Anyone have post-acceptance doubts...

[jadealer]

---

Members don't see this ad.

So.. I graduated in 2007 and planned to take off 2 years to work prior to applying to medical school. Due to life circumstances, I ended up applying for 2010 matriculation. Unfortunately, I was not accepted just waitlisted at 3 schools (I applied very late - nov/dec and didn't have the best MCAT). So I reapplied early and gained acceptances in Oct. at two schools which WLed me the previous year. At the time, I was very excited and happy to say the least..

But since October, I've started to doubt whether I should go or not... by the time I would graduate school I would be 31.. and will be 35-40 depending on what kind of residency I did.. plus the two school I was accepted are both private with high tuition ($40K and $45K year) and i know I won't get any merit scholarships because of my poor mcat or any need-based aid because my parents income and they are preparing to retire within 2 years so they have alot of money saved for retirement but are not helping me with medical school, understandably.. they helped me alot in UG and I appreciate what they did for me.

On top of all of that, my friends and other people continue to tell me about the costs of malpractice insurance and lovingly share their horror stories about people they know who become doctors but are barely make a living paying back their loans thus fueling any anxieties and doubts I am currently having it seems.

🙁 So has anyone else had such doubts or post-acceptance anxieties. I feel really angry at myself that I worked for 4 years post UG plus 4 years in UG and put myself through two application cycles... to get to this point.. only to be second guessing what I am doing. I don't know what to do.. and I don't know why these feelings came up when I should just be feeling happy and excited. And no, no one in my family pressured me into medicine.. they don't care what I do just so long as I am happy.

Any advice or words of wisdom or even, "I have those days too!" is greatly appreciated..

 

[mspeedwagon]

I can't fully relate (I'm not yet accepted [I guess, more accurately, I haven't applied yet]), but can respond to your financial concerns. If medicine is something you are passionate about, then don't worry about the money, it will follow. You are going to turn 35 or 40 anyway, so might as well be 40 and a doctor (assuming that it is your passion) than 40 and doing something you don't like making money.

I've debated this financial merits a long time. I'm 27, not married, make over 100k a year, so why medicine you may ask. It's a simple matter of I don't love what I do. Yes, ideally I should have pursued medicine a long time ago, but it took me a while to figure out what I was interested in. Follow your passion and the money will follow. It's easy to make 100k+ not doing medicine, but it's hard to find something you love.

 

[QofQuimica]

Any advice or words of wisdom or even, "I have those days too!" is greatly appreciated..

My opinion? Now that you're accepted and have had some time to sit back and reflect, you have cold feet. Completely normal, and completely understandable. There is a huge fear of the unknown and a sense of the hugeness of what you're taking on. So of course you wonder if you can really handle this, if you're doing the right thing, etc. I feel the same way about starting residency. It's scary to think that I will write orders and people will do them--I don't feel like I know nearly enough to be a physician. The thing is, once you get to med school, you will probably discover that yes, you *can* handle it. You will probably find your school tolerable if not a place you really like. The unknown becomes familiar, and then you can look back and laugh at how you ever doubted yourself.

Of course, it *is* possible that you really don't want to go to medical school. But considering that you went through all of that effort to get to where you are now, I rather doubt it. 😉

Congrats on your acceptances, and best of luck next year. 🙂

 

[Quik]

Mspeed pre-emptively echoed what I would have to say, but as far as the age goes, that is a pretty silly reason to not attend med school. I am also 27, pulling myself out of a career I imagined I too would love, for all the right reasons. After having a master's in my current career field, and one of the few people in the country who do my job as well as I do, I'm still not satisfied and am willing to go back to square 1 taking pre-reqs at a community college and begin the long journey to become a doctor. So, you'll be 35 by the time your done w/ residency? Good, as some have said, that's about the time one typically can decipher their own ass from a hole in the ground. You'll have a good 20 years for your medical career before a normal retirement age at 55.

According to my current plan, and upon gaining acceptance in my 1st cycle, I'll be turning 39 by the time I complete my residency. Sure I will have ammassed a huge loan debt, but practicing medicine and specifically performing surgery is what I want to do with my life, it is all worth it.

 

[eablackwell]

I agree that it is normal to have cold feet. When I was accepted I had 1 day of supreme excitement followed by a crushing fear that "Omg, I'm in, what if I suck? What if I'm too old (28 when entering)? Etc." It will pass. That's the only drawback to getting accepted early...almost an entire year to worry. Heck, I am still terrified of getting a call saying "Yeah...about that acceptance letter. Our secretary typed in the wrong AMCAS ID."

You did all this work to get where you are. Onward ho!

As for money, I understand the concern, but as someone above stated, if you give it your all and finish med school/residency then you shouldn't have too much of a money issue. Good luck, and congrats on your acceptances!

 

[mauberley]

Any advice or words of wisdom or even, "I have those days too!" is greatly appreciated..

"I have those days too!"

It's easy to make 100k+ not doing medicine, but it's hard to find something you love.

👍 If I'm doing what I love, so long as I have enough to put food on the table and a roof over my head, I think it's worth it.

I agree that it is normal to have cold feet. When I was accepted I had 1 day of supreme excitement followed by a crushing fear that "Omg, I'm in, what if I suck? What if I'm too old (28 when entering)? Etc." It will pass. That's the only drawback to getting accepted early...almost an entire year to worry. Heck, I am still terrified of getting a call saying "Yeah...about that acceptance letter. Our secretary typed in the wrong AMCAS ID."

"I have those days too!" 😉 Except I think I'm more worried of having missed some matriculation requirement rather than this all being a figment of my imagination, or some massive mistake.

Also, to 28 being too old. (j/k.)

I have days where I doubt myself, and I think it's largely due to what eablackwell said--this interminable post-early acceptance, pre-matriculation period. It's easy to forget the reasons why I'm doing this in that time, especially when I have days at work where I actually feel energized and motivated (a rarity these days). Just try and remind yourself why you're doing this. (And drop the "too old" argument, as you'll only bring the old fogeys out of the woodwork to put you back in your place. 😉)

 

[eablackwell]

"I have those days too!" 😉 Except I think I'm more worried of having missed some matriculation requirement rather than this all being a figment of my imagination.

I have days where I doubt myself, and I think it's largely due to what eablackwell said--this interminable post-early acceptance, pre-matriculation period. It's easy to forget the reasons why I'm doing this in that time, especially when I have days at work where I actually feel energized and motivated (a rarity these days). Just try and remind yourself why you're doing this. (And drop the "too old" argument, as you'll only bring the old fogeys out of the woodwork to put you back in your place. 😉)

I'm pretty sure the lady in the office at FIU must roll her eyes when she hears my voice. I call every couple weeks just to make sure there's nothing else I need to do. I submitted my fafsa 1/1/2011. I sent my scholarship app the first Monday after I received it, and my certiphi was turned around within 10 min of receiving the email. I am making sure nothing is missing to the best of my ability, because that's one of my fears too.

 

[mauberley]

I'm pretty sure the lady in the office at FIU must roll her eyes when she hears my voice. I call every couple weeks just to make sure there's nothing else I need to do. I submitted my fafsa 1/1/2011. I sent my scholarship app the first Monday after I received it, and my certiphi was turned around within 10 min of receiving the email. I am making sure nothing is missing to the best of my ability, because that's one of my fears too.

Or the lady in the office at FIU is thinking you're romantically interested? 😉

Brief OT--since you filed so early, are you using estimated numbers for your FAFSA?

 

[StudyShy]

I'll trade you positions. 😉

 

[eablackwell]

Or the lady in the office at FIU is thinking you're romantically interested? 😉

Brief OT--since you filed so early, are you using estimated numbers for your FAFSA?

My husband and I both have electronic access to our yearly income information. Since my husband and I both received our last check of the year on the 30th of December, we were able to log in and see everything, income for the year, tax for the year, etc. We looked up the tax laws for this year to see if we still qualified for the educational tax credit and boom...that's basically all they wanted. We have no assets over 10k, so all they needed was income, taxes paid, and exemptions.

 

[mauberley]

My husband and I both have electronic access to our yearly income information. Since my husband and I both received our last check of the year on the 30th of December, we were able to log in and see everything, income for the year, tax for the year, etc. We looked up the tax laws for this year to see if we still qualified for the educational tax credit and boom...that's basically all they wanted. We have no assets over 10k, so all they needed was income, taxes paid, and exemptions.

I see. Thanks!

 

[jadealer]

thanks everyone.. it makes me feel a lot better to know I am not the only person who had these feelings. I am feeling much better today and more positive. Thank you! And I'm still excited for school.

 

[Helen Wheels]

I spent so many years my with focus on "getting in" somewhere that I was a little surprised to find that, after you get an acceptance, your mind goes in other directions. I was accepted in late July by LECOM. At first I found myself wondering, "Can I really do this, can I really be a doctor?" Now, with 6 months to go before I start, I worry that I might flunk out or not be able to get enough loans to live on.

 

[MCAT guy]

So.. I graduated in 2007 and planned to take off 2 years to work prior to applying to medical school. Due to life circumstances, I ended up applying for 2010 matriculation. Unfortunately, I was not accepted just waitlisted at 3 schools (I applied very late - nov/dec and didn't have the best MCAT). So I reapplied early and gained acceptances in Oct. at two schools which WLed me the previous year. At the time, I was very excited and happy to say the least..

But since October, I've started to doubt whether I should go or not... by the time I would graduate school I would be 31.. and will be 35-40 depending on what kind of residency I did.. plus the two school I was accepted are both private with high tuition ($40K and $45K year) and i know I won't get any merit scholarships because of my poor mcat or any need-based aid because my parents income and they are preparing to retire within 2 years so they have alot of money saved for retirement but are not helping me with medical school, understandably.. they helped me alot in UG and I appreciate what they did for me.

On top of all of that, my friends and other people continue to tell me about the costs of malpractice insurance and lovingly share their horror stories about people they know who become doctors but are barely make a living paying back their loans thus fueling any anxieties and doubts I am currently having it seems.

🙁 So has anyone else had such doubts or post-acceptance anxieties. I feel really angry at myself that I worked for 4 years post UG plus 4 years in UG and put myself through two application cycles... to get to this point.. only to be second guessing what I am doing. I don't know what to do.. and I don't know why these feelings came up when I should just be feeling happy and excited. And no, no one in my family pressured me into medicine.. they don't care what I do just so long as I am happy.

Any advice or words of wisdom or even, "I have those days too!" is greatly appreciated..

Oh yeah. I do.

I left a good job, got in, and now have a good job again. So yeah, tough to look at 200k in debt.

But that's the only thing that makes me hesitate. I don't think about malpractice, plus if you are good with patients you probably won't get sued. Most docs are only sued like once or twice in their career (?) read that somewhere.