Bebout’s Memoirs
How to Get into Medical School
One Physician’s Winding Path from Flunking Out to White Coat
Everyone has their own path to medicine. Some march straight through college with laser focus. Others — like me — take a few detours, sweat a little more, and collect a few scars along the way. This is the story of how I got into medical school. It’s not a blueprint, but it’s real. If you’re wondering whether it’s worth it, whether you can do it — maybe this will help you decide.
I wasn’t one of those people who always knew they’d be a doctor. But I knew I wanted to help people, and I figured becoming a doctor would be a damn good way to do it. In high school, I was pretty good at chemistry, so I decided to major in it. That’s how I ended up enrolling as a chemistry major at Murray State University — full of ambition and completely unprepared for what was coming.
See, it turns out being good at high school chemistry and being a college chemistry major are two very different things. Murray took their chemistry seriously — a level above anything I’d encountered. I wasn’t ready. I flunked out after my first year with a 1.7 GPA. I ran around too much, partied too much, and spent way too much time making bad decisions in Puryear, Tennessee.
Like a lot of young people, I had to take a step back before I could move forward. I went home to Morganfield, Kentucky. I had earned my EMT license at Murray, so I started driving an ambulance. It gave me time to think. My boss suggested nursing school, so I gave it a shot. I got into the Diploma RN program at Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing and graduated in 1986.
But I wasn’t done. I thought maybe nurse anesthesia was the next step. I enrolled at the University of Evansville to finish my BSN. At that point, I was a certified emergency nurse and a certified critical care nurse, loaded with real-world experience. But as I sat in a BSN-level critical care class, I realized I knew more than the instructor.
That moment hit me hard.
I thought: If I can get into nurse anesthesia school, why the hell can’t I go to med school?
So I pivoted. Dropped the BSN. Enrolled in the biology bachelor’s program at the University of Southern Indiana. And this time, I was serious.
One of my first classes was chemistry — the kind packed with other pre-med students. There were 105 of us in that room. The professor stood up on day one and said, “Look around. The person next to you won’t be here by the end of the semester.”
She wasn’t wrong.
Most of us started with the dream of med school. Only nine of us made it. Getting in is hard. Staying in is harder.
I eventually earned my degree in biology/zoology — GPA around 3.4 or 3.5, definitely not a perfect 4.0. But here’s the thing: you don’t have to major in science to go to med school. Back in the ’90s, the requirements were one year each of inorganic chemistry (with lab), organic chemistry (with lab), biology, and physics. That’s it. If you were an English major, you just had to go out of your way to pick those up. These days, med schools are even more flexible.
After I met the course requirements, I tackled the MCAT — the Medical College Admissions Test. Now that is one hell of a test. You go in with a pencil and your wits — no books, no calculator, no notes. Just your brain and your nerves. You’re tested on everything: biology, physics, chemistry. You’ve got to know the formulas, and you’d better be able to think fast. It’s high-pressure, no mercy.
I applied to three schools. I didn’t have the money or desire to go out of state or to private schools. I picked:
Indiana University
University of Louisville
University of Kentucky
If you’re lucky enough to get an interview, that’s when things really get stressful. I’ll never forget mine at Indiana University.
The interview was held in the catacombs under the hospital — literally underground. I hadn’t worn my suit in years, and I’d gained some weight. That morning, I squeezed into it anyway. It was tight. Unforgiving. I was sweating like a pig and running around the catacombs lost, trying to find the interview room, convinced I was going to pass out or be late or both.
I finally arrived, looking like I’d just come from a sauna. Two interviewers greeted me — professors, I think. They played good cop/bad cop. One of them grilled me on my age (27), the fact that I was married, and that I had a child. He asked, point blank, “Are you willing to give up 8 to 10 years of your child’s life to do this?”
I said, “No. I don’t intend to give up any of my child’s life. I plan to balance it all.”
Somehow, I must’ve said the right things. I got placed on the alternate list for IU. UK also waitlisted me and eventually rejected me, saying they had limited spots for out-of-state applicants. Fair enough.
As for the University of Louisville — well, they pissed me off. Sent me a form letter saying, basically, “You might be better off applying somewhere else.” I didn’t even finish their application. Found out later they sent that to everyone. Still irritated me.
I kept moving forward, but the waiting was brutal. I was stuck in limbo — not quite rejected, not quite accepted — just sitting on the alternate list, checking the mail like it held my whole future. And in a way, it did.
UK strung me along for months before officially turning me down. Louisville had already lost me with their form-letter brush-off. So all my hope rested with Indiana University — the place where I’d sweat through a too-tight suit and been grilled about sacrificing time with my kid.
Every day, I wondered: Did I blow it?
Was I too old? Too married? Too real?
Then one day… the letter came.
“Congratulations. You’ve been accepted to the Indiana University School of Medicine, Class of 1995.”
That moment — reading those words — was something I’ll never forget. The long, winding road had finally led to a white coat.
It was a hell of a ride.
Final Thoughts
If you’re on this journey — whether you’re starting it, stuck in the middle, or wondering if it’s worth it — I see you. I’ve been you. And if you ever want advice, encouragement, or someone to bounce ideas off of, I’m happy to help.
Don’t let the hard parts scare you off.
Sometimes the long road is the one worth taking.
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Really enjoyed reading this Doc! You not only are a gifted medical doctor, you have a way with pen and paper..or keyboard and screen!
Thank you very much!