If you can't get into med school?

Question

What happens if a student's already followed the pre-med track during college, but can't get into med school?

I'd like to major in biology in college, and then go on to med school, but don't know that I'd do well enough in college to be accepted to med. How competitive is it really? And if I don't get into med school, what can I do with a degree in biology? I'd hate to have wasted 4 years in school, and then switch to another major.

Answer 1

According to the Pinceton Review, in 2003, about 33,000 people applied for about 17,000 available spaces in medical schools in the USA. That's a pretty good chance of getting in. About 21% of applicants to clinical psychology grad programs get in (http://www.psichi.org/pubs/articles/article_549.asp).

What to do if you don't get in? If you've got a head for the hard sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, statistics) that are required as a pre-med, you will have MANY options available to you. You have a bright future available to you, and I'm envious!

You might go on to another professional degree program. As others have suggested, you might go into pharmacy, dental, engineering, chiropractic or actuarial school. You might decide to do a MS or PhD and follow an academic career or a career in applied research.

Don't want to spend many years in grad school? Explore the allied health professions - radiography, sonography, respiratory therapy, audiology, orthotics and prosthetics.

Maybe you decide that you don't want to go on to any more training after pre-med. There are lots of technician and technologist jobs in clinics and hospitals and in academic settings where an undergrad degree in the sciences would be a real plus. The federal government also hires lots of people who have a degree in anything. Those with a degree in a science field, though, have great opportunities with Uncle Sam.

Then again, you might change your mind about what you want to do anyway. My dentist, for example, has a BA in classical studies - who would have thought that classical studies would translate into a successful dental career?

Work hard and have confidence in yourself - you'll be able to handle whatever life dishes out to you!

Answer 2

That student needs to shop around for a med school that will accept him. It is all about grades. Those with best grades a practically paid to attend medical school. There is no such thing as not being able to get into medical school for someone who has fulfilled the prerequisites.
That, my dead, is the long and short of it.
Mr. M on "med school."

Answer 3

They can try med schools in other countries (like the Caribbean or Eastern Europe). Dental school, optometry school, Pharmacy school, nursing, etc.

How many med schools did they apply to? All my pre-med friends applied to a TON of schools all over the country.

Answer 4

Every year, only half of those who apply are accepted to medical school. If you don't get in, you can do a post-bacc or a masters degree and reapply, or you can give up the prospect of medicine and get a PhD in your field and do research. Or you can go to business school and become an investment banker. There are a lot of options.

Answer 5

There are many other paths you can take. If you did pre-med you can consider being a therapist of any kind a nurse a chemist you can go in pharmaceuticals you can become a vet there is so many other paths you just have to look a little harder.

Answer 6

Competition for medical school is intense.
As to what you can do with a biology degree, see:
http://www.sonoma.edu/sas/crc/majors/biology.shtml
or:
http://www.utexas.edu/student/careercenter/careers/biology.pdf

Answer 7

Since you lack the intelligence to post a meaningful question in the correct category, I wouldn't hold out much hope.

Answer 8

Most of my friends who didn't get into medical school only tried once and then ended up going to graduate school instead.

Answer 9

damn the med school im in the 3rd year in the med school i do hate it i have just got depressed and upset since i joined it .......wt r u looking for to study that damn anatomy and physiology in the 1st year??! or that complicated pharmacology and pathology in the 3rd 1 !!? thank god that u cant join it u r lucky!

Answer 10

The three ultimate outcomes of your application to medial school are Acceptance, Rejection or a spot on the Wait List.

Normally, medical schools have to make more offers than they have spots available in their class to fill each class. This works in your favor. If a school has 100 spots to fill for that year, they may have to extend 150, 200 or 300 offers to get 100 students to actually attend their school. If the medical school is very prestigious, then they typically have to extend fewer offers to fill the class. If they are the "backup" school for many applicants who would rather go elsewhere, then they have to extent more offers.

Acceptance

Celebrate your acceptance letters! Congratulations!
You made it! All the hard work in preparation has paid off!

Of course, you want to get acceptance letters from medical schools - at least from one medical school. Acceptance letters are mailed within about 2 to 4 weeks from your interview date by most medical schools. A few schools notify students with a few days and some even take several or many months to notify applicants of their decisions. Some other medical schools notify most of their applicant pool at once - on a given day, rather than on a rolling basis.

You are typically given 10 - 14 days from the day you receive the acceptance letter from a medical school in the mail to make a deposit and indicate that you are interested in attending there. Once the deposit is made and you respond to the school, the medial school will hold a spot for you in the incoming class.

Make sure you pay your deposit and have the school hold the spot for you! This does not mean that you actually have to attend this particular school in the end. Once you have made deposits at several schools (with several offers), you can still decide where you really want to study medicine, after considering all of your options. So, by making the deposit, you don't promise or commit to attend that particular school.

You typically have until about April 15th to make your FINAL decision of where to attend. You cannot hold spots at different medical schools past this date, so you have to decide (if you are still holding spots at different medical schools at that time).

For most allopathic (MD) schools, the deposits are usually only $100, but there are exceptions with higher deposit amounts. The deposits are typically refundable or will be applied towards your tuition if you attend there eventually. However, for most osteopathic (DO) schools, the deposits are between $500 and $1,000 and are most often non-refundable.

Rejection

Most applicants get some rejection letters. It's certainly hard when the first letter you receive back is a rejection. But, don't give up. Some rejections are normal. Often, it depends on the interviewer you had that day and whether or not you connected with that person. It may have nothing to do with your application or your personality.

If you did not receive any acceptance letters at all (and you applied to a dozen or more schools), you will need to re-evaluate your options. Don't despair. This does not mean that you are not meant to be a physician. I know several individuals who applied at least two years in a row before getting accepted. For some, it even takes 3 tries.

You will need to analyze your overall application and see which areas can be improved within another year, before applying again. Read the re-application section for more info and strategies to increase your chances.

Wait List

Medical schools maintain lists of students who are qualified for admissions, but just barely didn't make the first cut to fill the class. These students are placed on the wait list, which is typically numbered, so each student is assigned a specific numbered spot on the list.

Most medical schools will reveal how many students, who were initially placed on the wait list, were offered spots in previous years, so you can get an idea if you really have a chance to get an offer by the time classes begin. But there is some fluctuation every year. Also, a medical school may not let you know the exact number you are on the list or how many students on the wait list were eventually offered spots in the class in previous years.

As an example, if the school typically takes 10 applicants from their wait list every year, and you're number 9 on the list this year, you may have a chance. But, I know of some students who were in a similar spot and that particular year the school only took 50% of the number they accepted off their wait list in previous years. So, it's no guarantee. It all depends on how many other applicants decline offers at that medical school late in the game. For sure, if you're in the top 3 or 4 on the wait list, you'll most likely have very good chances.

Being on a wait list can be good and bad. Obviously, if you don't have any other offers, a wait list spot is better than nothing. Also, you may have other offers, but your first-choice school, where you would rather study medicine, has placed you on the wait list. In this case, you can wait until you have to decide (usually around April 15th, when you have to tell all your schools if you are going to attend - you cannot hold spots at different schools after that point) to see if your wait list spot turns into a real spot in the class.

All you have to do when April 15th comes around is to make a decision among the offers you have already received. So, any medical school which has offered you a spot in the class demands an answer of "yes" or "no". Hopefully, you have at least one offer, which you can accept at that point. This does not apply to wait lists - you can remain on different wait lists until class begins - even if you have accepted a spot at a different medical school already.

So, even once you have told another medical school that you will be attending there, you can still change your mind, up to the day you actually begin class and pay your tuition.
So, it is possible, in theory, to receive a phone call from a medical school notifying you that your wait list spot has turned into a real spot until the day classes start.

In fact, I know of several people who had already moved to attend one medical school and received such a call from their first-choice school where they had been wait-listed. One person packed up again and moved, just about a week before classes actually started to attend his first-choice school.