Impending Sense that something is Wrong

[mwsapphire]

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Hello everybody,
So while I'm filling in my primary app ( AMCAS and ACOMAS), and finishing up my PS, and thinking about the last LOR of rec that my advisor hasn't received yet ...
I can't help but feel this overwhelming sense of dread. Like I'll just submit all my apps and LOR's and my MCAT score will go in and then...nothing will happen. All silent rejections. I think my app is solid with no major holes ( am looking to get some more shadowing hours and a scribe job for my gap year , but that's just to reinforce things). My grades are within range for MD and at/above avg for DO. I have clinical experience and community service. My PS is coming along nicely, my LOR's should be fine. But I just can't get rid of this feeling that it's not even worth it to bother applying.

It doesn't help that my parents are really pushing me to only apply once, and that if I don't get in after already taking 1 gap year, that I shouldn't waste anymore time going after this.

My pre health advisor is fine, she's the typical level of encouraging you to take like three gap years to be the best applicant possible, but not more than other pre health advisor mentioned here.

There's nothing really wrong but everything.is.wrong. I've been feeling it all year but right now it's...absurd. I just keep thinking they'll find some ridiculous flaw in my app, overblow any weakness, totally ignore anything that's good, or at least find a 1000 other applicants as good as me.

Did anybody else feel this? How did it work out in the end?

 

[FlowRate]

Chest CT with contrast.

Kidding.

It's called anxiety. Some anxiety when applying to med school is normal. If it really bothers you, consider finding a therapist or engaging in self-help CBT.

 

[gyngyn]

A sense of impending doom is often associated with a treatable condition.
See your student health center.

 

[wontonsoup]

You'll be fine. I submitted most secondaries by August 1 and didn't get my first II till first week of October. I was a neurotic wreck the entire time, second-guessing everything in my app. It helped to stay occupied with work, friends, etc. Try not to lock yourself in your room with just a laptop/phone.

I ended up with more IIs than I knew what to do with and I ended up at a school anyone would be satisfied with. Chin up, buddy, we're all gonna make it.

 

[907914]

You’re good. Download Pokémon go. Climb a mountain. Write a Harry Potter/Ron Weasley ship post.

All is well. Find some means of anxiety relief. Have more self confidence. Git gud and anticipate the sweet sweet nectar of rare Medical School acceptance flower. Cherish it. Love it. Be engulfed by the nectar. Let your anxiety flow away in the breezes of success.

 

[Goro]

Hello everybody,
So while I'm filling in my primary app ( AMCAS and ACOMAS), and finishing up my PS, and thinking about the last LOR of rec that my advisor hasn't received yet ...
I can't help but feel this overwhelming sense of dread. Like I'll just submit all my apps and LOR's and my MCAT score will go in and then...nothing will happen. All silent rejections. I think my app is solid with no major holes ( am looking to get some more shadowing hours and a scribe job for my gap year , but that's just to reinforce things). My grades are within range for MD and at/above avg for DO. I have clinical experience and community service. My PS is coming along nicely, my LOR's should be fine. But I just can't get rid of this feeling that it's not even worth it to bother applying.

It doesn't help that my parents are really pushing me to only apply once, and that if I don't get in after already taking 1 gap year, that I shouldn't waste anymore time going after this.

My pre health advisor is fine, she's the typical level of encouraging you to take like three gap years to be the best applicant possible, but not more than other pre health advisor mentioned here.

There's nothing really wrong but everything.is.wrong. I've been feeling it all year but right now it's...absurd. I just keep thinking they'll find some ridiculous flaw in my app, overblow any weakness, totally ignore anything that's good, or at least find a 1000 other applicants as good as me.

Did anybody else feel this? How did it work out in the end?

Paging the wise @gonnif another PREMED syndrome case!

 

[mwsapphire]

I really think a major reason I feel this way is because SDN makes it seem like everyone has a few hundred hours between clinical experience and community service and shadowing, SDN makes it seem like every applicant is at/above median for GPA/MCAT for the schools they apply to, and it seems on here that everyone has stellar LOR's and PS's.

I think in reality, only the cream of the crop applicants look like SDN applicants , and that's why it's screwed. I recall somebody on here saying that at many MD and DO schools, half of apps are <10th percentile for stats, so ofc it's most likely that they get booted.

Also, do we have decent shots at schools where you're above 25th+ but not at/above 50th for one or both metrics? I know 10th-25th is a stretch, but I always feel like IQR is close enough. Especially if you have 1 great year ( 3.7+ ) right before applying, thus generating a sort-of upward trend.

 

[907914]

really think a major reason I feel this way is because SDN makes it seem like everyone has a few hundred hours between clinical experience and community service and shadowing, SDN makes it seem like every applicant is at/above median for GPA/MCAT for the schools they apply to, and it seems on here that everyone has stellar LOR's and PS's.

You are correct, SDN only really attracts the cream of the crop so they can get a better idea of really how competitive they are. Conversely, the second highest SDN demographic seems to be unsuccessful applicants seeking advice/help from the higher stats folks. There really aren’t many people in the middle of the pack (even though those folks are the ones who’ll likely benefit the most from tailoring their applications).

I tell people don’t compare yourself to others, just be the best applicant that YOU can be.

think in reality, only the cream of the crop applicants look like SDN applicants , and that's why it's screwed. I recall somebody on here saying that at many MD and DO schools, half of apps are <10th percentile for stats, so ofc it's most likely that they get booted.

You are likely correct. If you look at the numbers, only 40% of applicants become matriculates, but 3/4 of matriculates are made up of the top quartile. And another 1/8 of matriculates come from the second quartile. This means that the bottom half of applicants make up only 12.5% of all matriculates, so the vast majority of applicants will be <10th% at most schools.

Also, do we have decent shots at schools where you're above 25th+ but not at/above 50th for one or both metrics? I know 10th-25th is a stretch, but I always feel like IQR is close enough. Especially if you have 1 great year ( 3.7+ ) right before applying, thus generating a sort-of upward trend.

Upward trend is always helpful. And if you are >25th% then that means 25% of each class is lower than you so you have a decent shot.Is it better to be above average? Probably. Is it ok to not be? Eeyup. This is where an ideal school list is good to have. You just need to make yourself stand out somehow.

I personally have a school list where I am 10-25 percentile in the cGPA in 2/3 of my schools, and 25-50 in the last third. I just have other things going for me.

 

[mwsapphire]

You are correct, SDN only really attracts the cream of the crop so they can get a better idea of really how competitive they are. Conversely, the second highest SDN demographic seems to be unsuccessful applicants seeking advice/help from the higher stats folks. There really aren’t many people in the middle of the pack (even though those folks are the ones who’ll likely benefit the most from tailoring their applications).

I tell people don’t compare yourself to others, just be the best applicant that YOU can be.

You are likely correct. If you look at the numbers, only 40% of applicants become matriculates, but 3/4 of matriculates are made up of the top quartile. And another 1/8 of matriculates come from the second quartile. This means that the bottom half of applicants make up only 12.5% of all matriculates, so the vast majority of applicants will be <10th% at most schools.

Upward trend is always helpful. And if you are >25th% then that means 25% of each class is lower than you so you have a decent shot.Is it better to be above average? Probably. Is it ok to not be? Eeyup. This is where an ideal school list is good to have. You just need to make yourself stand out somehow.

I personally have a school list where I am 10-25 percentile in the cGPA in 2/3 of my schools, and 25-50 in the last third. I just have other things going for me.

Responding directly to each bolded in order
- While that is normally sound advice, these are the very same applicants were are competing with for seats, and while this isn't' a zero-sum game, it is worth it compare yourself to the competition.

3/4 from the top quartile? Wow. I thought it would be more like less than half come from the top quartile. Sometimes it's, they were at/above medium but that wasn't why they got in i.e average was a 3.7 gpa and they had 3.8, but that wasn't the reason they got in. Sometimes correlation doesn't equal causation- we have to remember that high GPA/high MCAT applicants also tend to have the right EC's/good LOR's/PS on their app compared to their lower-stat peers.

1/8th from the second quartile means that 1/8th of the matriculants are between 25th-50th?So I can feel better about that. I'm applying half DO ( where I'm at/above average) and half lower-tier MD where I'm in the IQR, but not at/above average. I think that's a good split, I'm being as conservative w/ my school list as I can be. I think my PS is pretty good, and my LOR's, so I feel it's worth it to apply.

Only at 2 MD schools am I above 10th but not above 25th.One is my IS program, and since I have a 3.7 sGPA senior year, that should tip the scales in my favor. The other is a lower tier private MD, but again, that one good year should make it worth it to apply somewhere where I'm at, like 20th for GPA.

 

[Moko]

Impostor syndrome is a real thing that remains prevalent among medical students, interns, residents and even attendings. Meditation and therapy can often help. Read up on ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy) as a potential resource.

It's also important to remember that anxiety is normal; however, if the anxiety prevents you from enjoying your life or prevents you from putting your best foot forward, seek out some professional help.

 

[907914]

3/4 from the top quartile? Wow. I thought it would be more like less than half come from the top quartile. Sometimes it's, they were at/above medium but that wasn't why they got in i.e average was a 3.7 gpa and they had 3.8, but that wasn't the reason they got in. Sometimes correlation doesn't equal causation- we have to remember that high GPA/high MCAT applicants also tend to have the right EC's/good LOR's/PS on their app compared to their lower-stat peers.

1/8th from the second quartile means that 1/8th of the matriculants are between 25th-50th?So I can feel better about that. I'm applying half DO ( where I'm at/above average) and half lower-tier MD where I'm in the IQR, but not at/above average. I think that's a good split, I'm being as conservative w/ my school list as I can be. I think my PS is pretty good, and my LOR's, so I feel it's worth it to apply.

Just to be clear, with this part I was talking about the MCAT/GPA grid for ALL applicants. Those numbers likely vary greatly for any given school.

 

[mwsapphire]

Just to be clear, with this part I was talking about the MCAT/GPA grid for ALL applicants. Those numbers likely vary greatly for any given school.

Well, that is true, but I like to think , since Goro says " the higher you climb up the pole, the slipperier, it gets" to mean that Albany/Netter/NYMC, there would be more students at least 1/8th of students in the second quartile, if not more.
I'd imagine its Harvard/Yale/Columbia class schools that are less forgiving with stats ranges , as in, way less people accepted below median.

 

[907914]

While that is normally sound advice, these are the very same applicants were are competing with for seats, and while this isn't' a zero-sum game, it is worth it compare yourself to the competition.

It isn’t a competition though. The likelihood that your name is directly up against someone else’s name (particularly someone that you know) is so minuscule that approaching it as a competition is counterproductive. This is why we should try to help out every other applicant - because there is almost no personal gain or loss from helping others out. Because, again, the likelihood of your name directly coming up against any individual for a seat is so minuscule.

 

[907914]

Well, that is true, but I like to think , since Goro says " the higher you climb up the pole, the slipperier, it gets" to mean that Albany/Netter/NYMC, there would be more students at least 1/8th of students in the second quartile, if not more.
I'd imagine its Harvard/Yale/Columbia class schools that are less forgiving with stats ranges , as in, way less people accepted below median.

Even Harvard still has a 10% of like 513.

 

[mchammer]

Start a show on Netflix with a good 6 seasons. That'll keep your mind occupied for awhile 🙂