Hello,
I have been a long time lurker on this forum and wanted to take the opportunity to tell you about my medical school experiences and hopefully send you a message of motivation. I have always been a studious student and regarded myself as more hardworking than intelligent, spending all my time in college maintaining my grades, participating in extracurriculars, and doing research. I sacrificed so much personal, family, and free time to become the best applicant I could be on paper. I was very proud of my 3.98/4.00 GPA.
At this point, which is near my senior year in 2012, I thought that I would have no problem getting into medical school. Then came the MCAT. I used all possible resources (kaplan, examcrackers, princetone review, many others I cannot remember) and studied for 3 months. I ended up getting a 20. I came in the exam with hubris that my physical sciences and biological sciences were strong and that I didn't need to read the passages. I had read every strategy on SDN, all the exam experiences leading up to my test date, and was hopeful that I myself could one day post my experience and high score. But I failed. I had already applied to at least 25 schools and became devastated at my MCAT performance. Slowly, rejection after rejection came in and I slipped into depression that this exam had crushed my hopes of becoming a physician.
Eventually, with family support, I mustered up the courage to take the exam again - I got a 27. I took it a third time with a score of 31. The only school that didn't reject me was my state school, which had waitlisted me. I worked extra hard to improve my application, and asked them to please consider my application again with the addition of a Fulbright Scholarship. I eventually got accepted to my state medical school. That was the happiest day of my life.
Medical school is brutal. It seemed as though everyone around me were equally as smart and hardworking. I had a lot of trouble just getting the average grade and could only pass/high pass most classes. Again during this time of my life, stress took over my life and felt like my college years all over again. I was no longer a human being but a studying robot.
Then came Step 1. It was as if I didn't learn from MCAT experience that my unique situation will be different than anyone's one an internet forum. I again read every online post about Step 1, starting studying very very early (more than 8 months in advance), but sacrificed understanding for memorizing. This killed me. The questions were like nothing I had seen before and I cried about the possibility that I would fail again. I looked into professional badminton. I got my score back - by no means high but enough to continue medical school. I took Step 2 CK and Step 2 CS eventually, each time freaking out and crying that I had failed since the questions get increasingly longer and my verbal abilities were not very good. I ended up passing Step 1, Step 2 CK, Step 2 CS.
I am a fourth year medical student applying to a competitive specialty and getting interviews at top schools. Looking back at the past 8 years, I realize that there is a lot to be grateful for - my health, self-control, discipline, work ethic - that has gotten me to the position I am at today. Match day is mid-March. As I reflect this holiday season, I realized it is the first holiday season I will have actually celebrated with family and friends and not have spent studying. No matter what happens come match day, I will be happy and grateful for the first time in my life because I have given everything and tried my absolute best. I will be happy wherever I end up. If I don't match, I will be happy knowing there is nothing more I could have done.
I am writing this to encourage you to not give up. We all have our weaknesses, whether it be GPA, a particular MCAT section, a personal struggle. Mine was standardized testing. Don't let that ruin your dreams of becoming a doctor. Overcome it; you are more than your numbers, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I want to let you know that it is possible.
I am happy to answer any questions.
Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and bless you and your family.
I have been a long time lurker on this forum and wanted to take the opportunity to tell you about my medical school experiences and hopefully send you a message of motivation. I have always been a studious student and regarded myself as more hardworking than intelligent, spending all my time in college maintaining my grades, participating in extracurriculars, and doing research. I sacrificed so much personal, family, and free time to become the best applicant I could be on paper. I was very proud of my 3.98/4.00 GPA.
At this point, which is near my senior year in 2012, I thought that I would have no problem getting into medical school. Then came the MCAT. I used all possible resources (kaplan, examcrackers, princetone review, many others I cannot remember) and studied for 3 months. I ended up getting a 20. I came in the exam with hubris that my physical sciences and biological sciences were strong and that I didn't need to read the passages. I had read every strategy on SDN, all the exam experiences leading up to my test date, and was hopeful that I myself could one day post my experience and high score. But I failed. I had already applied to at least 25 schools and became devastated at my MCAT performance. Slowly, rejection after rejection came in and I slipped into depression that this exam had crushed my hopes of becoming a physician.
Eventually, with family support, I mustered up the courage to take the exam again - I got a 27. I took it a third time with a score of 31. The only school that didn't reject me was my state school, which had waitlisted me. I worked extra hard to improve my application, and asked them to please consider my application again with the addition of a Fulbright Scholarship. I eventually got accepted to my state medical school. That was the happiest day of my life.
Medical school is brutal. It seemed as though everyone around me were equally as smart and hardworking. I had a lot of trouble just getting the average grade and could only pass/high pass most classes. Again during this time of my life, stress took over my life and felt like my college years all over again. I was no longer a human being but a studying robot.
Then came Step 1. It was as if I didn't learn from MCAT experience that my unique situation will be different than anyone's one an internet forum. I again read every online post about Step 1, starting studying very very early (more than 8 months in advance), but sacrificed understanding for memorizing. This killed me. The questions were like nothing I had seen before and I cried about the possibility that I would fail again. I looked into professional badminton. I got my score back - by no means high but enough to continue medical school. I took Step 2 CK and Step 2 CS eventually, each time freaking out and crying that I had failed since the questions get increasingly longer and my verbal abilities were not very good. I ended up passing Step 1, Step 2 CK, Step 2 CS.
I am a fourth year medical student applying to a competitive specialty and getting interviews at top schools. Looking back at the past 8 years, I realize that there is a lot to be grateful for - my health, self-control, discipline, work ethic - that has gotten me to the position I am at today. Match day is mid-March. As I reflect this holiday season, I realized it is the first holiday season I will have actually celebrated with family and friends and not have spent studying. No matter what happens come match day, I will be happy and grateful for the first time in my life because I have given everything and tried my absolute best. I will be happy wherever I end up. If I don't match, I will be happy knowing there is nothing more I could have done.
I am writing this to encourage you to not give up. We all have our weaknesses, whether it be GPA, a particular MCAT section, a personal struggle. Mine was standardized testing. Don't let that ruin your dreams of becoming a doctor. Overcome it; you are more than your numbers, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I want to let you know that it is possible.
I am happy to answer any questions.
Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and bless you and your family.
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