"unique" applicant chances at a post-bacc?
Started by jparsenal87
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There's no need for you to disclose anything about the abuse in high school, and I'd recommend that you not make it part of your med school story. It doesn't help your story, it doesn't help your chances, and it could hurt you, so don't. You have nothing to account for, from the perspective of med school admissions, because your academic credentials are perfect. There are vast teeming hordes of first year law students who realize they don't want to be lawyers, so that part's not even weird.
Yes, you need more clinical exposure, and you should be very persistent in getting some right away. The competitive postbacs want to see 100+ clinical volunteering hours.
Yes, you need to collect some letters from faculty and/or employers. Definitely do this with the help of a friend or family member who can filter out the noise that lives in your head about trust. Asking for a recommendation from a teacher who gave you an A, for those who don't have abuse history, is a 100% emotionally neutral experience. It's no challenge for the teacher - it's an easy task. So get somebody to help you write emails/letters asking for those letters. (Use Interfolio or similar.) (By which I mean: use Interfolio or similar. You don't want to have to ever ask those professors again, right? Use Interfolio or similar.)
As for your chances at a competitive postbac, your 4.0 (which is mathematically impossible if you had a 3.9, right? Right?) is your ticket. Just understand that the med school prereqs are by far the hardest coursework you'll have ever seen, and be ready to work really hard.
Best of luck to you.
Yes, you need more clinical exposure, and you should be very persistent in getting some right away. The competitive postbacs want to see 100+ clinical volunteering hours.
Yes, you need to collect some letters from faculty and/or employers. Definitely do this with the help of a friend or family member who can filter out the noise that lives in your head about trust. Asking for a recommendation from a teacher who gave you an A, for those who don't have abuse history, is a 100% emotionally neutral experience. It's no challenge for the teacher - it's an easy task. So get somebody to help you write emails/letters asking for those letters. (Use Interfolio or similar.) (By which I mean: use Interfolio or similar. You don't want to have to ever ask those professors again, right? Use Interfolio or similar.)
As for your chances at a competitive postbac, your 4.0 (which is mathematically impossible if you had a 3.9, right? Right?) is your ticket. Just understand that the med school prereqs are by far the hardest coursework you'll have ever seen, and be ready to work really hard.
Best of luck to you.
I'd disagree with Dr. Midlife to a certain extent. Definitely agree on the need for more shadowing, volunteering, maybe even a full-time position such as HIV counseling. You might need a year or two to build up your experience and develop solid references.
But where I disagree with Dr. Midlife is that I believe you're on your trajectory towards medicine because you were abused as a child, plain and simple. You can't leave that out without hollowing out your story. And to me, your trajectory is a sign that you're able to take some horrible experiences and turn them into something that drives you towards escaping your shell and helping others. Obviously, many people don't react that positively, and I think that's a great credit to your resilience and character.
The key is to present your story well. In those terms, you're in Act II right now, where's Act III going to take you? As trite as it may sound after such trauma, what did you learn, and what vision did it give you for yourself? Combined with your high academic achievement, you seem to possess a very solid life story and personality upon which to build a successful medical career. Programs and med schools will be looking for agency, a sense of control over your life that will keep you going through the stresses of pre-medicine and medicine.
I've known a lot of people who had PTSD, which sounds similar enough to your case, and a big distinction to me has been between those who manage their traumatic past, and those who overcome it with a sense of finality. To put it another way, it's like a distinction between those who see the mind after a mental collapse like a bottle that, once broken, can never be as strong again -- versus seeing your mind as a bone, which can grow stronger through breaking and healing. If you see yourself in the latter category and can present yourself that way, the med school world will be your oyster.
Conversely, there are a lot of people who can never quite overcome the trauma that occurred in their lives. And yes, those people fare badly when applying, because many of their strong emotions bleed through into their self-presentation. No one can afford to take a risk on a candidate who's going to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, who's going to have people's lives in their hands, and who might drop out.
At least for the postbac portion, if you want to compete mainly based on stats and a few extracurriculars, go ahead and don't disclose anything. But if you're willing to take a risk and tell your story, then suddenly you're jparsenal87, a very distinct, hard to forget candidate. And, frankly, if any programs think your story is a turn off despite you presenting it in a way that conveys resilience, courage and a positive outlook, then **** 'em.
Finally, on the reference side, you showed awareness of how you've acted in the past, why you did so, and how important it is to evaluate teachers less with your lizard brain. It's up to you to stop behaving in that way, both by being better at cultivating new mentors and rebuild old bridges. The ball's in your court. If you believe that it's in your court, if you have that agency, I can't see how being honest about your story isn't going help you, and you deserve everything positive you can derive from it.
But where I disagree with Dr. Midlife is that I believe you're on your trajectory towards medicine because you were abused as a child, plain and simple. You can't leave that out without hollowing out your story. And to me, your trajectory is a sign that you're able to take some horrible experiences and turn them into something that drives you towards escaping your shell and helping others. Obviously, many people don't react that positively, and I think that's a great credit to your resilience and character.
The key is to present your story well. In those terms, you're in Act II right now, where's Act III going to take you? As trite as it may sound after such trauma, what did you learn, and what vision did it give you for yourself? Combined with your high academic achievement, you seem to possess a very solid life story and personality upon which to build a successful medical career. Programs and med schools will be looking for agency, a sense of control over your life that will keep you going through the stresses of pre-medicine and medicine.
I've known a lot of people who had PTSD, which sounds similar enough to your case, and a big distinction to me has been between those who manage their traumatic past, and those who overcome it with a sense of finality. To put it another way, it's like a distinction between those who see the mind after a mental collapse like a bottle that, once broken, can never be as strong again -- versus seeing your mind as a bone, which can grow stronger through breaking and healing. If you see yourself in the latter category and can present yourself that way, the med school world will be your oyster.
Conversely, there are a lot of people who can never quite overcome the trauma that occurred in their lives. And yes, those people fare badly when applying, because many of their strong emotions bleed through into their self-presentation. No one can afford to take a risk on a candidate who's going to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, who's going to have people's lives in their hands, and who might drop out.
At least for the postbac portion, if you want to compete mainly based on stats and a few extracurriculars, go ahead and don't disclose anything. But if you're willing to take a risk and tell your story, then suddenly you're jparsenal87, a very distinct, hard to forget candidate. And, frankly, if any programs think your story is a turn off despite you presenting it in a way that conveys resilience, courage and a positive outlook, then **** 'em.
Finally, on the reference side, you showed awareness of how you've acted in the past, why you did so, and how important it is to evaluate teachers less with your lizard brain. It's up to you to stop behaving in that way, both by being better at cultivating new mentors and rebuild old bridges. The ball's in your court. If you believe that it's in your court, if you have that agency, I can't see how being honest about your story isn't going help you, and you deserve everything positive you can derive from it.
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I'm sorry you had to go through something like this. Something to keep in mind for post-bac (and eventually med school) interviews: anything you put down is pretty much fair game for the interviewer to bring up.. Would you feel comfortable talking about this in great depth with a complete stranger if they bring it up?
Also, if you do decide to share this part of your life, I'd try to focus on framing it in a more positive light. What you've written down so far is too negative and depressing in my opinion and it doesn't reflect as well on you as it could. Just my thoughts. Good luck!
Also, if you do decide to share this part of your life, I'd try to focus on framing it in a more positive light. What you've written down so far is too negative and depressing in my opinion and it doesn't reflect as well on you as it could. Just my thoughts. Good luck!
I agree with the many people saying you should get clinical exposure first. You might feel better by empathizing with patients and hearing about their stories, which will help you build steam in your own self confidence as well as your passion for medicine. Jumping straight into academics is a natural instinct for people who want to pursue medicine, but it really should be decided after you feel like this is your life's passion.
