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Bad First year?


HayleyGM

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Okay so far I just had midterms and medicine has always been my dream. My parents actually have tried to discourage it from me telling me it takes too much time and they even told me to go to college which I ignored. Basically on reading week I got really sick and honestly this is really embarrassing to say but all of you are on your way to being doctors or already doctors so I will just say it. During my biology midterm I got a really bad case of diarrhea and I honestly rushed the midterm so fast because I had to get out of there. I ended up with a 63, my labs so far and assignments have all been in the 90's; but this midterm really brought me down. I got a 92 on my chemistry midterm because that was a while after and my stomach finally went back to normal. I haven't gotten my other marks for my other classes yet but right now I'm really discouraged because of this mark. If your GPA for your first year isn't good does that completely shatter your chances of medical school? Because honestly, I don't have a back up plan, I don't know what else you could really do with a biomedical degree if you don't pursue further education except be a biology teacher and even that requires teaching school and something I would not like to do. Honestly, everyone I've talked to about medical school keeps telling me not to do it my friend told me her brothers friend even killed himself when he was trying to get into med school and couldn't get in. It's scaring me but there's just something about being a doctor that intrigues me; yes money is obviously a plus but its not just that; I don't know I really want to help people; I want to be that doctor that people love to visit. Are my dreams shattered?

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That's not a "bad first year". That's a bad midterm grade for one class in one semester. Clearly if it was because of an unfortunate incident, it likely won't happen again in the finals and you'll be able to make up for it. Maybe not a stellar A but you can very plausibly manage an A- or a B+, which is totally fine. Not everyone has a 4.0 from college.

I understand that it's very stressful to be a premed in this day and age, with the increasing competition and all. But it's important that you gain some perspective and learn to manage your nerves. You sound very agitated from this post. If you're going to be this shaken every time something goes slightly wrong, I don't think you'd be very happy in medicine. Take this as an opportunity to grow.

And since you're just in your first year: I'd recommend you to have a back up plan. Talk with your friends, your career advisor, do some online searching, whatever. Find a back up plan (hint hint: your job doesn't even remotely have to have anything to do with your major). It's important to be realistic. It's great that you want to do medicine, but you have to realize that it might take you a few years to get in, given the sheer competition nowadays. This is a reality all of us must accept and adapt to. The whole "I don't want to do anything other than medicine so I'm just gonna plan for that and nothing else and I'll freak out when things don't go my way" attitude is unhealthy, and you'll thank yourself later for distancing yourself from it as early as possible.

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Don't psyche yourself out. I think you and us can all agree that this is a one-time slip-up for one test for one course in your undergrad. And given the circumstances (i.e., you were sick), I would not read into it too much. Finish the rest of the year strong. In the grand scheme of things, this one mark is not going to make or break your application. 

I strongly recommend you go back to the drawing board, however. Look for potential outs for yourself in the case you don't get into medicine.

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Look OP I think you have a ton of learning to do. The fact you are unaware of career paths in your own field shows a great deal of a lack in maturity. Any established physician that patients “love” will most certainly be able to provide some level of counsel, especially to impressionable youth, those in need; or worst of all, both of those in conjunction. Something as simple of a question as “what jobs exist in my community/City/province/country”is quite a simple answer to provide.

However rather than serving strictly as a voice of judgement, let me say I am very intrigued by your drive. You clearly want top grades, and that is an incredible part of who you are. You have a set of tremendous attributes that no one can take away from you and your chemistry marks and bio labs show that. Some of the responses on here are extremely inaccurate. The fact you are even contemplating medicine at this critical stage of the premed journey shows a lot about you. If I may offer a suggestion, why not approach the professor for assistance? 

But for the love of goodness can you please do an incredible amount of homework before you see your teacher ( maybe don’t say how you would not like to be a teacher as it sounds offputting in your initial post- and if you ever make it to an interview, do you have a reason for not wanting to be a teacher?) Being a doctor and teacher are more similiar than you might think. 

How do you feel about school? You’re a good student with great grades? But you’re scurrying about over one midterm? As long as you don’t get diherea for every midterm from now on I think you’re good. You can rock your tests if you want to. That’ll be a part of why your future patients will love you so much. 

Your dreams are not shattered. In fact just keep working hard and things will play out the way you want if you hit your stride in the subjects your taking. You are not off-target from medicine as others are incorrectly deducing, in fact it is quite the opposite. You are very close because of the sum of your marks. 

If you are still unconvinced, take one weekend morning and read the admissions websites/brochures/materials/OMSAS entries and see what is required of you in order to make up for a poor first year, whatever that might entail. 

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Wait until the end of the year before you make a judgment. You haven't even finished half of a year yet and it is October still. Med schools don't expect you to be perfect. You are allowed to make mistakes along the way. Granted some are more costly than others, but you are in good shape. Just keep working hard and stop stressing.

Also btw, I got 51 on my first year bio midterm, and a 56 on my first year chemistry midterm. I rebounded a bit but my first year didn't end up great at all. There are ways to overcome it.

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I agree with the others.  Take it as a lesson learned and improve for the rest of the year.  

I also failed one of my 1st midterms.  Many people screw up a test or 2 in first year.

That being said, I remember being in your shoes, and having it feel like the end of the world.  People will say chill out, but the reality is that every test DOES matter. Its just that you need to remember that you will write enough of them in first year that one shitty result wont doom you. Theres no point in looking back, you just need to kill the next ones.  

 

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