Confused about the next step.

[mike1234594]

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[karayaa]

I have always wanted to become a doctor and I have never thought about any other career.

first problem i see

Whyyy do you think this is your last shot??
Don't you know that some of the ppl on this forum are non-trads? Don't you know that top-3 schools take non-trads?
I think the avg age is 24 for all schools is now 24 - for many top schools, it's 26-27.

You're catastrophizing. (did i spell that right?)

 

[allantois]

Breath deep.
You don't need an extremely high MCAT to go to medical school.
You have many options including DO school if your MCAT isn't that great;
There are other fields in healthcare such as dentistry which have easier admission tests.

 

[Pierre Escargot]

What kind of grades are you getting on the practice exams?

Do you think that your anxiety toward the MCAT is hampering your performance?

 

[Pierre Escargot]

If you can make something close to a 29 you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Osteopathic (DO) medical schools tend emphasize things other than statistics (GPA and MCAT) a bit more than allopathic (MD) schools. DOs are doctors all the same so what do you have to worry about?

Edit: Some low- to mid-tier allopathic schools would be fine with a 29 by the way, especially with your GPA.

 

[Dr Van Helsing]

Hello guys,
I am a premed Biology senior in the US, feeling that this is the a end of my long journey. I have always wanted to become a doctor and I have never thought about any other career. I started my undergrad as a Biology major in 2011, took all the prereqs, have great grades, 4.0 non science and 3.8 science. I was very active on campus, in premed clubs, teaching, research and a lot of extracurricular activities. I have never suffered in a class and have always been in the top 10% of it. Here is my problem.. I have been studying for my MCAT from almost a year now, as a traditional student I should have applied for this cycle, well, I didn't..why? because of the MCAT. That this is really hard, I am not seeing a lot of improvement and I am taking my test soon, yet, I feel not ready at all. Knowing that this is my last shot, I started doubting my career path. I don't want to waste the next cycle as well, and eventually wasting more years of my life. Furthermore, I don't see myself studying for the MCAT 2015, knowing that I haven't taken any Biochem or sociology. The worst of all, I can't even think of any other career. I have wasted four years of my life studying a degree that doesn't even have a good job market, knowing that I don't want to spend my life in a research lab or as a high school teacher," I am 21 years old btw ". What kind of career should I think of now, should I spend two extra years studying an accounting or engineering degree and then jump to the real world, or should I choose a graduate program. I feel that I will never pass this MCAT, my grades fluctuates dramatically which is not a good sign especially for verbal. Is this the end of the long sleepless nights journey?
Thanks guys,

Breath again.
You are so young; your science classes won't expire for another 5 years.
You can't man up and study for next years MCAT? The time spent studying the MCAT could be coupled with even more volunteer work, etc..
Get a grip, dude. Your life is not over.

 

[Dr Van Helsing]

Do you guys think I should be thinking of a career change? What would you do if you were in my shoe?

Take the MCAT and get into a good school. I'm starting to think you are trolling.

 

[freemontie]

Young, no kids, soon to be college graduate w/ pre-med reqs and an awesome GPA.

Iraqi Infantrymen nor pregnant homeless women dramatize the way you do. No, you have not wasted 4 years on a useless degree. No, you don't have to be a tecaher or researcher for life. Yes, if you want to explore another career before trying for medicine later you have plenty of time to do that given you're 21.

 

[Dr Van Helsing]

I am very honest. Sorry if I sounded like trolling but I feel that I am in a very difficult situation. I am just concerned that I would do really bad on my mcat and get a score like 16 or something.

I don't know what to say. I wish I were you; I would study my ass off for the next year like a boss, take a practice test, and see what I can do with the results.

 

[allantois]

 

[Pierre Escargot]

You're not going to get a 16 on the MCAT. Relax. If anything will cause you to underperform it's your anxiety/nerves. Continue studying until your test day, take the test, analyze feasible options and apply, whether it be MD, DO, or a combination of the two. You'll be fine.

 

[johnnytest]

Continue studying and see how you do. You can't call it quits without even having an MCAT score. Besides, you have a high gpa and so a 29 MCAT won't kill you for MD schools and certainly not for DO schools. Once you receive your MCAT score, let us know and we could provide better advice such as school list. FYI, I know someone from my school with a 30 MCAT and a GPA <3.6 and she got into an MD school. If you have meaningful experiences and a compelling story/reason for choosing medicine, I'm sure you will get into medical school, provided you do all the other nitty gritty tasks. e.g. apply broadly and early, excellent PS, LORs, secondaries, etc.

 

[cidem2065]

Young, no kids, soon to be college graduate w/ pre-med reqs and an awesome GPA.

Iraqi Infantrymen nor pregnant homeless women dramatize the way you do. No, you have not wasted 4 years on a useless degree. No, you don't have to be a tecaher or researcher for life. Yes, if you want to explore another career before trying for medicine later you have plenty of time to do that given you're 21.

That's because those people are in actual - not imagined - difficult situations.

OP: Let's see some practice test scores and section breakdowns.

Or start looking into construction jobs.

 

[LizzyM]

You are already looking at a gap year; you might as well take a sociology course and biochem and take the exam in late 2015 and apply in 2016. It sounds like you need the experience of working in the real world to be the strongest applicant you can be. A poor MCAT is going to call that GPA into question; are you smart or does your school have massive grade inflation or have you otherwise played the system to get a strong GPA?

Do it once, do it right, even if it means applying a year after finishing college.

 

[Kochanie]

My nickname in high school (by teachers, yikes).

 

[Goro]

Go talk to a counselor at your school.

Well, the thing is that if I stay that long I will feel guilty about myself. Some non-trads might have had some difficult circumstances, I don't have any difficult times. I am a full time student, and I parents pay for all my expenses. Don't get me wrong, I won't panic is I was in medicals school at age of 23, however, what if I don't. My life will be catastrophe. I don't see myself studying for a whole new test for one more year, dealing with all the stress and wasting precious time that I could have been using to study medicine, or if not medicine, something else that would help me in the future, other than knowing bunch of reactions to get tested on. That's my main concern. What shall I do I things don't work. I am stuck!

 

[deleted651092]

Talk to a professional about your anxiety. You don't need a diagnosis to manage it, sometimes talking to someone is enough to make things less stressful for you. If you're serious about going to med school you're gonna have to manage this asap. If you're this stressed about applying to med school, I can't even imagine how bad it'll be once you're actually a med student.