How hard is med school?

<p>lol what if you're not a citizen but an immigrant?</p>

<p>Citizenship is helpful, and practically a requirement for public schools. Even after admissions, your financing will be very different if you're not a US Citizen or permanent resident.</p>

<p>PR status is, apparently, the same as citizenship in both respects.</p>

<p>Bigred, </p>

<p>So on most days including classtime on average 8-10 hours? Like a job.. yes? </p>

<p>Mine is just getting his secondaries for med schools. I figure he can handle it and still have some fun here and there. Don't tell me your life is without some fun?</p>

<p>Some parts of medical school were hard. some weren't so hard. It kind of depended on what year you were in, what classes you were taking then or which clinical rotations you were on.</p>

<p>In any given med school class (I presume in any, certainly in mine), there are some people who are the most incredible grinds. Studied bascially 24/7. They generally got honors. The rest of us just decided to have a life. When I was at Cornell med we were graded P/F/H. Other than that no grades. All grades were curved in that the top 10 people in any class would get honors, everyone else got a P unless you really did bad in which case you got an F. Our second year the pharmacology department decided to not grade on a curve and just give an "H" to anyone who got a 90%. Well just about everyone got a 90% so we all got an H in pharm. This basically showed that all of us were completely capable of mastering the material if we choose to do so. Frankly, in the other curved classes if you din't get a 95% you didn't get an H. So why bother. an 80% was just as good as a 90%.</p>

<p>If you get into medical school, it's not that the subject matter will be too difficult for you. The issue is the curve and the amount of pain certain people are willing to endure.</p>

<p>Of course BRM has fun. He spends time on CC! What could be more fun than that?</p>

<p>Opie, I'd say that 8-10 is pretty common. A lot will depend on the type of curriculum the school your son ends up attending uses.</p>

<p>My school uses the core system for the basic sciences and so we have 4 hours of science every morning and then most monday and wednesdays, have another 2-3 hours of "how to be a doctor" type lectures - doing a physical exam, taking a history, dealing with different patient populations, ethics, so on. For example our lectures today were about Medical Malpractice and about gifts from the Pharmaceutical industry. Basically b/c we have 4 hours every day of very specific science it means we have a test in the basic sciences every 3 weeks. My friends at other schools however have course schedules much more like undergrad though in which they are taking biochem and anatomy and histology, clinical practice and genetics all at the same time. They have more time in class, but less frequent tests. So it's a trade off.</p>

<p>So today was 6 hours of lecture, and because I have yet to do much of anything this week, probably a couple of hours of reading, and some time working on a community health project that's due in a couple weeks (sadly getting to medical school has not meant an end to writing papers). So it'll probably be about 10 hours today. Tomorrow, only 4 hours of lecture, and I doubt I'll get much more than an hour of studying due to some other obligations and errands I have.</p>

<p>And yes there is some fun, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I studied ALL the time. I have to do something. Mainly it's dependent on how far away a test is. We had a test last friday, and I went out friday night, went to a huge halloween party my class threw for students in all the programs on Saturday, and then last night went over to some friend's apartment to watch monster movies. Given that we just had a test, I've spent more time with a drink in my hand than with a book this week. But in two weeks or so my daily routine will be extremely different. Student health at my school actually puts down in the charts that med students have "M1/M2 drinking habits" which the docs know means extended periods of sobriety punctuated by bouts of bacchanalian excess. </p>

<p>And then of course there is CC...</p>

<p>And pharm is currently the ire of my being...I really hate rote memorization...</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>So if you had the habits in place (studies and partying in balance) in undergrad chances are pretty good you'll be able to do the same in med school, yes?</p>

<p>What school are you at again? and what ones did you look at and how were your interviews? </p>

<p>Mine is looking at UW, Oregon's med school, Wisc, Mich, St. Louis, Darthmouth and one other. Any crossover with yours? </p>

<p>And there's absolutely nothing wrong with a doctor having a drink.</p>

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>While I don't mean to incite a panic, do know that this timing for secondaries is getting a little bit on the late side and that working promptly on them would probably provide a noticeable benefit. This will be especially important for the more selective schools on her list, which include the generally selective ones as well as the out-of-state ones.</p>

<p>I want to mention that the "light" portions of medical school are considerably harder than anything I ever went through as an undergrad - but that probably has a lot to do with my personal thought processes not being very well suited to medical school.</p>

<p>I would say yes. It all depends on your attitude.</p>

<p>There is going to be more studying and less partying overall, but it's not all awful, even though there are some parts that are truly awful (think internal med rotation, every third night on call, need to go home at 2:00 am and look up info about the cases to present the next day.)</p>

<p>And to all meds students: if you think med school is bad, I hate to tell you but in internship you will be looking back fondly at medical school (assuming you are actually awake) and wonder why you thought it was so bad, lol.</p>

<p>And at times in real life, as a doc, you will also look back on medical school (but not on on internship) and think you really had no clue what the meaning of work was.</p>

<p>
[quote]
in internship you will be looking back fondly at medical school

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yes, so I've been told. And I find it very believable. And it worries me.</p>

<p>"While I don't mean to incite a panic, do know that this timing for secondaries is getting a little bit on the late side and that working promptly on them would probably provide a noticeable benefit"</p>

<p>No, he's on them, from the system set up he appears to be on track for next fall. He heard from 6 schools and is working to get them done and returned. Panic is OK as long as it's helpful:) no need to apologize at all.</p>

<p>Opie,</p>

<p>No overlap on the schools I applied to. I wish him the best of luck though.</p>

<p>I’m currently attending a community college in Pennsylvania for my associates. I want to attend medical school, but I feel so discouraged because of my lack of math, and study skills. I’m in a very basic math as it is, and I have no idea how much math plays into medical school, but I do know it’s a big part. I’ve been pretty down on the whole thing lately, so if anyone could maybe inform me of the depth in which math and science courses go that would be awesome. I’m pretty lost on what to do or even if I could do it :/</p>

<p>Generally (though not always) you’ll need to take at least one semester of calculus and one semester of statistics to meet the entrance requirements for most med schools. However there are a few schools that are may require more or less. </p>

<p>In terms of actual clinical practice, basic algebra is a necessity - I use it every day to calculate how much IV fluids to give, what components to give in total parenteral nutrition and in how many calories per kilo a premature infant in the NICU is getting - if you’re going to take care of pediatric patients or go into anesthesia then you need to be able to perform these calculations quickly and accurately. For kids, every medicine is dosed based on weight, so as a pediatrician I’m constantly running calculations, even if it’s something simple as telling a mother how much tylenol to give her child.</p>

<p>If you wish to go into radiology then high level physics and calculus are needed to understand the implications of radiation and the effects on the body and the quality of images obtained. In other fields, there are certainly valuable insights to be gained by understanding the theory behind calculus but it’s a rare instance that would ask for you to do things like find the derivative of the curve or perform integrations.</p>

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<p>I don’t miss the first two years of medical school and I never will, but I certainly miss 4th year with a passion. Talk about a great year…and I loved 3rd year too. So I do miss those years.</p>

<p>Just to throw in my comments for this thread since its revived, I go to a Pass Fail school. Meaning a 70=100 here. It’s a really nice thing not to have to worry about curves and rankings (we are unranked, not just pass fail), and it doesn’t seem to significantly lower the averages despite the lack of grade incentives. I believe we tend to average in the mid 80’s to low 90’s. What P/F systems DO relieve is a lot of the exam and post exam test. Figuring out that you missed an easy problem doesn’t put you into cold sweats here.</p>

<p>I just completed my PY1 of a 4 year PharmD at a very highly ranked (top 3) US COP. After 1 year, I have a 3.94 (1 B out of 14 classes). I am taking the MCAT in August and hope to get accepted to the COM in the same overall state health college’s program (on other side of the university hospital). I made a 91% on the PCAT 3 years ago and will be studying for the MCAT this summer. I would transfer out of the COP before my 3rd year.</p>

<p>I guess I’m asking what you all may think the COM will think when they see the application. Am I a quitter? Undecided? stupid? I just feel that pharmacy school is kind of easy and I want more of a challenge and a direct role in the treatment of patients, rather than facilitating by handing them a bottle the doctor ordered…among other things.</p>

<p>I think you’re going to be faced with an exceptional number of questions about your motivation and dedication to medicine. It’s been said, ‘no one stumbles into medicine, you were either born to do it, or felt a calling’. You’re going to be competing against individuals who have wanted this since they were 3 years old, and who have never wavered on this.</p>

<p>I found this thread while surfing through the web and found it amazingly timely. I graduated a year ago from MSU in finance and am now currently working in corporate finance. Recently I have been thinking a lot about going back to school (premed) and exploring the possibility of getting into med school. </p>

<p>It really just hit me that our time on earth is pretty short and sitting around crunching numbers and running the rat race has (personally) become the biggest waste of my life and abilities. I really want to have an impact on people and the world around me every day that I have, and being a doctor seems to really suit that.</p>

<p>I guess my question is, how feasible is this? Is it extremely rare that people in my position make it into med school after completing a post bachelor premed degree? I have never really gotten into the sciences because I chose the business route, but high level math and problem solving has never been a problem for me, so how hard would getting through a premed program be?</p>

<p>Thanks for any input in advance!</p>

<p>Is it feasible? Yes.</p>

<p>Is admission for post-bac students rare? No. These programs exist for a reason, and while none represent a guaranteed path, they do give you the potential to gain admittance. </p>

<p>As for how hard it’s going to be, that’s impossible for us to answer. More than likely it will have nothing to do with your academic ability. But motivation, risk aversion, and perseverance will be extremely important attributes. The non-trads I’ve met in the past through various ways fall into two categories - either completely gung ho, unstoppable forces of nature, or those who through a combination of setbacks, difficulties with finances, and feelings of being overwhelmed decide to just throw in the towel and return back to their previous lives (perhaps sooner than anyone would have expected). Attitude is important, but it’s still damn tough to get into medical school.</p>