So was it pointless of me to volunteer and do research?

[cryhavoc]

How can I learn from someone when our attitudes are totally different without some sort of experience? I think my life is in medicine, as a doctor. Sitting on my hands for two years working a job I hate (I know I will hate it, I've been working since I was a teenager) is only going to enforce how much I hate not doing what I love. Therefore, the only way to learn that medicine isn't my entire world, is to go through it and realize other things are important too.

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[MrLogan13]

I call bullsh** on anyone who claims to "work best under pressure." You can learn to perform adequately under pressure, but I find it hard to believe that anyone works "best" under a lot of stress and pressure. Stress and pressure are bad. They don't help you perform better; they are just added obstacles you have to deal with to get the task done.

You should see a lot of the guys I served in the military with. You'd be surprised how much better a certain subset of people can perform when under a lot of stress and pressure.

 

[Ace Khalifa]

You should see a lot of the guys I served in the military with. You'd be surprised how much better a certain subset of people can perform when under a lot of stress and pressure.

Oops, forgot about the military. Certain people function better under pressure. Premeds who cram for exams? Not so much. I've seen many at my school who claimed they "worked best under pressure." Guess what? Most of them are no longer premed and also didn't do sh** for their extracurricular leadership responsibilities either.

 

[cryhavoc]

You should see a lot of the guys I served in the military with. You'd be surprised how much better a certain subset of people can perform when under a lot of stress and pressure.

Before every single exam I've ever taken, I have never felt butterflies. I hear other people talking about how they couldn't sleep or feel like they were going to throw up and it makes no sense to me. Pressure isn't a stressful thing to me, it is pure motivation. I know I have to do something so I do it, and most of the time it works. Doubting that I can't will only harm the result.

It was foolish to think two weeks of prep was enough but I was led astray by my practice scores, I didn't realize there could be such a discrepancy between the two, I was told to go off my average. I shouldn't have trusted the source, random members on this site, that said to go off your average.

I think I would be doing myself a disservice to schedule a test a year away because I won't feel that motivating drive until it is a few months away. Sure, I'll probably do practice problems every day for a few hours, but I could be doing them for the entire day without fatigue when I know the test is soon. I don't feel emotions when I am under pressure, I just do, nonstop, until it is done. Not sure if it is a bad or good thing but it is the way I am.

When **** hits the fan, I'm the one telling people what to do because I am not frozen by it and I feel most confident in that moment. I don't think it is a bad quality for a doctor have, as long as I realize its limitations in certain circumstances.

Now if you excuse me, I have a biochemistry test in a few days, that I've been studying for two week and half weeks for (since you guys think I only cram). However, this entire morning I memorized and learned more pathways than I could have two weeks ago.

 

[Goro]

Based upon multiple posts from current medical student, a UG education really doesn't prepare you for the material of medical school, because you get so much more material in the latter. For example, of my particular discipline, an entire semester of UG work might get covered in a total of two weeks in my medical school classes. OK, maybe three weeks.

A good UG performance is training to be a good medical student.

From what I understand, you're expected to learn massive amounts of information in very little time in medical school. I would think the advantage would go to those who can handle the pressure and learn quickly. Roll with the punches. Does taking an entire year to relearn things you should already have mastered by taking undergrad classes really show how well you can perform? Because you won't have nearly as much time as you are used to in medical school to have a perfect, structured study schedule with no stress because you have "plenty of time". Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[mehc012]

Oops, forgot about the military. Certain people function better under pressure. Premeds who cram for exams? Not so much. I've seen many at my school who claimed they "worked best under pressure." Guess what? Most of them are no longer premed and also didn't do sh** for their extracurricular leadership responsibilities either.

Pressure does not always mean cramming. I've given up cramming as it has a high failure rate when unexpected circumstances arise and derail your to-the-minute timeline (you left yourself 1d to do the project? Good luck fitting that into your surprise "live on the toilet" day of plague and suffering!)

However, I'd say that someone with a 70-80hr/wk schedule (not counting time needed for homework or studying) who cannot afford to get lower than an A, for example, is working under pressure. I'd say that someone trying to pull off work AND school AND kids is pressure. Someone who has maybe one full day off each month, if that? I'd call that pressure. Someone in medical school, with multiple obligations and a constant stream of fast-paced academics? Pressure. And I am often happier and more productive under those circumstances than when I have free time.

The problem: While you may be more productive and whatnot while under pressure, the amount of material in medical school from day one is constant at a level for which people would cram and pull all-nighters in undergrad. You can only sustain that for so long before you hit a wall. You will have to adapt and roll with the punches, but it's not the studying that needs to be adapted (that's the easy part), it's the lifestyle outside of work that takes the greatest effort to maintain. Fail to keep your out of school life in order and your academic life will (to paraphrase Zapp Brannigan) fall like dominoes into a house of cards...checkmate.

Those are exactly the circumstances I'm talking about. I'm not talking about 'cramming for an exam', I'm talking about thriving when the work and school just. never. stop. coming. all. the. time. and. you. don't. get. a. break, or when the stakes are high and you have to figure out how to fix a situation NOW.

to @cryhavoc and @mehc012, when people who have gone thru the process come onto these boards to give advice, it's not because we're trolling or coming to you as some Dr. Perfect MD who did everything right. Many of us made similar mistakes and trust us, you DON'T want to have to go through what we did. When I suggested time off because you're not yet* ready for med school, it's not to knock you personally. It's because based on your posts, your personal life isn't in order to the point where you won't have problems. I said this in a previous thread, but you're looking for your future MD to give you fulfillment. No career, even as noble as medicine, can do that for you.

*"yet" of course does not imply a permanent state.

I'm not saying that any of you are trolling...I'm saying that I've listened to your advice, I've listened to your descriptions, and I think it matches what I'm talking about. As my sig says, you've got to enjoy the journey...and I'm just as excited to have my life flooded and to be pushed beyond my academic limits as I am to eventually practice medicine.

 

[ridethecliche]

I prefer being original and making completely new mistakes to learn from, but that might just be me.

 

[mehc012]

I prefer being original and making completely new mistakes to learn from, but that might just be me.

Wait, so I shouldn't stick a peanut-butter coated live tunafish into a power outlet?!?

 

[ridethecliche]

Wait, so I shouldn't stick a peanut-butter coated live tunafish into a power outlet?!?

I prefer using a better conductor, i.e. Electrophorus electricus.

 

[mehc012]

I prefer using a better conductor, i.e. Electrophorus electricus.

At that point, why bother with the outlet?
Still gotta have the peanut butter, though.

 

[ridethecliche]

At that point, why bother with the outlet?
Still gotta have the peanut butter, though.

 

[WingedOx]

You should see a lot of the guys I served in the military with. You'd be surprised how much better a certain subset of people can perform when under a lot of stress and pressure.

You should see the number of patients I have in the VA with serious psychological problems now that they're out.

 

[MrLogan13]

You should see the number of patients I have in the VA with serious psychological problems now that they're out.

Some of those guys are my friends. That's a whole separate issue.

 

[JimmyB123]

Meh, I tend to disagree. I also feel that I work best under pressure. You say that 'people crack under pressure', but that's not necessarily a general statement. I tend to crack more easily when the pressure is low, and use high-stress situations to get myself pulled together. I don't think I would have done as well on the MCAT were I not working 48hr weeks while studying for it, and I would have found the situation miserable rather than fun if I just had months of free time + test. I'm not sure it's unhealthy to prefer to be busy.

I wish I was as smart as you

 

[ridethecliche]

Some of those guys are my friends. That's a whole separate issue.

Is it though?

 

[MrLogan13]

Is it though?

Yes. We are only talking about working under pressure and thriving in those conditions. I never mentioned anything about combat-related stress or war fighting. That's a whole different type of stress and is it's own animal.

 

[ridethecliche]

Yes. We are only talking about working under pressure and thriving in those conditions. I never mentioned anything about combat-related stress or war fighting. That's a whole different type of stress and is it's own animal.

Fair enough, but PTSD isn't solely the result of combat. Other types of stress and pressure get people to crack as well, especially if they lack adequate support.

 

[House D.O.]

Well, it should be highly motivating.

Do or die.

If I really want to be an MD, I'll kill this final attempt at taking an MCAT in July. If I get a mediocre score, I'll get over myself, and commit fully to becoming a DO.

And I will apply to some lower-ranked DO schools too, I'm not foolish enough to only apply to top schools. I want a safety net.

I work best under pressure.

Pressure makes diamonds

Kill that new MCAT if you decide to retake it. If u dont then I will congratulate you once you get accepted this cycle! A 27 score is decent

 

[WingedOx]

Those are exactly the circumstances I'm talking about. I'm not talking about 'cramming for an exam', I'm talking about thriving when the work and school just. never. stop. coming. all. the. time. and. you. don't. get. a. break, or when the stakes are high and you have to figure out how to fix a situation NOW.

I won't disagree with your other two paragraphs, but this is the misconception about medical school that people have... particularly the first two years. Medical school keeps coming at you, but to say you never get a break is flat out wrong. It's also destructive. The issue is that YOU have to be the one to step back and create those breaks and barriers between school/work and your life. They won't be created for you. When I see posts from the OP like these...

I was unaware people had social lives in medical school . . .

Some people goof off in college and it costs them the rest of their life doing something they dislike. I think my social life in college is a fair price to pay to do what I want for the rest of my life. But I would like to sneak a little in at the very end to say I did it.

...it shows a lack of maturity and perspective. So cryhavoc (and many more pre-meds/med students like him... trust me I've seen them at all levels of education and medical training) plan on sacrificing their personal and social lives for college, then med school. Then what? Do they think it gets easier in residency? Their plan is to go to over a decade sacrificing their personal lives? When does it end? Even going straight through without gaps, the median physician is in their 30s when they finish training. Do they think the'll suddenly be fulfilled when they put on a white coat at the end?

Pressure creates diamonds far less than it causes solid substances to crumble. @Goro isn't the only one who has seen med school break previously healthy students. Substance abuse, anxiety, depression, poor physical health, and worse. If you constantly work under pressure, with enough time you will crack unless you develop and maintain a release valve.

 

[medic86]

You should see the number of patients I have in the VA with serious psychological problems now that they're out.

Anyone who has served in the military is well-aware of this.

How does this relate to @MrLogan13 's assertion?

 

[cryhavoc]

Pressure creates diamonds far less than it causes solid substances to crumble. @Goro isn't the only one who has seen med school break previously healthy students. Substance abuse, anxiety, depression, poor physical health, and worse. If you constantly work under pressure, with enough time you will crack unless you develop and maintain a release valve.

I exercise 5 days a week right now, although it slips down to three when I have four midterms in one week. I run marathons. I've made posts about maintaining my exercise routine in medical school and fully plan to keep it going to some capacity. Just because I'm not rushing a frat does not mean I don't have friends. Or a family I can call for support. I refuse to get married until after I start my career so there is no reason to worry about that. I am a male so there is no clock I'm trying to race on that front. I think the majority of medical students aren't married, am I right? And it isn't like I don't date, I just don't date seriously.

And my old posts are 100% reliable. I post hypothetical stances from time to time that I never act on. My sGPA , for example is a rough estimate I put up in the event I get a C in Biochem. That's not a gurantee, I have an A in there right now.

 

[WingedOx]

Anyone who has served in the military is well-aware of this.

How does this relate to @MrLogan13 's assertion?

I made my point poorly.

Persistent stress leads to eventual problems down the road. Academic or otherwise. Even for those who step up to the challenge, everyone has a breaking point.

 

[texan2414]

I love the OP and his attitude. Its going to serve him well in medical school and beyond.
@cryhavoc remember what can happen will happen Screw the naysayers. Take the MCAT on your personal timing, not under anyone's influence, the hell with the rest.

And people insinuating that having a social life offers some sort of a release valve from pressure are not entirely wrong but not thinking nearly enough. I decompress myself through exercise, reading, becoming more involved in extracurriculars (aka volunteering). You really begin to learn how all your "problems" are only in your mind and THAT is the biggest release valve for me.

 

[ridethecliche]

remember what can happen will happen .

No ****.

But you the little control you have of your future comes from preparation not from banal platitudes.

 

[cryhavoc]

I love the OP and his attitude. Its going to serve him well in medical school and beyond.
@cryhavoc remember what can happen will happen Screw the naysayers. Take the MCAT on your personal timing, not under anyone's influence, the hell with the rest.

And people insinuating that having a social life offers some sort of a release valve from pressure are not entirely wrong but not thinking nearly enough. I decompress myself through exercise, reading, becoming more involved in extracurriculars (aka volunteering). You really begin to learn how all your "problems" are only in your mind and THAT is the biggest release valve for me.

It is just an introvert vs. extrovert thing. People think introverts can't be good doctors because they think they don't have people skills. Whereas extroversion/introversion is all about energy. Either can be good with people, one see's more people to recharge, the other goes off on their own to recharge. An introvert blows off steam hiking alone or reading a book. It is the equivalent of the extrovert going to a party. It'll be easier for you to not advertise how you recharge, texan2414, as it comes with misconceptions from people who haven't studied psychology.

 

[MrLogan13]

I love the OP and his attitude. Its going to serve him well in medical school and beyond.
@cryhavoc remember what can happen will happen Screw the naysayers. Take the MCAT on your personal timing, not under anyone's influence, the hell with the rest.

And people insinuating that having a social life offers some sort of a release valve from pressure are not entirely wrong but not thinking nearly enough. I decompress myself through exercise, reading, becoming more involved in extracurriculars (aka volunteering). You really begin to learn how all your "problems" are only in your mind and THAT is the biggest release valve for me.

Who are the naysayers? No one is advising the OP to give up his dreams. No one is saying he cannot succeed if he proceeds. Rather, many are offering OP sound advice to improve his chances of achieving his goals. Obviously, OP can do whatever he wishes, and if he does, more power to him. I wish him the best of luck.

 

[texan2414]

It is just an introvert vs. extrovert thing. People think introverts can't be good doctors because they think they don't have people skills. Whereas extroversion/introversion is all about energy. Either can be good with people, one see's more people to recharge, the other goes off on their own to recharge. An introvert blows off steam hiking alone or reading a book. It is the equivalent of the extrovert going to a party. It'll be easier for you to not advertise how you recharge, texan2414, as it comes with misconceptions from people who haven't studied psychology.

Completely agree with you on this one.
When I got my MCAT score back (on the retake when I actually did well), I was spammed and pressured by my "friends" to go get drunk, party, etc etc.

But I spent the day with my mother instead...who's recovering from chemo.

 

[cryhavoc]

Completely agree with you on this one.
When I got my MCAT score back (on the retake when I actually did well), I was spammed and pressured by my "friends" to go get drunk, party, etc etc.

But I spent the day with my mother instead...who's recovering from chemo.

Well, I mean you can go and do that stuff when you want, you just don't do it as often because it is more exhausting than it is to most people. Unless you have something specific against drinking, which is totally your decision to make and people should respect it.

I hope your mother is well. My mother had cancer and before (and after) her recovery I remember spending a ton of time with her. You never realize how much time you should be spending with certain people until they go through something like that. I try to spend time with my family a lot more often than I used to. The whole ordeal is one of the reasons I wanted to keep internal medicine on the table, in case I ever decided I wanted to be an oncologist. I may have had a misunderstanding that it was impossible via the DO route.

 

[WingedOx]

Do you guys really think there are many extroverts hanging out here on an internet forum?

 

[cryhavoc]

Do you guys really think there are many extroverts hanging out here on an internet forum?

Nope, but a lot of the pre-meds and doctors you'll meet will be extroverts. And I gurantee a lot of older colleagues will not understand the distinction between extrovert and introvert. The whole generation of kids who grew up in the fifties do not think very highly of what they perceive to be introversion. I have a female cousin, voracious reader, and a complete introvert. Not even that shy. If I had a dollar for every time my grandparents asked why she couldn't be more like my sorority girl sibling, I'd have money for a private MCAT tutor.

 

[ridethecliche]

Do you guys really think there are many extroverts hanging out here on an internet forum?

Trust me, I'd rather be out partying right now or listening to music at a pub/bar or at a concert than doing revisions for a manuscript, but that's them apples.

Your social life vs. work comments from a few posts ago hit me right in all of the feels.

Nope, but a lot of the pre-meds and doctors you'll meet will be extroverts. And I gurantee a lot of older colleagues will not understand the distinction between extrovert and introvert. The whole generation of kids who grew up in the fifties do not think very highly of what they perceive to be introversion. I have a female cousin, voracious reader, and a complete introvert. Not even that shy. If I had a dollar for every time my grandparents asked why she couldn't be more like my sorority girl sibling, I'd have money for a private MCAT tutor.

Do you have any idea what you're even talking about?

Extroverts think introverts are weird and introverts think extroverts are weird.

Again. No ****!

I work with a TON of physicians daily. Some area more introverted and some are more extroverted. There's a lot of self selection into different specialties and it really depends.

Also, a job where you have a clear function is very different than a social interaction. Some of the doctors with the best bedside manner are awkward as fak in person. You can't tell a person's personality by how they interact with their patients, especially if they're good at their job.

 

[WingedOx]

Seriously, I got home at 7PM tonight after a long day of work. My SO is at her place studying for her professional cert. I'm more than cool with chilling alone on my couch watching a choppy stream of the Montreal vs Pachuca CONCACAF Champs League game, not seeing another human face to face until tomorrow.

Introversion doesn't excuse sacrificing social life for the goal of an MD.

 

[ridethecliche]

Seriously, I got home at 7PM tonight after a long day of work. My SO is at her place studying for her professional cert. I'm more than cool with chilling alone on my couch watching a choppy stream of the Montreal vs Pachuca CONCACAF Champs League game, not seeing another human face to face until tomorrow.

Introversion doesn't excuse sacrificing social life for the goal of an MD.

8 AM arrival for me and I'm still here. I love what I do but I really can't wait to leave my job this june...

 

[Stagg737]

Fortunately, I've already broken and recovered academically (and various other ways). I'm not proud of having messed up in the past, but I wouldn't undo it if I could, because now I know how to roll when I fall, and how to get back on my feet.

I'm not saying that nobody cracks under pressure. I'm just saying that, just as some people can't stand the cold and others love it, some people frazzle under pressure and others wake up. Me? I'm a creature of momentum. When my schedule is empty and I have too much free time, I'm unproductive, lazy, and unhappy. When time is valuable because I have so little of it free, I make the most of it and am almost constantly productive and happy, even outside of my busy schedule. Want my room to be clean? Either make me so busy I barely have time to do it, or come over and have a few beers with me (I clean when I drink!)

You said there's a difference between pressure and cramming, but I'd say there's less of a difference there than the difference between staying busy and working well under pressure. If you do better when you have a lot to do and are forced to stay organized, you should adjust to medical school pretty well. If a person thinks they work best under pressure, aka when they have too much to do with little to not enough time to do it, then I hope that person is ready to learn a very difficult lesson firsthand (as OP seems to want to).

However, I'd say that someone with a 70-80hr/wk schedule (not counting time needed for homework or studying) who cannot afford to get lower than an A, for example, is working under pressure. I'd say that someone trying to pull off work AND school AND kids is pressure. Someone who has maybe one full day off each month, if that? I'd call that pressure. Someone in medical school, with multiple obligations and a constant stream of fast-paced academics? Pressure. And I am often happier and more productive under those circumstances than when I have free time.
Those are exactly the circumstances I'm talking about. I'm not talking about 'cramming for an exam', I'm talking about thriving when the work and school just. never. stop. coming. all. the. time. and. you. don't. get. a. break, or when the stakes are high and you have to figure out how to fix a situation NOW.

Honestly, out of all those situations the only one that sounds like med school is the sentence with the words medical school. Constantly having something to do isn't pressure, that's life if you're in medicine. The only thing in that quote that I'd consider pressure is "when the stakes are high and you have to figure out how to fix a situation NOW", which is not something you will likely encounter medical school until clinical years. If you're encountering true pressure during your first 2 years then you're probably not doing it right...

 

[ridethecliche]

8 AM arrival for me and I'm still here. I love what I do but I really can't wait to leave my job this june...

Lol the joy of being 25 in a city. I went to a bar after I finished working. Killing it!

 

[Stagg737]

That's how you get experience.

I've went through a lot more nonsense than most people have to go through to get where I am and I wouldn't trade all those bad times for the world. It makes you a stronger person.

You come off as someone who does everything so perfectly because you're afraid to fail. Eventually you will and not having any experience in the matter will probably cause you to crash and burn, and not rebound. But if avoiding that makes you feel smarter and superior to me, go on ahead thinking it, no skin off my teeth. Making mildly condescending remarks on the internet to me for two days is evidence of your priorities in life right now and brings your people skills into question.

You can also learn that the stovetop is hot by turning it up all the way and slapping your hand down on it, but I'd call you a fool to learn it that way if 10 other people tell you that you'll get burned. You say you've been through more nonsense than most people (which may or may not be true), but I wonder how much of that could have been avoided if you had taken the advice of more mature people who had been there and done that. I absolutely agree that some things you learn best by experiencing firsthand. However, things involving an individual's career as a physician do not fall into that category. When you have literally a dozen people giving you the same advice, some of whom serve on admissions committees or are residents who have literally seen and interacted with hundreds or even thousands of applicants, I don't understand why you are so resistant to their ideas.

It seems to me that you already had the answer to your question before you asked it, so unless you wanted validation I don't know why you even asked in the first place. I think that with the current level of maturity you've displayed in these posts your path is going to be more difficult than it needs to be and it would behoove you to give greater consideration to their advice.

 

[ridethecliche]

Slow clap

 

[mehc012]

I won't disagree with your other two paragraphs, but this is the misconception about medical school that people have... particularly the first two years. Medical school keeps coming at you, but to say you never get a break is flat out wrong. It's also destructive. The issue is that YOU have to be the one to step back and create those breaks and barriers between school/work and your life.

Fair enough...I suppose I see that as a part of being constantly under pressure. The work and the schedule don't stop, but you find ways to be happy within that. Just a difference in semantics.

plan on sacrificing their personal and social lives for college, then med school. Then what? Do they think it gets easier in residency? Their plan is to go to over a decade sacrificing their personal lives? When does it end? Even going straight through without gaps, the median physician is in their 30s when they finish training. Do they think the'll suddenly be fulfilled when they put on a white coat at the end?

I'm 100% on board with that...as I said, you've got to enjoy the journey! I don't see the next several years as an obstacle to grit my teeth and survive. I know it's not going to be all fun and rainbows, but I plan to make the most of it.

Pressure creates diamonds far less than it causes solid substances to crumble. @Goro isn't the only one who has seen med school break previously healthy students. Substance abuse, anxiety, depression, poor physical health, and worse. If you constantly work under pressure, with enough time you will crack unless you develop and maintain a release valve.

I actually have more of a social life when I have less time for it. It's easy to hand wave and go "oh, we'll hang out sometime, we can do it whenever", but when there's only one day you're free in a month, you are more proactive about making solid plans...or at least I am!

I get what you're trying to say, but that's what I mean when I say I 'thrive under pressure.' I take better care of myself, feel better, am less depressed, etc. You can object to my phrasing in the first part, but I would argue that just because you're never given a break doesn't mean you can't take one!

Obviously that isn't true for all people, and I don't deny that for some, being constantly overloaded is worse than being constantly underloaded. But why is it so surprising that some people, like me, would prefer the reverse as well?

 

[mehc012]

You said there's a difference between pressure and cramming, but I'd say there's less of a difference there than the difference between staying busy and working well under pressure. If you do better when you have a lot to do and are forced to stay organized, you should adjust to medical school pretty well. If a person thinks they work best under pressure, aka when they have too much to do with little to not enough time to do it, then I hope that person is ready to learn a very difficult lesson firsthand (as OP seems to want to).

See, we're defining pressure differently. I would say pressure is having too much to do and just barely enough time to do it...there's a difference!

Honestly, out of all those situations the only one that sounds like med school is the sentence with the words medical school. Constantly having something to do isn't pressure, that's life if you're in medicine. The only thing in that quote that I'd consider pressure is "when the stakes are high and you have to figure out how to fix a situation NOW", which is not something you will likely encounter medical school until clinical years. If you're encountering true pressure during your first 2 years then you're probably not doing it right...

That's fine...this wasn't at all about 'sounding like medical school'. That was something other people brought into the issue.

 

[Ace Khalifa]

You can also learn that the stovetop is hot by turning it up all the way and slapping your hand down on it, but I'd call you a fool to learn it that way if 10 other people tell you that you'll get burned. You say you've been through more nonsense than most people (which may or may not be true), but I wonder how much of that could have been avoided if you had taken the advice of more mature people who had been there and done that. I absolutely agree that some things you learn best by experiencing firsthand. However, things involving an individual's career as a physician do not fall into that category. When you have literally a dozen people giving you the same advice, some of whom serve on admissions committees or are residents who have literally seen and interacted with hundreds or even thousands of applicants, I don't understand why you are so resistant to their ideas.

It seems to me that you already had the answer to your question before you asked it, so unless you wanted validation I don't know why you even asked in the first place. I think that with the current level of maturity you've displayed in these posts your path is going to be more difficult than it needs to be and it would behoove you to give greater consideration to their advice.

Lol did OP try to retaliate to my remark in his edited post? And I absolutely agree with you. OP isn't just being immature by not listening to all of us with more experience. He's also being extremely ignorant. The true mark of an inexperienced, ignorant, immature person is the refusal to admit they're wrong when someone with more experience and wisdom calls them out on their naivety and bullsh**. It is quite sad, actually, when them youngsters just can't listen their elders lol.

 

[ridethecliche]

I'll just leave this here.

 

[Lucca]

Lol what is going on in this thread.

I don't really get what all the fuss is about. OP is an adult. He either takes the time to improve his app to maximize his ability to get in and hopefully improve some skills or he doesn't and takes his chances. Not much else going on besides that.

 

[Promethean]

Not reading the whole thread... just replying to OP.

If you were only doing research and volunteering in order to check boxes on applications, then yeah, it was pretty pointless... but the thing that will probably hold you up will be your attitude, not your app.

They want to see people volunteering out of a wish to help others, and doing research to satisfy curiosity. Those are measures of traits that physicians need, not ends in themselves. If you did them for the wrong reasons, you were gaming a system. You knew that schools looked for those things, so you replicated the behaviors of someone who actually possesses the qualities a physician needs. You are clever, and capable. But are you curious? Are you kind? If so, you wouldn't see your experiences as a waste of time just because they might not help you achieve a particular goal.

Also, you are mislead that research and volunteerism are not valued by DO schools. All medical schools are competitive. There will always be good applicants who didn't get the seats they were hoping for because there were enough others who were just a little more impressive to fill the class. Stats are part of being competitive. Extracurriculars are part of it. And personality counts, too. Every little bit you bring to the table improves your chances.

 

[Promethean]

Well, if it is true DO's can practice in the fields I'm interested in, I'm taking 2 gap years instead of one because of my pride. I'm spending an entire year of my life on initials. In that context, it looks dumb. Sure, maybe a part of me thinks MD's are looked at better. I'd probably be a better physician if I worried less about my pride and more about my patients.

Ah! Insight! There is hope for you!

 

[Jay11jayjay]

Do not retake. You gave it your best and got a 27. Chances are, you'll get the same score or even lower. If you do improve it will probably be by 1 or 2 points max. Your application is solid besides the middling mcat score. This cycle, my best friend scored a 27 and had a 3.8 gpa and ended up being accepted at a top 15 school. I say apply early and broadly to a bunch of MD and DO schools and rock your essays and interviews and you should be fine.

 

[WingedOx]

@mehc012 I think we're mostly on the same page.

but when there's only one day you're free in a month,

Just make sure you're giving yourself more than that...

 

[Stagg737]

See, we're defining pressure differently. I would say pressure is having too much to do and just barely enough time to do it...there's a difference!

I would also say there are obviously different degrees of pressure and people handle different degrees differently. A little pressure is good for 99.99% of the population. It's a motivator. However, as someone (I think ox) said earlier, everyone has their breaking point and everyone's breaking point is different. I know some people that couldn't handle even taking the MCAT exam, and I've met one or two people that are capable of working (and I mean actually working, not just being on shift) for 16 straight hours 6 days a week for 3 months straight. It's all relative, and everyone has to figure out where their own happy medium is. This is especially important for things like med school where not understanding your limits/how you work best can result in failing out.

 

[Captain Toad]

The arrogance of the op is so infuriating. Honestly, you exemplify what is wrong with medical students. You lack self reflection, are over confident in your abilities, and are not humble enough to even entertain the idea that you could be wrong. I promise you, it will lead to your demise. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't go into medical school because these issues cannot be ironed out when you are super stressed with tons of information. You crack. Everyone cracks. The difference is that people like you often crack in a way that cannot be fixed, which leads to a whole slew of problems.

Good luck. You are in for a rude awakening one way or another.

 

[Captain Toad]

Philosopher George Santayana defines fanaticism as "redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim".[

 

[cryhavoc]

The arrogance of the op is so infuriating. Honestly, you exemplify what is wrong with medical students. You lack self reflection, are over confident in your abilities, and are not humble enough to even entertain the idea that you could be wrong. I promise you, it will lead to your demise. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't go into medical school because these issues cannot be ironed out when you are super stressed with tons of information. You crack. Everyone cracks. The difference is that people like you often crack in a way that cannot be fixed, which leads to a whole slew of problems.

Good luck. You are in for a rude awakening one way or another.

Join the long line of people that have been telling since I was born I am not capable of something. I was born to teenage parents in poverty. No one had any expectations of me and I graduated top of my class in high school and got into a great college, albeit a difficult one. I will become a doctor someday no matter how many people keep telling me that I will crack or I don't have it in me.

I laughed out loud when I read not to go to medical school. I will become a doctor, but I won't just be a doctor so that I can heal people. I'll use any resources I get from it to help other people like me who weren't afforded cushy prep schools and classes. Or had to work while in school. And told because of their circumstances they couldn't cut it or they'd buckle under pressure.

And if you think I'm not capable of uping my score in 4 months, I'll have you know since the last time I visited this thread four days ago, I've already booked 30 hours of MCAT studying in and I feel fine.

I will thank you though, each person who comes at me with this attitude usually gives me all the fuel I need to prove them wrong. Never think you know me, I will prove you and so many others wrong and I will never crack.