I am confused

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reluctantoptimism

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I do not know what I should do in order to apply to medical school in a timely manner. I'm studying chemistry, doing research, e.c.s, etc but I feel that it will take me too long to finish a chemistry b.s. In examining my schools curricula, it seems that if I switch to a biology major, I could finish more quickly but I don't know how this will be perceived. I'm at a point in my life where I ready for undergrad to be over so I can move to my more pressing goals and pursuing a chemistry degree appears to have been a misstep given my present goals.

In actuality, I just feel uncertain about everything right now. Whose to say that I will finish my degree will a good GPA (about 3.7 now) and,even after all my effort, be accepted to med school?

I just need some kind of advice

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Switch majors if you can do it without extending undergrad and have no intention of ever using a chemistry degree should you not gain admittance to medical school. No one cares why you switched majors, or when.
 
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Thanks Jack!

I was doing some unique chemistry research so I'll see an adviser next week and try to determine how pragmatic it would be to switch majors.

I know this is somewhat of a tangent, but I'd intended to apply next year and I qualify for FAP (i.e. I can apply to 15 schools for a reduced fee) and I don't even know how to begin determining where to apply (aside from using the MSAR). I'm a Florida resident so I was going to apply to all of my state schools (7) but that leaves me with 8 choices; anyone have any insight?

Once again, thank you Jack.
 
Graduating with a BS in Chemistry will give you no advantage whatsoever. A more "convenient" degree will be a better choice for you.

The list of OOS allopathic or osteopathic schools where you should apply will depend on your MCAT.
 
I intend to take the MCAT next year; I've taken about 6 practice exams and I'm averaging a 37 (I'd expect about a 35 on the actual exam).

Besides using raw data, how do you actually whittle down a potential list? From what I heard, California isn't very open to OOS applicants but this doesn't reduce the list a lot. I've though about things like curriculum, weather, environment, etc but I just don't know a good way to reduce choices.

I didn't really apply broadly when going to undergrad ( I could have but I took the most financially prudent option and I'm happy) so I'm not versed whatsoever in selecting potential schools.

Thanks guys!
 
I intend to take the MCAT next year; I've taken about 6 practice exams and I'm averaging a 37 (I'd expect about a 35 on the actual exam).

I hope you are taking it in January, or else studying for the new MCAT
 
Chemistry is a great degree, way cooler than biology, you should pursue whichever interests you more IMO.

Don't think that "using" a chemistry degree means working bench-side. Lab techs make very little and a true career in Chemistry is going to require a PhD (or at least MS). However, a chemistry major is a great asset in terms of rigorous physical science. It imparts a unique perspective and is very intellectually rewarding to some.
 
Yeah, I'm probably going to stick with chemistry because it will allow me to continue my research. In terms of choosing schools and seeing how you're a med student, how did you whittle down a list of schools to which you applied?

Thanks Entadus!
 
Yeah, I'm probably going to stick with chemistry because it will allow me to continue my research. In terms of choosing schools and seeing how you're a med student, how did you whittle down a list of schools to which you applied?

Thanks Entadus!
Why do you want to go to med school?
What kind of doctor do you want to be?
Do you want to work in the community in private practice (pick a more clinical, less research-focused school) or do academic medicine (a mix of administration, research, training, lecturing, clinical) (pick a research-heavy school, ie the top ranked schools in USNWR). Do you want to work with a specific population? Work in a particular specialty? Work overseas?
Do you learn best with lectures or discussions?
Do geography and weather and the built environment matter?
Answering those questions might help you pick schools that are a good fit for your future goals.

I think there are only 30-40 private schools to consider, once you eliminate the schools that prefer in-state residents or focus on a specific demographic.
 
I do not know what I should do in order to apply to medical school in a timely manner. I'm studying chemistry, doing research, e.c.s, etc but I feel that it will take me too long to finish a chemistry b.s. In examining my schools curricula, it seems that if I switch to a biology major, I could finish more quickly but I don't know how this will be perceived. I'm at a point in my life where I ready for undergrad to be over so I can move to my more pressing goals and pursuing a chemistry degree appears to have been a misstep given my present goals.

In actuality, I just feel uncertain about everything right now. Whose to say that I will finish my degree will a good GPA (about 3.7 now) and,even after all my effort, be accepted to med school?

I just need some kind of advice
Others have addressed the major switch, the school choices issues quite adequately. I just would like to say, uncertainty will always be there, regardless if you choose to apply to medical school or not. Uncertainty can be a blessing disguised in the form of stress. Being able to take upon new challenges and moves ahead with rational and strong beliefs, despite uncertainties, is probably one of the most valuable character to cultivate and it was shown by some random studies (forget where I saw it) to be one of the defining character traits of successful people.

If you feel uncertain about medical career as a choice, then do more shadowing, more medical related activities. You might find your passion for medicine either strengthens or dies, either way it would be fine. If you indeed have a passion for medicine and you shows that through your EC, your PS and your LOR, You should have no problem getting into A medical school. If not MD, you can always do DO.
 
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I'm interested in medicine (I've done shadowing and volunteering to explore my interest). My initial post spoke to my uncertainty which seems prevalent throughout the whole application process. I can say that I'm no stranger to adversity and the necessity to adapt but I was asking more about being sure in your application decisions (i.e. school choice, timing etc).

I feel that if I'm going to apply soon, I should try to cultivate application decisions soundly before I apply because, as we all know, the process is roller-coaster. In other words, considering how hectic the process is, I think that starting off on a good foot might alleviate the sense of mystery.

Know that I think of it, can anyone whose been through the process answer this question: Did carefully construction your application and planning alleviate some of the inherent mystery/stress/blindness of the process?

Thanks for all the help guys!:=|:-):
 
Know that I think of it, can anyone whose been through the process answer this question: Did carefully construction your application and planning alleviate some of the inherent mystery/stress/blindness of the process?
Maybe a little.
 
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Did carefully construction your application and planning alleviate some of the inherent mystery/stress/blindness of the process?

Depends on your personality.
Look through the school-specific forums - there are tons of people who pre-wrote secondary essays and were complete by August who still seemed super anxious about the waiting period.
 
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Depends on your personality.
Look through the school-specific forums - there are tons of people who pre-wrote secondary essays and were complete by August who still seemed super anxious about the waiting period.

I tend not to be super anxious so I'll just submit everything and lounge on the beach:cool:.

Thanks guys!
 
Know that I think of it, can anyone whose been through the process answer this question: Did carefully construction your application and planning alleviate some of the inherent mystery/stress/blindness of the process?

You've gotten some good replies already, and I'm not exactly finished with the process, but I can still provide some input... I would consider myself quite neurotic (in a friendly way, not a gunnerish way!), and many of my professors have referred to me as having a type AAA personality. I love planning and scheduling and organizing. Being careful and thoughtful and organized and prepared for the application cycle helped IMMENSELY. Here is what I did:

- Prewrote my work and activities section essays
- Calculated all of the hours I spent and recorded start and end times
- Emailed all of my activity contacts and asked if they agreed with the number of hours I was putting down, in case any of my schools called them or anything
- Selected my schools and researched them fairly thoroughly
- Prewrote my PS
- Prewrote my secondaries and created separate documents for each school
- Got my letters of rec into Interfolio by May 15th
- Made spreadsheets with important school information
- Made a Master Plan document where I listed all of the things I had to get done and secondaries I needed to write/submit, and crossed each item off as I completed it
- Started an MDApps, which I have kept updated on a very regular basis

And I am beyond, beyond, beyond glad that I did all of those things.

For example, with secondaries? I would get 1-5 secondaries on a given day, and knowing that I already had a Word document with my essays carefully crafted and edited ready to go was amazing. I just filled out the name, birthday, etc. section on each one, plopped in my pre-written essays, and submitted without any additional stressing involved. Sure, the writing period in May and June was a bit tedious, but having all of that extra time to prepare was really great. I got good feedback, was able to take my time, and ended up happy without a rushed final product.

Sure, this cycle has still been stressful and anxiety-provoking. But I never had to scramble, I didn't lose track of any essays or secondaries, I didn't miss any deadlines (in fact, I submitted every single secondary within 24 hours except for one which took me closer to 72 hours)... And that has really made me feel more in control of what can sometimes feel like a blind rollercoaster. Any semblance of order you can make is helpful, or at least it was to me.

Good luck :) Around this time last year was when I started writing my PS and crafting my school list. Although I ended up completely rewriting my PS, redoing my school list, and even rewriting all of my activity descriptions... I'm glad I put in effort ahead of time so that I knew what I was doing upon revisions instead of writing everything only once and being unhappy but being forced to submit it because I had no more time. Hope that helps a little!

Edit: I should add that a lot of people do not put in nearly this amount of planning and they end up doing just fine or better than me. This is just how I preferred to do things, because it made me feel less helpless in the whirlwind of the application process :)
 
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Here is what I did:

- Prewrote my work and activities section essays
- Calculated all of the hours I spent and recorded start and end times
- Emailed all of my activity contacts and asked if they agreed with the number of hours I was putting down, in case any of my schools called them or anything
- Selected my schools and researched them fairly thoroughly
- Prewrote my PS
- Prewrote my secondaries and created separate documents for each school
- Got my letters of rec into Interfolio by May 15th
- Made spreadsheets with important school information
- Made a Master Plan document where I listed all of the things I had to get done and secondaries I needed to write/submit, and crossed each item off as I completed it
- Started an MDApps, which I have kept updated on a very regular basis
OP, this is the way to do it!
 
Sunflower, thank you for your thoughtful and thorough response!
 
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It imparts a unique perspective and is very intellectually rewarding to some.
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