Hello Everyone,
I have been a sdner for quite some time, and chose to go anonymous briefly to post this story; hence the new account.
Here is my story...
During my undergrad years, I was a top performer. Not to toot my own horn, but I excelled academically and I guess I allowed it to slowly get to my head. Many individuals would sing praises of how I would knock the MCAT out of the park and how I wouldn't even have to study for it. The problem was that I began to believe the hype, BIG MISTAKE.
Once it came time for me to take the MCAT, I took the studying and the test very lightly. Although there were signs (low practice test scores) indicating not to take the test, I decided to take it anyways hoping I could somehow score well on the test. I left the test center that evening feeling completely violated and humbled. I had guessed on many questions; however, for some strange reason, I still thought that somehow I might have scored well on the test; I was an idiot for thinking that way.
Nonetheless, I had already applied to medical school and a month later, I received my score. To say the least I was humiliated by the low score. I was humbled and once I received my string of rejections, I would say that this event completely broke me. In the eyes of many, I went from hero to zero. More importantly, I realized that I let myself down; I allowed myself to get caught up in my own hype. I realized that I had the outlook of a pompous fool.
By this time, undergrad was out of the picture, and here I am without a job and no medical school. So after recovering whatever little energy was left, I began restudying for the MCAT. I humbled myself and began studying diligently; I studied as if my life depended on this test.
Slowly, I began to rebuild my confidence after I saw improvements on my practice test and eventually the time came when I had to take the real test. This was it; all or nothing. I took the test and still felt violated leaving the test center. I guess this is a feeling that all test takers feel regardless of their preparation.
One month passes ever so slowly, and I finally receive my score. To my disappointment, I received a sub 30 score with one subsection that was sub 8. Granted, the overall score was decent, but still the thought of having to take the test over again was dreadful.
Application season begins and I take a gamble and decide to apply again. I apply to a couple dozen schools and was hoping to get into one place. It didnt matter where; all I needed was to get my foot in the door. The application cycle for me was extremely draining. More specifically, emotionally draining. There was a great big chance of me not receiving any acceptances and the more I thought about this, the more I became stressed. I applied on the first possible day, had my primary and secondary applications looking stellar after x100 revisions. Now, all I had to do was wait.
Starting from June, the months kept passing by. My stress was through the roof. Then one day, I refresh my email, and BAM, there is an email congratulating me on receiving an interview. I was in complete shock. I jumped around, laughed, and hugged the people near me...even gave them a kiss on the cheek. But more importantly, I felt like a heavy load was lifted off my shoulders. I was happy and humbled.
Interview day rolls by, and I have prepared myself for the day. I walk into my interview with the mindset of "this is it, now it is time to shine. All or nothing." Interview goes well, and I am off on my way back home. A few months pass by post-interview and the stress is back through the roof. I begin to question my performance on my interview and the constant questioning was eating away at me. Finally, I get the notification.
It's early morning, I hear a buzz on my phone which signals an email notification. I begin reading the following..."Thank you for joining us at XXXXX School of Medicine. Your hard work..." I realized that by this point I was rejected 🙁...however, I keep reading and all of a sudden I see a big "CONGRATULATIONS!" I was completely overwhelmed; however, to my surprise, I did not jump in joy,
yell or scream, or even dance. All I did was smile, humbled myself, and went back to sleep. The burden that was looming overhead was gone. This experience was very humbling and it has definitely changed my outlook on a lot of things!
P.S. Keep fighting on, don't give up. In due time everything will work out. Keep your head down, work hard, keep yourself humble and success will be on the horizon! All the best!
I have been a sdner for quite some time, and chose to go anonymous briefly to post this story; hence the new account.
Here is my story...
During my undergrad years, I was a top performer. Not to toot my own horn, but I excelled academically and I guess I allowed it to slowly get to my head. Many individuals would sing praises of how I would knock the MCAT out of the park and how I wouldn't even have to study for it. The problem was that I began to believe the hype, BIG MISTAKE.
Once it came time for me to take the MCAT, I took the studying and the test very lightly. Although there were signs (low practice test scores) indicating not to take the test, I decided to take it anyways hoping I could somehow score well on the test. I left the test center that evening feeling completely violated and humbled. I had guessed on many questions; however, for some strange reason, I still thought that somehow I might have scored well on the test; I was an idiot for thinking that way.
Nonetheless, I had already applied to medical school and a month later, I received my score. To say the least I was humiliated by the low score. I was humbled and once I received my string of rejections, I would say that this event completely broke me. In the eyes of many, I went from hero to zero. More importantly, I realized that I let myself down; I allowed myself to get caught up in my own hype. I realized that I had the outlook of a pompous fool.
By this time, undergrad was out of the picture, and here I am without a job and no medical school. So after recovering whatever little energy was left, I began restudying for the MCAT. I humbled myself and began studying diligently; I studied as if my life depended on this test.
Slowly, I began to rebuild my confidence after I saw improvements on my practice test and eventually the time came when I had to take the real test. This was it; all or nothing. I took the test and still felt violated leaving the test center. I guess this is a feeling that all test takers feel regardless of their preparation.
One month passes ever so slowly, and I finally receive my score. To my disappointment, I received a sub 30 score with one subsection that was sub 8. Granted, the overall score was decent, but still the thought of having to take the test over again was dreadful.
Application season begins and I take a gamble and decide to apply again. I apply to a couple dozen schools and was hoping to get into one place. It didnt matter where; all I needed was to get my foot in the door. The application cycle for me was extremely draining. More specifically, emotionally draining. There was a great big chance of me not receiving any acceptances and the more I thought about this, the more I became stressed. I applied on the first possible day, had my primary and secondary applications looking stellar after x100 revisions. Now, all I had to do was wait.
Starting from June, the months kept passing by. My stress was through the roof. Then one day, I refresh my email, and BAM, there is an email congratulating me on receiving an interview. I was in complete shock. I jumped around, laughed, and hugged the people near me...even gave them a kiss on the cheek. But more importantly, I felt like a heavy load was lifted off my shoulders. I was happy and humbled.
Interview day rolls by, and I have prepared myself for the day. I walk into my interview with the mindset of "this is it, now it is time to shine. All or nothing." Interview goes well, and I am off on my way back home. A few months pass by post-interview and the stress is back through the roof. I begin to question my performance on my interview and the constant questioning was eating away at me. Finally, I get the notification.
It's early morning, I hear a buzz on my phone which signals an email notification. I begin reading the following..."Thank you for joining us at XXXXX School of Medicine. Your hard work..." I realized that by this point I was rejected 🙁...however, I keep reading and all of a sudden I see a big "CONGRATULATIONS!" I was completely overwhelmed; however, to my surprise, I did not jump in joy,
yell or scream, or even dance. All I did was smile, humbled myself, and went back to sleep. The burden that was looming overhead was gone. This experience was very humbling and it has definitely changed my outlook on a lot of things!
P.S. Keep fighting on, don't give up. In due time everything will work out. Keep your head down, work hard, keep yourself humble and success will be on the horizon! All the best!
