She wants to be a DR!

[dial1010usa]

I'm not sure if I'm posting at the right place but my daughter wants tobe a doctor but she is not doing great in school. I tried to convince her to change her major, maybe this is not for her as study will get harder and harder in med school if she get accepted.
She will be senior in this fall but her gpa is little bit above 3.0 and she said she will get straight A's in the next year, lets see.

Am I the only one who is worried or there are other parents who feel the same?
I know this thread is for students not parents. My daughter and I share the same login.
Any suggestion?
Thanks!

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[cheapgenie]

If she truly wants to be a doctor, she will pull out enough motivation to study her ass off and get straight A's next year. The concepts in biology are intuitive and does not require an IQ of 140. Undergraduate studies is about rote memorization/understanding the material. Anybody can get straight A's, it's simply a matter of dedication, motivation, and hard work.

If she can talk the talk, then she should walk the....you get my point.

 

[GUH]

I'm not sure if I'm posting at the right place but my daughter wants tobe a doctor but she is not doing great in school. I tried to convince her to change her major, maybe this is not for her as study will get harder and harder in med school if she get accepted.
She will be senior in this fall but her gpa is little bit above 3.0 and she said she will get straight A's in the next year, lets see.

Am I the only one who is worried or there are other parents who feel the same?
I know this thread is for students not parents. My daughter and I share the same login.
Any suggestion?
Thanks!

My science GPA when I finished undergrad was in the 2.7's. It took a couple years of very good grades in grad school and a retake of Organic Chemistry but I got into DO schools eventually.

So it's probably doable but unlikely to be fixed in single year.

 

[Starry]

I'm not sure if I'm posting at the right place but my daughter wants tobe a doctor but she is not doing great in school. I tried to convince her to change her major, maybe this is not for her as study will get harder and harder in med school if she get accepted.
She will be senior in this fall but her gpa is little bit above 3.0 and she said she will get straight A's in the next year, lets see.

Am I the only one who is worried or there are other parents who feel the same?
I know this thread is for students not parents. My daughter and I share the same login.
Any suggestion?
Thanks!

I'm grateful that my parents have been supportive of my goals so far. However, there have been times that they have questioned my ability to do well.

I think the only advice I can give is not to say things like, "You aren't smart enough," or "You can't do it, I don't even know why you try." That attitude really hurts. However, don't be all cheery and unrealistic either. Lay out the facts for her to keep her grounded, but don't be a downie.

I'm sure there are plenty of parents who also feel worried (mine included!) Be sure to talk to her about Plan B's. Good luck to you and your daughter!

 

[physguy]

If she truly wants to be a doctor, she will pull out enough motivation to study her ass off and get straight A's next year. The concepts in biology are intuitive and does not require an IQ of 140. Undergraduate studies is about rote memorization/understanding the material. Anybody can get straight A's, it's simply a matter of dedication, motivation, and hard work.

If she can talk the talk, then she should walk the....you get my point.

Whole process is kind of silly IMO. Someone screws around a bit freshman year and hurts their GPA BC they don't know they wanna go to med school. then they are seriously disadvantaged because they best they can get the rest of the time is a 4.0. Grade inflation has shafted premed hopefuls who weren't super ambitious at 19 (god forbid). That being said, with a 3.0 she's not in that much trouble. With good grades senior year and a good MCAT score, she's definitely competitive. I'd tell her go for it!

 

[edgerock24]

She is definitely capable. Do not be too hard on her and DO NOT BE NEGATIVE AT ALL! Any hints of negativity may cause her to resent you and hurt her self-esteem. If she puts in the work, she will be rewarded.

 

[dial1010usa]

Thank you so much for all the good words. I never discourage my kids. I always tell them to work hard and then see what happens. I always suggest them not to repeat same mistake rather learn from it.
Lets see how well she do in her last year.

 

[askamsky51]

She is definitely capable. Do not be too hard on her and DO NOT BE NEGATIVE AT ALL! Any hints of negativity may cause her to resent you and hurt her self-esteem. If she puts in the work, she will be rewarded.

negativity is unfortunately a requisite of working as a student doctor/doctor. Working in the field before school, I can say there are many nay-sayer physicians and abrasive patients. Thick skin is a requirement.

 

[edgerock24]

negativity is unfortunately a requisite of working as a student doctor/doctor. Working in the field before school, I can say there are many nay-sayer physicians and abrasive patients. Thick skin is a requirement.

Of course, but negativity from a parent is much different than negativity from a boss/co-worker.

 

[basketcase0a0]

I'm not sure if I'm posting at the right place but my daughter wants tobe a doctor but she is not doing great in school. I tried to convince her to change her major, maybe this is not for her as study will get harder and harder in med school if she get accepted.
She will be senior in this fall but her gpa is little bit above 3.0 and she said she will get straight A's in the next year, lets see.

Am I the only one who is worried or there are other parents who feel the same?
I know this thread is for students not parents. My daughter and I share the same login.
Any suggestion?
Thanks!

IF she can get a 4.0 senior year she will be in good shape, but only if she also pulls the rest of her application together. She needs to focus on the MCAT and getting EC's before applying as well. That 4.0 will do a fat lot of good if she doesn't volunteer and bombs the MCAT. As far as other parents worrying, I'm sure they run the gamut just like applicants do.

Of course ultimately she needs to figure that out herself, and as much as I admire your efforts to help her, I don't know how optimistic to be of someone's chances if they need to be pushed that hard just to do the basic stuff required to get in. Medical schools are really REALLY competitive, you can't just back into med school. It takes dedication; that ultimately has to come from her.

 

[dial1010usa]

Just an update. My daughter didn't do too well in her last fall qtr. Her GPA went down to 3.1cgpa, 3.25sgpa (BCP) & 3.55 sgpa (BCPM) due to her health issues. She got 2 D's, one of them was in OChem, she retook it and got B- and the other class was non-science, she has to do it in next qtr or in summer. She is a senior. She schedule to take MCAT in June and she has'nt done any shadowing either. This is her tough quarter, she took 3 science classes and she is doing well so far. After finals which will be this week she will study for MCAT. I think math doesn't count towards sgpa for DO.

She is trying her best, lets see. I always support her no matter how she does good or bad.

DO application opens up in June?
What is best for her because she is taking her MCAT end of June.
Is it good idea to sumbit application w/o MCAT or wait for MCAT score?
Will it be too late if she submit her application end of July and by then she can shadow a DR too?

I know some of you might be not in favor of me posting here but I do care of her and I want her to succeed.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[masaraksh]

Please don't take this the wrong way:

You are much better off NOT-applying this summer. The process will cost A LOT of money and you will have a large uphill battle. Tell your daughter to take 1 year off. Plan something like i) work somewhere (at hospital is a plus or any service-type job working with people), ii) get 50hrs of shadowing in different specialties, and iii) volunteer some.

That would be my advice. I'm not sure I can help in regards to the submission/MCAT questions if you do want to apply this summer.

 

[Goro]

The DO cycle is longer, so she can take, wait for results, and then apply by the end of the year at the latest. However, she should NOT take the MCAT until she is ready too. That includes her health; it's foolish to try to bull one's way through either a semester of classwork, or a high-stakes career-defining exam.

Just an update. My daughter didn't do too well in her last fall qtr. Her GPA went down to 3.1cgpa, 3.25sgpa (BCP) & 3.55 sgpa (BCPM) due to her health issues. She got 2 D's, one of them was in OChem, she retook it and got B- and the other class was non-science, she has to do it in next qtr or in summer. She is a senior. She schedule to take MCAT in June and she has'nt done any shadowing either. This is her tough quarter, she took 3 science classes and she is doing well so far. After finals which will be this week she will study for MCAT. I think math doesn't count towards sgpa for DO.

She is trying her best, lets see. I always support her no matter how she does good or bad.

DO application opens up in June?
What is best for her because she is taking her MCAT end of June.
Is it good idea to sumbit application w/o MCAT or wait for MCAT score?
Will it be too late if she submit her application end of July and by then she can shadow a DR too?

I know some of you might be not in favor of me posting here but I do care of her and I want her to succeed.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[touchpause13]

Does the GPA include her retakes? I agree with goro, under no circumstances should she take the MCAT before she is ready! !! If she does well on it she can still have a great shot at DO, but she has to do her best.

 

[dial1010usa]

What is the latest she can apply? like sept, oct, nov or will it be too late?
Because her gpa is not great, I think its better if she can apply early.
Possible she applies and take MCAT later?
She is planning to take MCAT in June, should she postpone it and take it in sept time frame, wouldn't it be late for this coming?
Does she need to shadow MD or DO or both?
She did shadow MD this week and she loved it and she wants to be a doctor even though her gpa is low and she knows that.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

I too dont want to sound callous but if she was really really wanting this, would not she be on here instead of you? Just making sure you guys are double checking with each other that this is was she wants... not just what you want?

Anywho regardless I second the opinion of waiting a year. Get her time for more hands on experience and shadowing, give her some time to study for the MCAT, etc. I have taken a gap year and I believe it has been extremely fruitful and I feel like I am a significantly more mature and competitive applicant than I was a year ago.

 

[dial1010usa]

Being a parent I'm concerned about her which you will not understand now. I thought this site is for helping others, doesn't matter it is posted by parent or student...oh well.

 

[touchpause13]

You did type in Student doctor.net

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

I would definitely sit out this cycle unless the goal is wcucom or LUCOM.

 

[candbgirl]

What are her ECs like? You mentioned she shadowed a doc this week. What else has she done to build her application? Has she asked for the required number of LOR? I know you said she is scheduled to graduate this year and that she is taking a heavy course load. When will she study for the MCAT? Has she started working on her PS? She has so much to do that taking a couple of years to develop the very best application package possible might be the best for her success.

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[Awesome Sauceome]

What are her ECs like? You mentioned she shadowed a doc this week. What else has she done to build her application? Has she asked for the required number of LOR? I know you said she is scheduled to graduate this year and that she is taking a heavy course load. When will she study for the MCAT? Has she started working on her PS? She has so much to do that taking a couple of years to develop the very best application package possible might be the best for her success.

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Concur

 

[dial1010usa]

This next quarter won't be as heavy so she is going to study for MCAT and plan to take in June.
EC so far: 80 hours volunteer in hospital, volunteer at BloodSource, volunteer at clinical pediatric department (sorry not head of dept...typo ). She is been volunteering in research lab for over a year. She was also a part of an upperclassman-freshman organization in which they provide ample amount of resources to the incoming freshman in order to help them pave their paths as undergraduate students. She's been a captain of the dance team for four years.

 

[hmockingbird]

I too dont want to sound callous but if she was really really wanting this, would not she be on here instead of you? Just making sure you guys are double checking with each other that this is was she wants... not just what you want?

I have to agree with this, and also not out of unkindness. I know you (OP) want to help your daughter, but your daughter is an adult, it will be her career, and she should be the one taking responsibility for it. I understand we can't read anything into just one thread on here, but I might suggest that the best way to help your daughter now would be to step back a bit and encourage her to handle more of the application process herself.

 

[candbgirl]

Head of the pediatric department????? Really??!

 

[caffeinemia]

OP. Honestly, I am scared that you are getting an unfiltered range of advice here - some good, some not so good. As someone who's gone through undergrad, applied, got accepted to med school, gone through med school, applied to residency and matched to residency, and taken part in advising students and being on interviewing/adcoms, perhaps I might give you some more focused answers. Send me a PM.