My boyfriend and I plan on applying to medical school together after we take a year of remedial courses and our MCATS. How difficult is that to do? Does it help if you are married? We don’t want to be separated.
I don’t think that’s about if it’s easier to be married or not. You should get merried when you think you’re ready for it, not because it’s going to be easier getting through medical school as a married couple. I don’t even know how to answer your question…I’m not in and my husband doesn’t even consider a medical career. But he’s very supportive for me, and I know that I might have given up if it weren’t for his constant encouragement. No matter what you decide, you have to be able to support each other emotianally, spiritually and in every other aspect through this process.
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… [get married] when you think you’re ready for it, not because it’s going to be easier getting through medical school as a married couple.
I totally agree with Madkasia on this: marry when you are ready. But, married or not, it’s the fact that the two of you don’t want to be separated that will limit your options on schools. You might have the same GPA, same MCAT, similar backgrounds but that’s no guarantee that you will get into the same schools.
Since you are in the remedial coursework stage, focus on your relationship and your academics. As hard as it will be, focus less on what lies ahead in terms of med school acceptances. Most of the people on this site will tell you that the good grades and high test scores will give the two of you the greatest options later, so focus on studies and each other now.
When it comes time to send out applications, your relationship will have grown in one way or another and you might see your options from a different perspective. For example, I have two friends who, when they applied to PhD programs, applied to the same schools plus different schools within a reasonable radius of each other. They didn’t get into the same school but got accepted into separate schools that were just under 2 hours apart. To be fair on ‘who drives,’ they alternated years where they lived – first two in Gainesville FL and the next two in Tampa, this allowed them the shared commuter burden. In this area alone (Raleigh, NC) there are four medical school within a reasonable drive distance between them.
I apologize if my post sounds too ‘this is what you should do’ (most of my posts sound that way). I think it’s the teacher in me…or the mother…or the control freak … or …
Anyway, good luck and best wishes for the two of you as you pursue your dreams!
anita
Thanks so much for your advice. I was not implying that I would get married simply in order to get into medical school. That’s absolutely preposterous. It is something we already have planned for the future and both want to do; its just a matter of deciding when the best time is given our med school plans. AnitaGC: I appreciate the straightforward “this is what you should do” advice – its exactly the sort of advice I needed. You bring up some excellent points.
I would echo the advice of not worrying about the logistics too much at this point. I spent most of last year worrying about what my fiance and I would do while I was in medical school. He’s active duty in the Air Force and can usually only stay in the same state for 3-4 years at a time. Just long enough for me to get halfway through med school and then he’d have to move. But now it’s looking like he’ll probably be able to stay here until I finish med school. So, you never know how things will work out when it’s that far away. Just put yourselves in the best situation possible grade wise and MCAT wise and then don’t worry about it. Good luck!
Gina