Rejection is a part of life, but on this journey to medicine, I have a feeling I’m going to get a lot more of it. Below are actual emails from my application cycle last year (2020-2021). Unfortunately, I could not find all of them, but as you can see it was a very unsuccessful cycle.

Believe it or not, I didn’t bat an eye when receiving all these rejections. It was because I recognized where I went wrong in my cycle. Most importantly, I learned early on that rejections do not mean I’m a failure. Instead, it means I have areas I can improve upon. And so that’s what I did, which led to a more successful cycle.

I share this so that other students facing the same situation do not feel alone. You are not the only one to go through this, and you can eventually have a successful cycle. We have all heard that you should only take the MCAT once and apply once. However, some of us have taken another path that is also very challenging. Regardless of how successful or challenging your road is, they all lead to the white coat.

Keep going! You can do it. There are schools in these photos that rejected me a second time when I applied again. On the other hand, there are schools I reapplied to that gave me an interview and an acceptance. If I had just given up when I was down, I would not experience this joy of perseverance.

So if you’re struggling in this current cycle or preparing to reapply at the next, please know that a rejection doesn’t mean no. It just means not yet. Remember, all you need is one.