Match Day
February 1st is always a significant day for pre-med students in Texas. For hopeful Texas medical school students, this day is known as Match Day and it is something that we look forward to with both excitement and anxiety. It’s on this day that we find out if we actually made it into medical school and where exactly we will be going for the next four years. As applicants, we begin work on our applications starting in May of the previous year and we spend the entire summer and fall waiting for and attending interview days at the various schools around Texas.
I’m very grateful to say that on Match Day I was lucky enough to be accepted into the Class of 2021 at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston! As one can imagine, I’m very excited for this opportunity, but I’m also proud of how I got here. I came to Texas A&M as an undergraduate Biomedical Sciences major in the fall of 2013. I had my mind set—or so I thought—on becoming a veterinarian. By the end of my sophomore year, however, I realized that I was not as passionate about veterinary medicine as some of my peers in my major.
I took a step back and reexamined my career goals, and I confirmed that I still wanted to have a career based in science and medicine. Then, I realized that I enjoyed being around people, and I was more comfortable around others than I had been before coming to college. The organizations that I was a part of focused on interacting with other people—and that helped me realize that I wanted a career in which I would be constantly working with and helping other humans. I began researching medical school, and after some shadowing and help from some amazing advisors, I realized that being a physician is my true calling.
I decided to share this story, not because I’m trying to dissuade others from choosing vet school, but because I want students to know that college can be a confusing time. You may not have all the answers, and your peers probably don’t have all the answers—even though some may act like they do! Use your undergraduate years to explore your passions and make new discoveries about yourself and the world around you. Never think that it’s too late to change your mind. If you’re passionate about something, then don’t let fear stop you from going after what you want. In the end, make sure that you’re living a life that you’re proud of—and you can’t go wrong!
–Tyler
BIMS Student
Class of 2017