To those of you who have lost hope

[goldenstar]

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I'm a mother and I know I really have no business posting here, but my daughter is is in medical school and I'm still interested in the process. She graduated suma cum laude in biology from her undergrad school, had all the extracurriculars that made her competitive. She made a 30 on the MCAT. She applied to 20 schools. However, she only got an interview for 2 schools and one denial. She was devastated. Then in mid-July she got an acceptance off the waitlistat on one of her top schools and in our state. She scrambled and got an apartment in the city she would be living in and got a loan in the nick of time. Now she is VERY happily attending her first year of medical school.

So, for all of you that have lost hope, there is still a BIG chance you will get in. Don't lose heart. Good luck to ALL OF YOU! I know how hard it is.

From,
A mother

 

[CodeBlu]

I'm a mother and I know I really have no business posting here, but my daughter is is in medical school and I'm still interested in the process. She graduated suma cum laude in biology from her undergrad school, had all the extracurriculars that made her competitive. She made a 30 on the MCAT. She applied to 20 schools. However, she only got an interview for 2 schools and one denial. She was devastated. Then in mid-July she got an acceptance off the waitlistat on of her top schools and in our state, and she scrambled and got an apartment in the city she would be living in and got a loan in the nick of time. Now she is VERY happily attending her first year of medical school.

So, for all of you that have lost hope, there is still a BIG chance you will get in. Don't lose heart. Good luck to ALL OF YOU! I know how hard it is.

From,
A mother

Thanks mama!

 

[chemistryguy]

It's ridiculous that schools let people know so late. It's really unreasonable to ask someOne to drop everything and move to go to school in a week or so. I don't understand why they can't let people know sooner, or get rid of most of this waitlist business

 

[theseeker4]

It's ridiculous that schools let people know so late. It's really unreasonable to ask someOne to drop everything and move to go to school in a week or so. I don't understand why they can't let people know sooner, or get rid of most of this waitlist business

Because students drop at the last minute. The schools don't purposely wait with open spots to tell someone a few weeks before classes start (or even after they have started). They have students who have committed to their school, who suddenly drop due to family emergency, being pulled off another school's wait list, deciding they can't do it, etc. I am pretty sure the students pulled off the wait list at the last minute would rather that happen than have to re-apply, and the schools don't want to leave open slots in their classes, so pulling at the last minute is a fact of med school applications.

 

[ManBroDude]

Some schools drop a student right during orientation when they realize they're a total POS. True story. That's why they look at waitlist folks that live in town so the transition is easier and less last-minute.

 

[xanthomondo]

Yeah one of my friends was called and was told "if you can be here tomorrow at 9am for orientation you are officially accepted." She thought she had been rejected from every medical school and was ~150 miles away at a new job, but she said yes and rushed down.

Four years later she is graduating AOA, Honors in literally every single course/rotation through all 4 years of medical school, amazing usmle scores, and is interviewing at Harvard, Hopkins, Stanford, etc for residency.

It goes to show you that the admissions process sucks and really can't predict who will do well, so keep your heads up.

 

[aSagacious]

It goes to show you that the admissions process isn't perfect and really can't predict who will do well, so keep your heads up.

Fixed that for you. The fact that a handful of students beat the odds each year does not invalidate the entire system. I think the 96% national graduation rate (and similar USMLE pass rate) attest to the fact that the system is actually very good at selecting students.

 

[DrOMG]

Thanks for posting this in here. In the midst of all the bull****e on SDN it is nice to see some words of encouragement every now and again. I am grateful for all that has been given to me, and whether I make it in to medical school or not, I believe everything happens for a reason and life will go on.

Happy holidays everyone!

 

[tiedyeddog]

Yeah one of my friends was called and was told "if you can be here tomorrow at 9am for orientation you are officially accepted." She thought she had been rejected from every medical school and was ~150 miles away at a new job, but she said yes and rushed down.

Four years later she is graduating AOA, Honors in literally every single course/rotation through all 4 years of medical school, amazing usmle scores, and is interviewing at Harvard, Hopkins, Stanford, etc for residency.

It goes to show you that the admissions process sucks and really can't predict who will do well, so keep your heads up.

That's awesome! 👍 I ended up getting into my first choice super later in the cycle after interviewing on the last or next to last interview day... I think getting in somewhere I didn't expect to make's me feel incredibly lucky and makes me want to bust my ass to prove I belong, so I can understand where she was coming from.

 

[BHaus9]

Fixed that for you. The fact that a handful of students beat the odds each year does not invalidate the entire system. I think the 96% national graduation rate (and similar USMLE pass rate) attest to the fact that the system is actually very good at selecting students.

I don't really see how this argument holds any weight. The fact that admitted students have have high measures of success in no way demonstrates that they were the best candidates to begin with. This is especially true of medicine, a field in which there is a surfeit of willing and capable minds relative to the number of positions available. Do you think students selected off the waitlist have a graduation rate substantially lower than 96%?

 

[theseeker4]

I don't really see how this argument holds any weight. The fact that admitted students have have high measures of success in no way demonstrates that they were the best candidates to begin with. This is especially true of medicine, a field in which there is a surfeit of willing and capable minds relative to the number of positions available. Do you think students selected off the waitlist have a graduation rate substantially lower than 96%?

The fact that qualified candidates are not accepted each year indicates simply that there are too many qualified candidates for the number of available spots. How does that prove that admissions does a bad job at choosing applicants?

 

[aSagacious]

I don't really see how this argument holds any weight. The fact that admitted students have have high measures of success in no way demonstrates that they were the best candidates to begin with. This is especially true of medicine, a field in which there is a surfeit of willing and capable minds relative to the number of positions available. Do you think students selected off the waitlist have a graduation rate substantially lower than 96%?

Not at all, I absolutely agree that there are far more qualified applicants than available seats. But to say that the application system 'sucks' is a bit dramatic IMO.

 

[BHaus9]

The fact that qualified candidates are not accepted each year indicates simply that there are too many qualified candidates for the number of available spots. How does that prove that admissions does a bad job at choosing applicants?

I never said it did... In fact, I made no assertion whatsoever about the quality of admissions policies. I was merely pointing out that a 96% graduation rate for admitted students isn't really a useful piece of evidence in this particular discussion because there's no way of determining how well non-selected students would have done given the same education.

 

[theseeker4]

I never said it did... In fact, I made no assertion whatsoever about the quality of admissions policies. I was merely pointing out that a 96% graduation rate for admitted students isn't really a useful piece of evidence in this particular discussion because there's no way of determining how well non-selected students would have done given the same education.

I see. The post you replied to was responding to someone who said the admissions process sucked. If you were not defending that position, my posting to you is pointless, and my mistake.

I agree that the success rate of admitted students doesn't mean the non-admitted students would necessarily have performed poorly; we have no data on that point, since those people have never had the chance to succeed in medical school, and we can't say how they would have done.

 

[BHaus9]

I see. The post you replied to was responding to someone who said the admissions process sucked. If you were not defending that position, my posting to you is pointless, and my mistake.

I agree that the success rate of admitted students doesn't mean the non-admitted students would necessarily have performed poorly; we have no data on that point, since those people have never had the chance to succeed in medical school, and we can't say how they would have done.

Well, I mean... I am a LITTLE bitter... until I get that first acceptance, at which point the process will be perfect.

 

[aSagacious]

Well, I mean... I am a LITTLE bitter... until I get that first acceptance, at which point the process will be perfect.

 

[theseeker4]

Well, I mean... I am a LITTLE bitter... until I get that first acceptance, at which point the process will be perfect.

LOL, I can understand that attitude, certainly 😀

 

[Rezonance]

👍 🙂

I'm a mother and I know I really have no business posting here, but my daughter is is in medical school and I'm still interested in the process. She graduated suma cum laude in biology from her undergrad school, had all the extracurriculars that made her competitive. She made a 30 on the MCAT. She applied to 20 schools. However, she only got an interview for 2 schools and one denial. She was devastated. Then in mid-July she got an acceptance off the waitlistat on one of her top schools and in our state. She scrambled and got an apartment in the city she would be living in and got a loan in the nick of time. Now she is VERY happily attending her first year of medical school.

So, for all of you that have lost hope, there is still a BIG chance you will get in. Don't lose heart. Good luck to ALL OF YOU! I know how hard it is.

From,
A mother

 

[xanthomondo]

Fixed that for you. The fact that a handful of students beat the odds each year does not invalidate the entire system. I think the 96% national graduation rate (and similar USMLE pass rate) attest to the fact that the system is actually very good at selecting students.

Is the 96% pass rate due to the students that are selected completely? Of course it isn't - medical schools bend over backwards to make sure all of their students succeed.

The medical admissions process is weighted so heavily on who you know/do you have medicine in your family it is pathetic. Until that is fixed (which it will never be) the medical admissions process of this country will always suck.

 

[kpcrew]

Well, I mean... I am a LITTLE bitter... until I get that first acceptance, at which point the process will be perfect.

the ****ing truth
It sucks when I browse school threads and see people really joyful about their acceptance, check their mdapps and see that they already have 5 acceptances. 🙁

 

[ACE Rx]

The fact that qualified candidates are not accepted each year indicates simply that there are too many qualified candidates for the number of available spots. How does that prove that admissions does a bad job at choosing applicants?

It just proves that the admissions process is human.

 

[CapnCombs]

Good story and congrats to your daughter!!!

 

[Elewynne]

Thanks for the encouragement, and congratulations to your daughter!