Is medical school for me?

[AmazingA_]

Hello everyone. I’m in sort of a dilemma. I’ll start with a bit of my background first. Throughout my childhood, my father would push the thought of becoming a lawyer on me because he thought I would be an excellent one...so I’ve always toyed with the idea. In high school, I developed an interest in medicine and completely dominated my health science courses, biology, and anatomy. Of course I still had a long way to go but I was deemed as an expert in medicine amongst my peers lol. Senior year arrived and I began to doubt my abilities because I was not the brightest in math and many of my elders told me that I would need exceptional math skills to succeed as a doctor. My interest in law sparked again and my father was escatic ofcourse. I was set on majoring in international relations as I began my college career. However, that pursuit quickly ended when I dropped one the courses required for the major because I was not doing too well. Yet, the thought of medicine would always resurface in my heart and my thoughts. I told myself in the spring time of my freshman year that I would give medicine a serious try. I’m currently on the track to major in Public Health.
Here’s a few problems:
1)I ended my first year with a 2.3 gpa because I worked 20-30 hrs a weeks while engaging in a full time course load. I wanted money of my own to alleviate any financial burdens that I could off of my single father. BIG MISTAKE (lol never again)
2)The thought of math still scares me tremendously! I’m afraid I lack the confidence that I would need to succeed courses like chemistry and physics.
3)I’m just now really starting pre reqs as a college sophmore. So there’s that set back. I’ve taken a semester of English and Psych. This semester I am taking Bio and Stats (along with the courses required for my major).
4) My 2.3 gpa. Can I redeem that?

My Extracurriculars are okay for now:
- I am the Vice President of a Human Rights organization at my school
-I participated in a Human Rights law program over the summer
-I assisted a biologist with cancer research for a short time over the summer
-I currently work at a doctor’s office where I deal with patient medical records
-There is a high possiblity that I may be hired to work at a nursing home on week ends

I’ve narrowed my career options to:
1) MD
2) PA
3) Some career in Public Health
4) Health Care lawyer

I really feel that if I do attend law school, I will regret not going to medical school. If I do attend medical school, I will not regret not going to law school. I do have a natural knack for english, politics, and some things law related and I probably won’t be completely miserable in that field. However, it’s not my passion. Medicine is.

Sidenote: I am willing to go above and beyond to get into medical school. It’s just a matter of getting over the fear of math and I need a realistic perspective of my chances.

Would anyone be kind enough to share insightful advice on my situation? Thanks.

-AmazingA_

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[MakeLifeHappen13]

Try getting some exposure to the healthcare field to see if its something that fits you. Nobody can tell you what is right for you except for you and only you can do the research and get the experience to figure out if its something you want.

You should know though that getting into Law School is pretty easy and there are a lot of low and mid-tier law schools out there that will accept just about anyone with a Bachelor's degree, which is why the market is so saturated.

Medical school is much more competitive because graduates from the U.S. are pretty much guaranteed a six figure salary out of residency and >90% of graduates from U.S. obtain residency, no matter what school they went to. Not the same with law school where graduates from low and mid tier programs are often left out to dry without work or a decent paycheck for years. Just something to keep in mind.

Regardless of what you decide, you need to keep your GPA as high as possible. A 2.3 won't cut it for any graduate program.

 

[Goro]

Try getting some exposure to the healthcare field to see if its something that fits you. Nobody can tell you what is right for you except for you and only you can do the research and get the experience to figure out if its something you want.

You should know though that getting into Law School is pretty easy and there are a lot of low and mid-tier law schools out there that will accept just about anyone with a Bachelor's degree, which is why the market is so saturated.

Medical school is much more competitive because graduates from the U.S. are pretty much guaranteed a six figure salary out of residency and >90% of graduates from U.S. obtain residency, no matter what school they went to. Not the same with law school where graduates from low and mid tier programs are often left out to dry without work or a decent paycheck for years. Just something to keep in mind.

Regardless of what you decide, you need to keep your GPA as high as possible. A 2.3 won't cut it for any graduate program.

This.
/thread

 

[AmazingA_]

Try getting some exposure to the healthcare field to see if its something that fits you. Nobody can tell you what is right for you except for you and only you can do the research and get the experience to figure out if its something you want.

You should know though that getting into Law School is pretty easy and there are a lot of low and mid-tier law schools out there that will accept just about anyone with a Bachelor's degree, which is why the market is so saturated.

Medical school is much more competitive because graduates from the U.S. are pretty much guaranteed a six figure salary out of residency and >90% of graduates from U.S. obtain residency, no matter what school they went to. Not the same with law school where graduates from low and mid tier programs are often left out to dry without work or a decent paycheck for years. Just something to keep in mind.

Regardless of what you decide, you need to keep your GPA as high as possible. A 2.3 won't cut it for any graduate program.

Thank you for the the advice. I’ll start with shadowing a few physicians. I also heard that what you stated about law is very true. Getting into a T14 school doesn't even guarantee you employment.
My goal is to increase my gpa greatly regardless of what I choose.

 

[JeSuisUnDoc]

I just wanted to say that most people do work part time in undergrad so I wouldn’t use that as an excuse to why your GPA is so low. Find a way to change the way you’re studying.

Good luck


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[shaosoldier]

There is time to boost up your GPA, especially taking the prerequisite for pre med and also additional science courses too (anatomy, physiology, etc). You don't need strong math skills for medicine, if you're able to get an A in college algebra, you'll be fine, just get the prereq out of the way. The Pre-req courses, aside from life sciences and perhaps biochem don't really play a role in medicine (unless you decide to do nuclear med or radiology then physics plays a role). These classes are more of a filtering process if anything. A place to show if you're able to grind sciences life, soft and hard.

Shadow a physician but make sure you ask them the cons of the career and the cons of the path. I would say one big issue with medicine is you waste your twenties training. Something you can't make up for regardless of pay.

Consider DO school too, these days all medical schools (DO and MD) are getting more and more competitive but DO still a bit easier overall.