Hi All!
I know I don’t post here often, but I wanted to share some exciting news and to motivate my fellow non-trads.
Earlier this week I was accepted to a postbacc/MD program with a partnership at Cleveland State University and NEOMED. In two years I will matriculate to the med school!! Going through the interview process, I found myself very insecure and inadequate after meeting many of the other candidates. To be honest, compared to the lot of premeds I met I felt very out of place with typical premeds. They all seemed to have these amazing backgrounds, parents as physicians, extensive research and mission/service experience. I was worried I didn’t stand a chance, but then I met students currently in the partnership and I realized they were just like me. All with a wide range of backgrounds, very humble and passionate about making a difference. I felt that my poor academic history would inhibit my candidacy. (I had a rough start to college, in fact, an entire associate’s degree of mediocre grades and even two F’s, but when I pursued my BFA I turned it around and became a mostly 4.0 student, but the damage had already been done so applying to medical school my cumulative GPA was a 3.0).
The moral of the story is don’t ever doubt yourself. I know it is not that easy, but the most important thing is to not compare yourself to other people and don’t try to be someone you’re not. It does not matter where someone else has been or what grades they got, what matters is what YOU have to offer and how you present yourself, and NEVER stop trying, and ALWAYS show that passion. At both of my interviews I forced myself to just be natural and my most authentic self, because I knew that my unique background and life experiences would be what set me apart from the typical premed students. I am beyond grateful that this program exists, giving people like us a chance to make it!
A little background on the partnership: It is a very specific program with intentions to foster primary care physicians who want to serve urban communities in Cleveland. There is a two-year post-bacc program at CSU with normal prereqs and some focused courses on urban health and maintenance of a 3.5 cumulative science GPA and overall while at CSU. And of course, I will have to take the MCAT before matriculating to medschool with a score of 25 or higher. They do favor people from Ohio, (or if you went to school here) but they do accept out of staters too. If you are from Ohio and want to stay in Ohio I highly recommend you look into the program! I am so glad I did!!
Congrats and thanks for sharing your advice with others!
Cheers,
Liza
Congrats!!
Thank you!!
thewayIam,
A belated big congratulations!!
Kate