I finally got accepted to medical school

I’ve been working on this goal since I entered college in 2020. My high school AP Biology teacher discouraged me from pursuing STEM because she didn’t think I could handle it. Her husband (also a teacher) used to put me down whenever he could. I almost didn’t pursue medicine even though I was interested because of the naysayers.

I worked multiple jobs in college to help support myself and built up my resume for medical school. I graduated in 2024 with a 3.98 GPA out of 4.0 with my degrees in both Public Health and Biology. Navigating academia as a black man wasn’t easy. I worked in a cancer research lab at a very prestigious institution and heard some outright horrible racist things and experienced many micro aggressions. I had to fight to get opportunities that were handed to everyone else.

I couldn’t go to medical school right after graduating college because I couldn’t figure out how to pass my MCAT initially (this is the exam you take to apply to medical school). I got a full time job working as a science teacher in a rough underserved area. I studied for the MCAT while working 50 hours a week and studied for my teacher licensure exams as well. I eventually did great on my MCAT and got my full licensure as a teacher after taking the exams and doing my required hours for my program.

I did everything wrong when applying to medical school. Everyone says you are supposed to apply early but due to some unfortunate circumstances with my family I had to apply on the deadline for many of the schools. If you asked anybody my chances of getting any interviews they would say 0% with how late I applied. I decided to shoot my shot anyways and poured my heart and soul into my application.

I ended up getting 4 interviews in total from amazing institutions. I found out last Friday that I got accepted to an amazing medical school in my hometown that has so many opportunities that will allow me to have an amazing career as a doctor. I applied to this school on the deadline their application was due and had my interview on the very last day that they scheduled them. I thought I had no chance of getting in since this was such an amazing school. I knew I killed my interview and showed them why I was ready to be a doctor.

I had so many haters and doubters on this path. I had no one in my family who had connections to make this journey easier for me. There were even people in my family who told me to give up on trying to get into medical school. That being said I finally made it through and I’m so proud of myself. I will be able to serve my communities with the knowledge I will obtain from going to medical school. I’m joining the 5% of black physicians in the United States and the 3% of black male physicians.

I know medical school will not be easy but I’m ready to bust my ass and get my MD. I wanted to share this post in hopes that I could inspire my brothers to take a leap of faith toward their dreams even when the odds seem like they are stacked against you.

If you read all of this I appreciate you🖤