What's your back-up plan?

[roseglass6370]

If you don't get admitted the cycle you apply what are you going to do...?

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[MedicalP]

Try again.

 

[Zona Pellucida]

Reapply. I REALLY don't want to do this, however. I'd be devastated.

And I wouldn't even know what would make a difference next cycle besides just applying super early (I wasn't verified til mid August this summer) as I have shadowing, research, above avg GPA, slightly above avg MCAT for matriculants, volunteer both clinical and community, hobbies, etc. I really wouldn't have done anything different.

 

[futuredocDB]

i would definitely try again
i'd use the extra time to do more research, shadowing, volunteering, ect then try again next cycle. i would never let anything get in the way of my dream. . .

 

[roseglass6370]

I love the dedication I'm seeing. 🙂

I'd probably do the same, but I might be tempted to apply DO too depending on the circumstances.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I love the dedication I'm seeing. 🙂

I'd probably do the same, but I might be tempted to apply DO too depending on the circumstances.

realistically unless you have a 3.8 gpa and 32+ mcat
you should apply DO..
you should just apply and keep it as a option.. cuz if you get into a good DO school like PCOM or CCOM, your pretty much good.. and you'll not be screwed over for a year..

my alternative if i have a below 3.5 gpa and or a low mcat/ in the situation that medicine becomes a field which is broken by government interference.. would be either psychology or dental..

btw i do not consider DO an alternative. i'll apply even if i have a 4.0 and 40 mcat..

 

[FlowRate]

All of the above? I won't need an SMP/Postbacc, so I'd start looking for a real job, into masters/phd programs, reapplying, DO schools. No reason to limit yourself to one thing.

 

[PinkIvy08]

luckily, i've made it this time around, however, if I hadn't been accepted this year, I would've been applying right now for MPH programs and completing that degree before applying to med school. (no option for pursuing another degree first then applying...also no option for SMP or post-bacc programs)

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I would encourage people to do stuff that would be good for our country. Being a nurse is all good and everything, but there will never be a shortage of people choosing that degree in college (working long term as a nurse is a different situation). There aren\'t that many people who are willing to start a business. Instead of choosing a career based on the salary, you should chose what you enjoy in life (if you don\'t love teeth, it will be hard to do it when you are 55).

nursing degree's are in major need though.. some ppl say for every doctor you need like.. 5 nurses?
>.> you've got a major business fetish <,<

 

[mediterranean]

all of the above? I won't need an smp/postbacc, so i'd start looking for a real job, into masters/phd programs, reapplying, do schools. No reason to limit yourself to one thing.

+1

 

[roseglass6370]

I was kind of assuming that "apply next cycle" would encompass post-bacc work during the in between time. Sorry I didn't make a more specific option.

And I do agree with the statement that it's smart to toss in a DO app along with the allo apps you submit your first cycle as a safety, at the least! I definitely think I'll be doing that.

 

[Zona Pellucida]

I was kind of assuming that "apply next cycle" would encompass post-bacc work during the in between time. Sorry I didn't make a more specific option.

And I do agree with the statement that it's smart to toss in a DO app along with the allo apps you submit your first cycle as a safety, at the least! I definitely think I'll be doing that.

I wish I threw in PCOM.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

In the old days (before this new health reform stuff), each new doctor that comes into town creates four jobs. That will no longer be the case though. The amount of nurses needed depends on the clinic and hospital needs. The point I was making in my previous post is that our country and world needs people to come up with new technology so we can survive and thrive. For instance, we need people to create technology that can clean water without having to make billion dollar buildings and operating costs.

i'll agree... eco/green energy engineers are going to be in massive demand..
and we really do need them...
technology i also agree is massively needed.

but thats what science is for.. not business..
so why not go into eco science.

 

[roseglass6370]

i'll agree... eco/green energy engineers are going to be in massive demand..
and we really do need them...
technology i also agree is massively needed.

but thats what science is for.. not business..
so why not go into eco science.

I agree. Those are going to be difficult fields to use as a "back-up" to medicine unless your major was geared to them (i.e. engineering or ecology). I don't think a business degree is going to have a huge impact in either of those arenas, at least not directly.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I agree. Those are going to be difficult fields to use as a "back-up" to medicine unless your major was geared to them (i.e. engineering or ecology). I don't think a business degree is going to have a huge impact in either of those arenas, at least not directly.

unless pro-med is interested in distributing those things.. they have very little relevance to business

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

You can create a business in this area, but you will have to hire the right people to do all of the manufacturing work and stuff like that. At the end of the day, you don\'t have to have an engineering degree to start an eco tech company.

hmm all very true..
but you have to have distributors and people who can provide you with the tech.

 

[skyblue2000]

Nobody would do Caribbean??

 

[circulus vitios]

1. MD/DO
2. Strongly consider the Caribbean
3. Grad school or 4 years in the military then reapply

 

[jvesco22]

# 7:

I don't need a Backup Plan. Failure isn't an option

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

# 7:

I don't need a Backup Plan. Failure isn't an option

thats a suicide mentality for sure..

 

[Jorriss]

Probably another career, forensic chemistry or something. 'Maybe,' even though I don't want it, a Ph.D.

 

[Narmerguy]

thats a suicide mentality for sure..

Lol not necessarily. Just make sure you bring it I guess.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Lol not necessarily. Just make sure you bring it I guess.

alright..
a crazy cat lady robs you and puts you on a train to california the night before your final week
btw
she drugged you.. and your out for 2 days..
in the mean time..
your somewhere in the midwest..
and you missed your first final.. thats a C.
you dont have a cellphone cus it got stolen and you dont have money..
so you get off at a train station..
but accidentally its in the middle of no where.
it takes 1 day for you to get to a civilized location.
when you get there a policemen thinks your a terrorist and locks you up in jail and flys you to washington.
where you are interrogated for 2 weeks. by which all your finals have been missed.
all the teachers have left the college.
and your grades are all down the drain..
then you are abuducted by aliens the next semester and your grades become all E's..

basically my point of that extremely funny story is: s**t can.. and usually will happen..
so having a do or die mentality is very much dangerous..
alternatives are always good to have 🙂

 

[Grand]

Crossing the Rubicon is a metaphor for deliberately proceeding past a point of no return. The phrase originates with Julius Caesar's invasion of Ancient Rome when, on January 10, 49 BC, he led his army across the Rubicon River in violation of law, hence making conflict inevitable. Therefore the term "the Rubicon" is used as a synonym to the "point of no return".
Alea iacta est ("The die is cast"), which is reportedly what Caesar said during the aforementioned crossing of the Rubicon.
The equivalent expressions
Burn one's bridges. The expression is derived from the idea of burning down a bridge after crossing it during a military campaign, leaving no option but to win, and motivating those who otherwise might want to retreat. This expression can also be used figuratively, as in, "On my last day at my old job, I told my boss what I really think about the company. I guess I burned my bridges."
Burn one's boats, a variation of burning one's bridges. The Muslim commander Tariq ibn Ziyad, upon setting foot on the Iberian Peninsula in 711, ordered his ships to be burnt, so that his men had no choice but to thrust forward and conquer the peninsula. The same strategy was used by Hernan Cortes, who burned and sank his boats, so no other option was left then to advance into Aztec territory.
"Break the woks and sink the boats (&#30772;&#37340;&#27785;&#3331😉", an ancient Chinese saying referring to Xiang Yu's order at the Battle of Julu; by fording a river and destroying all means of re-crossing it, he committed his army to a struggle to the end with the Qin and eventually achieved victory.
Fait accompli ("accomplished deed", from the verb "faire", to do), a term of French origin denoting an irreversible deed.

 

[Elpenor]

Why isn't Law school on the poll.

 

[jvesco22]

thats a suicide mentality for sure..

Go on...

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Just ignore him. He is still learning about the real world. Look at his responses to my posts. There is only one option for you if you don\'t get in. You move on with life to something else. That simple.

lol like i said before
live long and prosper..
i wish you no ill will mr.promed

 

[Janieve]

My plan is pretty simple, but it's driving my family crazy:

1. Apply for medical school.
2. If not accepted, take job with Red Cross
3. If not accepted after three cycles, apply for a job at the FBI (not a special agent, though. Just a paper-pusher, I guess).
4. If that fails, backpack through Eastern Europe for the heck of it.

My logic is: if I can't save/heal people, I might as well try to protect them instead. Drives my parents mad, too. I think the only thing they want me to be LESS than a doctor is a law enforcement officer. Hahaha!

 

[roseglass6370]

Nobody would do Caribbean??

No. Even if I didn't get accepted after 4 cycles, I still wouldn't go Carib. But that's just my personal decision.

 

[RevMD]

No. Even if I didn't get accepted after 4 cycles, I still wouldn't go Carib. But that's just my personal decision.

Same here. It has been said many times: once you go out of the country for med school, coming back for residency is very difficult. There is also that general stigma around Caribbean schools as opposed to Newcastle or some other better Euro school. So I am willing to do whatever it takes to get into a med school here.

As for the backup plan, I would still stay in undergrad for a fifth year. Just take a part-time course load and focus most of my energy on improving ECs. Any small improvements in GPA/MCAT are usually overlooked, especially if they were already about the same the previous cycle.