Not smart enough to be a doctor?

[desigirl101]

Okay, I assure you this is NOT a pity party, I'm not moping or bummed out or wanting reassurance from strangers, I just want the truth.
I'm a smart kid, I work hard, I put in the time, but for some reason, I can't do well on tests. Its not that I don't understand the material, for one of my upper level bio classes the previous semester, I was teaching my roommate the material because I knew the information so well and she didn't. And yet, when exam time came around, she did better than me. Its been a failing of mine and I've been working on it for years, but my sophomore year of college just concluded and I just got my third C in genetics. The other two were in Ochem and gen chem 2. But I've only got one A in a science class, most of my other science class grades are B's to B+s. My science gpa is a 2.97, my regular gpa is a 3.345, I've had a year of research and a decent amount of volunteering, have yet to take the MCATs and I'm not a part of any minority that matters. My grades the second semester of freshman year and the first semester of sophomore year were the particularly low ones, and that was because of the severe financial strain my family was under, it affected all of us, but of course, I'm not using that as a reason or an excuse, my grades are my grades, regardless of whats going on around me. But even this semester, I worked so hard, our financial situations are in control and I still got a C+.
So please, be completely honest, tell me if med school is a viable option or not? I don't think it is anymore and I've tried speaking to my parents about it but they're still convinced that I can get in, that somewhere out there, some med school will accept me. I just don't want them to waste their money. I love medicine, I do, I love the classes I take even if I'm not in the top of the class, but since grades are an indication of your aptitude for med school and your grades are made up of mostly test scores, and I just seem to be a bad test taker, I don't know if this is an option for me anymore. And is there something else I can turn to? I still love the health care field, perhaps optometry or DO or something?
Thanks for your help

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[Meihua]

Can you identify why you struggle with science classes? Have you taken advantage of academic support systems (e.g. tutoring)? If you can improve your GPA over the next two years and do well on your MCAT, med school isn't out of the running. If you can retake some of the classes which you got C's in the first time around and get A's, grade replacement will help you towards DO.

If you have completed all the prerequisites, I would try to take a couple of practice MCATs this summer, just to get an idea of where you might be scoring.

(Relevant: MCAT/GPA grid)

However, keep in mind that even if you get into medical school, the tests don't end - sure, lots of schools have pass/fail preclinical years, but you still have to pass your board exams, and your graded clinical years include shelf exams. If you're a poor test-taker, you could end up either not passing the board exams or not finding a residency position. Getting into medical school isn't the goal, practicing medicine is.

There are lots of allied health professions that you could explore. Figure out what parts of medicine interest you most and look into the allied health fields that overlap with those areas of interest.

Good for you for being realistic about your options.

 

[deleted314957]

honestly---medicine is not for you if you are a bad test taker. . you face the MCAT, bunches of tests in med school, USMLE steps 1,2 and 3 and then specialty and subspecialty boards and then recert boards. it is a life of difficult exams.

 

[desigirl101]

It really seems to be the test taking thats an issue, and just in my science classes, I can't seem to adjust ot my professors testing styles. I've been to tutoring and office hours, but I don't know if I could ask them for help on how to take their tests. I wish I just had a series of practice tests for each professor that I could use to get used to how they test me. And I'm retaking ochem in the fall. I didn't expect the C+ in genetics, is it worth it to retake that too?
Are there any ways you know of to improve test taking skills? I do decently well on standardized tests because I have thousands of books providing me with practice exams, and once I've take enough of those, I understand the testing style and I do better. But in a class with only 3 exams and only 3 practice exams, I can't seem to get a hang of the testing style before its too late. For example, I took human phys this semester and when I started off, I was doing terribly. By the end of the semester, I bumped up my test grades by 20%!! but there are only 3 tests in the class, so even though I improved so much, my earlier grades still hurt me. Every professor I have tests me in different styles, and I just don't know how to prepare for that, any suggestions?
And thank you for your help.

 

[DokterMom]

It really seems to be the test taking thats an issue, and just in my science classes, I can't seem to adjust ot my professors testing styles. I've been to tutoring and office hours, but I don't know if I could ask them for help on how to take their tests. I wish I just had a series of practice tests for each professor that I could use to get used to how they test me.

I don't see why you couldn't try it -- Ask to talk to your prof. Explain that you really, really, really want to become a Dr. and that you understand the material forwards and backwards, but that your test-taking skills are killing you., and ask if s/he would be willing to help you. It might not work, but then again, it might. Especially if you ask the professor to ask you a question verbally to assess your knowledge before showing you a written question to try to answer.

There are certain common reasons why people do poorly on tests, despite understanding the material. Test anxiety. Over-analyzing the question. Poor reading comprehension - so just misunderstanding the question. For essay questions, sometimes they just hand out points for semi-relevant info., even if it's not directly part of the answer -- so sometimes just answering the specific question can backfire and writing *more* can help. In other words, see if you can figure out *why* you're missing the questions that you're missing. Since your professors are probably still around, ask them -- (Positive tone -- no 'change my grade' whines...)

Are you Greek? Lots of fraternities and sororities keep files of old tests you could use as study guides.

 

[TrustMeImA]

Have you tried to identify what it is that you struggle with? Are you trying different things when you study? There was a girl in my class who struggled with her exams, but continued to study the same way every single time. If you are a visual learner, start printing your notes in color and take notes in color. If you are a verbal learner, record the lectures. You can't expect different scores if you continue with the same approach every time. This is just a guess, but I'm assuming that you "knew the material" as in you memorized all that there was to memorize? Many times, that will only get a student a B. You need to be able to understand it conceptually as well. On top of knowing the material on a conceptual level, you need to be able to adjust to the teacher's style. This can be done by going into office hours and get inside the teacher's head and thought process.

I think that you still have a chance at medical school, but only once you are able to identify YOUR most efficient way of studying. My close friend had a gpa of 1.8, took 7 years off to mature and learn more about himself, then came back and aced every single class for 4 years. He is now in medical school. DO school is probably your most viable option right now, but only if you do very well on your MCAT and figure out how to finish the rest of your degree with good grades.

 

[aznsk91]

I understand where your coming from, every professor has a different type of testing style. You have to adjust quickly to how your professor makes his or her tests and understand the professors thought process. After the first midterm you should take to your professor about your exam, explain your problem then go through questions that seemed ambiguous to you and explain how you thought how the question, then get the professors feedback. This might be the best way to understand his the professor thinks so you can have a better idea of how to approach each question.

 

[desigirl101]

So you guys still think I have a chance?
And yeah, I mean most of my science professors are very strict and demanding but I can try talking to them about how to take their tests. I don't think I memorize, I mean, I work hard to try and understand the concepts as well, I usually make flash cards, retyping my notes helps me remember, but maybe I should be trying a different approach? I'm not greek, but I am part of an organization that hangs on to old tests, I recently joined so it never occurred to me to use that resource, but I'll look into it. And I've been considering taking a year off after school for some time now, but now I'm thinking maybe I should stay in school another year, as a super senior I guess? and just take science classes to bump up my sgpa? But that will only work if I'm actually doing well in science classes, otherwise it'll be another two semesters of B's and then I'll be out another 80 grand with no improvement to my gpa. And I've considered being a DO but I'm confused? they seem to do exactly what MD's do but, for some reason no one I know wants to do it? and I don't entirely understand why, aren't they doing essentially the same thing?
Thanks for your help guys

 

[dietitiantodoc]

80 grand?! Can you transfer to a state school? Not trying to be a debbie downer, but if your tuition is even 40 grand a year...

4 years x 40 grand = 160k....+
4 years med school x 20-50k = 80-200k...

= total debt of 240k-360k....and a lot of times I've heard of friends who have "max-ed out" their federal loans and are unable to finish med school. EEK. I might try to transfer to a states school or community college, really focus on your study skills and what you need to succeed, focus on ECs, and not kill yourself with loans! I am a newbie to the whole med school process but that's just my .02.

 

[tennischamp822]

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[pepes1lv1a]

Hey desigirl, you sound really pessimistic about your test-taking abilities, but I think they can improve. I have a 2.97 sGPA but managed a 34 on the MCAT because I took the Kaplan course, studied my ass off, and (most importantly) subscribed to ALL of their strategies. As an undergraduate it didn't seem to register with me that reading the textbook over and over wasn't the right way to prepare for tests. My MCAT prep taught me that you have to anticipate what the professor wants on the exam and focus your energy on preparing for that, rather than memorizing a bunch of textbook concepts and definitions. Not sure how much this applies to you but hopefully it helps some.

 

[Beargryllz]

honestly---medicine is not for you if you are a bad test taker. . you face the MCAT, bunches of tests in med school, USMLE steps 1,2 and 3 and then specialty and subspecialty boards and then recert boards. it is a life of difficult exams.

This is silly. For every hour you spend test-taking, you spend 10,000 hours doing not-test-taking.

 

[desigirl101]

80 grand?! Can you transfer to a state school? Not trying to be a debbie downer, but if your tuition is even 40 grand a year...

4 years x 40 grand = 160k....+
4 years med school x 20-50k = 80-200k...

= total debt of 240k-360k....and a lot of times I've heard of friends who have "max-ed out" their federal loans and are unable to finish med school. EEK. I might try to transfer to a states school or community college, really focus on your study skills and what you need to succeed, focus on ECs, and not kill yourself with loans! I am a newbie to the whole med school process but that's just my .02.

I don't think I can take classes at a local college, I wish I could but my school states that classes that relate to your major, you have to take in the school itself. My only other option would be to graduate and then do a post-bacc but I thought that would be a longer and more strenuous option because I'd have to apply to places all over again?
And I've considered taking the GRE and prepping for other options as well, its not like I'm so stuck on being a doctor that I'll pursue it pigheadedly until I'm bankrupt, I just really don't want to give up on this if I still have a chance.
And I kind of am pessimistic about my test taking skills. I don't know why but my issue with test taking is that I over think things. I'm pretty good at anticipating what kind of questions the professor will ask, but for some reason, I seem to get tripped up on little things in the question and then make just stupid stupid stupid mistakes. I just don't know how to ...not over think? I don't know if that makes sense...

 

[coffeesnob]

I don't think I can take classes at a local college, I wish I could but my school states that classes that relate to your major, you have to take in the school itself. My only other option would be to graduate and then do a post-bacc but I thought that would be a longer and more strenuous option because I'd have to apply to places all over again?
And I've considered taking the GRE and prepping for other options as well, its not like I'm so stuck on being a doctor that I'll pursue it pigheadedly until I'm bankrupt, I just really don't want to give up on this if I still have a chance.
And I kind of am pessimistic about my test taking skills. I don't know why but my issue with test taking is that I over think things. I'm pretty good at anticipating what kind of questions the professor will ask, but for some reason, I seem to get tripped up on little things in the question and then make just stupid stupid stupid mistakes. I just don't know how to ...not over think? I don't know if that makes sense...

Have you seen a learning disability specialist? Why don't you find out if you have an underlying condition that leads to poor test-taking skills? It could be a range of things -- anxiety disorder, ADHD, dyslexia...

And, how do you know if you actually understand the concepts? Are you able to do practice problems (in a non-testing environment) well? When you get your tests back, do you go over the questions you get wrong? Do you understand why you got the questions wrong? Is it another "stupid mistake" or "lack of understanding of the topic"?

 

[desigirl101]

I don't think I have any learning disabilities since this only seems to be an issue for certain classes. I do tend to get very nervous before exams though, and sometimes its difficult for me to focus on studying, but thats mostly thanks to netflix and the internet, haha. But I've been working on that a lot. I can't avoid working on the computer since most of my assignments are on the computer but I push myself to focus and I've been getting better at it. I usually understand concepts, if I don't, I go to office hours. Sometimes I can't do practice problems unless I see the process on an example problem. And that is kind of an issue for me on tests. I'll go over all these practice problems but then the exam is something entirely different, however the same concepts are applied and I seem to struggle with applying the concepts in this completely new situation. Does that seem like an inability to understand concepts? I'm not sure... I also go over most of my tests but sometimes I just stuff my test in my bag and I try to forget about it. Another bad habit, I know, I'm working on that too, its just, when I see a bad test grade, I get so bummed, I don't want to see it ever again. But again, I'm working on it, this past semester, I've even made a point to go to my TA's office hours and go over the questions I got wrong so I could understand why, no matter how crappy my grade on the exam was.

 

[AznSeal]

Old test. Use them. People who do well in college use old tests lol.

 

[desigirl101]

What if the professor doesn't provide old exams? or only gives you one? I know some frats and sororities have test banks and a club I've recently joined is building its own test bank but its pretty new, which means they don't have tests for a lot of professors

 

[UniBoy4]

Here is my suggestion to you. When you're studying, act like you're doing a test. In fact, make your own questions and time yourself. Do the same thing with old tests you have access to. You'll eventually get used to having to answer questions under pressure (and maybe you'll calm down as a result). This is all I can offer you. If you really can't improve your ability to take tests, then yes, you may have to consider a different career.

 

[huskydock]

This is silly. For every hour you spend test-taking, you spend 10,000 hours doing not-test-taking.

Unfortunately, it's that hour of test-taking that determines your direction. 10,000 hours of studying means nothing if it doesn't yield a passing grade or competitive score.