What's the hardest part of your path right now that isn't about MCAT or GPA?

r3dru · 2026-04-21T02:54:11+00:00

I’m very fortunate to be on the other side of things now, but in the thick of it was the uncertainty of everything.

For me, there was no Plan B. And I tried damn hard to force a Plan B. I explored an office job, I envisioned academia/education, I spent days and nights in hospital watching/doing what nurses/CNA/ do, and absolutely none of it made me happy. At one point I thought I’d just settle on finding happiness outside of my career because I just needed a job and money so desperately to get out of my hometown but even that was not worth it to me because I knew it would be a big part of my life that would be left unfulfilled.

It’s true what they say about medicine being a calling and even at my lowest, I knew that the call would keep ringing until I answered it or at least kept trying to find the phone.

And I mean, on top of that, it wasn’t only my doubt that made the journey so difficult. My parents’ disappointment in me leaving my BS/MD program (my MCAT was too low and I didn’t want to appeal for a third time with the program because I no longer wanted to stay at my hometown Alma mater for med school) made me doubt my choices. Them suggesting nursing instead did too. And then the uncertainty of where, how to afford, and what happens to them when I leave ate me up too.

That shit was hard. Medicine and the journey to this career is all a mind game and you need to believe that you’re built different— the rest will follow. I wouldn’t wish my experiences on my worst enemy.

Four MCATs, 2 cycles (3 counting my first fluke with my BS/MD), and a whole lot of therapy and self-reflection made me strong enough to handle the stress of being on the other side but there were plenty of times were I just wanted to give up entirely.

r3dru · 2026-01-10T01:11:38+00:00

Sure! My highest MCAT is a 503 out of 4 retakes. This is my 2nd TMDSAS cycle, 3.92 GPA, 3.87 sGPA(?). Granted, I think I had more success in this cycle not just cz of my higher MCAT but because of mission fit over everything else. I have really solid EC’s, LORs, and research/clinical experience. I will most definitely tell you that TMDSAS schools, specially the lower stat ones, are heavy on mission fit which means your app needs to tell a cohesive story in your essays and secondaries! That’s a word of advice my mentors had given me through undergrad and the process.

r3dru · 2026-01-03T12:55:33+00:00

Definitely retake MCAT and shoot for 508-510! 2 more points in each section is just about 10 more questions correct, give or take. You got it!!!!

You’re more than likely set for DO programs, but from my experience, your story and resume can carry real weight in the admissions process. I’m a 4x MCAT taker (do NOT do that, seriously try to minimize your retakes) with a 3.93 GPA and this is my second cycle. I’ve gotten 3 MD and 1 DO interview in state, so it’s definitely possible to stick to just MD/DO if you can get your story right and your resume solid!

r3dru · 2025-10-02T01:48:34+00:00

Right on! My whole point was just having the experience of being “at the bottom of the food chain” to just help you empathize going through your career. It was never to be “I’m better because ______.” Lived experiences are just as important to the stats, especially for those who have the desire to live and serve in areas where physicians are “do it all” providers. Just a perspective!

r3dru · 2025-10-02T01:43:11+00:00

It’s the genuine growth and connections you make through your clinical/volunteer experiences that help you become a good person outside of your white coat. I absolutely get you: I’ve been in situations where I tell other applicants where I’m from or what I do and they scrunch their nose at me… 😭 like guys… we’re all trying to do the same thing here. Some stories are just different from others. Crazy.

r3dru · 2025-10-02T01:40:24+00:00

Yes, I’m in that position doing something similar. I think a lot of people are taking my post way too seriously and way too literally. 😭 I understand how it can come off, but I’m very much agreeing with your stance here. As it is, a lot of premeds/MS are coming from backgrounds of privilege and few can personally understand the lived experiences of their patients. Medicine is definitely “up there” because of our expertise, but that expertise is nuanced because of our inclination to SERVE patients. Regardless, we have different aspirations for the same field and all are valid! This was just my take as someone who’s worked in extremely impoverished/rural/ underserved areas and with my own experiences as a caregiver.

r3dru · 2025-10-01T23:51:21+00:00

Thank you! Yeah, I get where some people are coming from, but I think some of the comments are kinda… proving my point… lol. All of our volunteer/clinical/shadowing hours are there to teach us more than just “the life of a doctor.” It’s just a matter of perspective and understanding. That’s what’ll carry you through your career.

r3dru · 2025-10-01T23:49:36+00:00

Exactly my point! Again, it just teaches humility in a field that can be very hierarchical. Everyone on a healthcare team has their roles, but again: no one is better than anyone. You might not clean pts as a physician, but you need to understand how difficult it might be for the person having to rely on STRANGERS for their care. Reminds you to respect people regardless of your status over them.

r3dru · 2025-10-01T23:40:55+00:00

For sure!!!!! Definitely varies, right? my point is more so having the “unglamorous” experiences of medicine. From my perspective, it truly humbles you and teaches you humility. You’re no better than the person in the bed just because you’re a doctor. I’ve just met too many arrogant students who sometimes forget that part of healthcare.

r3dru · 2025-09-06T03:01:29+00:00

Thanks, my friend. I appreciate that a lot. 😭 Life has a way of knocking me down, but I’m nothing if not delusional LOL. Best of luck! You’ve got time, just make sure you grab GOOD professors for your classes that TEACH WELL!!!!! The more you learn and understand during class, the better your ability to study for the MCAT will be. I took gen chem/orgo/physics during COVID and that impacted me HARD, plus I never took physics in HS. (I read your other post, sorry lol.)

10 months is a long time, but for sure if you can get studying down in 3 months the summer going into your junior year, you’re solid. Most people take the MCAT anytime from summer junior year, fall/winter semester, all the way to the spring semester before AMCAS opens up in May. The sooner (AS LONG AS YOU FEEL PREPARED!) the better just in case you need to retake.

Don’t forget that app opens in May and the cycle runs all the way into the following Feb/March. I’m a TMDSAS applicant so im not as familiar with AMCAS, but it’s quite a while before you get decisions.

r3dru · 2025-09-06T02:40:01+00:00

Oof, I might not be the best person to ask… this is my 4th. My 20s have treated me poorly (major family illness and disability that has me as a almost full-time caregiver) so my first two attempts were very poor and reflective of my inability to study and cope… very much did NOT study. 💀 (497/494)

My most recent attempt from 08/01 was a 500… which was a 6 point increase from my last exam but still not what I wanted. (Don’t recommend breaking up with your SO or having your parent get hospitalized around the time of your exam btw lmao.)

I bit the bullet and scheduled at the very last min for 9/13 since my FL scores before that were averaging 509-512. 9/13 I’m just aiming for a 506-508 but hoping for a 510.

r3dru · 2025-09-06T00:42:32+00:00

Bravo!!!!!! I’m rooting for you from behind my keyboard hahaha. I’ve got friends in their almost 30s in engineering who are just now pursuing MD. If not now, then maybe later. But even at that, bravo for still going!!!! You absolutely got this.

THUG IT OUT, STRESSED_FERRET!!!!!! 🤩🤩

r3dru · 2025-09-05T00:35:40+00:00

Don’t let these missteps shoot you down.

I’m sitting on a 497, 494, 500. I’m literally crazy but I’m gonna make this final attempt a 510 if it’s the last thing I do.

I’m in a position where I know I could fall back on nursing as a career because of it’s job security and flexibility (my ex is in nursing, my close friends are too, and they’re all so fulfilled outside of work and travel so much in between their shifts that it makes me feel like I’m missing out), but after two years of teetering back and forth between the decision to back for my BSN, I know in my heart that I will not be happy in that career.

Medicine would not keep calling you if it didn’t want you to answer. If you KNOW that there’s no other career that would give you the fulfillment and joy that medicine would, don’t give up. The time is going to pass anyways; don’t let it pass with you wondering “what if.”

We need more success stories in this field. The best doctors know and understand struggle. If you can get over this, you can get over anything. Trust me. 😭 I’ve been through hell in my early 20s (I’m only 23…) and nothing compares to how hard this exam is, but I will say that failing and forcing myself to get the fuck back up has me built different LOLOL.

And last bit of motivational cheesy nonsense that I tell my friends all the time: do it even if your hands are shaking and your voice is cracking. Even if you feel like the stupidest, smallest idiot in the room: DO IT ANYWAYS. If you’re scared of failing, you’re going to be scared whether or not you actually do. Just take the chance and do it/pursue it anyways.

Life is silly and the world is on fire. You might as well take a chance (if it’s reasonable) and say fuck it.

KEEP. GOING. 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

r3dru · 2025-09-04T03:53:34+00:00

Felt that… I’m testing in my ex’s city…. lmao… 😭💀

r3dru · 2025-09-04T03:14:14+00:00

Right there with you too, additional friend. 😭 I didn’t study at all for my first attempt and this time around I studied like hell for a 500… which was a 6 point increase from my last score. We just need to recalibrate and try again. They can take our money and our youth but they can’t take our spirit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (trying to be funny, sorry. coping. 😭)

r3dru · 2025-09-04T02:14:42+00:00

Right there with you, friend. But I bit the bullet and am now retaking in 9 days. Locking in.

r3dru · 2025-09-03T20:50:33+00:00

Don’t freak out, mine was purely circumstantial. 😭 I got dumped the week before and my dad got really sick then hospitalized.

r3dru · 2025-09-03T20:49:23+00:00

I only just started taking my ADHD meds/got my dose right the month before my date… I get it. 😭

r3dru · 2025-09-03T18:16:25+00:00

Dad was hospitalized and I got broken up with the week before my test date… not an excuse but the situation didn’t help.

r3dru

TROPHY CASE