Done with MS2 - a reflection

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
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<p>I just finished taking USMLE Step 1, and I just wanted to say to all of you complaining about the MCAT: stop it.</p>

<p>Alright, I was kidding. Mostly.</p>

<p>It's funny. Exactly two years ago - June 15, 2007 - I was sweating bullets because I still hadn't gotten any acceptances into medical school. Now I'm done with half of medical school. Time flies.</p>

<p>To all of you guys working to make it into medical school, think long and hard about whether being a physician is really what you want to do. It is not easy. There's the time and energy spent to do all the stuff it takes to get into medical school, and then there's the time and energy spent to do well in medical school. There have been so many times when I've been studying and wishing that I could be doing something else - cleaning my room, walking around the park, taking music lessions, or trying a new recipe (and that's saying something, 'cause I hate cooking and am bad at it).</p>

<p>Then there's the opportunity cost of going into debt for school when you could be earning a pay check. Compared to my friends from college, I estimate that I've lost out on anywhere from $60k to $100k in income and have taken on about $70k in debt so far. By the time I graduate, medical school will probably have cost me at least a quarter of a million in debt and lost wages, and that's not including the interest that will accumulate as I pay back my loans.</p>

<p>You can't get into this field for the money - certainly not when you start out a quarter million under compared to your peers and are locked into an underpaying job for years. You've got to find some other reason to love this field.</p>

<p>Being a physician is the best-possible intersection of my interests, talents, and passions. These last two years for me have been confirmation of that. I'm not saying that it's been easy - it's been two of the most challenging years of my life - but ultimately, I think I made the right choice when I hit that "submit" button on my AMCAS. </p>

<p>Where do I go from here? In exactly two weeks, I'll be an MS3. It'll be a different set of requirements and expectations, but I'll be up for the challenge. After my vacation, that is.</p>

<p>Oh, and I still don't know what type of doctor I want to be. :D</p>

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<p>Many congrats. Keep rolling the ball.</p>

<p>BTW, I appreciate what you (and the other ms-whatever’s) do here for those coming “up”.</p>

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<p>Good god, man, do you go to ECU or something?! :smiley: My first year debt load is almost $70k! </p>

<p>Great post, btw. And congrats on finishing Step I - my roommate is still studying for it and it seems very painful. Whats your first rotation?</p>

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<p>I take my Step 1 on Wednesday… then it’s two weeks of home time before I start my first rotation at the VA.</p>

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<p>Also, it helps me to remember when I’m feeling stressed out: It’s all self-inflicted. You’re only as stressed as you allow yourself to be.</p>

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<p>Always nice for those of us not there yet to hear thoughts from people who are.</p>

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<p>Congratulation for reaching yet another milestone. I appreciate that you (and many others here) kindly share your valuable experience with us.</p>

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<p>Congratulations, and thanks for the post. I like to be warned and aware of what I’m getting into, and your post really made me consider why I want to be a doctor.</p>

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<p>congrats; I took step 1 on June 3-a very grueling day. I start pediatrics rotation on Monday(June 22). The last two years have flown by, internship will be here too quickly I suspect, best of luck to all. HG</p>

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<p>if you don’t mind me asking what foreign medical school did you go…</p>

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<p>What are you talking about?</p>

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<p>The op is taking the usmle, so that means he/she probably went to a foreign medical school right?, People coming from foreign medical schools have to take the Usmle…the op also says that two years ago, he/she hadn’t gotten into any medical school, so the op most likely went to a foreign medical school, since they are taking the usmle…</p>

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<p>Nope. All US med students take it . Usually after MS-2.</p>

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<p>U.S. medical students have to take the usmle too?</p>

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<p>Yep. The MCAT is just the start.</p>

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<p>That blows…</p>

<p>@shadeschildren- What happpended, after you found out you didn’t get into any medical schools, where did you end up going?</p>

<p>I am just curious, because I know, that after 4 years of undergrad, I won’t be able to get into 1 U.S. M.D. medical school…</p>

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<p>Colleges, With the timing being what it was, you can assume a spot opened up at one or more waitlist schools. Med school acceptances are weird.</p>

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<p>That makes sense…</p>

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<p>One of my friends found out she got in at the end of June, less than a month before orientation for that school. She had to scramble a bit to get ready to head across the country in that time frame.</p>

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<p>If I remember correctly, Shades was accepted to 2 med schools off the waitlist within a week or two or maybe even on the same day.</p>