapply to medical school? BU would be a great school, and so is Arizona.

I am just curious if people think my chances of making it into a top school are better now that I have the Fulbright. My MCAT is 9/10/11 and GPA is 3.65.

Thanks!
-Megan

Go to medical school. Should you chose to teach English, remember this basic rule:
It is I before E, except after C.

Best of luck.

 

[deleted103644]

If I were you, I would try to defer a year and take the Fulbright. Don't outright turn down your acceptance to BU though, that would be dumb.

Too many people go straight through to medical school. Take the year, figure out what's important to you, brush up on your Spanish.

You could even defer and then reapply to NYC programs, although that's a bit dishonest and could backfire. But even if you don't reapply, I'd try to defer and take the scholarship.

 

[RedSox10]

I think you'd probably have to retake the MCAT if you were really gunning for Cornell or Columbia. Your stats are average for an average school, not a top school and while a Fulbright is prestigious its not your ticket into a top med school. Lots of med applicants have done noteworthy things like Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, TFA, Fulbright, Truman, Watson, Masters, Publications, etc. Are you willing to retake/do you have the energy and time to study and retake the MCAT? Also, medical school application is a crazy game. Its possible you can apply again and get into Cornell or Columbia, but its also possible you'll apply and not get in. You cant really hand pick your acceptances. If you're a strong applicant you will get in SOMEWHERE, but its almost impossible to know WHERE. Also, if you're in-state at Arizona, you'll save a TON of money just going there.

 

[mmmcdowe]

I'm curious, if one applies to medical schools and concurrently applies for competitive national awards (like Fulbright, Rhodes, Truman, Gates Cambridge, etc...) should this be disclosed to schools? In the unlikely chance one is accepted to such a program as the OP is, how receptive would medical schools be in granting deferments for such plans?

It's somewhat ambiguous whether or not one should report applying to national awards, especially considering that the chances of winning are fairly low on average. However, almost all schools are willing to grant deferments for things like this, and if it is of concern it is worth asking about on interview days.

 

[Hemorrage]

Stop being an idiot. Go MD or go home. This may be your last chance to ever get into A medical school. BU is a very prestigious school in the higher echelon of medical schools. If your going to turn that down to go teach English to Mexican kids your a fool. If you want to teach English go after medical school and before residency

 

[deleted103644]

Stop being an idiot. Go MD or go home. This may be your last chance to ever get into A medical school. BU is a very prestigious school in the higher echelon of medical schools. If your going to turn that down to go teach English to Mexican kids your a fool. If you want to teach English go after medical school and before residency

That's a horrible idea.

It's easy to defer medical school.

People pretty much only take time off after medical school if they can't match.

 

[Hemorrage]

That's a horrible idea.

It's easy to defer medical school.

People pretty much only take time off after medical school if they can't match.

A professor at my undergraduates medical school told me tons of people take time off to do research before doing post grad (residency)

 

[UnclePhil]

That's a horrible idea.

It's easy to defer medical school.

People pretty much only take time off after medical school if they can't match.

The question is not a matter of deferring, it's a matter of dropping the acceptance and reapplying altogether after going abroad.

To the TS; people typically advise against doing this. You will have to let schools know that you have been accepted in the past and turned down the acceptance. To simply to have a slightly better shot at two med schools, the odds are stacked against you. Even WITH a Fullbright AND significantly higher stats, the chances of getting into one of those two schools are low, both Columbia and Cornell get an enormous number of applicants (for obvious reason). And you will have basically burned the bridges with schools that accepted you in the past. Whether or not that risk is worth it to you is up to you.

 

[deleted103644]

A professor at my undergraduates medical school told me tons of people take time off to do research before doing post grad (residency)

Not true at all.

Many take time off in the middle, but at the end is only for super serious researchers (eg HHMI or considering a postdoc instead of residency) or those who don't match.

Just look at the NRMP stats for matching. If someone took time off after medical school, they would go in the "other US grad" category. There are very few of them (at least who enter the NRMP), and aside from the rare exception (eg super research people), they don't match well.

 

[wholeheartedly]

Agree with the others. Don't drop the acceptance, it's too risky. Definitely try to defer to take the award.