- Joined
- May 31, 2011
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- 26
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I am going to try and explain my dilemma without delving into my entire life story here, so please bare with me as I go. I appreciate in advance anyone who decides to respond to this with sound advice. At this point I would appreciate any advice that anyone may have for me. I do not know anyone personally who is on the same path as I, and my academic advisor is basically MIA as he is nearing retirement. I apologize if I bounce back and forth and note things without much explanation - I am trying to make this short and sweet for anyone reading it.
I am a full-time pre-med undergrad working part-time at about 17 hours per week. I have been attending a community college now for the past 4 years, with about two of those years cumulatively, having withdrew due to an 8 year battle with alcoholism. Before going to rehab and getting sober 2.5 years ago, I was maintaining a 4.0 GPA. However, knowing that things were going to get more difficult very quickly, I made the decision to stop drinking and enter inpatient rehabilitation. To this day when anyone asks, I tell them I did this for two reasons - to remain alive, and because I wanted to become a doctor more than I wanted to continue down the path that I was on. I could go on and on for paragraphs trying to convince whomever is reading this that my heart is in medicine and that this is what I have decided to dedicate my life to, but for purposes of time and necessity, I hope that you see that this is truly the case.
With that said, when I left rehab I stayed out of school for a semester, working full-time making pretty decent money at an insurance company, and then immediately jumped back in to college quitting my f/t job because I knew it is not where I belonged. The first two semesters back were a bit rocky; I suffered from depression and struggled a bit to get back on track, receiving a couple of C's for final grades. However, since the spring semester of this year I feel as though I have finally found my footing again, and raised my grades to A's and B's.
This semester is a bit different for me course-wise as compared to the last. I am taking chemistry and physics together along with a couple of other non-pre requisite courses, and working about 17 hours per week, and to be blatant and honest - this semester is killing me. More so, it's the fact of knowing the type of grades that I need to achieve that medical schools are looking for. At midterm I had an A in physics and my other two courses, and a B in chemistry, however, soon after my mother started having some medical issues that were very scary for me and it negatively affected my studies pretty significantly. I have dropped about a letter grade in each course. Prior to this happening though, I was studying day and night. Literally every minute. And I still had a B. I have to work and have no way around it. The stress over the past few months between my job, my studies, and my mothers health, has had a significant toll on my body physically - my hair has been falling out in huge amounts for months, and I have developed terrible acne all over my face and neck. And again to be honest, it has affected me mentally and emotionally as well. I was getting by when my grades were decent, but now with them suffering because I can never find enough time in the day to study, I can feel myself falling apart and I am close to giving up completely. Will I? No. Because that is just not what I do. But I feel something needs to change quickly, because I am not healthy.
So my question is - do I drop to part-time status as a student, taking a couple laboratory courses per semester ensuring that I (hopefully) receive mostly A's, but in turn only being a part-time this and part-time that risking looking terrible to schools in comparison to the many who work full-time and even go to school full-time, or do I continue being a full-time student so I am at least doing ONE thing full-time, and struggle through hanging by a thread more likely than not receiving mediocre grades due to time constraints when I KNOW I am capable of doing much better? What will schools weigh more heavily? And any apprehensions that you may be having while reading this such as, "well then how will she handle the load of medical school?" And the only thing that I can say to that is, for one, some subjects are just easier than others for each individual, and for two, that I feel in most respects that I get stronger every day. Missing out on 17 hours per week for lack of a better word; sucks. Any advice and opinions are welcome. Appreciated as well. I asked the same of my family today, however they are of course concerned mostly with my well being and do not fully understand the seriousness that is trying to get into medical school.
I am a full-time pre-med undergrad working part-time at about 17 hours per week. I have been attending a community college now for the past 4 years, with about two of those years cumulatively, having withdrew due to an 8 year battle with alcoholism. Before going to rehab and getting sober 2.5 years ago, I was maintaining a 4.0 GPA. However, knowing that things were going to get more difficult very quickly, I made the decision to stop drinking and enter inpatient rehabilitation. To this day when anyone asks, I tell them I did this for two reasons - to remain alive, and because I wanted to become a doctor more than I wanted to continue down the path that I was on. I could go on and on for paragraphs trying to convince whomever is reading this that my heart is in medicine and that this is what I have decided to dedicate my life to, but for purposes of time and necessity, I hope that you see that this is truly the case.
With that said, when I left rehab I stayed out of school for a semester, working full-time making pretty decent money at an insurance company, and then immediately jumped back in to college quitting my f/t job because I knew it is not where I belonged. The first two semesters back were a bit rocky; I suffered from depression and struggled a bit to get back on track, receiving a couple of C's for final grades. However, since the spring semester of this year I feel as though I have finally found my footing again, and raised my grades to A's and B's.
This semester is a bit different for me course-wise as compared to the last. I am taking chemistry and physics together along with a couple of other non-pre requisite courses, and working about 17 hours per week, and to be blatant and honest - this semester is killing me. More so, it's the fact of knowing the type of grades that I need to achieve that medical schools are looking for. At midterm I had an A in physics and my other two courses, and a B in chemistry, however, soon after my mother started having some medical issues that were very scary for me and it negatively affected my studies pretty significantly. I have dropped about a letter grade in each course. Prior to this happening though, I was studying day and night. Literally every minute. And I still had a B. I have to work and have no way around it. The stress over the past few months between my job, my studies, and my mothers health, has had a significant toll on my body physically - my hair has been falling out in huge amounts for months, and I have developed terrible acne all over my face and neck. And again to be honest, it has affected me mentally and emotionally as well. I was getting by when my grades were decent, but now with them suffering because I can never find enough time in the day to study, I can feel myself falling apart and I am close to giving up completely. Will I? No. Because that is just not what I do. But I feel something needs to change quickly, because I am not healthy.
So my question is - do I drop to part-time status as a student, taking a couple laboratory courses per semester ensuring that I (hopefully) receive mostly A's, but in turn only being a part-time this and part-time that risking looking terrible to schools in comparison to the many who work full-time and even go to school full-time, or do I continue being a full-time student so I am at least doing ONE thing full-time, and struggle through hanging by a thread more likely than not receiving mediocre grades due to time constraints when I KNOW I am capable of doing much better? What will schools weigh more heavily? And any apprehensions that you may be having while reading this such as, "well then how will she handle the load of medical school?" And the only thing that I can say to that is, for one, some subjects are just easier than others for each individual, and for two, that I feel in most respects that I get stronger every day. Missing out on 17 hours per week for lack of a better word; sucks. Any advice and opinions are welcome. Appreciated as well. I asked the same of my family today, however they are of course concerned mostly with my well being and do not fully understand the seriousness that is trying to get into medical school.
