What options are there if rejected from Med Schools?

[the Undergrad]

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you complete all your lower and upper div. courses...take the mcats...do research...finally it comes time to apply for med schools!

the waiting period....2..3...4 months...YOUR REJECTED!!!!!!


Well, thats what i wanted to know...what now??????

i mean you're still gonna get your BS degree..but no acceptance into medical school...now what????


what are the options for such people?????????? please be specific and serious. thank you.

(as evident by my i.d., i am an undergrad...a bio/psych major..wanna go to med school...so i just wanted to get a little idea what happens if worse comes to worst...)

 

[the Undergrad]

just chill?

yeah sure.🙄

after working for four long years..thinking day and night aspiring to be a doctor and getting rejected..and your saying "just chill"

well, what else?

 

[stillpremed]

if you really wanted to become a doctor, you could get into med school there are peeps who get in with a sub 3 gpa, so something had to be done right...

 

[Tweetie_bird]

okay, I'm moving this to the PreAllo forum where you may get some better ideas on what you can work on. Good luck, I know it's hard but nothing good came easy. Keep on it.

Follow me 😉

 

[CRAZYTERP]

It may not be the same but I graduated and had no clue what i was going to do for a year while applying. I mean it is a similar circumstance except (hypothetically speaking of course) you would have applied once before. I would suggest working or getting a job that may beef up your resume and make you a btter candidate. I got a job working Americorps for Habitat for Humanity. Not really science oriented but then again it does not necessarily have to be. If you want to stay in science though there are tons of things to do with Americorps. I met some people who live in Bmore and do a lot of AIDS/STD prevention forums etc. They love what they do and are actually thinking of making the switch from premed to Public health.

I also have a good friend who tookt he year to do postbac research at NIH. He loves what he dopes and got some awesome experience and LOR's out of his position.

Seriously there are tons of options. You could take the year off totally and do nothing related to medicine. I don't think you can really make any mistakes as long as you keep your long term goals in perspective.

 

[UCLAMAN]

If you truly want to become a physician and feel that it is your calling and you get rejected...then reapply. There are many different ways to go about reapplying that have been discussed on other threads.

The other options are to apply to other professional schools, get a masters, get a job, etc. But if one really wanted to go to medical school(assuming they don't have any major factors to consider, ie age, children) then why would they settle for another profession? If you do not get in the first time, assess what went wrong and try again.

The bottom line...if you really want to go into medicine you will find a way.

 

[SouthernGirl]

Originally posted by the Undergrad
you complete all your lower and upper div. courses...take the mcats...do research...finally it comes time to apply for med schools!

the waiting period....2..3...4 months...YOUR REJECTED!!!!!!


Well, thats what i wanted to know...what now??????

Life goes on. You could reapply (either immediately or after a year or so). In the meantime, work. Volunteer. Travel. Strengthen your application. Do a post-bac program, if you want.

If you can't face the thought of reapplying in the near future, then find a career that offers similar benefits (perhaps teaching, research, nursing, etc). You won't shrivel and die if you don't get in the first time around--many people are not accepted anywhere but still go on to live happy and fulfilling lives. Med school will always be there if you decide later on to try again.

 

[Bones99]

If I didn't get in this time around I was considering working for the CIA or the NSA. Being that they hire TONS of physical scientists I felt it was a good bet. I am also very interested in national security, etc. so it was a very plausible option for me.

-Bones

 

[Sheera01]

Try applying to be a Post-Bac IRTA at NIH...then reapply. It's helped me get in. Another thing you can do is teach for a year. It can be lots of fun...and shows your dedication to service.

 

[Doc Ivy]

I agree with all who've posted...

I couldn't go through the pain of applying twice and I just wasn't convinced after graduation that my overall packaged would wow the adcomms...so instead of applying right out of college I sucked up my pride went back home to my local University (thus saving much $$$) and proceeded to earn another undergrad degree (a BS in biology go along with my BA in behavioral psych).. then decided to do my master's (thesis based) in medical physiology...trained to be an EMT...worked at a clinic...volunteered with the brain injured...etc you get the point

Bottom line, it's taken 4 years to get to where I wanted to be but multiple acceptances early in the app cycle were definitely worth it so don't stress--there's lots you can do if you don't get in the first time, you just have to be willing to spent the time and effort to do what it takes 🙂

 

[dumbest premed]

Hmm lets see....for all of us with those undergrad biochem/psych degrees there are plenty of satisfying careers for us to pursue in case we don't get accepted. There's that dream job of washing test tubes in the lab for 6 bucks an hour....then there's the good ol' customer satisfaction associate over at Mickey Dee's...let's not forget about working the customer serice desk at Wal-Mart...and that covetted position of cashier/bagger over at the local supermarket. And then for those of us who truly enjoy technology and working with some mean@ss chemicals...we can be the ones who change those urinal cakes in the men's room😉 .

But seriously, I would be pretty pissed if I didn't get accepted after all of this hard work. Someone suggested earlier in the thread to become a nurse or paramedic...I started out my first college semester in community college and I could have become a nurse or paramedic in 2 years...not 6. But if you don't get accepted, your best bet would be to apply over and over again until you do. Improve your application through some more volunteer work or research. Anyone with decent grades and MCAT scores could get in if they are determined enough.

 

[Doc Ivy]

for all of us with those undergrad biochem/psych degrees there are plenty of satisfying careers for us to pursue in case we don't get accepted. There's that dream job of washing test tubes in the lab for 6 bucks an hour....then there's the good ol' customer satisfaction associate over at Mickey Dee's...


LOL that is soooo true, college education ain't worth a damn these days

 

[Dr. Steve Urkel]

I know what you mean! 😱

 

[DrMom]

Originally posted by Doc Ivy
LOL that is soooo true, college education ain't worth a damn these days

That all depends on whether or not you major in something that is actually marketable.

 

[UrSexyLatinDr21]

SO INDEED, WHICH ARE THE "MARKETABLE MAJORS" NOWADAYS????

 

[SolidGold]

Originally posted by dumbest premed
Hmm lets see....for all of us with those undergrad biochem/psych degrees there are plenty of satisfying careers for us to pursue in case we don't get accepted. There's that dream job of washing test tubes in the lab for 6 bucks an hour....then there's the good ol' customer satisfaction associate over at Mickey Dee's...let's not forget about working the customer serice desk at Wal-Mart...and that covetted position of cashier/bagger over at the local supermarket. And then for those of us who truly enjoy technology and working with some mean@ss chemicals...we can be the ones who change those urinal cakes in the men's room😉 .

This is so damn true, its not even funny. I have a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Finding a job with this degree was like finding a needle in a haystack. And if I would have found one, I would be living just above the poverty level. Garbage men make double that of a college grad with a biochem degree. At least I'm making good money doing something else now while applying to med school.

 

[PublicHealth]

It used to be the case that if you had a college degree, you raked in a decent income (look at our parents). Nowadays, you need at least a master's or doctorate to make some coin. Even PhD's don't have it so good anymore! Where have all the nickels gone?

PH

 

[UrSexyLatinDr21]

So anyone has any idea on which undergad majors are the most marketable ones?

Ed

 

[Rudy1223]

I'm finishing up Respiratory Therapy next year. It makes around 40-50K with benifits. Extremely easy to find a job. Very variable, you can go into pharmaceuticals with the degree and make 80K. Anyway, I took into consideration that if I got a normal degree and this medschool thing didnt happen I would end up with no options.

 

[Spotless]

My plans if I get rejected to all schools that I applied for, is to keep going with determination and don't quit, If you feel that being rejected by medschools is the only way out, you got one thing coming.

My plans are to:

1) Go take either an MPH or MS

2) Retake MCAT

3) Then reapply


If you find that you can't continue going towards your dream of being the finest doctor, you might want to rethink about another profession.

Any Questions, PM me

 

[demografix]

Interesting question. I think a lot of people (perhaps to an extent even myself) choose going the medicine route because we haven't received the career education to know what else is out there. The path to medicine, albeit extremely difficult, is at least a path that has steps A, B and C. Many other careers are more nebulous, and therefore intimidating.

I think the truth for many college graduates is that they find that their majors do not help them much in obtaining a job. Lots of people graduate and realize that they aren't solicited nearly as much as they thought they would be. A lot of my friends ended up in random jobs they had absolutely no foresight of. Not necessarily a bad thing, but difficult to plan for.

I, being in a state in which I've no idea where I'll be next year, have given a lot of thought to potential plan B's in the event that medical schools decide not to accept me. The truth is that most of us have our whole lives ahead of us and if we are the type of creative, dedicated workers who value learning and diverse experience (hopefully most of us are) then there will be many things we can do to feel rewarded in our lives.

That being said, plan B number one: Move to France, learn to speak French, get random job, plant a garden. Move on.

Plan B's are endless. If you want to go academic, get a PhD. Do research. Become a PA or nurse. Do Peace Corps. Go to law school. Become a firefighter, police officer, camera person for Discovery Channel. There's no limit to what people who have the dedication, motivation, discipline and smarts to go through the med school application process can do. Best of luck!

 

[PluckyDuk8]

Well, I graduated with a psych BA. Didn't get me a whole lot in finding a job. There were some clinical research assistant positions that paid a pretty penny. I got a few interviews but didn't get hired, and I'm about ready to kill NU's HR because I would have gotten a sweet job if it wasn't for them not giving out my resumes in proper time (had the interview for the exact job I wanted, and they liked me, but they wanted a full year, and by that time I had 9 months). So, I ended up working as an EMT for a private ambulance company. Pays crap. Lotsa good the psych BA did.

 

[memoryless]

I graduated with a B.S. in Psych.. and yeah, it gets you nowhere. I wanted to do research too, Plucky. I have 1.5 years experience in psych research, great recommendations, and have had upwards of 15 interviews over the last year for research jobs. No job offers. So what intellectually-stimulating, challenging, college-degree-a-necessity job did I get instead? Administrative Assistant (ie secretary). That's seriously the best I could find. 😕 (<-- wtf face)

 

[UrSexyLatinDr21]

Interesting comments...

 

[sunflower79]

Originally posted by the Undergrad
you complete all your lower and upper div. courses...take the mcats...do research...finally it comes time to apply for med schools!

the waiting period....2..3...4 months...YOUR REJECTED!!!!!!


Well, thats what i wanted to know...what now??????

i mean you're still gonna get your BS degree..but no acceptance into medical school...now what????


what are the options for such people?????????? please be specific and serious. thank you.

(as evident by my i.d., i am an undergrad...a bio/psych major..wanna go to med school...so i just wanted to get a little idea what happens if worse comes to worst...)

Take heart, I was in those shoes. Reapplying is totally OK, but unlike another poster I would NOT apply over and over. You don't wanna do this too many times, just as you don't wanna take the MCAT over and over. And schools will bar you from reapplying, usu. more than 3 times.

First, don't take it personally. Not all good ppl are doctors, and vice versa.

Think about what would you want to do if you had time before med school. Were there other careers you wanted to try your hand at, or something totally different like Peace Corps? As always, find something you love to do and excel at it.

Talk w/pre-med advisors and adcom members to see how you can improve your application. I don't think getting another degree is necessary for most ppl. You may wanna retake the MCAT if you scored under 30.

When you do apply, do it EARLY and to a wide range of schools. Or you may realize your passion lies elsewhere. There are lots of ways to be a healer, don't discount them! All have their pros and cons.

OK that's all I can think of, I have jet lag and now a cold. You can PM me for more questions. 🙂

 

[Luna_nc]

I haven't read all the replies, but I think one alternative to Medicine would be 'Pharmacy'. Pharm.D is a great way to get into healthcare and it gives good quality of life as well.

Any thoughts on that?

Shahab