Me: Very non-trad, awful GPA, mid MCAT, ORM, yadda yadda...

Against all odds I was accepted into a USMD program. If you look at my school list, I have zero in my baseline, two target, and six reach. All of them DO programs. The school I got into was not even a "reach" option for me. The acceptance rate is 2%!

Nobody in my family, none of my friends, nobody understands how unlikely this was. I share the news with a tinge of embarrassment because the inevitable response is "I've never heard of that school. Why didn't you just go to [NEARBY T20]?"

If I'm not careful, I find myself internalizing these comments. Then I have a long think and remind myself how unbelievably fortunate I am, and how my hard work has paid off more than I could have ever dreamed.