In the 21st season of “The Bachelorette,” millions of fans across the country got to know 24-year-old Dylan Buckor from Elk Grove.

Buckor grew up in the Sacramento area and graduated from Sacramento State. He competed on the 21st season of The Bachelorette along with 24 other men and, after making it to the top eight, was eliminated by Bachelorette Jenn Tran during the rose ceremony in the fifth episode.

Before joining, Buckor never believed he would get the chance to appear on such a show and initially didn’t think about applying.

Then the chance to take part in “The Bachelorette” “just fell into his lap,” Buckor said in an interview on August 22.

He decided to take the opportunity and “wait and see what happens,” because he thought it could be a valuable chance to find someone he could bond with and potentially imagine spending a life together.

Having previously watched several seasons of “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette,” he said he thought the show was “just like on TV.”

When he started filming in March, he realized that the contestants “face a lot of difficulties” and felt he had to adapt to be successful on the show.

For example, contestants usually travel to another country late in the season to have new experiences with The Bachelorette. This season, the trip took place right after the premiere, with the cast leaving the Bachelorette mansion in Southern California and flying to Melbourne, Australia for the second episode.

Although he was never chosen for a highly coveted one-on-one date, a notable moment for Buckor was when Tran chose him for a quick dinner date during the July 15 episode. He had entered a group date competition on the Australian safari by volunteering to hold a snake so Tran didn’t have to.

Over dinner, they talked about their mutual interest in medicine. Tran is currently studying to be a physician’s assistant, while Buckor is applying to medical schools.

Buckor has participated in reality dating productions before, but on a smaller scale than “The Bachelorette.” The first episode of season 21 drew 2.8 million viewers, and the following weeks each drew more than 2 million viewers.

A look into the future

In July 2023, he made his first appearance in a YouTube video by Nectar, in which producers tested whether male contestants would choose a date based on the person’s appearance or personality. The channel produces videos on topics such as blind dates, 21 questions, and speed dating.

His most recent appearance was in an October 2023 video in which a professional matchmaker observed his interactions with a group of 10 women, gradually narrowing down the pool in the hopes of finding a suitable partner.

Since leaving “The Bachelorette,” Buckor has followed Tran’s career by watching the show, he said.

He was referring to episode 6, in which one of the contestants, Sam McKinney, tells Tran on a radio talk show that she is “not my type” and that he thought the Bachelorette was one of two other girls from the last season of The Bachelor. Tran sent McKinney home after the event.

“I think the guys have made it very interesting and dramatic, especially this radio talk show,” Buckor said. “I’m excited to see how it goes for the few guys who are left.”

Overall, Buckor’s experience on “The Bachelorette” has solidified his faith in the process of finding a partner through such productions. He said he would be open to participating in another dating show or similar production in the future if the opportunity presents itself.

“I think the process works, and you can tell by who’s left, and it’s like saying, ‘OK, this person actually feels genuine understanding for Jenn, and Jenn feels genuine understanding for them,'” he said.

Now that his time on the show is over, he is confident about his future as a doctor.

Since leaving the show, Buckor has focused on his medical school applications, submitting his final secondary application last week. He hopes to specialize in anesthesia, a field he became interested in after having the opportunity to shadow some practicing anesthesiologists.

“I really enjoyed the operating room, but I knew I didn’t want to be a surgeon,” he said.

If it turns out that anesthesia is not the right path for him, he would also consider working as an emergency physician, he said.

And although he’s willing to move wherever he’s accepted, he says his dream medical school is UC Davis. The university’s medical campus is located in downtown Sacramento and is the future home of Aggie Square.

“If I had the opportunity to go there, I would definitely like to go to Sacramento,” he said.