Down and out but still HOPEFUL

[lolita88]

Hello everyone,
This is my first time posting. I really need advice and serious advice not the 'you can't do it,' 'nope not a chance,' 'forget it and give it up' type of "advice." I'm looking for people who have been there done that, people with advice that I can take and run with. Giving up for me right now.. IS NOT AN OPTION.

Here's my story. I started volunteering in research as a junior (summer) at a very prestigious school/hospital. I turned that volunteering into an internship for my last semester of my senior year. After completing that internship, I was able to go straight into a job with a related research study for about a year and a half until it ran out of funding. I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Sociology. During that time, I was lost and confused wondering where I should go.. graduate school or medical school. I started taking random courses and performed sub-par. At that time, I was working anywhere between 40-60 hours per week on top of two classes. My work really affected my grades.

I moved to a different country and having been taking undergraduate pre-requisite courses for medical school and have failed almost all of them. Since moving here, I've experienced financial issues, security in my living situation, stress with relationships (boyfriend and his family) and was getting very little sleep.

I am progressing into better habits, more sleep (regular hours and not sleeping at 6am to wake up at 8am etc.), working, moving into my own place with a friend. I WANT to get into medical school and am willing to do anything to get in. I have access to two references that are really at the top of their field, research experience and I'm pulling the minority card with hopes that it actually helps.

I've failed calc. twice, and am waiting on my chem and physics grades now to see if I failed them a second time as well. I'm taking a biology course this summer and read somewhere that I should take more biology courses in order to up my GPA and to do really really really do well on the MCAT. I never got formal counseling and would like to hear from those of you with experience or know what I can do to get into a school. Any advice is welcome.. even advice on masters programs.

THANKS so much! Those posting a one liner...give it up..etc..as stated previously.. don't waste your time posting.

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[Goro]

Have you finished your UG degree? If so, try for an SMP. It's medical school lite. there are lots of them around too.

Hello everyone,
This is my first time posting. I really need advice and serious advice not the 'you can't do it,' 'nope not a chance,' 'forget it and give it up' type of "advice." I'm looking for people who have been there done that, people with advice that I can take and run with. Giving up for me right now.. IS NOT AN OPTION.

Here's my story. I started volunteering in research as a junior (summer) at a very prestigious school/hospital. I turned that volunteering into an internship for my last semester of my senior year. After completing that internship, I was able to go straight into a job with a related research study for about a year and a half after it ran out of funding. I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Sociology. During that time, I was lost and confused wondering where I should go.. graduate school or medical school. I started taking random courses and performed sub-par. At that time, I was working anywhere between 40-60 hours per week on top of two classes. My work really affected my grades.

I moved to a different country and having been taking undergraduate pre-requisite courses for medical school and have failed almost all of them. Since moving here, I've experienced financial issues, security in my living situation, stress with relationships (boyfriend and his family) and was getting very little sleep.

I am progressing into better habits, more sleep (regular hours and not sleeping at 6am to wake up at 8am etc.), working, moving into my own place with a friend. I WANT to get into medical school and am willing to do anything to get in. I have access to two references that are really at the top of their field, research experience and I'm pulling the minority card with hopes that it actually helps.

I've failed calc. twice, and am waiting on my chem and physics grades now to see if I failed them a second time as well. I'm taking a biology course this summer and read somewhere that I should take more biology courses in order to up my GPA and to really really really do well in the MCAT. I never got formal counseling and would like to hear from those of you with experience or know what I can do to get into a school. Any advice is welcome.. even advice on masters programs.

THANKS so much! Those posting a one liner...give it up..etc..as stated previously.. don't waste your time posting.

 

[startswithb]

Why are you failing courses? Why are you failing them a second time? Are your psychology grades better? Is it science that you struggle with? I think you need to focus on short term goals right now. Do not even think about medical school until you can get As (not Bs) in science courses. The basics are really important and that's why they are prerequisites. It would be impossible to do well on the MCAT without great grades in those courses as well. Start small.

 

[lolita88]

moved to reply

 

[lolita88]

moved to reply

 

[lolita88]

Why are you failing courses? Why are you failing them a second time? Are your psychology grades better? Is it science that you struggle with? I think you need to focus on short term goals right now. Do not even think about medical school until you can get As (not Bs) in science courses. The basics are really important and that's why they are prerequisites. It would be impossible to do well on the MCAT without great grades in those courses as well. Start small.

A lot of it was personal stressors. I know that when a person goes into medical school and is an intern/resident, a lot of the things I'm dealing with will happen... (lack of sleep, stress etc.) I suppose it's harder for me because my family is in a different country, I can't help to provide for them or myself, I've moved to several residences since I've moved here, I'm depending on people that really bring me down and it's been difficult to sleep.

Anyways, I know.. it's a bunch of excuses and some of these things will be things I face in school but those are some things that just begin to scratch the surface of the things that have gone on this year.. others are.. death of close one, dad returning from war, selling our house, me not having a place to call home, and some loan debt.

I've been dealing with these situations one by one and am fixing/dealing with them as best as I can. I think this summer term will really get me back on my feet.

also, I may have taken too many courses at once. I've taken chemistry, physics, calculus, a physics lab and an intensive french program this semester for example. Someone mentioned that seemed like a lot of science courses for one semester but I went for it anyway.

I did better in my psychology courses. I ended with a 3.4 GPA for both psych and soc.

 

[lolita88]

Have you finished your UG degree? If so, try for an SMP. It's medical school lite. there are lots of them around too.

Goro:Yes I have a undergraduate degree in psychology and sociology already.

 

[lolita88]

You really need to figure out why you are failing. Forget about any time pressure you might be feeling to get into medical school. Take some time for your living situation to settle. Keep making money. Your work history will look good to medical schools and is a valid reason for not studying.

Once you are more stable and have figured out why you are not doing well, enroll at the easiest university that offers the sciences and take them with the easiest professors. Ace them. You need the GPA repair.

As your confidence grows you may be able to tackle harder courses.

Don't rush. You don't want to mess up your record any further. You can overcome this but it won't be fast until you figure things out. Once you have the ball rolling again you will be amazed at how fast two years of fulltime pre-reqs goes by.

Thank you very much. I know I have several things to work on and now that I finished this semester I'm taking a step back to re-evaluate everything.

I was planning on purchasing MCAT material to study with this summer. I'm not rushing to take that this year but I know I need to begin to train myself to focus, concentrate and find the best study method since what I've done hasn't worked.

I really appreciate the advice. I hope your doing well in your studies

 

[lolita88]

Have you finished your UG degree? If so, try for an SMP. It's medical school lite. there are lots of them around too.

I forgot to mention this before but is smp another way of describing a post bac? I've actually never seen smp before reading through some threads on this site.

Thanks!

 

[Atherosclerotic]

I was one of those students who majored in a basement kiddy subject - philosophy. There is no math or science in that field, outside of the basic logic that you learn taken from standard 9th grade curriculum. Anyhow, the first major change I had to make was the way I understood math. It is a language in and of itself which ties into the hard sciences (physics and chem. - bio. is NOT a hard science, it's nothing more than memorization).

Best advice for you would be to start at junior high school level math (doing basic fractions and other pre-algebra work, as well as basic geometry) to build your confidence level. And here is the most valuable advice I can give you: the very moment you stumble, you need to stop and fix that problem. Figure out why you made that mistake, take notes, and keep visiting your math notes daily. Fixate on memorizing patterns, rules, and processes. This takes time to get used to and will become second nature after weeks of repeated training. Over time you will refine how you teach yourself. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

Don't worry about your age. If you can do well, you will have a strong foundation. I'd also quit thinking so far ahead. Don't think about professional schooling down the road. You have to first master adding and subtracting fractions, and factoring. Then master solving for x. Move on to graphing equations. Then quadratic equations. Take it a step at a time.

 

[Balantidiumcoli]

Hello everyone,
This is my first time posting. I really need advice and serious advice not the 'you can't do it,' 'nope not a chance,' 'forget it and give it up' type of "advice." I'm looking for people who have been there done that, people with advice that I can take and run with. Giving up for me right now.. IS NOT AN OPTION.

I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Sociology. During that time, I was lost and confused wondering where I should go.. graduate school or medical school. I started taking random courses and performed sub-par. At that time, I was working anywhere between 40-60 hours per week on top of two classes. My work really affected my grades.

I am progressing into better habits, more sleep (regular hours and not sleeping at 6am to wake up at 8am etc.), working, moving into my own place with a friend. I WANT to get into medical school and am willing to do anything to get in. I have access to two references that are really at the top of their field, research experience and I'm pulling the minority card with hopes that it actually helps.

I've failed calc. twice, and am waiting on my chem and physics grades now to see if I failed them a second time as well. I'm taking a biology course this summer and read somewhere that I should take more biology courses in order to up my GPA and to really really really do well in the MCAT. I never got formal counseling and would like to hear from those of you with experience or know what I can do to get into a school. Any advice is welcome.. even advice on masters programs.

A woman after my own heart.

I'm actually in a situation similar to yours and I'm fully expecting it's going to take me a few more years before I can go to med school anywhere myself.

Like you, I tried taking 30 credits of pre-req courses while simultaneously working ~40 hour weeks which in hindsight was probably among the most reckless counter-productive things I've ever done in my life. I didn't fail anything but I finished off the year with a measly 3.06 (which doesn't help much, considering my previous 3.1 gpa) and was much worse for wear because of it. (Actually 2.97 if you include the two calculus course I took the previous summer -_-)

If you're GPA is an issue, the best advice I can give you for doing well in school is to cut your working hours hours *the best amount* you can and really tighten your belt. For the finals I just finished I did absolutely nothing for 3 weeks but study. No socializing. No working. No volunteering. No research. Studying. And even then I still didn't get a 4.0 this term (3.66) in 15 credits of heavy science.

I find that one of the most useful things for studying for science classes is to not think of study as a matter of learning facts but running drills. You can't just look at a mechanism in O-Chem (for instance, Wolff-Kishner reduction), see it in a book and say 'ok, I got it' like you can look at the definition of the halo effect and say 'ok, got it'. Science is about developing problem solving skills and not simply understanding an amalgamation of facts (something I wish I knew earlier...).

 

[Goro]

SMP= Special Masters Program. These are designed to mimic medical school with courses in anatomy, physiology, pjarm, micro etc. This is distinct from a traditonal MS program, in, say, Biochemistry, where you take coursework directed towards one specialy.

So, yes, an SMP is a specialized form of post-bac, but not all post-bacs are SMPs. Some post-bacs can be do-it-yourself.

I forgot to mention this before but is smp another way of describing a post bac? I've actually never seen smp before reading through some threads on this site.

Thanks!

 

[lolita88]

I'm glad I'm not alone this situation. I haven't taken a math course like algebra since high school. I would go over problems and say 'WOW this looks familiar but what the heck am I supposed to do' or 'I know this is an easy basic equation that I'm supposed to KNOW but I don't.' Of course it was discouraging. I did find bio to be A LOT easier in comparison to everything else but like you said it's involving more memorization which I'm already accustomed to.

Thanks again for your advice!

 

[lolita88]

It's funny because I did say that for some concepts.. (look at it and say 'i got it'). At the time when I read the page and the information I would say okay its not that bad but when it came time for me to put that concept into use I was totally lost. I second guessed everything and the lack of sleep didn't help with retention either.

While we're on the topic of studying, I might as well ask another question. What would you say has been a good method for you or others to study these type of courses. When I studied for psych and soc, a lot of it was just memorization and reading. I had no problem with that. Now, I can't completely do that with these courses. I can read it but I know I have to practice it too.

 

[lolita88]

I have another question!

Would it look bad to take one or two courses at a time while working full time?

I lied, I technically have two questions. The second question is...

Just how difficult would it be for me to get into a SMP if my gpa has been lowered because of these science courses. Is it possible that they would consider my undergraduate GPA more over the independent courses I've taken? (I lied again.. that was a third question)

 

[lolita88]

Thank you Goro! I just submitted three questions and am just quoting it because you might be able to answer the second and third question about SMP.

I have another question!

Would it look bad to take one or two courses at a time while working full time?

I lied, I technically have two questions. The second question is...

Just how difficult would it be for me to get into a SMP if my gpa has been lowered because of these science courses. Is it possible that they would consider my undergraduate GPA more over the independent courses I've taken? (I lied again.. that was a third question)

 

[Balantidiumcoli]

While we're on the topic of studying, I might as well ask another question. What would you say has been a good method for you or others to study these type of courses. When I studied for psych and soc, a lot of it was just memorization and reading. I had no problem with that. Now, I can't completely do that with these courses. I can read it but I know I have to practice it too.

I think what works best for me is thinking of studying more like running drills as opposed to 'studying' in the same way I did for social sciences and arts. Even for classes that were way heavier on memorization over problem solving it was still the same schtick.

But if you are more interested in courses that are centered around applying concepts to problem solving I'd say that the most useful thing is a deep understanding for 'why' a formula or method works. Put your nose to the grindstone until you figure it. Try and work to a point where you can solve problems *without* the formulas you need even if they are provided on an exam. Repeat as often as necessary.

But we're all different. Find some people, assess where you're study skills are lacking and pick up from there. Good luck.

 

[DrZed]

Realism time.

Not everyone is cut out for med school.

That being said, it sounds like you're going to have to really buckle down now. Figure out what works, talk to professors and TA's, and learn the material.

Make sure you have all your pre-reqs passed, then go for an SMP. An SMP would be a good way to show adcoms that hey, I was dumb when I was young, but look, I got my **** figured out now and can handle med school.

As for working, up to you. I don't think it would be a good idea to work while doing the SMP since that is your big chance to show that you can handle the material. Not half-ass it. If your GPA bombs during your SMP and with your history you might want to look into another career. If you are self-supporting, you could probably still work while finishing up your pre-reqs since it would show that you are able to handle stress load. Just don't take like 1 class per semester unless you REALLY have to.

Try hard and finish all your pre-reqs. From what you've posted, it sounds like you've failed all the intro classes multiple times. Hate to be the "Debbie Downer", but if you go all out and fail them again... medicine just might not be for you. It only gets much harder and as you go on, the money-sucking hole just grows. Would suck to realize 5 years down the road that you've invested all that time and money and have nothing to show for it.