Is my chances of getting into med school screwed for life or there is still hope?

[nanyangview]

Hi guys, this is my first post here so please be nice to me. This is my story below:

I just finished high school with a load of credits which includes science (bio and chem), math (calculus only), history, geography, management studies and some social science course. My high school average was great, a 90% in total.

For the math course in high school, I did not do that good the first time, so I took it again in the summer which is very intensive and got a 91% in it.

My family moved around a lot throughout the world so that messed up my education when I was younger. My math skills aren?t that bright but after that summer school, I kinda started to like math. My biggest interest is science - biology. I also used to be the top science student in my junior years. When I first came to Canada from Singapore, I changed several high schools and that also had a negative effect on me. I NOW REALLY HATED MYSELF for not working hard enough in math while I was in high school.

I really wanted to go into the medical field and become a pediatrician, helping the underprivileged children in remote areas. I loved working with little kids and it has been my trait for years. I volunteered at Day Care center, tutoring, peer counseling, and councilor at summer camps since when I was in grade 7. Even during my last year of high school, I had many grade nine friends and even organized a HTML programming workshop for them. My job experience also includes employment with Hewlett-Packard Canada as a sales representative. Absolutely loved that job where I get to interact with customers everyday.

Now I am in college (first year University of Toronto), I am also in total despair and depression. I selected business as my major but my inner voice constantly tells me that I should go into the medical field.

MY BIGGEST OBSTACLE is my ?average math skills? and chemistry marks in high school. I should be fine biology but seeing how brutal the chemistry and math intensive those courses are, it has caused a great setback to me. I don?t know what I should do, thus I am here asking for help. I understand that there are pre-med requirements before you can apply to med schools. But in my current business program, there is absolutely no room for me to take any science courses. My program requires 20 Full year equivalent credit to graduate. Even if I do try to squeeze in chemistry or bio, I will probably die bad and end up with 30 hours of class/week. I thought about several plans:

1) Keep whatever course I have this semester, do well in them and drop all of next semester?s courses and go back to high school, retake basic chem and math to rebuild my foundation and reapply to college again into a different major.
2) Change to a major which offers me more free time with less credit requirement, so I can study and practice math + chem constantly on my own for the next 3 years, and when I graduate from that major, take all the pre-med courses and then apply to the med schools.
If my first semester?s GPA get messed up, does that mean it is then end of my dream?

I know this is a long and somewhat confusing post, and I thank you for spending your time to read it. Please share your opinions and give me some advice about what I should do or I am totally screwed for life?

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[mfleur]

You sound like a freshman...My advice, major in something that you enjoy. If you want to go to medical school, take the requirements, you'll be fine. Volunteer in a clinical setting to see if medicine is right for you. Enjoy college, don't be one of those crazy pre-meds that everyone hates but realize that you will have to work. The best advice that I can give you, study abroad. It will make you a much better person.

If you have any other questions PM me. Good luck and chill out for god's sake.

 

[steve007]

you absolutely do not need to be great in math to succeed in gen chem of physics. you can do fine w/ a working knowledge. as for med school, only one or two even require calc. most just want one "college math" class. plus, most pple switch majors at some point. there's no reason to think you're in some terrible position.

 

[2004]

Also keep in mind that once you're out of high school and in college, high school doesn't matter anymore. Med schools specifically ask that you NOT mention anything to do with high school. I would also recommend that you major in something you like, perhaps biology, and do as well as you can in your pre-med courses. Go talk to your pre-med advisor at your university as well and maybe s/he can give you more direction. Above all, keep things in perspective and try not to worry too much!

 

[2004]

PS Math barely even shows up on the MCAT, so don't sweat it!

 

[jlee9531]

dont fret the math.....

chem is somewhat signficant

but why would you want to GO back to highschool?

if you dont want to leave the business major you can always take the prereqs in summer school. granted you wont have any free summers but once again just an option.

but you gotta relax a bit. a bad first semester gpa does not mean the END of your life or your dreams. there are plenty of people who get sub 3.0 gpas their first semester but still get into med school....

all you need to do is focus on your work and prereqs and just doing the best you can. we all get a few bad grades. thats academic life. i think you will appreciate your academic journey into med school if you didnt overworry about grades.

 

[care bear]

i don't understand a part of your post. are you not allowed to switch majors, but you have to reapply to a specific major?

i would second the advice to possibly take summer school chemistry and math, and then if you can switch majors, go ahead and do so!

either to biology or to an easier major that lets you take med school prereqs simultaneously.

i doubt your math and chem background is so poor that you cannot do well with a lot of studying! many people do not have a strong background in chemistry when they enter college.

i wish you the best of luck! and don't doubt yourself so much

 

[piotr13]

How it is in Canada is like this..... you need certain courses in your last year of high school in order to apply to a certain program..... if you lack one course, you can't get in to that major, i.e. health science. (if you lack just one, some schools allow you to take it first year) What I'm confused about is why the guy can't switch majors, because I know that you can. Once your in university, you're in. I guess he doesn't know that you can switch majors. It would be too stupid for everyone to have to go back to high school in order to take a couple of courses just so that they can get into another major.....

That's also why I applied to the US, and thankfully got in! US schools are A LOT more flexible in terms of switching majors, I'll give him that. But I think he can still switch majors without having to go back to high school.

WHAT UNIV DID YOU GET INTO DUDE?

Originally posted by care bear
i don't understand a part of your post. are you not allowed to switch majors, but you have to reapply to a specific major?

i would second the advice to possibly take summer school chemistry and math, and then if you can switch majors, go ahead and do so!

either to biology or to an easier major that lets you take med school prereqs simultaneously.

i doubt your math and chem background is so poor that you cannot do well with a lot of studying! many people do not have a strong background in chemistry when they enter college.

i wish you the best of luck! and don't doubt yourself so much

 

[nanyangview]

hi guys..thanks for the replies. I am in university of Toronto. I can switch majors but i will probably die in it. I did not do that good in Chemistry back in high school due to some family problems and lacks on math (algebra and geometry).

That is why i want to go back to high school and rebuild my foundation. I am 18 so i guess i still have time?

 

[PreMedAdAG]

nany,
going back to high school is like crawling back inside your mother's womb. Take some steps forward. You might fall on your face, but with good work ethic and such you will be fine. I think you are spending too much time worrying about small details... look when I came to college, I failed every single placement exam that I took. I had to take remedial english, remedial math and remedial chemistry. I'm fine now.. no problems, etc. Just breathe in and breathe out.... worrying only makes things worse than they really are.
Good luck

Christine

 

[mfleur]

You definitely don't need to go back to highschool. I didn't do jack in highschool, was a French major in College and still got in to medical school. I will repeat, major in something that you are interested in. It will improve both your college experience and your transcript. The point of college is not to get into medical school but to learn a little something. Like I said before study abroad, it was the best part of my college experience.

 

[bella_dottoressa]

Oh my gosh. For sure DON'T go back to high school...is that even done? Do not by any means do this. Don't spend 3 years beefing up your 'skills' and then take the pre-req's either...again, not done. What you do if you can't fit in gen chem, bio, physics, ochem into your business major program is get a major that will fit them in...like bio, or some other science...or any major really, but if your business program is strict with course scheduling I could see how it MIGHT be a problem. Average math skills are fine...just go into those classes ready to work and do it. And it is FINE to mess up your first semester...even your first year in college and still be good to go. I got C's throughout gen chem and I'm still plugging along and confident that med will happen for me...med schools really like to see upward trends in your grades. If you want to be premed you just need to get on the path and plug along. It isn't easy but it's definately doable if you're determined...even with avg math and chem skills...You can get involved in stuff too, not necessarily study abroad if that isn't your thing...but things like volunteering at a hospital or a variety of other places. You sound like took part in a lot of great experiences at an early age...none of those are going to matter when it comes time to apply, but build upon them now.
Hope this helps. PM me anytime.

 

[missmod]

If you're hesitant about math and chemistry, then you could always take a light workload and sit in on the class before you take it. Usually these lecture classes are huge and the professor won't even notice that you don't belong there. If the stuff seems manageable, then you can stop auditing and take the next semester with confidence. If it seems tough, you can audit the whole thing and then when you DO take it, it'll be easier since you'll practically be repeating it.

Don't freak out too much about it... There is a lot to the med school application process than chemistry and math grades (and you haven't even taken those classes yet!)