pre-med student feeling a little confused

[hoops90]

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So, I have 3 more years of undergrad left. I haven't taken the MCAT. I have started my Biology and Pre-med requirements. I have a 3.583 gpa. I'm doing great in all of my classes right now. The reason my gpa is a little low is because I went through a rough spot during my sophomore year due to a personal situation. I plan to graduate May 2014. Here is my question:

I study hard. I'm motivated. But when I walk on my campus, I know some of the other pre-med students. Although I don't know their gpa, what they made on their mcat, etc., I do know that they seem to have it all figured out. It's like, I'm working so hard and these people seem to be just completely care free. Some of them have already had interviews with medical schools (they are seniors), and I know two of them have already created a poster for their research.

One doctor has told me that I am putting the cart before the horse. I shouldn't worry about where I want to eventually do my residency and where I should practice. However, I know some schools like students to stay in that state to practice. I am interested in family medicine and want to practice in an under-served area.

 

[fzwarrior]

Not really sure what your question is but don't worry about comparing yourself to other people, you will age quickly if you do that in med school. I got accepted to med school without any research so don't worry about that too much either. And the reason the seniors are getting interviews is because its that time of year.

 

[hoops90]

I'm not sure how to private message, or you may have that option disabled, which is totally fine. So, I guess i'll just reply to your post here.

Yeah, you're definitely right. But just out of curiosity, are you a practicing physician, or are you currently a medical student?

 

[GoodmanBrown]

I'm not sure how to private message, or you may have that option disabled, which is totally fine. So, I guess i'll just reply to your post here.

Yeah, you're definitely right. But just out of curiosity, are you a practicing physician, or are you currently a medical student?

+1 to fz's advice.

You only need to worry about your own performance. When you've finished pre-reqs in a year or two, take the summer to study for the MCAT and do well. Take some practice tests before to judge where you are.

In the mean time, do some shadowing and volunteering. In the year or so before you apply, maybe do some research then. Or, take a year or two off and work as a research assistant.

It will all come in good time. Don't rush it and don't stress.

 

[GuzzyRon]

I shouldn't worry about where I want to eventually do my residency and where I should practice. However, I know some schools like students to stay in that state to practice.

Where you go for residency is much more correlated with where you end up living and practicing than where you went for med school (one of my deans told us that statistics show that ~50% of residents end up practicing within ~50 miles of the area where they trained...that number is a lot lower for med school).

On that basis, your greatest challenge right now is doing well enough to get into medical school. And if you do well in med school, you can decide to go do residency anywhere you'd want to live and practice for the rest of your career.

 

[RLMitchell1]

Figure out what you love and are interested in as an undergraduate, and knock the socks off that. Too many premeds try to think about college as checking off boxes in an ideal applicant profile. Yes you need reasonably competitive grades and MCAT score as a bare minimum, but being a compelling and unique individual is what will make you stand out from the scores of people applying with the same numbers. Not to mention the fact that you need to keep your head out of the sand long enough to be sure you really do want to be a physician.

 

[smq123]

Moved to Pre-Allo.

 

[StephanieZ]

I'm not even a member of my school's pre-medical club because I can't stand to hear about what other people are doing because I'll compare them to myself. When people in class talk about med schools, or applications, or interviews, I try to tune them out. You know what you need to do, don't worry about everyone else or you will drive yourself crazy. Some people love to be immersed in that social environment where they can talk to other people about the application process and get feedback and constructive criticism and play keeping up with the joneses. It doesn't work for me because it makes me paranoid and obsessive. You just need to figure out what works for you. And you still have three years, you have plenty of time to do everything you need to and get everything all "figured out". 🙂

 

[rivalsrivals]

I'm not even a member of my school's pre-medical club because I can't stand to hear about what other people are doing because I'll compare them to myself. When people in class talk about med schools, or applications, or interviews, I try to tune them out. You know what you need to do, don't worry about everyone else or you will drive yourself crazy. Some people love to be immersed in that social environment where they can talk to other people about the application process and get feedback and constructive criticism and play keeping up with the joneses. It doesn't work for me because it makes me paranoid and obsessive. You just need to figure out what works for you. And you still have three years, you have plenty of time to do everything you need to and get everything all "figured out". 🙂

yup, you should keep that in mind.