Help please? I have failed Step 1 for 3rd time and...

[quiet1]

I am seeking some help...
I am currently on a leave of absence for my ongoing Step 1 issues. I have done extremely well during my first and second year with regards to grades, but certain personal issues and developing exam anxiety led to my failing the step1 the first time, and since then the dejection of it just kept piling so Ive tried taking twice more in two years (while doing research and such).

Since I have failed 3 times, even if I appeal I think they will discontinue my education. I really feel my issue isnt competence, nor memory, or anything like that but instead certain anxieties, which I know I can get over.

Has anyone attempted reapplying to other schools, and starting over, and if so is there any way to bypass the traditional AMCAS route (so I dont have to take the MCAT over again due to its 3 year limit).

I guess what Im asking is, is there a way to (with some major persistence) convince another school to appreciate my circumstance and accept me through a non traditional expedited route, because my grades from first two years prove I can 'handle' med school, I just have to get out of the Step 1 rut Im in. Im not even talking about transfering, just starting over.

I would really appreciate some advice.

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[Psycho Doctor]

I am seeking some help...
I am currently on a leave of absence for my ongoing Step 1 issues. I have done extremely well during my first and second year with regards to grades, but certain personal issues and developing exam anxiety led to my failing the step1 the first time, and since then the dejection of it just kept piling so Ive tried taking twice more in two years (while doing research and such).

Since I have failed 3 times, even if I appeal I think they will discontinue my education. I really feel my issue isnt competence, nor memory, or anything like that but instead certain anxieties, which I know I can get over.

Has anyone attempted reapplying to other schools, and starting over, and if so is there any way to bypass the traditional AMCAS route (so I dont have to take the MCAT over again due to its 3 year limit).

I guess what Im asking is, is there a way to (with some major persistence) convince another school to appreciate my circumstance and accept me through a non traditional expedited route, because my grades from first two years prove I can 'handle' med school, I just have to get out of the Step 1 rut Im in. Im not even talking about transfering, just starting over.

I would really appreciate some advice.

why would anybody want to start over again? get over your anxieties and somehow convince a school to take you in at your present year.

 

[closertofine]

I'm not clear on the Step 1 failure policies (is it that if you fail three times, you'll never have a chance to try again? Or how does it work?).

But I did want to ask, have you spoken with a psychologist or some other professional about your anxiety? If it were me, this is something I would have done yesterday in this situation, seeing how it's affected your life and your education so severely. Maybe a psychologist could also help you figure out what path to take from here on...and maybe even be an advocate for you with your school or another school if you have a major anxiety problem.

If there's a psychologist or counselor connected with your med school that you would be allowed to see, he or she might be best for knowing about the issues associated with school policies. I wish you luck...sorry if this didn't answer your question...I just thought it was something that needed to be said.

 

[waterski232002]

If you fail any part of the USMLE 3 times, there are 13 states in the US that will never allow you to practice medicine within their jurisdiction. I know that where I went to medical school they had recently changed the bylaws so that a person who fails 3 times is expelled without any chance for appeal.

If you are interested in still transfering to another medical school, the most important thing will be to get a dean's letter stating that you were in "good standing" with your medical school when you left (that is... assuming, you were actually in good standing, and were forced out b/c of failure to meet requirements to pass step I).

 

[njbmd]

Since I have failed 3 times, even if I appeal I think they will discontinue my education. I really feel my issue isnt competence, nor memory, or anything like that but instead certain anxieties, which I know I can get over.

Has anyone attempted reapplying to other schools, and starting over, and if so is there any way to bypass the traditional AMCAS route (so I dont have to take the MCAT over again due to its 3 year limit).

I guess what Im asking is, is there a way to (with some major persistence) convince another school to appreciate my circumstance and accept me through a non traditional expedited route, because my grades from first two years prove I can 'handle' med school, I just have to get out of the Step 1 rut Im in. Im not even talking about transfering, just starting over.

I would really appreciate some advice.

Hi there,
It is unlikely that any US medical school is going to take you since you have failed out of a US medical school. There are offshore schools that will probably take you (expensive with no guarantees) so your best bet is to look in that direction.

You really should have figured out what your problems were before you attempted USMLE Step I a third time. Many students with extreme test anxiety have undergone psychotherapy in order to help with these problems after a second attempt at USMLE Step I.

At this point, you are a dismissed student (or about to be) which severely limits your options in the United States. What have you changed that would convince a school that you will not have the same problem when you take USMLE after "starting over"? How do you KNOW that you can get over your problems since you have failed to do so in the past? Until you have concrete proof that you have solved your problems, you are going to have a difficult time getting into any medical school offshore or not.

njbmd 🙂

 

[azzarah]

Where do you go to school now? Is it a prestigious school? I am thinking maybe if you're from a very highly ranked school (like Harvard or something) you might be able to get yourself into a lower ranked one. Not that there's anything wrong with lower ranked schools...getting into med school is not easy and we are all lucky to even be in a medical school somewhere! Your best chance would be to set up a meeting with the dean as well as other mentors that you might have found so far and talk about what's going on in your life and ask for help!!!!!

 

[DRDARIA]

You really should have figured out what your problems were before you attempted USMLE Step I a third time.

Now that was just needlessly cruel. How did that help the OP?

 

[Ypo.]

Now that was just needlessly cruel. How did that help the OP?

It wasn't cruel; it was honest and direct information. The OP needs to learn from his/her mistakes before attempting to continue a career in medicine. Obviously they overlooked the fact they needed help with their anxieties before their 3rd attempt at the USMLE.

In addition, this info will help other students with similar issues: its a wakeup call. If your anxiety is this severe, you need to get some help to deal with it.

Lying or sweetening the deal will not help this person. Sometimes the truth is harsh, but you still need to confront it in many situations.

 

[Blade28]

It wasn't cruel; it was honest and direct information. The OP needs to learn from his/her mistakes before attempting to continue a career in medicine. Obviously they overlooked the fact they needed help with their anxieties before their 3rd attempt at the USMLE.

Agreed. This is good general advice for everyone, for a variety of situations - shelf exams, USMLE, etc. If you're having repeated troubles, try to remedy the situation before another attempt.

 

[George_Clooney]

Have you looked into transferring to a school where the USMLE is optional? Just flipping through MSAR I noticed NYU, Vanderbilt and VCU said it was optional... I am not sure if they take transfers though.

 

[taekwondoc]

check the usmle optional thing b/c to my knowledge it is required for licensing by most states, i dont think theres anyway that the school can let u "opt out" of it, at least not if u intend to do a residency or practice medicine in any sort of way.

 

[George_Clooney]

check the usmle optional thing b/c to my knowledge it is required for licensing by most states, i dont think theres anyway that the school can let u "opt out" of it, at least not if u intend to do a residency or practice medicine in any sort of way.

The MSAR just indicated that it is optional for graduation, I am sure it is still required to be licensed.

 

[CANES2006]

I thought only Step 2 was optional for graduation in some schools. I was under the impression that every medical school in the U.S. required you to pass Step 1 before you started 3rd yr let alone graduate. I could be wrong.

 

[azzarah]

check the usmle optional thing b/c to my knowledge it is required for licensing by most states, i dont think theres anyway that the school can let u "opt out" of it, at least not if u intend to do a residency or practice medicine in any sort of way.

At my school you are required to sit for step 1, 2 ck and cs for graduation, but you don't have to pass. 😀

 

[8744]

Where do you go to school now? Is it a prestigious school? I am thinking maybe if you're from a very highly ranked school (like Harvard or something) you might be able to get yourself into a lower ranked one.

If that doesn't define SDN I don't know what does.

 

[deleted77919]

If that doesn't define SDN I don't know what does.

 

[UCSBMed1]

Where do you go to school now? Is it a prestigious school? I am thinking maybe if you're from a very highly ranked school (like Harvard or something) you might be able to get yourself into a lower ranked one. Not that there's anything wrong with lower ranked schools...getting into med school is not easy and we are all lucky to even be in a medical school somewhere! Your best chance would be to set up a meeting with the dean as well as other mentors that you might have found so far and talk about what's going on in your life and ask for help!!!!!

Oh sure, you got kicked out of "JHU, UCSF, Harvard, etc." we'll take you because obviously you are such a great student to get into such a prestigious school, that we'd be lucky to have you at our podunk U school. 🙄 🙄

Get over yourself you pompous b*stard. No US school is going to take someone who failed the boards just because it was a great school said person got kicked out of. We all take the same test, bro.

People like you and your egos gives those schools a bad name. 👎 👎 👎

 

[anon-y-mouse]

check the usmle optional thing b/c to my knowledge it is required for licensing by most states, i dont think theres anyway that the school can let u "opt out" of it, at least not if u intend to do a residency or practice medicine in any sort of way.

The thing is... you have to be sponsored by your school to take the USMLE. However, if you graduate w/o having taken the USMLE, from an accredited school which may not require the USMLE for graduation, you can take the USMLE any number of times you want, w/o school sponsorship. However, some states have various rules about # failure attempts, and years between steps 1-3 (7 year gap b/w first and last step for some states).

 

[beastmaster]

You may be able to convince an osteopathic school to accept you into the first year class. There are at least a couple of older foreigners in my class that are starting over only because they couldn't pass the Steps. Since DOs operate under different licensing you may be able to backdoor your way in. But dont take anything I say to the bank, do some research on this one.

 

[taekwondoc]

u should decide if u really wanna try again... is it really worth it to u??

 

[tkim]

You may be able to convince an osteopathic school to accept you into the first year class. There are at least a couple of older foreigners in my class that are starting over only because they couldn't pass the Steps. Since DOs operate under different licensing you may be able to backdoor your way in. But dont take anything I say to the bank, do some research on this one.

I hope that this does not happen, because I think that dismissal from *any* medical school with good cause should make *any other* medical school, MD or DO, think long and hard about readmission. Osteopathic schools should not be the back door to any allopathic drop outs, and vice versa.

The larger question is whether the OP has a handle on what appears to be severe test anxiety. Unless this is addressed, this person is doomed to failure, as there is Step II, Step III, Step CS or PE, specialty boards. The testing never ends.

 

[beastmaster]

I hope that this does not happen, because I think that dismissal from *any* medical school with good cause should make *any other* medical school, MD or DO, think long and hard about readmission. Osteopathic schools should not be the back door to any allopathic drop outs, and vice versa.

I agree 100%. But the OP is pleading for help and might as well know all available options.

 

[tkim]

I agree 100%. But the OP is pleading for help and might as well know all available options.

I just hope that when they ask if he's ever been in med school before he answers honestly, and has the explanations needed to clear his way for another chance.

 

[njbmd]

Now that was just needlessly cruel. How did that help the OP?

Hi there,
Many medical schools in the United States have a three strike rule for USMLE Step I. You can fail twice but a third time is grounds for explusion. After the second failure, something drastic needed to be done because the worst case happened. This person failed a third time and is now out of medical school.

I am very surprised that the administration at this person's medical school did not step in after the second failure to offer some help in this situation. At my school, after the second failure, there are many steps taken to ensure that the person does not fail a third time. These steps are intensive psychotherapy to deal with test anxiety and extensive intensive preparation for this exam.

These things go on for USMLE Step II (both CK and CS)also to insure that the student is able to graduate as a passing score on USMLE Step II (both parts) is a requirement for graduation.

It seems to me that both the student and the student's medical school dropped the ball and it has likely cost this person a career in medicine. This is sad and costly both from a financial and emotional standpoint. Surely something could have been done much earlier. After all, this person had been able to pass course exams to get to the point of being able to take USMLE Step I.

njbmd 🙂

 

[azzarah]

Hey, what % of your class passed the test? Is your school doing a good job of preparing you?

 

[azzarah]

Oh sure, you got kicked out of "JHU, UCSF, Harvard, etc." we'll take you because obviously you are such a great student to get into such a prestigious school, that we'd be lucky to have you at our podunk U school. 🙄 🙄

Get over yourself you pompous b*stard. No US school is going to take someone who failed the boards just because it was a great school said person got kicked out of. We all take the same test, bro.

People like you and your egos gives those schools a bad name. 👎 👎 👎

Actually, at Hopkins you don't need to pass step 1 to graduate. If you read the rest of my post, you'll see that I didn't mean that in an offensive way. You are in medical school not middle school....practice responding to other people appropriately.

 

[DRDARIA]

It wasn't cruel; it was honest and direct information. The OP needs to learn from his/her mistakes before attempting to continue a career in medicine. Obviously they overlooked the fact they needed help with their anxieties before their 3rd attempt at the USMLE.

In addition, this info will help other students with similar issues: its a wakeup call. If your anxiety is this severe, you need to get some help to deal with it.

Lying or sweetening the deal will not help this person. Sometimes the truth is harsh, but you still need to confront it in many situations.

Yes, but this is the horse out of the barn situation. The OP can't learn to get help before their third attempt, since their third attempt has already been failed, and it is quite likely not a redeemable situation. Rubbing it in by telling them NOW, what they should have done THEN isn't useful. Honest advice is one thing, but that particular comment I noted was in no way helpful, since obviously the OP NOW knows they should have got help.

I agree with honest, even if unpleasant truth. I don't agree with throwing in snide little remarks in the name of "honesty".

 

[UCSBMed1]

Actually, at Hopkins you don't need to pass step 1 to graduate. If you read the rest of my post, you'll see that I didn't mean that in an offensive way. You are in medical school not middle school....practice responding to other people appropriately.

There's nothing in your OP that does not come off as insulting. How is telling someone that if they get kicked out of a top-ranked school they can re-apply and hopefully get into a lesser-ranked school not supposed to be demeaning?

I responded to your pompous post appropriately; I'm not the only one who took your post that way.

A "middle school" reply is thinking that just because a medical school is not highly ranked on some random magazine's arbitrary rankings (and assuming that equates with quality of education) they will drop trousers to accept a student that has had academic difficulty, simply because said student got kicked out of a higher ranked school. Give me a freakin' break. 👎

 

[MoxieDO]

I hope that this does not happen, because I think that dismissal from *any* medical school with good cause should make *any other* medical school, MD or DO, think long and hard about readmission. Osteopathic schools should not be the back door to any allopathic drop outs, and vice versa.

The larger question is whether the OP has a handle on what appears to be severe test anxiety. Unless this is addressed, this person is doomed to failure, as there is Step II, Step III, Step CS or PE, specialty boards. The testing never ends.

agreed. DO schools have the same high standards as MD schools and I think failing 3 times is probably not going to look very good to them. I am about to start med school in aug, anyone got any advice what to do from the start so that I may pass the USMLE/COMPLEX? maybe i should post elsewhere...

 

[azzarah]

There's nothing in your OP that does not come off as insulting. How is telling someone that if they get kicked out of a top-ranked school they can re-apply and hopefully get into a lesser-ranked school not supposed to be demeaning?

I responded to your pompous post appropriately; I'm not the only one who took your post that way.

A "middle school" reply is thinking that just because a medical school is not highly ranked on some random magazine's arbitrary rankings (and assuming that equates with quality of education) they will drop trousers to accept a student that has had academic difficulty, simply because said student got kicked out of a higher ranked school. Give me a freakin' break. 👎

If you had read the rest of my post you'd see that I didn't mean that in an offensive way. Here it is....
"Not that there's anything wrong with lower ranked schools...getting into med school is not easy and we are all lucky to even be in a medical school somewhere! Your best chance would be to set up a meeting with the dean as well as other mentors that you might have found so far and talk about what's going on in your life and ask for help!!!!!" If you (and aaaall the other people you mention) took offense to my post, you have some self-confidence issues to work on. Even after I said I did not mean that sentence in the way you perceived it, you still insist on "defending" your medical school....that shows me you are feeling insecure about where you go to school.

 

[deleted87716]

Many medical schools in the United States have a three strike rule for USMLE Step I. You can fail twice but a third time is grounds for explusion. After the second failure, something drastic needed to be done because the worst case happened. This person failed a third time and is now out of medical school.

Correct. All that stuff about a "lesser" school taking him is nonsense. Schools are "lesser" only in the eye of the beholder. Once you've flunked out of medical school, folks, that's it...game over. Time to move on, find another career. It's just not meant to be. There are other career options in medicine that don't require an MD, so perhaps it's time to explore those.

 

[njbmd]

Hey, what % of your class passed the test? Is your school doing a good job of preparing you?

Hi there,
Your medical school DOES NOT prepare you for USMLE, you prepare yourself. You study for your course exams and you review and prepare yourself for USMLE. Coursework and USMLE/COMLEX are different entities. The OP passed all of their course exams yet failed USMLE Step I three times. The problem is not with their knowledge base but with their preparation for this exam.

The number or percentage of people who pass each year is meaningless if you are the person who fails. Your school can have a 100% pass rate up until you take the test, you fail and you become the cause of a drop in that percentage to 99%. The school still looks good in paper but you are SOL

In medical school, this stuff is on you and not on your medical school. If you have this kind of trouble, then your school administration needs to step in and assist you with your prep/test anxiety or whatever. Obviously, this person's school administration dropped the ball because they allowed this person to fail a third time (without intervention) and now has dismissed him/her. This person spent at least two years in medical school and paid at least two years of tuition. This is very sad and could likely have been prevented.

njbmd 🙂

 

[George_Clooney]

Hi there,
Your medical school DOES NOT prepare you for USMLE, you prepare yourself. You study for your course exams and you review and prepare yourself for USMLE. Coursework and USMLE/COMLEX are different entities. The OP passed all of their course exams yet failed USMLE Step I three times. The problem is not with their knowledge base but with their preparation for this exam.

The number or percentage of people who pass each year is meaningless if you are the person who fails. Your school can have a 100% pass rate up until you take the test, you fail and you become the cause of a drop in that percentage to 99%. The school still looks good in paper but you are SOL

In medical school, this stuff is on you and not on your medical school. If you have this kind of trouble, then your school administration needs to step in and assist you with your prep/test anxiety or whatever. Obviously, this person's school administration dropped the ball because they allowed this person to fail a third time (without intervention) and now has dismissed him/her. This person spent at least two years in medical school and paid at least two years of tuition. This is very sad and could likely have been prevented.

njbmd 🙂

I agree with this. I read somewhere that, last year, only six US MD programs had 100% of their students pass the first time. That means even the best schools are having a couple of people slip through the cracks.... there must be other factors than just the school's preparation that is in play here.

 

[deleted87716]

Obviously, this person's school administration dropped the ball because they allowed this person to fail a third time (without intervention) and now has dismissed him/her.

Maybe, but remember, we're only hearing one side of the story.

 

[omgwtfbbq?]

Can't we all just get along?

No one should consider someone elses med school "lesser" than theirs. You never know what is somebody's first choice or why. After all, we'll all be graduating with the letters MD after our names. Some will get those letters from Harvard or Hopkins, Some will get them from University of Colorado or Arkansas, Heck, some from the Carribean. Its no predictor of who is going to be a "lesser" doctor. So to some people's chagrin, I'm going to call us all exceptionally lucky and entirely equal, and if people feel more worth in themselves for going to a "better" school, well, thats lovely, but some of us believe that those distinctions are all in the mind, and in the siilly pages of US news.

So get along! Or I will be forced to poke everybody with a spoon!! Not just the badger!

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

none of the posts in this thread were condescending. "lesser" is in reference to crap like US News and World report, which ranks schools based on some bullsh*t criteria.


anyway, I heard that FMG's and IMG's are not bound by the 3 strikes and you're out policy. they can fail it as many times as they want.

 

[chattkis]

If you had read the rest of my post you'd see that I didn't mean that in an offensive way. Here it is....
"Not that there's anything wrong with lower ranked schools...getting into med school is not easy and we are all lucky to even be in a medical school somewhere! Your best chance would be to set up a meeting with the dean as well as other mentors that you might have found so far and talk about what's going on in your life and ask for help!!!!!" If you (and aaaall the other people you mention) took offense to my post, you have some self-confidence issues to work on. Even after I said I did not mean that sentence in the way you perceived it, you still insist on "defending" your medical school....that shows me you are feeling insecure about where you go to school.

are u for real

 

[gregMD]

at some point you just have to call it quits.

sorry, but failing step 1 three times should be an indication that you either lack the drive to do what it takes to learn the material, or you cant learn the material. Either way, I'd suggest you find an alternate career.

perhaps dentistry?

 

[MoxieDO]

Can't we all just get along?

No one should consider someone elses med school "lesser" than theirs. You never know what is somebody's first choice or why. After all, we'll all be graduating with the letters MD after our names. Some will get those letters from Harvard or Hopkins, Some will get them from University of Colorado or Arkansas, Heck, some from the Carribean. Its no predictor of who is going to be a "lesser" doctor. So to some people's chagrin, I'm going to call us all exceptionally lucky and entirely equal, and if people feel more worth in themselves for going to a "better" school, well, thats lovely, but some of us believe that those distinctions are all in the mind, and in the siilly pages of US news.

So get along! Or I will be forced to poke everybody with a spoon!! Not just the badger!

I will be graduating with a DO after my name and am damn proud of it! yes, my school ranks high according to those silly reports 😎

question for the guy who failed the USMLE...how did you prepare? just curious because i want to know if you put a lot of time into it or just went to class and just showed up to take the test (i know ppl who did that with the mcat)

 

[taekwondoc]

perhaps dentistry?

dentistry... hasnt this person been thru enough 😛


why dont u look on the bright side and take this as an opportunity to do something fun and exciting, like CIA, journalism, photographer, pilot, there are other things to do than medicine...

to be honest, theres a good chance u wont be able to continue, and if u do it may take a considerable amount of time... after ur finished u will have a difficult time getting a residency... even the less competitive spcialties would be a difficult match.

things happen for a reason... failing Step I 3x is unheard of from a US grad, mostly everone passes on 1 try, let alone 2 or 3... i dont think its a matter of being smart or dumb... i suspect on some level you may not want to continue and are looking for a way out. u have to be honest with urself and realistic

 

[UCSBMed1]

If you had read the rest of my post you'd see that I didn't mean that in an offensive way. Here it is....
"Not that there's anything wrong with lower ranked schools...getting into med school is not easy and we are all lucky to even be in a medical school somewhere! Your best chance would be to set up a meeting with the dean as well as other mentors that you might have found so far and talk about what's going on in your life and ask for help!!!!!" If you (and aaaall the other people you mention) took offense to my post, you have some self-confidence issues to work on. Even after I said I did not mean that sentence in the way you perceived it, you still insist on "defending" your medical school....that shows me you are feeling insecure about where you go to school.

The fact that you ASSume that I am "insecure" about where I go to school (without knowing jack **** about me and why I chose to go to school close to home) verifies that you think you feel entitled just because you go to Hopkins. I didn't even mention my school! So what gives you the impression that I am defending it, other than the fact that you think I'm jealous because you go to JHU? Good for you man, I could care less. Your one-liner about "nothing wrong with lesser ranked schools" is truly meaningless; it still does not negate your preceding condescending comment.

If you truly think you're that intelligent, you'd know that NO US med school (MD or DO) would take someone who failed the boards three times, and if they did, it sure as h*ll wouldn't be because said student got kicked out of a highly ranked school. Come on man, we take the same test! Get over yourself!

I'm from California, bruh--I didn't even apply to schools back east. Waaay to cold for me. I'm happy where I am, and I'm happy to be serving the Latino, African-American, Vietnamese, Hmong, Russian, Indian, and Caucasian patients that we have here. Think twice before you give people bad advice.

 

[gregMD]

The fact that you ASSume that I am "insecure" about where I go to school (without knowing jack **** about me and why I chose to go to school close to home) verifies that you think you feel entitled just because you go to Hopkins. Good for you man, I could care less. Your one liner about "nothing wrong with lesser ranked schools" is truly meaningless; it still does not negate your preceding condescending comment.

If you truly think you're that intelligent, you'd know that NO US med school (MD or DO) would take someone who failed the boards three times, and if they did, it sure as h*ll wouldn't be because said student got kicked out of a highly ranked school. Come on man, we take the same test! Get over yourself!

I'm from California, bruh--I didn't even apply to schools back east. Waaay to cold for me. I'm happy where I am, and I'm happy to be serving the Latino, African-American, Vietnamese, Hmong, Russian, Indian, and Caucasian patients that we have here. Think twice before you give people bad advice.

jesus - what the hell is wrong with you?

go get an enema or something.... honestly!

 

[UCSBMed1]

.

 

[UCSBMed1]

jesus - what the hell is wrong with you?

go get an enema or something.... honestly!

I guess I'm the one being misunderstood here...

Look, if the OP meant nothing by his comment, that's fine. But I'm sure I'm not the only one that thought it sounded a little condescending (and at the very least naive) that any med school would take someone who failed the boards three times just because they got kicked out of a higher ranked school.

Thats all I'm saying. If you don't agree with me, that's cool too man.

 

[Zweihander]

I guess I'm the one being misunderstood here...

Look, if the OP meant nothing by his comment, that's fine. But I'm sure I'm not the only one that thought it sounded a little condescending (and at the very least naive) that any med school would take someone who failed the boards three times just because they got kicked out of a higher ranked school.

Thats all I'm saying. If you don't agree with me, that's cool too man.

No, you're not. I do wonder, if the comment is really supposed to be as inoffensive as the poster above says, how anyone is supposed to interpret the assumption that a lower-ranked school would happily take a student who was expelled from med school simply because that school was more highly ranked?

That can't be anything *but* condescending. Hiding behind others' supposed insecurity only reinforces the same cluelessness that led you to make the comment in the first place, dude.

 

[ocean11]

The fact that you ASSume that I am "insecure" about where I go to school (without knowing jack **** about me and why I chose to go to school close to home) verifies that you think you feel entitled just because you go to Hopkins. I didn't even mention my school! So what gives you the impression that I am defending it, other than the fact that you think I'm jealous because you go to JHU? Good for you man, I could care less. Your one-liner about "nothing wrong with lesser ranked schools" is truly meaningless; it still does not negate your preceding condescending comment.

If you truly think you're that intelligent, you'd know that NO US med school (MD or DO) would take someone who failed the boards three times, and if they did, it sure as h*ll wouldn't be because said student got kicked out of a highly ranked school. Come on man, we take the same test! Get over yourself!

I'm from California, bruh--I didn't even apply to schools back east. Waaay to cold for me. I'm happy where I am, and I'm happy to be serving the Latino, African-American, Vietnamese, Hmong, Russian, Indian, and Caucasian patients that we have here. Think twice before you give people bad advice.

I have to agree with the above post. The fact that ANYONE would even use the sentance "Lesser schools" is disrespectful. There is NO SUCH THING as 'lesser' US medical schools...... in my opinion once you get into an LCME accredited med school they are ALL equivalent in terms of producing decent doctors (fine there might be SOME exeptions) but overall they are equal.

In addition, if you get kicked out of Harvard, it WILL be hard for you to get in ANYWHERE even caribbean med schools (the decent ones anyways), perhaps Spartan would take you but I doubt St. George's would (unless you lie on your application).

I don't think UCSBMed1 is insecure at all! I think he's perfectly correct to make the assumptions that people who go to 'so called prestigious' schools are very ego-centric...... BOTTOM line the phrase 'lesser schools' is NON existant and VERY RUDE!

 

[thesauce]

I have to agree with the above post. The fact that ANYONE would even use the sentance "Lesser schools" is disrespectful. There is NO SUCH THING as 'lesser' US medical schools...... in my opinion once you get into an LCME accredited med school they are ALL equivalent in terms of producing decent doctors (fine there might be SOME exeptions) but overall they are equal.

In addition, if you get kicked out of Harvard, it WILL be hard for you to get in ANYWHERE even caribbean med schools (the decent ones anyways), perhaps Spartan would take you but I doubt St. George's would (unless you lie on your application).

I don't think UCSBMed1 is insecure at all! I think he's perfectly correct to make the assumptions that people who go to 'so called prestigious' schools are very ego-centric...... BOTTOM line the phrase 'lesser schools' is NON existant and VERY RUDE!

UCSBMed1 is right and I think his comments are appropriate.

 

[gregMD]

UCSBMed1 is right and I think his comments are appropriate.

nope. you're all wrong.

 

[UCSBMed1]

No, you're not. I do wonder, if the comment is really supposed to be as inoffensive as the poster above says, how anyone is supposed to interpret the assumption that a lower-ranked school would happily take a student who was expelled from med school simply because that school was more highly ranked?

That can't be anything *but* condescending. Hiding behind others' supposed insecurity only reinforces the same cluelessness that led you to make the comment in the first place, dude.

Who are you talking to here, me or the Hopkins guy? Because believe me, I'm anything but insecure--I could care less about where my school is ranked. I'm from NorCal, so I'm at home, bro.

 

[8744]

For the record, I think Duke medical students are pretty smart, smarter than most, and some medical schools do get the pick of people who are by any measurable standard more intelligent than other medical schools.

On the other hand a lot of my peers at my little podunk medical school were probably smart enough to get into an ultra-prestigious school but elected to stay in state for other reasons.