What if I don't get into any Med School...then what?

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
21

<p>But there are also plenty of US people who go there and don't come back here. </p>

<p>I think it's fairly safe to say that the education at Caribbean medical schools is, on the whole, inferior to US med-schools. Yes, there are some good ones, but there are also some really really poor ones as well. Even the worst US medical school is still adequate. But the worst Caribbean medical schools are quite inferior.</p>

<p>You can't say that just because there are plenty of people who graduate from Caribbean medical schools who then practice in the US, then that means that the quality isn't inferior. Plenty of people who graduate from community college go on to great success, but that doesn't mean that community colleges aren't inferior to Harvard.</p>

22

<p>You guys say Foreign Med. Schools are inferior, tell that to those who practice medicine in America who graduated from Foreign Med. Schools, im sure they'll appreciate it.</p>

23

<p>It's no different from the guy I know who is a highly successful corporate executive, but went to a no-name state college. He freely admits that his state college is not as good as Harvard. He also freely admits that if he had gotten into Harvard, he would have gone there instead of to the school he did go to. </p>

<p>Look, sometimes you gotta face reality and admit that certain places are better than others. It doesn't mean that you can't find success in the places that aren't as good. But that doesn't take away from the fact that certain places are better than others. Anybody who wants to suggest that, say, the worst Caribbean medical school is as good as Harvard Medical School is seriously deluding themselves.</p>

<p>Besides, let me put it to you this way. If the Caribbean medical schools really are as good as US medical schools, then why don't you see lots of people turning down offers to attend US medical schools to go to the Caribbean ones? After all, if they really are equivalent, then there is no reason to prefer one over the other, right? So why don't you ever hear people say, "Oh yeah, I got into a bunch of American medical schools, but I'm going to turn them all down and instead go to the Caribbean"?</p>

24

<p>They arent looked at as highly as U.S. Med Schools, that is true. But, they are not inferior in teaching quality (most of them at least). </p>

<p>p.s. Sakky you need to be less pessimistic at all this med. school stuff. If you want to go to med. school with a poo-poo atitude towards everything no one will like you, or even accept you. If you've gone through the process and are bitter that others got in, dont be, try again</p>

25

<p>Allright, so then I see that even you are conceding that at least some of those Caribbean schools are in fact inferior in teaching quality. And that alludes to the point I've been making - that on average, they are of worse teaching quality.</p>

<p>And finally, I am not being pessimistic, I am being realistic. It is an undeniable truth that every year, almost 50% of all people who apply to med-school get rejected from every school they apply to. That's an undeniable fact. Should people not be aware of that? Are people made better off if this fact is hidden from them? It is also an undeniable fact that plenty of other people who want to go to med-school don't apply because they know their grades and/or their MCAT scores and/or their EC's aren't good enough. So if you were to count these people, then the 'true' failure rate is significantly higher than 50%. Again, should we be hiding that fact from people? Are people better off not knowing that? </p>

<p>Look, the fact is, med-school admissions is a tough game. People ought to be aware of what the deal really is all about. If I am negative, it's because the facts themselves are negative. </p>

<p>The real question is, do you want the truth or not? If not, then fine, then just take the following words to heart. Everybody who wants to go to med-school gets to go. Premed is an easy process with absolutely no gamesmanship whatsoever and no unfairness. You never have to worry about grades, you never have to work hard, you never have to do anything you don't really want to do. Admissions committees are completely fair and always look at everybody's applications fairly. </p>

<p>Does that make you feel better?</p>

26

<p>yea we all know that people who went to foreign med schools are trash and don't deserve to live or practice medicine...I mean I would feel safter getting diagnosed by a hobo than a student from a foreign med school.</p>

27

<p>fei, I can't tell if your being sarcastic or not. If you arent being sarcastic then what you just said is plain old scary. Look up how many of Americas top doc's are FMGs, then speak. </p>

<p>And sakky as far as your points go I am perfectly aware of what the situation is, but you have to make the best of it. Instead of sitting around and discourage people by showing how horrible it is, you tell em what they need and that should be enough. People should realize that med. school is not the end all thing in life. If they dont get in, tough. But by constantly talking about how hard it is to get in, lots of people become discouraged and thus they may give up, even though they would make good docs. The facts can be positive if you want to make em positive, and negative if you want to make them negative.</p>

28

<p>Look, facts are facts, and I'm not going to lie about the facts just because some people's feelings might get hurt. It is an undeniable fact that almost 50% of all med-school applicants get rejected by every med-school they apply to. Should we keep this information hidden from people? It is an undeniable fact that a great many freshman who think about going to med-school are dissuaded by their bad grades and their bad test scores. </p>

<p>And if what you say is really true and my words really are dissuading people from the premed process, then, what are you really saying, implicitly? All I can present here are my words. Honestly, what's more discouraging, something you might read on this discussion forum, or studying your rear-end off for weeks at a time, only to fail your Ochem exam? What's more discouraging, the posts on CC, however harsh, or having to stay awake for 3 days straight without sleep while on your residency? If people are really getting discouraged by some of the facts that I am presenting here, then I would argue that these people clearly don't have the wherewithal to go through the medical-training process in the first place. </p>

<p>Look, it's not my job to sugarcoat things for you. It's not my job to dress things up and put a nice red ribbon on top. I'm not your cheerleader, I'm not your 'yes-man'. It's not here to make you feel good. I'm here to tell you the truth, and sometimes the truth hurts. It's better to find out the truth now rather than find out the hard way later on.</p>

29

<p>bigndude: just being sarcastic...hehe this forum needs a sarcasm tag</p>

30

<p>k good, heh</p>

31

<p>So summing up this whole discussion, the only real path one has if not accepted to a domestic med school is to look out of the country, then.</p>

<p>That really sucks.</p>

32

<p>Sakky,what are your career goals? Are you a student, graduate, professional? I have read several of your posts, and I have noticed --well, it is very clear-- that you love to argue on this forum, and I wonder why. Hope you don' mind sharing; either way, have a great day!</p>

<p>P.S. I was going to PM you, but that option isn't available.</p>

33

<p>Hey, what can I say, CC is a pretty good way to blow off steam after a hard day.</p>

<p>Furthermore, CC is also a good forum for people to hear the unvarnished truth, rather than just what the colleges would like you to hear. People ought to know what the truth is, even if the truth hurts. This is particularly so for the medical school process. The underlying truth is that the vast majority of people who come into college wanting to become doctors will not make it. Only half of all people who actually apply to med-school actually manage to get in. And that's just talking about the people who actually made it to the application stage. That doesn't count all the people who dropped out of the premed track somewhere along the way, either because (in the best case scenario) because they genuinely found something that they liked to do more than medicine, or (more commonly) because their grades, their MCAT scores, and/or their EC's are simply not good enough for them to be serious med-school candidates. </p>

<p>I suppose it's good for morale purposes to believe that everybody who wants to become a doctor can become one. It's good to be optimistic. It's good to have hope. On the other hand, you can't live on optimism alone. Sometimes you just gotta see how things are in the harsh light of day. There's a fine line between positive thinking and just deliberately deluding yourself. Med-school admissions is a tough process. I think people ought to know that going in. Better that than to find out later the hard way.</p>

34

<p>I hear you loud and clear, sakky. Every other person in my high school is planning on going into medicine, and it doesn't help that a cardiothoracic surgeon (who may or may not be a dumbass) came in during Career Day saying that it's becoming easier to get into medical school, and less people are applying. </p>

<p>I've got several friends who are like, yeah, I'm probably going to be pre-med. I just want to shake them and say, do you have any idea what it's going to be like?!!? But of course it's impossible to give them a dose of reality, because that would be negative. And one of my friends mentioned that a friend of hers who went to Harvard undergrad ended up at Univ. of Florida med school. "Isn't that kind of sad, to go from Harvard to UF?" were her exact words. People have no clue.</p>

<p>So that was just me ranting. That's all for now.</p>

35

<p>Well, in one sense, that surgeon was right - there are fewer people applying to med-school. But that by itself, does not make the competition easier. I would argue that the drop in applicants is mostly due to a large drop in the less-qualified applicants who probably wouldn't have gotten in anyway. </p>

<p>Take a gander at the following link from the AAMC, because it proves my point. Sure, the number of applicants is dropping. On the other hand, the GPA's and MCAT scores of those who are applying is skyrocketing, as is the GPA and MCAT of those matriculating (which is a proxy for measuring the stats of those who are accepted). Basically, you need far better numbers (GPA and MCAT) to get into med-school today than you did 10 years ago. Look at the numbers yourself if you don't believe me.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/2004/2004mcatgpa.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/2004/2004mcatgpa.htm&lt;/a> </p>

<p>I just found this quote from Michael Crichton (yes, THAT Michael Crichton), who went to Harvard College, then Harvard Medical, before deciding that he'd rather be a writer. Crichton writes some nonfiction too, and in one of his books, he talks about his own experience as a premed. Here is a snippet. </p>

<p>"In general, I found Harvard an exciting place, where people were genuinely focused on study and learning, and with no special emphasis on grades. But to take a premed course was to step into a different world -- nasty and competitive. The most critical course was organic chemistry, Chem 20, and it was widely known as a "screw your buddy" course. In lectures, if you didn't hear what the instructor had said and asked the person next to you, he'd give you the wrong information; thus you were better off leaning over to look at his notes, but in that case he was likely to cover his notes so you couldn't see. In the labs, if you asked the person at the next bench a question, he'd tell you the wrong answer in the hope that you would make a mistake or, even better, start a fire. We were marked down for starting fires. In my year, I had the dubious distinction of starting more lab fires than anyone else, including a spectacular ether fire that set the ceiling aflame and left large scorch marks, a stigmata of ineptitude hanging over my head for the rest of the year. I was uncomfortable with the hostile and paranoid attitude this course demanded for success. I thought that a humane profession like medicine ought to encourage other values in its candidates. But nobody was asking my opinion. I got through it as best I could."</p>

<p><a href="http://www.harpercollins.com/global_scripts/product_catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=0060509058&tc=cx%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.harpercollins.com/global_scripts/product_catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=0060509058&tc=cx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Now obviously, Michael Crichton managed to do very well, getting into Harvard Medical. However, you should keep in mind that he graduated summa-cum-laude from Harvard College (meaning that he graduated in the top 5% of his Harvard class), and he got into medical-school in the 60's, when med-school admissions were far less competitive than they are today.</p>

36

<p>Here's some new info for people looking to go into med. school. Looks like you MAY be able to get in with grades that are a little lower within the next few years. <a href="http://www.aamc.org/newsroom/pressrel/2005/050222.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.aamc.org/newsroom/pressrel/2005/050222.htm&lt;/a> And the MCAT is going to be computer based from 2007 onwards, and shorter, and with more test days available. <a href="http://www.aamc.org/newsroom/reporter/feb05/mcat.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.aamc.org/newsroom/reporter/feb05/mcat.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

37

<p>Can't you just become a nurse? it's not like that's a bad career or anything. I think that's what I might do, apply to med school, then if I don't get in then test to become a registered nurse.</p>

38

<p>What can someone do if their undergraduate grades do not qualify for med school at all? say... the GPA is a 2-point-something due to reckless decisions, but this person has no doubt and truly aspires to become a doctor from this point on. Is there an option of retaking classes at a community college and redeeming themself? Will they ever have the chance of becoming a doctor???</p>

39

<p>some great ways to get a stable , meaningful and financially rewarding job are to try the RN to CRNA route or the masters degree in anesthesiologist assistant degree offered at case western/emory/univ of savannah. i think they are opening schools in fla and missouri also. there is a huge demand for anesthetists and you get great pay right off the bat.</p>

40

<p>look into law school. Law school is much easier to get into than med school. Also the LSAt is easier than the MCAT.</p>