What will YOU do if you don't get in?

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33Tchica

33Tchica

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Each day that passes, my chances dwindle...
Even the smell of roses will bring me no more joy if I get all rejections.

What will others do who don't go in? I have no back up plans and no clue what I will do. I don't have any family connections or any money or a car or a home.

Here are some options I have considered.

1) Take GRE and pursue some graduate program??? Possibly get rejected
2) Work in a hospital doing something pretty lousy in terms of responsibilities and patient contact
3) Despair

So, what are you going to do? What is your advice?

+pity++pity++pity++pity++pity+
 
Try and get a job..reapply. Rinse and repeat as necessary.
 
I'm taking the GRE next week and applying to Grad schools as my backup plan... No way I can take another year off I'll go insane.
 
I will either go abroad and do missions then reapply or go to another school and get an additional degree and then reapply- basically in the end I think my life would never be complete without being a doctor...

if all else REALLY fails I would go into Marine Biology
 
Sir Buckethead said:
Why couldnt you get in with a 33T?
Click to expand...
I also assume you have some south-of-the-border affiliation [chica]. What gives? A URM with a 33T can't get in?
 
Graduate school, either for a genetic counseling program or a cell and developmental biology like program and become an embryologist. Then I might re-apply, especially if I don't go the genetic counselor route.

If I don't get in again, I probably will work on getting a PhD. I'll have a Dr. before my name somehow, dammit! 😉
 
Cry. Travel a bit. Go to grad school. Reapply. If that doesn't work I'd probably teach... or become a Rockstar.
 
Probably call all of the medical schools that rejected me, and ask why. Some schools that I've been rejected from (Mayo, Pritzker) will tell me in March or April and offer advice on improving your application. Then I'd probably take some of that information and improve my application... or travel. :laugh:
 
I'm already lining up some research for the spring and planning on applying for a summer grant. The deadline for Master's to start in the fall is March 1, and after talking to a few graduate programs in the field I'm interested in, they said I have a "reasonable" chance of admission based on my academic background. So if I don't get in, I'll just do a master's and re-apply in my 2nd year. We don't have to take the GRE here to do a master's - you just find a prof and submit an application, and I'd plan to work with the prof who I'll be doing research with this spring, so as long as I make a good impression before March 1, I should be set. I'm also going to talk to adcoms and see if taking a few more undergrad courses would do me any good - although after this year, my GPA should improve substantially, especially the science one.
 
If I don't get in this year? Continue my education here at Stewart, of course! I will be doing rotations at Harvard with Jochi if I stay on track.
 
I'm thinking of jumping off either the Sunshine Skyway Bridge or the Golden Gate Bridge...I'm leaning towards the former since the latter would be so cliche🙄
 
Interesting, nobody would consider going the DO/PA/nursing/physical therapy/whatever else routes? I mean at a DO school, you'll still become a doctor! And the rest of these you'd get plenty of patient contact... but I guess that must not be what you want out of med school??
 
apricotattack said:
Interesting, nobody would consider going the DO/PA/nursing/physical therapy/whatever else routes? I mean at a DO school, you'll still become a doctor! And the rest of these you'd get plenty of patient contact... but I guess that must not be what you want out of med school??
Click to expand...
I'm not ever applying to DO b/c the overwhelming majority of Canadian provinces don't let them apply for residencies there, and as an international student in the US, I have diminished chances of matching in the US, too. Not to mention, I ultimately wanna stay in Canada.

I considered other routes...we don't have PAs in Canada. I looked at nursing curricula, since I qualify for an accelerated 2-year program and the courses are idiotic. "Professional growth" for 3 credits? "Human interaction in the workplace?" WTF? Then I have a friend in the nursing program here who had a class last week which involved throwing a ball from one person to another to "practice teamwork."🙄 And then you have to PAY for this, as opposed to a master's, where you get paid to further your education. Not to mention, the one big thing about nurses and PAs that deters me is their lack of independence. Doctors in Canada (more so than in the US) have a LOT of freedom, but as a nurse/PA you're always following someone else's orders. Nurse practitioner is a decent route, but by that point, I'll have accumulated as much education as I would if I went the MD route, so why bother?
 
all good points

I don't really care about money or reputation or anything like that. I just want to help disadvantaged people out. However, the problem with DO is that I need an actual recommendation from a DO. What am I going to do? I have never actually met one before.

I have no information about those other fields of study. I don't even know where I would begin to look. Would becoming a nurse or PA spell doom for my chances of becoming an MD? How much money do they cost and how long do they take?
 
apricotattack said:
Interesting, nobody would consider going the DO/PA/nursing/physical therapy/whatever else routes? I mean at a DO school, you'll still become a doctor! And the rest of these you'd get plenty of patient contact... but I guess that must not be what you want out of med school??
Click to expand...

I'm actually thinking about getting a nursing degree so I can be licensed as a genetic counselor. This will allow me to bill. I might do the nursing degree online while I go to graduate school. But I will see how things go as I apply to different stuff.

I graduate this May. I will be applying for a nursing degree at a different school while also applying to graduate programs.

I will already have a B.S. degree so I should be allowed to do one of those accelerated nursing programs.
 
33Tchica said:
all good points

I don't really care about money or reputation or anything like that. I just want to help disadvantaged people out. However, the problem with DO is that I need an actual recommendation from a DO. What am I going to do? I have never actually met one before.

I have no information about those other fields of study. I don't even know where I would begin to look. Would becoming a nurse or PA spell doom for my chances of becoming an MD? How much money do they cost and how long do they take?
Click to expand...

I also just want to help the disadvantage out. That is why I will be starting a private pratice to go along with working at a clinic. In my private pratice I will be offering families to have a family history interpreation done for only 25 dollars. My goal is to have every family in the community I will work in to have a family history interpreation done for medical conditions. My next goal is to do it state wide and then go globally. I will offer to do the family history interpreations (pedigree analysis essentaily) online through a predevloped program, by phone, or house visit. I would prefer to do house visits for citites that are close by.

I'm hoping to have the chance to reach out to about a million families by doing this. If I can reach out to more then 1 million families, that would be awesome.

1 million X 25 dollars = 25 million dollars. So I will need to hire assistants. For every assistant I would higher, I would break down the revenue so each person gets the same amount for each client we serve (i.e., 5 workers would be paid the same amount).
 
apricotattack said:
Interesting, nobody would consider going the DO/PA/nursing/physical therapy/whatever else routes? I mean at a DO school, you'll still become a doctor! And the rest of these you'd get plenty of patient contact... but I guess that must not be what you want out of med school??
Click to expand...

NP/PA was my planned back-up last year. No way was I going through this process twice.

The annoying thing with NP/PA is they are very different paths. PA and NP require GRE not MCAT, also you have to be a nurse for a while before you get your NP, so you have to get a Nursing degree first (only 2 years if you already have a bachelors) then work, then go back. PA I never finished looking into but it was also pretty different.

They're good back ups but they take some step backs.
 
I already went through this before, where I got waitlisted and then ultimately nothing came of it (with a 37 on my MCAT and 3.9 GPA). What I did was get my Master's doing a ton of research and reapply. Unfortunately, it hasn't made that big of a difference thus far. As such My plan is to go to EMT classes during the coming spring so I can atleast start getting clinical experience. I think for most medical schools, assuming you're not going for an MD/PhD, they prefer volunteer and clinical experience over so much education you don't know what to do with it.

So thats my suggestion, getting clinical and volunteer experience. The whole Masters and teaching experience hasn't worked too well for me yet. But keep your fingers crossed, I know how horrible it feels to have to wait.
 
In a similar vein, what would you do if you applied to 25 schools and was accepted to only one MD program. sort of your last choice in a city you do not want to live in.

would you go?
 
MDRus said:
In a similar vein, what would you do if you applied to 25 schools and was accepted to only one MD program. sort of your last choice in a city you do not want to live in.

would you go?
Click to expand...

With a smile on my face😀👍 unless it was Killadelphia
 
MDRus said:
In a similar vein, what would you do if you applied to 25 schools and was accepted to only one MD program. sort of your last choice in a city you do not want to live in.

would you go?
Click to expand...

You couldn't find 25 schools in livable cities?
 
Drogba said:
hey man I would kill to stay in philly for med school. especially if my undergrad let me slip by.
Click to expand...

I'll partially retract...anything not within a 1 mile radius of Center City, Killadelphia is off limits😉
 
SoFlaKnight said:
I'll partially retract...anything not within a 1 mile radius of Center City, Killadelphia is off limits😉
Click to expand...

If you want to do EM and you like trauma, especially of the penetrating variety nowhere better than temple.
 
Drogba said:
If you want to do EM and you like trauma, especially of the penetrating variety nowhere better than temple.
Click to expand...

...Is there a better kind?...I surely don't know of one...

...granted, the designs of the new 13+ story glass shrine/Med School look fairly awesome. I wonder how much they spent to bulletproof the whole thing...
 
MDRus said:
In a similar vein, what would you do if you applied to 25 schools and was accepted to only one MD program. sort of your last choice in a city you do not want to live in.

would you go?
Click to expand...

Oh come on now, how could you possibly justify NOT going (unless the med school is bunk, but assuming its a US allopathic school, I consider this unlikely)? You will be a doctor, you are only living in the city for 4 years MAX (b/c you can very well do rotations somewhere else), and you know what, you'll be living in books for most of that time. If really the location of a school and/or the school itself would be make you so miserable as to consider not becoming a doctor because of it, then call someone without an acceptance and offer it to them, instead of trying to be greedy. I mean, we (as in pre-meds) apply to all these school because odds of an acceptance AT ALL (first choice or otherwise) are so darn low. Be happy you got in somewhere, cross your fingers for another acceptance, and get yourself EXCITED ABOUT BECOMING A DOCTOR! (YOU'RE IN!!), instead of depressed over the city that you don't like. I mean, c'mon man, there are probably 15-20,000 other people WHO WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THAT SEAT, even if it was Bagdad
 
I really shouldn't be one to talk smack about the Illadelph...I'm in Orlando right now, which I believe is Spanish for Murder
 
SoFlaKnight said:
...Is there a better kind?...I surely don't know of one...

...granted, the designs of the new 13+ story glass shrine/Med School look fairly awesome. I wonder how much they spent to bulletproof the whole thing...
Click to expand...

Hey now, don't go discounting Detroit. We're right up with you guys in terms of GSWs and MVAs.
 
Aynsl156 said:
Hey now, don't go discounting Detroit. We're right up with you guys in terms of GSWs and MVAs.
Click to expand...

All of which you'll be seeing plenty of if you go to Wayne State...*whispers 'sweet, sweet Tufts' into ear*
 
apricotattack said:
Interesting, nobody would consider going the DO/PA/nursing/physical therapy/whatever else routes? I mean at a DO school, you'll still become a doctor! And the rest of these you'd get plenty of patient contact... but I guess that must not be what you want out of med school??
Click to expand...
Well, I said genetic counselor or clinical embryologist. That interests me more than the examples you mentioned.

Collegefootball, you don't have to be a nurse to become a genetic counselor. I mean, you CAN, but it's not required.

SoFlaKnight, I actually want to go to school in Philly (Jeff, specifically), since this is where all my family and friends are. I'm planning on applying to all 5 medical schools in the area (though really I'd be absolutely terrified to go to Temple, since it's a demilitarized zone a block from campus) as well as a few others in the Mid-Atlantic region.
 
SoFlaKnight said:
...Is there a better kind?...I surely don't know of one...

...granted, the designs of the new 13+ story glass shrine/Med School look fairly awesome. I wonder how much they spent to bulletproof the whole thing...
Click to expand...

You can buy a small-arms bullet proof vest for a decent price and it's not that heavy to wear. If you want full protection from larger rifles you'll need heavy armor plating, but honestly typical robbers don't run around with assault rifles (they don't know how to clean it!)

Start a new trend! Kevlar under the scrubs!
 
Geekchick921 said:
Well, I said genetic counselor or clinical embryologist. That interests me more than the examples you mentioned.

Collegefootball, you don't have to be a nurse to become a genetic counselor. I mean, you CAN, but it's not required.

SoFlaKnight, I actually want to go to school in Philly (Jeff, specifically), since this is where all my family and friends are. I'm planning on applying to all 5 medical schools in the area (though really I'd be absolutely terrified to go to Temple, since it's a demilitarized zone a block from campus) as well as a few others in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Click to expand...

Read my previous post #28
The only reason I would live in Illadelph, besides The Roots and Cassidy ---> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_City,_Philadelphia
 
33Tchica said:
Would becoming a nurse or PA spell doom for my chances of becoming an MD?
Click to expand...
Be careful with this. Given the nursing shortage, medical schools may frown on you occupying a spot with no intention of utilizing the training. If you were to work as a nurse for a year or two, I'm sure you could defend the decision. But if your plan is to reapply to medical schools in the middle of a nursing program, it's not going to go over well.
 
NoUse4aName1286 said:
Oh come on now, how could you possibly justify NOT going (unless the med school is bunk, but assuming its a US allopathic school, I consider this unlikely)? You will be a doctor, you are only living in the city for 4 years MAX (b/c you can very well do rotations somewhere else), and you know what, you'll be living in books for most of that time. If really the location of a school and/or the school itself would be make you so miserable as to consider not becoming a doctor because of it, then call someone without an acceptance and offer it to them, instead of trying to be greedy. I mean, we (as in pre-meds) apply to all these school because odds of an acceptance AT ALL (first choice or otherwise) are so darn low. Be happy you got in somewhere, cross your fingers for another acceptance, and get yourself EXCITED ABOUT BECOMING A DOCTOR! (YOU'RE IN!!), instead of depressed over the city that you don't like. I mean, c'mon man, there are probably 15-20,000 other people WHO WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THAT SEAT, even if it was Bagdad
Click to expand...

you are right. thanks. sorry to be a jerk. got waitlisted at my pretty much first choice school yesterday. feeling a bit sorry for myself. needed that reality check.
 
MDRus said:
you are right. thanks. sorry to be a jerk. got waitlisted at my pretty much first choice school yesterday. feeling a bit sorry for myself. needed that reality check.
Click to expand...

It happens. Georgetown rejection was a bit of a downer for me when I got it too, so I can relate. Depressed about not going to a school with "a name" (for lack of another way to put it); but really, I have no real reason to be. Sorry if I was a bit uncouth.
 
1. Swear loudly and repeatedly
2. Drink
3. Cry (I get emotional when I drink)
4. Get Masters
5. Re-take MCAT
6. Apply again
7. Repeat as necessary.
 
NoUse4aName1286 said:
It happens. Georgetown rejection was a bit of a downer for me when I got it too, so I can relate. Depressed about not going to a school with "a name" (for lack of another way to put it); but really, I have no real reason to be. Sorry if I was a bit uncouth.
Click to expand...

no worries, man. you weren't uncouth. you were completely couth.
 
This one will do...
http://www.engineering.sdsu.edu/PLTW/Millau%20viaduct%20bridge.jpg
...j/k
 
either take a year off and work/volunteer or enter a masters program.
 
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