Letting off some steam

[Messerschmitts]

Hey everyone! I'm new to the board, and just graduated from UC Berkeley. I can't believe I never knew about this website before, and I'm a little relieved to see that many people are about as screwed as I am. Sorry, this is no doubt a very cliched tale, but I gotta let off some steam.

I applied for 21 schools for the entering class of 2005, and got only 3 interviews. I was waitlisted by University of Cincinnati; they even told me I was on the top of the list! I thought I'd get in for sure, but much to my incredulity, school started 2 weeks ago with no acceptance letter. The only thing the admissions office could tell me was that there was "very little movement on the alternate list this year".

I've already begun reapplying for the entering class of 2006 in mid-August, but I'm still reeling from the shock, and at the risk of sounding conceited, I feel rather insulted. I've got a 3.957 GPA, graduated with the Highest Distinction (equivalent of summa cum laude), and with Highest Honors in the major. I had a 34 on the MCAT. I admit, I don't have quite as much clinical experience or impressive extracurriculars as some other hardcore applicants, but I thought I had a good mix. I was an officer in a Buddhist community service club for many semesters, I did research, a senior thesis project, and volunteered at an ER. A schoolmate of mine with a 33 on his MCAT and considerably less impressive GPA got into Yale med. I've looked at the statistics, and honestly people with my numbers almost always get in.

Well, so here I am stuck in post-college limbo with very few marketable skills. Right now I'm signed up for an EMT course that starts in mid-September. I have to re-take the MCAT in April too because I took it way back in 2003, and if I don't get in 2006, I'd have to retake it anyway. Anyone have any advice on what else I could do besides EMT during the year? I've tried applying to research jobs, but the employers haven't been biting.

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[ambaduchi]

firstly, don't worry. this process is a horribly random crapshoot. don't get discouraged and try to avoid any and all comparisons with the people who did get it. that way lies only madness
imagine how much worse it would be if you were several years older, had put a high-paying career into limbo in order to try to get into med school, and had mouths to feed other than your own during the whole damn process. (bitter? who me, bitter? nahhh, really. i find comfort and irony in the fact that people on sdn with stories waaaayy more deserving than mine get shafted too. keeps things in perspective.

are you still in the bay? check out job postings on craigslist on the science/biotech job board. i see lots of stuff on there that might work for you. what about the cal career center job postings? those were ok as i remember. you could also check out job postings at ucsf, like clinical lab positions...look into nonprofit stuff through opportunitynocs.org and idealist.org

good luck and don't get discouraged if it takes a little time to sort out a job. see who you know through your network, ie people who graduated a year or two before you, might find job leads that way too.