has anyone gone to medical school in their late 20s?

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hyperbolicinjuries

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Hi everyone. I'm 21 and a student at berkeley. I went into college as a biology major/premed student, but unfortunately, I did extremely awful in my pre-requisite classes.

I was enrolled in general biology and an intro data science class this summer and did way better in the latter than I ever did in the former!

I was averaging around a B on the first two biology quizzes and then bombed the **** out of the 3rd quiz, which was literally on basic cell organelle function and not on any PhD-level biology qual exam or Fauci-written Internal Medicine book level stuff.

By contrast, I crammed for our Python and statistics data science midterm in 1.5 days and got a 90% raw, +0.8 SD above, when the median was a 76%. I had NEVER touched Python before the class started and only had some background in R.

So it's obvious I had no talent whatsoever in the hard sciences. I'd put in a decent amount of effort into studying and only end up 1-2 bins (histograms) to the right of the average on everything. And I always felt like I was at the bottom of the barrel, because...I was? Everyone else seemed to go to class stoned and ace everything.

Here are my grades for more context; it would round out to a high 3.5 sGPA or a low 3.6 sGPA.

I don't care if anyone thinks this was good because it felt so average. And I also do not care if the average biology major has around a 3.3 or 3.4 GPA, because I know a dude who did biology and graduated in 5 semesters with a 3.98. I know other science majors with a 3.9+. That's who I actually saw every day so the 3.3-3.4 statistic is faceless.

It completely sucked that I had a ton of passion for the field but just sucked so hard at science. People (even on SDN!) said I didn't suck (?) but I'm questioning how they saw this wasn't sucky? Like if you were good at science you'd have all A's and maybe one B+ if you took graduate quantum mechanics for funsies.
  • General Chem and Lab: A/A
  • Organic Chemistry 1 and Lab: B-/A
  • Calc I: B+
  • Calc II: B+
  • Stats: B+
  • Biological Anthropology: A
  • Psych Research Stats: A+
  • Physiology: A
  • Organic Chemistry 2: P (took everything P/NP during Spring 2020 because of COVID).
Anyway...I was like, yeah...I better stop trying to be a doctor, at least for the duration of my undergrad years (would literally have to ingest tons of Prozac to get through it) when it's obvious I can learn Python (at the fetus level required for the class) in less than a month but can't do science for ****.

However, I was thinking of maybe doing a post-bacc and pursuing medicine later in life when I'm not competing with the best students in CA at UC Berkeley with a vastly underdeveloped/defective left side of my brain (the side that makes you good at science).

So I'm wondering what made all of you want to go pursue medicine after presumably making the decision to leave better-paying jobs.

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It completely sucked that I had a ton of passion for the field but just sucked so hard at science. People (even on SDN!) said I didn't suck (?) but I'm questioning how they saw this wasn't sucky? Like if you were good at science you'd have all A's and maybe one B+ if you took graduate quantum mechanics for funsies.
  • General Chem and Lab: A/A
  • Organic Chemistry 1 and Lab: B-/A
  • Calc I: B+
  • Calc II: B+
  • Stats: B+
  • Biological Anthropology: A
  • Psych Research Stats: A+
  • Physiology: A
  • Organic Chemistry 2: P (took everything P/NP during Spring 2020 because of COVID).
ok..... I pride myself at being a very nice person on SDN (like, 99% of the time), and supportive to anyone, so i will do my best to do just that... Because what i DO want to do instead is slap my face several times because what you have written just automatically pushes me over the limit. hahahah

First, the "supportive" stuff:

1. just because you are good at doing something doesnt mean you will enjoy doing it as a career and it definitely doesnt mean that you should be doing it. You are good at programming.... ok. thats cool. Who said you cannot keep it as a hobby? I was a pianist and i was pretty good. I was also in finances and i was pretty good. But there is more to life than just being good at something, - there is also your passion. Trust me, as someone who was doing something i was good at but did not love - it is a very depressing life, and a great route to a lot of mental health issues.

2. it is not high grades that make a good doctor... .Some of the best doctors i know had very average grades and average step scores. Those are just some of the criteria that we are being evaluated by. There are also ability to think under pressure, ability to multitask, people skills, ability to use your hands, ability to stay awake for long hours, focus, and more and more and more. Not everyone has all of these, which is why different specialties exist, but it is definitely a thing. so just because you did not get perfect As in all the science courses doesnt mean you wont be a good doctor... And getting perfect As definitely doesnt mean that you would.....

3. people go to medical school at 22, at 37, at 35, at 40, at 40+, etc. There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of these scenarios . And if you do decide to step away from this for now and come back later there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. And people have kids, and families, etc, at all of those ages, so dont let that be a factor either. The only factor that should matter, in my opinion, is that decision: "am I ready? Do i want this?". And if the answer is "yes", - go for it.

now, the "yelling" "bad stuff".

4. when you write that 3.5 or 3.6 is "sucky" you are INSULTING everyone here who do have that GPA and are either working hard on getting into medical school, or working hard at medical school. 3.5 or 3.6 is a good science GPA. it is nothing to be ashamed of, and maybe you dont see it this way, and its ok. But stop saying that it is not, because if it can get you an acceptance into a medical school, it is GOOD ENOUGH. thats it. also, you have B+ at math courses, while your Chem courses are much better.... there is pretty much NO MATH in medical school.....

5. there will ALWAYS be someone who is better than you in something. Seriously. Get over yourself! (sorry, i know it is harsh, but i really think you need to hear this). STOP EVALUATING YOURSELF IN RELATION TO OTHER PEOPLE. rather, evaluate yourself using your personal growth as a reference system. I bet that the reason you would need "prozac" to get through courses has nothing to do with actual courses... It is because you cannot stand NOT being the best at something. You are obviously smart, type A (a lot of us here are), and you hate the thought that you are not the best in everything you do. This is actually a very serious issue, and if this is the case, you need to work on it. Because it is something that could ruin your life. there will ALWAYS be someone better than you at some point. In coding, programming, medicine, and whatever else. So, what is your plan? quit after you get your first B? C? after you fail your first test? Get serious! keep an eye on the finishing line and big picture here. The big picture is not to get perfect grades, it is to be a good doctor. And there are so many variables that go into that..... and one of them is ability to be compassionate and understanding, and sometimes that compassion starts with being kinder to YOURSELF. are you?


there are more things i want to say, but i will think about them overnight to not sound too harsh.....
 
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ok..... I pride myself at being a very nice person on SDN (like, 99% of the time), and supportive to anyone, so i will do my best to do just that... Because what i DO want to do instead is slap my face several times because what you have written just automatically pushes me over the limit. hahahah

First, the "supportive" stuff:

1. just because you are good at doing something doesnt mean you will enjoy doing it as a career and it definitely doesnt mean that you should be doing it. You are good at programming.... ok. thats cool. Who said you cannot keep it as a hobby? I was a pianist and i was pretty good. I was also in finances and i was pretty good. But there is more to life than just being good at something, - there is also your passion. Trust me, as someone who was doing something i was good at but did not love - it is a very depressing life, and a great route to a lot of mental health issues.

2. it is not high grades that make a good doctor... .Some of the best doctors i know had very average grades and average step scores. Those are just some of the criteria that we are being evaluated by. There are also ability to think under pressure, ability to multitask, people skills, ability to use your hands, ability to stay awake for long hours, focus, and more and more and more. Not everyone has all of these, which is why different specialties exist, but it is definitely a thing. so just because you did not get perfect As in all the science courses doesnt mean you wont be a good doctor... And getting perfect As definitely doesnt mean that you would.....

3. people go to medical school at 22, at 37, at 35, at 40, at 40+, etc. There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of these scenarios . And if you do decide to step away from this for now and come back later there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. And people have kids, and families, etc, at all of those ages, so dont let that be a factor either. The only factor that should matter, in my opinion, is that decision: "am I ready? Do i want this?". And if the answer is "yes", - go for it.

now, the "yelling" "bad stuff".

4. when you write that 3.5 or 3.6 is "sucky" you are INSULTING everyone here who do have that GPA and are either working hard on getting into medical school, or working hard at medical school. 3.5 or 3.6 is a good science GPA. it is nothing to be ashamed of, and maybe you dont see it this way, and its ok. But stop saying that it is not, because if it can get you an acceptance into a medical school, it is GOOD ENOUGH. thats it. also, you have B+ at math courses, while your Chem courses are much better.... there is pretty much NO MATH in medical school.....

5. there will ALWAYS be someone who is better than you in something. Seriously. Get over yourself! (sorry, i know it is harsh, but i really think you need to hear this). STOP EVALUATING YOURSELF IN RELATION TO OTHER PEOPLE. rather, evaluate yourself using your personal growth as a reference system. I bet that the reason you would need "prozac" to get through courses has nothing to do with actual courses... It is because you cannot stand NOT being the best at something. You are obviously smart, type A (a lot of us here are), and you hate the thought that you are not the best in everything you do. This is actually a very serious issue, and if this is the case, you need to work on it. Because it is something that could ruin your life. there will ALWAYS be someone better than you at some point. In coding, programming, medicine, and whatever else. So, what is your plan? quit after you get your first B? C? after you fail your first test? Get serious! keep an eye on the finishing line and big picture here. The big picture is not to get perfect grades, it is to be a good doctor. And there are so many variables that go into that..... and one of them is ability to be compassionate and understanding, and sometimes that compassion starts with being kinder to YOURSELF. are you?


there are more things i want to say, but i will think about them overnight to not sound too harsh.....
How are my chem courses better? I got a B- in Organic Chemistry 1, and what would have been a B+ in O-Chem 2.

Moreover, in other fields, academic ability doesn't matter that much (business, programming) - people skills and job skills matter more.
 
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You have asked this question several times this year alone. You were pre-nursing, then considered dropping pre-med this summer, then ranted about your friends taking orgo at community college and doing better. Do this for you if you truly want it. You already know the answer.
Yes, as she told me she did better RIGHT after I scored a "B" on an organic chemistry midterm. not the right time and place to say so. organic chemistry at BERKELEY is simply not comparable to organic chemistry taught at a community college.

literally all premed CC students I talk to have a huge chip on their shoulder about CC courses being SO challenging like give me a break bro
 
How are my chem courses better? I got a B- in Organic Chemistry 1, and what would have been a B+ in O-Chem 2.

Moreover, in other fields, academic ability doesn't matter that much (business, programming) - people skills and job skills matter more.
because you got 2 As out of 4 chem courses, while you yet have to get a single A in a math course.
 
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then go. WHy are you asking us about medical school stuff in this case?
well that's what I want to do immediately after undergrad. i want financial independence first and then medical school.
 
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well that's what I want to do immediately after undergrad. i want financial independence first and then medical school.
honestly, that doesnt make much sense. unless you will make 250K right after graduation, this is a loss of physician potential income.

But honestly, And you might hate me for saying that, - but maybe you are right. Maybe you shouldnt go to medical school. at least not yet. Your lack of motivation, self-confidence, and this habit of asking similar questions over and over in other posts makes me feel like you are not ready. Of course, this is just the impression i get from your posts, and this might not be reality, - so please do not make life decisions based on my response, but this indecisiveness is driving me crazy. you will be responsible for people's lives. literally. And you yet have to talk about your passion for medicine, etc. All you are talking about is grades, finances, coding.....
 
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honestly, that doesnt make much sense. unless you will make 250K right after graduation, this is a loss of physician potential income.

But honestly, And you might hate me for saying that, - but maybe you are right. Maybe you shouldnt go to medical school. at least not yet. Your lack of motivation, self-confidence, and this habit of asking similar questions over and over in other posts makes me feel like you are not ready. Of course, this is just the impression i get from your posts, and this might not be reality, - so please do not make life decisions based on my response, but this indecisiveness is driving me crazy. you will be responsible for people's lives. literally. And you yet have to talk about your passion for medicine, etc. All you are talking about is grades, finances, coding.....
I have abusive parents, so I need money after college right away. What is wrong with thinking about finances in this situation? No money --> can't escape the situation. Duh. Seriously, medical school is harder than understanding family dynamics so I am sure you'd understand.

To address the rest of your points, I'm getting annoyed by your statements about lack of motivation and repetition so I'll stop here. I can ask whatever I want, lol, and this is actually a different question. I don't need to write an essay about my motivation for medicine here. I don't like sharing my passions with other people.

I have friends who are EXACTLY THE SAME WAY AS I AM, IF NOT WORSE, with mental health stuff and lack of confidence and they got into medical school and are considering medicine, so like, I mean...what are you gonna say to that? One of them is attending UCSF. Will they not be responsible for people's lives too? Seriously, physicians as a whole have some of the worst mental health outcomes out there and people aren't dying in droves.

I talk about grades and finances a lot because they are IMPORTANT LOL. Grades determine whether or not you'll get into medical school, and finances are a thing to consider too - why would you go into a career that puts you 300K in debt without thinking about whether or not it's worth it financially?

I mean, would you become a doctor if you had to owe 300k in loans but it only paid 10k a year back when you got out there? Probably not and I wouldn't either. Seriously, why are some med students and physicians such dinguses?

inb4 "your response shows how immature you are and further exemplifies why you should never go to medical school" and something like "your friends are just weirdos who slipped through the allegedly rigorous mental health screening at med school interviews and will burn out in residency" or "you are such a little brat I will not engage with you any further"
 
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because you got 2 As out of 4 chem courses, while you yet have to get a single A in a math course.
3 out of 5*

seems like someone failed kindergarten math or wherever they teach basic counting.

I may have only gotten 3 B-pluses in math but I can count!

ETA: you were extremely rude in your last comment so why can't I dish it back?
 
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Hi everyone. I'm 21 and a student at berkeley. I went into college as a biology major/premed student, but unfortunately, I did extremely awful in my pre-requisite classes.

I was enrolled in general biology and an intro data science class this summer and did way better in the latter than I ever did in the former!

I was averaging around a B on the first two biology quizzes and then bombed the **** out of the 3rd quiz, which was literally on basic cell organelle function and not on any PhD-level biology qual exam or Fauci-written Internal Medicine book level stuff.

By contrast, I crammed for our Python and statistics data science midterm in 1.5 days and got a 90% raw, +0.8 SD above, when the median was a 76%. I had NEVER touched Python before the class started and only had some background in R.

So it's obvious I had no talent whatsoever in the hard sciences. I'd put in a decent amount of effort into studying and only end up 1-2 bins (histograms) to the right of the average on everything. And I always felt like I was at the bottom of the barrel, because...I was? Everyone else seemed to go to class stoned and ace everything.

Here are my grades for more context; it would round out to a high 3.5 sGPA or a low 3.6 sGPA.

I don't care if anyone thinks this was good because it felt so average. And I also do not care if the average biology major has around a 3.3 or 3.4 GPA, because I know a dude who did biology and graduated in 5 semesters with a 3.98. I know other science majors with a 3.9+. That's who I actually saw every day so the 3.3-3.4 statistic is faceless.

It completely sucked that I had a ton of passion for the field but just sucked so hard at science. People (even on SDN!) said I didn't suck (?) but I'm questioning how they saw this wasn't sucky? Like if you were good at science you'd have all A's and maybe one B+ if you took graduate quantum mechanics for funsies.
  • General Chem and Lab: A/A
  • Organic Chemistry 1 and Lab: B-/A
  • Calc I: B+
  • Calc II: B+
  • Stats: B+
  • Biological Anthropology: A
  • Psych Research Stats: A+
  • Physiology: A
  • Organic Chemistry 2: P (took everything P/NP during Spring 2020 because of COVID).
Anyway...I was like, yeah...I better stop trying to be a doctor, at least for the duration of my undergrad years (would literally have to ingest tons of Prozac to get through it) when it's obvious I can learn Python (at the fetus level required for the class) in less than a month but can't do science for ****.

However, I was thinking of maybe doing a post-bacc and pursuing medicine later in life when I'm not competing with the best students in CA at UC Berkeley with a vastly underdeveloped/defective left side of my brain (the side that makes you good at science).

So I'm wondering what made all of you want to go pursue medicine after presumably making the decision to leave better-paying jobs.
Some of my all time best students have been in their 30s and 40s. I graduated one at age 50 not too long ago; she's an attending now in Southern CA.

When you decide to reorient back to Medicine, do a post-bac for career changers. Stop taking the med school pre-reqs now.....they'll just expire and you'll need to retake them anyway.

Once COVID is over, start volunteering with patients to determine if this is truly the right path for you.

And get your mental health issues under 100% control first. Med school is a crucible and I'v e seen it break even healthy students.
 
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Some of my all time best students have been in their 30s and 40s. I graduated one at age 50 not too long ago; she's an attending now in Southern CA.

When you decide to reorient back to Medicine, do a post-bac for career changers. Stop taking the med school pre-reqs now.....they'll just expire and you'll need to retake them anyway.

Once COVID is over, start volunteering with patients to determine if this is truly the right path for you.

And get your mental health issues under 100% control first. Med school is a crucible and I'v e seen it break even healthy students.
wait when will the pre-reqs expire? if I took stuff during 2017-2018 can I still use them in 10 years?
 
wait when will the pre-reqs expire? if I took stuff during 2017-2018 can I still use them in 10 years?

Most likely you will need to retake some of them. Many programs look for recent coursework and require classes to be completed within a certain timeframe. It is likely you would want to retake classes to prepare for the mcat.
 
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because you got 2 As out of 4 chem courses, while you yet have to get a single A in a math course.
Economics is applied math. I got an A in microeconomics (applied multivariable calculus) and an A- in econometrics, a tough stats class with proofs. So. I have gotten A's in math.

I got an A over the summer in an intro DS class which also taught statistical inference. Moreover, to reiterate, I can count better than you. So if I were you, I wouldn't be saying "hAvEn'T gOtTeN a sInGlE a" in math.
 
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As a physician during a pandemic, I'm sure you have better things to be doing than trolling on a premed forum.
It's an inside joke I posted while I work out some answers to your questions, chill little guy. The joke being that I started medical school around the age of 30
 
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Yes, as she told me she did better RIGHT after I scored a "B" on an organic chemistry midterm. not the right time and place to say so. organic chemistry at BERKELEY is simply not comparable to organic chemistry taught at a community college.

literally all premed CC students I talk to have a huge chip on their shoulder about CC courses being SO challenging like give me a break bro
There is a major difference with community college courses, that being that they tend to have zero curve. I've seen entire science classes pass without a single student getting an A in some of the more challenging subjects. Often, at least in my area, the people who teach advanced science courses are the same ones that do so at the local university but they're doing it for extra cash. To ensure their courses retain integrity and are transferable, they don't curve them since they know the average caliber of student isn't going to be as high in CC. This results in their courses actually being more difficult than if you took them at their big name university, since there is basically always a curve if you take the same course there.

The moral of the story being don't assume community college science courses are easier, it's gong to depend on the professor and the school.
 
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There is a major difference with community college courses, that being that they tend to have zero curve. I've seen entire science classes pass without a single student getting an A in some of the more challenging subjects. Often, at least in my area, the people who teach advanced science courses are the same ones that do so at the local university but they're doing it for extra cash. To ensure their courses retain integrity and are transferable, they don't curve them since they know the average caliber of student isn't going to be as high in CC. This results in their courses actually being more difficult than if you took them at their big name university, since there is basically always a curve if you take the same course there.

The moral of the story being don't assume community college science courses are easier, it's gong to depend on the professor and the school.
wonderful...but I still think a Berkeley organic chemistry course > a CC course. Unless I am truly dumber than her and would have gotten at C at the CC lmao :')
 
wonderful...but I still think a Berkeley organic chemistry course > a CC course. Unless I am truly dumber than her and would have gotten at C at the CC lmao :')
The point is, you never know. The grading and difficulty of a course's exams are often not correlated to how well its students learn the material. Many elite universities tailor the difficulty of their exams very carefully to ensure that they are fair and that all students have a chance to excel, while only a minority of students will receive lower than a C. Compare this with larger university campuses, which often use premedical science courses as weed-out courses in which the difficulty is tailored so that the majority of students receive lower than a B, and where difficulty is often intentionally increased so that only truly exceptional students get an A by virtue of mastering the more esoteric points of the course.

Better courses do not equal more difficult courses to achieve high grades in, basically. Worse still, in community college, tests are often written by individual professors without departmental input rather than crafted carefully over decades and flavored by each professor. This can result in unnecessarily hard and unfair exams that wouldn't be allowed to stand in a more prestigious institution. So the moral is, don't count your chickens before they hatch, those chickens being straight As harvested from community colleges 8 years from now when you'll be much more rusty, much more tired, and working with unknown professors.
 
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The point is, you never know. The grading and difficulty of a course's exams are often not correlated to how well its students learn the material. Many elite universities tailor the difficulty of their exams very carefully to ensure that they are fair and that all students have a chance to excel, while only a minority of students will receive lower than a C. Compare this with larger university campuses, which often use premedical science courses as weed-out courses in which the difficulty is tailored so that the majority of students receive lower than a B, and where difficulty is often intentionally increased so that only truly exceptional students get an A by virtue of mastering the more esoteric points of the course.

Better courses do not equal more difficult courses to achieve high grades in, basically. Worse still, in community college, tests are often written by individual professors without departmental input rather than crafted carefully over decades and flavored by each professor. This can result in unnecessarily hard and unfair exams that wouldn't be allowed to stand in a more prestigious institution. So the moral is, don't count your chickens before they hatch, those chickens being straight As harvested from community colleges 8 years from now when you'll be much more rusty, much more tired, and working with unknown professors.
then I guess I will never be a doctor then huh? :)

I did NOT say I'd be going to school 8 years from now. It'll be sooner. Moreover, Berkeley science classes are curved to a B-minus, so just, lmao, PLEASE check your facts. You're really going to tell me that the most stressed out public university has easier science courses than a CC? LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

I don't go to a grade inflated college where the average is an A-minus.

I went to CC recently and got all A's in my classes lmao.

moreover this is coming from someone who went to medical school at 30?
 
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I have abusive parents, so I need money after college right away. What is wrong with thinking about finances in this situation? No money --> can't escape the situation. Duh. Seriously, medical school is harder than understanding family dynamics so I am sure you'd understand.

To address the rest of your points, I'm getting annoyed by your statements about lack of motivation and repetition so I'll stop here. I can ask whatever I want, lol, and this is actually a different question. I don't need to write an essay about my motivation for medicine here. I don't like sharing my passions with other people.

I have friends who are EXACTLY THE SAME WAY AS I AM, IF NOT WORSE, with mental health stuff and lack of confidence and they got into medical school and are considering medicine, so like, I mean...what are you gonna say to that? One of them is attending UCSF. Will they not be responsible for people's lives too? Seriously, physicians as a whole have some of the worst mental health outcomes out there and people aren't dying in droves.

I talk about grades and finances a lot because they are IMPORTANT LOL. Grades determine whether or not you'll get into medical school, and finances are a thing to consider too - why would you go into a career that puts you 300K in debt without thinking about whether or not it's worth it financially?

I mean, would you become a doctor if you had to owe 300k in loans but it only paid 10k a year back when you got out there? Probably not and I wouldn't either. Seriously, why are some med students and physicians such dinguses?

inb4 "your response shows how immature you are and further exemplifies why you should never go to medical school" and something like "your friends are just weirdos who slipped through the allegedly rigorous mental health screening at med school interviews and will burn out in residency" or "you are such a little brat I will not engage with you any further"
I suppose the question then becomes, "if money is so important, why become a doctor at all?"

Your grades are fine for going to medical school right out of the gate. You could just go and live on loans and be free of your parents immediately if you so course. I do believe that this would be a bad choice for you, as training will likely compound some of your underlying issues, and if you're anywhere near as reactive toward attendings as you are toward people here you'll be suspended rather quickly. Let your prefrontal cortex develop a bit and maybe see a therapist, then shine up your CV with a few new science courses.

But before you do, definitely ask yourself why you are doing it if you've already obtained financial independence. What makes it so worth it that you're back being treated like basically a child when you're an adult with a life and a prior career. Ask yourself honestly if it's just about proving you're good enough to do it or whether it's something you actually truly want to do. Whether spending 7-10 years, the entirety of the remainder of your youth, being talked down to as a subordinate when you've already done well for yourself is what you want. You'll be a bit of an outsider in your class and residency, and your attendings will have any mix of reactions from nothing to fondness to bias to insecurity because of your nontraditional status (this largely depends on their past and age). If a few people on here can ruffle your feathers asking basic genuine questions, can you handle being grilled for the better part of a decade with additional baggage on top of the regular medical student package?

If you do this for the wrong reasons, medicine will be your ticket to misery. If it's for the right ones, it will be a struggle, but one that you find to be worthwhile. Good luck, think carefully when the time comes and choose wisely
 
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lmao how are attendings allowed to treat others like trash?
Pushing people to learn so their patients don't die isn't treating them like trash. You'll be put on the spot and grilled in ways that are extremely uncomfortable to ensure you know things. For people with certain personality types or trauma histories, this can feel humiliating or accusatory and really cause them to melt down. It is neither of these things, but rather an honest attempt to assess knowledge in a real world setting and perception makes it feel threatening to some.
 
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then I guess I will never be a doctor then huh? :)

I did NOT say I'd be going to school 8 years from now. It'll be sooner. Moreover, Berkeley science classes are curved to a B-minus, so just, lmao, PLEASE check your facts. You're really going to tell me that the most stressed out public university has easier science courses than a CC? LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

I don't go to a grade inflated college where the average is an A-minus.

I went to CC recently and got all A's in my classes lmao.

moreover this is coming from someone who went to medical school at 30?
Berkeley and Princeton make sure their curves are difficult but fair. I'm just trying to remind you that less elite places often have professors that are inherently unfair and not to take things for granted. Knew of a professor that would test almost entirely on material not in lecture to ensure people were doing the readings, for instance. This was fine if you knew about it, but one year they changed the recommended readings without also changing their exam, resulting in an exam that was impossible to pass and no one walking away from the course with an A
 
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Here are my grades for more context; it would round out to a high 3.5 sGPA or a low 3.6 sGPA.
The SDN echo chamber is so strong that the OP considers a high 3.5 sGPA "trash"
You're doing more than fine OP, just keep an open mind for DO school as well, and study hard for the MCAT.

Your posting style isn't winning you any points however,
 
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I say this with kindness - before you start medical school you really need to work on your tendency to measure yourself against others. This trait will eat you up in medical school as every student is exceptional and graduated in the top x% of their class with honors etc. Now is a good time to start learning new metrics to measure your progress towards your goals than your grades vs those of your colleagues. I can tell you the people in my class who struggle the most are the ones who obsess with measuring their own performance against their peers. This has led to a myriad of problems.

Good luck to you.
 
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My sGPA is probably a limitation, but I'm sitting on an MD II so far, so guess I'm doing something right. :shrug:
Don’t let anyone bring you down ! They wouldn’t offer you II if they didn’t believe you can handle it . Just keep pushing . You are doing great !!!!! Grades is just one of the factors , there is much more to the applications!!!! To prep for interview check out “Kevin Ahern interview” on YouTube . He is a retired biochemist and health science advisor , and has 3 seminars on interviews that should pop up with that search. Of course there are a lot of other great resources, but I personally found him very helpful , maybe you will too. Good luck !!
 
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I know I'll regret engaging in this because OP is just having a tantrum at this point but

Economics is applied math. I got an A in microeconomics (applied multivariable calculus) and an A- in econometrics, a tough stats class with proofs. So. I have gotten A's in math.

Having taken both microeconomics and multivariable calculus myself, intro level microecon doesn't require knowing a single drop of even regular calculus dude. The Berkeley Econ major doesn't even require you to take multivariable calc

People in here are actually being surprisingly generous with you, especially the ones you are lashing out hardest at and posting entire new threads to complain about. None of us know what's going on in the rest of your life but you're unlikely to get better support or help if you keep posting like this. I hope that you find some peace and direction in this new year.
 
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My sGPA is probably a limitation, but I'm sitting on an MD II so far, so guess I'm doing something right. :shrug:
Op is clearly trolling at this point, which is unfortunate, as this site exists to help people and they are basically talking down to the many people here who offer their time to do just that. You'll be fine, GPA doesn't mean a thing
 
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Op is clearly trolling at this point, which is unfortunate, as this site exists to help people and they are basically talking down to the many people here who offer their time to do just that. You'll be fine, GPA doesn't mean a thing
Teaching moment: it's extremely rare to see an SDNer decompensate so rapidly!
 
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Teaching moment: it's extremely rare to see an SDNer decompensate so rapidly!
Let's just hope OP will come back in a few years to SUPPORT SDN in a more matured state.... under a new user name :rofl: :rofl:...
 
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unpopular opinion, but advanced economics is way more conceptually difficult than anything in med school

am I the only one who finds med school easy? i got railed in economics...

also,

:corny:
 
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unpopular opinion, but advanced economics is way more conceptually difficult than anything in med school

am I the only one who finds med school easy? i got railed in economics...

also,

:corny:
Honestly I think it depends on a person , and their way of thinking , you know? Like, I had only one B in math ever out of about 11 or 12 math courses (double majored in math for a while ). (Yeah, I can count hahaha OP would’ve been heartbroken :))). But I definitely had Bs in anatomy , chemistry , and a few other live sciences . So my math GPA is WAY higher . I just loved live sciences more so I went for medicine .
 
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I feel ya. I’m also a premed at Berkeley and am double majoring in computer science and neurobiology. My GPA is not that pretty (even have a C from an electrical engineering course). My cumulative GPA is ~3.5 and there isn’t much opportunity to rectify this.

Just focus on crushing the MCAT and making yourself stand out through ECs and awesome LoRs. I personally got a 521 on the MCAT.

And most importantly, don’t get disheartened! At Berkeley, you are studying amongst some of the brightest students and your faculty are at the top of their field (s/o to Jennifer Doudna for teaching bio 1a!). So it’s normal to feel like you can be doing better, when in reality you are crushing it!

Also, what data science course did you take? Data 8? Data 100? I’ve taken both, so just curious.
 
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I feel ya. I’m also a premed at Berkeley and am double majoring in computer science and neurobiology. My GPA is not that pretty (even have a C from an electrical engineering course). My cumulative GPA is ~3.5 and there isn’t much opportunity to rectify this.

Just focus on crushing the MCAT and making yourself stand out through ECs and awesome LoRs. I personally got a 521 on the MCAT.

And most importantly, don’t get disheartened! At Berkeley, you are studying amongst some of the brightest students and your faculty are at the top of their field (s/o to Jennifer Doudna for teaching bio 1a!). So it’s normal to feel like you can be doing better, when in reality you are crushing it!

Also, what data science course did you take? Data 8? Data 100? I’ve taken both, so just curious.
OP has been banned due to multiple TOS violations.
 
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I'm actually in medical school in my late 30s after having started a business and run it for over a decade.

I realize OP has been banned, but maybe he or she will come back and read this some day. . .there is A LOT of good advice on this thread from people trying to help. This will be hard for a 21 year old to conceptualize, but going to school as a non-trad with prior professional work experience has a huge upside. The only real downside is that your lifetime earnings will likely be lower, but since money isn't the only reason (or even the best reason) to go into medicine, that shouldn't be a big problem.

The upside is that you will be more mature than a 21 year old and should (theoretically) have much better interpersonal skills than a 21 year old. I mean no offense to 21 year olds, this is just a reality of life. Your perspective will change, and your appreciation for the once in a lifetime opportunity of medical school will likely be heightened. While I'm sure there are other hardships, including some that I've yet to discover, I really think I have some distinct advantages in my class.

Another side benefit to age is that we are often more humbled by life and better able to accept our limitations. I spent the first 25 years of my life feeling like I was the smartest person in most rooms, and then writing off things other people accomplished by saying, "I could do the same thing if I really wanted to." I compared myself to others. Without going into excessive details, the last decade of my life has helped me really come to appreciate others, as well as to develop a reasonable view of myself. I'm not at the top of my class in medical school, for many reasons, one of them being this: there are people who are smarter than me. Another reason is that there are people harder working than me. And that's okay. I try my hardest and run my race, and I'm at peace with it. And when my friends tell me they get honors in classes that I didn't, you better believe I'm the first one to feel deeply, genuinely happy for them. I'm proud of them.

Finally, OP, if you're out there, I'm sorry your family background is challenging. At the risk of sounding unsympathetic, though, I want to share with you another lesson I've learned as I've gotten older: No one has a monopoly on suffering. You deserve to have sympathy, but you will be surprised to learn what some of your peers have gone through as well. It can be eye-opening to learn how many people have faced difficult struggles. So, just as you feel like not everyone knows your story, remember that you don't know everyone else's either, so please be more kind.
 
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I'm in veterinary school as a 30 year old with two classmates in their 40s. I've seen doctors do the same.
 
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You. Do NOT. Feel me. I got a B- in OChem 1 and P in OChem 2. You, sweetie, got 2 A's.

F**k out of here with that ****. I've contemplated suicide and self harm over my premed grades, so please. Do not.

The banned OP has returned...
 
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