New here and need some advice please.

I was really hoping someone who’s been in my shoes can lend me some direction. Along time ago I gave up a dream I had. Now I don’t know if I have the courage to take the next few steps. I have just registered at a C.C. for the physics w/o calculus. I plan to do both of those at a community college and then transfer to my local university for organic and bio. Is this a correct direction in which to proceed? I find right now I am a mix of excitement as well as fear. Has anyone felt this same way?

Welcome. Everyone here has or is feeling the same way as you are. Some of us are in the same position as you, some are in medical school, and even others are already out there practicing. Point is, everyone started from the same starting line and eventually we all end up at the same finish line.


The road ahead will be very difficult. There will be times that you wonder what has gotten into you and other times you cannot believe how far you have gone.


Your question about CC vs University has been brought up many many times. Rather than rehash everything that has been said I invite you to do a forum search and you will find the answer.


Chances are if you have a question, someone already asked it and several answers have been given. The forums are a very powerful tool, and use the search option.


Keep in mind that you are about to start a marathon and not a sprint. Sometimes it will seem like this will never end, but one day it will. Just ask Dave and Mary.


Again welcome. You are among kindred spirits.

Thank you for the reply and the advice. Sometimes all you need to hear is that everyone freaks out at some point in time. I will try the search.

  • Fall77 Said:
…Sometimes all you need to hear is that everyone freaks out at some point in time.



Can relate completely - what am I thinking, am I smart enough - to knowing this is what I must do.

I'm going to focus on one class, one semester at a time and eventually, my last name will have M.D. on it.

Baby steps...

I think I read it somewhere on one of these forums that you just focus on the one thing you are doing like “I have to study for this test because it’s this test means I will be a doctor”…like breaking it down into smaller parts…I tend to worry about the whole thing, but I’m finding when I focus on just the project at hand I can do a much better job at getting it done. I’m sure that’s not a verbatim quote but it’s the general idea.

Hi there. I’ve had similar battles in my head between fear and excitment. I’ve always known in a matter of fact way what my potential was, but always backed down as soon as I got close to seeing it realized. A few years ago I finally had enough, got mad, and decided to take on my fear by making an effort to recognize it and just plow through it. I’ve found that the best way to do this is to get the best grades possible. I treat every class and every test as if it is the most important thing I will ever do, I ask myself : what would I do if someone offered me a million dollors to get straight A’s this semester; and I do that. In the last two years I’ve gotten a 4.o and my fear is gone; it’s been replaced by a certainty that I really can do this. I know that when I’m sitting alone at a desk for hours and hours studying, what I’m really doing is being a doctor. Every doctor has had to study the exact same things, asked the same questions, and found the answers, and every future doctor will do the same. It is an inseperable part of the process.


So my advice to you is do the same. Get good grades and prove to yourself that it isn’t just some flaky dream. Actively kill your fear and replace it with confidence by achievement. Start off strong, and keep your momentum going, don’t get sidetracked or second guess yourself. You can start being a doctor now. This kind of attitude has helped me overcome my fear and ignore all the doubters around me.


I’m doing the CC to university route also. I’m banking on getting good grades in my upper level science classes and having a great MCAT. Hopefully this should prove to the addcom’s that I haven’t received an inadequate education and that my core science knowledge is sound. If they insist that the CC is inferior, then I have a great argument that I was able to overcome these obstacle’s. Of course, you can’t bank on someone else’s sensibility, so I would take as few CC classes as possible. In my case the CC is designed as a feeder school and my advisors assure me that it will be a minor concern, but it is a little discontenting.


I think most Med schools require calc. based physics - you might check.


Good Luck! No fear!

I am in the same position. I appreciate you posting your question. I am going the CC route as well. Speaking with a University Freshman, she told me her UW biology class has 700 students in the room. There is no personal attention. She feels as if she is having to teach herself the class. Whereas, my CC has 30-40 students and you can get those questions answered. I figure that I will take my first two years at the CC and feel confident in my grasp. Transfer to the University and take further science classes to prove that I “get it”. That I can understand and succeed at that level. Which is what Medical Schools want to see. My understanding is if you haven’t taken some sort of University science classes, that they could question your science learning. But, mixing them up between the two isn’t a problem if you do well at the University.


I constantly question my decision. Not the desire, but, knowing there is some level of madness there, as well. I have 3 babies under the age of two. I am about to start my first year of college at age 32. I want my children to know that whatever and whenever…they decide their future. Self-expression and being fulfilled are a beautiful way to be. Best of luck.


“Do or do not. There is no try.”-Yoda

While a CC may lose against an equal candidate from a “U”. It isn’t a deal breaker. There is a great equalizer called the MCAT. A great score will show that you are just as qualified, if not more. Address your life experinces and acknowledge the CC in your essays. Don’t hide from it, turn it into a strength. Make it a positive experience that shaped who you are and demonstrates your unwavering desire and committment to becoming a physician. Even discuss the strengths of attending a CC. Montgomery CCC in PA is actually known for out performing UPenn students in a study. They sent half the CC to UPenn Chem and an equal amount of UPenn to the CC. Guess what, the CC students had higher grades than the UPenn students at the end of the semester.


Good luck!


Michael