Hi everyone,

I am currently 209 pounds and I'm getting ready to apply to medical school. My BMI is 32 so I'm technically obese. I was told by a doctor today that my chances of getting into med school were diminished because I am fat. I went home and cried. I used to have a eating disorder and honestly, hearing this makes me feel like I have no options save for starving myself to lose weight as quickly as possible before my applications this summer. I don't know what to do.

I have been telling myself for a whole year that I need to start losing weight but I think it's really hard for me because I remember how miserable I was even at 120, when I was eating nothing. I don't want to feel like that again. But going to medical school is my dream. I feel like a terrible person for being fat and I have no clue how to lose weight so quickly before July. (In July secondary applications are usually sent and you need to send a picture with your application.)

I am so worried.

I would not listen to that advice! I don't believe there are weight restrictions when it comes to medical school; you aren't applying to the military for Pete's sake, and for him to say such a thing is completely irresponsible.

You're here now; that means you know that you have work to do to lose weight and become healthy (for yourself!!). You have to do it the right way; don't go back to unhealthy habits just because this "doctor" was a jerk to you. Come here for support, and take it one day, one pound at a time.

Good luck!

I know nothing about getting into medical but that sounds so ridiculous to me!! I have doctors that are on the heavier size and to me 209 is not heavy at all. I know the books say different but being as big as I am 209 is a skinny minnie! I say don't let what he said bother you, you follow your dreams and do what you want! YOU CAN DO IT with or without losing weight!

I work for a Medical School & there are overweight medical students, doctors, nurses, and clerical staff.

Also, it's not too late to lose some weight HEALTHILY before you have to apply.

Please don't give up on your dream because of one idiot doctor OR your weight.

I was obese when I was accepted into pharmacy school and I still am (working on it). The healthy lifestyle is encouraged in professional school, but they do not discriminate based on weight (when accepting applicants or any other time). Don't worry about the pictures -- have a friend help you take some professional, flattering pics in good lighting and I think that will be just fine!

I hope that what this doctor has said does not send you into a spiral of disordered eating. What he said was rude and, in my opinion, inaccurate. It may have been his strange, misguided way of trying to encourage you to lose weight. That does not excuse it, though.

My advice is to eat healthy food, don't starve yourself, and participate in moderate exercise most days of the week. You will be healthier for it but losing weight at a normal pace.

Good luck getting into medical school! You can do it! I'm pulling for you!

I had a very heavy student get into medical school just a couple years ago, so it's clearly not impossible.

That said, medical school is insanely competitive and lots of bright, qualified applicants end up getting rejected the first time, get some additional laboratory experience/graduate courses and reapply. So even if the ABSOLUTE WORSE CASE situation occurs and you get rejected and don't know why, 1) you will be in the same boat as lots and lots of brilliant, talented (and normal BMI) people and 2) you will have another chance. It's NOT an all or nothing crossroads of your life, so PLEASE don't think that it is: whether you end up completing your residency as 32 or 33 really, really doesn't matter. Thinking of it as "all or nothing" will make you panic, and it's not worth that.

Furthermore, let me tell you something: if you find the middle ground, being a normal weight/getting to a normal weight does NOT have to be a miserable process. You can eat a LOT and still lose weight as long as you are careful about what you eat and you keep careful track. It's not "starve or binge", I promise. Once I figured that out, I lost 140 lbs with less misery than in any of those dozens of times I lost 50.

Do not let that doctor get you down. PROVE HIM WRONG !!!! You can do something about your weight. Don't do anything ridiculous, get on a low calorie diet and combine that with exercise and think positive. You can achieve your dream .

Where do you live? I have never heard of using photos on applications.

Fat people are discriminated against in every field, however, no institution can actively say, "we are not going to admit overweight individuals." My nurse practitioner is overweight and she went to Yale.

Being on the job market was a major factor in my decision to start losing weight. I'm a teacher and people assume I am more capable in the classroom at 150 lbs than at 200+ lbs. However, I never didn't get a single job JUST because I was overweight. So don't freak out so much. Also, take it slow with the weight loss. Be calm. It's going to be all right. Some people are bitter and like to dash the hopes of others for no apparent reason. When I was a freshman in college, a professor told me I was too stupid to major in my chosen subject (even though I was making a B+ in his course). I just finished watching that episode of Gilmore Girls where Rory is told she doesn't have what it takes to be a journalist and she freaks out, gets arrested and drops out of college. Don't be a Rory. Keep doing what you do.

Go get in and prove this so called doctor wrong!

If your MCAT score is higher than your current BMI, you should be fine. I know plenty of fat med students (now third year residents).

You have more than 3 months to get your weight down ,if you can lose 2 pounds a week in the next 12 weeks you will be below 200 pounds. I think you can do it and you do not have to go on a fad diet to reach that goal.

that's insane. i'd say research on it a little more, and focus on getting into shape in the meantime for your health.

What that doctor said is barbarous, snide, rancorous, unscrupulous and against any concept of human empathy or sympathy. One could go so far as to say that he is actively hurting you. Making size-based prejudice, interfering with your personal life and goals, insinuating that something about you is inherently wrong, insulting you-no person has the privilege to say any of that. I would recommend getting a new doctor who will encourage you and support you rather than hurt you. If you only see him/er a few times a year, you may feel it to much of a bother to change, but if you regularly see your doctor...

FAKE EDIT: I just realized that you did not specify that s/he was your personal doctor, but if s/he was in your clinic, or any place where you should be safe, I would report the incident.

I am incredibly sorry that people are so incredibly cruel and stupid. I hope you don't take his/er words to heart, and that you continue to follow your dreams.

I agree with every single word....including reporting the incident.

I cannot believe the nerve of this doctor!

Wow, that doctor is a prick and if he's your personal doctor I would seriously suggest shopping around. What motivation did he have to even say something like that? Ugh.

There are always naysayers out there who are going to say that you can't do something for whatever reason. Don't live life for them, live it for you! Like Schmead said, getting into Medical School is incredibly competitive and if you don't get in I seriously doubt that your weight would be the reason why. There are only so many slots for so many applicants, and they have to turn away talented people every year.

And if you don't succeed this time around, get some more labs in and try again!