Question regarding addressing your doubters...

[cardiackid88]

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To anyone who has been accepted to medical school with a low GPA or low MCAT: Have you ever sent a letter/e-mail to those who doubted that you would be where you are today? I don't mean like a "put-them-on-blast" letter where you trash talk your doubters, but just to tell them that you got into medical school (with an implied "haha, you didn't think so, eh?")?

 

[engineeredout]

No, thats just stupid. If you get in somewhere, then congratulations go be happy. No need to be an arrogant douche over it.

 

[cardiackid88]

thanks for the input. I don't get the "arrogant douche" part though. I sent sincere thank you letters to those who wrote my LOR's and the pre-med counselor who made an impact in my academic decisions. However, there was one counselor who drove some of my pre-med friends away from medicine completely (allo- and osteopathic) because they thought their numbers were not competitive enough (but in fact, they were) even with extracurricular activities. That counselor didn't advise of other ways to improve our applications to medical schools. I just sent a "thank-you" letter to that counselor for the inspiration and the reality of applying to medical schools. I didn't say anything bad to the counselor (if I did, then that would be a douche-like move).
So I take it you think Kobe Bryant is a douche?

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

In the words of one off the leaders in the hip-hop/rap industry "Who gives a **** what a hater gotta say!..."

 

[cardiackid88]

lol word to msb. Eminem could agree, although he gives other random people a shoutout, when he doesn't do those few serious songs.

 

[JaggerPlate]

No, but then again, I'm an adult ... so yeahhhh.

 

[Laryngophed]

No, but then again, I'm an adult ... so yeahhhh.

*Ding*Ding*Ding*

Plenty of people told me I wouldn't make it to medical school. I'll answer them by hanging that sweet piece of lamb skin on the wall and living out my dream. I don't need to rub it in someone's face and I think the OP ought to just concern themselves with doing as well as possible in medical school.

 

[cardiackid88]

Hey Physio, I agree with your second statement and last part of your last statement. Don't get me wrong, but I wasn't trying to directly rub it in someone's face. Yes, the counselor did something wrong in the way she advised my friends and me. I requested other counselors just to see how they responded, and surprisingly, each one of the other counselors promoted sticking to the med school path if I truly desired it. 3 other counselors straightforwardly suggested researchinig DO schools (which I at the time began to like). I only wrote the letter because during the Bio majors seminar, the dean suggested that they like hearing the updates and successes of their graduates, so I took the opportunity. I'm not dissing the counselor in my letter: i just said to her how she was influential in my dedication to succeed. To Jagger: Being an "adult" is fine, but some adults usually don't act like it, even in front of their children (ex: on the road, in stores/markets)

 

[RevDoc]

*Ding*Ding*Ding*

Plenty of people told me I wouldn't make it to medical school. I'll answer them by hanging that sweet piece of lamb skin on the wall and living out my dream. I don't need to rub it in someone's face and I think the OP ought to just concern themselves with doing as well as possible in medical school.

Out of question - do med schools still do Vellum (lamb skin)? I thought they had gone away from that - dang PETA!

 

[Laryngophed]

Out of question - do med schools still do Vellum (lamb skin)? I thought they had gone away from that - dang PETA!

You know, I don't know. I've always used the expression, without knowing whether or not they continue the practice. I'm guessing it comes on some fancy paper product, but I like the idea of lamb skin. I mean, it's not like it's a doctorate or anything.

 

[dudechiefboss]

Hey Physio, I agree with your second statement and last part of your last statement. Don't get me wrong, but I wasn't trying to directly rub it in someone's face. Yes, the counselor did something wrong in the way she advised my friends and me. I requested other counselors just to see how they responded, and surprisingly, each one of the other counselors promoted sticking to the med school path if I truly desired it. 3 other counselors straightforwardly suggested researchinig DO schools (which I at the time began to like). I only wrote the letter because during the Bio majors seminar, the dean suggested that they like hearing the updates and successes of their graduates, so I took the opportunity. I'm not dissing the counselor in my letter: i just said to her how she was influential in my dedication to succeed. To Jagger: Being an "adult" is fine, but some adults usually don't act like it, even in front of their children (ex: on the road, in stores/markets)

How would you feel if your application cycle was not successful? Counselors have a difficult job, and some may have advised certain individuals with similar stats with less favorable results as you. Heck, my counselor told me medical schools have 50% of their seats filled by December! Is that true? Maybe, but I still applied "late" and had favorable results.

If your attitude is as such, why not "rub it in the face" of others who have doubted you? Why not send a similar letter to medical schools who have rejected/waitlisted you?

Don't have a chip on your shoulder - it's not very attractive.

 

[cardiackid88]

Dudechiefboss - If the application cycle was not successful, then it's on me at that point. I'm speaking more in terms of when I consulted the counselor (at the beginning of my 2nd year) while there was still time to improve my GPA. They do have a difficult job, but don't dash the hopes yet. It's like telling someone "go have liposuction" instead of saying "let's try to lose 2 pounds this week, and we'll go from there." Most of us like taking risks - like in casinos where the House has an advantage, yet gamblers still play for the thrill of the reward. But in more important matters, congrats on your acceptance.
I wouldn't send a letter to other doubters, unless they were as blatant as the counselor. I even doubted myself, my closest friends doubted me - but only because we know the uncertainty of leaving most of the decision-making in the hands of the committees (in undergrad, who could have been sure that a student who gets rejected by UC Riverside gets accepted to Cal? True story). Wouldn't send a letter to the med schools because they are the jury, and I'm just the lawyer who had enough time to present my case as best as I could. The AdComs have all the necessary facts over the span of 3+ years (not just 1) through personal statements, stats, and the interview. The counselor only had the 1 year of grades...
Chips on the shoulder are just brushed away - I wouldn't believe the wind blew my Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips onto my white coat Go Class of '14!

 

[rddoms]

Out of question - do med schools still do Vellum (lamb skin)? I thought they had gone away from that - dang PETA!

Speaking of PETA, did you know that the president (Ingrid Newkirk) has Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus? IRONY!

 

[2hot2doc]

You gotta let it go. There is someone who told me not to apply this cycle and I got into three schools. Take the high road and leave the "nay-sayers" behind.

 

[Nicbmann]

I think it'd be funny if you sent a letter and then flunked out of your first year of med school and the adviser sent a letter back to you. No need to flaunt your success, be a little more humble.

 

[Roberie]

"Better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"

 

[cardiackid88]

2hot2doc: congratulations on your acceptances!
nicbmann: good luck to you too? try not to eat your own words there. I don't think I'd say that to someone, but I do hope you succeed wherever youre going to school.
*And by the way, I did end up sending the letter. One of her remarks was, "Thank you for your kind words." Most of you think I'm trying to act as what Chef Gordon Ramsay would say: "a donkey". But in fact, I did give credit to the counselor for suggesting what turned out to be pretty beneficial - research. Without my research lab, I would have one less LOR and one less experience I could list on my resume and talk about in my interview. So she did doubt my statistical performance to enter medical school, but she did open another avenue to explore, for which I thanked her. I think most of you interpreted it as if I was going to write some hate mail. I just used that counselor as "inspiration", like Kobe winning a championship without Shaq (hope nicbmann is a Denver Nuggets fan) or Tony Romo finally getting Dallas out of its playoff drought. It wasn't as blatant of an attack as Conan did to NBC, but that's in a different context. I intended for this thread to be for those who may have lower than average stats (3.3 isn't considered low) due to poor starts in their undergrad education and wanted to share similar sentiments. Some of you had really great suggestions/quotes. I'm pretty much done with this thread since I think it might be labeled somewhat incorrectly - there are no bitter feelings or lost sleep due to what I'll now call "misinformed counseling." I didn't wake up every day saying "ooooh i'm gonna prove you wrong." I guess in some weird way, the counselor did her job, so 👍 to her. Hope other viewers found this thread amusing, and it's good to know that this thread generated some responses, away from the regular "what are my chances" "school A vs school B" threads that are more relevant to our future.

 

[Daedra22]

thanks for the input. I don't get the "arrogant douche" part though. I sent sincere thank you letters to those who wrote my LOR's and the pre-med counselor who made an impact in my academic decisions. However, there was one counselor who drove some of my pre-med friends away from medicine completely (allo- and osteopathic) because they thought their numbers were not competitive enough (but in fact, they were) even with extracurricular activities. That counselor didn't advise of other ways to improve our applications to medical schools. I just sent a "thank-you" letter to that counselor for the inspiration and the reality of applying to medical schools. I didn't say anything bad to the counselor (if I did, then that would be a douche-like move).
So I take it you think Kobe Bryant is a douche?

If an employee of the university is legitimately harming students' education, then I think that the administration should know. If they were honestly incompetent and giving bad advice, it would be a lot more productive to tell the administration about it so that they can deal with it than to email them and gloat. A lot of very poor advisers get by in part, I think, because students don't feel it is their place to complain... when the students are the only ones who know what goes on in that advising office.

 

[JustAGuy]

.

 

[Powdermonkey]

Why don't you work on actually getting through med school before you start being all surgeon like? You pre-meds have got a 3" hose worth of material coming at you full force in a few months, just wait.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

2hot2doc: congratulations on your acceptances!
nicbmann: good luck to you too? try not to eat your own words there. I don't think I'd say that to someone, but I do hope you succeed wherever youre going to school.
*And by the way, I did end up sending the letter. One of her remarks was, "Thank you for your kind words." Most of you think I'm trying to act as what Chef Gordon Ramsay would say: "a donkey". But in fact, I did give credit to the counselor for suggesting what turned out to be pretty beneficial - research. Without my research lab, I would have one less LOR and one less experience I could list on my resume and talk about in my interview. So she did doubt my statistical performance to enter medical school, but she did open another avenue to explore, for which I thanked her. I think most of you interpreted it as if I was going to write some hate mail. I just used that counselor as "inspiration", like Kobe winning a championship without Shaq (hope nicbmann is a Denver Nuggets fan) or Tony Romo finally getting Dallas out of its playoff drought. It wasn't as blatant of an attack as Conan did to NBC, but that's in a different context. I intended for this thread to be for those who may have lower than average stats (3.3 isn't considered low) due to poor starts in their undergrad education and wanted to share similar sentiments. Some of you had really great suggestions/quotes. I'm pretty much done with this thread since I think it might be labeled somewhat incorrectly - there are no bitter feelings or lost sleep due to what I'll now call "misinformed counseling." I didn't wake up every day saying "ooooh i'm gonna prove you wrong." I guess in some weird way, the counselor did her job, so 👍 to her. Hope other viewers found this thread amusing, and it's good to know that this thread generated some responses, away from the regular "what are my chances" "school A vs school B" threads that are more relevant to our future.

Whether you meant it to be or not, this: "(with an implied "haha, you didn't think so, eh?")? " is what stood out in your OP.

 

[JustAGuy]

Why don't you work on actually getting through med school before you start being all surgeon like? You pre-meds have got a 3" hose worth of material coming at you full force in a few months, just wait.

If students with 2.0 GPAs and 20 MCATs at Caribbean schools can do it, I would guess pretty much anyone can.

 

[Daedra22]

If students with 2.0 GPAs and 20 MCATs at Caribbean schools can do it, I would guess pretty much anyone can.

... you have a great deal more faith in the general populace than I do. Most people don't go to college, let alone graduate, get accepted to med school, and further, get through med school. I have heard a lot of things about med school, but never the phrase "pretty much anyone can do it."

 

[JustAGuy]

... you have a great deal more faith in the general populace than I do. Most people don't go to college, let alone graduate, get accepted to med school, and further, get through med school. I have heard a lot of things about med school, but never the phrase "pretty much anyone can do it."

University is so easy these days. Maybe I'm giving humanity more credit than it deserves, but I would hope most people would be able to pull a 2.0 if put in a communication or psychology program.

 

[Daedra22]

University is so easy these days. Maybe I'm giving humanity more credit than it deserves, but I would hope most people would be able to pull a 2.0 if put in a communication or psychology program.

Have you ever worked in food service or retail...? If you have, then I applaud your ability to maintain optimism. If not, then I suggest you work there for a month so you can experience the weight of public stupidity.

The majority of people certainly could not be doctors, and we still struggle to get all children to graduate high school in this country. Only about 25-27% of the country has a bachelor's... so yeah... we are the minority.