I'm struggling to pursue medical school

[Rustie]

I'm a person who horribly overestimates the worst case scenario. I'm very pessimistic, and rarely do I feel that my goals will blossom in the manner I intend.

As a freshman in college, I worry that even if I learn and achieve at a high level, I will not be competitive enough to be accepted into medical school. The chance of failure pushes me to want to pursue schooling in something that doesn't reject over half of its aspiring students.

What can I do to overcome this pessimism?

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[TheWeeIceMan]

Major in something with decent employment chances and take the med school pre-reqs on the side. Oh, and stop being so pessimistic.

 

[Rustie]

Major in something with decent employment chances and take the med school pre-reqs on the side. Oh, and stop being so pessimistic.

What does that mean though? If you major in Accounting, lets say, wouldn't it be extremely difficult to try and maintain high grades in both your medical school pre-reqs as well as your Accounting courses?

 

[Microglia]

Feel it out. Take your first semester of Bio/Chem and see how you do. If you can't keep a strong (3.6+) GPA or don't feel happy with the material, consider a switch to something else or try again with adapted study methods. You can change your major early in college without much detriment.

Remember to breathe. We all have those thoughts. I had them going into college, before the MCAT, and I'm sure I'll have them again in a few months about Step I. Take it one step at a time, and most importantly, adjust and calibrate as you go.

 

[Holmwood]

What does that mean though? If you major in Accounting, lets say, wouldn't it be extremely difficult to try and maintain high grades in both your medical school pre-reqs as well as your Accounting courses?

1) Just work hard. Whatever your major is, strive to get a good GPA. Start doing resume-building ECs as well.

2) As others have said, if your medical school plans don't work out, you have something you can fall back on to support you. Additionally, the application process is expensive so having a side job to supplement the fees+plane tickets will be most advantageous.


3) You're going to have to take some science courses to meet university requirements for graduation anyway. Just take some of the medical school pre-reqs and see how you perform.

4) Later on, when you've decided medicine is something you really want to do, you'll then slap on clinical experiences and maybe research. And when everything is set and you do not get into medical school, you have a job you can fall back on while you wait to reapply. Remember that aside from the MD route, you also have the DO, NP, and PA route. The conclusion is, you have reasonable alternatives if things don't work out.

*On a side note, alot of people do not get into medical school because their list of ECs, stats, and essays are weak. If you plan and prepare well, you're not going to be one of those people. You're going to have a higher chance of getting in.

 

[blackkrim]

I'm a person who horribly overestimates the worst case scenario. I'm very pessimistic, and rarely do I feel that my goals will blossom in the manner I intend.

As a freshman in college, I worry that even if I learn and achieve at a high level, I will not be competitive enough to be accepted into medical school. The chance of failure pushes me to want to pursue schooling in something that doesn't reject over half of its aspiring students.

What can I do to overcome this pessimism?

Honestly, as a freshman you should first figure out if medicine is actually the right field for you. Do some volunteering, shadowing, reading, etc. and see if you really want to commit your life to it before getting consumed by this kind of thinking. You may decide after those experiences that you don't actually want to be a doctor.

The same advice still holds true for any field you choose: keep your GPA up, engage in diverse experiences (academically and otherwise), and try to enjoy yourself without sacrificing on the grades. Keep in mind that you're really, really young and have no cause to worry excessively about medical school yet.

(For the most part, stay off SDN, too...)