Taking up 2 spots seems unfair to me

[TopDocChick]

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My friend, a very smart, and lazy woman, got into medical school for 2006. She was not a diligent worker in undergrad and didn't change her habits in medical school. She failed a class and then decided to drop out and they are letting her start over again in 2007. Doesn't this seem a bit unfair considering how many people are trying to get in? She had a spot for 2006 and now she is filling a spot in 2007. Is this something medical schools do commonly?

 

[TheRealMD]

My friend, a very smart, and lazy woman, got into medical school for 2006. She was not a diligent worker in undergrad and didn't change her habits in medical school. She failed a class and then decided to drop out and they are letting her start over again in 2007. Doesn't this seem a bit unfair considering how many people are trying to get in? She had a spot for 2006 and now she is filling a spot in 2007. Is this something medical schools do commonly?

Med schools don't kick people out because it screws them over A LOT in terms of how much they pay in tuition. They also have time invested in people that attend their school. Sure, some schools would easily cut & run, but I would never go to a school that didnt give people second chances. She's proven enough that she CAN handle the work otherwise they wouldn't let her in. Just don't be bitter about their decision which you have no control over.

 

[TopDocChick]

I am happy for her that she gets to try again. I wonder if they make extra spots for those students that repeat and still accept the same # of new applicants. Does anyone know?


I want to apologize for my bitterness... it is not about this it is about life. I am stressed out because MCAT is in 2 weeks, I have a 3.99 GPA and I can't score higher than a 30 and i thought i would be one of those ppl that would get a stellar MCAT score. I have 3 kids who I can't hang out with because when i am not studying i just want to lie in bed and relax. I study 8 hours a day and I am just overwhelmingly tired. I am in a down moment where I am wondering why I am going through with this at all. Sorry for sounding so bitter.

 

[littlealex]

Get the examkracker books and memorize them. If you're studying for 8 hours a day and can't score over a 30, you're not studying efficiently enough.

Start with the EK books because they're short and tend to give quicker results.

And its okay for being bitter. We're all hoping for a slot in some school, and most of us will take that spot any way we get it.

 

[trevagandalf]

Do practice questions. Just knowing the material won't help you!

 

[TopDocChick]

Too late to start studying EK i think. As i said, the MCAT is in 2 weeks. I think i should just keep taking practice tests. I did Kaplan and scored a 37 on a practice test of theirs. Then i scored AAMC CBT 3 - 29; CBT 4- 29; CBT 5 - 28 and then today CBT 9 - 31. My brain is at Vmax as far as studying and i don't know if i should force myself to study more material or just try to relax and build my score based on taking more and more tests.

 

[trichomoniasis]

Too late to start studying EK i think. As i said, the MCAT is in 2 weeks. I think i should just keep taking practice tests. I did Kaplan and scored a 37 on a practice test of theirs. Then i scored AAMC CBT 3 - 29; CBT 4- 29; CBT 5 - 28 and then today CBT 9 - 31. My brain is at Vmax as far as studying and i don't know if i should force myself to study more material or just try to relax and build my score based on taking more and more tests.

do that. just practice practice practice so you're in the groove for test day.


and I would suggest no SDN until your scores come back, for everyone's sake.

 

[lilnoelle]

I am happy for her that she gets to try again. I wonder if they make extra spots for those students that repeat and still accept the same # of new applicants. Does anyone know?


.

I can't speak for all schools, but at least my school doesn't adjust the amount of students they accept because of retakes. There were 7 individuals in my class that were retaking the year from a class of 175, for a total of 182.

 

[trichomoniasis]

I can't speak for all schools, but at least my school doesn't adjust the amount of students they accept because of retakes. There were 7 individuals in my class that were retaking the year from a class of 175, for a total of 182.

wow. completely retaking? Or did they stop somewhere in the middle of their first year for whatever reason and it's just like they never started?

 

[jjmack]

wow. completely retaking? Or did they stop somewhere in the middle of their first year for whatever reason and it's just like they never started?

at a lot of medical schools you have to take the year as a whole. as many people say once you get into medical school it's VERY hard to fail out. While it may be slightly unfair that is life.

 

[trichomoniasis]

at a lot of medical schools you have to take the year as a whole. as many people say once you get into medical school it's VERY hard to fail out. While it may be slightly unfair that is life.

no I was more curious as to whether 7 people took the whole first year, then had to take it again, or if they stopped after like two months because their parents and cat spontaneously combusted at Arby's and they couldn't deal with the simultaneous losses and the prospect of delicious roast beef being somehow, mysteriously involved.

 

[lilnoelle]

I have no clue who 6 of these individuals are and what there stories are. I know of one of them, this gal had a family crisis halfway through the year and couldn't keep her grades up. I think she didn't take finals, but otherwise went through the full year.

At my school, if you fail a course, you have to remediate the course during the summer. If you fail two courses, you have to retake the whole year.

 

[searun]

Don't rag on your friend, because that is not what a friend would do. And don't feel sorry for yourself because you have kids and the MCAT is hard. There are many women in medical school wth children who are very successful. Obviously a woman can be a great mom and a great doctor and a successful medical student. Every medical school has women like these. So just suck it up and get it done and don't complain.

 

[lilnoelle]

Obviously a woman can be a great mom and a great doctor and a successful medical student. .

Obviously....

Actually, I'd say that its a pretty difficult thing to expect for an individual to be successful on all accounts. I guess we'll see how my kids turn out....

 

[searun]

Obviously....

Actually, I'd say that its a pretty difficult thing to expect for an individual to be successful on all accounts. I guess we'll see how my kids turn out....

Well, you are a mother and a medical student. And I doubt that you would sacrifice your children for your career, so you must have some confidence that you can be a mother, a medical student and a doctor without harming your children. You must be confident that the children of doctors turn out quite well, otherwise you would change the direction of your life to proctect your kids. I am sure that you are right.

 

[TopDocChick]

Searun- do you have kids? Are you a woman? what makes your opinion matter? I am sure that most of the mother med students you are talking about have the same moments of dispair as I had on friday and complain about it too. It is called a coping mechanism. You see these women who can do it all, but do you ever ask them how they are feeling?

 

[jae9970]

I have no clue who 6 of these individuals are and what there stories are. I know of one of them, this gal had a family crisis halfway through the year and couldn't keep her grades up. I think she didn't take finals, but otherwise went through the full year.

At my school, if you fail a course, you have to remediate the course during the summer. If you fail two courses, you have to retake the whole year.

so failing one course is allowed but you need to retake it during the summer..

how many courses are in one year in your school?

 

[Law2Doc]

no I was more curious as to whether 7 people took the whole first year, then had to take it again, or if they stopped after like two months because their parents and cat spontaneously combusted at Arby's and they couldn't deal with the simultaneous losses and the prospect of delicious roast beef being somehow, mysteriously involved.

From what I've seen, you can fail a course, in which case you have to retake or make it up in the summer, and a number of people tend to have to retake the whole year over again (not due to stopping early). Usually due to having done subpar in multiple courses not capable of being taken over a summer. Med schools give you second (and sometimes third) chances. 95% of folks who get into med school become physicians, just not all in 4 years. Just costs more tuition.

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

This will continue even after first year. In my school, two years ahead of us is a genius class, one year ahead has a lot of slackers. This year, as my class moves into third year, last years third class (the slacky one) has a ton of people repeating rotations.

However, instead of our class getting first crack at arranging our schedules and having the failing next years class have to arrange around us as punishment, THEY got to pick first and made our scheduling a pain as we had to schedule around them.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

so failing one course is allowed but you need to retake it during the summer..

how many courses are in one year in your school?

Each school sets its own policy for remediation. At my school, you generally have to repeat the year if you make below a C in two classes. If you make a D in one class, you can take a remediation exam and move on if you score 70% or above on it. If you fail one class and pass everything else, you have to retake the class -- supposedly some schools have summer classes, so you have to move to wherever, pay extra tuition and pass the class at the other school.

The general story is that we have about 10 people repeating first year each year. That includes people who made too many low grades and people who left during the year for either academic or personal reasons. I think that is somehow accounted for in the estimates for the next year's class because we only have so many seats in our lecture halls.

 

[searun]

Searun- do you have kids? Are you a woman? what makes your opinion matter? I am sure that most of the mother med students you are talking about have the same moments of dispair as I had on friday and complain about it too. It is called a coping mechanism. You see these women who can do it all, but do you ever ask them how they are feeling?

No, I am not a woman and I do not have kids. I am a guy, starting med school in August. I am 24 years old and have decided to spend the next 4 years becoming the best doctor that I can be without any distractions. I probably will not get married until after I have finished residency when I am 31 or 32 and I definitely would like to be a father. I realize that most people cannot plan their lives like this. And I also realize that you, as a mom with 3 kids, have alot more on your plate than I do, so good luck and I agree that nobody can do it all, and any normal person would have moments of despair with all of your responsibilities. I just have to study and do well on the next test. You have three children to care for and love. No comparison. You are right. Best wishes....Searun

 

[TopDocChick]

Good luck to you Searun. No hard feelings.