Pre-med tips, am I smart enough?

[potentiallypre]

Hey guys! I stalk this forum a lot, but I finally made an account. I'm a freshman neuroscience major at Pitt right now hoping to go to med school. My first semester, I had a rough time adjusting due to my mom having some health problems and ended up with a 3.5 GPA. I was (and still am) involved in a club sport and a medical club. This semester, I joined another student organization (student tour guides) and have been training all semester for that job. I know at some schools this job isn't as big of a deal, but at Pitt the training is super long and extensive. This summer I'm staying here to work there and will be volunteering approx 120 hours at a lab doing psychiatry research. I've wanted to become a doctor for as long as I can remember, but am really worried I won't do well enough in school. I'm very worried about the MCAT and that I won't be able to have a high enough GPA to even get into med school. I feel like I'm questioning everything. If anyone on here has gone through a similar situation and could give me some tips on how to improve, I would really appreciate it. I'm kind of just feeling lost right now.

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[Oso]

Firstly, I'm sorry about your mom's health issues -- I hope she's doing better.
It sounds like even with your mom's things going on and involvement in a few clubs, you still ended up with a pretty decent GPA of 3.5. My advice would be to keep on keeping on and see if you can do even better with this semester and beyond. It is way too early to be actually worrying about the MCAT, so don't let it stress you out. Sounds like you have a good plan for this summer. I did not read a single thing in your post that makes me think you are not smart enough for medical school. Take a deep breath, and take it one step at a time.

 

[thegreengreatdragon]

I basically second everything Oso said. I understand your anxiety as a freshman--I think we've all had moments of severe self-doubt (after all, medical school is hard to get into), but from what you have described, you seem like you're in a pretty good place. How are your grades looking this semester?
(Also, Oso, I love your signature...as someone who hates that "always shoot for the moon" nonsense, I greatly appreciate your take)

 

[potentiallypre]

My mom is actually in remission right now! So she's doing much better, but it's still some adjusting. Thanks for mentioning it!

Thanks to both of you for the tips, I will try to not worry about the MCAT for now, I know it's so far away! It's definitely just my mind psyching me out and making me stressed for no reason. I'm very excited for the summer, it should be fun! This semester, I am doing much better in my classes! I haven't taken finals get but right now I am hitting about a solid A in 10 credits worth of classes, an A- in 3 credits, and either B or B+ in 4 credits (ugh, chemistry). I'm not sure what that is GPA wise, but it's definitely better than last semester.

 

[thegreengreatdragon]

Your grades seem really good, then! First semester of college is often rough, and you've got a lot of time before you apply to get your GPA up. Upward trend is the most important thing for sure. One mediocre semester is not going to ruin your chances of getting into med school. And notice I said mediocre--because that's what a 3.5 is. It's very far from being bad. It's obviously not stellar, but it's not something to be losing sleep over.

 

[KU Brendan]

I think you described what most of us went through in college and especially med school (well, and then residency, the first few years out...ok, well, forever). If you didn't have some worry about doing well and how to prepare for the future, that would be against the norm. Just don't let it overwhelm you and become counterproductive.

Glad your mom is doing better!

 

[potentiallypre]

@Oso @KU Brendan @thegreengreatdragon Thanks so much to everyone answering, I really appreciate it.

If anyone could answer another question for me, that would be great! What kind of experience should I be looking for in terms of applying to med school? I plan to shadow a bit this summer, how many hours should I am for? I will be a volunteer at my lab this summer (~120 hours like I said), but will move to a paid research position for the remainder of my sophomore year (I've been told this will total around 300 hours, more or less). What about clinical volunteering, how do I go about that? I've thought about getting certified as a phlebotomist, is this one way? Also volunteering in the community! I volunteer now with Strong Women Strong Girls, mentoring girls who live in underserved areas.

I may be jumping the gun a bit, but I just don't want to get behind at all.

 

[DubbiDoctor]

A 3.5 is actually fairly competitive for DO, allowing you to become a doctor, as long as the rest of your application is fine, so it's nothing to feel bad over. And you obviously have time to raise your gpa > 3.7, which is competitive for MD. You don't need tons of shadowing hours - just exposure, maybe 40-75 hours, across a few specialties. Try to shadow a DO physician as well. For clinical volunteering, most people volunteer at a local emergency department. It's not to hard to find a position if you contact local hospitals. Becoming certified as a phlebotomist also counts as clinical volunteering, but with research, tour-guiding, other volunteering, and improving your GPA, don't take on too much. Your GPA is the most important thing to focus on right now. Volunteering with strong women strong girls is great for non-clinical volunteering, especially if you keep up with it throughout your pre-med journey.

 

[potentiallypre]

@DubbiDoctor

Thank you so much! I have looked into DO as well, but I am hoping I can bring my GPA up to a 3.7 (maybe even a 3.6 after this semester depending on how finals go for me!). Luckily my tour-guiding position and research together are only about 13 hours max a week so it's not too bad (tour=2 hours a week). I will definitely be focusing a ton on my GPA come next year, I may just spend my sophomore year summer working on volunteering more so I can focus on school during the school year. I know that I'm capable of doing well, I just need to work hard!

 

[curvesetter]

My mom is actually in remission right now! So she's doing much better, but it's still some adjusting. Thanks for mentioning it!

Thanks to both of you for the tips, I will try to not worry about the MCAT for now, I know it's so far away! It's definitely just my mind psyching me out and making me stressed for no reason. I'm very excited for the summer, it should be fun! This semester, I am doing much better in my classes! I haven't taken finals get but right now I am hitting about a solid A in 10 credits worth of classes, an A- in 3 credits, and either B or B+ in 4 credits (ugh, chemistry). I'm not sure what that is GPA wise, but it's definitely better than last semester.

Happy to hear your mom is feeling better! In my personal opinion family is extremely important and school can always wait. Many of my classmates are well into their 20s and some in their 30s and even 40s. Your GPA is definitely salvageable and if anyone questions the upward trend, they will definitely accept your explanation. Do not think about the MCAT at all - it's too far down the line and you could take it after you graduate etc.

Focus on GPA, personal wellbeing, and maintain meaningful and longitudinal ECs including research and public service