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- Aug 17, 2019
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I apologize if this isn't in the right place. I am completely new to this website as far as posting goes. I am also sorry in advance for the extrondinarily long post. I am currently in the middle of a breakdown, so bare with me if you can.
I truly feel lost. This past year has been insanely difficult and I feel like I just keep getting knocked down. Growing up, I always aspired to be a physician. My uncle becoming a general surgeon may have factored in on that, I'm not sure. I'm going to give you some background information and then get to the point of this post. For starters, my (ex) significant other of six years was not exactly desirable. Despite me graduating high school with honors a year in advance, as well as on track to graduating with my Bachelor's in psych (this May) in just under 3 years, it was still not fast enough for him. We were constantly arguing about me being in school, which drew medical school completely out of the picture for me. (Some advice - Horrible idea, never put your true aspirations in jeopardy to please others, you'll instantly regret it). Our breakup really got me thinking again about what I ACTUALLY want to do with my life. I tried to go down the path of a few different careers so far, such as vet tech, and hated every minute of it. I came to the conclusion that medicine is where I really want to be. I never wanted to be a nurse, as I more enjoy the "medical model" and science of things, however, I started facing the infamous internal debate between PA or MD/DO months ago.
The length of school does not bother me. In fact, I would love to learn as much as possible. Recently, I have been spending a considerable amount of time volunteering at hospitals, shadowing PAs in different fields of study, etc. Upon shadowing them, I have discovered I do not want to be dealing with the acute illnesses I have seen most of them encounter on a daily basis. For me, the career seems only half fulfilling. No disrespect towards PAs or anything, I'm sure you are all lovely, just doesn't seem to be the right fit for me.
Well, before I sunk into that debate, I signed up to take the GRE exam, as many PA Schools require it. I came to the conclusion that PA School wasn't right for me after I already paid for the exam and spent a few months studying for it, so I took it anyway. I actually took the exam today and was incredibly disappointed with my scores. In fact, disappointed is an understatement. I scored exactly average for quant, slightly below average for verbal. I have yet to get my writing scores back, but felt pretty good about that section.
To be fair, today was one of the worst days for me to have to take a major standardized exam. A kitten ran under my vehicle as I was backing up (I'm sure you can infer that outcome) literally 2 hours before I was supposed to take the exam, witnessed a major car accident on the highway on my way to the exam so had to stop and give a witness report. Despite leaving an hour in advance, I still managed to be late due to traffic and arrived in a panic. By the time I sat down for the exam, I felt like I had been through a category 4 hurricane. These are in no way excuses for my piss poor testing performance, but I'm sure they were all factors in the matter somehow.
With that being said, if I did so terribly on the GRE with genuine commitment to study and implanting strategies, how on earth am I going to conquer the MCAT? That exam is twice as long and requires an in-depth knowledge of particular topics. My scores on the GRE really led me to seriously doubting my capabilities. I do not want a stupid standardized test to be the reason I cannot go to medical school. I know the two tests are drastically different in the eyes of most. I am hoping that is a good thing for my case.
To make a long story short, am I essentially doomed? Any tips for overcoming MCAT anxiety and what to study/how long to prepare? Any insight you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated! My GPA currently is about 3.5, most of my science based courses will be taken from now up until May. I thoughly enjoy science, so I'm looking forward to them and can foresee myself doing well. In order to apply for the upcoming cycle, I would need to take the MCAT around April 1st.
I truly feel lost. This past year has been insanely difficult and I feel like I just keep getting knocked down. Growing up, I always aspired to be a physician. My uncle becoming a general surgeon may have factored in on that, I'm not sure. I'm going to give you some background information and then get to the point of this post. For starters, my (ex) significant other of six years was not exactly desirable. Despite me graduating high school with honors a year in advance, as well as on track to graduating with my Bachelor's in psych (this May) in just under 3 years, it was still not fast enough for him. We were constantly arguing about me being in school, which drew medical school completely out of the picture for me. (Some advice - Horrible idea, never put your true aspirations in jeopardy to please others, you'll instantly regret it). Our breakup really got me thinking again about what I ACTUALLY want to do with my life. I tried to go down the path of a few different careers so far, such as vet tech, and hated every minute of it. I came to the conclusion that medicine is where I really want to be. I never wanted to be a nurse, as I more enjoy the "medical model" and science of things, however, I started facing the infamous internal debate between PA or MD/DO months ago.
The length of school does not bother me. In fact, I would love to learn as much as possible. Recently, I have been spending a considerable amount of time volunteering at hospitals, shadowing PAs in different fields of study, etc. Upon shadowing them, I have discovered I do not want to be dealing with the acute illnesses I have seen most of them encounter on a daily basis. For me, the career seems only half fulfilling. No disrespect towards PAs or anything, I'm sure you are all lovely, just doesn't seem to be the right fit for me.
Well, before I sunk into that debate, I signed up to take the GRE exam, as many PA Schools require it. I came to the conclusion that PA School wasn't right for me after I already paid for the exam and spent a few months studying for it, so I took it anyway. I actually took the exam today and was incredibly disappointed with my scores. In fact, disappointed is an understatement. I scored exactly average for quant, slightly below average for verbal. I have yet to get my writing scores back, but felt pretty good about that section.
To be fair, today was one of the worst days for me to have to take a major standardized exam. A kitten ran under my vehicle as I was backing up (I'm sure you can infer that outcome) literally 2 hours before I was supposed to take the exam, witnessed a major car accident on the highway on my way to the exam so had to stop and give a witness report. Despite leaving an hour in advance, I still managed to be late due to traffic and arrived in a panic. By the time I sat down for the exam, I felt like I had been through a category 4 hurricane. These are in no way excuses for my piss poor testing performance, but I'm sure they were all factors in the matter somehow.
With that being said, if I did so terribly on the GRE with genuine commitment to study and implanting strategies, how on earth am I going to conquer the MCAT? That exam is twice as long and requires an in-depth knowledge of particular topics. My scores on the GRE really led me to seriously doubting my capabilities. I do not want a stupid standardized test to be the reason I cannot go to medical school. I know the two tests are drastically different in the eyes of most. I am hoping that is a good thing for my case.
To make a long story short, am I essentially doomed? Any tips for overcoming MCAT anxiety and what to study/how long to prepare? Any insight you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated! My GPA currently is about 3.5, most of my science based courses will be taken from now up until May. I thoughly enjoy science, so I'm looking forward to them and can foresee myself doing well. In order to apply for the upcoming cycle, I would need to take the MCAT around April 1st.