Any regrets or huge mistakes?

[Dr Wannabee]

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Just wondering if anyone made any huge blunders or errors in judgement during their pre-med life. Just wondering if you could share some of these experiences so us newbies don't make the same mistakes. Ant advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[wendywellesley]

if you are getting B-'s in your basic sciences classes (i'm talking 2-3 in a row here) STOP TAKING THEM!! if you don't feel completely comfortable at college, feel burnt out from high school, think you need to slow it down, don't push yourself. don't listen to your parents who say, "just take these classes, even if you don't think you want to be a doctor, just take them, they might come handy in the future" if you are unsure about what you want. (this probably won't apply to any one who reads this forum, but it might....)
there is always the possiblity of post-bacc programs. that is why we live in the best country in the world. if you continue to get bad science grades and you do eventually decide to go into medicine, it will bite you in the ass.

 

[dhoonlee]

.

 

[GATORade]

Apply to medical school as early as possible! In 2003 I applied in late September/early October and didn't even receive an interview. I applied June 2nd this year, without much change in my application, and have already been on four interviews and holding on to one acceptance. Good Luck.

 

[Ypo.]

Well, there was one night involving a fifth of Captain Morgan, a zebra, and a can of red spray paint, but I'd rather not talk about it.

 

[Medikit]

I regret believing that I had to be in medical school as soon as possible after high school. I regret believing I had to be practicing before the age of 30.

 

[Jeffy]

Studying for the MCAT is imperative. I coulda done MUCH better if I woulda spent the time that everyone else spent studying for it.

 

[Ypo.]

OK-actually I thought of something useful.

The ONE thing I wish I had known as I started out in my pre-med years...that AMCAS incorporates all grades-even if your school erases them when you do a repeat. They'll average the grades you recieve for the same class.

One $hitty class in my freshman year dropped my GPA from a 3.9 to a 3.5 😱

 

[IndyZX]

probably what im about to do tonight...

 

[vikaskoth]

how is it possible for one bad grade to drop a gpa from 3.9 to 3.5 out of at least 90 hrs of your college career, or do you mean that your freshman year this class dropped your gpa for the year?

 

[saronno]

I wish I knew to stop taking my pre med classes when I was doing poorly during freshman year and just do a post-bacc later, at a time when I was more capable of handling college level science.

I wish I knew to NOT go to a cutthroat pre medical school and somewhere else that didn't make me want to scream at all my professors.

 

[eralza]

Stay focused!
During my entire pre-med years, I sat in class and daydreamed about becoming a physician, and just presumed that it would happen naturally. Start early with a dedicated plan of completion. Just like finishing a marathon, you can't think, "That would be a cool thing to do...I think I'll try it tomorrow".
I was a ski instructor during college, and my winter grades definitely suffered because of the temptation of using my seasons pass as often as possible (skied 100 days one year!).
It has taken me 4 years as a Navy Corpsman, a M.S. degree, and 10 years of working in the medical field to overshadow the immaturity of my undergrad years.

 

[KatieOConnor]

I made the mistake of assuming I wouldn't get in anywhere after a couple of bad grades freshman year and some "issues" that caused me to take time off on two seperate occasions. Then I made the mistake of not taking the MCAT seriously enough, choking during the test, and getting a 27, which is not in itself bad, but, when coupled with the fact that I withdrew on two occasions, and that my freshman year grades were not great, wasn't a good thing.

I actually wasn't even going to apply, but, then with some post bac work to pull up my grades a little, another MCAT prep course followed by an 11 point improvement, now I've gotten 8 interview invites thus far.

So, understand that stuff happens during your undergrad career, and that even if everything isn't perfect, this doesn't mean you have to give up. But it does help if you don't make all those mistakes to begin with.

 

[Ypo.]

how is it possible for one bad grade to drop a gpa from 3.9 to 3.5 out of at least 90 hrs of your college career, or do you mean that your freshman year this class dropped your gpa for the year?

No, I took the same class twice-didn't attend classes and neglected to withdraw (I figured that I could retake later and get the grade erased-as that was the schools policy). Therefore-it was an average of F,F,B-and that dropped my BCPM GPA from a 3.9 to a 3.5-and my overall from a 3.7 to a 3.5.

My point was that if I had known that AMCAS averages the grades-instead of replacing a bad grade with a good grade, I would have been a lot smarter about how I handled that class. What can I say, except I was young and dumb.

 

[wends]

my biggest regret is not getting my LOR's ready earlier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 👎 😳 🙁

 

[tc13]

Does the length of time between bad grades and good grades make a difference. I made lots of bad grades during my freshman and sophmore years back in 1989-90.
Later got married, had kid, ran my company, and just got back into school.
I have a total of about 50 hrs. A's in 1991 and this semester. Texas allows removing all classes from official transcript if they are 10+ years old. I'd hate to start over, but are the grades from 1989/90 and the recent retakes going to be a big problem in applying to med school?

 

[kstone13]

Never sell yourself short and don't allow the stigma attached to doctors being almighty humans deter your hopes or self-confidence. Despite the perception, alot of doctors aren't gifts from god, dont get me wrong, the profession is extremely noble but getting there is subject to chance and circumstance just like everything else. I don't care how many times you f***ed up or how pathetic you may think you are, just realize that when you DO want to become a doctor, put in the time and effort neccessary and it will show. and one more thing...thinking that a top-tier undergraduate school will provide an answer to the uncertainty of your future could be one of the most over-rated preconceptions ever! Stay in your own element and work hard and you'll be just fine, I know!

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

I regret not getting clinical experience until my upper-division years. During my first two years as a student, I spent a good number of hours wasting time with video games and fraternity activities, and didnt volunteer or shadow any physicians. I should have volunteered those two years at the hospital in which I am now volunteering, because I am much busier now even without the volunteer reponsibility.
My point? Get the typical, run-of-the-mill pre-med activities out of the way when you first enter college, so you can get creative and really accomplish some things in your later years when you will be busier with school anyways.

 

[joelmamchur]

One thing I REALLY regret doing is taking the Mcat after my first eyar of univ. in hopes of getting into medical school after 2 years. This reasulted in wasted time attempting to study (with terrible materials mind you) while workign almost full time. I did not have the pre-reqs to take the class, and only had taken 2 biology courses in my life ( I opted to get my university chemistry credits in high school instead of taking biology). Let's just say this: Retaking the Mcat blows!