hope for stragglers

[epsilonprodigy]

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I struggled with my personal statement and submitted way later than I had hoped to. Just today I skulked into the pre-med office with my copy of my app, ready to apologize for applying soooo late and take down some solutions for damage control.

My advisor pretty much laughed at me! He's like, what are you worried about? Apparently especially if you already have your transcripts sent in and verified (which I did) then that gives you a bit of a leg up, since that's usually the longest part of the process. I started going off about how I want to take extra classes and do research next year in case I have to reapply, especially since I'm sooo late, and he just kind of shook his head and laughed, and said "I really wouldn't go down that road yet."

Moral of the story? There's hope. And, SDN is crazy.. it's the land of "I have a 4.0, am a 19-year old Nobel laureate AND I submitted three Christmases ago."

 

[Astarael]

Yeah, the idea that you are currently late has to be taken with a grain of salt. Given the fact that most schools have rolling admissions, the time when you are actually late is when deadlines start getting close. On the other hand, the general drive on SDN to get your application in early has a lot of benefits. If you would have been on the edge of being admitted, you might get the boost you need. And if you run into any problems with your application, you've got some wiggle room.

I do disagree with your advisor on one thing though. Taking classes or doing research isn't a terrible idea to be thinking about. There's always a chance, no matter how good of an applicant you are, that you won't get in. If that happens, it would be nice to already have a back-up plan. And even if you do get in, research or classes can be interesting on their own merits. Not that you absolutely have to do either one, but continuously evaluating them as options instead of waiting to think about it later would be a good idea.

 

[epsilonprodigy]

Yeah, I just don't want to be stuck if I don't get in.. the idea is to re-apply with BETTER stats if this happens and not have to explain why you twiddled your thumbs all year. I'm probably taking histo and genetics, doing some research about HIV prophylaxis in rape victims and am def. doing an aide trip to Haiti in the fall. Can't wait!

 

[Catalystik]

It sounds like you'll have plenty of relevant activities to mention in update letters and during interviews. This is the type of planning that makes the need for reapplication less likely. Well done.

 

[DrTroll]

Moral of the story? There's hope. And, SDN is crazy.. it's the land of "I have a 4.0, am a 19-year old Nobel laureate AND I submitted three Christmases ago."

lol, good lesson for all of us. This is the land of pre-med gunners 😀

 

[epsilonprodigy]

Gah, I hope so. I say the gunner thing with love of course. We are ALL gunners in our own right, because you have to be. SDN is great because when I explain this to anyone else, they're like ummmm...ok?!

I have no room to talk about gunners actually. In my new grad class of nursing internship, I was voted "Most Like Cristina Yang" (the Grey's character.)🙄