Any accepted students starting to feel scared?

[Heisenberg 41]

---

Members do not see this ad.

A lot of bromides about working hard and being fine seem to be tossed around. If you peek at the medicalschool sub reddit, it really seems like less than half of med students are able to do decently (top-half of class) and balance their life outside of class. I don't want to be a debbie-downer, but I really wonder, will all of them be fine? Or only a small portion of them? If it's the latter, then I hope everyone here has a way to strategise.

This might come as a surprise to you, but only half of med students can be in the top-half of their class... I think it's going to be alright.

 

[Mad Jack]

I'm going to be perfectly honest- you should be scared, because it is the most difficult thing you'll have done in your entire life by a long shot. That fear will keep you from slipping early on, it'll keep you motivated. Just be mindful that it doesn't overwhelm you- a little fear is a good thing, but an excess of fear can really do damage to you emotionally.

 

[Okazaki Frag Grenade]

This might come as a surprise to you, but only half of med students can be in the top-half of their class...

 

[iker]

I'm terrified. At least with undergrad they tell you it will be fun.

 

[Mansamusa]

Any fear I have about starting school is overidden by my desire for this year to end. I want this cycle to be over and for me to have a definitive decision on where I will be going to school.

 

[ditritium monoxide]

This might come as a surprise to you, but only half of med students can be in the top-half of their class... I think it's going to be alright.

Yeah, but ranking really low (much lower than 50%tile) will have consequences come match time. Also the point I was trying to make was few do decently and still have a life.

 

[mimelim]

Yeah, but ranking really low (much lower than 50%tile) will have consequences come match time. Also the point I was trying to make was few do decently and still have a life.

No it won't.

 

[Glandzburg]

A lot of bromides about working hard and being fine seem to be tossed around. If you peek at the medicalschool sub reddit, it really seems like less than half of med students are able to do decently (top-half of class) and balance their life outside of class. I don't want to be a debbie-downer, but I really wonder, will all of them be fine? Or only a small portion of them? If it's the latter, then I hope everyone here has a way to strategise.

What??? Your pre-med mind misconstrued what I said. I said you would be fine... I didn't say you would be in the top half of the class. Your comment is a good example of why some people are blindsided when they find out that they aren't in the top 10% of their class.

Please realize just how smart your classmates will be in medical school. You may bust your *** and not crack the top half of the class. Does that mean you aren't "doing fine?" Of course not! I know it's tough for premeds to imagine not being in the top 10% of a class, but most of you will not be.

TL;DR - "You'll be fine" does not mean "you'll be in the top of the class," it means you'll make it through and become a physician.

 

[Glandzburg]

Yeah, but ranking really low (much lower than 50%tile) will have consequences come match time. Also the point I was trying to make was few do decently and still have a life.

You are receiving some really bad and misleading information from somebody.

 

[Pasmal]

You'll continue to feel this way in first year (for how long varies wildly). When you look at your first exam grades you might doubt yourself even if you got "passing" scores. The key is to not let the doubt get the better of you. Channel it into productivity. Analyze your personal habits and study routines as objectively as possible and make adjustments. Also, make sure you don't go through it alone. Whether it's classmates, family, outside friends etc, have a support system you can use when you need to vent (you will). If you find a group of students that you enjoy being around and that you work well with it gets a lot easier IMO.

For now, make sure your personal habits are conducive to the medical school environment. If they aren't (you miss alarms in the morning/are a night person, you don't exercise enough, you eat irregularly or have a poor diet, you have personal relationship issues that may get in the way, you have untreated depression/anxiety that tends to rear its ugly head at the worst times, etc), try to correct them before you start. Also, if you're like me and could cram within 72 hours of a biochem test and come out relatively unscathed, keep an eye towards improving your long-term retention and try to get in the habit of not procrastinating. It's 10x more difficult to deal with this stuff while meeting the demands of medical school.

Good luck everyone, and congrats 🙂

 

[Hangry]

I'm terrified. At least with undergrad they tell you it will be fun.

It will be fun. Hard and fun aren't incompatible.

And on the flip side, lots of leisure =/= happiness and satisfaction. All you people feeling antsy and unfulfilled in your gap years should remember that feeling when med school gets you down. Growth is often painful, but rewarding. And better than the alternative (stagnation? coasting?), at least for my personality.

 

[navigator]

This thread echoes exactly what I've been thinking since getting accepted in December... first, "I can't believe it! I got in! What an amazing feeling," and then, "Uh oh.. what if I suck at this!?," back and forth ad infinitum

 

[musicalfeet]

It will be fun. Hard and fun aren't incompatible.

And on the flip side, lots of leisure =/= happiness and satisfaction. All you people feeling antsy and unfulfilled in your gap years should remember that feeling when med school gets you down. Growth is often painful, but rewarding. And better than the alternative (stagnation? coasting?), at least for my personality.

I'm pretty much being a bum aside from some light research (which I do because I feel like I owe my PI a ton for all the success I've had this cycle), and I just tell myself that every time I get restless.

 

[JerseyGirlie]

I am so glad I found this thread.
I went to my interviews, and I met some really stellar people. Sometimes, I can't believe I got accepted to my top school and can't help but think it was a mistake. I honestly don't match up - so I just feel inadequate. What did you guys do to stop comparing yourself to your peers??

 

[whatever5]

I am so glad I found this thread.
I went to my interviews, and I met some really stellar people. Sometimes, I can't believe I got accepted to my top school and can't help but think it was a mistake. I honestly don't match up - so I just feel inadequate. What did you guys do to stop comparing yourself to your peers??

This has definitely been my experience as well. Making small talk with other students on the interview trail and hearing about all their accomplishments has made me feel infinitely inferior to my peers and really made me question if the admissions committee got it right when they chose me.

 

[TBV]

First you're terrified for MS1 to start and the fear remains for like the first 5 tests. Then you're terrified learning to take a history with real pts and then that gets easy. Then fear of doing physicals. Presenting. Step 1. Clinical years.

You have to learn to live with the fear and the awkwardness because these next 4 years are just a repeating cycle of... "OMG this is going to suck, I suck, what if I can't do this, I'm going to puke, I should drop out".... "Oh that was it? That wasn't so bad."

Quicker you make your peace with that, the easier it gets.

 

[Lost in Translation]

Sure, I'm worried. But I know that everyone else was at this stage, and they turned out fine. I have complete faith that med school will teach me everything I need to know to be a good doc so w/e.