If you can go into health care economics and figure out how to make health care in the US more affordable for more people, you may help a lot of people who would otherwise not be able to see a physician because they cannot afford the medical bills.
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Guess what? I didn’t care at all about my economics classes! Not one bit!
And you are literally telling me, after I spent 30 minutes writing that post about how I did not want to be in business anymore, to “go into healthcare economics???”
I did the bare minimum to skate by in economics, buddy. ’
I pulled out my notes 2 days before the exam, wrote BS and somehow still never got less than an A-minus in classes. Even got a SOLID A in intermediate micro where I wrote BS all over the final and genuinely felt like I earned less than 20% on that exam!
And don’t tell me that “that’s a sign that you should get into economics if you could get an A with BS and little studying! it’s certainly better than your organic chemistry grade!”
I spent all my time recruiting for internships when I was an economics major. Didn’t give a rat’s butt about school or grades.
Someone else can figure out how to make healthcare affordable and that person is NOT me. I didn’t give a fudge about economics and never will.
You should do a DIY Post Bacc to take the necessary courses for medical school admissions. I suggested this upstream as well.
@WayOutWestMom can probably give you suggestions on how to do this.
You also will need to do other things to prepare for a medical school application…shadowing, volunteer work with needy populations, some kind of work or volunteer work with patient contact. These will all help your application.
And prepare well for the MCAT.
You are not too old for medical school. IIRC, the average age of medical school matriculants is 24. So, some are older than you are.
If you want to do this…then do it.
But free advice….every single medical school applicant needs a plan B because only 40% of applicants get even one acceptance. But you already have a fall back job if need be.
Good luck to you.
But free advice….every single medical school applicant needs a plan B because only 40% of applicants get even one acceptance. But you already have a fall back job if need be.
You don’t need to tell me this lmao. I think that on the spectrum of pessimistic to idealistic, I’m way closer to pessimistic.
I think my chance of getting into medical school is a 0.0000000000001% right now so yeah. And my own parents would agree with me about my perspective on my chances.
You can I prove your chances by becoming a strong applicant. Your current grades are not bad. The grades in the missing required courses you need for medical school applicants could really boost this.
You need to be optimistic. Do the best you can. I would say…give it a try because you then will have no regrets.
Getting accepted to medical school is hard…the courses the first two years are doozies!
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Your current grades are not bad
LOL why are you saying this, when, as I stated in my post, I was surrounded by peers who aced the pre-reqs effortlessly (aka the reason why I gave up in the first place)?
How the eff is a B- in Organic Chemistry not bad??? Lmao.
And I don’t need to prove anything to my parents lol. They don’t know anything about me and trying for med school again. I really need to go grocery shopping yet here I am digging up years of family trauma lmao
There ARE people who got B- and even C grades in Organic Chemistry who are doctors. For sure.
Not every medical school applicant has a 4.0 GPA and a perfect MCAT score.
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Also medical school is incredibly expensive. Have you sat down with an academic advisor and try to layout a path forward to your goals and maybe to explore other options?
My daughter moved to a state and became a resident and is doing her Post bacc there while working 2 jobs. She does have our support but so far doing it herself. So she’s paying instate tuition. This was planned out. She took off a year and worked 3 jobs to make this happen. She applies to graduate school this spring. Like I said in so many words. If you want it then make it happen. Your also reading into some of our responses incorrectly. I am glad your taking care of your mental health. That is the most important thing here. Medical school is extremely cut throat and stressful. Being prepared for that is good. But also there are many many ways to make impacts on people /patients. I would give suggestions of growing industries but you will just come down on my suggestions so I would suggest meeting with your schools advisors and get some help to create a positive path forward.
I wish you much luck.
Cool, and as I stated, the reason why I gave up was because I was surrounded by peers who crushed the pre-reqs effortlessly. I even dropped out of college over that.
I’m going to have to up my study skills and get a tutor or something. I currently am saving about 1.6k a month so hopefully I can afford it all lmao.
The only chance I have of getting into med school is at the lowest ranked DO school in America or the Carribean.
It is what it is and that’s what happens when you’re a dumb dumb at Cal like me!
Correct, I’ve done chem, math and orgo but I have not done Orgo II Lab.
I probably also need to retake organic chemistry so I can get a better foundation of the subject, although I know med schools don’t do grade replacement.
So really, I need to take orgo, bio, physics, biochemistry, and some upper division biology classes.
I can’t do paid work outside of work (stupid work rules lmao) so volunteering it is. I don’t think I’ll get into med school until I’m 27 or 28. It is what it is!
That’s what happens if you’re a dumb dumb during undergrad like me 
I’ve shadowed one physician and done some hospice volunteering. That’s it.
I have not thought much about what it’d like to be a PCP.
I have looked into postbacc programs. It’ll cost me about 18-20k, but I’m currently saving about 1.6k a month and aim to get even more frugal so I can get there eventually!
I live in a VHCOL area and spend only $750 a month besides rent/utilities.
And I would NEVER consider being a chiropractor, ever.
In terms of your description…you really don’t have the necessary science GPA to apply to medical schools yet, as you haven’t taken most of the courses that would go into that.
Are you saying that my science GPA isn’t high enough? Because I agree. It will become even lower after I take more science classes. I lowkey wonder why I even want to be a doctor. I’ve clearly proved I can’t handle science for jack so why even bother.
You can do a do it yourself post bacc program and take the necessary prerequisite courses to apply to medical schools. See how you like those and how well you do.
CC is free where I live but med schools look down on CC cclasses.
And if I were your kid, I’d shut down every one of your suggestions!
There’s a reason why I want to be an MD/DO.
My entire post can basically be summarized as “I want to be a doctor and have always wanted to be one but I am a big fat dumb dumb and it’s not possible because I am scientifically challenged, what do I do?”
Where in my post did I say, “I want to look at alternatives to medicine?” Nowhere!
Rebutting each of your points, one by one:
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I got a B+ in statistics and was told by old internship managers that I couldn’t code for my life so that’s out.
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I work in business! I know what logistics, operations research and supply chain management look like.
I hate economics and would never get a master’s degree in it. After I declared the major, I realized how stupid and overly theoretical it was.
So WHY THE HECK would I want to pay MORE MONEY to study something I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT STAND???
It’s way too goddamn mathy and academic and has NO real world applications!
As my microeconomics professor once said, “No one will ever have a demand curve stamped on their forehead.”
And pardon me, but how does someone with only an economics education cure malaria and polio?
You know how I studied for economics in undergrad? I pulled out my notes 2 days before the exam because I could not be bothered to study more ahead of time. I wrote pure BS on exams and somehow never earned less than an A- in an economics class. I didn’t care at all about class. I spent all my time recruiting for business internships.
So tell me, WHY would I get further education in a subject I cannot stand?
Medicine is a huge field. You can diagnose one case of strep throat at a time- after years and years of education- or you can be in a high leverage health care field in two years…
Even me, with my pitiful B+'s in math, I can tell you that high leverage healthcare field impact =/= the impact I’d make as a doctor.
I just cannot UNDERSTAND how people think the healthcare side of business is somehow the same as being a doctor. I used to think I was stupid after earning a B- in organic chemistry, but after reading some of the posts here telling me to go to an international medical school, to become a chiropractor, literally ■■■ man. ■■■.
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I’m not in a great mental state to say “why medicine” but basically it boils down to me wanting to be one since I was a kid and to prove to myself that I wasn’t actually too dumb to master the premed pre-reqs. I discovered that I have lingering trauma from only earning a B- in organic chemistry while the rest of my peers kicked butt in that class.
I want to show PenguinCrayon that PenguinCrayon can also kick ass in organic chemistry, physics, biology, biochemistry, and upper level biology.
I haven’t shadowed any PCP’s.
My mental health was perfectly fine after I moved out from my parent’s home until this thread started, lmao. But I’m much more mature and stable than I was as an undergrad.
I will never quit my job until I actually get into medical school. And I actually do not hate my job. I feel neutral towards it.
How to prepare to apply to med school.
- Get some patient-facing experience. About 200+ hours. Either as a volunteer or as paid provider.
Med school adcomms expect this from every applicant. They want to see that you understand the kind of life you’re signing up for.
Not everyone is cut out to deal with the sick, injured, chronically ill, elderly demented, physically disabled, mentally ill, the dying and their families. As a physician you will be dealing with individuals and families on what may very well be the worst day of their lives. Adcomms will want to know that you can handle that.
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Physician shadowing. About 50 hours in a variety of specialties, at least some of which needs to be in primary care fields. (General internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine, geriatrics)
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Community service with disadvantaged populations. About 200+ hours. This demonstrates altruism and compassion, both traits that are expected of physicians. Long term service with a single population or cause are preferred over multiple short duration experiences.
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Leadership roles in your activities. Medicine today is a team sport and physicians are by default the team leader. Adcomms want to see that you are capable of stepping up into the role. They also want a demonstration of your ability to work well with others.
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Finish your pre-reqs. Physics and intro bio can be done at a community college if you have a tight budget. It’s not optimal, but it’s not disqualifying either. Adcomms prefer pre-reqs be done at a 4 year college, but understand that not everyone can afford that. Biochem won’t be offered at a CC and must be done at a 4 year college. You can enroll as a non degree seeking seeking student at local public U and take your coursework piecemeal as you can schedule and/or afford it. Or you can enroll as degree-seeking student (and qualify for unsubsidized federal student loans), then just not complete your second degree after you’ve taken your pre-reqs.
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Prep for and take the the Mcat
OR
You can enroll in career changer post-bacc program. These are programs offered by 4 year colleges that offer varying degrees of structure for those who don’t have a science undergrad degree.
More information about post-bacc here, along with a searchable database of programs.
Aid to attend a post-bacc is limited.
I am assuming since you attended Cal that you are CA resident. CA is one of the most difficult states for pre-meds. Too many qualified applicants; too few med school seats. The applicants from Cal alone could fill every single available seat in the state of California. The majority of successful CA med school applicants attend OOS med schools. This mean that when you do go to apply, you will need to apply widely to both instate and OOS schools. And to both MD and DO programs.
Or you could relocate to and establish residency in a state that has a more favorable applicant to med school seat ratio.
Good luck in whatever path you choose to pursue.
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I did attend Cal and I regret it to the heavens because it showed me I was completely inept at science and academics in general.
And yes, I do live in California but I’m willing to move.
If and when I do apply, it will be to 80% DO schools and 20% MD schools, the lowest ranked of the bunch, because I’m too much of a dumb dumb dumb to aim any higher! And I will NOT be applying to any CA schools lmao.
Thanks for all the other information!
Post-baccs are expensive, but I save 1.6k/month while still contributing plenty to my 401k so I can get there soon enough.
Oh boy, I would have replied to this much more sanely this morning but my amygdala isn’t working now, so…
Yeah, I get that people do get accepted with poor grades, but when you go to Cal and people kick butt in those pre-reqs, how am I supposed to feel? Lmao.
And from the GPA’s you’ve provided, I’m barely above average for DO. Great!
And what if I told you I liked science but that I just sucked hard at it?
Then why is medical school so competitive to get into if it’s such a horrible profession with ■■■■■■ WLB? Lmao.
I’m well aware medical school is expensive! I’m a dumb dumb when it comes to ochem and whatnot but I can read financial statements, at least!
Then why is medical school so competitive to get into if it’s such a horrible profession with ■■■■■■ WLB? Lmao.
Lots of reasons that have to do with ego and economics and idealism.
It’s competitive because the number of available training positions has not kept pace with demand. (The number of available med school seats is constrained by the number of available clinical rotation sites. Training med students is money-losing proposition for hospitals so few non-public, non-academic hospitals are willing to allow med students to rotate at their hospitals.)
There are a good many discussion underway at a national level that could radically restructure how med school looks. One suggestion is make admission by lottery among qualifying applicants. Another is eliminate the first 2 years of med school altogether and have the USMLE STEP exams become the qualifier for med school admission so that applicants who pass the STEPs only need to do the clinical rotation part of med school.
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