So I am a junior in high school and although I do not need to know what exactly I am going to do with my life at this point, I’m starting to feel the pressure of it. I have always wanted to be a doctor all my life but now I’m not sure if I was just trying to convince myself that was the right path for me?
The problems that made me question this choice are my lacking abilities in the sciences and math. I’m just not a STEM kind of kid. Naturally I’ve always done better if English and History, my grades and my test scores have proven this since I was a child.
I’ve been volunteering at hospitals and shadowed a surgeon and have been really involved with medicine and I really like it but I just feel like I’m going against my natural tendencies in the humanities. I’m afraid that if I commit to premed I won’t succeed. I just finished taking AP chemistry and I absolutely hated, it was my worst class and I feel like I did horrible on the AP test. This just adds to my frustrations because I know the chemistry classes you have to take as med school prerequisites are insane.
I definitely am not going to major in chemistry, biology, and biochemistry, or any other science major in college but I do feel uncertain whether or not I will make it into medical school and through medical school with my weakness in science and math!
Successful pre-meds have majored in English and History. You should know fairly early on if your freshman chemistry grade quells your chances.
OP, have you considered healh care/hospital administration?
No I’m kind of all in or out for medicine, if I don’t end up in medical school I probably won’t work anywhere in the medical field- expect possibly dentistry. But I will look into it!
Or have you considered field like art, music or recreation therapy?
Still in the healthcare area, but requires training in psychology as well as a humanities.
Or–medical librarianship. Requires no specific undergrad major (mine is in English, my boss’s is meteorology), plus a MLS/MLIS with a specialization in medical librarianship.
I have considered international relations/business/ something like that because my favorite subject is history and I really like studying the world and all the cultures and current events. If I don’t go into medicine I will probably move towards this field, but I don’t know what jobs exactly come out from this study! One aspect I like about the premed path is that it is straightforward and you know if you follow it, you will come out with a secure job as a doctor.
You’re thinking about medical school. Only a small fraction of undergraduates who take the pre-med path gain admission to a medical school.
“Except possibly dentistry”
Aren’t predent reqs pretty similar (e.g., one year bio, 2 years chem, one year of physics) to premed?
yeah i’m just saying that I would probably only stay in the medical field if I went to medical school or dental school. Rather than be in health care, nursing, or hospital admin
Not enough info in your post, OP.
Do you know how to get those As, no matter if you like the class or not?
If you do, just notch up your HS efforts to a college level and you will be just fine. Add some ECs after you figure out your “academic routine”, prep hard for the MCAT in junior year. Not that much more will be required. Do not make more of pretty straight forward process: “Hard work and Med. School acceptance in your pocket”. No genius is required. It is a college after all. But I did not say that it is easy, HARD WORK is a must from day 1.
Any major will do or any combo of major(s)/minor(s). But you better love whatever you will “plunge” into.
If you major is something that comes easy to you like English or History, then it may be easier for you and you may have more time to focus on those premed science classes you’ll struggle with. There’s always tutoring too.
A successful career should mix passion with aptitude. It is fine to major in something other than science, but understand that having an aptitude in science is critical. College is a time to explore. You may find a passion and aptitide for something that is not on your radar yet. If you want to begin your college career taking premed classes, that is fine, but you have not failed if you decide against being premed.
If you can, take a wide variety of courses as a freshman, visit career services for testing and ideas. If you still decide that you love medicine (after more shadowing and clinical volunteering) then jump into it.