Is it unrealistic to start considering Med School?

[A Doctor Maybe]

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Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum and hope I have chosen the correct sub-forum for this thread. My apologies in advance if I have misplaced this inquiry.

Let me start off by saying I am not on a pre-med track. I am currently a sophomore business major at a respectable public research University. My school is T50 and the business program is T25. My specific major is T10.

Just recently I started having a change of heart. These business classes I am taking just aren't that interesting to me. I can say with absolute certainty what I am studying now is not my passion. It just feels so "forced".

I am much more interested in medicine and I always have been but I was scared away because my father is rather unenthused about the idea of me pursuing medicine. I believe this is due to his concern over costs (He is strongly against me going into debt) and his belief that I am not cut out for it. Honestly, these concerns resonate with me as well as I often question my intelligence.

My GPA is a 3.6 🙁.

I have not taken any pre-med requirements yet and I don't have any medical research/volunteer experience.

I have several years of law experience and a summer at Morgan Stanley so my Resume isn't completely void of anything, but it may as well be in terms of relevance to the medical field.

My question to you all is just how bad is my position right now? I personally don't think it is "too late", but it certainly seems like I am getting close to that point.

I plan to finish getting my business degree while taking the pre-med requirements at my 4-year during my last 2 years of school. Was hoping I could squeeze these in and graduate on time by taking 18 credit semesters.

I don't think I will be able to get an internship relevant to medicine. I have recently learned my mother has cancer and I need to be working this summer to help out financially, so my time for such is limited. I would be just be applying with hopefully a ~3.7 and my MCAT.

Thank you all for your time 🙂

 

[Weewee]

Go to the non-trad forum and read some people's stories....you will encounter everything from moms to 40+ to philosophy majors turned pre-med (like me). It is never too late.

 

[Ohyeah]

It's not unrealistic at all. You can do it. Even if you had to take an extra year or so after graduating, you wouldn't be an abnormal applicant by any means.

Start getting acquainted with medicine:

• Start taking pre-req sciences
• Start volunteering in a hospital or clinical setting
• Join pre-med interest groups/societies
• See if you can get that summer job in a clinical setting

I'd also encourage you to shadow doctors or do some reading online about why medicine can be a challenging yet infinitely rewarding career.

Don't get discouraged if you find that you also dislike the pre-med courses, such as if you hate doing chemistry problems or memorizing biological pathways. Most people do. You don't have to LOVE any of these subjects to be a successful physician. But, realistically, you do need to be able to develop an interest in the sciences so that you can study and get through the rigorous pre-med/medical curriculum and standardized tests.

 

[MusicJunkie]

Not unrealistic.

Try going slow with the science courses at first to see if you can handle the load/material. Shadow, volunteer, and stay active in non-medical activities that interest you. I know you said that you don't think you can get an internship relevant to medicine, but if possible, try to volunteer or shadow for 4 hours/week.

And for the record, a 3.6 is a respectable GPA.

 

[dsoz]

I agree with the above.

I am one of the mentioned 40+ in age, and I was accepted to three med schools before withdrawing from all my other interviews.

Shadow, volunteer, take the science classes you need. Do research. Start slow, maybe just bio and either chem or physics (how are your math skills? They are needed for physics!) since you will probably take the MCAT after the change in 2015, you will need some social science classes. Psychology, sociology, etc.

The good news is by taking some business classes, you may have some idea how to run a medical practice business when you graduate. I hear that some docs are bad at knowing how to do the business of medicine. They can be good at the science, fine with the "art" or personal interaction, but if you can't do business you go bankrupt. 🙁

Good luck to you. Be happy with what you choose.

dsoz

 

[Spinach Dip]

Go for it.

Pre-med is not a path which you need to decide on your freshman year. There are plenty who have changed their minds.

I'm another of them.... though I'm not nearly as old as some of the others on this forum. Rather, I changed my major 3 times in undergrad and finished with a major, two minors, and a 3.4 GPA.



I'd suggest you start by shadowing a physician at your local hospital. That should give you a better idea of whether or not this is the path for you.

Good luck!👍

 

[BABSstudent]

A 3.6 not being premed isn't bad. On the bright side, that means you probably haven't taken many science courses and if you rock all the prereqs you could get a 4.0 average which is very impressive.

It's never too late to attempt to go to medical school.

 

[Sephiroth]

Don't be afraid to take an extra year if you have to. It's much better to do that and do well in the pre-med courses than to overload on them trying to squeeze them all in and get bad grades. Like BABS said, u could potentially have a 4.0 bcpm, which would put you in a really good position. That would also give you more time to do some more med-related ECs. Once you're out of school and working 8 or 9 to 5, it's harder to fit that kinda stuff in.

 

[A Doctor Maybe]

Thank you everyone for the responses. Very pleased to hear it is not too late.

I can't afford another year as a full time student but I might take night classes in the year post graduation. I believe I can really close out this semester strong and raise my GPA further.

 

[MD Odyssey]

The smartest thing you can do at this is point is to stop worrying what your father thinks you should do. If you aren't grown up enough yet to make your own decisions, do you really think you're prepared for the responsibility of being a physician?