Really f#cking pissed off

[DoesntMatter]

Why?

ONE

I've been essentially cockblocked by hospital administrators. I had hoped to be able to shadow an anesthesiologist I had talked with and who was amazingly helpful, and after being put in touch with the administrative people at the hospital, have found out that the only people allowed into the OR besides the doctors and nurses are people who have been accepted to medical school. Which obviously I have not yet been since I will not even apply for another year

However, the anesthesiologist had told me about some administrators daughter who was allowed into the OR to watch surgeries. Guess mommy had a little clout

Either way, this isn't some kind of state regulation because one of my best friends from Long Island has been able to shadow surgeons while they perform their surgeries. Just some dumbass rule at this hospital

TWO

The anesthesiologist I talked to is justifiably cynical of the bullshit medical school application process, and sympathetic to my situation of being a white male with an excellent GPA at a good school

The guy was a Harvard undergrad who gave me some interesting stories of his experiences as a premed. His best friend liked to take the more difficult and hard science and math classes. He was a biochemistry major. His senior year he took an advanced organic chemistry class (which was what I planned on doing). This class, apparently, would hand out Cs to the kids who got As in the first organic chemistry courses in the sequence. This guy got a B

His goal was to get into Harvard medical school. He graduated summa cum laude but had a B in this difficult organic chemistry course. He was denied his goal of getting into Harvard medical school despite being probably over qualified. He was devastated, and resented the schools admissions policies for letting in less qualified people than himself for the sake of diversity and in general despised the admissions people for being so dumb as to not recognizing an outstanding applicant

The anesthesiologist told me this because he asked about my schedule, and one of the courses I was planning on taking was honors physical chemistry: quantum mechanics. The course is curved with a median grade of B, just like most other courses, but this is supposedly to be quite tough, like the weed out course for chemical engineers

According to this doctor, the admissions people don't give a rats ass about the actual courses you take. You could take a course in the physical chemistry of protein folding and get a B and be worse off than some dumbass who took introductory microbiology and got an A. The people on the admissions boards don't know shit about the courses and just look at the GPA, so it's better to stock up on the classes that are grade inflated (which is still hard to do, but it's good to know to avoid the real ass pains and GPA killers)

So, as a result, I'm not taking p.chem until senior year so they can't see my grades. I'll take microbio or something in its place

My last two years I've come to despite the premeds who take 1 or 2 of the most basic science requirements per semester and whore themselves out to the class for a grade of an A. To the idiot admissions people, it makes them look smart!

THREE

The doctor was not particularly fond of Obama or his ideas regarding healthcare practices (this is an understatement). Not was he fond of Obamas attitude to medical school admissions, where apparently he has spent money and policy bolstering their diversity programs. This affects me sooner than what he plans on doing to the medical profession itself

And what it translates to is: "More women and minorities to be accepted, which means less white men in medicine." His friend was extremely bitter about these policies when he graduated summa cum laude while taking difficult classes and failed to get into Harvard medical school when undoubtedly far less qualified individuals did

He was another well-qualified white male applicant. They are a dime a dozen

The way I have to look at it is this: If there are 100 positions available in a medical class, at least half are going to be reserved for females. Regardless. At least 20% are going to be for minorities. Regardless. What does this leave me with?

It leaves me competing for 40 spots MAX. Competing AGAINST the BEST of the applicants

He asked what my science GPA is, and it is a 3.85, and he said I should be able to get into a top-tier medical school given the rigor of my schools grading policies (like Harvard, Columbia, UPenn, Cornell, Yale, etc)

But for all the mentioned reasons, I am skeptical

FOUR

The average pay of an anesthesiologist is $400k - $500k right now, but with Obamas healthcare plans, who knows what he is going to try to do with that? It's already known that to fund the healthcare plan people making over $280k a year are going to experience a tax increase

Isn't that just fuccking hilarious?!? The doctors get less money so they can operate on these people!

FIVE

The medical school admissions people have a hard-on for worthless extracurricular activies. When I say worthless I mean as worthless as a pile of dog shit. I've been jumping through the loops and doing all the mindless tasks they want me to, but that doesn't make the process any more stupid

What the FUCCK does stocking linens in the ER for 5 hours in the early morning say about my ability to sedate someone and keep their vitals in check? JACK SHIT. It says JACK SHIT about my ability to be a doctor

What does going to Honduras to set up a health clinic say about my abilities to be a doctor? NOTHING

What does my GPA, the classes I took, and MCAT score say about my ability to become a doctor? THE MOST

It's like the process for applying to college, I did all these dumb fuccking extracurriculars I couldn't stand to do just so I could get in. And now that I have been in college for 2 years, do I think they deserve a place in the admissions process?

HELL TO THE FUCCKING NO

The ONLY things I did in high school that gave ANY indication of how well I was prepared for college were (in this order): AP test scores, followed by SAT score and GPA / class rank (can't decide if SAT score or class rank was a better indicator)

SIX

This last week, the people I tutor on the east side of the city (more than a half hour away) have been changing when they want me to tutor them 3 different times before I go in. I get there, explain to their children how to evaluate some series or show them that imaginary numbers aren't actually imaginary, and after an hour they get it. They had me booked for 2 hours. They think they can just say "I get it. My mom will be back tomorrow and give you money for an hour."

I go the next day where they booked me for 2 hours again, and they get it after an hour. The mom, who pays me, is not there again so I cannot tell her it's bullshit she thinks I can travel for more than an hour to help out her kids in their math classes for about an hour, and be paid for an hour. So now I'm pissed I have to wait until Sunday to talk to her in person and let her know she isn't going to make a jerk out of me and think she can get away with that crap

- - - - - - - - - -

End of rant. I hope the outcome of my hatred for the medical school application process is that I someday serve on the admissions board and troll the dumbasses who want diversity and a high infalted GPA, and not applicant quality and difficult classes. That is one of my goals

[DoesntMatter]

I also had way too much caffeine today. But I'm not pissed about that. I enjoy that

[Yggdrasil]

Can't say much for numbers 1 to 5.

When it comes to number 6: payment in advance or find another idiot who's willing to work for peanuts.

I'd say take a break, go out, get drunk, get laid and take a fukitol (r).

Life sometimes seriously suxx.

[Raze]

I also had way too much caffeine today. But I'm not pissed about that. I enjoy that

Caffeine makes me really angry and in "party" mode. Needless to say I try to limit my caffeine intake.

[Lipp]

Heh, reality hits.

I'll be in the deep end myself when it comes to #2, as part of the first batch of a brand-new degree about 80% of the subjects are completely new as well, so applying for any masters' degree outside of this university would most likely make no one understand a thing about what I did. Figured at least your "top" universities would have a more refined recruitment process.

[DoesntMatter]

"Top" does not require quotation marks when they are in fact some of the best schools in the world based on numerous ratings

And they are not just "our" top schools but your top schools too, as they are also the best in international rankings

Refinement.... maybe to the admissions people it means favoring every other applicant over a white male despite the absurdly limited number of openings for each medical schools

[IndiReloaded]

DM, you'll get in.

I warned you about the female admissions in another thread. What he said is true.

I had a 3.89 and got accepted into all the programs I applied to (except, strangely, the combined MD/PhD program I really wanted). Just make sure you ace the MCAT.

The extracurricular activities are necessary. There are too many students (esp asian) with near-perfect GPA but NO social skills or empathy. I actually know a student who was of this profile and didn't get accepted. After two tries, he's gone to China to study medicine there.

The other thing you want is really good reference letters. Don't give up on the hospital thing. Remember: it is better to ask forgiveness than get permission. Go to the department directly and ask the Dept head if you can do a senior research project there. You'll be able to get your viewing time then.

[DoesntMatter]

I know I'll get in, but I want to get into a top-ranked medical school. The doctor told me that if I didn't go to one of the best medical schools that the material would be non-stimulating relative to the science courses I had as an undergrad. I don't want that, I want medical school to be as challenging as I can handle and interesting

[Lipp]

"Top" does not require quotation marks when they are in fact some of the best schools in the world based on numerous ratings

And they are not just "our" top schools but your top schools too, as they are also the best in international rankings

Refinement.... maybe to the admissions people it means favoring every other applicant over a white male despite the absurdly limited number of openings for each medical schools

So quick to put up Either way, it's just surprising that for all of that supposed difficulty in getting in and prestige they can't even spare the time of day to look into their applicants properly.

[IndiReloaded]

DM, its all mind numbing. LOL. The first two years is spent in courses like med physiology, pharm, clin chem, anatomy (that was okay). But don't expect to find it *stimulating*, you need to get that from your own reading and interests.

I hope you get into Harvard. Their program is modeled after the Canadian 3-year program and its more interactive from the get-go.

[DoesntMatter]

for all of that supposed difficulty in getting in and prestige they can't even spare the time of day to look into their applicants properly.

Supposed difficulty? Excuse me? Do you realize that for Cornells medical school last year:

6,000 people applied for 100 spots?!?!?

The difficulty is only "supposed?"

Other medical schools are similarly and more difficult to get in, like Harvard or Johns Hopkins or George Washington Univ.

[DoesntMatter]

The other thing you want is really good reference letters. Don't give up on the hospital thing. Remember: it is better to ask forgiveness than get permission. Go to the department directly and ask the Dept head if you can do a senior research project there. You'll be able to get your viewing time then.

I already know who is going to write one of my letters. He was my writing instructor freshman year, and he is a brilliant writer. He told us if we ever needed these letter things done that he'll do it for us

DM, its all mind numbing. LOL. The first two years is spent in courses like med physiology, pharm, clin chem, anatomy (that was okay). But don't expect to find it *stimulating*, you need to get that from your own reading and interests.

I hope you get into Harvard. Their program is modeled after the Canadian 3-year program and its more interactive from the get-go.

Harvard would probably be my first choice. But I highly doubt I'll get in, and probably won't apply. I could get a 45 in the MCAT and be in the top 99.9% of people who took the test and not get in

[DoesntMatter]

Look sorry if I'm being a bit of a dick, it's just that I'm on edge right now because all this time I was just aiming to get into medical school and now I realize I want to get into a good one. And that really puts the pressure on

[Lipp]

Supposed difficulty? Excuse me? Do you realize that for Cornells medical school last year:

6,000 people applied for 100 spots?!?!?

The difficulty is only "supposed?"

Other medical schools are similarly and more difficult to get in, like Harvard or Johns Hopkins or George Washington Univ.

Can you read a full sentence or do you always focus on a single word and rant about it?

[DoesntMatter]

Sorry Lipp but there was a glaring factual inaccuracy in your sentence that was extremely difficult to overlook