Yikes: Premed Accidentally Takes SAT Instead of MCAT

From his pristine GPA to his extracurriculars, Preston Fleming (C ’21) was a guy who had school figured out. Or at least, so he thought.

Fleming had wanted to pursue medical school ever since he was young. In high school he successfully diagnosed his math teacher as well as six of his classmates with STDs. He studied hard at Penn, forgoing frat parties and keeping his eyes on the sweet, sweet med school prize. Then, during junior year, tragedy befell when he made one fatal mistake.

Fleming was about halfway through the Writing & Language section of the entrance exam when he realized.

“Wait. This isn’t biochem…”

Suddenly coming to his senses, he gazed around the room, seeing nothing but the heads of sweaty high schoolers, bent down, at work.

“No…” Fleming whispered, his eyes meeting those of the middle-aged proctor, who only glared back with contempt.

His eyes glanced over the questions he had been so mindlessly answering. “Which choice most effectively combines the sentences at the underlined portion?” the SAT taunted. “A, B, C, or D?”

“NO…” Fleming said, his voice now clearly audible. The students in the room turned to look at him.

“Excuse me, no talking during the—” the proctor attempted.

“WHAT TEST IS THIS?” Fleming stood up and bellowed.

“The…SAT,” the proctor hazarded.

It was in that moment that Fleming saw his whole life play out before his very eyes. The registration period for the MCAT had already passed. All of the hard work, the studying, the selfless volunteer work—it was all for naught. He was, in a sense, dunzo.

And so, whispering, “Stupid, stupid, stupid!” to himself repeatedly, Fleming sat back down, swallowed his pride, and finished the exam.

He ended up getting a 1580. Not quite Penn material, and certainly not Penn Med material.