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Me: MCAT 36-39. GPA:3.60-3.90. Had 3-4 publications in Undergrad, 1 first authorship in a leading journal in the field. Went to Top 10 Undergrad, magna cum laude, had a thesis, taught the MCAT for a company, had stellar LORs, was a TA for 3+ years, won a national award, was on student govt, etc etc
Sounds like a very good applicant for medical school right?
In my first Application cycle (senior year of college), I applied to>40 schools, from Harvard to my state's non flagship state schools. I had 2 interviews in total (at top 10 schools, strangely enough), and all rejections.
Everybody was surprised. Or almost everybody- I wasn't, and nor were the people who knew the mess I had gotten myself into.
You see, I had a deep, dark secret. One that I lived in terror that other people would find out.
I was a cheat. When I first arrived at college, I had a tough time. I was no longer the smartest kid in the room. I didn't get the grades I had with ease. Teachers weren't telling me how smart I was anymore. And then the worst thing that could have happened occurred. I got a B. Imagine that. The world had dared give me a B.
So I decided to cheat. I won't go into the details, but I changed a few answers on a test regrade. I'll always remember the right answer to that question. Anyway, the TA confronted me about it. I confessed
The next few years were the toughest of my life. I was placed on probation, made to attend honesty seminars, etc. But I still didn't get it. I blamed the world for my predicament. This was especially true after I decided to become premed. I got good grades, etc. But my advisers etc told me I would have a tough time
And so I became resentful. I saw several kids who had drug charges on their record get into med school. Even one with a DUI- and another who had punched a cop.But I had no chance? Really? I hadn't even broken any laws! Where was the justice? How as this fair?
But as time went on, I started realizing the truth. That I had make a terrible error of judgement, and that I wasn't taking responsibility for it. I took the MCAT, destroyed it (ironically, the answer to the question I had changed showed up on my MCAT- life is funny sometimes). I then tried to move on-at first saying "Yes I made a mistake, but I was just young and immature". Like 2 years had made all that big a difference. I wasn't fooling anyone, and wasn't taking responsibility for my actions.
So I graduated, worked for two years in a hospital, and I started to understand why I had cheated. I had cheated not because I was immature or any such reason. I had cheated because I was arrogant, and thought I could get away with it. I didn't think of the consequences of my actions, how I was cheating others, and how I was trying to always make excuses for my actions. If I had been a doctor and had done the same, I would have killed patients. So I gave up on medical school. And also, no one owed me a thing. I had failed one of the base expectations of being a physician.
A year later, on a recruiting trip, I went back to my alma mater. There I happened to run into my Pre-Med Advisor, and we grabbed coffee. I don't know why I agreed, but I did. And I talked about how the past 5 years had changed me. A few days later, I got an email from him. "Given A Second Chance, I was thinking about you recently. Look, I know it's been a few years since you tried, but if you want to be a doctor, you should try again. People make mistakes. Just tell them what you told me"
I applied 2 years later. I was now 26. I applied to 60 schools+. And got 8 interviews this time. In mid October 2 years ago, I was awoken by a call. It was the Dean of a medical school. We had a serious discussion. At then he said "Given a second chance, I'm going to give you a second chance because so many people have vouched for you. Don't **** it up"
So here I am, in medical school. I really should be studying, but I've procrastinated on writing this letter to SDN. I posted on here a few years ago, and was told I had almost no shot. And SDN was right. I'm in medical school only because one Dean decided to take a chance on me. If you haven't ****ed up yet, Dont. Look at My stats. I should have walked into medical school. But I deservedly did not
I'm not writing this to give anyone false hope. There will (I hope) be other people who have ****ed up in their lives who read this.Know that you have a chance, but you're on a short leash. You need to work harder than you ever have for a shot. You need to have amazing stats, and show passion for what you're doing.And you have to take every opportunity that comes your way, get amazing Letters of recommendation, and convince people to give you a shot. And apply widely. I applied to 60+ schools, from Top 10 to newly formed. Funnily enough, all my interviews were in the Top 25 schools- the new schools straight up rejected me
And don't make any excuses for you mistakes. Man/Woman Up, take responsibility for your actions, and honestly tell interviewers/in the essay what you have learned. And be prepared for rejection
Medical school is awesome. I love it way more than I ever did undergrad, though that could also be because I don't have an albatross around my neck anymore. Rotations are tough, surgery especially was brutal. But it's nothing compared to the self-loathing and I doubt I put myself through. But this incident made me a better human and future doctor. It also taught me what integrity means- not from a theoretical, kumaya, everyone be honest way, but from what happens if you aren't and you suddenly are lost in the wilderness with no clear path.
Anyway, sorry for the long and rambling story. But I felt I needed to tell SDN my story. Just. Don't. Be. Dishonest
Edit: Oh, btw, I've changed some details about myself here. Nothing substantial, but anonymity is nice
Sounds like a very good applicant for medical school right?
In my first Application cycle (senior year of college), I applied to>40 schools, from Harvard to my state's non flagship state schools. I had 2 interviews in total (at top 10 schools, strangely enough), and all rejections.
Everybody was surprised. Or almost everybody- I wasn't, and nor were the people who knew the mess I had gotten myself into.
You see, I had a deep, dark secret. One that I lived in terror that other people would find out.
I was a cheat. When I first arrived at college, I had a tough time. I was no longer the smartest kid in the room. I didn't get the grades I had with ease. Teachers weren't telling me how smart I was anymore. And then the worst thing that could have happened occurred. I got a B. Imagine that. The world had dared give me a B.
So I decided to cheat. I won't go into the details, but I changed a few answers on a test regrade. I'll always remember the right answer to that question. Anyway, the TA confronted me about it. I confessed
The next few years were the toughest of my life. I was placed on probation, made to attend honesty seminars, etc. But I still didn't get it. I blamed the world for my predicament. This was especially true after I decided to become premed. I got good grades, etc. But my advisers etc told me I would have a tough time
And so I became resentful. I saw several kids who had drug charges on their record get into med school. Even one with a DUI- and another who had punched a cop.But I had no chance? Really? I hadn't even broken any laws! Where was the justice? How as this fair?
But as time went on, I started realizing the truth. That I had make a terrible error of judgement, and that I wasn't taking responsibility for it. I took the MCAT, destroyed it (ironically, the answer to the question I had changed showed up on my MCAT- life is funny sometimes). I then tried to move on-at first saying "Yes I made a mistake, but I was just young and immature". Like 2 years had made all that big a difference. I wasn't fooling anyone, and wasn't taking responsibility for my actions.
So I graduated, worked for two years in a hospital, and I started to understand why I had cheated. I had cheated not because I was immature or any such reason. I had cheated because I was arrogant, and thought I could get away with it. I didn't think of the consequences of my actions, how I was cheating others, and how I was trying to always make excuses for my actions. If I had been a doctor and had done the same, I would have killed patients. So I gave up on medical school. And also, no one owed me a thing. I had failed one of the base expectations of being a physician.
A year later, on a recruiting trip, I went back to my alma mater. There I happened to run into my Pre-Med Advisor, and we grabbed coffee. I don't know why I agreed, but I did. And I talked about how the past 5 years had changed me. A few days later, I got an email from him. "Given A Second Chance, I was thinking about you recently. Look, I know it's been a few years since you tried, but if you want to be a doctor, you should try again. People make mistakes. Just tell them what you told me"
I applied 2 years later. I was now 26. I applied to 60 schools+. And got 8 interviews this time. In mid October 2 years ago, I was awoken by a call. It was the Dean of a medical school. We had a serious discussion. At then he said "Given a second chance, I'm going to give you a second chance because so many people have vouched for you. Don't **** it up"
So here I am, in medical school. I really should be studying, but I've procrastinated on writing this letter to SDN. I posted on here a few years ago, and was told I had almost no shot. And SDN was right. I'm in medical school only because one Dean decided to take a chance on me. If you haven't ****ed up yet, Dont. Look at My stats. I should have walked into medical school. But I deservedly did not
I'm not writing this to give anyone false hope. There will (I hope) be other people who have ****ed up in their lives who read this.Know that you have a chance, but you're on a short leash. You need to work harder than you ever have for a shot. You need to have amazing stats, and show passion for what you're doing.And you have to take every opportunity that comes your way, get amazing Letters of recommendation, and convince people to give you a shot. And apply widely. I applied to 60+ schools, from Top 10 to newly formed. Funnily enough, all my interviews were in the Top 25 schools- the new schools straight up rejected me
And don't make any excuses for you mistakes. Man/Woman Up, take responsibility for your actions, and honestly tell interviewers/in the essay what you have learned. And be prepared for rejection
Medical school is awesome. I love it way more than I ever did undergrad, though that could also be because I don't have an albatross around my neck anymore. Rotations are tough, surgery especially was brutal. But it's nothing compared to the self-loathing and I doubt I put myself through. But this incident made me a better human and future doctor. It also taught me what integrity means- not from a theoretical, kumaya, everyone be honest way, but from what happens if you aren't and you suddenly are lost in the wilderness with no clear path.
Anyway, sorry for the long and rambling story. But I felt I needed to tell SDN my story. Just. Don't. Be. Dishonest
Edit: Oh, btw, I've changed some details about myself here. Nothing substantial, but anonymity is nice
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