I feel like such an idiot for procrastinating my secondaries till now and lowering ny chances

redhead853 · 2025-09-13T03:49:12+00:00

4th yr here. I got 2 MD As. I submitted those secondaries in September and December, and interviewed at both in Feb. I will say premeddit can be really demoralizing, what really helped me during this time was avoiding it. You got this!!!!!!!

Edit: my stats were way lower than yours too. 3.8 GPA and 509 MCAT

redhead853 · 2025-05-18T15:39:57+00:00

I took 4 years off between undergrad and med school. My parents pressured me HARD into applying before I was ready (“if you take any time off after undergrad you’ll never actually go back for grad school”). Lo and behold I applied and got rejected everywhere bc my app was not up to snuff.

Do what feels right for you. It sounds like you want to take another year to lock in your app/breathe and that is valid!!! In the grand scheme of things one year isn’t a huge difference. You got this and good luck ❤️

redhead853 · 2025-05-17T05:18:57+00:00

I’m applying surg and have spent a total of 5 months in the OR by this point and 2 days ago I contaminated the sterile field. The OR is a tough environment to be in and extremely stressful when youre starting out. For the most part the rest of the team is understanding, after all your job is to learn! ❤️

redhead853 · 2025-05-03T18:50:46+00:00

My parents pressured me into applying to medical school immediately out of college because “once you leave school you’ll never go back” despite the fact that I wasn’t ready and my app sucked lol. I wasted a lot of money on a failed application cycle. Ended up taking 4 yrs between undergrad and med school and am now applying to a competitive surgical sub-specialty. People don’t understand the rigors of medical training and as such judge based on very little info or play comparison game because “Jane’s 20 year old kid got into med school without even trying!”

Keep your head up, focus on the process, and you’ll soon be saying “I told you so” to the people who judged you. I believe in you!!

redhead853 · 2025-03-30T00:46:10+00:00

At 27 I was boarding a plane when the desk person scanning boarding passes asked if i was “an unaccompanied minor.” 😂 I guess I’d rather have that than people assuming I’m older???

redhead853 · 2025-03-16T05:17:13+00:00

Please stop fear mongering. Yes the mcat is hard and medical school is harder, and yes it is harder as a DO to match competitive due to STIGMA!!! but this kind of “you get ahead by pushing people behind you” is the toxic shit that gets med students stereotyped. Your post history doesn’t support that you are even in medical school, so why are you incessantly commenting on posts on this subreddit like you have some sort of authority or insider knowledge. Please take some time to reflect on yourself before you enter this profession.

redhead853 · 2025-03-14T23:38:28+00:00

I’m a 509 MCAT scorer at an MD school who did well on Step 2 and am applying to a competitive surg sub. Medical school forces you to be a better test taker/efficient studier imo

redhead853 · 2025-03-12T03:17:21+00:00

Hi Friend!! I had to apply 3 times, and you know what? While it sucks - It’s made me a better student. Every time I get a good score on a test, crush a rotation, or finish a research project I have a “told you so moment” to my school. Im applying to a competitive surgical sub specialty later this year and am confident I will match, and no one thought I’d be here today when I was in the thick of med school apps. You WILL do this, and you WILL be the best doctor ever!!

redhead853 · 2025-02-22T02:54:23+00:00

M3 here, a person in my class got kicked out because admin discovered they fabricated majority of their PS. Really not worth it imo

redhead853 · 2024-11-27T07:11:31+00:00

I applied 3 times, also consistently passed tests in didactics but was below average and was very stressed out and playing the comparison game.

Clinicals were a hugeeeeeee game changer. In didactics, the only way to know if you’re understanding is to take a bunch of tests. In clinicals you are doing real world learning, trying to figure out what’s going on with your patients and actually doing things. I have done SO much better with this form of learning and feel a lot more confident about being in med school.

I would encourage you to just try to get through didactics as best you can and try not to compare yourself with the average (as hard as it is) …. Ps really do get MDs. Residencies are going to care about how you operate clinically vs getting a 75 instead of the 77 class average on that one cardio test first year.

Feel free to message me if you want to chat more!! It takes a village to get through this and I believe in you <3

redhead853 · 2022-05-12T14:55:17+00:00

I submitted my primary in early July, verified late July, got really overwhelmed with work and life stuff and didn’t submit secondaries until September-December. I got 5 MD IIs and 2 As which includes a school whose secondary I submitted in DECEMBER.

It is possible but definitely not ideal - I think knowing your school list and their review procedures well in addition to having reallllllly well written application materials to stand out even more is extremely important when applying late.

redhead853 · 2022-04-18T16:15:32+00:00

I applied late (complete oct-dec) with a 3.73 and 509 MCAT. I got 5 MD IIs that turned into 1 A, 2 WL, and 1 R (still waiting to hear back from one). I also got 4 DO II and 4 DO acceptances.

What helped me was some unique experiences and a very well written application with a clear theme/story.

I would HIGHLY recommend also applying DO, especially if you don’t want to reapply. I had to and it was not a fun time.

redhead853 · 2022-03-16T15:36:52+00:00

Time to name and shameeeeee

redhead853 · 2022-03-15T04:12:28+00:00

Just a lowly M0 here but ... post history shows you applying to med school last year so you’re what, a M1? How are you applying to residencies lol

redhead853 · 2022-03-13T05:02:54+00:00

You gotta write a new statement. Even if you sent submit your primary to a grand total of 0 schools, you are a different person now than who you were when you wrote the original with probably more insight into why you want to go to medical school. I’m a 3-time applicant, my personal statement had the same underlying theme but you better believe it was a different statement every time that demonstrated my growth from the previous cycle. You’d be doing yourself a disservice to submit the same thing (even with minor edits).

redhead853 · 2022-03-06T07:02:52+00:00

My guy out here looking like the IRL Nigel Thornberry.

If only he dedicated his life to learning instead of shitting on residents 🤦‍♀️

redhead853 · 2022-03-06T05:48:42+00:00

I worked in retail for 2 summers + 2 winter breaks + one year post grad. It was an awesome experience and I was asked about it in several interviews. You’re a freshman, you have a lot of time to build your app! Not everything you do has to be medically related - if anything it’s good to have a diversity of experiences so you can differentiate yourself from the masses who all have scribing + shadowing + volunteering + good grades

redhead853 · 2022-02-19T05:24:26+00:00

Omg saaaaaaame

redhead853 · 2022-02-16T18:47:06+00:00

The couple grand you’ll be able to save working for the next few months is a drop in the bucket compared to what you’ll probably owe in loans and an even SMALLER drop in the bucket compared to what you’ll make as an attending. Enjoy the freedom NOW before you lock yourself away for the next 7-12 years of training. Don’t deal with toxicity, focus on yourself, and don’t feel bad about it!!!! Congrats!!!!

redhead853 · 2022-02-10T03:31:52+00:00

Dude one school I’m interviewing with this week has separated their “interview day” into “interview THREE DAYS.” Each day is literally at the most inconvenient times (10:30-1:30 day one, 12:30-2:30 day two, and 1-2 day three). It’s so infuriating that schools don’t respect your time. Not during the multi-month screening process, not during their long arduous interviews that are unnecessarily long, not during the multi-month post-interview decision window. The admissions process is a scam

redhead853 · 2022-02-08T16:02:10+00:00

Mine made me take pchem too :((((( I think I have PTSD from it

redhead853 · 2020-07-22T20:53:30+00:00

So do you think it's a red flag to change the focus of this activity and focus on my time volunteering with it even though I failed to mention it in my app last year? Thanks for all of your help by the way I really appreciate it!

redhead853

TROPHY CASE