<p>ummm, yeah i really dont know where to start so i'm just gonna start naming off things. i was never what people would consider a "good" student when it came to grades in high school and i always figured i'd just be one of those people who end up working for the rest of their lives right out of high school. over the past 4 years i've gone from job to job not really getting anything out of any of them. recently i decided to step back and take a look at what i enjoyed about my life/jobs and what i didnt enjoy about them. what i came out with was i really liked making a difference as well as helping someone better their lives, even though it would be in such a small way that most people wouldnt even notice it. after looking at that along with a few other factors, i decided that a life as a doctor is what would truly make me happy, the only problem is, i have no college credits and am basically starting from where i was 4 years ago. </p>
<p>the school i was looking at was chicago state university, mainly because it's a state school so i could save money by living at home and being an in state resident along with the fact that they a pre med program already set up. the other thing that caught my eye from chicago state university was the fact that their admission requirements dont seem too high, which is kind of what i was looking for since i did screw up pretty badly in high school. i guess what my main questions are and the point of me posting here is i want to know what you all think of my school choice and if 22 is too old to start chasing a dream?</p>
<p>thanks in advance to anyone who post any advice/opinions</p>
<p>yeah the first thing that went through my mind when the thought of becoming a doctor came up was "will i really be able to put in the effort needed to get this done" and i looked back at my high school days as well as the couple of classes i took at a community college and i realized the main difference between myself then and myself now was that back then i just really didnt give a crap. back 4 years ago i really didnt care about my classes and even in community college i just took a couple gen ed classes cause that just seemed like "the thing to do". now when i look at myself i see a whole different person that actually has the passion to become a doctor and has matured enough to be willing to put in the time and effort to get the job done. so if i do decide to go through with this i know for a fact that i'm gonna be putting more heart and effort into it than anything i've ever done in my life. what i really want to know is if i end up going to chicago state university, how good of a school is it?</p>
<p>Age isn't the issue as much as motivation, initiative, and knowledge. You can be 30 years old, go to community college, get a BA or BS in something while finishing premed requirements, go to any med school, and start a residency at any teaching hospital before you're 40.</p>
<p>If I were you I'd worry less about my age and more about how difficult the road ahead is. I would also go to a local book store, find somewhere to sit, and read through various textbooks and study guides.</p>
<p>
[quote]
recently i decided to step back and take a look at what i enjoyed about my life/jobs and what i didnt enjoy about them. what i came out with was i really liked making a difference as well as helping someone better their lives, even though it would be in such a small way that most people wouldnt even notice it.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Think long and hard about why you've decided to help people better their lives through a career as a doctor. Why did you decide against being a nurse, a PA, an occupational therapist, or the other health professions careers? Why did you decide on being a doctor, as opposed to say, being a plumber, teacher, artist, computer technician, or any of the many many other skilled professionals where you help solve people's problems?</p>
<p>Shadow some doctors or volunteer in a medical setting with patients and physicians to see what it's like. Read some books about the road ahead - at minimum, you're looking at 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school, and 3 years of residency to become a practicing physician. Do you want to be in school for another 11 years?</p>
<p>If you've already thought about all these things, then it's time to start college. :)</p>
<p>yeah i've put alot of thought on if this is what i really want to do and if i want to do it for the right reasons and in the end i decided that i really do want to do this. what my main question now is does anyone know anything about chicago state university as far as pre med goes.</p>
<p>Rather than asking questions about Chicago State and how good their premed is, you should be applying and/or registering for the fall semester right now.</p>
<p>All you should honestly care about is getting into a college in general, but if you meet Chicago State's standards, go for it....
now.</p>
<p>No offense but you can't be selective at all with colleges. The "good" pre med programs are usually full of students who did great or decently in high school, and have graduated the same year they enrolled.</p>
<p>If you want to be a doctor so badly, apply for admission to Chicago State today or tonight, wait a while, and pray they won't reject you.</p>
<p>Not to crush your hopes and dreams, but even if you do become a doctor, there's little chance in you being a good one, 4-5 years is a very long time to do nothing... In the meantime, people in your generation are doing so much more, so you'd be pretty much left in the dust.</p>
<p>Also, you should listen to shades_children, and shadow a doctor or volunteer somewhere before you actually decide to pursue the career.</p>
<p>you're definitely not the typical pre-med student, but there are a lot of programs set up for that. Also, just because you may not be coming from a "well-known" college doesn't mean that you can't end up being a good doctor, or getting into a good med school. Let's say you DON'T get into a "good" med school (according to your standards), you can still get into a good residency program if you perform well. The important thing is you realized what you want to do and have the motivation to pursue it...but pursuing a career as a doctor isn't an easy one. Being pre-med is hard already, and I'm sure med school isn't too much easier. So before you throw yourself into it, make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. Other than that, I wouldn't worry about the age at all. Good luck!</p>
<p>
[quote]
Rather than asking questions about Chicago State and how good their premed is, you should be applying and/or registering for the fall semester right now.</p>
<p>All you should honestly care about is getting into a college in general, but if you meet Chicago State's standards, go for it....
now.</p>
<p>No offense but you can't be selective at all with colleges. The "good" pre med programs are usually full of students who did great or decently in high school, and have graduated the same year they enrolled.</p>
<p>If you want to be a doctor so badly, apply for admission to Chicago State today or tonight, wait a while, and pray they won't reject you.</p>
<p>Not to crush your hopes and dreams, but even if you do become a doctor, there's little chance in you being a good one, 4-5 years is a very long time to do nothing... In the meantime, people in your generation are doing so much more, so you'd be pretty much left in the dust.</p>
<p>Also, you should listen to shades_children, and shadow a doctor or volunteer somewhere before you actually decide to pursue the career.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This is pretty pessimistic advice. If you want it badly enough, you CAN become a good doctor. Obviously nothing is guaranteed, but don't let this guy get you down too much.</p>
<p>Besides, which undergraduate college you attend doesn't really matter all that much. Anywhere you go, you can get into medical school (provided you do well).</p>
<p>I agree with Entadus. Taking even five years off has nothing to do with your potential of eventually becoming an excellent physician. More than most of your classmates, your experience outside of school should lend itself well to time management techniques and ability to connect with patients.</p>
<p>Actually it does... It's kind of stupid to veg out for five years, then wake up one day and decide to be a doctor.</p>
<p>And what experience outside of school? He clearly said in his first post that he didn't get anything out of all the jobs he had; jobs that you don't get much out of nor require nothing more than being a high school graduate are the kinds of jobs you get while you're in college anyway.</p>
<p>It's a stupid idea to veg out for five years for no reason other than "thinking that you'd just be one of those people who just work straight out of high school," then wake up one day and decide, "You know what, I think I'd like to be a doctor."</p>
<p>I would have less pessimistic advice if he spent this time traveling the world or the country. Or if it was an issue with finances, not being able to pay for college.</p>
<p>But you know what they say, "Doing nothing for five years, then going to college after will make you a great doctor." <em>mild sarcasm</em></p>
<p>Even if the five years off haven't helped, it's certainly not going to automatically hurt him. "There's little chance of you being a good doctor" - what a joke.</p>
<p>Oh, what am I saying? Everyone knows to be a good doctor you should've played with little toy stethoscopes since the age of 3. "<em>mild sarcasm</em>"</p>
<p>It's naive to think someone will be a great doctor if they did poorly in high school and wasted five years of their life doing nothing...</p>
<p>Also, you're putting words in my mouth... I never said anything like, "you need to decide and work to be a doctor at the age of 3." Good doctors aren't necessarily people who decided to go to college right after high school. However, I think it's naive to think, "Oh you graduated high school, and did nothing for five years, you'll be the best doctor."</p>
<p>There's a difference between being able to be a good doctor and actually being a good doctor. He probably has the same potential as anyone else, but the fact that he hasn't done anything with his life yet pretty much proves that he probably won't follow through with a career in medicine in the first place.</p>
<p>Getting the training to be a fully fledged, board certified attending physician (assuming doctors who pass the boards are the good ones) takes at least thirteen years depending on your specialty (from the beginning of college to end of your residency). </p>
<p>I find it hilarious that some of you are actually rationalizing the idea of doing jack for five years, then deciding they want to be a doctor... As a doctor, with all the training you need, your real career starts off late enough already...</p>
<p>It's not at all a waste. Whether it was finances, goofing off in high school, or just not knowing what he wanted to do in the future, I can't repeat enough that taking time off (even if he didn't do anything academically "productive") doesn't effect his chances for med school or becoming a good doctor. It's completely up to him whether he wants to invest the time into becoming a board certified physician. If he decides to put forth the requisite time and effort, there is nothing that will prevent him from being a capable doctor. Don't assume learning from five years in the real world adversely affects his chances. Not to mention, you have no idea what motivated him to think about medical school. Going back to college would be a great move anyway, whether he decides to pursue medicine or not, and it's not at all your place to deride what could be his newly discovered passion. JCM, I wish you the best of luck in wherever you end up next year.</p>
<p>The real world? How is working at jobs that require nothing more than a high school diploma the real world? I highly doubt he was "finding himself" seeing as how I worked as a busboy and cashier for about two years, haven't learned anything about myself other than the **** is trivial, but it gets me money.</p>
<p>I didn't say anything about his chances. He might have great chances, but that doesn't mean he's going to do it. After five years of barely working, going to college and buckling down all of a sudden isn't going to be as simple as saying "I'll do it." Words mean so little, action is what really counts, and if he hasn't gone anywhere with his life. I highly doubt he wants or is going to do what you have to do to get the "life" of a doctor.</p>
<p>Right now, his chances are effectively the same as a student going from high school and straight into college.</p>
<p>Also, if it's "making a difference in people's lives," he could easily just be a great nurse, it takes significantly less training...</p>
<p>alright let me first of start by saying, thank you to everyone that left me feedback on my situation. whether it be good or bad, at the end of the day all feedback is good feedback and any other further comments are more than welcome. after looking through some of the negative comments one of the main things that i see is the fact that i spent five years "doing nothing". now honestly that may be my fault since i really didnt get into what i did with those years besides just saying "i worked". throughout my 4 years of being out of school i was not just sitting around doing nothing. while this may not be respected by you guys, i worked my up from basic sales to working with vice presidents of companies to close sales. by no means is money an issue to me as i consider my future as a salesperson to be as bright as it could be. with that being said, anyone that has ever done any type of sales job would know that to be a good salesperson you have to almost be a "bad person, atleast in my opinion. after 4 years of making money this way, i just find myself unsatisfied personally, professional, and morally. as far as if i really want to be a doctor for the right reasons, while i really feel like i dont really have to prove myself to anyone, the thought of being able to change or even save someones life would just be the greatest thing in the world to me. now while i know that the road i'm putting ahead of myself is not gonna be an easy one, nothing in life is and since you only live once and you all have told me that my dream is not 100% impossible, i plan on doing everything i can to get there. once again thanks to everyone for all the positive and negative comments and hopefully anymore advice or comments you guys have will not be held back.</p>
<p>jcm - I have nothing to add EXCEPT - never let go of your dreams. If this is what you really want then go for it. Much luck to you and keep us posted!</p>