Am I wasting my time with this dream?

[medmom]

Here's the deal. I am a VERY nontraditional student. I am 21 and currently pregnant with my 3rd child. I had my first in high school so gave up the dream of med school and decided to do nursing. Well after an unimpressive 2.5 years as a nursing student I decided that I could do it with kids (2) and so I changed my major. So here I am finishing my first year as a pre-med and I have 3 semsters left after this semester. Here are my problems: 2.9 GPA and 2.7 science due to not enthusiastic or stellar nursing classes, I am very busy with working part time, volunteering 2 hours a weeks at the hospital, 3 kids, a working husband oh yeah and a full college load. I do shadowing a couple times a summer and I attend pre-med club meetings when I can. So am I wasting my time trying to do med school. My grades aren't good, I am very busy but not with the usual pre-med stuff, and I am a mom. Do they take people like me? I know what being a doctor is like because my mother in law is an M.D. Ad I know that this is what I REALLY want to do but I feel like I am not at all a competetive candidate. What do you think? I am trying to get the grades up but I am afraid I won't be able to get it to much higher. I am shooting for a 3.0.
Ellie

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[futuredo32]

If you really and truly want to be a physician, I would say continue on in your pursuit. You may want to consider a master's or postbac program to increase your gpa. and perhaps look into the average gpa of each school to which you want to attend to.
Good luck to you

 

[docslytherin]

Here's the deal. I am a VERY nontraditional student. I am 21 and currently pregnant with my 3rd child. I had my first in high school so gave up the dream of med school and decided to do nursing. Well after an unimpressive 2.5 years as a nursing student I decided that I could do it with kids (2) and so I changed my major. So here I am finishing my first year as a pre-med and I have 3 semsters left after this semester. Here are my problems: 2.9 GPA and 2.7 science due to not enthusiastic or stellar nursing classes, I am very busy with working part time, volunteering 2 hours a weeks at the hospital, 3 kids, a working husband oh yeah and a full college load. I do shadowing a couple times a summer and I attend pre-med club meetings when I can. So am I wasting my time trying to do med school. My grades aren't good, I am very busy but not with the usual pre-med stuff, and I am a mom. Do they take people like me? I know what being a doctor is like because my mother in law is an M.D. Ad I know that this is what I REALLY want to do but I feel like I am not at all a competetive candidate. What do you think? I am trying to get the grades up but I am afraid I won't be able to get it to much higher. I am shooting for a 3.0.
Ellie

everyone has a shot. try your best to do well in school, but it's great to realize that there are other priorities in life. i'm not sure what sort of average they'll look for, but try to get the best grades you can get. i would personally try to shoot toward a a bit better than a 3.0. anything you can get above the average will help your application. i'm not sure if you're saying that you're not too enthusiastic or if your profs maybe aren't enthusiastic about teaching. if you're having trouble getting motivated, you might want to back off a little. it's probably better to take more time to get your classes finished and do better in them than trying to get them finished quickly and not doing as well.

they do take all kinds of people, including moms and dads, husbands and wives, and people without 4.0 gpas. however, do know that med school is a LOT more of a burden on your time than undergrad is. the pace is much more rapid and you're expected to know things much more quickly than in undergrad. with med school you can expect at least 7 years of trying to fit everything into a day... (school + residency). these are the impressions i've been given. i know that my first two years have been very time-consuming. that being said, i know that i had to do this, because being a doctor is what i want to do with my life. if you know this is what you want, you'll find a way to make it happen. it can be done.

don't give up. it's better to have tried and failed, than to have never tried.

 

[medmom]

I should clarfiy 2 things, I am shooting for a minimum of 3.0 GPA and I am defiantely enthusiastic at this point but the low GPA was a result of being unenthusiastic about the nursing major which lead to some C's in my first years in college.
Ellie

 

[NeuroSync]

That seems like a reasonable explanation to ADCOMs, Ellie. It sounds like you will be able to show a strong pattern of improvement. Keep up the good work, and don't let anyone discourage you.

 

[LSUwannabe]

I should clarfiy 2 things, I am shooting for a minimum of 3.0 GPA and I am defiantely enthusiastic at this point but the low GPA was a result of being unenthusiastic about the nursing major which lead to some C's in my first years in college.
Ellie

I had 2 "F's" and about 20 "W's" as an undergrad and they weren't mentioned once I got the Master's.


After going to http://www.mdapplicants.com/searchprofiles.php I found over 30 people accepted somewhere w/ GPA's under 3.0.

That's kind of amazing but shows it can definitely be done.

 

[drtongue_danger]

I THink that if you do well in your pre-med class you will be a strong candiate. When I applyied they looked at my grades in Org. chem which were strong, they really didn't care that i got an A in history of france or that i can a "D" in study hall. It is all about how well you do in your class's. You can totally get, just keep working hard

 

[Static Line]

Here's the deal. I am a VERY nontraditional student. I am 21 and currently pregnant with my 3rd child. I had my first in high school so gave up the dream of med school and decided to do nursing. Well after an unimpressive 2.5 years as a nursing student I decided that I could do it with kids (2) and so I changed my major. So here I am finishing my first year as a pre-med and I have 3 semsters left after this semester. Here are my problems: 2.9 GPA and 2.7 science due to not enthusiastic or stellar nursing classes, I am very busy with working part time, volunteering 2 hours a weeks at the hospital, 3 kids, a working husband oh yeah and a full college load. I do shadowing a couple times a summer and I attend pre-med club meetings when I can. So am I wasting my time trying to do med school. My grades aren't good, I am very busy but not with the usual pre-med stuff, and I am a mom. Do they take people like me? I know what being a doctor is like because my mother in law is an M.D. Ad I know that this is what I REALLY want to do but I feel like I am not at all a competetive candidate. What do you think? I am trying to get the grades up but I am afraid I won't be able to get it to much higher. I am shooting for a 3.0.
Ellie

I feel your pain. I work 40+ hrs a week. I am the primary bread-winner, my wife is a domestic engineer. I have a good relationship with my wife and daughter that I am very interested in maintaining. I have a lot of responsibilities in addition to school. I do have a pretty decent GPA, but my MCAT basically sucked. I too considered not applying. Had I done that, I would not have received any interviews or been accepted to school. Yes, the rule is they do look for good candidates with strong numbers, but they also admit the exception to the rule, like me. Your job is to get them to look at you. You can't do that by not applying. The worst they can say is no. Some schools are even cool about telling you where you are weak, and what you can do to improve your app. Of course, my rejections all had to do with my MCAT. Others didn't seem to care and extended interviews to me. Thank God, I didn't want to retake the MCAT. So do what you have to do.

 

[DrDad]

I dont know if this will help, but you should take a look at this site.. a great opportunity for trully nontraditional admission...

http://www.healthsciences.okstate.edu/student/bridge.html

good luck

DrDad

 

[dr.z]

Go for it! Good luck!

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

Rawk the MCAT, pull your gpa up to 3.0+, and git her done.

Any woman that can handle 3 kids and a husband at 21 can handle gettin in to medical school

 

[BMW19]

Since you are posting in the pre-osteo thread, I will assume that DO schools will be on your mind. DO schools in general tend to look a little less at numbers (not saying they don't have their standards) and more at life experiences. You obviously have life experiences. Show them your passion and get in the upper 20's on the MCAT, you should get some interviews. Don't give up, a lot of us are non-traditional. I am giving up a successful chiropractic practice to go back and follow my dreams. Hope this helps.

BMW-

Here's the deal. I am a VERY nontraditional student. I am 21 and currently pregnant with my 3rd child. I had my first in high school so gave up the dream of med school and decided to do nursing. Well after an unimpressive 2.5 years as a nursing student I decided that I could do it with kids (2) and so I changed my major. So here I am finishing my first year as a pre-med and I have 3 semsters left after this semester. Here are my problems: 2.9 GPA and 2.7 science due to not enthusiastic or stellar nursing classes, I am very busy with working part time, volunteering 2 hours a weeks at the hospital, 3 kids, a working husband oh yeah and a full college load. I do shadowing a couple times a summer and I attend pre-med club meetings when I can. So am I wasting my time trying to do med school. My grades aren't good, I am very busy but not with the usual pre-med stuff, and I am a mom. Do they take people like me? I know what being a doctor is like because my mother in law is an M.D. Ad I know that this is what I REALLY want to do but I feel like I am not at all a competetive candidate. What do you think? I am trying to get the grades up but I am afraid I won't be able to get it to much higher. I am shooting for a 3.0.
Ellie

 

[AF_PedsBoy]

The flip side is she has three kids to take care of, assuming she manages to stop having any more, and if she can't arrange for care of them now at the critical juncture of preparing for medical school, she's going to have just as much trouble if she gets in. She's also going to have major trouble if she can't force herself to study through the boredom of dull classes, since many of the classes are twice as long and just as boring. Yes, they accept nontraditional students - a student in my class was in her 40's and was a single mom with a teenage daughter (her daughter hung out with us one weekend in the gross lab lol); I'm all for the touchy feely let's all hug atmosphere, but let's be realistic, she's going to have to get it together if she not only wants to get IN, but also get THROUGH med school.

 

[calisurfdoc]

definately hang in there and work hard. i had personally gave up hope after managing to get 2 Ds 2 Cs and a B- all in one semester. that's not a very good way to start off my undergraduate career, but i steadly improved my grades over the year and i'll be off in med school next year so there is always hope.

 

[medmom]

The flip side is she has three kids to take care of, assuming she manages to stop having any more, and if she can't arrange for care of them now at the critical juncture of preparing for medical school, she's going to have just as much trouble if she gets in. She's also going to have major trouble if she can't force herself to study through the boredom of dull classes, since many of the classes are twice as long and just as boring. Yes, they accept nontraditional students - a student in my class was in her 40's and was a single mom with a teenage daughter (her daughter hung out with us one weekend in the gross lab lol); I'm all for the touchy feely let's all hug atmosphere, but let's be realistic, she's going to have to get it together if she not only wants to get IN, but also get THROUGH med school.

Well my friend. I am not having anymore children and will make permanent measures to prevent that. This pregnancy wasn't planned because I was planning on trying to go to med school therefore wasn't planning anymore children. Second, the care of them is not a problem. My husband is home a lot and they attend daycare. I am not having problems making it through dull classes now. the problem with my classes was a freshman (I am in my fourth year now). Therefore I am trying to make up for that mistake now.
I have no doubt that I will be able to "keep it together" or make it through medical school. I am just having to make up for a stupid mistake that I made as an immature freshman with a baby and I had no idea what I was doing. Asssuming I can overcome my freshman C's, I am going to work me a** of for a good MCAT and I know that I can be successful. I am just worried about getting over the hurdle of a low GPA and not being able to do as many EC's as more traditional students.
Ellie

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

I'm not gonna blow smoke up your ass.

It is going to be hard. It was hard for the lot of us, MD or DO, and we didnt have three kids to deal with. You really are going to have to love the MCAT. I learned to love it so much, I even took it three times.

There is nothing you can do about your existing grades. They are there for good, end of story. It's best that you not worry about that by look forward and really put the effort in, that you claim you are going to put in.

For DO schools, service related ECs are especially important. You MUST find time for them.

 

[mcandy]

You can do it. You will need to put in some extra time and classes to bring your gpa up and you need to do decent on the MCAT. At 21 you have more than enough time to spend a few years getting your ducks in a row. This will give you time to spend with your kids too. I waited until 31 to go....had to get some things out of my system first. I am glad I did because you are locked into hard work and a complete loss of free time when you decided to hop on the train. No more skiing 100 days per year or two year peace corp stints. I also was sure I wanted to be here before I started...definitely seeing a lot of 21-25 yo's who arent so sure anymore.

You also have a very interesting story to tell. Three kids and pursuing medicine will make them interested...especially DO ADCOMS that are as interested in people as they are in stats. If you are certain you want to be a doctor and can demonstrate a support system that will allow to balance your family and school, they will want to meet you. Write a good essay! Best of luck

 

[mcandy]

PS my undergrad gpa was a 2.45 and I brought it up to 3.62...

 

[medmom]

Thank you so much. I was beginning to regret posting on here because so many people are going off on me about things not even related to the question I was asking. It is nice to have people that answer just the questions that I was asking as well as offering suggestions. When I asked the question I really wasn't asking for people to comment on my lifestyle. Only how adcoms might view me. Thanks again.

 

[Crake]

Wow, I say go for it. You definitely can make it! Try and ace the MCAT but keep your spirits up and don't look at mdapplicants--half of those people "round up" their 3.3 to a 3.7. Also, don't listen to all the naysayers on this site. It can be done without a 4.0 and a 35T. Good luck!

 

[Peon9985]

Here's the deal. I am a VERY nontraditional student. I am 21 and currently pregnant with my 3rd child. I had my first in high school so gave up the dream of med school and decided to do nursing. Well after an unimpressive 2.5 years as a nursing student I decided that I could do it with kids (2) and so I changed my major. So here I am finishing my first year as a pre-med and I have 3 semsters left after this semester. Here are my problems: 2.9 GPA and 2.7 science due to not enthusiastic or stellar nursing classes, I am very busy with working part time, volunteering 2 hours a weeks at the hospital, 3 kids, a working husband oh yeah and a full college load. I do shadowing a couple times a summer and I attend pre-med club meetings when I can. So am I wasting my time trying to do med school. My grades aren't good, I am very busy but not with the usual pre-med stuff, and I am a mom. Do they take people like me? I know what being a doctor is like because my mother in law is an M.D. Ad I know that this is what I REALLY want to do but I feel like I am not at all a competetive candidate. What do you think? I am trying to get the grades up but I am afraid I won't be able to get it to much higher. I am shooting for a 3.0.
Ellie

Just tough it out or wait till your kids have grown up.. I know of an intern who's in her late 40's..she was a VIP of a financial company with 2 kids.. she went back to school and became a doctor... Its all about following through on your dreams no matter how long it might take.

 

[lama]

Here's the deal. I am a VERY nontraditional student. I am 21 and currently pregnant with my 3rd child. I had my first in high school so gave up the dream of med school and decided to do nursing. Well after an unimpressive 2.5 years as a nursing student I decided that I could do it with kids (2) and so I changed my major. So here I am finishing my first year as a pre-med and I have 3 semsters left after this semester. Here are my problems: 2.9 GPA and 2.7 science due to not enthusiastic or stellar nursing classes, I am very busy with working part time, volunteering 2 hours a weeks at the hospital, 3 kids, a working husband oh yeah and a full college load. I do shadowing a couple times a summer and I attend pre-med club meetings when I can. So am I wasting my time trying to do med school. My grades aren't good, I am very busy but not with the usual pre-med stuff, and I am a mom. Do they take people like me? I know what being a doctor is like because my mother in law is an M.D. Ad I know that this is what I REALLY want to do but I feel like I am not at all a competetive candidate. What do you think? I am trying to get the grades up but I am afraid I won't be able to get it to much higher. I am shooting for a 3.0.
Ellie

Ellie-
I am near the end of my second year of medical school and my perspective has changed DRAMATICALLY from even last year as a first year student. Because you are recieving advice from mostly premeds and first years, I thought it prudent to give a perspective from someone near the end of their "book work" and ready to enter the clinical years. Let me first tell you that second year is unlike any thing you will ever experience. I was a happy first year getting A's in most of my courses because most first year courses are simply repeats of undergrad classes, just a little more complicated. But second year is a completely different story. My grades dropped dramatically until I found out that I had to study an incredible amount of time in order to maintain my grades, pass classes/ do well. Why am I telling you this? Because everyone on this tread is cheerleading you into something they have little experience with. If you think your premed classes are difficult or taxing, wait until you take Pathology, Pharmacology, Microbiology... in the same semester! I did well in undergrad. I attended a very respected university, had a 3.5 science and a 28 MCAT. But medical school has been the most difficult experience of my life, and I have a new found appreciation for why ADCOMs demand academic strength as part of admission. Everyone on the premed board seems to be infatuated with 'getting in' to medical school and very few think of what it actually means once your 'in'. Life gets hard, I see my wife and kids very little. They don't allow you to just put school on hold if your family needs you.

I guess what I am trying to suggest is that you worry less about if you are good enough, and more about if you are ready physically, emotionally, etc. to take on medical school. I have asked myself numerous times why I did this to myself. I have been tried to my emotional core. It has not been easy and the only thing that has got me through is my love of medicine. If I weren't stable, I would have dropped long ago, and you will see classmates drop out because they cant handle it either. Now theyr'e out of medical school with $30K of medical school debt, and they wont even be a doctor in the end so they can afford to pay it off. The bottom line is: What good is it to obtain a goal that you dont want in the first place, just in the name of obtaining it. Get my point? Life isn't about proving your smart enough for medicine or telling people you got in to medical school. Its about happiness, family, etc.

Please dont take offence to this post. It is not my intention to disuade you from a dream. But coming on a premed forum for advice will give you an extremely limited, almost dangerous view of medical school. After going through everything I have gone through, It has tried my determination to becomed a physician to the point that I would think long and hard about entering medical school again (and I haven't even paid my first malpractice payment yet). If your family is ready for sacrifices and you are ready to work harder than you have EVER worked in your life because this is what you want, then you will get into medical school and do well. I have classmates with 6 kids, some have part-time jobs, etc. I dont know how they do it, but they do it. It can be done and you can do it.

Good luck Ellie. I wish you the best.

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

You are very young let your kids get a little older and give it a shot in a few years. GOOD LUCK!

 

[medmom]

Ellie-
I am near the end of my second year of medical school and my perspective has changed DRAMATICALLY from even last year as a first year student. Because you are recieving advice from mostly premeds and first years, I thought it prudent to give a perspective from someone near the end of their "book work" and ready to enter the clinical years. Let me first tell you that second year is unlike any thing you will ever experience. I was a happy first year getting A's in most of my courses because most first year courses are simply repeats of undergrad classes, just a little more complicated. But second year is a completely different story. My grades dropped dramatically until I found out that I had to study an incredible amount of time in order to maintain my grades, pass classes/ do well. Why am I telling you this? Because everyone on this tread is cheerleading you into something they have little experience with. If you think your premed classes are difficult or taxing, wait until you take Pathology, Pharmacology, Microbiology... in the same semester! I did well in undergrad. I attended a very respected university, had a 3.5 science and a 28 MCAT. But medical school has been the most difficult experience of my life, and I have a new found appreciation for why ADCOMs demand academic strength as part of admission. Everyone on the premed board seems to be infatuated with 'getting in' to medical school and very few think of what it actually means once your 'in'. Life gets hard, I see my wife and kids very little. They don't allow you to just put school on hold if your family needs you.

I guess what I am trying to suggest is that you worry less about if you are good enough, and more about if you are ready physically, emotionally, etc. to take on medical school. I have asked myself numerous times why I did this to myself. I have been tried to my emotional core. It has not been easy and the only thing that has got me through is my love of medicine. If I weren't stable, I would have dropped long ago, and you will see classmates drop out because they cant handle it either. Now theyr'e out of medical school with $30K of medical school debt, and they wont even be a doctor in the end so they can afford to pay it off. The bottom line is: What good is it to obtain a goal that you dont want in the first place, just in the name of obtaining it. Get my point? Life isn't about proving your smart enough for medicine or telling people you got in to medical school. Its about happiness, family, etc.

Please dont take offence to this post. It is not my intention to disuade you from a dream. But coming on a premed forum for advice will give you an extremely limited, almost dangerous view of medical school. After going through everything I have gone through, It has tried my determination to becomed a physician to the point that I would think long and hard about entering medical school again (and I haven't even paid my first malpractice payment yet). If your family is ready for sacrifices and you are ready to work harder than you have EVER worked in your life because this is what you want, then you will get into medical school and do well. I have classmates with 6 kids, some have part-time jobs, etc. I dont know how they do it, but they do it. It can be done and you can do it.

Good luck Ellie. I wish you the best.

I definately appreciate your insight and your politeness. As far as knowing what to expect I probably am more prepared than many pre-meds. My mother in law is a doctor and she did it with kids. She had my husband before med school and my sister in law during forth year.So, I have access to a first hand account as well as an account from a child's perspective. Plus I know doctors through her some of which I am close to and have talked with. I also know that this is definately what I want to do. After the birth of my first daughter my family all told me I couldn't do it and that I should just do something else. Trust me I have tried to do something "easier" but I always end up coming back to that I just really want to be a doctor. Nothing confirmed this as well as last summer one of my doc friends let me scrub in and help with a couple c-sections. I walked out of there knowing that I was making the right decision. This is what I want to do. I have thought of other things that I can do if I don't get in and I have some plan but I can't imagine myself doing anything else.
I also agree that many pre-meds aren't doing it for the right reasons. I personally come from a family that isn't educated beyond high school and some of them are very supportive (parents) and others literally think I am absolutely insane (grandma). I also know it is extremely hard but I also know that this is my dream and if I never try to achieve I will never know if I could have succeeded. Not a single one of the doctors that I know well has said anything less than positive. EVERY one of them says yes it's tough but you can do it. Even if it doesn't work out right now I know that someday I am going to do it. Even if that means I have to wait until my kids are grown. But for now I am going to keep going and see what happens. I have never really been one to take the easy road. The road less traveled is usually that way for a reason.
Ellie

 

[Echinoidea]

It seems like you already had your mind made up when you posted this question - you seem very determined and sure of yourself. So, I have to ask - why did you post this? Were you looking for encouragement? You come across as incredibly naive.

You really ought to listen to the above poster. I don't care how many doctors you've shadowed, or C-sections you've observed, or you mother-in-law or whatever...none of that even comes close to the pressure you will be under when you are 60K in debt for just your first year and in the academic struggle of your life. Adcoms are strict about grades and your MCAT for a good reason - sometimes they are saving you from yourself.

My partner and I went through the most trying time of our relationship at the begining of medical school due to the unbelievable amount of time that I needed to spend studying and in school. We don't have kids either...I could not imagine trying to swing this with 3 kids.

Medical school is not some glamorous, intellectual, happy-hugging love fest where simply the 'desire to become a doctor' is enough to get you through. It is grueling, taxing, and demanding. I would advise you not to listen to your fellow pre-meds and take the advice of current medical students.

 

[BMW19]

Scare tactics are worthless in my eyes. If you and the above poster paid attention to her question, you would see that she was not asking how hard medical school is. We all know medical school is hard or we wouldn't be competitive candidates in the first place. It's not like we are high school dropouts applying. What she asked was simply, is she a strong enough candidate in the adcoms minds. That fact that you guys post scare tactics does nothing for her original question. No one knows if they will be able to handle it until they get there.

BMW

It seems like you already had your mind made up when you posted this question - you seem very determined and sure of yourself. So, I have to ask - why did you post this? Were you looking for encouragement? You come across as incredibly naive.

You really ought to listen to the above poster. I don't care how many doctors you've shadowed, or C-sections you've observed, or you mother-in-law or whatever...none of that even comes close to the pressure you will be under when you are 60K in debt for just your first year and in the academic struggle of your life. Adcoms are strict about grades and your MCAT for a good reason - sometimes they are saving you from yourself.

My partner and I went through the most trying time of our relationship at the begining of medical school due to the unbelievable amount of time that I needed to spend studying and in school. We don't have kids either...I could not imagine trying to swing this with 3 kids.

Medical school is not some glamorous, intellectual, happy-hugging love fest where simply the 'desire to become a doctor' is enough to get you through. It is grueling, taxing, and demanding. I would advise you not to listen to your fellow pre-meds and take the advice of current medical students.

 

[Echinoidea]

Scare tactics are worthless in my eyes. If you and the above poster paid attention to her question, you would see that she was not asking how hard medical school is. We all know medical school is hard or we wouldn't be competitive candidates in the first place. It's not like we are high school dropouts applying. What she asked was simply, is she a strong enough candidate in the adcoms minds. That fact that you guys post scare tactics does nothing for her original question. No one knows if they will be able to handle it until they get there.

BMW

I'm not trying to scare her, I'm just being a realist. For some reason, whenever somebody is a realist on these boards, suddenly they are evil bastards. Everyone loves to pat each other on the back and say "you can do it!" and so on. Do a search - there are about 10 million threads like this. 3 kids at age 21 and a 2.9 in nursing school. Yeah, that spells success to an adcom.

I noticed you are in the class of 2009. Congrats. Go back and read my post and the one above it. I thought exactly like you did before I started school. Trust me, you will be a much more humble person after your first anatomy test.

 

[BMW19]

I am a practicing chiropractor for 2 years and an EMT for 7. Yes I know the rigors of anatomy, phys, endocrine, etc. I agree that there is a lot of hugging and patting on this forum that I don't necessarly agree with. But encouragement should be ok. It is a tough decision and to talk to people with similar concerns may help her. All I was saying was that we should try and answer the questions that people ask no more, no less. If you don't think she is a good candidate then tell her. I'm sure she will appreciate it.

BMW-

I'm not trying to scare her, I'm just being a realist. For some reason, whenever somebody is a realist on these boards, suddenly they are evil bastards. Everyone loves to pat each other on the back and say "you can do it!" and so on. Do a search - there are about 10 million threads like this. 3 kids at age 21 and a 2.9 in nursing school. Yeah, that spells success to an adcom.

I noticed you are in the class of 2009. Congrats. Go back and read my post and the one above it. I thought exactly like you did before I started school. Trust me, you will be a much more humble person after your first anatomy test.

 

[DORoe]

I'm not trying to scare her, I'm just being a realist. For some reason, whenever somebody is a realist on these boards, suddenly they are evil bastards. Everyone loves to pat each other on the back and say "you can do it!" and so on. Do a search - there are about 10 million threads like this. 3 kids at age 21 and a 2.9 in nursing school. Yeah, that spells success to an adcom.

I noticed you are in the class of 2009. Congrats. Go back and read my post and the one above it. I thought exactly like you did before I started school. Trust me, you will be a much more humble person after your first anatomy test.

I am all for being a realist and telling people like it is, but your way of going about it is arrogant and rude. Here is an example of me addressing the OP in a realistic manner. "Your grades, as you know, are not steller which is going to make it difficult. you have to be able to bring those grades up in some way. You might want to look into a master's degree program or a post-bac to help you with that. These will also help you get slightly adjusted to what med school is like. You have to be aware of the incredible time commitments that medical school makes on you. You have to ask yourself whether or not you want to miss out on a large portion of your children's formational years. You also need to try to make your husband aware of what it is going to take. This decision will be a burden on him as well. You will have to do well on the MCAT. That will be essential if you want to have a realistic shot at med school. This will require a lot of time on your part. If you are ready to take these things on you can do it, but you should think long and hard about it." You addressed the OP's question by first calling her naive and then insulting her intelligence. That is not being a realist it is being rude. lama addressed the problem effectively, you did not.