Path to becoming a Doctor

[SonOfAbraham]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hey all - newcomer here.
I would love to become a doctor, and I have the grades and motivation for it, but my parents are not paying for my college education, undergrad or med. school. So I made thr plan below. Can I get some feedback and/or suggestions?

-4 years undergrad at university, majoring in BioMed Science, Spanish, or Chemistry (I'm not sure what to pick- Spanish and BioMed would help with Peace Corps and Navy work, as well as provide a backup career, while Chemistry could give me more career options as well as ROTC)
-2 years working for Peace Corps with medical job, loan benefits for undergraduate studies (I am worried about how I am going to pay the loans back though)
-4 years med. school with HPSP, internship, then 4 years Navy service through HPSP

What do you think?

 

[gyngyn]

There are countless paths to becoming a physician.
They all require excellence in your chosen field of study and scores consistent with success.
How you pay for it is up to you.

 

[DrHart]

You should be more concerned about making sure the career is right for you. Almost everyone takes on debt, if not for undergrad, most definitely for medical school. Your plan looks fine - as long as its what you want to do.

 

[SonOfAbraham]

Glad to see that that path is possible.
I aim to become a pediatrician or internal medicine doctor after the Navy life.
What do you think should I major in for undergrad? I love all 3 of those topics.

 

[gyngyn]

Glad to see that that path is possible.
I aim to become a pediatrician or internal medicine doctor after the Navy life.
What do you think should I major in for undergrad? I love all 3 of those topics.

Whatever interests and challenges you enough to do well.

 

[Goro]

Do what you love and love what you do.

 

[Stagg737]

Glad to see that that path is possible.
I aim to become a pediatrician or internal medicine doctor after the Navy life.
What do you think should I major in for undergrad? I love all 3 of those topics.

I'll be a little less cryptic. Generally speaking, med schools don't care at all what you major in as long as you take all the pre-requisite classes and do well in them and on your MCAT. Many schools actually prefer someone with a non-science major as the diversity can give them unique perspectives on medicine and life in general.

The one thing I would say is to be careful about accepting military scholarships for financial reasons. If you know you want to enlist, then it's a great way to pay for your education. However, if your motivations are financial, I would be very careful and do a lot of research before signing anything.

The path is very possible, and there are many that you can take to become a physician. As long as you're willing to put in the work, make some sacrifices, and be a little flexible then they'll all get you where you eventually want to be.

 

[KinesiologyNerd]

Do you actually want to do any of those? Go to a cheap (but good) in state school, and just bend over and take the student loans. Yes, it's a massive number, but (assuming you like become a doctor and junk) you'll have no problem paying it off.