just scraped by, need to act like a med student

[adaptation1]

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[Cyradis]

Hey,

I can somewhat relate to this. I definitely slacked a lot more in undergrad than I wish I had (especially wrt ECs and my applications, October 12th primary submission anyone?), but like you managed to get an acceptance.

Personally I'm planning to work on improving this - so yes I certainly believe you can change your work ethic. Being really keener/into everything doesn't come that naturally to me either, but I think if you WANT to change that you definitely can.

With that said, do you want to improve your work ethic b/c you feel like you HAVE to or because you WANT to? I think that'll make a big difference.

I do think it'll be easier in med school though because everything we learn will be something I WANT to be learning, whereas in undergrad all but my absolute favorite courses had substantial material that I didn't really care about.

 

[Law2Doc]

Overachievers and hard-workers are obviously the norm on this site. So I'm in the minority; and that's exactly what I'm worried about.

In college, I wasn't a slacker; but nor did I work very hard. I just kinda went with the flow, studying 3 days before midterms and attending classes here and there. Naturally, my GPA wasn't too great, barely making a 3.5. And even with a lot of spare time (not studying), my ECs were mediocre at best. And then there was the MCAT. I studied for a month or so and got a decent--but in no way superb-- score.

But despite all this, I still scraped a single acceptance in this cycle. And as I contemplate the long stretch of schooling that is to come, I'm getting a bit nervous. I'm afraid that my work ethic and personality is not suited for medicine, that somehow I'm not prepared for such rigor and competition, that I'm going to be the lone impostor in my class.

Looking back, I wonder why my college career went the way it did. True, I did deal with a chronic health issue that occupied my energy and mind 24/7. But my poor work ethic was the main factor. And I know some people are, in some perverse way, proud that they can put minimal effort and do okay. But I'm not. Not at all. I have always been frustrated by my poor work ethic.

And my fear is that this weakness is going to bare its ugly face in med school. Does anyone share similar anxiety and fears as medical school slowly approaches? And do you think it's "too late" to begin developing a work ethic in medical school, or is it something that you should have build up in college?

Congrats on the acceptance. Consider the slate clean and don't look back to your college career, and how you squandered it. It doesn't matter -- adcoms at a school felt you have the ability to do what it takes to be a doctor. You have to rise to the occasion. Suffice it to say that "poor work ethic" and cramming for exams rarely works in med school (and when it does, it only works for the insanely brilliant, which from your post you probably aren't), so you need to figure out a system to cover all the material enough times to do decently. Multiple repeats through the material and spending adequate time EVERY day is the tried and true method for med school. And you want to do techniques to try to get at least some of the material into longterm memory rather than short term, because you will use a lot of it again on the boards and during clinical rotations. So active learning, and multiple reviews of the material are key. Show up ready to do this and you will be fine. Try to slide by in med school and you might not. But it's easier to gear up in med school because you won't be surrounded by the same kind of crowd as college. The folks who are happy with that "gentleman's C" didn't get in.

 

[adaptation1]

Cyradis:

You make a good point. I think in college, there was the desire, but not so much the necessity. In med school, I hope both the desire and necessity will force me to pick up my game a bit. unlikely story.

Law2Doc:

You're right: This is a chance for me to start anew. I'll definitely need to find ways to make this work for me, adopting strategies to approach my studies more efficiently. Thanks for the good advice!

 

[TreeOfSouls]

I agree with Law2Doc and Cyradis- let this be a fresh start. The adcoms believed you would succeed, so just go with that! I would also add that you don't yet know what you're really capable of since you didn't give your best effort in undergrad. So, it could turn out that you surprise yourself once you really start putting in the effort!

But, the real question is figuring out what prevented you from working hard before and figuring out why you'll be different in medical school. I don't think it will magically happen just b/c you're in medical school and it's more demanding. Depending on your reasons for slacking off before, the rigor of medical school could actually make it worse (more slacking off). So, you'll probably need to figure that out and be honest with yourself so that you can make a positive change for medical school and reach your goals.

Overachievers and hard-workers are obviously the norm on this site. So I'm in the minority; and that's exactly what I'm worried about.

In college, I wasn't a slacker; but nor did I work very hard. I just kinda went with the flow, studying 3 days before midterms and attending classes here and there. Naturally, my GPA wasn't too great, barely making a 3.5. And even with a lot of spare time (not studying), my ECs were mediocre at best. And then there was the MCAT. I studied for a month or so and got a decent--but in no way superb-- score.

But despite all this, I still scraped a single acceptance in this cycle. And as I contemplate the long stretch of schooling that is to come, I'm getting a bit nervous. I'm afraid that my work ethic and personality is not suited for medicine, that somehow I'm not prepared for such rigor and competition, that I'm going to be the lone impostor in my class.

Looking back, I wonder why my college career went the way it did. True, I did deal with a chronic health issue that occupied my energy and mind 24/7. But my poor work ethic was the main factor. And I know some people are, in some perverse way, proud that they can put minimal effort and do okay. But I'm not. Not at all. I have always been frustrated by my poor work ethic.

And my fear is that this weakness is going to bare its ugly face in med school. Does anyone share similar anxiety and fears as medical school slowly approaches? And do you think it's "too late" to begin developing a work ethic in medical school, or is it something that you should have build up in college?

 

[mr4997]

This is exactly how I feel! Good to know I'm not the only one.

 

[amakhosidlo]

This is exactly how I feel! Good to know I'm not the only one.

This. Especially the imposter part. From interview day/FB groups/meeting folks I feel like they let in 100+ amazing, caring, dedicated people who will make excellent physicians....and me. I'm beyond excited and ready to get to work, but I'm still worried I'm not on the right page in terms of...maturity I guess? I can 'turn it on' and come off as a responsible adult, but deep down I feel like a bit of a fraud.

If it's any consolation, a friend who started at Case last year said she felt the same way for the first few months, but eventually felt like she grew into the whole 'being a med. student' thing.

 

[AlexB]

figure out now if this is the path you want to follow. If it isn't, don't waste any more time/life.

If you come to the solid conclusion that it is, then consider yourself very lucky at getting this second chance despite having slacked off. You'll have another chance with a clean slate.

 

[VTBuc]

I don't want to discourage you...but it might honestly take bombing a test to wake you up. This is what happened to me in undergrad. In high school I just coasted thru and once I got to college I got a D in a calculus test and woke up right away. Sometimes you have to hit that "PANIC!" button for things to really click.

Hopefully, it doesn't require that. What I'm hoping, for me, anyways, is that I'll be so daggone excited to be training to become a doctor that I'll have plenty of motivation to study hard. Of course, I'm sure most people say that before matriculating.

 

[searun]

OP, just show up and be prepared to work hard. At this point, nobody cares about what you did in college. The vast majority of med students graduate and get their MD. It is not likely that you will be part of the two percent who wash out. Do your work, and do not whine, and you will be fine. Just have your crap together when med school starts and keep your nose in the books and you will be fine.

 

[addo]

For a second, I got the feeling you applied just for the sake of it...maybe prove that you can get into med school with minimal effort, or maybe just to please someone or something. And now youre scared because youre having second thoughts about being able to get through med school?

 

[IDoIt4Love]

OP,

As I read your post, I found myself relating to a lot of the things you said. I wasn't an overachiever or a workaholic in college: I did what I had to, to do well enough to get in, without the overkill. I wasn't uber-competitive or anything, either. I, too scraped by with a couple of acceptances, and I'm starting to have the same anxieties you are. A few things to keep in mind, though:

-People exaggerate. So, SO much. Your classmates exaggerate, their parents exaggerate; everyone does it for their own reason. All these over-achievers you knew probably didn't overachieve as much as they make it seem.

-The people who accepted you are no fools; they know potential when they see it, and they know BS when they see it. If they didn't think you could handle it, and more importantly, if they didn't think you could handle it *better* than the rest of their applicant pool, they wouldn't have picked you.

-Everyone's work ethic matures at different points in their lives. I was never a straight-A student--until junior year of college. Something just snapped. It wasn't a conscious decision that I HAD to make all A's. One day, I received my grades at the end of the semester, and realized, "Holy crap! I got all A's?!" And it's been that way ever since. It was hardly a conscious decision; I just chalk it up to maturity. I assume that this ethic of mine will only get better as I mature more in med school.

-Yes, I really worry about how I'm going to handle the workload in med school. I'm sure most people do, and a lot of them have no reason to worry. Whose to say you're not one of those people? Sometimes the people around us believe in us way more than we believe in ourselves; if you were like me, you were the only person who was shocked when you received an acceptance letter. All my friends and family were just like "See? I TOLD you so!"

Believe in yourself, take a deep breath, and jump in. Tackle your classes with all that you've got, and fight the battle, a day at a time. Don't worry about planning your study schedule down to the last detail--if you're like me, it never worked in the past. Trust that you will adapt to the higher demand, because everyone around you--and the admissions people at the school you're about to attend-- believe that you will.

Good luck!

 

[IDoIt4Love]

Oh, and from what I've gathered from the med students I've spoken with, knowing when to work hard and when to relax is actually a true gift that a lot of the type-A workaholics in medical school don't have. It keeps you sane. So be who you are, just be ready to work really hard. 😀

 

[thesauce]

Overachievers and hard-workers are obviously the norm on this site. So I'm in the minority; and that's exactly what I'm worried about.

In college, I wasn't a slacker; but nor did I work very hard. I just kinda went with the flow, studying 3 days before midterms and attending classes here and there. Naturally, my GPA wasn't too great, barely making a 3.5. And even with a lot of spare time (not studying), my ECs were mediocre at best. And then there was the MCAT. I studied for a month or so and got a decent--but in no way superb-- score.

But despite all this, I still scraped a single acceptance in this cycle. And as I contemplate the long stretch of schooling that is to come, I'm getting a bit nervous. I'm afraid that my work ethic and personality is not suited for medicine, that somehow I'm not prepared for such rigor and competition, that I'm going to be the lone impostor in my class.

Looking back, I wonder why my college career went the way it did. True, I did deal with a chronic health issue that occupied my energy and mind 24/7. But my poor work ethic was the main factor. And I know some people are, in some perverse way, proud that they can put minimal effort and do okay. But I'm not. Not at all. I have always been frustrated by my poor work ethic.

And my fear is that this weakness is going to bare its ugly face in med school. Does anyone share similar anxiety and fears as medical school slowly approaches? And do you think it's "too late" to begin developing a work ethic in medical school, or is it something that you should have build up in college?

This is quite a bit of studying for undergrad. You've probably prepared yourself better than you think. Anyway, as law2doc said, consider the slate wiped clean.

 

[gadad]

...

 

[Law2Doc]

...During the first two years of med school I have been an A & B student, and have not significantly changed my study methods. ...

Like everyone said, the slate gets wiped. My advice for everyone is to study your tail off (more than you ever have) for your first 2-3 tests. Then you can adjust your study habits, etc. according to the grades/stress level that you want.
...

The first sentence above is not typical. Most people find they have to substantially revamp their studying, and have to significantly curtain the amount of free time they had in undergrad. Sorry, but that's the norm. Better than half the class will find that simply doing what got them good grades in undergrad won't work in med school, either because of the volume of material, the pace of the course, or the level of detail expected. You spend the first few exams figuring out what worked, and don't be afraid to change things up. You will be a horribly inefficient studier when you start, and will find that you have to do very different approaches (esp daily repetition) to really "know" the material to the degree you are expected. That's true for most. Not all, but those for whom things come as easily as college material are really not the ones who ought to be dispensing advice because they simply aren't the "average med student". Kudos to them, but the rest of us drew a different lot.

I do, however, agree with the latter paragraph I excerpted.

 

[gadad]

...

 

[Damia]

.

 

[sugardad]

Overachievers and hard-workers are obviously the norm on this site. So I'm in the minority; and that's exactly what I'm worried about.

In college, I wasn't a slacker; but nor did I work very hard. I just kinda went with the flow, studying 3 days before midterms and attending classes here and there. Naturally, my GPA wasn't too great, barely making a 3.5. And even with a lot of spare time (not studying), my ECs were mediocre at best. And then there was the MCAT. I studied for a month or so and got a decent--but in no way superb-- score.

But despite all this, I still scraped a single acceptance in this cycle. And as I contemplate the long stretch of schooling that is to come, I'm getting a bit nervous. I'm afraid that my work ethic and personality is not suited for medicine, that somehow I'm not prepared for such rigor and competition, that I'm going to be the lone impostor in my class.

Looking back, I wonder why my college career went the way it did. True, I did deal with a chronic health issue that occupied my energy and mind 24/7. But my poor work ethic was the main factor. And I know some people are, in some perverse way, proud that they can put minimal effort and do okay. But I'm not. Not at all. I have always been frustrated by my poor work ethic.

And my fear is that this weakness is going to bare its ugly face in med school. Does anyone share similar anxiety and fears as medical school slowly approaches? And do you think it's "too late" to begin developing a work ethic in medical school, or is it something that you should have build up in college?

I wouldnt worry about it. The combination of pre-clinical grades not mattering all that much, pass/fail at some schools, and alot less pressure to get A's as compared to undergrad, will change quite a few of the undergrad high achievers into lazy slackers. Consider yourself ahead of the curve.