Sunday, August 9, 2015

New Post and a Note From The Author

During the time that I've written this blog, I've never really been all that involved in the comments on my posts. I read every comment written on this blog, usually I stay neutral or like to make a funny comment if I say anything at all. I do this because I really don't mind if people express their opinions, whatever they may be, about my writing or the blog. That being said, I do not appreciate being called a liar, especially by people who know nothing about my life.


I do not share much about my personal life on this blog. For one, the blog is about a fake person, not me. For two, a lot of people read this blog and I don't particularly feel like sharing things about my life for a bunch of people I do not know to read. That being said, I'm going to break this rule of mine this one time to put to rest any idea that I'm lying about who I am or what I'm doing with my life.

I have applied to medical school twice. Once in 2013 and once this time. I submitted a primary application in 2012 but withdrew it shortly after for reasons I won't be detailing here. The medical school application process can take about 9 months (or even longer than a year, if you are wait-listed). The primary application portal opens the first weekday in May and you an submit it the first weekday in June. Then it is processed which means someone goes through your official transcripts to verify all of your grades and stuff. This can take up to 8 weeks. Once your primary application is processed, you can start receiving secondary applications the first of July. These secondary applications are specific to each school you apply to and cost an additional fee (anywhere from $50 to $225). These applications vary in length and what they ask. One of the secondary applications I submitted had 11 required essays as part of it, another required me to submit a scan of my birth certificate and ACT score (which I took, like ten years ago). About half required me to put in all of my coursework over again even though it was listed on my primary application and took HOURS to fill out (because I have two bachelor's degrees and graduate coursework so it's A LOT of classes and grades to retype and a lot of opportunities for typos). Once you submit your secondaries, you wait to be offered an interview. The interview season is usually from September to April for most schools. If you are wait-listed the school does not have to inform you of admittance until the day before orientation starts at the latest. One guy in my graduate program actually had this happen to him this year. He was told he got into medical school three days before orientation started, he didn't even get to attend his white coat ceremony because his acceptance letter arrive the day after the ceremony.

Getting into medical school is the hardest part of becoming a doctor. Once you're in you are pretty much guaranteed to be a doctor unless you are one of the 2-3% of students who drop out.

So, anyway, if it seems like I've been talking about applying to medical school or preparing my application for a long time, it's because I HAVE been talking about medical school and preparing for my application for a long time. When you're taking your pre-med classes, your application is always looming ahead of you and you are constantly preparing for it, so yes, it probably sounds like I've been talking about this forever. So those of you who brought that up: I'm not really sure what you wanted to add to the conversation by bringing that up but if it was to make me feel bad about how long it has taken me to get into medical school...well Congratulations, you succeeded. 

You should all hang out with my mother and bond over coffee as you discuss all the ways I have failed you.

I started taking the pre-reqs for medical school in January of 2011, a little over six months after graduating from undergrad in May of 2010 with a degree in a completely unrelated field. I completed my pre-med classes in 2013 and took the MCAT (for the second time) that summer. I graduated in May of 2014 with a second degree in biology and didn't get accepted to medical school. So I applied to a graduate program and started that in August which is what I've been doing this year. The graduate program I'm enrolled in is specifically designed to make its students more competitive for medical school. It is a very demanding program and ate up a lot more time than I could have ever anticipated but I won't apologize for not prioritizing the blog over my education.

I had an exit interview after my first failed application at my top choice school (which I received an interview at) and the woman I spoke with told me that she could see no reason why my application was not accepted other than timing. When I asked her for suggestions on how to improve my application, she had none. I did not get into medical school because the pre-medical committee at my school submitted my committee letter three months late, effectively ruining my chances at every school I applied to (and wasting $2000 of my money in application fees) because of rolling admissions. This is not an excuse, I'm simply explaining the situation since several of you feel entitled to comment on it being a giant lie.

But school has not been the only thing I've been doing since I went back in 2011 and if it WAS just my pre-med classes, I'm sure things would've been so much easier than they've turned out to be. I've mentioned how much volunteering I do on this blog before, but this past year I added even more volunteering commitments because my graduate advisor recommended it. To put it into perspective, most of the medical students I know (because I take classes with them) and my peers who are also applying this cycle volunteer at maybe two different places. Most volunteered at the hospital associated with my school for less than six months and have done no research. I have volunteered at two hospitals in my area for nearly four years, I started volunteering at a third hospital 6 months ago. I've been a community mentor for three years to a teenage girl in my area, I did research in an Alzheimer's lab for two years, and I started volunteering at my local rape crisis center as a facilitator for a sexual assault support group and on their crisis hotline. In addition to all of that, I work part-time.

On top of all of that, I currently live in an abusive environment and have since I moved back home in 2010. Faith's mother is not even close to being fictional. I wish she was. I bring this up not because I want sympathy or because I want to be lectured on what I "should" do or what I "need" to do about my situation. I'm well aware of what I need to do, thanks, and there are a lot of issues within my current living situation that are not as simple as me leaving, but I won't share those on this blog and I ask that you don't speculate about this part of my life because it has never affected this blog in any way (the rest of my life is another story), I use this blog as an escape from it and I want it to stay that way. I bring it up because while a lot of medical students breeze through their medical school applications and have the time and money to do medical mission trips to make them attractive to medical schools while their doctor parents help them achieve clinical shadowing, I have not had any family support during this endeavor, financially, emotionally, or otherwise. So, if it seems like I'm making the past five years sound harder than they should be, maybe that's because they have been incredibly hard and I've had only myself to rely on through all of it.

I also want to point out that writing for and maintaining a fictional blog is extremely time consuming. The amount of material you have to produce on a regular basis is honestly difficult for me to explain to all of you because even I can't wrap my head around it sometimes. I think, though, that the fact that my blog is one of the longest running fictional blogs I know of, should say something. Almost every new fictional blog I've seen pop up since I started Modern Day Faith has died within a year. Usually with no explanation, the writer simply stops writing. Probably because it is hard as fuck to write so much and so often (especially if it's not putting money in your bank account). I appreciate the patience so many of my readers have shown me during all of my hiatuses. And, for what it's worth, if I didn't feel like writing and didn't have a post, I'd just say so. I've done that before, as many of you will remember. I'd never make a post up saying I lost all of my medical school essays unless it were true, particularly because I wouldn't want to challenge fate to make it true (sort of like that feeling you get when you want to say your grandmother died to get out of something but she's still alive and you don't want to tempt fate into killing her).

Thank you for bearing with me while I salvaged my essays. I tried several of the programs you all suggested in the comments but had no luck, unfortunately. For anyone who cares, I completed all of my application essays today and submitted all but one application because I'm considering applying to that school's dual degree program for an MD/PhD program, I'm waiting to speak with my advisor about it before I submit. Regular posting will resume every Sunday, including tonight. A new post is up entitled "Guess Who's Back, Back Again". You can find it below or you can click here.

See you all next week.
-del

23 comments:

  1. Good for you for not giving up on your desires! The dual degree MD/PhD route sounds cool. All the best to you!

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  2. Del, Congrats big time on coming back from your computer debacle. I worked at a major university for over 10 years (research and I was a "lab mom" and managed the lab) and watched countless undergrads with ridiculously good grades from a top tier school who signed up for my and other labs barely get into Med school (if at all). The fact that you have persisted in what is a frightening competitive endeavor is beyond commendable. I thought about doing what you are doing and didn't have the stomach for it, opting instead for another career in healthcare. I am in awe of what you have endured and I hope that it all pays off for you. Someone with your patience, persistence and passion belongs in the medical field. Best of luck with getting accepted and thanks for the blog!
    Sara

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  3. Del - I'm glad you were able to finish all of your essays. Please don't think that negative comments from one or two posters represents the way the rest of your readers feel. I really respect how hard you've worked to achieve your goals. I wish you the best of luck with the application process.

    Thanks for the post. So glad to see Adam again!

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  4. Glad you got your applications done. No need to explain anything.

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  5. Your explanation was totally unnecessary. Those who questioned you can go suck an egg. Congrats on getting your apps done. Hope it lets you breathe a little easier. mum

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  6. You did not need to offer all of that, those of us who are not hateful never thought you were lying about anything. And frankly, your private life is no one's business anyway. Glad you got your essays done, I'm sorry the programs didn't help retrieve your stuff.

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  7. You are absolutely an amazing, strong person Del. I know that all of your hard work will pay off soon. I have friends that are in medical school and it took years of hard work.
    Don't worry about the haters. It takes a go getter to understand a go getter and the hardships you have to reach. They can sit at home while you get that white coat! Thank you for sticking with your loyal followers.

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  8. First of all you don't owe any of us any kind of explanation...it took me 5 years to complete an Associates Degree because well LIFE happens. This blog started out as a school project (I've been here since the beginning...well since Diary of J :) ). After completing my AAS, I looked at the path I wanted to take next, and med school was an option, until I sat down and looked at the ACTUAL work load that was going to be associated with it....I chose not to continue with that path. I frankly wouldn't have had the patience to try again or add any additional crap to my load.

    I have always appreciated the "heads up" posts and have never once thought it to be a lie. My husband and I own a computer company and we see the data loss you experienced all too often with people so to anyone that says it's impossible or unlikely, you are actually very very wrong. The failure rate of a hard drive is 100%..they fail EVERY TIME....we have had hard drives that are 2 days old fail and hard drives that are 10 years old work just fine...it's a crap shoot really.

    I sincerely hope that you get into the school of your choice because I can't imagine paying out $2200 in fees and having to go back to square one all over again, I think I'd go play in traffic.

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  9. I just started my first year of medical school on July 31, and I can attest that what Del is saying is true. I have friends that applied THREE TIMES to 32 different schools and FINALLY got in on the third try. I'm convinced the only reason I got in on my first try is that I met the VP of student services at a premed conference last year and he took a shine to me. My application was no rosier than anyone else's. Keep your chin up, hard work does pay off! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you too. (Have ya thought of going DO?)

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  10. Hey Del, thanks for sharing although it definitely wasn't necessary. When I read the negative comments I was appalled. Each person's life and experience is different so we shouldn't ever compare. Congrats on getting your essays done. I sincerely hope you get into all the schools you applied to so you can make the final decision on what's best for you!

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  11. In the last couple years, I have learned that 90% of negativity from other people can be summed up in 3 (4??) Words.

    Bitches be cray-cray.

    Good luck with everything that is currently looming over your head. ♡♡♡

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  12. I rarely read the comments on your blog because i come here for the posts, not the comments so obviously i missed something.

    I also rarely comment because i like to engage with the author and i know you do not have a lot of free time, certainly not a lot of time to be responding to comments so i don't feel it is worth it to comment.

    That being said........not sure how anyone could even think you were being fake about anything or a liar. I just had someone accuse me of moving my car closer to theirs for pictures (because they parked way too close to me and scratched the door of my car that is only a year old). I may not know exactly how you feel but the feeling i got while reading this was who the fuck would do such a thing (lie about all the medical school stuff) because that was the feeling i had reading the facebook message from the person who accused me of fraud.

    You may not share a lot of your personal life but i and i am sure many others have never thought that way. There wasn't a time i thought anything you said didn't sound real and i can read people VERY well, even in blog land.

    You now have learned the valuable lesson that you need to back that important shit up with more than 1 hard copy. External hard drive and USB.

    I can imagine why you would want to stay in that situation (impossible to support yourself otherwise) but i hope you can escape for good some day soon and drop her from your life. She may be your mother but i am sure you know that doesn't mean you have to have anything to do with her once you break away. No one should have to deal with that crap. What an awful person. I don't understand how we can treat people like that.

    Good Luck

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  13. I just want to comment to send you a giant through-the-net bear hug. *hug

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  14. Wow; I've been lax reading the comments, but not your stories. As always, your writing is absorbing (including the really sad parts, which are hard to read because you convey the emotional aspect so well). Anyhoo...I can't figure what anyone's hoping to accomplish by posting such negative musings and accusations anyway. The internet opens up a whole banquet of weird for those inclined. You're much nicer and accommodating than I'd be with the long explanation (like others already pointed out: *so* not necessary). Your revelations about your mother really struck a chord with me, though. I'm sorry you have to miss out on the mother lottery; it's a significant factor in anyone's life. Sounds like you're dealing with it the best you can; sincerely hope you're able to get away from, and past all that, asap - one way or the other.

    It sounds like you deal with all your endeavors, responsibilities, stresses and heartaches better than most people I know. Keep your faith in the possibilities in Life, Del; things are bound to get better and easier for someone like you who puts herself out there like you do. We think you're great. Take care.

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  15. Wow.

    The hardship you have to go through online and off astounds me. Keep your head up, girl! Just keep doing you :)

    Soul xo

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  16. You wrote, "a lot of medical students breeze through their medical school applications and have the time and money to do medical mission trips to make them attractive to medical schools while their doctor parents help them achieve clinical shadowing"

    You are bang on. My husband and I couldn't believe the portion of his medical class who fell into this exact category. It amazes me that they don't recognize that some people actually have to work at whatever part time jobs they can find just to survive and can't fly off to Africa to volunteer to bolster their application. My husband was a chiropractor and decided to go back to medical school in his mid-thirties and it took him two tries to get in. It was frustrating but worth it in the end. Keep your chin up and good luck! Thanks so much for the time that you have spent entertaining us all with your blog, you are an excellent writer.

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  17. So sorry anyone thought you made that up. I don't know what right anyone thinks they have to say such negative and hurtful things. Don't think I've posted before, but just wanted to say thank you for this post and super awesome blog. I don't know how you get so much done in one week! You are too hardworking and persevering to not achieve your dreams. You are going to succeed beyond belief, and you're going to prove your mom and these other naysayers wrong. But you don't need me to tell you that, cause you already know :-D Again thank you for the blog and good luck with med school!

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  18. Del, first i want to say welcome back and thank you!! I am truly sorry for the hardship in your life. I am 45 and still dont have a relationship with my parents at all, so i get it. also you briefly touched on your personal life... what ever is going on in your life remember to tell your self daily maybe even 100 times a day that "i am worth so much more, I am deserving of so much more, and i am way stronger then they will ever Know"... I wish you THE BEST that life can give. You give me joy and take me a way from my life in your blog so thank you

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  19. Wow...No explanation needed (as the others have said) but sometimes it feels good to get it out. I couldnt believe the twit writing that.
    Anyway, I am super happy that you have been able to keep on going with this ( I have been reading since the very beginning and I just love it!
    You take care and keep on doing what makes you happy. There are a whole lot of us who think you do a spectacular job.
    FoodGirl :)

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