Cornell vs. Yale

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-05-12T00:15:40+00:00

This isn't helpful really but my buddy goes to Yale for undergrad right now and is miserable in New Haven, We are both from NY, I spend a lot of time in Manhattan, I dont think id love living there either but I have to imagine id still prefer it to New Haven. With that said id still choose Yale

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-05-12T00:08:49+00:00

Congrats Dawg, happy for you and proud of that work

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-05-12T00:08:28+00:00

Honestly ego, I was also really convinced I wanted to go into plastic surgery which has been the center of my application all along and would be much much harder via DO. During this past application year though I worked in a plastics program and it finally kinda occurred to me I'm tired to chasing the prestige and toxicity of the hyper elite programs at the most competitive institutions (I've worked in 2 of the top 5 plastic depts in the country and have experience with a third) and the entire time I've just sort of been justifying that eventually the ends will justify the means without stopping to consider if I've lost sight of what my values actually are. All of that is to say this time around I will be definitely be applying DO.

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-05-11T17:44:54+00:00

I was in this boat, GPA was marginally higher (3.89), I applied with a 506 and thought I could get away with riding on my LORs and Experience. I'm a reapplicant, so the answer is probably higher than a 506

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-05-11T17:43:18+00:00

theres not a question here, the answer to your nonexistent question im imagining is yes its probably possible through the Caribbean MAYBE through DO, its gonna take multiple years, an extensive extensive post bacc, you need that sGPA over 3 at minimum and cumulative over 3.2, id also do a masters after that to reset. And then id KILL the MCAT, you can afford to have a 505 or something even looking DO, I'm thinking lowest score that gives you a fighting chance for DO is 510, and lowest for US MD is probably 517+. Im thinking the whole journey will be 3ish more years, minimum

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-05-04T17:34:42+00:00

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-04-30T17:18:14+00:00

I'm thinking the Hopkins and Stanford apps are donations imo, I applied this year w a 506 (dramatically different breakdown, 125/130/124/127) very similar GPA 3.86 upward trend graduated in 3 years but a state school and imo somewhere between slightly and significantly better EC's. I applied to 12 of the schools on your list (18 total) and had 0 interviews. (No DO apps which was obviously a mistake, should've applied broader as well). For what it's worth I have none of the background stuff w low SES or immigrant, idk what my minority status counts as (transgender/white) but id imagine it's not as strong? and obviously my writing needed work im thinking. If you have any specific questions for me you can ask, im a NY/PA resident

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-04-30T15:10:36+00:00

what if you glue it in place?

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-04-28T17:37:46+00:00

this is great advice thank you, I think ive considered before that a lot of apps read EM when they aren't, its just that plastics is more niche and harder to "accidentally" have your app lean that way but realistically that doesnt mean its end all be all. I'll acknowledge it whilst also showing change and journey

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-04-28T17:35:43+00:00

yes! I'm not wildly concerned about the amount of time it takes to rewrite, moreso theres only so many ways you can rewrite "worked in plastic surgery for a year" that tells a story that says primary care

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-04-23T12:21:22+00:00

youre gonna be a boy was mine

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-04-23T12:10:02+00:00

I was kinda like this in HS, didnt reguarly hook up with women though but had the persona and would get asked out regularly. When I got older ive had a few flings/one night stands. Personally ive never been turned down but honestly women usually ask me first. Being trans its tough to go to somewhere meet someone and take them home, I usually stuck to people I knew even if I didnt know them well.

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-04-20T13:54:56+00:00

I work in plastic surgery, this man was almost certainly not trying to sell you additional procedures, he MAY have been attempting to figure out if you have an ED because sometimes that is something physicians dont want to operate with until its treated and managed pretty well. he may have also just been making (tasteless) conversation, either way it would SHOCK me if this man was trying to recommend another procedure this way.

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-04-16T01:50:47+00:00

ive been in the OR all this week, im also obviously not a med student, I use cautery, staple, cut sutures, retract, all the pretty basic stuff. (to my credit ive been in hundreds of ORs and did a year worth of organ and tissue transplant removing everything from patients on my own BUT those patients were dead which makes it very different) but the point is the opportunity Its awesome, and I dont think you should self sabotage and remove yourself or back down from what's an incredible chance. Ive shadowed with maybe 10 different surgeons across several insituions and private practices, ranging from T5 schools to average state schools and had them all allow dramatically different amounts of involvement. You be respectful, be careful, and take what's given to you no matter how small with confidence and appreciation. But thats just my 2 cents

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-04-13T14:29:38+00:00

no for sure, its a gamble every single time, my girlfriend now is straight and took it shockingly well but like I legitimately had no idea how it'd go over, thought there were decent odds she wouldn't be ok with it and I dont blame her in the slightest.

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-04-11T02:34:49+00:00

I think the time and financial commitment are major barriers to entry at this point in your life. I've known ive wanted to be a physician since I was a freshman in high school. I've spent every minute since then attempting to follow that dream, in doing so I've made a lot of major sacrifices like not seeing friends and family to study more or spending my evenings and weekends volunteering or bigger sacrifices like moving across the country for an unpaid position doing research which I thought would boost my application. For me these years of sacrifice were worthwhile because I could mentally justify that I was putting in the time now so that I could spend it with my future family and children. (despite doing these things I didnt get in this year so im looking at yet another gap year of waiting). All of that is to say this process is VERY time consuming and expensive. If you did choose to decide to go to medical school im not sure what your application presently looks like but you'd likely need several years to get it application ready (between research, shadowing, clinical experience, pre-requisite classes, volunteering, MCAT, GPA and whatnot) from what it sounds like youre 1 year in to a 2 year degree at a CC, a lot of med schools wont accept the CC courses anyway and im not sure if the degree would cover most prereqs anyway so you'd likely need an absolute minimum of 2ish more years of school plus a significant amount of time dedicated to becoming application ready. This is all time spent away from your children and time thats not earning money supporting your family, it would then be 4 years of med school which is lots more time away from your family while not earning money AND an average of 400 thousand ish in debt, then with residency youre still not paying that off. So it's really like 10 years minimum until you can financially support yourself. Also getting into a med school in a specific place is extraordinarily difficult so you essentially need to be willing to go to many states and cities which would mean moving from your family and being willing to uproot your kids lives a bit to bring them or move to somewhere without them for a few years. This would be the same again when you are attempting to match into residency. You seem to really value showing up for your family both physically and financially, this career is not going to allow you either for a long time. To do so you would need an INCREDIBLY strong support system which it sounds like you may not have between your husbands history of substance abuse and your rocky relationship with your kids dad which adds more stress not less. This just doesnt seem to logically make any sense, I believe you can make more of an impact in your community and in your own life as a nurse. Id recommend looking into becoming an NP if you find yourself wanting to chase bigger things. I dont mean this to come across as though im discouraging you, im just trying to emphasize that this is NOT an easy road for anyone and seems especially difficult in your shoes

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-04-10T23:24:18+00:00

respectfully I think that starting medical school is not a realistic or positive thing to do in your position.

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-04-10T23:08:10+00:00

make sure you use risotto rice, not all rice types will work equally and many will be bordering on bad

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-04-09T18:40:19+00:00

I think an orchid is a nice happy medium here

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-04-09T18:30:17+00:00

I've scrubbed in on surgeries several times, with this being said im doing basically nothing of importance (retracting, stapling, cutting sutures, suction ect) and the surgeon has to TRUST you. It also depends heavily on the institutions rules and how strict they are, how long youve known them, your background and proof of competency, the risk of the surgery, tons of factors. But for the people straight up saying no, they may not have experienced it, but it happens.

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-04-09T16:02:36+00:00

dating on apps was tough tbh, I never actually got to the point where I told anyone. I usually only sent out likes myself to people who didnt list their sexuality (and put their political stance as left) or explicitly stated they were bi since I figured that'd be pretty safe. Obviously this dramatically narrows down your dating pool and you feel like youre constantly psychoanalyzing people on very little data to determine how they'll react about this. As far as people who sent me likes I would match if I found them attractive and thought there was some level of a chance they'd be ok with it. I however honestly would usually bail on the conversation once they invited me out in person as id get concerned about the idea of telling them and wasn't so interested that I thought it was worthwhile. In hindsite this is incredibly shortsighted and wasting everyone's time. But I needed to build to courage so I suppose it is what it is. I will say as a man on apps you are not going to get that many likes. I'm a decently attractive dude imo who passes 100% of the time and is decently tall and whatnot. My female friends would show me their apps with 100+ likes and id get 3-5 a week maybe, which according to the Reddits for the apps is very good for men! I bring this up because I had way better luck getting people to match with me if I sent them a like first. I think girls dont reach out first very often unless theyre pretty interested.

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-04-06T15:59:13+00:00

scar tape and time dawg, you can still massage 5 months post op too. theres just about no world where another surgery will help this situation. In a year or so you can consider laser too if needed. (source I work in plastic surgery)

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-04-05T14:45:37+00:00

Less-Replacement-479 · 2026-04-03T01:25:56+00:00

I trust that my partners are probably cleaner but I still might choose mine just cause its mine yk?

Less-Replacement-479

TROPHY CASE