when you found out you got in, how did you react ?

[TempuraOreos]

I got my first acceptance this week!!

I'm a high school teacher and I told my class that I *might* be getting a call during their class from the admissions committee. My phone started ringing and all of my students froze while I looked at the number (it wasn't from the same area code of the school). They kept shouting to still pick it up and sure enough it was an acceptance call! He asked me how I was doing and I meant to say "better now that you've called" but I could only spit out "better" which was so vague and seemed like a weird unemotional response. Then he started saying "blah blah we just finished our adcom meeting and you've been accepted to our school and we would love to have you" and all I could do was whisper "omg" as he was talking which was super creepy now that I think back. I honestly was in so much shock that I had a massive brain fart and didn't know how to respond or form a sentence. Afterwards I walked in and told my students and they started cheering and clapping which made me tear up so bad. Then I had them start a chem problem while I stepped out and called my mom and fiancee and cried on the phone with them. After school I quickly ran to my car in the parking lot and called my best friend and said "are you ready to come visit *insert city name*" and she was like "huh?" and then it clicked to her and we screamed and cried.


Background: My family and I are refugees and I moved here when I was in elementary school, not knowing how to read or write. I was absent most of high school for a medical condition that has been (thankfully) corrected. I went to community college and had to literally learn everything from the ground up which led to some struggles academically. Graduated college, nailed the MCAT, and then became a teacher to help other kids like me.

I applied to 40 schools, rejected by 37 of them, only interviewed in October (turned to WL) and then got two last-minute II's for March at end of February. By January/February I was feeling pretty down that I was not getting in so I was incredibly relieved that I got that A (and now I don't have to do a post bacc)!!!! WOOO

I absolutely love this! Also, an immigrant, and love see people with similar experiences like this succeed! Also, you must be a great teacher if your students were so invested in seeing you achieve your dreams too!

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[wb100]

actually, they were happy, but i think it was a little different - they were RELIEVED. my mom said that she knew how hard it was to get into medical school (they are still back in my home country, i am here alone), and she was afraid that i wont get in, and fail, and be heartbroken. I just really want to do anything i can to make their life as comfortable as I can, you know? They have done so much for me, you know?

Then, when i told them that drexel had 14000 applicants this year, and accepted only 260, - including me, - THAT impressed them... hahaha. I dont think they realized how competitive it was up to this point.

Yes exactly! For a lot of immigrants they come here not so they can achieve “the American dream” but so their kids can. They want us to achieve all our goals and dreams. My mom can’t stop crying when we talk about it! Biggest congrats to you

 

[M&L]

Yes exactly! For a lot of immigrants they come here not so they can achieve “the American dream” but so their kids can. They want us to achieve all our goals and dreams. My mom can’t stop crying when we talk about it! Biggest congrats to you

Yeah ! But in my situation I AM the immigrant - I moved here alone 12 years ago when I was 21. So it is all very surreal for them since they haven’t ever been to the US

 

[965978]

I haven’t gotten an acceptance yet but I have a story about how I THOUGHT I got one for a split second. It’s pretty brutal.

So I’m from Cali and I interviewed at a school on the East Coast that gives acceptances through phone call. I wake up a couple weeks later and I check the thread for that school on SDN and people from my interveiw day are getting calls for acceptances. I’m on high alert all day, ready to receive news at any time.

Around 1PM I get a phone call from a number I don’t recognize. But my iPhone tells me the city the call is coming from and SURPRISE! It’s the city of the med school I was waiting to hear from. I get all jittery and excited and pick up the call and say....

Me: Hello!!!
Caller: Hi is this Clamshell?
Me: YES!
Caller: Hi I’m calling from [Name of Student Housing Complex on school I interviewed at] and just wanted to know how you felt about your tour two weeks ago?

I got waitlisted through email like an hour later

 

[keytonez]

@ClamShell I've literally had that nightmare after interviewing at a school that calls for acceptances. I'm so sorry that happened

 

[keytonez]

I’ve been anxiously waiting to post in this thread since I submitted my first AMCAS application nearly three years ago. I sat on two unranked waitlists that whole cycle until finally getting the hard R in August. It was brutal. I took a year off to strengthen my app and then reapplied in the 2018-19 cycle. After two post-interview rejections early in the fall, I tried to channel my disappointment by looking into retaking the MCAT and starting to plan to re-re-apply in 2019.

In early spring, I was surprised to get an interview invite from one of my top choices, and loved it when I went for my interview. When I got the acceptance call late in the afternoon several weeks later, I cried at the 4th year medical student who was on the other end of the phone, and planned how to tell my dad. He’s basically my only parent and has been an incredible single father. He is just as invested in this process as I am…so I felt like I had to tell him in person. Still crying, I first called my aunt (my dad’s sister) to tell her I’d been accepted, and, after several rounds of “Oh my god!”, she said my dad was already going to be at her house the entire next day—and she reassured me she could act normal in front of him until I arrived.

So, first thing the next morning, I drove the 6 hours down to Los Angeles from the San Francisco Bay Area, intermittently happy crying the whole way. I got to my aunt’s house, rang the doorbell, and my dad answered the door, stunned: “Oh my god. What are you doing here?” And then immediately, before I could get a word in, “Did you get accepted or something?!” I smiled. More crying commenced pretty immediately. My dad held it together for about 25 seconds, until he told me that his Rosh Hashanah wish for this year was for me to get accepted to medical school. God damn.

Also, the white coat ceremony this August is going to be on my birthday. I can’t wait.

 

[simpson33]

The waitlist email for my top choice was released on a Wednesday, and I heard nothing. That means either rejection letter in the mail coming on Monday, or a phone call sometime soon. However, I had an interview on Monday so I wouldn't know if I got rejected until returning after the interview.

It's funny, I never had an anxiety/confidence problems since this application cycle. I've always been really sure of who I am and a pretty confident person. I felt that I killed the interview at the top choice and was feeling really good. However, driving to the interview on Monday I started to think that maybe I was bad at interviewing and not a good applicant. 4 hours by yourself driving was probably not helping this.

I went into the interview Tuesday and was very nervous even though I'm never nervous for public speaking/interviews. The interview went okay but I felt that I was selling myself short and not presenting myself like I had before. After the interview I drove home and felt that I was going nowhere in this process.

I got home, saw my parents and we talked about the interview and top choice. Right then I got the phone call from the area code and looked at my parents and said, "Oh ****. oh ****, oh ****, oh ****." I answered and was congratulated. My parents and I went out to dinner to celebrate, got some delicious cheesecake after with a bottle of wine. My girlfriend called crying and my friends were over the moon.




My main point in posting is to say this: Trust who you are and believe in yourself. You have put in the work to get here and deserve the successes given to you. Don't doubt yourself because of what people on here are doing, what another person's stats are, or how your story fits against somebody else.

 

[Rachapkis]

These stories are too much. I'm not crying. You're crying.

 

[M&L]

you know, whenever i have a bad day, - bad to the point when i do not even know how i am doing any of this anymore, - i go to this thread, and read a few posts, and i become so grateful for everything, and i feel better . You guys make me feel better.

 

[965978]

you know, whenever i have a bad day, - bad to the point when i do not even know how i am doing any of this anymore, - i go to this thread, and read a few posts, and i become so grateful for everything, and i feel better . You guys make me feel better.

What's wrong fam?

 

[masterchiefk57]

I got the email at work right after my boss/co-worker began expressing their disgruntlement with me for something. I took a screenshot and sent it to my girlfriend. The rest of the day was easy peasy

 

[M&L]

What's wrong fam?

oh, nothing much. Just a lot of work, - sleeping 4 hours a night on average, job can be stressful (addiction treatment facility), Biochem 2, biochem lab, Anatomy and physiology, but most of all - waiting on the damn waitlists ))) I am good though.

 

[and 99 others]

2 days out, bumping this thread to tide us through and put us in a positive mindset. Reading others' stories gave me so much joy and excitement, so everyone please share!!

Good luck to everyone! <3

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

When I got my first acceptance I thought I’d be a a lot happier. I always told myself if I got into medical school I’d probably cry or run down the street screaming, but when I got my letter I just smiled and hugged my parents. I guess my mind set when I was younger is that I thought getting into medical school was far fetched and unachievable while when I applied I had felt that I had earned a spot due to all of my hard work and academic success.

 

[DNAJB6]

i was sitting in bed watching the bachelor and i knew one of my schools i interviewed at was calling that night about acceptances. all of a sudden, i got a call from the area code at around 7:45ish and i instantly knew who it was. i sobbed uncontrollably when the dean of admissions told me they had accepted me. i could not speak back to him at all since i was hysterically crying, and he goes "well it seems like you have a lot of people to call! i will email you the details". ultimate definition of catharsis after going through this horrific process LOL

Now you know how the girls that received roses on The Bachelor felt.

Congratulations on your acceptance!

 

[Cornfed101]

When they called and told me I was accepted I said “you’re kidding!!” And the lady said, “um, no? You interviewed well” haha I was at home so my wife and I subsequently freaked out

 

[907914]

I watched the super extra (and fantastic) UMich video with my wife, sat there for a sec in silence not knowing what to feel and vocally said:

“Huh, I am gonna be a doctor....Nifty”

It is like the feeling of waking up Christmas morning when you were 8 to your first bicycle without training wheels.

Edit: I found a better approximation of the feeling

 

[907914]

He also literally typed that out in a group chat lmao

Literally “I am gonna be a doctor, nifty” his how I feel right now. All y’all went to bed and can’t tell me how to feel! Lol “Nifty” is my best approximation for giddy.

 

[DNAJB6]

Literally “I am gonna be a doctor, nifty” his how I feel right now. All y’all went to bed and can’t tell me how to feel! Lol “Nifty” is my best approximation for giddy.

Congrats! Did you just find out?

 

[907914]

Literally “I am gonna be a doctor, nifty” his how I feel right now. All y’all went to bed and can’t tell me how to feel! Lol “Nifty” is my best approximation for giddy.

Update, I found a better meme for the occasion:

 

[Cornfed101]

Update, I found a better meme for the occasion:

View attachment 283378

looking at the time stamps it looks like you’ve been searching for that meme for over 2 hours... you’ve lost your touch

 

[deleted972488]

WELL HOLY **** I SPOKE TOO GODDAMN SOON GOT THAT UMICH ACCEPTANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Literally “I am gonna be a doctor, nifty” his how I feel right now. All y’all went to bed and can’t tell me how to feel! Lol “Nifty” is my best approximation for giddy.

One of these things is not like the other... it’s ok to be excited. Congrats.

 

[deleted927529]

Had just got into work, told everyone including the janitor. An immense relief.

 

[suomi24]

I was in a meeting at work this morning and we were having some heated discussions regarding plans for a big company event this weekend. During the conversation I realized my phone was ringing, then it stopped. Oh s***. I missed the call! I check my phone under the table, and sure enough it was the area code of the school I was hoping to hear back from. I ran out of the room mid conversation without telling anyone anything. Talked to the dean, he told me I had been accepted, and I got this huge rush of excitement. That turned to some teary reflection while I thought about all the work I’ve put in to get here, and now two hours after the call I am riding this high of emotions that feels like what I imagine a moderate to large dose of cocaine would feel like. This acceptance got me feeling so good!!!!!!

 

[Nynaevei]

I was in my mom's basement with my toddler happily playing nearby. I yelped, then posted on my school's forum immediately and told everyone who mattered. Also gave my toddler a big hug!

 

[frog301]

Honestly didn't think I would have a reaction. I was sitting in bed play a game on my laptop. I had been following the respective school's thread and saw that people were getting notified of acceptances that interviewed around the same time as me and thought I was going to be rejected because I didn't have an email. Checked it again 5 minutes later, only saw "Congratulations" and then started yelling uncontrollably. Had to check it again at least 4 times to make sure I wasn't seeing things. Everything else was a blur. Notified friends/family.

 

[PreMedStudent55555]

I was on the plane that was legit about to depart. Was bored so decided to check my email one last time. Got the email and was so happy and told my mom who was right next to me. Flight attendant saw me on my phone and told me to turn off my phone which I did.

I couldn’t hold in my excitement so I text my best friend who calls me back within seconds. We were so excited and then the flight attendant came back and yelled at me for being on my phone for a second time and said that she would stop the entire flight lol...

Dampened the moment but I was still so relieved during the whole flight knowing that I would get to go to medical school and be a doctor at the very least

UPDATE (3/30/20):
So I wanted to give an update to this previous post because the moment I got my first acceptance was pretty anti-climatic. However, the moment I got into one of my top choices was a much better feeling. I was literally stalking the SDN thread of my school to find out when they were going to release decisions. My school doesn't have an exact date they release their decisions and historically released their decisions just during the last week of January.

So for about the first few days of the last week of January, I was glued this thread from 10AM-5PM every day just waiting for this decision. This happened for Monday and Tuesday and then in the middle of Wednesday I started getting tired of all this constant refreshing of the SDN thread. So I think around 1:30 PM I decided to call it a day and told myself I would not check that thread anymore. The school decided to release decisions at 1:45 PM that day smh. Literally, the one time frame I am not glued to this thread, the school decides to release decisions.

Anyways, I held out for a good hour before curiosity got the better of me and decided to go check out the thread to see what memes or jokes people were making. Saw people posting decisions and I could feel my blood pressure rising. I quickly went out to my school's portal on my phone and was just frantically trying to get the decisions tab and then moment I got to the decisions tab, I saw the message "A financial aid package will be emailed to you." And I literally just jumped! I was in a JCPenney's at the time and so the security guard stared at me like I was some weirdo. I always get weird reactions from people when I get good news it seems

After the decision, I called my parents and they were relieved when they found out I got in. My parents were happy about the medical schools I had gotten into at that point but they really liked this medical school and were secretly waiting for this decision to come out.

So yeah this moment definitely made up for the first moment when I found out I got into medical school and was yelled at for having my phone out on a Delta flight lol.

 

[gopher1997]

I was sitting at my desk at work when I get a phone call. The caller ID is from the university that I interviewed at, and I knew what is was right away. My chest completely deflated (in a good way). I answered the phone and the director of admissions asked me how I was doing. I told her "I think I'm about to be better in 30 seconds". Then she congratulated me on officially being admitted into my dream school. My DREAM SCHOOL. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't stop shaking from the excitement and relief.

I called me parents and my girlfriend. My dad screamed "F*** yeah!" and my mom just straight up screamed from excitement, and her reaction prompted my dogs to start barking cause they got excited too. My girlfriend cried. And finally, I cried. They all have seen me at my highest high and my lowest low, but they never gave up or stopped believing in me for a second, and their support was second to none.

It is crazy how 4 years of hard work and stress ends in a 60 second phone call. My pre-med journey has officially ended. Here is to being a physician, and here is to the class of 2024.

Cheers.

 

[thegrind33]

I was on the plane that was legit about to depart. Was bored so decided to check my email one last time. Got the email and was so happy and told my mom who was right next to me. Flight attendant saw me on my phone and told me to turn off my phone which I did.

I couldn’t hold in my excitement so I text my best friend who calls me back within seconds. We were so excited and then the flight attendant came back and yelled at me for being on my phone for a second time and said that she would stop the entire flight lol...

Dampened the moment but I was still so relieved during the whole flight knowing that I would get to go to medical school and be a doctor at the very least

You must have flown American

 

[Cornfed101]

You must have flown American

Or United. They have been known to drag people off of planes...

 

[907914]

Or United. They have been known to drag people off of planes...

I fly delta, and every time I am texting until the wheels are off the ground. They could care less.

 

[NeuResurgens]

I was sitting at my desk at work when I get a phone call. The caller ID is from the university that I interviewed at, and I knew what is was right away. My chest completely deflated (in a good way). I answered the phone and the director of admissions asked me how I was doing. I told her "I think I'm about to be better in 30 seconds". Then she congratulated me on officially being admitted into my dream school. My DREAM SCHOOL. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't stop shaking from the excitement and relief.

I called me parents and my girlfriend. My dad screamed "F*** yeah!" and my mom just straight up screamed from excitement, and her reaction prompted my dogs to start barking cause they got excited too. My girlfriend cried. And finally, I cried. They all have seen me at my highest high and my lowest low, but they never gave up or stopped believing in me for a second, and their support was second to none.

It is crazy how 4 years of hard work and stress ends in a 60 second phone call. My pre-med journey has officially ended. Here is to being a physician, and here is to the class of 2024.

Cheers.

TBT to the time during my interview cycle when I got a call from an area code associated with a school interviewed at and it turned out to be some robot mfer

 

[PreMedStudent55555]

You must have flown American

I fly delta, and every time I am texting until the wheels are off the ground. They could care less.

It was Delta tho lol which is why I kept texting but I guess they weren't having it that day lol

Or United. They have been known to drag people off of planes...

Even tho I wasn't on United, I was scared they were gonna do that to me so I didn't touch my phone for the rest of the flight lol

 

[SeamlessForFood]

I didn't freak out as much as I thought I would. BUT I did sleep like a BABY that night (and many nights after)

 

[ThetisAntithesis]

Got 2 DO acceptances 2 hrs apart last week and was happy but hoping for that MD acceptance. Got the email 2 hrs ago and I damn well nearly punched the doc I work with trying to hug her (she wrote my LOR, has been a great encouragement). Going "Yes!" "Yes!".
Called/texted my best friends and sisters and mom.

Now sitting at my desk re-reading the email for the 4th time and wondering how I'm gonna do these progress notes cos I can't focus from all this excitement!

 

[TheDataKing]

I woke up and I cried because I saw that I was waitlisted at two schools on the morning of October 15. Emotionally exhausted, I took a nap for a solid few hours. I woke up and 10 minutes later got an email (they're sent via text to me so I get them on my apple watch) and panicked - I opened the email and saw that I was accepted and I cried again and called my parents and then texted all of my friends!

edit: I may have sent an email to the pre-med advisors at my undergrad who told me I wasn't competitive for MD schools also

 

[HuskyMD Emeritus]

Congratulations to all who have acceptances. There will be lots of ups and downs throughout medical school, residency, fellowship and the rest of your career. The stress can be unrelenting but I can tell you, after all these years, I have no regrets in choosing this career. Don't forget the feelings of euphoria when you received your first acceptance. Post your experience here and come back to this thread to read all the happy moments of your colleagues. It will help you remember why you want to be a doctor.

 

[frog301]

Congratulations to all who have acceptances. There will be lots of ups and downs throughout medical school, residency, fellowship and the rest of your career. The stress can be unrelenting but I can tell you, after all these years, I have no regrets in choosing this career. Don't forget the feelings of euphoria when you received your first acceptance. Post your experience here and come back to this thread to read all the happy moments of your colleagues. It will help you remember why you want to be a doctor.

this is so wholesome

 

[and 99 others]

this is so wholesome

Between motivational, hope-inducing posts by doctors on the other side and proud premed dads gushing about their children's science drawings, pre-allo has had a solid day.

 

[deleted993760]

I was driving home from work and my dad calls me and tells me that a medical school had called and he gave my number to call me back. I rush home and he tells me the number and it was my mom's cell phone number NOT MINE. We call the admissions office back and I scream on the phone because I am so excited. I went out to celebrate with my dad after and started calling all my family and friends. Still in shock but so so so excited!!!

 

[Jappa]

I was incredibly lucky to have been called and notified of my acceptance two weeks earlier than October 15th (regular decision). I literally cannot make this up: I was sitting in my living room with my family venting to them about how nervous I was surrounding the process and how decisions could start coming out in another two weeks while my phone was sitting in a different room. A little bit later I go back to my room and see a missed call and voicemail from a random phone number (mind you this was around 9pm) and I listen to the voicemail and hear that I got accepted. I was in disbelief and was sooo confused because I was not expecting it at all, especially because it was not October 15 yet.

I listened to that voicemail two different times to make sure I was hearing it correctly, then ran back to my living room screaming that I got accepted. My family and I re listened to the voicemail and right when the word "accepted" was heard, my family and I started jumping up and down and crying. Absolutely surreal moment that I'll never forget. Going to be the first doctor in my family so beyond excited for this opportunity.

 

[achilles0619]

I was sitting at work and checked my email and said "I just got accepted to medical school" then started crying, then asked my boss mid tears if I could call my mom. I called my mom and she started crying so we cried together for about 10 minutes lol. I called my boyfriend and he announced it to his whole office It's been a pretty good Wednesday

 

[AW0320]

I'm so happy I found this thread... I'm literally tearing up reading everyone's stories!

I got my first MD acceptance on October 18. I was actually interviewing at another school, and the whole day had felt like a disaster up until that point. I flew out a day before my interview so I could explore the area, but I pretty much IMMEDIATELY came down with the flu. I was so sick and miserable and zoned out on flu meds... I was trying to hold it together, but I honestly felt like I was on the verge of crying the entire day. I just kept thinking how my future was riding on this interview, and I can barely string together a complete sentence. Needless to say, I was feeling really defeated when I walked out of the school. I got to my rental car, turned on my cell, and saw the email... I'd been accepted to the school I'd interviewed at a month before. I'm not sure if I was foggy from the flu/meds or what, but I just sat there in disbelief for a solid 15 minutes before it finally sunk in and I teared up. I honestly expected myself to scream and go crazy, but mostly I just felt relieved. As a non-trad career changer, I'd given up so much and worked so hard to get to that point... it was so validating for a school to be like "yeah, we see what you've done... you deserve a spot here."

 

[IsleyOfTheNorth]

I ate a hot dog.

I was in the process of cooking a hot dog when I found out I got in. Then I just sat there eating my hot dog, dead inside from staying up all night studying for a Calculus quiz. My wife wasn't around to tell and I figured she should be the first to know, so I went to class, a happy zombie, then told her when she got home.

 

[and 99 others]

I ate a hot dog.

I was in the process of cooking a hot dog when I found out I got in. Then I just sat there eating my hot dog, dead inside from staying up all night studying for a Calculus quiz. My wife wasn't around to tell and I figured she should be the first to know, so I went to class, a happy zombie, then told her when she got home.

Please tell me it wasn't a poop hot dog...

 

[Bond-HydrogenBond]

Man, everyone has such good stories. Meanwhile, I get in and still feel dead inside. I think this is mainly because I didn't get a call or email about it and just stumbled upon it while neurotically checking my portals. I think I'm just waiting for someone to say it was a mistake and take it away. Ahhh.

 

[Lardy Boy]

Man, everyone has such good stories. Meanwhile, I get in and still feel dead inside. I think this is mainly because I didn't get a call or email about it and just stumbled upon it while neurotically checking my portals. I think I'm just waiting for someone to say it was a mistake and take it away. Ahhh.

Process has made us emotionally dead even before starting.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[peachyhoney]

I was feeling nervous the entire day because I had the first interview date and thought I was going to hear back on October 15th, but the day passed and nothing happened. I went to work on the 16th and saw the area code was from the school and freaked out. I stepped out, picked up the phone and was shaking the entire time as the dean talked to me. All I could say was "Thank you so much" over and over again. Once I hung up, I kneeled by the wall in the hallway just trying to process that 5 years of hard work had finally paid off within a 60-second call. I was tearing up a lot as I texted pretty much everyone, my parents, my boyfriend, my friends, my mentors, and anyone who had helped me on this crazy journey.

 

[rainfall9786]

I was accepted on 11/6 by my top choice!!!

Not only were they the first school to interview me, but I knew the odds of acceptance post-II were low because of the sheer number of students they interview as well as my low MCAT score.

The student who hosted me during my interview told me the Dean of the school called him for his acceptance. I asked him what that experience was like, and he told me he happened to be in a bad mood that day and was about to go on a run when he received his phone call. He told me after, "It was a very good run!" I left my interview praying for a similar story - I was dreading the WL or rejection email.

Before I knew it, the 8-10 week window had come. I'm in the library printing some paperwork, when my phone rings with the area code of the school. My heart quickly began racing as I immediately answered it, and hear that I've been accepted. I whispered to the Dean that I had to be quiet because I was in a library. He started whispering back to me on the phone, "Oh, okay no worries!" With the biggest smile on my face, I walked back to the computer in a daze. I quickly left the library, and as I walked to my car, I started crying - and I never cry!

I called family shortly after - and my mom broke down over the phone. It was a good day.

As someone previously said: It is crazy how 4 years of hard work and stress ends in a 60 second phone call. My pre-med journey has officially ended. Here is to being a physician, and here is to the class of 2024.

 

[StudentDoGter]

I was about to do my end of day paperwork at my serving job when I took out my phone to use the calculator and I saw the notification “_SOM: Acceptance Letter”. As I sat at the counter with my dirty apron and crazy hair from working for hours, I leaned my head on the counter and just cried lol. TEN years of hard work; I finally made it!!!!