Tips for dealing with doubts?

[kiwifriend]

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Hi, everyone!

Ever since taking the MCAT several months ago, I have felt completely unproductive and a little lost. Now that the time to apply is approaching I am freaking out.

I have pretty much finished my AMCAS application except for writing a couple of activity descriptions and finalizing my school list, but I am driving myself completely insane. I am overthinking absolutely everything and doubting myself constantly. I'm thinking about re-writing my personal statement completely. I am constantly worried that I am making the wrong choice by not sitting out for another cycle.

Any tips on getting through the next few months? I would super appreciate it!

Thank you!!

 

[kiwifriend]

Rule 1: take a breath

The FUD factor: fear, uncertainty, doubt, has driven more premeds paranoid than MCAT or GPA combined. My signature lyric may be humorous but it is also quite serious. sounds like you need to step back a few days. go binge watch you favorite show, get lost in a video game, visit a friend out of town. but put away AMCAS for a few days, take a breath, and look at it after the cyclone of fear, uncertainty, and doubt subsides a bit

Thanks for the advice!! It's hard because I am surrounded by physicians at work. They are all very supportive which is wonderful, but it is incredibly difficult not to think about my application all the time when I am constantly being given advice throughout the day. I took a few days off last week, but I'm worried it is going to get even worse once I get back in the office.

 

[MaxPlancker]

Just keep doing what you love outside of premed/academics/apps and your mind will stay refreshed.

 

[kiwifriend]

Just keep doing what you love outside of premed/academics/apps and your mind will stay refreshed.

Thank you!

 

[Cookiess]

I think you may be dealing with a combo of burnout and uncertainty that comes with this process. For the burnout, I would take some hours off or a day off each week to do some hobbies or activities you enjoy outside of medicine in order to recharge.

As for the uncertainty, I think it's natural to feel self-doubt as you go through various stages of being a premed, from maintaining a strong GPA, to doing well on the MCAT, and also throughout the application process. At the end of the day, the only thing you can do is to do your best. Trust yourself. You've already taken care of some of the harder parts (GPA and MCAT). The application process can get overwhelming, but making a checklist might help. Given that the majority of your primary AMCAS application is done, the main thing to do is to pick your schools and prepare to pay for your applications. After that, you can start pre-writing secondaries so that they're ready to go when the end of June/early July hits and you start receiving secondaries.

I think having a low GPA or a low MCAT would be one of the few reasons I would suggest sitting out for a year and taking time to improve that. Otherwise if that doesn't apply to you, go ahead and submit in early June. The application process itself can get draining and there's a lot of waiting involved. I don't think I truly appreciated what my friends meant when they said the application process will be a roller coaster of emotions.

Some people get interview invites early on, while others don't receive any until much later in the cycle. Your first interview invite will feel awesome, but more nerves will come during interview day, and as you wait for the post-interview decision. After your interviews, you may start second guessing your interview responses (I know I did) until the decision comes, and if you're waitlisted, more doubt may set in until you either get accepted or rejected. I'm fortunate enough to have an acceptance, but I'm also still waiting to hear back from my top choice, almost one full year after I submitted my AMCAS primary application. The application process is a long, draining, and tough process.

Do your best to prevent self-doubt from overtaking yourself during the upcoming year. It's hard to do at times, but trust the work that you have put in thus far. Keep yourself busy with work and other activities over the next few months (especially after you've submitted all of your secondaries). Some of your friends may have multiple interviews and/or acceptances before you get your first one, but at the end of the day all you need is one acceptance. If you end up getting multiple acceptances, then it'd be the cherry on top to have options. But remember that there are a lot of people who don't end up with any acceptances and have to reapply. All you need is one acceptance.

 

[kiwifriend]

I think you may be dealing with a combo of burnout and uncertainty that comes with this process. For the burnout, I would take some hours off or a day off each week to do some hobbies or activities you enjoy outside of medicine in order to recharge.

As for the uncertainty, I think it's natural to feel self-doubt as you go through various stages of being a premed, from maintaining a strong GPA, to doing well on the MCAT, and also throughout the application process. At the end of the day, the only thing you can do is to do your best. Trust yourself. You've already taken care of some of the harder parts (GPA and MCAT). The application process can get overwhelming, but making a checklist might help. Given that the majority of your primary AMCAS application is done, the main thing to do is to pick your schools and prepare to pay for your applications. After that, you can start pre-writing secondaries so that they're ready to go when the end of June/early July hits and you start receiving secondaries.

I think having a low GPA or a low MCAT would be one of the few reasons I would suggest sitting out for a year and taking time to improve that. Otherwise if that doesn't apply to you, go ahead and submit in early June. The application process itself can get draining and there's a lot of waiting involved. I don't think I truly appreciated what my friends meant when they said the application process will be a roller coaster of emotions.

Some people get interview invites early on, while others don't receive any until much later in the cycle. Your first interview invite will feel awesome, but more nerves will come during interview day, and as you wait for the post-interview decision. After your interviews, you may start second guessing your interview responses (I know I did) until the decision comes, and if you're waitlisted, more doubt may set in until you either get accepted or rejected. I'm fortunate enough to have an acceptance, but I'm also still waiting to hear back from my top choice, almost one full year after I submitted my AMCAS primary application. The application process is a long, draining, and tough process.

Do your best to prevent self-doubt from overtaking yourself during the upcoming year. It's hard to do at times, but trust the work that you have put in thus far. Keep yourself busy with work and other activities over the next few months (especially after you've submitted all of your secondaries). Some of your friends may have multiple interviews and/or acceptances before you get your first one, but at the end of the day all you need is one acceptance. If you end up getting multiple acceptances, then it'd be the cherry on top to have options. But remember that there are a lot of people who don't end up with any acceptances and have to reapply. All you need is one acceptance.

Thank you!!

My GPA/MCAT are fine, it's just that I feel like my ECs will be better a year from now. But I am entering my second gap year now and I really don't want to take any more time off from school so I know I should just apply. It's just so hard to look at your own application objectively. None of my college friends were pre-med so I feel like I am just blindly going through this process, trusting SDN and my adviser to help me figure it out. (Although SDN keeps saying not to trust our advisers, so there's that too!) Half of the time, the advice I read on here is in conflict with what my pre-med department tells me. I'm just so worried that my story isn't as interesting as it should be, that my personal statement is uninspiring, that I have nothing going for me except my stats. Ahh sorry. It's just all very stressful. Thank you for taking the time to write out such a thoughtful reply!

 

[Cookiess]

I would get a few people (physicians, med students, English Professor, someone not in medicine) to look at your personal statement and give you feedback. They'll probably have different things to say so you can take whichever advice you think would be best for you and incorporate that into your personal statement edits. I would just prepare your application as if you were going to apply during the first week of June. It's better to be prepared just in case you do submit and you can always decide to postpone applying at that time. It's natural to feel stressed out and overwhelmed, but you also won't know until you apply. If you think one additional year of EC will make you a stronger app, then it's perfectly fine to take the additional year off. But if you go that route, have a concrete plan. Take it one step at a time.