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Should I Keep Going?


CowMan999

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Hi guys, 

 

If I could explain my situation to you guys I hope someone would provide me some feedback. 

 

So, where do I begin? My first year of undergrad was okay, I guess. I managed only a 3.64 GPA but I was on a part time basis in my 2nd semester, due to family/health reasons. 

 

My 2nd year of undergrad was much better at a 3.85 GPA but only 4 classes in my 2nd semester again due to family/health reasons. 

 

Now here comes the hard part, well for me anyways, to get my head around. I am not the strongest person mentally, and to be fair this is kind of being a burden on me. I dream of getting accepted to medical school, but life gets in the way and I think its really hard to bounce back at this point. Essentially I have never been at a "full course load". And I will be questioned about it during interviews, if I ever do get one, and I honestly don't feel comfortable talking about it at all.

 

I come for really poor conditions, and being in school for so long isn't really helping, and I have this pressure on me all the time from pretty much myself, that I need to get in ASAP so I don't build up too much debt and what not. 

 

I say medical school is my dream, but to be honest its taking too much of a toll on myself, and my loved ones, mentally and physically. I know when I am not experiencing all these problems at home, I can do so well in school. I know deep down I am a very smart person, and really hardworking. 

 

I feel like giving up, but I know I will regret it later on. If I do give up, I honestly don't know what I would do. I was thinking of maybe going to college and doing some sort of IT degree, or continue and do my masters in public health hoping it would land me some sort of job. 

 

Anyway, thanks for reading guys. 

Not trying to be rude, but welcome to life... "Anything that's easy isn't worth having, and anything worth having isn't easy." If med is your dream you'll make it work. You accept that it isn't going to be easy and there are times when you feel beat up but you keep going because it's your dream. Your GPA isn't THAT bad. No, it isn't full time, but for example U of A only requires 1 year to be 5 and 5. U of C only uses 4 courses each term as full time. Stuff like that are ways for your not full time course loads to be worked into still be accepted. Ultimately, if you want to get in, they will ask you why you didn't take a full course load, and while you can say family issues, I can't imagine them saying oh ok, and moving on without any details. These are physicians, or future physicians who understand whatever it is you're going through, so if there is anyone that you can talk with, I would say talk with them, especially, if it's truly your dream.

 

Only you can decide if you have what it takes to push through with whatever it is life throws at you, and you keep going. If you don't think you can do that, then stop now, pick something else you would rather do. Medicine takes a lot of work, and if you don't want to do it, that work could be better put towards something else.

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Course load - be honest. Tell them you had health and family problems. Any school that holds that against you is not a school you want to go to.

 

Approach - full course loads. You really need to show that you DO have the academic chops for medicine. Keep your full course load GPA above a 3.8 at all costs. Pick up as many easy A courses as possible. Study hard for MCAT next summer and aim for BS 12 VR 11, or whatever the equivalent on MCAT 2015 is. Preferably VR 12. The reason for that is the schools most forgiving for GPA will also have the highest MCAT requirements. Do a few ECs that you actually enjoy - two, maybe three at most. Yes, sports and going to the gym counts as EC, and I highly recommend at least one regular physical activity for mental health reasons. Eat well and sleep well.

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I agree with Jaybird.
 

You don't need our answers for why you didn't take a full course load... you have your own. As stated above, be honest. This will show through in your interviews better than any other excuse you or we could come up with for you. 

 

I know that some issues are very private and hard to talk about, but it is in your best interest to be as honest and transparent as possible. Consider practicing talking about it, or talking to a friend about it to help you become more comfortable with the topic in discussion.

 

If you're still unsure medical school is for you, why not try talking to career services/counselling at your University?

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The recommendation for justifying course-load and GPA with family and health crisis is highly situational. If you chose to go this route in your autobiographical sketch, you must come across as determined to overcome significant life problems, highlighting positive attributes about yourself and demonstrating, through your actions/grades, that you have overcome these problems. You cannot come across as whiny or justify with conditions that seem minor. When your great application is scored against 10 others for one seat by an admissions committee representative, the focus is on major areas in need of improvement (negative things that will weed you out) and the stellar things that you've done. You want them to focus on those stellar things about you, that make you unique, rather than get stuck on areas in need of improvement. You really cannot afford for the adcom to dwell and probe into your family and health during your interview. The interview is the time that the OP needs to show all the stellar things about him/herself.

 

This is why I am clearly against the whole "be honest and disclose everything" bs, unless of course its unavoidable (ie more harm done by not disclosing it). So don't share everything with the ad com. Until you've experienced how difficult it is to pick out the best candidate out of a pool of 10 stellar applications for one seat, its a difficult concept to understand. People/doctors have their prejudices and that's difficult to change. Med school can be abusive, and I've seen my colleagues in tears at work.

 

You have a relatively competitive GPA, with a year to improve on it and demonstrate you can handle a full course load. You really want to become a doctor and have even considered MPH and MSc to get there (if necessary). It's important to ask yourself, "what can I change now, that is in my control?". I'm confident given your great 2nd year performance, that you will be able to perform well with a full course load. It's something that you will just have to convince yourself.

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I'm concerned that you said you aren't mentally strong. I see this as you suggesting you might have mental health issues. I don't think a person can survive med school if they aren't mentally strong. At the end of the day you need to be able to sleep, it is ok to be anxious but not overly anxious, and you need to be in a decent mood (not depressed), to get through it all.

 

The most important thing you can do for yourself is try to address these issues through medication/therapy/lifestyle, and then your whole outlook may be different.

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Wen you say that this dream is taking too much of a toll on you mentally and physically and that you're not a strong person mentally, I find that super concerning. If you don't love undergrad and aren't driven by the stressful/ goal-driven nature of it, you're going to hate your life probably more in med school.

There are many brilliant allied health professions and MANY completely other professions you could pursue that are rewarding. I think we put medicine up on a pedestal in our society, admitting it isn't for you is not a failure. Life's way too short to pursue something for 8-10 years that makes you feel this way.

Maybe take some time to really search yourself and decide what you're really passionate about:)

Best of luck in whatever you choose to do:)

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I don't think a person can survive med school if they aren't mentally strong.

 

I feel its easier once your admitted into Med school. With the exception of a few rotations in 3rd/clerkship year, which can indeed be hell, namely surgery and internal medicine where they just beat you for 16 hours a day. :P

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