Regrets over school list?

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MDPedigree

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So last cycle I applied to med school and did not get in because my list was so top heavy. (20 schools, about 12 were reaches). This year I was extra cautious (too cautious I now believe) and applied to 35 schools and maybe 5 were reaches, including only one in the top 15. The rest were target schools. I have gotten plenty of interviews so far, including from the top 15 and from some others who are also higher ranked on my list.

I barely applied to any reaches this cycle because I thought my time was better spent applying to as many targets as I can because I was just concerned about getting in. I now see that I underestimated myself, as I am getting interviews from many schools. I now wish I applied to more reaches because maybe I would actually have a chance at them this cycle. It sucks to know I did not give myself a fair shot at some more reaches, because so many schools seem interested, even the ones in the upper-mid-tier category. Sigh.

PS my application has improved a lot since last year. (Decent LM increase, more experiences, better essays/secondaries, more recs).
 
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MDPedigree said:
So last cycle I applied to med school and did not get in because my list was so top heavy. (20 schools, about 12 were reaches). This year I was extra cautious (too cautious I now believe) and applied to 35 schools and maybe 5 were reaches, including only one in the top 15. The rest were target schools. I have gotten plenty of interviews so far, including from the top 15 and from some others who are also higher ranked on my list.

I barely applied to any reaches this cycle because I thought my time was better spent applying to as many targets as I can because I was just concerned about getting in. I now see that I underestimated myself, as I am getting interviews from many schools. I now wish I applied to more reaches because maybe I would actually have a chance at them this cycle. It sucks to know I did not give myself a fair shot at some more reaches, because so many schools seem interested, even the ones in the upper-mid-tier category. Sigh.

PS my application as improved a lot since last year. (Decent LM increase, more experiences, better essays/secondaries, more recs).
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Congrats on the interviews!

But you realize that this is SDN and there are threads from qualified applicants without any interviews at all thus far. Based on history of threads like yours, your post is not going to get the kind of sympathetic reception you are hoping for. I hope I am wrong, but...:corny:
 
I’ve met some people on the interview trail with similar feels. I guess all you can do is learn from it and aim high for residency applications!
 
Your post reads as a bit narcissistic, particularly the part about underestimating yourself. Does that mean you see other interviewees at those "lesser" schools and think they're beneath you? My friend, the students at those schools are matriculated med students, which is more than you can say at this point. And so what if you end up at one of those schools? One of the best doctors I know went to school in the Caribbean.

If you're interested to know, once you get through training, the only people who'll care where you went to med school will be uninformed patients who wouldn't have the first idea what to do with that information. (When patients ask me where I went to school, I tell them my elementary school.)

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HomeSkool said:
Your post reads as a bit narcissistic, particularly the part about underestimating yourself. Does that mean you see other interviewees at those "lesser" schools and think they're beneath you? My friend, the students at those schools are matriculated med students, which is more than you can say at this point. And so what if you end up at one of those schools? One of the best doctors I know went to school in the Caribbean.

If you're interested to know, once you get through training, the only people who'll care where you went to med school will be uninformed patients who wouldn't have the first idea what to do with that information. (When patients ask me where I went to school, I tell them my elementary school.)

Sent from my Pixel 2 using SDN mobile
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Not at all my friend. No one is beneath me, no one is above me. We're all humans and all excel at different things. I didn't mean to come off as narcissistic in any way, I really don't think highly of myself at all. I am very fortunate enough to have 7 II's, because when I was filling out my school list, my goal was to apply to 50 schools with the hopes of landing 3 II's and hopefully turning one of those into an acceptance. I burnt out at around 35, and did not think I would land half as many interviews as I have so far. I did not bother with better ranked schools which will undoubtedly open more doors career wise because I did not think I would be competitive at them.

Because I have gotten an II from the only "top school" I applied to which if I were to be accepted, would open many residency doors that many of the other schools I applied to cannot (see match lists), I feel as though I should have applied to more in this category and would have if I could go back. That's all. There is no "I'm better than you" here. My mom got her MD from an international school and is constantly voted one of the top physicians in her state. There's nothing wrong with an MD from somewhere else, I'm just saying I may have inadvertently closed some doors career wise.

And if a patient wants to know where you went to school, I think you should tell them. I'm not saying bloat about it, but if asked, I would answer honestly. Just my opinion.
 
You got a bunch of interviews and I hope you get an acceptance soon. While it may not be a "target" or "reach" you will have the opportunity to attend a medical school! An opportunity less than 50% of applicants have the pleasure of saying. Be happy with what you have and the fact that you will have the honor of attending a medical school and having the right to all yourself a medical student and most likely a doctor one day 🙂
 
PreMedStudent55555 said:
You got a bunch of interviews and I hope you get an acceptance soon. While it may not be a "target" or "reach" you will have the opportunity to attend a medical school! An opportunity less than 50% of applicants have the pleasure of saying. Be happy with what you have and the fact that you will have the honor of attending a medical school and having the right to all yourself a medical student and most likely a doctor one day 🙂
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You're right, thanks for the reminder 🙂
 
MDPedigree said:
I didn't mean to come off as narcissistic in any way
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Good to know that wasn't your intended tone.

MDPedigree said:
I did not bother with better ranked schools which will undoubtedly open more doors career wise
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Don't be so worried about that. Going to med school in the US, you can have a pretty solid shot at any specialty, and after residency you can make your career what you want it to be. You haven't closed doors on yourself.

MDPedigree said:
And if a patient wants to know where you went to school, I think you should tell them. I'm not saying bloat about it, but if asked, I would answer honestly. Just my opinion.
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I went to a top-25 medical school, but it's far more important for my patients that I completed an ACGME-accredited residency, hold an unrestricted medical license, and am certified by my specialty board.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using SDN mobile
 
I don't find OP's post as bragging or narcissistic. There's nothing to suggest the applicant is looking down on anyone. I think their concern is valid. No need to bash on someone who met a successful cycle this time around.

Also, I feel the same about not adding enough reaches. (Though all's silent from the top schools for me.) Good luck to the rest of your cycle!
 
I kind of wish I had applied to fewer schools and saved some money. But hindsight is 20/20, and I didn’t know in June whether I would be a strong applicant, so I applied conservatively, had a successful cycle, and will be a doctor in 2022. Let’s not dwell on the could-have-beens when we are in such great positions.
 
You got plenty of interviews and more than what you expected. Be happy and be thankful! “I don't believe in regrets. There are a few things I'd do differently, but I can't go back in time and redo them, however much I might wish to. All I can do is learn from past mistakes and move forward.” Malorie Blackman
 
Correct me if I’m misunderstanding, but I think what you did was:

Applied to reach schools and got rejected, as the statistics suggested would happen.

Reapplied to a well crafted school list and got great results, and will hopefully get accepted somewhere you’ll enjoy.

This sounds like the expected result, you didn’t make a mistake nor do you have anything to regret.
 
I have the opposite regret as you. I did what you did your first year - put some target schools on there, but a lot of reaches (I thought one of my ECs would check the diversity box everyone claims to want), and have not been successful on the MD front at all.

Maybe I could have been more successful on the MD front with a more balanced school list. As it is, I got into a DO program I'm comfortable attending, so I'm going to be a doctor... but I definitely wish I'd done some things differently.
 
efle said:
You went 1/5 in your reaches, yeah?

Doesn't sound like you aimed too low to me, sounds like you applied very appropriately. Getting 1/5 from the top end doesn't mean your list should've been full of top end.
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I actually got interviews from the 2 highest rated schools I applied to. Silence from the other 3 in my top 5. Getting interviews from them really made me wish I made my school list 10 reaches instead of 5. I feel like at the pace I'm at now, if I had 4 interviews at reaches, maybe I could land one acceptance. Emphasis on the word Maybe, but that's just what's going through my mind.
 
21Rush12 said:
Correct me if I’m misunderstanding, but I think what you did was:

Applied to reach schools and got rejected, as the statistics suggested would happen.

Reapplied to a well crafted school list and got great results, and will hopefully get accepted somewhere you’ll enjoy.

This sounds like the expected result, you didn’t make a mistake nor do you have anything to regret.
Click to expand...
Almost correct. The difference is I am a much more competitive applicant this time around (higher MCAT,GPA, more recs, ECS etc.) and have gotten attention from the top schools I applied to this time around. So now I am wishing I applied to more.
 
Medical school is what you make of it. And like most things in life, it's all about your attitude. If you go in expecting to love it, you'll be happy no matter what school you end up at. If you go in thinking "I could have done better", you'll be miserable.
 
MDPedigree said:
Almost correct. The difference is I am a much more competitive applicant this time around (higher MCAT,GPA, more recs, ECS etc.) and have gotten attention from the top schools I applied to this time around. So now I am wishing I applied to more.
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What's done is done. Be happy and don't look back.
 
MDPedigree said:
Almost correct. The difference is I am a much more competitive applicant this time around (higher MCAT,GPA, more recs, ECS etc.) and have gotten attention from the top schools I applied to this time around. So now I am wishing I applied to more.
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Stop driving yourself crazy. You can’t change what you’ve done. The only thing you can control is how you do in med school.(Have you been accepted anywhere?) Do well, get some research, do some ECs, kill Step 1 and you’ll do fine in the match.
 
Don't worry. No matter what med school you go to, you'll always have the award for most obnoxious post ever.
 
20/20 hindsight. Stop worrying over things you can’t control.
 
I applied to 47 because Im neurotic. About 7 reaches, 7 that were likely interviews and then 33 that were in the target range (using the term target somewhat broadly.) 5 interviews, 3 rejections and 2 on hold so far. The rejections were not yet from reaches, but one of the interviews was. Most of them were from "target" schools. You really just never know.
 
MDPedigree said:
Almost correct. The difference is I am a much more competitive applicant this time around (higher MCAT,GPA, more recs, ECS etc.) and have gotten attention from the top schools I applied to this time around. So now I am wishing I applied to more.
Click to expand...

You’re 1/5 in your reaches, right? Sounds like you applied appropriately. Congrats on all your IIs. I’m sure you’ll get in and get to go to a USMD school and become a doctor. You’ll still have great opportunities, even if a couple of the top doors are closed (which it sounds like they would have been anyway).
 
MDPedigree said:
I actually got interviews from the 2 highest rated schools I applied to. Silence from the other 3 in my top 5. Getting interviews from them really made me wish I made my school list 10 reaches instead of 5. I feel like at the pace I'm at now, if I had 4 interviews at reaches, maybe I could land one acceptance. Emphasis on the word Maybe, but that's just what's going through my mind.
Click to expand...
I get where you're coming from, and I don't even have any IIs yet! This process is a rollercoaster. You made a solid school list based on your experience last year and had no way of knowing how this cycle would play out, so don't beat yourself up. I also see no problem with wanting to get into the highest-ranked school you can - didn't we all do that for undergrad, with the hopes that it might make it easier for us to get into med school? Sending you best wishes for an acceptance at a great school and kudos for being a (very likely) successful re-applicant. From where I stand now, just summoning the energy to re-apply seems like a huge accomplishment. 🙂
 
It's hard not to play the "what if?" game, but it's pointless. Yes you might have gotten in somewhere else. You also might have wasted a few hundred dollars and ended up at the same place you are now. It sounds like you applied appropriately and should end up getting into a good school. Celebrate that accomplishment.
 
Pina Colada said:
They regret not applying to higher status schools.
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Fair enough, they don't have an acceptance anywhere yet, but that seems highly likely, given the 7 IIs. I personally don't have any issue with the OP regretting that s/he didn't aim higher. Like it or not, pedigree opens doors.
 
@jazzmetal Lmao. No, I don't care about pedigree nor do I spite other people for getting acceptances. I'm happy for anyone that gets into medical school considering how difficult and taxing the entire admissions process is from a financial and time consumption standpoint. However, I think @HomeSkool was correct in pointing out feeling something narcissistic on certain levels of the post. I just don't understand how someone adopts the mentality that they should have gone for higher risk when they have yet to establish an actual return. If the rule of 3 happens for the OP, then they come out with 2 acceptances which is a good turnout, but honestly it's not something that an accepted student looks back on and states, "I totally could have been accepted into HYPS."

Also, another point is that one year of good results is a good accomplishment, but it's not stellar. Considering the fact that many programs are now featuring non-traditional 2 year science post-bac curriculums for non-science majors that have people coming from prior careers and doing quite well in them in addition to 1 year SMP linkage medical programs there is a saturation of competent applicants who have academically performed within an annual time span. To that extent, I understand the personal narrative of someone recovering from no acceptances with a strong year, but this narrative doesn't account for the fact that there is a surge of programs which are spawning all over here to make applicants more competitive and to redeem themselves. To believe that reach schools aren't being serenaded with such applicants would be a little narcissistic.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
MDPedigree said:
So last cycle I applied to med school and did not get in because my list was so top heavy. (20 schools, about 12 were reaches). This year I was extra cautious (too cautious I now believe) and applied to 35 schools and maybe 5 were reaches, including only one in the top 15. The rest were target schools. I have gotten plenty of interviews so far, including from the top 15 and from some others who are also higher ranked on my list.

I barely applied to any reaches this cycle because I thought my time was better spent applying to as many targets as I can because I was just concerned about getting in. I now see that I underestimated myself, as I am getting interviews from many schools. I now wish I applied to more reaches because maybe I would actually have a chance at them this cycle. It sucks to know I did not give myself a fair shot at some more reaches, because so many schools seem interested, even the ones in the upper-mid-tier category. Sigh.

PS my application has improved a lot since last year. (Decent LM increase, more experiences, better essays/secondaries, more recs).
Click to expand...

Be happy you are doing so well. A USMD is a USMD in my opinion. Sure, the top 10s may put you at some advantages for the match, but my philosophy is not to be greedy. There are plenty of people that would kill to go to any US MD school. There are plenty of people that would kill to go to any US DO school, too. You're in a great position, don't look back and be happy you have made it here.

At just about any US MD school you can match to anything you want as long as you work for it.
 
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