Guest minnieMD Posted June 25, 2003 Report Share Posted June 25, 2003 What type of personalities do you guys possess? Are most of you money crazy and after the financial reward? Or are you truely interested in healing others? A mix of both? How much motivation did you have during the MCAT process? I'm losing my motivation. I think i may write it next summer or another time if/when my motivation returns? When I mean motivation- i'm referring to 'the desire to study' and I feel so unprepared and it feels late already... Do you think it's too late to write my MCATs is summer of 3rd year? Thanks. I'm just feeling so lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest newbee Posted June 25, 2003 Report Share Posted June 25, 2003 From working as admin staff at a med school for 6 months part time, I think its safe to say that about 70% of the med students I saw are money crazy, and the other 30% are in it for other reasons but are still 50% money crazy. This is their behaviour and attitude off the record of course, when I used to ask them "Why are you REALLY in medicine?" the term "bling bling" came up alot. Not sure if that's representative of other schools. Now a question to you MinnieMD, are you money crazy? What type of personalty do you possess? IF you are money crazy my observations tell me you will be in good company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LIPOSUCTIONATOR Posted June 25, 2003 Report Share Posted June 25, 2003 MinnieMD if you need some motivation in preparing for the MCAT listen to my story. I had 6 weeks to prepare for the MCAT last summer, and I treated it like a full-time job. I screwed up verbal and rewrote it this past April. This time I only put in a half-hearted effort and ended up with similar results (once again verbal proved to be a problem). Now I have 6 weeks once again to prepare to write the MCAT for the 3rd time. So no it's not too late to prepare for the MCAT. Just keep in mind that you get more than one chance at the MCAT. If you write it 6 times the Canadian schools won't care, they will just look at your recent score. GPA on the other hand is different. You don't get another chance. I'd take a poor MCAT score over a poor GPA any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cheech10 Posted June 25, 2003 Report Share Posted June 25, 2003 The money's good, healing others seems noble, but a lot of med students have other reasons for doing it. I just want a job that will be interesting and fun to go in to every morning for many years and something challenging. BTW, the money is ok and stable, but doing four extra years of school and amassing $100k + of debt is a large setback and takes a long while to make up (with interest on the debt and lost income relative to my undergrad classmates), especially when resident's salaries are considered. Anyone who thinks they'll make a ton of money before they're a bit older is mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest minnieMD Posted June 25, 2003 Report Share Posted June 25, 2003 LIPOSUCTIONATOR, Isn’t it detrimental to get a less than impressive MCAT score since now it’s full disclosure. Also med schools may not look at your best MCAT score. Rather, they may average your past MCAT scores. But please, correct me if I’m wrong. I just feel that if I don’t feel motivated to study, it’s in my best interest do my MCATs when/if the motivation returns, rather than to risk a bad score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cheech10 Posted June 25, 2003 Report Share Posted June 25, 2003 Most canadian schools (all in Ontario, don't know about others) take only your best or most recent scores, AFAIK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dfenst Posted June 25, 2003 Report Share Posted June 25, 2003 If you are solely interested in money, there are so many other fields out there where you will make more money and work less hours. If the hours don't bother you, go into I-banking or tax law. Plus, you devote 10 years or so of med school and residency to get to a point where you can start earning real money. But, as was mentioned, the average med professional has a loan to repay. Well, now you're 35 or so, perhaps married with children, a mortgage to think about, and the loans that you haven't yet paid back. Your friend who's been earning 50K as a systems analyst at Accenture since he was 23 (with 100K less debt) is much better financially than you and may be so until you hit your fifties. My point? Go into other fields if money is your main concern. Now, don't get me wrong. It's nice to know that at the end of this long road, I will be able to earn a nice salary, but if you hate the path that gets you there, then maybe you should reconsider. Upper classmen, please correct my naivete about the "doing good" in medicine if you see fit As for MCATs, why would the summer of 3rd year be too late? I took mine 3 years after an undergrad in business. Do it when the time is right for you. That being said, if you're sitting in front of your Kaplan Organic book now saying to yourself that you'd rather be hanging out in Paris for the summer, that doesn't mean you're not motivated by medecine, but rather a human being who knows that having fun in europe is quite fun and putting that aside to study MCATs is a real sacrifice. If you discipline yourslef by creating a regiment (a polite term really meaning get your ass in gear'), you can study for the MCAT in 6 weeks...especially if you're not working (or running off to Paris :b ) You can do it! Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bad hombre Posted June 25, 2003 Report Share Posted June 25, 2003 on why i decided to go into it: apart from a satisfying feeling from having "helped someone" and being able to feed the fam (both of which you can do with A LOT of jobs), just think how cool practising medicine actually it is: you get to interact with a whole variety of different people in one day, you have the chance to cheer them up, to get to apply scientific knowledge 8o , to learn about yourself and others, etc. i enjoy the things i do WHILE i do them, not just afterwards. i love dealing with people and applying stuff i know. as for the mcat, well, do you really want to spend 2+ summers studying for that when could potentially go through the gauntlet only once? in zen buddhism there's a saying that goes: "do what you have to do when you have to, do it to the best of your abilities, and do it that way every time" do your best this summer now that you've invested some time into it, and if you succeed you'll have next summer to party/work/travel... plus you'll be able to apply and interview a year earlier. and if you don't get the score you wanted, then at least you won't be kicking yourself in the butt afterwards telling yourself "@#%$ @#%$ @#%$ if only i would have studied a little more i could have @#%$ made that @#%$ cutoff"... and you'll feel more prepared the next time you write it. hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted June 25, 2003 Report Share Posted June 25, 2003 The people you will meet in medical school have all sorts of motivations behind their decision, and it is extremely rare to find only one motivation in any one person! But when you break it down, I find main motivations: 1) Altruism - wanting to help other people, make a difference in their day to day lives 2) Intellectual challenge - being bored in a job sucks 3) Respect - the "Dr.," research, the 4) Money/Lifestyle outside meds - anyway you play it, the AVERAGE doctor makes more than the AVERAGE Canadian. . . whether they're "wealthy" is another question all together! I think these are present in ALL med school applicants to varying degrees. They're also present in people pursuing ALL careers, to varying degrees. In moderation, they're all positive forces. Even money, the taboo subject! After all many of us want families, and we don't want our kids to suffer because we refused to at least consider $$ a wee bit in our decisions. . . I would some day like to be able to pay for my kid's undergrad education, and the way things are going I won't be able to do that on a $30k/year salary. But I think the key is to keep things in moderation: I'd like to not have to worry about $$ when my car breaks down, but I don't necessarily need (or want) to drive a porsche. Make sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UofCMeds2005 Posted June 26, 2003 Report Share Posted June 26, 2003 Personally, I have yet to meet someone in my class that said that the sole reason to go to med school is money-which is a good thing b/c you can make a lot more money in other careers with a lot less blood, sweat, and tears. If you are only interested in the "bling bling" so to speak you will not love or even like med school. Although I attend a relatively relaxing and laid back program - you still have to study, you have to work hard and yes you will have many sleepless nights in the hospital... A passion for people or a science is what is going to get you thru. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ikaj Posted June 27, 2003 Report Share Posted June 27, 2003 I am just a premed. There are so many reasons that I chose medicine. Helping others, stability, respect,love of learning and teaching, love of science, making important decisions...not any extraordinary reasons...basically things that have already been said. (and to be honest-parents' strong encouragement--not pressure) I have a question though. Obviously money, stability and respect are not the only reasons for choosing medicine, but these elements did factor into my decision. But, should I leave these reasons out in my application or interview? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dfenst Posted June 28, 2003 Report Share Posted June 28, 2003 Actually, I think you should leave them out. Unless by 'respect' you mean the respect you have for illness and people when they are vulnerable. It's important to be honest at interviews, but, on the other hand, you don't want to incriminate yourself either. Someone thinking about accepting you into their school doesn't really want to know that you're going into the field to drive a Porsche, get the respect at the social clubs, and because you're highly unlikely to ever be out of a job. Just a thought, Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sil Posted June 29, 2003 Report Share Posted June 29, 2003 I hate desk jobs, they bore me to death. I love talking to people, helping them, being in a challenging and changing field, love teaching, love sciences, like having smart colleagues, like the idea of having a stable job. Med was just the right fit. They will pay me to talk to people all day long , sign me up!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MDCY Posted June 30, 2003 Report Share Posted June 30, 2003 Personally, I guess I have an altruistic motive and also another related motive, being a doctor basically allows you to work any where in the world. I like that type of freedom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest newbee Posted June 30, 2003 Report Share Posted June 30, 2003 Sil: I'm curious how you conveyed your love and stength in the pure sciences since your science degree was completed with very poor marks. It's my understanding that you excelled in your second nursing degree, that I'm guessing was less science intensive, and more clinically oriented (and academically easier relative to the hard sciences according to friends that have completed both)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sil Posted June 30, 2003 Report Share Posted June 30, 2003 Your interviewers won't have access to your grades, so I would not worry about that. However, if they did had access to my grades they would have lots of questions McGill's highest grade is an A (so no A+ for us) and I was never a consistently poor student. Some of my best grades were physics (A), Calculus (A), Biology I (A-), Pathology (A-), Biology of cancer (A-), organic chemistry (A-). But some of my very poor grades were Biometry/statistics (C ), Biochemistry (B-), Biology II (B-), Physiology I and II (B-). However, I also graduated with distinction from my first degree. I think their questions would have probably been why are you all over the place? Many reasons really, for some courses I just did not like the subject matter (stats, yikes!), and one year I was working 40 hours plus a full time schedule. I think that there are many excuses but really I should have worked harder. I was not motivated when I did not like the subject matter and I should have worked harder regardless of what I though of the subject matter at hand. But I still did very well in many basic science courses to demonstrate my love of the basic sciences . I really like math, physics, organic chemistry, most sides of physiology, pathology, etc I completely agree that nursing was a bout 10 times easier than my science degree. But I was also 20 times more motivated. So when I did not like the subject matter in nursing I would still study for it. Reminding myself that way I would have a shot at medicine. I also found out that sometimes if you study for something, you learn to enjoy it. So maybe if I had studied for stats in my first degree perhaps I would have liked it (doubt it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Toonces Posted July 1, 2003 Report Share Posted July 1, 2003 Actually, I mentioned briefly on one of my essays (Mac, I think), that stability and respect were two features of medicine that I like. Because they are such obviously attractive features, I don't see any harm in including them..after some more admissions-friendly reasons. My other reasons have mostly been listed..I completely agree with Sil about talking to people all day..I'm pretty curious/nosy and I find the minutiae of the human body to be fascinating....also I'm very drawn to the fact that medicine provides a practical service with real results (hopefully). And the fact that it offers something for everyone, regardless of personality, makes me feel like I will find an area I adore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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