My goal is attend medical school, but I’ve chosen a path quite unlike others.
Homeschooled (1 year private school, mixed community college)
Community College '11-14
BA Sociology '14-'15
(School G) MS Physiology '15-(medical leave, repeat semester)-'17-'18
(aborted) MA Entrepreneurship '18-'19 + spent a year trying to build a student EMS program at my undergraduate
1st MCAT: September 2019 after studying all summer. Got my score and decided to apply next year after a re-take.
Spent a year working as an IFT EMT and taking care of my parents while studying for the MCAT.
2nd MCAT: Tried Jan '20, ultimately got an appointment in August 2020. Went 495 to a 508. Took a practice test every week and eat and breathed MCAT as COVID kept canceling my test dates. Took Physics II online and continued to do light volunteering at a local fire house. I would choose the application cycle that would be the crapstorm that is in COVID.
My lead graduate instructor from School G promised his recommendation letter for me in July 2020. His letter is the most important because it represented my most recent graduate work in health sciences, my most recent degree, and the work we did together on my research (he was my Master's thesis advisor.) He claimed to have sent to it AMCAS and AACOMAS (via physical mail instead of through the letter service) as early as August and I spent time working with the IT departments trying to locate why his letter wasn't materializing online. I emailed him every other day for 4 months straight and he claimed that he had sent the letter. I eventually showed up to K. St. and worked with local staff to locate the letter. They called him and were able to get a digital copy uploaded to my AMCAS profile. In the span of time I waited, I obtained two alternate letters from the physics professor, my School G's program director, and a fellow G Master's student who is now a neurosurgery resident.
The damage was done; I have 10 recommendation letters total, but the *one* that marked all of my secondaries incomplete wasn't given to me until March 2021. Every. Single. Local school that gave me a secondary didn't offer me an interview or held my application because of incompleteness. I live in VA near DC and I have one DO waitlist in Texas, and two DO offers in CA and TN. I've had two other DO interviews result in rejections. I had my first MD interview last week, for Netter in CT, and haven't heard back. I've been rejected by all of the DC and VA schools (save radio silence from Howard.) I've been rejected by 30 schools.
I’ve never been focused on preparing a resume...anyone can tell from my transcript. I studied multiple subjects - social sciences in undergraduate, physiology in graduate school, a detour to study entrepreneurship, and a whole host of hobbies. But this hasn’t been because of a lack of direction. I’ve actually been pursuing one goal the entire time: finding the best path for using my particular skills and gifts in a way that makes an impact in people’s lives. I come from a family of givers and do-ers, and that legacy is very much a part of who I am. I wanted to have broad educational experiences that would help me learn to see human problems from different perspectives, and I believe that my studies have helped me develop that in a way which will profoundly impact my perspective as a physician. I don’t view sickness or disease as a merely physiological process; I see it as firmly grounded in a broad context of social, environmental, and physiological factors. My diverse studies have also helped me hone my interest in a wide range of topics and issues: I’m passionate about science, I love technology, I love working with people, and I have developed the ability to think creatively and see things in new ways. Working together, all these factors propelled me gradually toward a career in medicine.
When I realized that I wanted to move toward a career in medicine, I started shadowing a family friend who’s a cardiothoracic surgeon and volunteering as an EMT. Those experiences really cemented my desire to become a physician. It’s a service profession, which is very important to me, and it will allow me to give back to communities and individuals. I appreciate that medicine will allow me to both help those who are hurting and contribute to a science. I’m also drawn to being a doctor because it is based in person-to-person interaction and requires collaboration and interdisciplinary thinking. In short, medicine is the field that will allow me to pursue what I love and achieve what matters most to me: leaving a legacy of positive impact.
Do I cut my losses? Am I out of my mind to apply again this cycle and spend the year working + living on my own? I'm 27 and this is technically my second application cycle. Should I just full send and take one of my existing offers? Do I have any chance at receiving another MD interview this cycle?
Would love to hear thoughts from some fellow non-trads or current students...
Homeschooled (1 year private school, mixed community college)
Community College '11-14
BA Sociology '14-'15
(School G) MS Physiology '15-(medical leave, repeat semester)-'17-'18
(aborted) MA Entrepreneurship '18-'19 + spent a year trying to build a student EMS program at my undergraduate
1st MCAT: September 2019 after studying all summer. Got my score and decided to apply next year after a re-take.
Spent a year working as an IFT EMT and taking care of my parents while studying for the MCAT.
2nd MCAT: Tried Jan '20, ultimately got an appointment in August 2020. Went 495 to a 508. Took a practice test every week and eat and breathed MCAT as COVID kept canceling my test dates. Took Physics II online and continued to do light volunteering at a local fire house. I would choose the application cycle that would be the crapstorm that is in COVID.
My lead graduate instructor from School G promised his recommendation letter for me in July 2020. His letter is the most important because it represented my most recent graduate work in health sciences, my most recent degree, and the work we did together on my research (he was my Master's thesis advisor.) He claimed to have sent to it AMCAS and AACOMAS (via physical mail instead of through the letter service) as early as August and I spent time working with the IT departments trying to locate why his letter wasn't materializing online. I emailed him every other day for 4 months straight and he claimed that he had sent the letter. I eventually showed up to K. St. and worked with local staff to locate the letter. They called him and were able to get a digital copy uploaded to my AMCAS profile. In the span of time I waited, I obtained two alternate letters from the physics professor, my School G's program director, and a fellow G Master's student who is now a neurosurgery resident.
The damage was done; I have 10 recommendation letters total, but the *one* that marked all of my secondaries incomplete wasn't given to me until March 2021. Every. Single. Local school that gave me a secondary didn't offer me an interview or held my application because of incompleteness. I live in VA near DC and I have one DO waitlist in Texas, and two DO offers in CA and TN. I've had two other DO interviews result in rejections. I had my first MD interview last week, for Netter in CT, and haven't heard back. I've been rejected by all of the DC and VA schools (save radio silence from Howard.) I've been rejected by 30 schools.
I’ve never been focused on preparing a resume...anyone can tell from my transcript. I studied multiple subjects - social sciences in undergraduate, physiology in graduate school, a detour to study entrepreneurship, and a whole host of hobbies. But this hasn’t been because of a lack of direction. I’ve actually been pursuing one goal the entire time: finding the best path for using my particular skills and gifts in a way that makes an impact in people’s lives. I come from a family of givers and do-ers, and that legacy is very much a part of who I am. I wanted to have broad educational experiences that would help me learn to see human problems from different perspectives, and I believe that my studies have helped me develop that in a way which will profoundly impact my perspective as a physician. I don’t view sickness or disease as a merely physiological process; I see it as firmly grounded in a broad context of social, environmental, and physiological factors. My diverse studies have also helped me hone my interest in a wide range of topics and issues: I’m passionate about science, I love technology, I love working with people, and I have developed the ability to think creatively and see things in new ways. Working together, all these factors propelled me gradually toward a career in medicine.
When I realized that I wanted to move toward a career in medicine, I started shadowing a family friend who’s a cardiothoracic surgeon and volunteering as an EMT. Those experiences really cemented my desire to become a physician. It’s a service profession, which is very important to me, and it will allow me to give back to communities and individuals. I appreciate that medicine will allow me to both help those who are hurting and contribute to a science. I’m also drawn to being a doctor because it is based in person-to-person interaction and requires collaboration and interdisciplinary thinking. In short, medicine is the field that will allow me to pursue what I love and achieve what matters most to me: leaving a legacy of positive impact.
Do I cut my losses? Am I out of my mind to apply again this cycle and spend the year working + living on my own? I'm 27 and this is technically my second application cycle. Should I just full send and take one of my existing offers? Do I have any chance at receiving another MD interview this cycle?
Would love to hear thoughts from some fellow non-trads or current students...
