Your insights are highly appreciated

[cristinayang 3]

Hi guys,

This is my third year applying. During the first two cycles, I received flat out refusals. This cycle, I got on a very bad waiting list, so my chance of getting in is extremely small. I feel like I am the biggest loser in the world, and have no idea how to improve my MMI (I have 4.0 gpa in pre-requisite courses, therefore low ranking in MMI is the sole reason for my failure). I changed my approaches during the past two cycles, but nothing worked. I am so devastated and lost. I feel like my heart is frozen, and I can't breathe. So please help me here, any insight in how to improve my MMI would be highly appreciated. 

[Bambi 1,683]

Treat the MMI strictly as "a practice session" that does not count. Go in relaxed, to have fun. You are already prepared. Your performance should dramatically improve. Good luck! 

[HoopDreams 230]

8 hours ago, cristinayang said:

Hi guys,

This is my third year applying. During the first two cycles, I received flat out refusals. This cycle, I got on a very bad waiting list, so my chance of getting in is extremely small. I feel like I am the biggest loser in the world, and have no idea how to improve my MMI (I have 4.0 gpa in pre-requisite courses, therefore low ranking in MMI is the sole reason for my failure). I changed my approaches during the past two cycles, but nothing worked. I am so devastated and lost. I feel like my heart is frozen, and I can't breathe. So please help me here, any insight in how to improve my MMI would be highly appreciated. 

No, you are not a loser and shouldn't think of yourself that way.
Can you improve ? Everyone can. 
Remember that you made it to the very last step and still didn't get rejected. 
That's impressive.
Message me if you would like to practice MMI at some point, I would be happy to help, no fees.
 

[44332211 28]

8 hours ago, cristinayang said:

Hi guys,

This is my third year applying. During the first two cycles, I received flat out refusals. This cycle, I got on a very bad waiting list, so my chance of getting in is extremely small. I feel like I am the biggest loser in the world, and have no idea how to improve my MMI (I have 4.0 gpa in pre-requisite courses, therefore low ranking in MMI is the sole reason for my failure). I changed my approaches during the past two cycles, but nothing worked. I am so devastated and lost. I feel like my heart is frozen, and I can't breathe. So please help me here, any insight in how to improve my MMI would be highly appreciated. 

I want to echo the person above me. You are in no way a loser. MMIs can be really challenging and the fact that you've gotten three interviews is very impressive and it shows that you have something special. Sometimes it's hard to gauge how well you're doing, especially in MMIs, but there are a lot of good resources out there. I would recommend that you talk to students that have gone through (+ succeeded in) the interview that you can practice with. There are also some resources online, but in-person really is the best approach in my opinion. The key is to not give up. The fact that you've managed to pick yourself up and try again is honestly commendable and its inspiring to see someone as resilient as you, and I know that you'll make it one day. Happy to chat in private. Will also help (no fees).

 

 

[excelspreadsheet 19]

I know it sucks to be on that side of things and I was in the same boat as you years ago. I was rejected 5 times. But doing well on the MMI is a skill that you can learn - even now, the fact that you're waitlisted shows that you're improving.

I'll agree what others have said about practicing in person with other people and reaching out to others for advice. One caveat to that is looking for very candid/blunt feedback. Often during MMI prep, I found people try to be super nice about the feedback they give and will dance around the negatives. Maybe consider recording yourself during a station and see if you can isolate what you would change if you were to do it again. Happy to chat as well if you have more questions.

Know that your persistence will pay off, and one day you can look back on this and see how far you've come.

[cristinayang 3]

Thank you, guys. I am so grateful for your genuine and heartfelt advice. To be honest, everyday seems so hard to pass by, but I will keep my head up and keep trying. 

[MD.VA 128]

I went from being at the very bottom last year ppst-MMI to getting accepted this year ( 4.0 prerequisite GPA both years). Happy to help if you want to send me a message. 

[isitlunchtimeyet 22]

Agree with everything above. This says nothing about your suitability to be a doc - it's just how the system is and you can 100% improve. One thing I'd add is limit the amount of prep you do with other applicants. I found that to be the least effective use of my time. Find med students who have succeeded and seek help from them. I'm more than happy to do some mocks with you this summer and provide some critical feedback!

[med_gods 24]

23 hours ago, cristinayang said:

Hi guys,

This is my third year applying. During the first two cycles, I received flat out refusals. This cycle, I got on a very bad waiting list, so my chance of getting in is extremely small. I feel like I am the biggest loser in the world, and have no idea how to improve my MMI (I have 4.0 gpa in pre-requisite courses, therefore low ranking in MMI is the sole reason for my failure). I changed my approaches during the past two cycles, but nothing worked. I am so devastated and lost. I feel like my heart is frozen, and I can't breathe. So please help me here, any insight in how to improve my MMI would be highly appreciated. 

Hi Cristina, I was in the same boat as you for the past couple of years and I really understand how you feel. I've done numerous interviews and received flat out rejections from all of them. Seeing friends the same age as me get in and some even graduating and doing residency right now really made me feel depressed at times, but every time I was on the verge of switching careers, something in me told me to keep going and keep trying, and I feel that you are in a very similar boat as me. You are already in a better position than I was given you recognize that you need to work on your MMI (something that I didn't realized until much later, as I kept thinking it was my grades that was the issue). I was very fortunate to have been accepted this year and have received a lot of pointers in terms of MMI prep from this community. If you'd like to chat more, please DM me. 

[Kitkat1 14]

As a first time applicant, I just wanted to stop by and let all of the reapplicants like yourself know how inspiring you guys are to me. Getting refusals is so hard and yet you keep trying, pushing and persevering. I hope to have your strength one day, because right now just the thought of going through the process again.... I can’t. 

[GH0ST 493]

On 3/26/2019 at 7:47 AM, HoopDreams said:

No, you are not a loser and shouldn't think of yourself that way.
Can you improve ? Everyone can. 
Remember that you made it to the very last step and still didn't get rejected. 
That's impressive.
Message me if you would like to practice MMI at some point, I would be happy to help, no fees.
 

@cristinayang

I can't stress how important it is to always remember that not getting into medicine isn't a failure on your abilities or character. 

Setting aside the realization that you can make a difference in any role, many people don't get in on the first or even second try. I certainly didn't. 

You only see the success stories but there's easily tons more that are still going through the process. Don't let other people's success discourage you from achieving your own in the future. 

- G