I Couldn’t Become a Superhero, So I Decided to Get a Medical Degree

Let’s go back a couple weeks. It’s the beginning of June. I just graduated with my Master’s degree. I applied to 10 med schools last cycle, and all I have to show for it is ONE waitlist spot. ONE!! The AACOMAS app for the new cycle opened up in May, so I’m already a month behind. Time to panic, right?…

NOPE! I pack my car, drive back home to Boston (from Georgia, mind you), and get started for Med School Applications: Round 2. By now I’m a certified professional. I spice up my personal statement a bit, send in my new transcripts, add a few new extra-curricular activities, and send in my new app all within a day. In addition, I’ve applied to every scribe and clinical research assistant position in Boston (not joking) so I can show these schools that I still very much want to go into medicine. I hear back from one scribe job in no time at all, and have an interview lined up for Tuesday, June 28. I’m thinking, I’ll be here in Boston till like next February/March and, hopefully, this time have an acceptance or two under my belt.

Monday, June 27. I walk to the mailbox. Sitting amongst the ads and junk mail is a letter from one of the med schools that waitlisted me. I glance at it thinking that they probably got tired of keeping me on the waitlist and finally sent me a rejection letter. I tear it open and start to read, “We are pleased to inform you that your application has been acted upon favorably. On behalf of the faculty, we congratulate you on your acceptance.”

……….Wait………..

And just like that, all the plans I laid out get tossed to the side, and I find myself 5 weeks out from being a medical student. After about 3 days of disbelief and rereading that acceptance letter every 15 minutes just to confirm that it was, indeed, real, I realized that I have A LOT to do before orientation on August 8. FAFSA, immunizations, apartment hunting. The list goes on. To top it all off, I had to pay the deposit to hold my seat out-of-pocket, so now I’m virtually broke. And as far as I know, nobody hires anybody for a month. Uuuuuuuggggghhhhh. If I wasn’t freaking out before, I’m freaking out now.

Will I get everything done in time? Will I find a way to make some money before I drive back down to Georgia? I’m gonna cut it close, but I think I’ll be all set. Stay tuned. This journey is just getting started.

 

Anime Recommendation of the Day – Food Wars/Shokugeki no Soma – One of my favorite new shows (love the manga too). I’m not exaggerating when I say that this show will seriously have you considering pursuing a career as a chef. If you love food and a fun, fast-paced story, definitely check it out.

Manga Recommendation of the Day – Love Hina – A manga classic about a guy who tries and fails again and again to get into his dream university. As a pre-med going through that nightmare of an application cycle, this story resonated so hard with me it’s actually ridiculous haha. For any premed who needs a good laugh, I certainly recommend this series.

Anime Song of the Day – Flyers by BRADIO – Your typical Japanenglish song where half the lyrics are in Japanese and the other half are English. This is a fun, upbeat song about enjoying life to the fullest and doing your best to shine in any situation. Words to live by as a med student I’m sure. I’ll find out for sure in a couple of weeks. Worth a listen.