What are you going to do if/when you don't get in?

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Originally posted by pathdr2b
Bump.

OK folks, as much as you probably hate to do it, if you have not been accepted yet it's time to start thinking about what you're going to do next year. Just some ideas since a lot of deadlines for these programs are early 2003:

1) Enroll in an MS or MPH program

2) Enroll in a post bacc program

3) Complete a fellowship year at CDC, NIH, or some other government agency.

4) Work in a research lab at a University with a medical school

5) Volunteer in a hospital (if you can afford it, of course)
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Bump!
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But if I were to get rejected my first time around, I'll apply a second time, if I get rejected that second time I will go to Grad School for Clinical Psychology. If that fails, I will try to go to Grad School for Biology and teach, I'd like to teach college or High School. And if not, I can become a Child Life Specialist where I get to combine working with children in hospitals with teaching.

Can you tell I don't like to think about this? ;)

Karina
 
Lately I've been considering PA school. . .I guess it's the closest thing to being an MD if I don't make it. And they make good money (considering that the PA degree is a 2-year Master's degree).

Then again, since I work in a hospital, I've thought about nursing. It's another great field (hard work though) that would take no time for me to do (1 year) since I have a BA already.

Of course, my third option is catching a flight to the caribbean and working my BUTT of. An MD is an MD at the end of the day.
 
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Like Aaliyah once sang:

"If at first you don't succeed/Pick yourself up and try again/You can dust it off and try again (try again)."

I'd just keep trying until I ran out of money (or lost my sanity).
 
Get my masters in Biochemistry, so I know I can get a job two years from now, volunteer a bunch/get clinical experience, finish my masters with a 3.8-4.0...and apply again, aiming for entering class of 2005, if I don't get in then...just get a job in a biotech company.
 
If I don't get in...hm, actually I didn't get in!
That's why I am in Ph D program now. But I will definitely apply again as soon as I finish this. I am also wondering if anyone knows about the MD/Ph D. Say I will probably get a good MCAT score while I am in Ph D (b/c it will take a while) then will I be able to switch to the MD/Ph D or I have to wait until I get my degree. The original plan is to get the degree first then apply again. However, if there is any way to save the time, I would definitely do it though. I guess I will go to the biomedical tower and ask the staff there sometime.
 
i'd probably trade bonds
 
Jump off the Brooklyn Bridge!:D :eek:
 
If I don't get in, I don't think I will reapply. I think at the present, I have decent enough numbers/experience to get in some place, so if I didn't get in that means there was something that my interviewers didn't like on my personality level, and so I'll take that as a hint. So I'll just spend the next year continuing to work as a lab rat, while applying to grad schools. Then spend the next seven or so years gettin a PhD in neurobiology... and working on my great American novel/comic book.
 
Originally posted by klp14
I've heard that a couple med schools ask this question in their interviews, though haven't experienced it first hand (yet?). What do schools think about people saying they want to go to PA school if they don't get in?
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yea, i was in a meeting for premeds. the actual med. school administor told us that if you don't get in, it is time to move on. she said that they don't like to hear you saying that you will try again and again.
 
I was thinking of going out Sylvia Plath style - until mom reminded me that we have an electric range. However, she did add, rather helpfully, that we have a gas grill that would do the trick.
 
I'll tell you what I'd do.

I'd go out and earn a quick million dollars, invest half of it in mutual funds, and give the other half to my friend, Asadullah, from Securities.....
 
Originally posted by pocwana
at my wake forest interview (3 interviewers, 15 minutes each - timed) one of them asked me this question. without hesitation, i replied, i will apply again next year. right there, he told me "that's the right answer." i was surprised he told me that and i said i thought there weren't any right answers to these questions. he said there was for this one and that it's nice to give some positive feedback to interviewees.
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hahah...they asked me that at Wake last year...I said I'd apply to law school (b/c you can make lots of $$ really quickly, but of course that's not what I told him)...the guy seemed pissed that I said that...and I got waitlisted. Moral of this story: don't say lawyer.
 
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I would proabably study hard and reapply the next year. Then if I stilll didn't make the cut then, I would probably do something in the medical field, get some more experiance, study harder, and reapply a few years later. I know that I want to be a doctor.
I don't know what to do with my life after that....

If I definitely didn't get in still, I would probably think about being a nurse,or at least be the closet i can to the medical field.:)
But I will try the hardest i can, dedicate my life to being a doc.. I would be so happy when i get in , in a few years. .:clap: :clap: :clap:
 
Back up plans...


*Apply to Dalhousie Physiotherapy school

* Apply to Health Sciences program and become Nuclear Med Tech or Radiographer.

*Get Masters in English...maybe Ph.D later on.

*Get MA in Political Science

*Get position in family buisness *ugghhh...*

* Become EMT ( dunno bout this one...)

*dive for garbage in fises filled harbour

* Apply to law school :laugh:

Assuming that the cost of living and inflation rates and operation of society and the universe stay exactly the same ( they will......oh,they WILL ! ) I've calculated my monthly expeses and have afew houses I may buy if I don't get into med school.

I'm currently looking at this-
extremely old cardboard box in the dirty feet district with excellant view of nothing.7.8 square feet in total with no access to fresh air or water.$3000 a month.Sounds promising...and they say I have no street smarts ! :D
 
Grad school....already sent in applications.

Over the summer I plan to travel a lot and work at home since there are some projects that need to be done that have been on hold the past 4 years since I've been gone.
 
take the lsat and apply to law school while re-applying to med school. it seems that sci majors do well on the lsat.
 
FYI, NIH and NCI are currently screening applicants for fellowships to commence this summer. http://www.nih.gov
 
If not med school, my only other option is to put in my conscientious effort to become a cracker *****... I hopefully make the cut :p

on a serious note, i'll do grad... ugh
 
I am now a 4th year med student, and I love my occasional looks at the pre-med board to remember what I was feeling 5 years ago. I was asked this question on my medschool interviews and I told the truth - i'd be a teacher. I DID end up being a teacher (in an underserved area without teachers certification) for the 1 year time until getting into med school on the second try. And guess what? Not only did I have a great experience, matured a lot professionally and personally by having that job, it's also proven to be an interesting conversation topic on residency interviews. They seem very intrigued that I had a non-medical job for a year.

I say, reapply, and in the meantime do something productive that will make you more sure of your decision to enter medicine as well as make you a better person overall. By the way, I did NOT retake the mcat, do research, or take any classes in my reapplication period - having a real-world job and showing the desire enough to apply again was plenty to get me accepted early decision to my top choice school on the second try.

I hope you are joking about the law school thing - honestly if you are that quick to jump to the other big money profession, med school might not be for you. Med school and residency take hard work and dedication, so if your passion is not there, you should reconsider your decision right now. There are too many people that go to med school just because they can get in on the first try, and end up regretting the decision, but by then it's too late to get out because of the debt. Not to mention they are hogging spots from the many who really want to be there.
 
hmmm....if I didn't get in after three times, and all hope was totally lost, i would become an instructor for some wilderness organization like NOLS, and make it my life goal to climb Everest. that is, only if all hope of becoming a doctor were gone.
 
Bump
 
Pathdr2B,
I am just curious why you are so adamantly pushing your "options for those who don't get in". I mean I understand the realism and helpfulness but you seem so dogged. I think most people have some idea of the options and the reality that they might not get into medical school. Personally I think your list and your repeated bumping is kind of cruel. Like constantly reminding people that the doom and gloom of rejection is hanging over their heads. I am not trying to be bitchy but I have to say while reading this thread you were the lone voice of not reality but straight up gloom.

Rachel
 
Originally posted by RachelMann
Pathdr2B,
I am just curious why you are so adamantly pushing your "options for those who don't get in". I mean I understand the realism and helpfulness but you seem so dogged. I think most people have some idea of the options and the reality that they might not get into medical school. Personally I think your list and your repeated bumping is kind of cruel. Like constantly reminding people that the doom and gloom of rejection is hanging over their heads. I am not trying to be bitchy but I have to say while reading this thread you were the lone voice of not reality but straight up gloom.

Rachel
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I bump this because if I did not, Brill would have given his take on the subject which is important. You may not know it but SOMEONE out there was helped by this thread and these are the people I bump this thread for and I will coninue to bump it to help others.

Also, I am not afraid to take the heat for "sensitive" subjects that are important to the medical school process. Doctors are required to be able to discuss "sensitive" subjects with people they barely know. I'd rather have a doctor that would be "straight up" with me than to "sugar coat" things.
 
I too feel that this is a very important discussion. The reality of the situation is that a lot of people who want to go to medical school never get in. While it's always good to stay optimistic, I think it would be truly unwise for people to not consider their options should they not gain acceptance to medical school. It's better to be prepared when the fall rolls around than to be hit with a hard dose of reality when some of these people realize that they won't be going to medical school as they had planned.
 
If I'm not admitted to medical school for the class starting in Fall 2004, I've now decided to start work on a PhD in Cancer Pathology with a cancer epidemiology flavor. I'd then reapply MD/PhD and DARE them to reject me again!;)
 
Originally posted by pathdr2b
If I'm not admitted to medical school for the class starting in Fall 2004, I've now decided to start work on a PhD in Cancer Pathology with a cancer epidemiology flavor. I'd then reapply MD/PhD and DARE them to reject me again!;)
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ha! :laugh: good one.
 
Bump
 
In the event I were not accepted in med school after three attempts I would become an airline pilot and troll the friendly skies in a bus.
 
i think i'll start to work on my jump shot again. and if b-ball doesn't work out i could always pick up my old high school job(local pharmacist). ;)
 
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