Just a little intro...

Hi my name is Steve and I will be in the Class of 2010 at Touro University, Nevada campus, and I can’t wait to get started! Let’s just say it’s been a long time coming!! A little backround, I graduated in May 2005 from Arizona State with a degree in interdisciplinary studies (bio and exercise & wellness. Applied for the class of 2009, didn’t get in and wasn’t about going to give up, so I re-took the blasted &(^& MCAT AGAIN, and the whole AACOMAS app AGAIN, enrolled in a post-bac program at Midwestern, and low and behold received an early invite at Tour, interviewed and 2 weeks later received that glorious email…The decision of the admittance committee is: ACCEPT!
So I’m working hard trying to save some money, completing loan doc.s (very scary) and trying to buy a house in Vegas!
I still don’t believe it’s happening…keep pinching myself to make sure I’m not dreamin’ then I just get this huge silly grin…Life is GOOD!!
Steve

Hello, welcome, and congrats
Good to hear that your persistence paid off! Is there anything in particular you’d recommend for somebody following a similar path?

Steve,
Welcome to OldPreMeds & CONGRATULATIONS! Your hard work & persistence is about to be rewarded by a monumental increase in hard work & mandate a high-level of persistence. However, while a wild ride at times, it will simultaneously be the most challenging & rewarding path you could have chosen…of course, I am biased as I love being a physician.
As there are many here on OPM who seek to trod the path to which you have just gained entry, we’d all appreciate it if you’d take the time to chronicle your successes & challenges here on OPM. The things you convey, even seemingly inconsequential ones, may prove to be the keystone for someone else’s success.
Also, I would like to extend an invitation to you to attend our 2006 Conference & Workshops in Washington, DC the 8th thru the 10th of June at the Crystal City Sheraton. For more conference details, please visit the OldPreMeds Conference Info page.
I hope to meet you there!

Welcome and congrats!
Good Luck on the journey!

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the welcome; it’s great to be in touch with such incredible people who share my passion.
Well you asked for it so here goes…This will undoubtedly be the longest post in history!
First off I just turned 43 and I’m having the time of my life, it just seems to get better and better! Unfortunately, it hasn’t always been this way. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a doctor, and I mean always. There has never been a job or lifestyle that I’ve had that has drawn me to it like the field of medicine. Because I knew very young that I wanted to be a doctor I set out on that path. Everything was going really well until I hit high school. I went through some pretty tough times and my grades showed it. Discouraged and told by others that with my grades I would never be able to get into medical school I dropped out at age 17. Still wanting to be involved in the medical field I thought maybe the problem was high school and not me! So I took the GED and enrolled in the local community college. I was so excited the first day of classes; I enrolled in biology for majors, and physics. Now I suffered tremendously in math, but it never occurred to me I would need math for science (silly, silly boy)! Physics was first and I had no idea what the professor was talking about, but I hung in there thinking it would eventually sink in, and I knew biology was next. During the first lecture the professor asked how many of us wanted to become doctors, and my hand shot up so fast it almost flew off!! He then continued to inform us that probably no one in this class would make it that far, and if by some miracle we did it would be only the brightest. Needless to say I was crushed and never went back to class.
After recovering from that lecture I decided to enroll in a tech school in their respiratory therapy program. This was a great decision, I was able to take “medical” classes, and eventually work with real patients. Everything was going great until the last month of class, when my grandmother (my biggest fan) was diagnosed with metastatic cancer. Being the only one in my family with any medical experience at all they turned to me for answers. I tried to find out everything I could but it was too late, she passed away within a month. I again saw this as a sign that I just wasn’t meant to be in this field. I graduated because I knew that was what she would want, but never practiced and told myself this dream is over.
I worked for some time and actually became very successful area sales manger with a house a few miles from the beach in So Cal traveled and probably from the outside appeared to have the perfect life. However, it wasn’t and I knew I wanted more, I still wanted to be a doctor. I enrolled again in the local community college and began classes. Everything was going right along until I broke my right are, and had to withdraw from school.
I continued to work for a few more years before I found myself at that familiar crossroads. This time I knew if I was going to do it I had to take it as serious as I could. So I moved back home to live with my parents until I had saved enough to go back to school full time. I went back to the same community college where I was told I could never make it, to actually getting straight A’s. This was the experience I needed. Sure it was hard being in classes with kids half my age, and sure it was tough going back to a school that help such bad memories, but I knew that if I could just do it until I could transfer to the state university I would be stronger for it. Before I knew it I was sitting in the advisors office at Arizona State, the school I used to drive by and dream about attending.
For the most part I was embraced with open arms, there where however, some who crazy as it might seem didn’t think I had much of a chance. One in particular was the pre-med advisor. She was really no help at all, but because of this I had to be on top of things, do my own research and the footwork that it would take to find out everything I could about applying to med school. Luck for me my school doesn’t have a pre-med or advisory committee and I was able to submit two science letters and one non-science to take the committee’s place.
I have to admit I loved ASU, it was an awesome experience, and I made great friendships, joined a few clubs and just had a great time learning (everything but physics, which I still HATE). I was very lucky in that ASU offers a degree in interdisciplinary studies. This is where you pick to areas or disciplines and fulfills the core then takes which ever elective you want. This program also afforded me the chance to complete a summer internship in a hospital in London England!!! Talk about awesome!!
I took the MCAT (the first time) the spring of my junior year, and let me say it really is as horrific as you hear it is, but it’s a necessary evil that must be tackled. I enrolled in a Kaplan course, which helped a lot because of the classes and all the practice you get taking mini and full length MCAT’s. Needless to say I didn’t do as well as I had hoped, but wanted to apply anyway. I applied to about 7 schools (all osteopathic) and interviewed at 1. I didn’t get in but flying across the country and just going through the interview was a blast, and great for knowledge and experience. I already had decided that if I didn’t get in the first go around I would reapply the following year. In the meantime I graduated with honors from ASU. Next I had to make my application as strong as I could so I enrolled in a post bac program at Midwestern University. They say that this is a great option for those of us who don’t get in the first time. I also spent the summer after I graduated studying for the MCAT.
For those of you who have yet to apply to medical school, they don’t make it easy. And, looking back I’m actually glad they didn’t I really had to want it. I think they want to know that the students who want to take this journey understand just how hard it really is. After the MCAT comes the application. There are 2 AMCAS for MD schools and AACOMAS for DO schools. The applications want to know everything about everything you ever did, and unlike this site they give you only so much space to get everything in! : grin:
What made it more challenging for me was I had to account for twenty years of stuff, transcripts, awards, and such. Let’s just say it was a logistical nightmare. To make it worse, if you don’t get into the first time, you get the pleasure of redoing it all over again! So what ever you do print and save you app, and all of the essays you write so you don’t have to start from square one.
After the application is sent in you wait, and wait, and then wait some more. They let you know once your app has been sent out. Then you get to wait some more until the schools that you applied to decide if you are good enough to get a supplemental application. The supp app is pretty much the same as the AACOMAS or AMCAS app you submitted originally, so you get to get creative and tell them basically the same stuff you told them in your original app, plus you get to send them a check or money order to boot!
I only applied to 2 schools the second go around because I was told that I had a very good chance of getting into Midwestern’s medical program since I was already a student. I wanted to stay in the area so I also applied to Touro in Las Vegas.
In the mean time I started classes at Midwestern, which was awesome. My class was combined with the PA’s so the classes where tough, much more difficult than undergrad, but I was glad because I knew it would help me in the future with med school. I would definitely recommend this for anyone who wants to strengthen their app.
I was notified in January that Touro wanted to interview me, and I was totally psyched!
Interviews are really a lot of fun if you can stay calm enough to notice. Make sure you spend a little extra and get a nice hotel where you know you’ll be able to sle

ep, and that you take a mock drive so you know where the school is and exactly how to get there. The last thing you want is to walk in late and look like crap (trust me I’ve seen it). They say that when it’s right it’s right, and that is exactly how I felt from the moment I took off to the moment my flight left. I’ve heard some pretty scary stories about interview day, but the fact is that if you’ve made it that far, they really are interested and just want to get to know you. My experience at Touro was really great, and I could really see myself going there! The interviews that I went on where all basically the same. You arrive at the school usually around 7:45 if they start at 8, which both of mine did. You then go into a room and get a name tag and have a seat. Next, you get to hear different things about the schools program, financial aid and a Touro of the campus. Sometime during this process they call you out to go to your interview. I don’t think the interview is supposed to be stressful, but let’s face it, unless you had over a 30 on your MCAT and graduated with a 4.0 from a great school, it comes down to the interview! My first interview at LECOM was pathetic, the one interviewer seemed like he would have rather been anywhere else than talking to me…Touro on the other hand was GREAT they sat there talking to each other about how great I was and that I was just what the school needed and on and on, it was so surreal, I was just sitting there thinking huh, me, are you sure you’re talking about me?
After my interview was over we wrapped up, I hopped on a plane and was back home in class before I knew it! The director of admissions told us that if we received an email from him on Friday in two weeks we were in. If we were declined or placed on a wait list he would notify us on the following Monday.
I got that wonderful email Friday at 12:05 pm and have been on cloud 9 ever since.
I apologize for this being the longest thread in history, but once I got typing it just took over and developed a mind of it’s own: shocked:
I think I’ve covered everything, and then some, but if anyone makes it this far and has a question or needs some advice or encouragement please just let me know.
One thing I’ve learned through this process is that if there is something that you dream about all of the time, and you find yourself day dreaming about, you owe it to yourself to test your limits and go for it! I’m living proof that dreams really do come true, you just have to want it bad enough, then nothing will stand in you way…
Best,
Steve

Steve,
It seems you & I have much in common - I was a respiratory terrorist for almost 10 years prior to starting medical school. And, Dr. Nat Belle was also an RRT for 20+ years prior to medical school. Snot Jockies RISE to the top…pardon the visual…there is life after RT!
However, my choosing to enter RT was not so egalitarian - I FLUNKED out of college because I majored in party & minored in frat. Frankly, I partied my @$$ off. However, I thought, I blew all changes at ever becoming a physician, which I also had wanted all of my life.
I entered RT for 2 reasons: 1 - it was as close to being a physician as I would realistically ever become & 2 - a friend of mine, who is a Ph.D. at the Univ of Ark & teaches CV physiology, told me the only way I would have an ice cube’s chance in hell to get into med school would be to get either an RT or an RN license, earn some years of experience & then return to Ugrad & blow their doors off. I did exactly that. Yes, I entered RT as a stepping stone, but I loved my career as an RT & invested ~10 years in pediatric ICU.
I would not trade my prior career or my life experiences for anything. At the minimum, they make me a better doctor. Even more, they make me a better human being, husband & father.
I look forward to your chronicles of life in medical school!

Welcom to OPM and the greatest bunch of people I’ve ever met! I think you will enjoy your time a lot, as many of us had, and thanks for sharing your story!

“One thing I’ve learned through this process is that if there is something that you dream about all of the time, and you find yourself day dreaming about, you owe it to yourself to test your limits and go for it! I’m living proof that dreams really do come true, you just have to want it bad enough, then nothing will stand in you way…”


This pretty much says it all for me.


(newbie to site)