<p>Thank you. That’s all I really want, a job that I enjoy and a life worth living.</p>
<p>Yeah NY Giants, great post. You sound like a great kid. I am hoping you can have a good advisor to talk with. Sounds like you are really starting to be your own person here. (Not that MD’s aren’t their own people, and if you go that route ultimately, perhaps it will be on different terms.)</p>
<p>The fields of exercise science, physical therapy and holistic therapies are all booming. I am a beneficiary, and one of my kids is also going in that direction.</p>
<p>Just wanted to put my life experience in here for you. I am a practicing physician. I went to school with no real idea what I wanted to do and got a B.S. chemistry and an MPH and worked for a few years. My grades were not stellar in undergrad but I did blossom in grad school, and the spent several years working in public health before taking the MCAT and going to med school. I look back on all that as a great journey with it all broadening my experience and making me a better person and doctor. My worst grade- I made a D in calc III! That sais, I applied to 1 med school, early decision and got in…so, you never know but let me say that I would never tell anyone to be a doctor who was not really committed. It really is most of your life so you better love it.</p>
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<p>Exactly.</p>
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<p>And you don’t think adcoms KNOW that? (Several colleges even write about summer classes being ‘not-recommended’ on their premed websites.)</p>
<p>When you have a really bad start OP, you need to do everything as well as you can going forward.</p>
<p>There are still alot of opportunities for you out there</p>
<p>Whatever else you do, take advantage of the wealth of resources available to learn about the larger world of medicine, public health, allied health careers, life science technology etc. etc. There are SO MANY closely related fields, many of them new and growing. So spend time talking to the fine people at your Career Center and talk to professors, grad students etc. The more info you have about your options, the better. Do all of this while you continue to pursue your original goals.</p>
<p>I agree your points nwcrazy.</p>
<p>keep your head up</p>
<p>What an interesting thread!
I know another student who is in very similar shoes, although a senior now and grades “just not quite where they want them”, despite working hard to get all those As. Also “just not quite enough research etc”. Thinking about taking 1-2 years off to do research, or something else medical and plan the timing for studying and taking MCATs. This student has a mentor who is a high powered surgeon who applied to med school about 10 years out from undergrad after Peace Corps, Public health, engineering etc?
I’m mentoring a second year med student now who also went to the Peace Corp and then worked 5 years in business in central America “when undergrad premed grades were just not in the med school range”, “and my MCAT wasn’t that stellar either” but attributes his med school admit to the life experience. Med schools, like business and law schools are looking more favorably now on these “alternative” students who have some real life experience. Often these students will do one year at a med school prep type of program, of which there are now many.
I agree that you should not feel that at this relatively short part of your career that medical school is the only path for you. I have a friend from HS who was one of the most premeds. He went abroad his junior year and “premed grades tanked”. Decided he really liked business better. Went on to found a fortune 500 company, makes millions and loves his job.
In today’s medical MD environment you should really love medicine to go that route. Many of the MDs I know who went into medicine for other reasons (parents, perceived prestige or money, or “I’m smart and like science”) are bitter or burned out and would get out to something else if they could.</p>
<p>Take a deep breath. Don’t give up. I’m premed too chemistry is hard. Med schools don’t only look at GPA they consider other things. Your GPA is just a little low. People with below average GPAs can still get in. I know a letter of recommendation from a MD/DO can make a huge difference.</p>
<p>My sister (UF alumni) put off med school (as a result of a not so nice MCAT score), but isn’t planning on doing anything but medicine! What she did was sign on for a two year masters program, until she decided to take her MCAT again. With a killer MCAT score (study! my sister surprisingly didn’t do well on the comprehension, so make sure to even out your studying), there is a better chance of getting into med school. You seem to be taking the “rule-out” classes at the moment, so if you do not do well in those classes…perhaps consider a liberal arts profession? You seem to do quite well in those.</p>
<p>After you graduate, move to a large city and find a job as a pharmacist. Apply to medical school PART TIME. This will be much less competitive since all part time applicants will live in the area and you will have industry experience. Just a thought…</p>
<p>What do you mean apply to medical school part time? I don’t think any schools offer part time status.</p>
<p>Also, being a pharmacist won’t make you a more competitive applicant (although it will probably help with your pharmacology class)</p>
<p>Also to work as a pharmacist, you need a doctorate degree (Pharm.D.). Pharm school is a competitive graduate program that takes 3 years to complete.</p>
<p>My advice is to take the courses you enjoy the most and do well. Then when you graduate, look for some options on graduate/prof school. I just went to an optometrist who was a UPenn grad who majored in anthropology or something of the sort. Enjoyed her years there, took a few years working here and there, and then went to Optometry school. I also know many, many folks in medical tech field who are not doctors, some of them doing quite well. Sometimes a certificatte course of study at a comm college can get you started in one of those tracks and you take opportunities as they arise once you have your foot in the door.</p>
<p>Have good friend who majored in anthropology, was a monkey keeper at a large zoo for a half dozen years, but then lost her husband to brain cancer. (Husband was just 37.) Also lost her house to the medical bills and had a young son to support. She got certified as radiation therapist, went on to earn a MS in RT. She has helped design the RT building at a major university hospital, went on to head the dept of RT at 2 other name universities and now sits on the national accreditation board for RT programs.</p>
<p>So big things are possible for people who never go to medical school.</p>
<p>1) Cal Newport is a valuable resource for anyone concerned about “passion for their future job” issues.</p>
<p>2) 3isamgic number is the reason why CC can be amazing: 3ismagic shared a useful experience - practicing physician + D in Calc III - while giving you some context to fill in the blanks. I have no doubt that bluebayou has good intentions, but blanket generalizations (all summer classes = bad) are misleading. For example, at certain colleges, summer classes goes right onto the same transcript (maybe with an SB201 or something instead of B201). Sure if you go to Cornell and take orgo at Homestate Community College, that will raise eyebrows, but at the same college, by the same professor, on the same transcript= good choice. Context matters. </p>
<p>3) Posting here is pretty addictive - I’m remembering now why I visited so often in high school : ) But this is my last post. So nygiants, best wishes- and forget Hopkins Professors, when in doubt, remember your own advice - "“Being interested in the things I learn will make the path to wherever I end up much more enjoyable”</p>
<p>Also a very thoughtful poster took one of my earlier statements to task: “Medicine is always a challenging road - but the chance to be responsible for someone’s health is an extraordinary privilege. Other professions in medicine can give you the satisfaction of enhancing the health of others, but none bear the ultimate responsibility of a doctor.”</p>
<p>Response: “As a nurse practitioner in our state she will be able to write prescriptions and do all manners of primary care. Nurse practitioners can have their own practices and be entirely in charge of their patients health. The medical profession is changing and more than one doctor has told our daughter that nurse practitioners will be on the front line in the future doing primary care. As a future doctor they deserve your respect.”</p>
<p>She’s right; I was wrong. But that’s awesome because I learned something new. Thanks StacJip!</p>
<p>At one visit, the very young Physician Assistant took care of my D. instead of the MD. She was so great, right to the point with her diagnosis and the treatment of very unusual (brought from vacation abroad) condition, my D. got relief the very next day. We both were very impressed. At the same time, I would like to mention that I had more dissatisfying experiences with the docs than the helpful ones. Unofrtunately, I keep losing the good docs that I have had to retirement, moving. I was unable to find replacements, even if I go with my friends’ recs. So, I basically try to stay away from the docs’ visits as much as possible. Sad. I mentioned to my D. all the time about negative sides of many docs now and tell her not to be like this.</p>
<p>After you graduate, move to a large city and find a job as a pharmacist. Apply to medical school PART TIME. This will be much less competitive since all part time applicants will live in the area and you will have industry experience. Just a thought…</p>
<p>??? What med schools accept “part time” students? I don’t think any do. If there are any, there must be very few, so before anyone “moves to a large city,” they better determine if such a possibility even exists. (and I don’t think it does.).</p>