This Master's student is going to medical school!!!!!!!!

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Singing Devil

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Ladies & Gentleman, after flunking out of undergrad, getting back in, getting 6, count 'em, 6 Fs, many Ds and Cs, graduating 1141 out of 1191, and years and years of heartache....

I'm going to be a doctor!

Just accepted to UNC!!

(course I'd rather be off the waitlist at Pitt, but hey, UNC ain't too shabby.)
 
congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

👍
 
Singing Devil said:
Ladies & Gentleman, after flunking out of undergrad, getting back in, getting 6, count 'em, 6 Fs, many Ds and Cs, graduating 1141 out of 1191, and years and years of heartache....

I'm going to be a doctor!

Just accepted to UNC!!

(course I'd rather be off the waitlist at Pitt, but hey, UNC ain't too shabby.)

CONGRATS!! Were you a GMS student at BU>
 
Congrats SD, that's awesome 👍 GO GMS!!!

Hopefully I'll come off some of these waitlists and join you in the acceptance group in a few months. BTW, reading some of your old posts, I think I may know you. Did you take med nutrition in Fall 2003 w/ Dr. Ray?
 
Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You give me such hope! 😛

Tell your story sometime...

Good fortune

Agape
 
👍 Your story is one of the most inspiring on this board. Kick @ss in med school for us 😀
 
Hey, that's awesome! 👍
Congratulations!
 
Congratulations SD! I guess this means I won't be seeing you at BU.
 
Congrats Singing Devil! :clap: :clap: :clap:

I remember reading your story since page 1 of Junebug's low GPA thread. That thread popped up just a few weeks after I graduated from college. After graduating, I was pretty pessimistic about my future. Seeing all these stories of people turning their lives around really made me think, "Hey...maybe I still have a shot at this. Perhaps I can turn my life around too." I always wondered how things would turn out for you... It's inspiring to see stories like yours, liverotcod's, exmike's, etc. (and getting into excellent schools as well). It gives us all some hope. Maybe in the near future some of us will be able to share our own success stories. 🙂

Have fun dominating med school! 😀

Phil

P.S. I hope that Pitt waitlist comes through!
 
yay!!! congratulations!!!

SD = Singing Devil = SD= Student Doctor 😀 😀
 
your pic should be up on the front page of SDN. :laugh: Good luck in med school.
 
CONGRATS singing devil! we all know you will do great =) you give us hope around here
 
congratulations singing devil! you must be ecstatic! and don't worry, unc rocks! i work at UNC hospitals and the new med school building and library is beautiful and our mens (and womens!) basketball teams are awesome!!! :clap:
 
Thanks so much everyone, especially my fellow BU GMSers!!! Wow, the love on this board is intense. 😍 (and, yes, I was in Dr. Ray's class, Fusion--what a joke, huh?)

I hope I can give inspiration to a lot of people--not that I'm so great, but you have no idea how many times I was told by friends, colleagues, and even advisors that I would never get into medical school. When you've been as low as I have, it's pretty disheartening. Just gotta say, remember the famous words of Steve Perry--"don't stop believin." There are times when we feel like the "street light people," wandering aimlessly without a real sense of accomplishment or purpose, and I think you gotta stay focused on the prize, and always look to be your best--which is specific to you and has no relation to anyone else's best. If you always try hard and reach your individual potential, even if you fail you have succeeded. If you don't try, you will always fail, even if you think you are succeeding. This is something that I have learned throughout the past 10 or so years, how to move yourself to your own fullness disregarding what anybody else thinks. The last time I took the MCAT, I aimed for 40. Okay, I got a 39, and I know that's really high, but I aimed for 40 because I thought it was ridiculously high, and I thought that there was no way I would know what I was capable of if I went for something doable. Instead, I reached for something impossible, or near impossible, knowing that I could achieve near my absolute best in that situation.

I quote Aerosmith (yes, I'm a classic rock buff, but I also like Muse, Public Enemy, and Enya, so go figure)--"Life's a journey, not a destination." If you think you have it made (which I once did) you will immediately start to fail. If you are always focused on being your best, you will always achieve amazing things, and you can NEVER be considered a failure. So that's my lasting message to all those who have failed and done really poorly like I have--you can regret your lack of effort, but never worry about your results, because that's not the prize. The prize is doing the most with what you have been given, and that's different for each person, so always try to do your best. Then you can know that you have lived a life to be proud of. That's the biggest change I made in my life, and that's the reason I'm going to medical school instead of doing temp work all my life.

Okay, no more philosophy.

Btw, medanthgirl, I'm a Duke grad (see: Devil), so uh, yeah, I know about Carolina sports, and I hope they always lose. 😀 Nothing personal, of course. 🙄
I'm sure I'll love UNC med, barring a waitlist move by Pitt. :luck:
 
I really want to hear more about your story Singing Devil, how you studied for MCAT, undergrad background, research experience, etc. I just recently graduated and I am studying for the August MCAT and want to smoke it like you did!
 
"Yep, Tell us more Singing Devil, Tell us more! "

😉
 
DUKE?? arggghhh....you'll have to show a little love for the (light) blue and white though 😉 just a little. even if it's for the swim team or fencing or something.

congrats again for gettting into med school again, pm me if there's anything i can help you with, i live and work in the area.

and i'm all about your mcat score! i'm taking it in august to apply to the SMP/masters programs and know logicially that i'm shooting for a 30 or above, but secretly daydream about a 38-40. 😀
 
So, here's the story: I was a high school academic phenom, not nationally or statewide mind you, but I went to all the camps, Governor's school, etc., and was voted most intellectual in my high school. People thought I would go to Duke, my favorite basketball team, and when I got in early admission, I threw away all my other applications. High school was mostly a joke for me--I would arrive most days with no homework done, and would get everything done before the class it was due, while doing homework under my books during lectures and classes. My senior year was especially bad as I got the "-itis" something terrible, and I graduated 6th after starting the year 3rd in my class behind two gunners (out of around 160 people).

When I got to Duke, I studied a lot that first semester, having been told by one high school teacher that she didn't know if I'd make it past the first semester (she knew how I didn't work). I got a 3.85 that semester, virtually guaranteeing me a spot on the Dean's List by the end of the year, and putting me in Phi Eta Sigma, the freshman honor society. The second semester, basketball season hit hard, and buoyed by that, camping out for four weeks to see us beat Carolina, and my kick-ass first semester, I forgot about studying. I got a few C's that semester, the first since 7th grade, and finished with a 2.75. However, I still was able to make Dean's List for the year, so I didn't feel too bad. The next fall, I was back up, around a 3.3. Then again in the spring, basketball and winter, and I thought I was "back," and I got around a 2.3 again. This same sort of cycle kept happening to me throughout college, except that I started getting used to C grades, thinking that "average at Duke is pretty good," and then I started skipping class more and more, eventually getting D's and an F in one class because I never attended again after the second week. I was miserable, and I didn't want to admit it, and I had no idea how to bring myself back. I didn't want to go to classes, I didn't want to study, and I didn't want to fail, yet I was invariably going to do all three if I didn't change, but I was stuck in a downward spiral.

Eventually, the s$@# hit the fan, and I was expelled from school after too many bad grades. This was the middle of my SENIOR year. I went home, saw a counselor weekly (strongly recommended by my dean, and not really optional), and worked bagging groceries and stocking shelves at a local grocery store. I eventually moved into working in the grocery chain's main office, heading up some projects. I reapplied for admission to Duke and started again the following fall for my fifth year. The time off had partially worked--I wasn't afraid to talk to professors when I wasn't doing well, and I attended my classes, but I still had a real problem when it came to studying--I just didn't want to do it, and did anything else rather than study.

I barely graduated (got two more F's, and I had to change from two majors to one at the last minute to get my degree--flunked two of the courses I needed for chemistry) and worked the next summer at the grocery chain during the day and waiting tables at night. I remember the eureka moment that I was out in the driveway playing basketball and I had the revelation that I didn't deserve to graduate and that my diploma was a gift from above, especially since I had done so little work. I made a pact then and there never to let myself down so much again. I could go on and on about this, but the upshot was that I was determined never to be lazy again with my education.

Anyway, after making about $5k that summer, I started taking courses at Duke again that fall to try and get the equivalent of the chemistry major I hadn't before. It was really expensive, $3k per course, but I didn't want to take classes at a state school and have people say that I was taking them there because they were easier. I worked temp jobs, used up all the savings I had, and got deep in debt. Eventually I got a job working as an organic chemistry technician for a small start up company (took about a year and a half of looking), and my boss was a former Nobel Prize nominee who had left Duke because of a sexual harassment claim. I guess we all have our cross to bear. I traveled to see the Deans of Admission at ECU, UNC, and Wake, and ask them what I needed to do to make myself competitive. They basically said that I should take 10+ hours of coursework, get A's, and rock the MCAT. Well, check, check, check. Credit Kaplan with my 37Q MCAT in Aug. 2000. I took my two years of organic chemistry experience and got a job at Duke Hospital making radiopharmaceuticals for a P.E.T. facility, which got me clinical exposure. With that, my MCAT, recent good grades, and a strong MCAT, I applied to med school.

I was rejected by 20 schools, two of which interviewed me (UNC and SLU), and SLU waitlisted me (never got off the waitlist). I was determined to get in, so in the fall of 2002 (after sitting on the waitlist all summer), I found out about the BU MAMS program, which boasted an 85% success rate at getting people into med school.

The rest is history. 3.77 in the program, took the MCAT after it expired and got a 39R. Been accepted to UNC and waitlisted at Pitt.

In the meantime, I've spent the last several years becoming a classically-trained vocalist, singing in operas, rock operas, and solos in front of as many as 1,400 people. I've also done a ton of research and am now working on my thesis in neuropharm.

It's been a long and difficult road... I'm 30 years old now, and I'm motivated, something I couldn't say about myself 10 years ago. Anyway, I hope my story gives some of you hope about resurrection. It's a real thing. It is never too late to fix what went wrong, and it's never time to give up.

Good luck everyone!!!!!
 
holy crap, can I have your baby?

Seriously - congrats. You totally deserve it! What a great, uplifting story!
 
ajt2003 said:
holy crap, can I have your baby?

Seriously - congrats. You totally deserve it! What a great, uplifting story!

I'll fight you for him! 😛

Way to go Devil.....
 
Phil Anthropist said:
Don't get me wrong, there have been remarkable scientific discoveries over the past few decades. But seeing that you're both male...


😛

Wait, that wasn't Tyra Banks? damn!
 
I think it also helped that

A. You came from Duke
B. You got a 39 on your MCAT

Most people can't realistically meet either of these two criteria.

Thank You
 
Anyone got an umbrella? I feel a few drops of rain on my parade...

lol 😛

I don't want to be realistic. What fun is that?

Just let me dream.... 😴
 
daelroy said:
I think it also helped that

A. You came from Duke
B. You got a 39 on your MCAT

Most people can't realistically meet either of these two criteria.

Thank You

A. School is only as good as you make it to be. A C isn't going to cut it even if you went to Harvard. An A froma less competitive school is better than that C.
B. A high MCAT score by itself won't do but an improving trend with a high MCAT score is probably what did it for him.

I went to Brandeis and end up with a atrocious record(being put of probation about a couple of times) and trying my darnest to turn things around.
 
Your story is damn phenomenal... how the heck did you score so high on the MCATs?? I've not yet met anyone that's scored more than a 37 while I've been at UVA....

And yes, your story is totally wicked awesome. CONGRATS. 🙂
 
wow!!! congratulations SD 🙂 you definitely gave me hope... lots of it lol
 
I had goosebumps after reading the story. You're so inspirational!!!!😎
 
Congrats, thanks for giving us all hope. :luck:
 
CONGRATS BRO!!! U give me hope to keep trying! What a good feel good story!
 
as a fellow duke grad, i seriously admire your determination!
unc right now is my dream school (i know it sounds weird to be saying that as a dukie), but it's amazing that you're in. i'm sure you're gonna do great things!!
 
congrats, you are an inspiration to us all.
 
wow you are my new inspiration! please fill me in on your journey!
 
Hey congrattsss, How the hell did u get a 37 from Kaplan. My whole class hated Kaplan.
 
jesus
39Q

i'm only 12 points away....that's like adding on a whole 'nother section.
 
Congratulations!!! I am inspired by your story and hope to hear about the journey ahead. Hope to hear from you soon. Good luck and best wishes.
 
Your inbox is full, not surprisingly so I was hoping you might see this post...

I was wondering if I could get some advice from you if you're not too busy, or just some reassurance that i'm on the right track. I feel I'm in a similar situation; always had the potential, went to a governors magnet school but never did my hw till the last minute or went to classes etc..., college at virginia tech where I was never motivated/ couldn't get myself to study, started changing things end of Junior year so managed to end w/ a 3.12 ugpa, bcpm around the same (biology major). That being said, I just graduated and plan on spending this year gaining clinical/volunteer experience at a hospital. Might start work at a dermatology clinic and volunteering nights at a hospital while studying for my MCATs to take by January.

This is where I'm not too sure what to do next. Do you think a post-bacc is necessary, or if I do well on my MCATs and manage to get into a SMP program like BU's will it help offset my undergrad experience. So basically should I settle for a linkage program like temples (post-bacc --> temples med school), or do the post-bacc --> SMP --> some med school, or last, SMP --> med school. I really want to get into the best med school I can, but time and money are a factor also.

Any words of wisdom, reassurance, or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Your story is extremely inspiring, thank you for it.
 
your story is truely remarkable and I want to congratulate you whole heartedly on your achievement. I'm in the same boat as you in trying to get into med school and I recently came to the realization that although all of us low "GPA-ers" are so down in the dumps about our current situation, you have to think: if we have the urge and desire to be doctors this bad, don't you think there is a very strong reason behind it all? Like on a deeper level. How can you desire something from your core so much without it being linked some way to the higher scale of reality. I know this may sound cheesy or annoying to some of you but I wanted to just add that in because I think there are times when that particular "draw" that we feel from inside is what leads us to accomplishing the things that Singing Devil and others have accomplished.
You are truely an inspiration for us all and I wish you the BEST for your future. 🙂
 
SD, your story has greatly impacted my decision to do whatever it takes to become a doctor. I was so so so down for a year after I graduated w/my bachelors. Everyone tried to tell me to do something else b/c I have no chance of getting into med school. But I am so set on med school, whole-heartedly, that I never ever did think about anything else besides med school. So while doing a research on alternative routes to med school, I read your post and it gave me so much confident and relieved so much stress out of me. With my low GPA and MCAT, I wasted so much money applying to special master's programs and such. And now, I am accepted to a masters program and am really excited and hopeful. I hope that I will excell like you and one day become a doctor! I hope to have a great success story liike you so that I may share it with others that WERE in the downfall like us but held our heads high. Good luck to all those who fall in the same boat (*_*)
 
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