Re-applicant reflection (522/3.9)

[foxmike123]

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Just reflecting on my application cycle thus far.

Short background:

• T10 undergrad w/ 3.9 GPA
• 522 MCAT
• Majored in non-healthcare related cultural studies + environmental science
• 3 gap years in MBB consulting
• ~1,200 hours research (mix of clinical and non-clinical, and mostly during college)
• ~1,000 hours clinical volunteering (mostly during my gap years)
• ~500 hours non-clinical volunteering (mostly during gap years)
• ~200 hours shadowing multiple specialties (mostly during gap years)
• Multiple ECs in leadership/TA (though not in healthcare), healthcare innovation, and EMT
• 4Q Casper
• IA related to drinking + depression

I applied last cycle without a single interview invite. Only close friends who happened to all be at T20s reviewed some drafts of primaries and secondaries, and I completed all secondaries by end of July.

This current cycle, I sought a much wider range of support, having every person I knew read my personal statement, activities, secondary essays, update letters, and even finding former admissions officers in T20s to review writing. I stayed up until 4am regularly after finishing my day job at midnight in order to make sure my writing incorporated feedback while representing who I am. Luckily I got 4 interviews, and I enjoyed every single one with with 2 As, one WL, and awaiting one decision. Being able to speak to who I truly am has made me feel so much more confident in the whole process and boosted my excitement.

However, as excited as I am to have finally been interviewed and admitted, I feel a bit disappointed in that I didn't receive a single interview invite from the T30 or even any of my own in-state schools. I was just thinking what could I have done differently, and I wish I could see the feedback from the schools that turned me down (and the ones who liked me well-enough).

Maybe my writing isn't as good as I thought it was, maybe I shouldn't have been drinking that night, maybe I took too non-linear of a path where my devotion to the practice was dubious. Or perhaps I wrongly set my hopes too high in that I could have been a right fit for T30 schools to begin with. Or a combination of all of the above.

Not sure why I'm posting this. Part of it is to get this bit off my chest, as I feel no one I know understands this sentiment I have. And maybe another bit is I just want someone to tell me that I was never going to make it anyway. Or maybe just another datapoint for an AI training model to store for when it warns a future candidate with a similar profile and shared optimism.

While I won't let these application cycles define me (or at least I'll try my best), is it shameful to say I'm saddened?

 

[karaya]

Rankings are dumb BS that don't mean anything unless you're going into academia. Any accredited school will turn you into a competent doctor. That said, it was probably your IA that held you back. Everyone at the top looks the same and they're weeded out aggressively. (I was an interviewer for a minute)

 

[Mr.Smile12]

We don't have your application. I don't know how friendly those schools are to non-trads with a career pivot. I don't know what those other schools offer regarding your mission fit. BUT You have 2 offers from schools who value you as a future student (so far), so you have achieved the most important goal of starting your journey to be a doctor.

 

[Med Ed]

While I won't let these application cycles define me (or at least I'll try my best), is it shameful to say I'm saddened?

It's certainly unfortunate, but nonetheless predictable. Your undergrad pedigree, GPA, and MCAT align perfectly on the axis of unconscious entitlement.

Medicine is full of high-achievers, and overall that's probably a good thing. But at the individual level there are a couple of potential downsides: (1) the satisfaction derived from achievement is usually short-lived, and (2) there is always someone else who has achieved more than you. Look at your situation. Only 1 in 5 applicants gets more than one offer, so you're already in the top 20% of the entire pool, and yet you're still woe-posting on SDN.

Assuming you don't get a late break in the cycle, and have to matriculate at your piddly non-T30 school, one of two things will happen. The more likely scenario is that you will realize that you have classmates who run circles around you in spite of your best efforts. If this is the case, it should be both humbling and an opportunity for introspection. The less likely outcome is that you are the class golden child, blowing the curve on every exam and accumulating every accolade the school offers. If this is the case, take the trophies and run.

 

[polymerization]

Are you a compulsive musterbator?

No judgment, everybody does it.

 

[AJ25]

Look dude, you got the A so that means whatever you did to get the A was worth the effort. Now just focus your energies on taking care of patients the best you can.

Are you or the next doc going to radically change our world with your knowledge? probably not.

 

[Goro]

Just reflecting on my application cycle thus far.

Short background:

• T10 undergrad w/ 3.9 GPA
• 522 MCAT
• Majored in non-healthcare related cultural studies + environmental science
• 3 gap years in MBB consulting
• ~1,200 hours research (mix of clinical and non-clinical, and mostly during college)
• ~1,000 hours clinical volunteering (mostly during my gap years)
• ~500 hours non-clinical volunteering (mostly during gap years)
• ~200 hours shadowing multiple specialties (mostly during gap years)
• Multiple ECs in leadership/TA (though not in healthcare), healthcare innovation, and EMT
• 4Q Casper
• IA related to drinking + depression

I applied last cycle without a single interview invite. Only close friends who happened to all be at T20s reviewed some drafts of primaries and secondaries, and I completed all secondaries by end of July.

This current cycle, I sought a much wider range of support, having every person I knew read my personal statement, activities, secondary essays, update letters, and even finding former admissions officers in T20s to review writing. I stayed up until 4am regularly after finishing my day job at midnight in order to make sure my writing incorporated feedback while representing who I am. Luckily I got 4 interviews, and I enjoyed every single one with with 2 As, one WL, and awaiting one decision. Being able to speak to who I truly am has made me feel so much more confident in the whole process and boosted my excitement.

However, as excited as I am to have finally been interviewed and admitted, I feel a bit disappointed in that I didn't receive a single interview invite from the T30 or even any of my own in-state schools. I was just thinking what could I have done differently, and I wish I could see the feedback from the schools that turned me down (and the ones who liked me well-enough).

Maybe my writing isn't as good as I thought it was, maybe I shouldn't have been drinking that night, maybe I took too non-linear of a path where my devotion to the practice was dubious. Or perhaps I wrongly set my hopes too high in that I could have been a right fit for T30 schools to begin with. Or a combination of all of the above.

Not sure why I'm posting this. Part of it is to get this bit off my chest, as I feel no one I know understands this sentiment I have. And maybe another bit is I just want someone to tell me that I was never going to make it anyway. Or maybe just another datapoint for an AI training model to store for when it warns a future candidate with a similar profile and shared optimism.

While I won't let these application cycles define me (or at least I'll try my best), is it shameful to say I'm saddened?

Count your blessings. You're going to be a doctor.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Watch... though it focuses on the residency match, many points apply to you.

 

[LelouchLamperouge]

This current cycle, I sought a much wider range of support, having every person I knew read my personal statement, activities, secondary essays, update letters, and even finding former admissions officers in T20s to review writing. I stayed up until 4am regularly after finishing my day job at midnight in order to make sure my writing incorporated feedback while representing who I am. Luckily I got 4 interviews, and I enjoyed every single one with with 2 As, one WL, and awaiting one decision. Being able to speak to who I truly am has made me feel so much more confident in the whole process and boosted my excitement.

However, as excited as I am to have finally been interviewed and admitted, I feel a bit disappointed in that I didn't receive a single interview invite from the T30 or even any of my own in-state schools. I was just thinking what could I have done differently, and I wish I could see the feedback from the schools that turned me down (and the ones who liked me well-enough).

I can't really tell if this is a sh*tpost or not, but the "highest ranked" program will always be the one that CHOOSES YOU. This is like saying that you're happy to have a girlfriend/boyfriend/partner, but you're still out there yearning for the possibility of someone much more "attractive" than them. Both "rank" and "attractiveness" are completely arbitrary points, and we should never assign our self-worth to them. Like Leo Tolstoy once said "In the name of God, stop a moment, close your work, LOOK AROUND YOU." You are going to miss enjoying the blessing of getting into medical school by hoping for something out of our control.

Nonetheless, congratulations future doctor 🙂