Please be brutally honest: Am I too late and too dumb for medical school?

[deleted733100]

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Hello,

I'm currently finishing up my 4th year and will be pursuing a B.S. in Statistics at a mid tier UC. Because of personal issues, I withdrew from a couple quarters and did pretty bad in some quarters in the past 4 years so I will be staying for another 5th year. Although I've been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, I don't want to make it seem like thats the only reason why I did bad in school; some of my math/stats classes are a little too hard for me and trying to trudge on. I'm barely at a 3.0 GPA right now because of some grade boosting General Education classes I took. But as I'm continuing my education, I'm starting to have doubts on what I want to do after I graduate. I always, ALWAYS, wanted to be a doctor but I knew realistically this wasn't feasible with my grades, so I steered away from premed (idk why I thought a statistics degree would be any easier...). I haven't taken any bio, chem, or physics classes in college for this reason. However, now I'm really starting to have regrets. My 4th year is coming to an end, I have thousands of dollars in student loans, and I'm not really happy of where I'm going.

So please, be brutally honest with me. I'd rather realistically crush this dream now than have to live with regrets later. Is medical school even an option right now? Do you think taking out even more loans to take bio/chem/physics and staying even longer in undergrad is worth it? Would I even be able to get into a reputable medical school in my current academic situation?

Thanks!

 

[NotASerialKiller]

Just some general advice, try not to base your entire self-worth on your GPA or whether you get into med school or not.

 

[cactusman]

You'd probably be best finishing after the fifth year and then doing a couple semesters of 3.7+ in a post-bacc - make sure you've addressed any issues before starting PB coursework.

I second the wise words of @NotASerialKiller.

 

[Lawpy]

Statistics courses were some of the hardest courses I took in college, but they were definitely rewarding. Avoiding bio/chem/physics and pursuing statistics was a bad decision and it showed.

You have a near-3.0 GPA. It is possible to get into medical school but you should do the following first:

1. Be open to both US MD and US DO. You cannot afford to be picky here and must be open to all options.

2. Decide whether you want to pursue medicine after careful self-reflection. This means volunteer in clinical and nonclinical settings and shadow.

3. Once you decide you want to pursue medicine for sure, be prepared to invest in a few years of near 4.0 GPA performance in coursework consisting of your prerequisites and biology courses to show medical schools you can handle their curricula. Start off with a light courseload to get good grades and work your way from there.

It's not easy but if you are willing to dedicate yourself to the journey, it's possible to achieve your dreams.

 

[Goro]

Hello,

I'm currently finishing up my 4th year and will be pursuing a B.S. in Statistics at a mid tier UC. Because of personal issues, I withdrew from a couple quarters and did pretty bad in some quarters in the past 4 years so I will be staying for another 5th year. Although I've been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, I don't want to make it seem like thats the only reason why I did bad in school; some of my math/stats classes are a little too hard for me and trying to trudge on. I'm barely at a 3.0 GPA right now because of some grade boosting General Education classes I took. But as I'm continuing my education, I'm starting to have doubts on what I want to do after I graduate. I always, ALWAYS, wanted to be a doctor but I knew realistically this wasn't feasible with my grades, so I steered away from premed (idk why I thought a statistics degree would be any easier...). I haven't taken any bio, chem, or physics classes in college for this reason. However, now I'm really starting to have regrets. My 4th year is coming to an end, I have thousands of dollars in student loans, and I'm not really happy of where I'm going.

So please, be brutally honest with me. I'd rather realistically crush this dream now than have to live with regrets later. Is medical school even an option right now? Do you think taking out even more loans to take bio/chem/physics and staying even longer in undergrad is worth it? Would I even be able to get into a reputable medical school in my current academic situation?

Thanks!

A) read this: Goro’s advice for DO applicants in the absence of grade replacement
B) Don't even think about med school until your mental health issues are taken care of. Medical school is a furnace, and I've seen it break even healthy students. The #1 reason my school loses students to withdrawal, dismissal or LOA is to unresolved mental health issues.
C) ALWAYS have a Plan B

 

[libertyyne]

Your GPA says nothing about how dumb you are or are not. Do as best as you can in your final year , 4.0 and then take stalk of if you really want to go through with this. The path is no cakewalk and you need to be dedicated to get through it. Once you decide that you do want to do this,
1. Take post bac classes making sure you get as close to a 4.0 as you can, while completing the pre-reqs and to boost your GPA.
2. Polish up your EC's , shadowing, clinical and non clinical volunteering,
3. Get y our LORs in order.
4. Crush the MCAT.
5????
6. Apply broadly including DO schools.