Am I the only one?

[solitude]

Its easy to think of people who get financial support from their parents as being ungrateful brats, but many people in this situation do realize how fortunate they are, and their parents are simply trying to give them the best chance to succeed.

exactly. And they do work hard, just not work in the traditional sense of the word.

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[MinnyGophers]

When most of us have kids and have the money to support them, I doubt we will tell them "It wouldn't be fair for me to give you money, so fend for yourself." Its easy to think of people who get financial support from their parents as being ungrateful brats, but many people in this situation do realize how fortunate they are, and their parents are simply trying to give them the best chance to succeed. Do I wish my family had had the money to send me to a top-tier private school? Well yeah, but they didn't so I ended up at the state school -- I hate to use this cliche, but lifes not fair. Sometimes you just have to be stoic, and hope that what you've overcome makes you a better person in the end.

I agree, and nowhere did I say that more privileged people were lazy and ungrateful...

My post was just trying to clarify exactly that some people have to work harder, that's all. Is it fair? No. Like you said, life is not fair.
That is why most people work hard: to be able to give their kids the privileges they themselves, didn't have.

 

[MinnyGophers]

Sorry, by "work" I mean anything related to academics and extracurriculars as well as actual income-gaining activities. I agree that poor students do more income-gaining work. Just my anecdotal evidence, of course.

That is true, most privileged students do more work related to academics and ECs and some do work also.

But when you look at a typical med student's application, you'll find great grades, and a long list of extra curriculars.

Poor students who have to divert their time into needed income-gaining work are at a disadvantage in that area, as they have a lot less time to be spent on getting better grades and good ECs.

Most likely, a school will admit a student with good ECs over a student who had to work, even though they share the same gpa and MCAT score.

And what is frustrating is that poor students often do not have a choice but to do income gaining work over volunteering/ECs...

It's not really anything toward privileged students, but rather over the fact that poor students are disadvantaged in the whole application process.

So yes, poor students, in order to be on equal grounds with privileged students, must work harder ( do ECs and income gaining work). It's a fact of life.

 

[solitude]

I mostly agree with you. I admire the OP and others for sticking to the pre-med and med track despite difficult financial circumstances.

That is true, most privileged students do more work related to academics and ECs and some do work also.

But when you look at a typical med student's application, you'll find great grades, and a long list of extra curriculars.

Poor students who have to divert their time into needed income-gaining work are at a disadvantage in that area, as they have a lot less time to be spent on getting better grades and good ECs.

Most likely, a school will admit a student with good ECs over a student who had to work, even though they share the same gpa and MCAT score.

And what is frustrating is that poor students often do not have a choice but to do income gaining work over volunteering/ECs...

It's not really anything toward privileged students, but rather over the fact that poor students are disadvantaged in the whole application process.

So yes, poor students, in order to be on equal grounds with privileged students, must work harder ( do ECs and income gaining work). It's a fact of life.

 

[Wanderer259]

Yeah. I come from a lower middle class family so my entire college education is being paid for by loans. I managed to get by on only owing something around $3000 to the feds with community college, but I'm going to have to go get a real loan from a bank here when I head off to a university this coming spring semester. :|

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

When you have to take the bus an hour and a half to school and back every day, you wonder where the box on AMCAS is for that. There are many aspects of coming from a not-so privelaged background that make this process much more difficult.

 

[PsychEpathic]

Dude, many of us deal with the same **** as you. It's a character builder, I say! Good luck.

 

[Sondra]

I had to pay my way through college. After working at a $6/hour job at a bakery, I decided that I needed to tie in my actual paid work experience with my ECs. I started tutoring for cash through my school. Later, I took a part time (30 hours/wk) job at my local hospital. It was an entry level job, but it provided me with clinacl experience, a paycheck, and tuition reinbursement if my grades where good. The admissions committee understood why I didn't have a lot of volunteer activity becuase I worked. They understand the trade off. They new that I had acheived something by working and making good grades. I also had at least one volunteer activity going on per semester. I basically got into one major activity and was passionate about it -- I spent time at a nursing home. I did a lot of other small things, but I was dedicated to one project.

 

[becky_C]

I dunno about people here, but every other pre med I know at school seems to have it easy. By easy, I mean having only school and MCATs to worry about! Am I the only one who has to worry about money and paying for books/tuition/rent? A friend of mine wants to take TPR AND KAPLAND to prepare for her MCATs. What the F***???? Yeah, If I had mommy and daddy helping me out, I would buy the best books/prep course as well.

Another problem is doing volunteer work/ec activities. While everyone else is pumping up their resume's doing ec activities and volunteer work, Im trying to actually make some money to pay for books. Man F*** working for free...I need to get paid right now...

I truly believe that following a medical profession is intended for wealthy people. Im sitting here with a ****ty 3.34 GPA and minimal experience. I cant blame it all on work, but it definitely has a lot to do with it.
I've considered taking lones out, but I figure if I can pay it off now, it would be better (Maybe not?)


Am I Alone?

Is everyone else out there riding mommy and daddy till they finish med school?

Yeah...like having 2 car notes, a husband not toally ok with the med school idea, and a mortgage. Sucks. I had to take leave from work to do 3 measly days of shadowing. My undergrad GPA is barely a 3.0, grad school is 3.4...I gained 10 pounds studying for the MCAT. Why am I doing this again?

My full time job (40+ hrs/week) has nothing to do with medicine, so it's not like I can use it as relevant "experience."

Wow. I'm done b*tching. For now. Feel better.

 

[dr_zippo]

Yeah...like having 2 car notes, a husband not toally ok with the med school idea, and a mortgage. Sucks. I had to take leave from work to do 3 measly days of shadowing. My undergrad GPA is barely a 3.0, grad school is 3.4...I gained 10 pounds studying for the MCAT. Why am I doing this again?

My full time job (40+ hrs/week) has nothing to do with medicine, so it's not like I can use it as relevant "experience."

Wow. I'm done b*tching. For now. Feel better.

Hang in there! I gained 10 pounds getting ready for the April MCAT, and I just finally got rid of that extra baggage.

 

[jojocola]

Welcome to the club. You were asking for it.

Regarding what every had said about taking loans, do it. A doctor that had made it on his own had told me that I should work about 20 hours and take loans to compensate for the rest. Your grades are the most important thing right now as an undergrad. If you feel like you are working to much, work less and take out loans. Easy and simple. He is only 26 right now too. Man he is a pimp.

Live in a cheap shack basically, and eat lots of ramen. Haha. Thats what i do.. sadly.

Good luck.

 

[Knickerbocker]

Could you elaborate on that?
The way I see it, rich STUDENTS do not work more than poor students. But if you're comparing businessmen/professionals to welfare candidates, then obviously...

I don't know, we have plenty of poor people in this country who work two full-time, minium wage jobs just to scrape by (~20k/year). People in certain areas of the US can work 80 hours a week and still qualify for welfare. Rich business types do put in a ton of hours, but a lot of that is stuff like business lunches at nice restaurants which is nothing compared to breaking your back.

 

[MinnyGophers]

I don't know, we have plenty of poor people in this country who work two full-time, minium wage jobs just to scrape by (~20k/year). People in certain areas of the US can work 80 hours a week and still qualify for welfare. Rich business types do put in a ton of hours, but a lot of that is stuff like business lunches at nice restaurants which is nothing compared to breaking your back.

Very true also.

 

[QCMD]

When you have to take the bus an hour and a half to school and back every day, you wonder where the box on AMCAS is for that. There are many aspects of coming from a not-so privelaged background that make this process much more difficult.

Seriously, I spend 20 hrs a week commuting to and from school/work by bus. It seems like this should count as a major EC.

 

[MinnyGophers]

Seriously, I spend 20 hrs a week commuting to and from school/work by bus. It seems like this should count as a major EC.

At least you can study/read in the bus... try doing that while driving a car

 

[CptCrunch]

Live in a cheap shack basically, and eat lots of ramen. Haha. Thats what i do.. sadly.

Ramen, mac 'n cheese, and beer.

 

[QCMD]

At least you can study/read in the bus... try doing that while driving a car

I get motion sickness if I read on the bus. Oh well, I can stil listen to music.

 

[kapil_MD]

I'm currently a sophomore in college, and am on a full presidential scholarship, so I don't have to pay a cent. I worked hard as hell in high school (I knew I wanted to be a doctor since 5th grade) and now I'm reaping the fruits of my labor - of course their's still med school which I'm thoroughly looking forward to. I live at home so their's no housing or food costs etc.

I find it sad that people look down upon people that are supported by their parents. What's wrong If you have the money, and can help your children with their education? I'm sure most parents wouldn't want their kids to struggle with school, loans etc, unless of course they're financially tight, which is understandable. I respect people working to support themselves under difficult circumstances, but don't like the fact that they mock people who had parents to support them financially - as if they're inferior. They probably worked just as hard if not harder to gain admission to med school - all their money didn't buy them an admission.

The path of medicine isn't an easy one, but personally all the support from my parents (both are doctors) gf and friends have helped me immensely overall.

You're not alone. Far from it.