Guest idreamofmeds Posted February 7, 2003 Report Share Posted February 7, 2003 Hi guys, I need advice. All throughout high school and last year (my first year) I was an above average student. My goal this year was a 3.90 which was definitely attainable. However, last semester I pulled a muscle in my lower back right before midterms. As a result I screwed up all my midterms b/c I wasn't allowed to right makeups and I could hardly sit down for more than 10 mins. (I had a doctors note and was in conatct with the Deans office everyday for a week and they couldn't do anything for me) Anyways, long story short, my marks last semester were really affected. So, now the highest possible GPA I can get this year is a 3.80 (4.0 in 5 courses). I have basically beome obsessed with calculating my GPA. I have every possible situation worked out. Now, I am finding that this obsessiveness is causing me to do WORSE on my exams b/c I have put so much pressure on myself that whenever I go to write an exam I can only think about how many questions I can get wrong before it messes up my goal of a 4.0 in that course. My long term goal has always been to get into med school after 3 years, and I am reallIt's actually getting to the point know where I get myself so worked up that I can't sleep b/c the only think I can think about is whether or not I will get accepted. More than anything I just wanted to get that out. If anyone has any advice/thoughts they are much appreciated. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted February 8, 2003 Report Share Posted February 8, 2003 Sit back for a second and take a deep breath. Now take another one. Do this for a minute. Feel a bit more relaxed yet? The first thing you need to do is talk to someone. Friend, family, someone you trust. You've already acknowledged that worrying about med school is affecting you, and impairing how you're doing. Talking with someone will help you unwind and share your feelings. Something that may help (it wasn't long ago that I was in your position), is thinking about what life will be like when you're 40. Let's say you continue down the course that you've planned out, and now at the age of 40, you're a fully-trained and licensed doctor, you've got a busy practise seeing and helping patients, and you've got other interests and hobbies that you're pursuing. In the end, will it really make any difference whether you get in after third year or after fourth year? I think if you can take this sort of perspective, hopefully, it'll make clear that medicine will always be there. Some people need to apply multiple times before they are accepted, other people do additional degrees or coursework before beginning medical school. Lots of other people take time off to travel, work, maybe even start a family before med school. In the end, all these people will become physicians. I hope that you find a way to not put such pressure on yourself, and that you make sure to take time out each day to do things that make you happy, and are completely unrelated to getting into med school. Make sure to keep a good balance between your academic and non-academic interests. Medicine can and will wait for you. Best of luck! Ian UBC, Med 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted February 8, 2003 Report Share Posted February 8, 2003 Don't worry about it. As long as you get > 3.7 this year, it will make ZERO difference to you getting in this year. And if your first and second year are already 3.7, then you just need to pass this year. It's good to have a goals and it's good to achieve, but you need to keep things in perspective. This is even more true once you get in med school - if you're concerned with every question you get wrong, you'll go nuts in med school considering the volume of material, the number of unfair questions asked on exams, the questions on exams based on material someone forgot to cover, the number of questions that rely on a piece of info (ie a prevalence statistic) that two profs gave that were directly DIRECTLY CONFLICTING, etc. There's actually a surprising amount of stuff like that in med school. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Beth Posted February 8, 2003 Report Share Posted February 8, 2003 idreamofmeds......instead of freaking out, you need to relax and give yourself some credit. A GPA of 3.9 is very impressive and if you get 3.8 this year (or even 3.7) you will have a very competitive GPA when it comes time for applications. Instead of getting stressed out about school, try to enjoy it (I know that is easier said than done). Medical schools look at a lot more than your grades.....maybe volunteering or another extra-curricular could help you relax and will ultimately improve your application. For some schools, like Queen's, once you meet the cutoff (and it sure looks like you will) they don't even look at GPA anymore. So try your best not to worry as much.....you are doing really well so far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kellyl20 Posted February 8, 2003 Report Share Posted February 8, 2003 Just found out my own GP just past away (around the age of 55) due to cancer. That certainly reminded me of priorities in life. So just relax and have a back up plan if medicine does not pan out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sally2001 Posted February 9, 2003 Report Share Posted February 9, 2003 idreamofmeds, i think you really should try to ease the pressure that you're putting on yourself, assuming, of course, no one else is pressuring you to get in after 3 yrs. i can only speak for myself, but i started university at 17 (i didn't fast-track highschool). i did all the calculations and figured i could, best case, get into med school at 20, be an m.d. at 24 and basically, take over the world. i'm joking, but i'm not. at the time, it was sky's the limit. well, i flopped. i hated biochem and all the pressure that i felt. i dropped my 2nd term courses in first year and took a nice break. i came back and switched faculties, mostly to give myself the chance to "start over". i finished my first degree, now i'm working on my masters and i'm really happy with myself. this is my 7th year of university and some of my original classmates are in fact getting their m.d. this year. but that's ok, because i've worked and done a lot of things i probably would not have otherwise. so if there's anything i can offer from my story, is don't give up on yourself and it'll all work out (seriously) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TimmyMax Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 Hey idreamofmeds, While I can appreciate that there is pressure on students to do well if one wishes to someday attend medical school, you have to admit that when this pressure is affecting your ability to sleep that there is definitely something wrong. I read your story and it sounds like you got a raw deal with your injury and the exam and stuff, but please realize that there are other things in life besides medicine and if you don't discover these things or at least some way to deal with the pressure that you are putting on yourself, you will surely burn out long before your journey is complete. It is important to realize that the majority of this pressure is generated internally and that without some avenue to dissipate it in one form or another, you're going to take yourself out of the race long before you even hit the starting line. The advice given in this thread is very valuable and someone in your position really needs to take a step back and figure out why this is happening. There is so much more to life than school and marks (although at this stage I can see why you'd beg to differ with me)- and if you're living and dying with each and every question you get wrong between here and meds, like UWOMed2005 said, you're never going to make it as a medical student or doctor for that matter. My advice is to take some time and re-evaluate your approach. Attempt to discover why you want meds so badly and attempt to ascertain/appreciate the source of your internal pressure. Then do something about it. If you have to go for a run, then do it! If you need a weekend at the cottage, then go! It'll make you feel better about yourself and will do wonders for you down the road. A lot of the meds admission game is figuring out how to deal effectively with the internal and external pressures of the admissions process. The bad news is that it doesn't necessarily get any better once you're on the other side of the fence. I'm sorry that I can't be of much help here, but I do know that if you're hell-bent on getting into Med School at X University after 3 years, you're setting yourself up for what could be a major disappointment. A 4.0 GPA, as anyone can tell you, does NOT guarantee admission anywhere, although it does admittedly tip the scales in your favour. Excellent candidates are turned away each and every year in this game and often times people must apply more than once to obtain success. I know that I did. What I'm trying to say is that if you're going to live and die on the next exam mark you get, you're not going to get very far in the long run. While yes, it's important to want to do your best and all that, but you must rediscover what it is that drove you in the first place. For me, I took the road I did because it was interesting and fun. Sure, there were tough times, but looking back, I wouldn't change a thing. My Bio/Chem degree was interesting and although I'll be the first to admit there were tough times, at the end of the day I was able to look back and think of how much fun it all was. The same holds true for medicine. I applied because I thought it would be interesting and fun and it has been just that. I consider myself very fortunate to be in such a field and I have minimal regrets. I hope that someday you will be able to say the same thing! Best of luck! Timmy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest idreamofmeds Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 Hi, A appreciate everyone's comments, they make sense and I do realize that this is becoming a big problem. However, I just want to say that while at this point my life is really focused on my marks, I do keep sane by doing other things. I am a competitive athlete, and while I have taken time off from competing for a while, I still train every day. I also volunteer at the hospital every week and I am actively involved (either exec or member) in four major clubs at school. So you see, I am still involved in other things. I guess what happened last week is that I got an exam back and I got 72%, which was the class average. I was extremely disapointed b/c following last semester's blow I was determined to do very well this semester. I am just finding that even though I am always studying (and I really did feel like I understood that material) I still can't seem to do as well as I know I should be able to do. It's like every time I'm shot down I find enough strength to pick myself up, only to be shot down again. So that's where last weeks post came from-a cumulation of disapointement and frustration. I know that I will have to modify my goals and make then more realistic (in terms of realizing that I may not get in next year) but I feel like if I keep doing that, medicine will just keep slipping further and further away until one day I realize that it's no longer possible or realistic to pursue it anymore. Anyways, that's it for today's sob story. Stay tuned next week for another episode when I receive another exam mark! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kellyl20 Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 cut down to 2 clubs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mying Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 Know what? Stop beating yourself up. Stress will reduce your ability to concentrate and focus on your work. It will take three times as much effort to learn the info, and just when you least want to be spending more time on studying. Looks like it's already happening to you. Break the cycle NOW. Cut out things that are pure negative stressors. If one of those clubs is just a political quagmire...? Bid it buh-bye; you don't need it. That will free up more time to spend on the things you get a lot of benefit from: the other clubs, hanging out with friends, working out, reading Le Petit Prince (en francais) while sitting cross-legged between the stacks in the library. When you're in a happier head space, the studying will be easier and more productive. It's not a question of just doing things besides studying. It's about doing the things that relight your fire so you don't burn out, and avoiding the things that suck the life out of you. And my dear, it sounds like you're burning out to me. And for some perspective, if it helps you any... Lordylord, if a 72% was the lowest mark I'd ever received in undergrad I'd be joyous. And, um... look where I am now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted February 11, 2003 Report Share Posted February 11, 2003 About two years and three months from getting the MD? Hard to believe we're getting close to being almost halfway there, eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mying Posted February 11, 2003 Report Share Posted February 11, 2003 Scary. If we survive these exams it'll be only one more set before we can officially put the entire M behind our names... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TimmyMax Posted February 11, 2003 Report Share Posted February 11, 2003 Must be nice. Argh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted February 11, 2003 Report Share Posted February 11, 2003 I thought we got the M last June. Now we're shooting for the first period. Don't forget - these will be, for the most part, the second last set of full exams we'll ever write. Not counting the LMCCs, that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest therealcrackers Posted February 11, 2003 Report Share Posted February 11, 2003 Nah, we got the first period after first year. Unfortunately there was a dollar sign, a minus sign, a couple of numbers, and then a distressing number of zeroes in front of it already... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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