Hi !!
I’ve been a lurker on this forum for ages, but I really had to get this post out so I just registered.
I need some sound advice…I am so confused right now, and do not think I am capable of analyzing the situation any further.
Here it is:
I’m 36 years old.
I have a MS in Computer Science, MBA in Marketing.
My current job is a stable one that nets me a decent income However, I am unhappy in doing what I do.
Hence my desire to explore medicine.
I have registered for the April MCAT.
I have taken BIO 1, ORG 1 and CHEM 1,2 from a quarter-based state school. Which means I have 2 courses left in each of the areas. I am hoping to waive out of Physics and English. GPA for the 3 courses I took was 4.0.
I have a little volunteering, and I have lined up 3 LORs.
However, I have been unable to motivate myself to study for the MCAT. I might have burnt out a little early since I started in November 2003.
Can anyone advise me if I stand a chance applying this year for Fall 2005. Are my lack of prereqs gonna kill me?
Thanks for your patience
While you might be one of those fortunate people for whom things go well even when they’re not well-scripted, the course you are pursuing is hardly the one that is most likely to gain you success.
You sound like you are really not sure this is what you should be doing, which would certainly explain why your heart hasn’t been in MCAT studying. Think about it: if you are absolutely, positively, 100% certain that this is the right step, don’t you want to do everything possible to maximize your chances of getting an interview and getting in? In this instance, to maximize your chances you would take the additional year to complete your prereqs, make SURE you’re OK with physics, do additional volunteering so that you can speak enthusiastically about your goals.
On the other hand, if you’re really not sure this is what you want to do, you submit an application that isn’t as strong as it would be in another year, you miss out on some interviews, and you come across as tentative in other interviews - in which case, you’re not going to get in.
This is harsh and I may come back later and re-write it if I can (gotta run right now) but my first impression from what you’ve written is that you have not sold yourself on this mission. If you haven’t sold YOURSELF on it, it is going to be damn hard to convince anyone else.
Quote:
While you might be one of those fortunate people for whom things go well even when they’re not well-scripted, the course you are pursuing is hardly the one that is most likely to gain you success.
You sound like you are really not sure this is what you should be doing, which would certainly explain why your heart hasn’t been in MCAT studying. Think about it: if you are absolutely, positively, 100% certain that this is the right step, don’t you want to do everything possible to maximize your chances of getting an interview and getting in? In this instance, to maximize your chances you would take the additional year to complete your prereqs, make SURE you’re OK with physics, do additional volunteering so that you can speak enthusiastically about your goals.
On the other hand, if you’re really not sure this is what you want to do, you submit an application that isn’t as strong as it would be in another year, you miss out on some interviews, and you come across as tentative in other interviews - in which case, you’re not going to get in.
This is harsh and I may come back later and re-write it if I can (gotta run right now) but my first impression from what you’ve written is that you have not sold yourself on this mission. If you haven’t sold YOURSELF on it, it is going to be damn hard to convince anyone else.
I agree with Mary. Gaining admittance to medical school is a tough long road. Your heart has to be there 100%. What every medical school wants to know is “what do you have to offer them.” It’s no different than applying for a job. If you come into the interview with a half interested, this will show. They will simply look for someone who has more interest and can bring to the company an add value.
This is said not discourage you, it said that you may take a step back and really take into consideration what you’re getting yourself into. Try to gain more experience in the medical field. I would have never taught about medicine if I did not work as a medical assistant for 2yrs. I was able to work with PA’s, Nures practioners, and Doctors. I was able to see first hand what each healthcare worker did on a day by day basis and knew from there that I wanted to be a doctor. So I left work and headed back to school.
For me, I have a more serious issue which kept me awake at night and in fear. 5yrs later, I was accepted to a International Medical. I’m in my Junior year in undergraduate work and graduate next May. I start medical school that summer.
My whole point in telling you this is to show you that it takes determination and dedication to reach your dreams. You don’t want to go through all it takes to get into a medical school only to graduate and learn that you don’t want to be a doctor.
The school I have been accepted to is not the best of medical schools. In fact it’s a new and growing medical school. I still have debates with myself if I should decline my acceptance to stand a chance in a US medical school. However, given my past and my chances of getting into a US medical school, I don’t wont to go through all the trouble that I read about on these forum of getting into a medical school.
Thus, make sure this is truely what you want because it’s not going to be an easy road.
Sorry but I agree with the previous posts. Just becuase you don’t like what you do now and you might like to be a Doctor isn’t a good reason to study medicine. Being a Doctor is intense. It’s very demanding work and you have to be dedicated or in a few years you will be looking to do something else.
Just my 2 cents.
well… wait a minute. I didn’t mean to imply that Jughead isn’t committed to this and I wouldn’t want us to all start piling on, questioning his/her motivation. 
I don’t know enough about the OP to speculate on that. I just know that it SOUNDS like you’re still not totally sure… but it may be that I was getting the wrong impression.
I will say, whether you’re 100% sold on becoming a doctor, or whether you’re still kind of trying on the idea, my original comments on your application strategy still hold.
So if you will forgive our enthusiastic response to your very first post, and come back to tell us more about yourself and how you’ve come to be considering medicine, we’ll have comments born of more than mere speculation.
If it’s not too late for me to say so - Welcome to OPM!