Hi! I'm New :)

Hi, everyone. My name is Desiree and I am 26 years old. I’m married, I have a two year old daughter, and I graduated in 2005 from Florida International University with a BA in Environmental Studies and a minor in Geology. In retrospect, I should have just gone for the degree I really wanted to get, which is Biology/Pre-Med. The reason I did not choose Biology and I went with Environmental Studies was because of my fear of math and the natural sciences at my university. Almost half the people who take biology, chemistry, even college algebra at FIU fail the courses the first time around. I just didn’t want a bad transcript. So with my love in the sciences, I went for a sort of “pseudo-science” degree, where I wouldn’t be required to take the hardcore sciences, but I would take other science courses designed to be a little easier. Now, with a daughter and husband, it’s so difficult to remain focused but I have decided to enter a Post-Bacc Pre-Med Certificate program that prepares non-science graduates to meet the criteria for medical programs and prepares students for the MCAT. I am not going to apply to medschool but I’m applying to a Physicians Assistant Program that requires much of the same courses that medschools require. Anyway, I’m looking forward to reading your stories and meeting others that understand my situation.

Welcome to OPM! I wish you success in getting over your fear (?) of math and sciences. Sounds like you’re motivated and ready to go .


You may not need to do any formal certificate program. In doing a post-bacc aiming for med school, I just took classes I wanted/needed at UCF, which was much more accessible and less expensive than a formal program.


Good luck!


Edit: Nice avatar pic, btw

Hi there!


If it makes you feel better I was TERRIFIED of the math which meant I was freaking out over chemistry. I won’t lie. It was hard, but with alot of work and a lot of questions and many hours logged with the on campus tutors, I garnered a B in that math class that was so scarey (complete with kids that started getting sick in September and STILL are sick), and I had many stressful moments in chemistry, BUT again, with diligence it finally starting making sense. So much so that chem has become a favorite subject and I’m contemplating switching to a bio chem major if I don’t get into med school right away. You can do it. It might not be easy, but it is doable.