Can I make it in med school?

[jsmith1]

I am a recent college grad currently working in consulting during my gap year. I am looking for advice from current med students on my ability to get through med school. I have a 3.6sci gpa (3.7ish overall gpa) and a 30 MCAT (8PS/11VR/11BS). I have been told that I have a good shot at getting in, hopefully here on the west coast, as long as I apply broadly and include DO schools.

My main concern now is my ability to be able to get through med school. TBH I suck at gen chem and physics which were my toughest classes in uni. This carried over to my MCAT which is pretty unbalanced. I dedicated 3 months to the MCAT. It was not very stressful studying because I had no other obligations but I still put in about 7 hours a day to only receive a 30. Life in UG consisted of pretty much studying 90% of the time I was not in class even on the weekends. During my toughest semester (soph. year) I pretty much skipped class and just studied all day/every day. I ended up with nearly straight A's that semester but I know that that course load pales in comparison to med school. Can a person like me succeed in medical school? The vast majority of my peers that have 3.7+ gpas and strong MCATs certainly studied far less than I did in UG.

I genuinely believe that medicine is a great career but it undoubtedly requires a certain level of aptitude that I may not posses. Any advice? Thankyou..

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[dadaddadaBATMAN]

I don't know if any of us can answer this, it depends on a lot of things. Whether you were being efficient in undergrad, whether you were doing a bunch of extracurriculars, drinking, having personal problems, on meds, etc.

But if you can get a 30 on the MCAT I'd guess that you stand a good chance in Med. school with hard work. The PS stuff doesn't come up too often, and they expect people to be bad at it so they make it easy.

There's also a good chance a moderator is going to close this thread, because I think you may have placed it in the wrong spot.
Good luck with whatever you do!

 

[Brain Bucket]

Wrong subforum.

My 2c - Medical school has little to do with your 'aptitude' and more to do with will. You have to have the drive to keep at it no matter how **** your life is. If you can soldier on without giving up, you'll be fine.

 

[Trannie]

Wrong subforum.

My 2c - Medical school has little to do with your 'aptitude' and more to do with will. You have to have the drive to keep at it no matter how **** your life is. If you can soldier on without giving up, you'll be fine.

Exactly. Stay determined!! You don't need to be an Einstein. Work hard and you'll make it!

 

[Donald Juan]

The only questions you need to ask yourself is:

1) Can I get in? and you can with your scores, and if you can get in there is about a 99% chance you'll finish; and if you are one of the people who doesn't finish it likely won't be because you couldn't, but because you didn't want to.

2) Do I want to get in/be a doctor?

Also, this belongs in the pre-med forum.

 

[Smurfette]

moving to pre allo.

 

[Wasted Energy]

I genuinely believe that medicine is a great career but it undoubtedly requires a certain level of aptitude that I may not posses. Any advice? Thankyou..

There is an entire group of people at every med school whose job it is to answer this question. They won't let you in if they don't think you'll make it through.

Also, your MCAT score, regardless of how much studying it required, suggests that you'll be just fine

 

[jsmith1]

There is an entire group of people at every med school whose job it is to answer this question. They won't let you in if they don't think you'll make it through.

Also, your MCAT score, regardless of how much studying it required, suggests that you'll be just fine

Sorry for wrong subforum. This is definitely great to hear. I guess I just gotta apply and see how things go.

 

[Goro]

You are the only person who can answer this question.

On paper, you numbers suggest that you can.

I am a recent college grad currently working in consulting during my gap year. I am looking for advice from current med students on my ability to get through med school. I have a 3.6sci gpa (3.7ish overall gpa) and a 30 MCAT (8PS/11VR/11BS). I have been told that I have a good shot at getting in, hopefully here on the west coast, as long as I apply broadly and include DO schools.

My main concern now is my ability to be able to get through med school. TBH I suck at gen chem and physics which were my toughest classes in uni. This carried over to my MCAT which is pretty unbalanced. I dedicated 3 months to the MCAT. It was not very stressful studying because I had no other obligations but I still put in about 7 hours a day to only receive a 30. Life in UG consisted of pretty much studying 90% of the time I was not in class even on the weekends. During my toughest semester (soph. year) I pretty much skipped class and just studied all day/every day. I ended up with nearly straight A's that semester but I know that that course load pales in comparison to med school. Can a person like me succeed in medical school? The vast majority of my peers that have 3.7+ gpas and strong MCATs certainly studied far less than I did in UG.

I genuinely believe that medicine is a great career but it undoubtedly requires a certain level of aptitude that I may not posses. Any advice? Thankyou..

 

[Zach Morris]

The other thing you have going for you, it seems, is a great work ethic. Even though you had to study more than others to get the same or lesser grades/scores, you still didn't get discouraged and give up. If you can get the same marks as those getting into/through medical school, does it really matter how much how much effort you put in? And if you are willing to work harder than your peers in school, then shouldn't that translate into success in life after school (i.e. willing to work harder than your colleagues later on).

 

[AnonymousD.O.]

You're concentrating to much on stats. What matters more in my opinion than straight up GPA is:
- what was your major? If you really suck that bad at chem and physics, It doesn't matter if you had a 4.0 in college, you may struggle with the science.
- You can make it in med school if you want too. SO much if it is memorization and willingness to put in the dedication, routine and endurance to study. Physics for organs systems like cardiopulmonary is very important, but MCAT physics in relations to this is eh, weird. If you are aware that you aren't the best at physics, plan ahead to get some extra help in subjects that require it.
- bottom line if you are willing to work, with an MCAT of 30 you have what it takes most likely science wise, just put in the work. More of medical school is dedication, not what GPA you had in college

 

[BeastInfection]

First of all, you will never use what you learned in physics and chem again. Sure, it's nice to have a basic understanding of force/tension etc. when studying things like the cardiac cycle, but it's all basic and not even necessary. Your performance in bio/biochem is more relevant. The first two years of med school are really just rote memorization--essentially anyone can do it and do it well with enough time. This becomes close to a non-issue if you go to a "true" P/F school. It's really not much different from UG, if you consistently had a somewhat demanding schedule. The second two years are an entirely different world, and success will be based more on your interpersonal skills and ability to synthesize information and apply what you've learned throughout the year. I don't think anyone's performance in UG or the first two years are at all predictive. If you have solid interpersonal skills and work ethic (seems like you do), you'll be great.