Total Loser

[WorgenFiend]

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[572776]

While any advice is appreciated, I'm really only posting this because I'm 100% confident that my story will make everyone else feel so much better about their own lives, even if you've re-applied 5 times.

So, I applied this last year to 8 different DO programs. I was invited to interview at 3 schools, attended 2 of them (the third was only for a wait list position or for the following year and I also had no more money to travel across country and lose work for three nights), and have been placed on the wait list for both schools.

I've sent a letter of intent to my first choice and a letter of interest to my second choice, called the schools several times, and still am no better off. Both schools said they were almost full by the time I interviewed and from what I've read on these forums, people have already been getting pulled off their wait lists for weeks.

My prognosis: Not good at all.

At this point I'm at a loss of what to do. I've thought about re-applying, but there's absolutely nothing I can do to improve my application. I got my bachelor's a year and a half ago. My sGPA is 3.12 while my cGPA is 3.41. Both times taking the MCAT I got a 29O with the same subscores a year apart. I have a wide range of extracurriculars, from working at a chiropractor's clinic for a summer to volunteering with special needs children for a semester (I transferred to another school out of state the following term) to shadowing a cardiologist for about 25 hours.

Since January I've worked as a patient sitter, meaning that I sit in the room with suicide attempts, psych patients, and the elderly who might accidentally hurt themselves due to dementia (ie: jumping out of bed, pulling out foleys or IVs). I work at least 40 hours a week, sometimes more.

My problem is that I am out of time and money. I work midnights for the shift premium and because my husband and I only have one car that we have to share. He works retail making minimum wage and his hours vary every day, so I can't commit to any volunteering because I have to either drop off or pick up my husband every day. I also have a hard time sleeping during the day and have already almost fallen asleep on the job or behind the wheel multiple times, so I physically can't sacrifice more sleep so that I can volunteer or shadow.

I also wouldn't be able to pay to re-apply. I don't know how some of you apply to 15+ schools because I nearly drained all my savings applying to 8 schools what with having to pay for the applications, flying out to interviews, hotel rooms, rental cars, and buying my first suit. Nobody in my family has any money to spare, and I can't afford to retake the MCAT or to retake any old courses that were less than stellar due to lack of funds and my inability to take extra days off work.

I also don't have anybody new who could write new LORs for me. I've been out of school for almost 2 years, so I'm not sure if my old professors would be able to write super-impressive new letters for me. I also get zero contact with physicians since I work every night from 11p-730a. All the physicians are gone except for the ones on-call and they rush in to see patients and then rush out to tend to their next page. The only people I ever come into contact with are nurses, nursing assistants, lab techs, transporters, other sitters, and the occasional house PA.

Every friend, classmate, and family member my age are either finishing up their grad programs or have already finished and are working their dream job, even ones several years younger than me. Examples include becoming published authors, finishing law school, earning PhDs, etc. I've only ever had one dream, which is to become a physician, but because of past mistakes and a current horrible financial situation I'm afraid that I've already dug my own grave. I've stopped talking to friends and family because I'm so ashamed of myself and because my life has turned into a joke compared to theirs. I'm almost 25 working barely above minimum wage as a glorified babysitter and took nearly 6 years to get my bachelor's. :cry:

Short of faking my own death and living by myself in the woods I don't see any options.

Like I said, I am a complete loser, but if anything I hope I've made some people laugh and/or feel better about their own lives.

I'm sorry this application cycle did not turn out so great. I think your husband should start taking the bus and you should retake a few science classes and take advantage of the grade replacement and get some new LORs. Take out some loans if you are low on cash because your sgpa needs to improve a bit. Drink a lot of coffee to stay awake. It's going to suck for a while, but if you improve your gpa, you will have a higher chance of getting in. Don't retake your mcat, 29 is a competitive score. And don't worry about being 25, there are a lot of people starting medical school at 30.

 

[WorgenFiend]

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[Optomchick]

While any advice is appreciated, I'm really only posting this because I'm 100% confident that my story will make everyone else feel so much better about their own lives, even if you've re-applied 5 times.

So, I applied this last year to 8 different DO programs. I was invited to interview at 3 schools, attended 2 of them (the third was only for a wait list position or for the following year and I also had no more money to travel across country and lose work for three nights), and have been placed on the wait list for both schools.

I've sent a letter of intent to my first choice and a letter of interest to my second choice, called the schools several times, and still am no better off. Both schools said they were almost full by the time I interviewed and from what I've read on these forums, people have already been getting pulled off their wait lists for weeks.

My prognosis: Not good at all.

At this point I'm at a loss of what to do. I've thought about re-applying, but there's absolutely nothing I can do to improve my application. I got my bachelor's a year and a half ago. My sGPA is 3.12 while my cGPA is 3.41. Both times taking the MCAT I got a 29O with the same subscores a year apart. I have a wide range of extracurriculars, from working at a chiropractor's clinic for a summer to volunteering with special needs children for a semester (I transferred to another school out of state the following term) to shadowing a cardiologist for about 25 hours.

Since January I've worked as a patient sitter, meaning that I sit in the room with suicide attempts, psych patients, and the elderly who might accidentally hurt themselves due to dementia (ie: jumping out of bed, pulling out foleys or IVs). I work at least 40 hours a week, sometimes more.

My problem is that I am out of time and money. I work midnights for the shift premium and because my husband and I only have one car that we have to share. He works retail making minimum wage and his hours vary every day, so I can't commit to any volunteering because I have to either drop off or pick up my husband every day. I also have a hard time sleeping during the day and have already almost fallen asleep on the job or behind the wheel multiple times, so I physically can't sacrifice more sleep so that I can volunteer or shadow.

I also wouldn't be able to pay to re-apply. I don't know how some of you apply to 15+ schools because I nearly drained all my savings applying to 8 schools what with having to pay for the applications, flying out to interviews, hotel rooms, rental cars, and buying my first suit. Nobody in my family has any money to spare, and I can't afford to retake the MCAT or to retake any old courses that were less than stellar due to lack of funds and my inability to take extra days off work.

I also don't have anybody new who could write new LORs for me. I've been out of school for almost 2 years, so I'm not sure if my old professors would be able to write super-impressive new letters for me. I also get zero contact with physicians since I work every night from 11p-730a. All the physicians are gone except for the ones on-call and they rush in to see patients and then rush out to tend to their next page. The only people I ever come into contact with are nurses, nursing assistants, lab techs, transporters, other sitters, and the occasional house PA.

Every friend, classmate, and family member my age are either finishing up their grad programs or have already finished and are working their dream job, even ones several years younger than me. Examples include becoming published authors, finishing law school, earning PhDs, etc. I've only ever had one dream, which is to become a physician, but because of past mistakes and a current horrible financial situation I'm afraid that I've already dug my own grave. I've stopped talking to friends and family because I'm so ashamed of myself and because my life has turned into a joke compared to theirs. I'm almost 25 working barely above minimum wage as a glorified babysitter and took nearly 6 years to get my bachelor's. :cry:

Short of faking my own death and living by myself in the woods I don't see any options.

Like I said, I am a complete loser, but if anything I hope I've made some people laugh and/or feel better about their own lives.

You could probably get into an Optometry program with that GPA, just something to consider. I spent over $5000 myself on sending test scores, app fees and secondary fees, and airplane tickets, hotel stays to interview. I ended up getting into only 1 school and it's not accredited yet. I have hope that it will be accredited before I graduate though. My point is that you shouldn't give up, consider being a Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner or Optometrist, all great careers that you could probably get into with that GPA.

 

[Spurg]

Although I'm not applying until next year, from what I've heard it is expensive for the application process. Don't stress about your age, I'm 27 and won't even be starting med school until I'm 29 (and thats If I get in the first time). Try to squeeze in those classes for grade replacements. From what I'm getting from residents and students is that this process is a marathon, not a sprint. The best way I'm told is to keep the prize in sight but mainly focus on short goals. Good Luck OP

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

You need to stop playing the victim and decide whether you really want to go to medical school or not. If the answer is yes, then you need reassess your life because no medical school wants a loser (especially a self-proclaimed loser, not sure if you were kidding). Medical schools are looking for leaders.

Your shadowing needs to increase; shadow an FP ASAP, even if it's for only 20 hours (you could knock in a week). Your leadership activities also look pretty slim; if there is some way you could get involved in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program, which is only an hour a week, I think that would look great for your application. Also, what were your interview skills like going into each of your two interviews? Do you understand the DO philosophy? Are you excited about it? Did you visibly show or say that you're excited about it? Did you practice interviews with your husband? Have you called the schools you interviewed at in order to find the weaknesses in your application? Consider these questions.

As for paying, I believe DO schools participate in the Fee Assistance Program or some sort of fee waiver equivalent. Definitely utilize this. Figure out what you need to do get where you want to be, because no one else is going to get you there besides you...and stop focusing on what your peers are doing!

 

[Buzz Me]

(1) Don't worry about what your friends, or others your age are doing with their lives. Focus on your own.
(2) I (like so many others) paid for interviews and application fees through a combination of financial aid, savings and credit cards.
(3) If you don't believe in yourself, you'll never be able to pursue your dreams.
(4) You have to be able to articulate a backup plan in case you don't get into med school - this is a fair question during secondaries or interviews.
(5) Do whatever it takes - loans, financial aid, etc. - to take post-bac classes to improve your GPA.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

What date did you apply and to what schools. I agree with semiinole vesicle. Your post is begging for everyone to say, "you are so awesome." The fact is that you probably set yourself up for failure. Unless schools took forever to get back to you, you likely applied way too late.

So instead of crying about why you failed, figure out how you failed and fix it.

 

[LUCPM]

There are men applying to med school as late as 50, but for women if we ever want to have healthy children there's a much smaller window period for how much time we can take to apply to schools, attend, and finish residency. However, I'm never going to have kids unless I become a physician, so I guess it won't be an issue unless I get into a school first.

We have no public transit where I live. Scratch that, we do have buses but they are never on time and are far and few between.

I'm out of school, so the only loans I could take for MCAT courses or for fixing my GPA are private loans. I doubt I'd be eligible to get one in the first place, but depending on the grace period I could be a med student making no money and they'll hunt me down and sell my kidneys if that's what it takes to get their money back. Private loans are typically a huge mistake.

I already drink huge amounts of caffeine at work but past a few cups nothing works. I've fallen asleep standing up and walking around and have nearly hit my head on MRSA-covered tile floors.

I have no idea how to not feel completely hopeless about my situation. What stings the most is the fact that I have no desire to have any other career. Physician is it. No plan B. Ever. And then I see old classmates finishing med school who only went because their dad is a surgeon and they could afford to go to Honduras every summer to volunteer with medical missions and pay for private tutors, etc. Grr

If you have such a strong desire to become a physician, you will find your ways to become one. You don't have to have a surgeon dad or go to Honduras to become a physician. However, you might have to take a different path to make it happen.

On a separate note, one of the cardinal rules when applying for med school is to apply EARLY and broadly (not too broadly).

Best of luck to you.

 

[ruiner]

you work nights, so did a lot of other people. you don't have a lot of money, neither do a lot of other people. you are 25, so were a lot of other people. plus you're on two waitlists and it's not even may 15 yet. if you don't get off a waitlist i suggest stop playing WOW for a few months, get some sleep, apply early, and get some volunteering and shadowing in.

 

[aburnet2]

you work nights, so did a lot of other people. you don't have a lot of money, neither do a lot of other people. you are 25, so were a lot of other people. plus you're on two waitlists and it's not even may 15 yet. if you don't get off a waitlist i suggest stop playing WOW for a few months, get some sleep, apply early, and get some volunteering and shadowing in.

Haha, or BF3/MW2 (MW3 sucks) in my case.

Don't worry, I am 25 too. Also bombed this cycle with only one interview and three rejections. Not even a waitlist. Plus I am working 11p-730a as a glorified hospital unit secretary/patient care tech/patient sitter depending on the night, all while studying for the MCAT for the 3rd time (I am verbal ******ed lol). I know how hard it is staying awake or sleeping during the days. Look at as good practice for when your a intern/resident, thats how I see it. You can do it! Just have to make it happen, I usually only get three hours on days that I have to shadow my doctor but it is going to get me a DO LOR. Totally worth it for one day a week. Bottom line, figure out a ways even if it takes you riding a bus with only 3 hrs of sleep. Have faith and endure! Good Luck