The Backup Plan

By Chelsea Travers

With any goal, there must be an execution plan. If that plan fails to come to fruition, then the “Backup Plan” must be inactivated. This brings me to my analogy. I have begun to think of the application process like a vine. You could also equate this metaphor to your undergrad career or life in general, but I don’t want to get too philosophical. So back to the metaphor, the medical school application process is like a vine. The main branch is the ideal timeline, and the periphery vines are the other possibilities. There are points in the vine that branch off of this main vine; these are the major events or details that occur throughout the application process. This includes GPA, MCAT, verification date, secondary receipt dates, application completion dates, interview dates, acceptance offers, decision day, etc…  

With each branching-off point, a new plan must be formulated. A weak GPA sends an applicant in a new direction, as does changing your MCAT date. The new plan becomes the main plan until another branch point grows. The fact is there are many approaches to getting into medical school. I don’t think there are routes that are any better than others. After all, don’t most vines look similar? Maybe some are thicker than others, just as some applicants have thicker files. However, medical schools thrive on diversity. Picture a vine climbing up a wall. Can you see the myriad of ways the vines bend and weave to get to the top?

Try not to be frightened of the “Backup Plan.” Just think of it as a new vine to pursue on your way to the top. There may be points of weakness in your vine. What are ways that you could reinforce these sites? For example, if you have a weak GPA, research some accelerated master’s programs that could keep you active academically and show your commitment to education. If you spent too much time in the library and not enough in the clinic, look for an internship or medical mission trip that could boost your clinical hours and give perspective into the career path you have decided upon.

Personally, I’ve spent too much time in the books, lab, and hospital. I have a few optional vines I will follow from volunteering abroad in an orphanage to becoming fluent in Spanish and living at home with my mom. Having concrete plans will help you feel more secure and enable you to answer the question of what your “Backup Plan” is in your interviews and on your secondaries. 

I wish you all the sunlight and NPK nutrients you could ever need to help your vines grow strong and sturdy to the top.

Further Reading:

1) Best 4 Things to Do Before Med School

2) Personal Statement Advice

3) Factors Behind Med School Admission

4) Highlight Compassion in Your Application

5) Store Retail Clinics

6) ObamaCare Delays from a Dr. Perspective

7) White Coat Ceremony

8) What year to apply to Med School?

9) Heart attack damage repaired using gene therapy

Chelsea Travers is a biology major and chemistry minor at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA. Originally from Las Vegas, she has traveled from the desert to the rain in hopes to get closer to her dream of becoming a doctor.

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