Advice from ppl who's been there, done that-Med School and a family

[Belle Melodie]

Hello Everyone!

Not sure if theres a thread similar to this one- If so I apologize. I am new here and decided to join for insight in my coming years.

I am 25 y/o and i have a child who is 14 months old. I am just about to graduate with my associates, transferring to a college as a bio major and then planning on going to med school.

I work 40 hrs a week, and i take care of my son, I have a live-in bf.

I just want some advice in my coming years as i plan to become a doctor. I am nervous, anxious, scared, happy, excited --something i'm sure you've all felt.

What are the things i should look out for? Things I should do? and anything else you can advise me. Just dont know what to expect.

Thank you so much in advance for your feedback.😀

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[Morsetlis]

Hello Everyone!

Not sure if theres a thread similar to this one- If so I apologize. I am new here and decided to join for insight in my coming years.

I am 25 y/o and i have a child who is 14 months old. I am just about to graduate with my associates, transferring to a college as a bio major and then planning on going to med school.

I work 40 hrs a week, and i take care of my son, I have a live-in bf.

I just want some advice in my coming years as i plan to become a doctor. I am nervous, anxious, scared, happy, excited --something i'm sure you've all felt.

What are the things i should look out for? Things I should do? and anything else you can advise me. Just dont know what to expect.

Thank you so much in advance for your feedback.😀

Do well in your classes. You're just about to graduate CC, so I assume that you haven't taken upper-div classes yet? They're harder than you might think.

 

[StephanieZ]

I am 22 and I have a 13 month old, so I know where you are coming from. I am applying to medical school right now and trust me it's daunting. Here is my advice:

- During cram time, you have two priorities: your child and your school work, in that order. Laundry, dishes, errands, don't matter and will still be there when you finish your exams. You absolutely have to expect A's from yourself, and settle for nothing less. Of course, you will not always achieve this goal, but having high goals will ensure that your GPA stays high.

- You may think you have no time, but you actually have about 10 hours a day...when your child is sleeping 😉 Yea, it sucks, but get used to pulling all-nighters when you need to.

- I know you probably need to work now, but try to do it at a minimum, or if you can, find work in a clinical setting so you can be putting food on the table and fulfilling some of your clinical experience pre-reqs at the same time. Plan not to work during medical school. For your own sanity.

- Don't let things like volunteer hours, ECs, and research fall by the wayside, like I did. These things may seem trivial compared to keeping your grades up now (which, believe me, I KNOW is a challenge with a toddler running around), but they are just as important as your grades and you will be stressing out big time if application time comes around and you don't have them (like me T.T).

- Consider that you may end up doing something else. I feel like, as parents, we have unique pressures in that we are often torn between following the dreams we have for ourselves and making sure we provide a stable environment for our children and trying to get into a well-paying career as quickly as possible (again, for them). By all means, follow your dream, but have a back-up plan that you are prepared to put into action if you find that med school is impractical. It will ease your mind a bit. Mine is PA school.


I think the hardest thing for me is finding a way to balance my two roles. My classmates don't understand my responsibilities as a mother, but my other mom friends don't understand my responsibilities as a student. It's often really difficult to find your place, especially as you get into upper level courses where everyone is gung-ho for medical school. You may feel like you don't belong, but put that out of your mind. You know your goals and you are doing what you need to to achieve them. One thing I do want to stress again, is don't start feeling like you are exempt from things like volunteering, ECs, research, and cultivating good relationships with your professors for LORs. You absolutely NEED to do these things as much as any other student, and adcoms are not going to give you much slack for it just because you are a mom. The hardships of parenting will make your successes look better, but they will not excuse your failures.

Good luck 🙂

 

[CodeBlu]

I am 22 and I have a 13 month old, so I know where you are coming from. I am applying to medical school right now and trust me it's daunting. Here is my advice:

- During cram time, you have two priorities: your child and your school work, in that order. Laundry, dishes, errands, don't matter and will still be there when you finish your exams. You absolutely have to expect A's from yourself, and settle for nothing less. Of course, you will not always achieve this goal, but having high goals will ensure that your GPA stays high.

- You may think you have no time, but you actually have about 10 hours a day...when your child is sleeping 😉 Yea, it sucks, but get used to pulling all-nighters when you need to.

- I know you probably need to work now, but try to do it at a minimum, or if you can, find work in a clinical setting so you can be putting food on the table and fulfilling some of your clinical experience pre-reqs at the same time. Plan not to work during medical school. For your own sanity.

- Don't let things like volunteer hours, ECs, and research fall by the wayside, like I did. These things may seem trivial compared to keeping your grades up now (which, believe me, I KNOW is a challenge with a toddler running around), but they are just as important as your grades and you will be stressing out big time if application time comes around and you don't have them (like me T.T).

- Consider that you may end up doing something else. I feel like, as parents, we have unique pressures in that we are often torn between following the dreams we have for ourselves and making sure we provide a stable environment for our children and trying to get into a well-paying career as quickly as possible (again, for them). By all means, follow your dream, but have a back-up plan that you are prepared to put into action if you find that med school is impractical. It will ease your mind a bit. Mine is PA school.


I think the hardest thing for me is finding a way to balance my two roles. My classmates don't understand my responsibilities as a mother, but my other mom friends don't understand my responsibilities as a student. It's often really difficult to find your place, especially as you get into upper level courses where everyone is gung-ho for medical school. You may feel like you don't belong, but put that out of your mind. You know your goals and you are doing what you need to to achieve them. One thing I do want to stress again, is don't start feeling like you are exempt from things like volunteering, ECs, research, and cultivating good relationships with your professors for LORs. You absolutely NEED to do these things as much as any other student, and adcoms are not going to give you much slack for it just because you are a mom. The hardships of parenting will make your successes look better, but they will not excuse your failures.

Good luck 🙂

I think this is beautifully written. Congrats StephZ!

 

[Belle Melodie]

I am 22 and I have a 13 month old, so I know where you are coming from. I am applying to medical school right now and trust me it's daunting. Here is my advice:

- During cram time, you have two priorities: your child and your school work, in that order. Laundry, dishes, errands, don't matter and will still be there when you finish your exams. You absolutely have to expect A's from yourself, and settle for nothing less. Of course, you will not always achieve this goal, but having high goals will ensure that your GPA stays high.

- You may think you have no time, but you actually have about 10 hours a day...when your child is sleeping 😉 Yea, it sucks, but get used to pulling all-nighters when you need to.

- I know you probably need to work now, but try to do it at a minimum, or if you can, find work in a clinical setting so you can be putting food on the table and fulfilling some of your clinical experience pre-reqs at the same time. Plan not to work during medical school. For your own sanity.

- Don't let things like volunteer hours, ECs, and research fall by the wayside, like I did. These things may seem trivial compared to keeping your grades up now (which, believe me, I KNOW is a challenge with a toddler running around), but they are just as important as your grades and you will be stressing out big time if application time comes around and you don't have them (like me T.T).

- Consider that you may end up doing something else. I feel like, as parents, we have unique pressures in that we are often torn between following the dreams we have for ourselves and making sure we provide a stable environment for our children and trying to get into a well-paying career as quickly as possible (again, for them). By all means, follow your dream, but have a back-up plan that you are prepared to put into action if you find that med school is impractical. It will ease your mind a bit. Mine is PA school.


I think the hardest thing for me is finding a way to balance my two roles. My classmates don't understand my responsibilities as a mother, but my other mom friends don't understand my responsibilities as a student. It's often really difficult to find your place, especially as you get into upper level courses where everyone is gung-ho for medical school. You may feel like you don't belong, but put that out of your mind. You know your goals and you are doing what you need to to achieve them. One thing I do want to stress again, is don't start feeling like you are exempt from things like volunteering, ECs, research, and cultivating good relationships with your professors for LORs. You absolutely NEED to do these things as much as any other student, and adcoms are not going to give you much slack for it just because you are a mom. The hardships of parenting will make your successes look better, but they will not excuse your failures.

Good luck 🙂

It absolutely is beautifully written Thank you so much this was extremely helpful. i agree with everything you said and am inspired by the fact that you're already applying to med school. No i havent taken any upper div classes my first semester at a 4 yr school will be in the Spring of 2011. You absolutely seem to know alot more than i do. lol. Thanks again you were very helpful. 👍🙂😉