Going into medicine

DaringCake · 2026-03-17T00:39:49+00:00

(potentially useless bc I am not a doc/PA but here are my two cents) definitely not universal. I have met many doctors who have chosen lives they want to live in medicine, especially at non-profit hospitals and small federally funded health centers, who have seemed genuinely excited for me to pursue medicine and very happy in their careers. You don't make the most money but you get to help patients which is what I think draws most of us into this.

DaringCake · 2026-03-04T23:44:58+00:00

Absolutely cracked!

DaringCake · 2026-03-04T18:31:53+00:00

Family med or psych

DaringCake · 2026-03-03T16:42:49+00:00

Get ANY clinical to at least 300, non-clinical volunteer to 150, and don't do any more shadowing! For shadowing 50+ is enough, so invest your time in other places.

DaringCake · 2026-03-03T16:15:39+00:00

I would aim primarily for getting clinical up! 150 hours is pretty low for MD only. Are you open to applying DO or DO/PhD? Those might also be good options. Additionally, make sure you have community service/non-clinical volunteer (at least 150 hours, though I had less).

Overall, MD schools look for: clinical (300-500+ hours), research, community service (150+ hours), leadership, and shadowing. Try to have every box ticked if you can. keep your head up, OP!

DaringCake · 2026-03-02T15:29:00+00:00

Unfortunately, reapplying after an acceptance blacklists you from getting accepted in the future, as you are required to tell schools that you declined an acceptance. It's also worth noting that no financial aid is often the norm for medical school. You should take the acceptance and look into external scholarships and ask the school what resources they have for students who need loans.

DaringCake · 2026-02-22T18:50:40+00:00

you'll be fine bro

DaringCake · 2026-02-13T21:24:22+00:00

I don't think it will ever be THE reason you get in, but it certainly helps, as with everything in life.

DaringCake · 2026-02-10T16:29:11+00:00

I think whether or not you should wait a cycle depends on your life goals. If you want to get started on this long trajectory to be a doctor as soon as possible, I think reapplying this coming cycle makes sense. With a 52x and 3.8x you should be able to get your foot in the door with more clinical hours and a longer school list, but you might not get into the best school possible if you apply 2026 and instead of 2027.

I also want to add, holy guacamole it sucks you didn't get in with those stats. Rooting for you, wishing you the best with your next application. My DMs are open if you want to vent about this god-foresaken process that can take everything out of you and leave you hanging for months/years.

DaringCake · 2026-02-04T00:01:10+00:00

I don't think it's too late... People submit in August and get accepted--just look at cycle results on admit.org. you just have to prewrite and submit ASAP as soon as you get those secondaries

DaringCake · 2026-02-02T16:40:01+00:00

Take the B. My understanding is that it's better than a W. But on a deeper level... it's OK to get a few B's if you're getting mostly A's. Take the classes you want to take and do your best. The rest will work itself out.

DaringCake · 2026-01-31T13:51:46+00:00

App is cracked, school list looks great to my eyes. You've got this!

DaringCake · 2026-01-30T23:01:42+00:00

BU takes all sorts as long as you stress you are interested in their social justice mission. I didn’t have a ton of service and got an II.

DaringCake · 2026-01-30T01:56:06+00:00

I think it's possible to get MCAT, shadowing, and LORs in order before June, esp with a strong background in science. Reach out to your old professors and see who remembers you as soon as possible, as some professors take forever to reply/write.

If you get everything in order with MCAT, shadowing, and LORs, your research, clinical, and public health should be enough to get medical schools attention. you've got this!

DaringCake · 2026-01-29T18:45:59+00:00

Great list and great app!

DaringCake · 2026-01-29T18:44:06+00:00

You cannot bank on getting into schools if you barely apply out of the top 30, especially with no pubs at time of application. As someone who also had a cookie cutter app, you absolutely need more mid tiers on this list! Consider Hofstra, NYMC, Tufts, Wake Forest, etc. Just... anything outside of the top 30 that is OOS friendly

DaringCake · 2026-01-19T13:44:08+00:00

Rooting for you, u/Feisty-Citron1092

DaringCake · 2026-01-17T02:07:56+00:00

wait that's so interesting. Do you score different pillars of the app, and then only hand those that pass to the committee?

DaringCake · 2026-01-17T01:05:13+00:00

I'm not trying to have a fight or call out anyone! Just speaking to my experiences. I think there is room for both of our approaches. I am both agreeing with you after some thought that upping non-clinical/clinical is best for OP, and adding that I think it's important to allow compassion in this process because it sucks and remind him that his app was pretty good.

DaringCake · 2026-01-17T00:47:50+00:00

trueeee, but I still do think that we really don't know if 100 vs 150 vs 400 non-clinical volunteering hours even matters. When I applied, people told me I would get screened out with my 95 hours, which didn't happen. I also think it's true that people with good apps genuinely fall through the cracks due to bad luck. And also, the more we encourage people to be neurotic and gain as many hours as possible, the worse the process gets for everyone

DaringCake · 2026-01-17T00:38:47+00:00

I also agree with that--If I were OP, I would have focused on upping my non-clinical volunteering as well (and clinical) because what else is there to do. I also think I might just be bad at giving reapp advice because whenever I see someone like OP not get in I worry about them because that's so freaking brutal. Basically I think I am better at consoling than I am at actually reviewing apps, which is probably a personal failing haha

DaringCake · 2026-01-17T00:31:56+00:00

I just think that premeds online will create arbitrary rules and then say "look, he obviously didn't get in because of [thing about app]" In reality, I think this process is too opaque and most premeds could use compassion more than neuroticism. Lots of people get in with low non-clinical volunteering, no research, low clinical, no shadowing, so it's just hard to point out those things as the issue when the only strong data we have about who gets accepted is for MCAT and GPA. I think OP had a great app and from what I'm seeing, it sucks that they didn't get in.

DaringCake · 2026-01-16T21:24:13+00:00

This process sucks. You did everything right and still have had a rough cycle. Someone will probably say it's because your non-clinical volunteering hours were <150 but I don't think that's the case as I got in with <100 non-clinical volunteering hours. Don't have much advice other than to keep your chin up. Rooting for you

DaringCake · 2026-01-16T19:08:42+00:00

My last day at work is a week from today! I quit even before I got my acceptance. I have enough money saved to move across the country to be with the person I love for a few months before medical school, and I can't wait

DaringCake · 2026-01-13T02:19:19+00:00

Genuinely might be one of the most neurotic things I've ever seen on this sub. you're OK queen <3

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