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- May 25, 2021
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I recently was accepted into an MD school in the NYC area. I also have a DO acceptance which is going to expire soon. Being a disadvantaged transgender applicant was a big part of my personal statement and my application (but a tiny part of my interviews, other than being socioeconomically disadvantaged). I am a non-traditional applicant and survived intense childhood trauma, domestic violence and homelessness to make it here. However, due to the course of the pandemic delaying both my surgery date and my application process, I now have a surgery date (with a popular and well-reputed surgeon who has a looooong waitlist 15-24 months out, i.e. it is not something easily re-scheduled) that falls right in the middle of my first semester of medical school. As someone who fought tooth and nail to get here, I now have to figure out how to sort out two of my biggest life goals.
The surgical team has known ahead of time I am applying to medical school (they even asked for my MCAT score, lol). After getting my acceptance, I reached out to the social worker on my surgical team and he strongly recommended that I not attempt to undergo vaginoplasty and medical school at the same time. For the uninitiated, the recovery process for the procedure is just as important to the surgery (so they emphasize to us) as well as the need to be on a four times a day q4h dilation schedule for the first 8 weeks (which makes a lot of common tasks, like commuting) difficult. I literally attended a 3-hour seminar on zoom organized by the surgical team (with dozens of other patients) who stressed how important it was to avoid physical exertion or even taking public transit during that period, so as not to rupture any suture lines, compromise depth, and cause other complications that will last us a lifetime. Hence I am no longer considering this option (just going ahead and doing my surgical procedure and first semester of medical school at the same time). This gives me two other options:
Option 1:
I think the surgeon would be very amenable to trading dates with someone who would be scheduled at the start of my 8-9 week summer break at my accepted school. I am currently leaning to this decision. However, the social worker hasn't gotten back to me about available push-forward dates yet. In addition, I think I can stretch financial aid (loans and hopefully grants) to help me cover living expenses during this time I cannot work. (I am very used to living frugally and I am paying way below market for rent compared to what the room and board estimate for cost of attendance.)
Option 2:
But if the social worker cannot find a suitable conflict-free date for me, I am also considering asking for a deferment from my top choice acceptance in part because recovery would be less rushed (which is important to me) and in part because I had so much overtime this pandemic that I might be income-ineligible for Medicaid and be forced to choose an employer-dependent plan or a marketplace plan less accepting of trans patients (my current managed health plan is tailor-designed for trans patients). I am worried that once I get on a school health insurance plan outside Medicaid that commercial insurance gatekeepers will just throw a lot of obstacles in my path to cover my surgical procedure, which I have waited a whole lifetime for. However, the financial pressures of having to continue to work after recovery (especially on my partner who I intend to marry and raise a family with eventually) and not being able to work during recovery (or receive financial aid) is a negative consideration for this option.
I am most worried that applying for deferment while mentioning my surgery date might lead to rescindence of admission, because I would be causing enough trouble with my request that they would rather give my spot to a waitlisted student. How likely is this outcome? Should I ask for deferment before or after committing to enroll at my top (accepted) choice?
When giving me advice, please keep in mind that I am transgender, low-income and survived a significant amount of interpersonal violence to get here. My FAFSA EFC is 0 and I have been on Medicaid for much of my adult life. I am hoping to avoid any advice that one would give to a wealthier student.
The surgical team has known ahead of time I am applying to medical school (they even asked for my MCAT score, lol). After getting my acceptance, I reached out to the social worker on my surgical team and he strongly recommended that I not attempt to undergo vaginoplasty and medical school at the same time. For the uninitiated, the recovery process for the procedure is just as important to the surgery (so they emphasize to us) as well as the need to be on a four times a day q4h dilation schedule for the first 8 weeks (which makes a lot of common tasks, like commuting) difficult. I literally attended a 3-hour seminar on zoom organized by the surgical team (with dozens of other patients) who stressed how important it was to avoid physical exertion or even taking public transit during that period, so as not to rupture any suture lines, compromise depth, and cause other complications that will last us a lifetime. Hence I am no longer considering this option (just going ahead and doing my surgical procedure and first semester of medical school at the same time). This gives me two other options:
Option 1:
I think the surgeon would be very amenable to trading dates with someone who would be scheduled at the start of my 8-9 week summer break at my accepted school. I am currently leaning to this decision. However, the social worker hasn't gotten back to me about available push-forward dates yet. In addition, I think I can stretch financial aid (loans and hopefully grants) to help me cover living expenses during this time I cannot work. (I am very used to living frugally and I am paying way below market for rent compared to what the room and board estimate for cost of attendance.)
Option 2:
But if the social worker cannot find a suitable conflict-free date for me, I am also considering asking for a deferment from my top choice acceptance in part because recovery would be less rushed (which is important to me) and in part because I had so much overtime this pandemic that I might be income-ineligible for Medicaid and be forced to choose an employer-dependent plan or a marketplace plan less accepting of trans patients (my current managed health plan is tailor-designed for trans patients). I am worried that once I get on a school health insurance plan outside Medicaid that commercial insurance gatekeepers will just throw a lot of obstacles in my path to cover my surgical procedure, which I have waited a whole lifetime for. However, the financial pressures of having to continue to work after recovery (especially on my partner who I intend to marry and raise a family with eventually) and not being able to work during recovery (or receive financial aid) is a negative consideration for this option.
I am most worried that applying for deferment while mentioning my surgery date might lead to rescindence of admission, because I would be causing enough trouble with my request that they would rather give my spot to a waitlisted student. How likely is this outcome? Should I ask for deferment before or after committing to enroll at my top (accepted) choice?
When giving me advice, please keep in mind that I am transgender, low-income and survived a significant amount of interpersonal violence to get here. My FAFSA EFC is 0 and I have been on Medicaid for much of my adult life. I am hoping to avoid any advice that one would give to a wealthier student.