Looking for some guidance

[hw2h]

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Hello all, I apologize if this is a little long winded. I just was hoping to see some success stories similar to mine and maybe get some advice on what i should do to improve my chances. I posted this in the DO forum because my "top choice" school is a DO school, but I would plan on applying to both.

I am a Pre-med student at a school that I transferred to.
I have been in college for 3 years, but I am only a sophomore technically. This is my first semester of my 4th year.

I know I "want" to be a doctor. I just question if it's possible at this point.
I have been through some stuff. This started my second semester of college. It included:
Being diagnosed with diabetes.
That diagnosis led me to develop mental illnesses, namely depression and OCD.
It took me basically 2 years to get in control of this stuff, which included transferring schools to somewhere I felt I'd be more comfortable, because I felt comfort was huge for handling my mental illnesses (I didn't move "Closer" to home though, just a smaller school I felt was a better fit).

Things have gone well this first semester here. I feel I will pull off As in 4 of my classes (Which equals ten credits) and a B in the other (4 credits).
But before this I had:
7 Ws at my old school. 5 of these were in one semester in which I got approved for a medical withdrawal.
Repeats of science classes namely Chemistry 1. This is a big fear of mine, as I have a W/C-/B+. FWIW, Gen Chem 2 is one of the classes I'm pulling an A in right now on my first try. I also have an F/B+ in calc 1.
My cumulative GPA if you on calculate the high grades is a 3.2. With the "replaced" grades included, I have a 2.9.
I have taken about 52 credits, and will be taking 90 more, including about 55 worth of sciences. I am in a much better state than I was before, but I am just wondering if I should still have a shot. I don't plan on graduating Undergrad until 2018. And I don't make any excuses either. I realized I had a problem but insisted on trying to "power through it" instead of taking time off. So I would say this is a problem I created myself.
Thank you very much for any responses.

 

[arc5005]

Just take your time, take care of yourself, do well in your classes, volunteer, be involved in ECs you are passionate about, and shadow docs in your free time.

There is hope! I'm applying to DO and MD programs next cycle, 2016-2017. I'm currently 26 years old. I went to a top 30 uni, left uni my first year (got a F in Spanish 101), took a year off from college because my parents thought I had no idea what I wanted to do - I told them that instead of my plan for law school, i wanted to major in art history - lol...., transferred to a state school, didn't like it, transferred to a private university in my hometown. It took me a total of 6 years to graduate undergrad, but that involved studying abroad, and a full-time internship that lasted a year, etc.. I got a useless degree, that is pretty much unemployable (not art history), took a year off after undergrad, then decided I wanted to go to the health-sciences route, so went back to school at my community college for a full year, finished my pre-med reqs with all A's and now I'm in a much better situation. I initially was going to apply to PA schools, but after spending time on these boards reading, asking questions, listening to others, speaking with physicians, I realized that I wanted to be a physician and that I could definitely succeed in med school.

I didn't rush, and I'm feeling great about where I'm at. Yes, sure I could have figured out all this stuff earlier, and focused during undergrad, but honestly I didn't really know what I wanted to do from 18-25. I'm so much more confident, focused, and driven now then ever before, and I honestly think it is because I finally know what I want to do and I just know who I am better as a person, which mostly just came with age and life experiences. Life happens, and you grow from it. You learn what obstacles you need to overcome, and you do it, so you can reach your goals. Best of luck to you!

 

[hw2h]

Just take your time, take care of yourself, do well in your classes, volunteer, be involved in ECs you are passionate about, and shadow docs in your free time.

There is hope! I'm applying to DO and MD programs next cycle, 2016-2017. I'm currently 26 years old. I went to a top 30 uni, left uni my first year (got a F in Spanish 101), took a year off from college because my parents thought I had no idea what I wanted to do - I told them that instead of my plan for law school, i wanted to major in art history - lol...., transferred to a state school, didn't like it, transferred to a private university in my hometown. It took me a total of 6 years to graduate undergrad, but that involved studying abroad, and a full-time internship that lasted a year, etc.. I got a useless degree, that is pretty much unemployable (not art history), took a year off after undergrad, then decided I wanted to go to the health-sciences route, so went back to school at my community college for a full year, finished my pre-med reqs with all A's and now I'm in a much better situation. I initially was going to apply to PA schools, but after spending time on these boards reading, asking questions, listening to others, speaking with physicians, I realized that I wanted to be a physician and that I could definitely succeed in med school.

I didn't rush, and I'm feeling great about where I'm at. Yes, sure I could have figured out all this stuff earlier, and focused during undergrad, but honestly I didn't really know what I wanted to do from 18-25. I'm so much more confident, focused, and driven now then ever before, and I honestly think it is because I finally know what I want to do and I just know who I am better as a person, which mostly just came with age and life experiences. Life happens, and you grow from it. You learn what obstacles you need to overcome, and you do it, so you can reach your goals. Best of luck to you!

I appreciate you taking time to share your story. When you're struggling and doubting yourself, sometimes it helps to know that you aren't the only one who has/is gone/going through something.

I do wish you the best. I hope to be active on this site for a while now, so definitely let me know what happens next for you!

 

[arc5005]

Thank you. You too. Just stay focused on the end-goal and do well in your courses. It's okay if it takes you longer to finish undergrad. The average age of matriculation these days is 25.

 

[Goro]

Just continue to do well in your classes, but take care of yourself firsy.

I've seen medical school break even healthy students, because it's a furnace. So do NOT head down this road lightly, and only do so with the 100% backing of your therapists/psychiatrist.

Hello all, I apologize if this is a little long winded. I just was hoping to see some success stories similar to mine and maybe get some advice on what i should do to improve my chances. I posted this in the DO forum because my "top choice" school is a DO school, but I would plan on applying to both.

I am a Pre-med student at a school that I transferred to.
I have been in college for 3 years, but I am only a sophomore technically. This is my first semester of my 4th year.

I know I "want" to be a doctor. I just question if it's possible at this point.
I have been through some stuff. This started my second semester of college. It included:
Being diagnosed with diabetes.
That diagnosis led me to develop mental illnesses, namely depression and OCD.
It took me basically 2 years to get in control of this stuff, which included transferring schools to somewhere I felt I'd be more comfortable, because I felt comfort was huge for handling my mental illnesses (I didn't move "Closer" to home though, just a smaller school I felt was a better fit).

Things have gone well this first semester here. I feel I will pull off As in 4 of my classes (Which equals ten credits) and a B in the other (4 credits).
But before this I had:
7 Ws at my old school. 5 of these were in one semester in which I got approved for a medical withdrawal.
Repeats of science classes namely Chemistry 1. This is a big fear of mine, as I have a W/C-/B+. FWIW, Gen Chem 2 is one of the classes I'm pulling an A in right now on my first try. I also have an F/B+ in calc 1.
My cumulative GPA if you on calculate the high grades is a 3.2. With the "replaced" grades included, I have a 2.9.
I have taken about 52 credits, and will be taking 90 more, including about 55 worth of sciences. I am in a much better state than I was before, but I am just wondering if I should still have a shot. I don't plan on graduating Undergrad until 2018. And I don't make any excuses either. I realized I had a problem but insisted on trying to "power through it" instead of taking time off. So I would say this is a problem I created myself.
Thank you very much for any responses.

 

[hw2h]

Just continue to do well in your classes, but take care of yourself firsy.

I've seen medical school break even healthy students, because it's a furnace. So do NOT head down this road lightly, and only do so with the 100% backing of your therapists/psychiatrist.

Thank you for your response. As always, you did not have to respond, but you took time to do so. So it is appreciated!

I have spoken to my "team" about it, and they are fully behind it, as my treatment has gone well. And they found that the further I got away from my diagnosis, the better things have gotten, as I have learned to accept, live with, and adjust. The ONE stipulation is that they told me that I should be at a healthy weight by time I plan to matriculate, as being overweight has huge mental (and physical, of course) disadvantages. Of course I had been working on this for a while because of the diabetes. I am currently down 40 pounds with about 90 to go!

 

[hw2h]

Hello @Goro , I was wondering if you could help me with a decision.

I have been contacting my old university. Speaking to the woman who helped me transfer and everything. And she posed me an offer: If I can gather up documentation to say that I had issues and that I successfully worked through them (I have the documentation) I can get the semesters removed from my record. This would turn all those grades into Ws. I'm not sure what would be worse: having a large number of Ws (I currently have 7, would have about 12 after this) or having the grades (Which include the F I got in calc my first try, as well as a D+ in a science class).

I have been focusing on moving forward. My GPA for this semester looks likely to be around a 3.5+ depending on how I do on one (non-science) class. And i know this was your advice to me: Keep moving forward. But now an opportunity has presented itself and I am not sure what to make of it!

 

[Goro]

One or even two semesters of W's won't hurt as long as there's a decent explanation.

 

[FistLength]

I am not worried about you getting into medical school, I am more worried about what happens once you do. Medical school is, like Goro said, a furnace. There are certainly many good times, but when it hits the fan it is very, very difficult. It is also something that almost no one else can understand or appreciate until they go through the process themselves. There is a lot to say about mental stamina that is not mentioned. Even for people who love this path and desire nothing else, it is a wearing process. Then residency, and that is a whole new ballgame.

 

[hw2h]

I appreciate the concern and help from both of you. Honestly, I really don't know what to do in this situation. I really WANT to do it, and I do have the blessing of my team as long as I continue taking care of myself the way I am now. And if I DO get there, chances are I'll have been healthy in the face of adversity for a few years. But that adversity is nothing compared to what medical school will be like. Pre-reqs, all nighters, studying for the MCAT. It gets tough, but I'm sure medical school will make it look like light work. I guess my options at this point are to chug along, get my pre-reqs done, take the MCAT, and then take a long, honest look at myself before applying to medical school, or to totally reverse course now and pick a different career.

I haven't really ever thought about doing anything else. And I'm not saying that my desire to do this has been shot by your comments. Rather, what I'm saying is, I am taking your comments to heart. And I guess that is kind of the reason I made this thread. What would you suggest I do, other than take care of myself and get good grades, to know whether or not I am making a mistake?

 

[FistLength]

So long as you are working hard and being sincere in your efforts, I don't think you will make a mistake. Worst case scenario, if you went the medical route and found it too difficult so that you quit, would you live with regret, or would you be proud that you tried? This is a slightly idealistic way of thinking about it as it does not take into consideration the absurd amount of debt you would be accruing. Try to list as many pros and cons as you can for each side, and talk to your mentors. Make the most informed decision and don't look back.

 

[hw2h]

So I posted this halfway through my first semester at my old school, and a fair amount has changed. I really took to heart what you guys were saying @FistLength and @Goro and I was paying attention to my mental AND physical stability. I went through two challenging, rewarding, and honestly amazing semesters at my new school. The change of scenery was exactly what I needed to help myself succeed.

And oddly enough it took success to come to this conclusion, but I also think I realized that going to medical school would probably be a mistake for me. It's hard to explain to strangers on a forum who don't know me how I know that, but I do think stepping into that "furnace" would be a mistake. Which is okay. This is actually exciting, and I'm looking at this decision as another success. There are still plenty of amazing careers in healthcare for me to explore, and I still have a few years to do so. I have been doing my research into things like pharmacy, genetic counseling, and many other things. If anyone else has just general things I should look at, that would be well appreciated too. I'm sure there's some careers out there I've never heard of!

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

So I posted this halfway through my first semester at my old school, and a fair amount has changed. I really took to heart what you guys were saying @FistLength and @Goro and I was paying attention to my mental AND physical stability. I went through two challenging, rewarding, and honestly amazing semesters at my new school. The change of scenery was exactly what I needed to help myself succeed.

And oddly enough it took success to come to this conclusion, but I also think I realized that going to medical school would probably be a mistake for me. It's hard to explain to strangers on a forum who don't know me how I know that, but I do think stepping into that "furnace" would be a mistake. Which is okay. This is actually exciting, and I'm looking at this decision as another success. There are still plenty of amazing careers in healthcare for me to explore, and I still have a few years to do so. I have been doing my research into things like pharmacy, genetic counseling, and many other things. If anyone else has just general things I should look at, that would be well appreciated too. I'm sure there's some careers out there I've never heard of!

Very mature thought process here! Take a look at PT, nursing, rad tech if you like the clinical side or I suggest taking a look at social work. My family member works at a number of the local hospitals and loves being a social worker (you do need a masters though to be able to get the good jobs)

 

[hw2h]

Very mature thought process here! Take a look at PT, nursing, rad tech if you like the clinical side or I suggest taking a look at social work. My family member works at a number of the local hospitals and loves being a social worker (you do need a masters though to be able to get the good jobs)

OOH I never thought of social work. I do think I would definitely lean more towards the clinical side of things, but I also have an aunt who is a social worker. She doesn't work in hospitals, but she always tells me she loves her job and if she got rich she would do it for free. So it's definitely something I will look into. Never really thought of it honestly.

 

[DrMikeP]

OP: You might consider going the doctorate in clinical psychology route. You could even specialize in med psych. It would give you a chance to be a doctor and treat patients in a hospital and it's not easy and still takes about the same amount of time but it's much less a furnace than med school.

Best of luck!