Pressures from outside....

[makwendo]

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As a re-applicant, how much pressure to 'get it done' did y'all go through (coming from family/ community) and their lack of understanding of the time it takes to be a competitive re-applicant.
As a south Asian, I feel that there is tremendous pressure to get through professional education ASAP yielding some good and some not so good results (those who make it vs. those in my predicament). How do my fellow south Asians (and for that matter anyone who's felt this pressure) cope with the situation?

Unreasonably high expectations from community/family accompanied by a year of rejections has led to me to question my commitment; in the back of my mind I know that persistance will eventually pay off but combine the pressure of the need for high academic performance with this social pressure to do things quick and I'm feeling the gaskets in the engine start to fail.......

in need of encouragement.....should I go on? 🙁

 

[Todds2be@work]

I know exactly what you are saying. The most important thing is not to give up. DO NOT LET "THE TALK" GET INTO YOUR MIND. STAY FOCUSED. I hear that all the time, but I just block everything. I think only person who really cares is your immediate family. I just dont care about anyone else and I dont tell anyone my business. Nobody knows what I am doing and what my future plans are except me and some really close people.

 

[busupshot83]

As a re-applicant, how much pressure to 'get it done' did y'all go through (coming from family/ community) and their lack of understanding of the time it takes to be a competitive re-applicant.
As a south Asian, I feel that there is tremendous pressure to get through professional education ASAP yielding some good and some not so good results (those who make it vs. those in my predicament). How do my fellow south Asians (and for that matter anyone who's felt this pressure) cope with the situation?

Unreasonably high expectations from community/family accompanied by a year of rejections has led to me to question my commitment; in the back of my mind I know that persistance will eventually pay off but combine the pressure of the need for high academic performance with this social pressure to do things quick and I'm feeling the gaskets in the engine start to fail.......

in need of encouragement.....should I go on? 🙁

Almost all parents from 3rd World countries have the perception that there are only "X" amount of jobs that you can survive on: lawyer, physician, engineer, accountant, etc. This may be due to the fact that the countries they come from do not allow for the opportunities that we have in the United States, which in turn, give them a sheltered, close-minded way of thinking.

Being from a family that is from the West Indies, I've grown up being pressured to pursue one of the above mentioned careers. However, my decision to pursue a health profession career was purely my choice, and not theirs. Do not pursue a career unless it is YOUR decision, or you will likely burn out during the process. If you feel that your parents are forcing you into something you do not like, I suggest you look at other careers... there is too much stress, time, and money involved in getting a dental degree.

True example: My physcian is from India, and his father forced him to be a doctor. To make a long story short, he hates his job, and said all his schooling was not worth making his father proud. Just some things to think about... 😉

 

[makwendo]

busupshot83, my commitment to dentistry is from no one but me, I wasn't pressured into making any career choices. What im talking about the pressure to 'get it done' once I made up my mind. These are two independent issues; i'm referring to the pressure to get whatever education/ job training etc etc. one may choose to get out of the way and enter the real world...start a family, get married, make some tangible income bla bla by your late 20's.
I agree with you partly about third world immigrants and their perceptions on career choices.
However, I think expectations to do well ASAP because 'we immigrated here for you to have the best opportunities' and a culture of pushing kids from a very early age have their detriment....

 

[Richnator]

busupshot83, my commitment to dentistry is from no one but me, I wasn't pressured into making any career choices. What im talking about the pressure to 'get it done' once I made up my mind. These are two independent issues; i'm referring to the pressure to get whatever education/ job training etc etc. one may choose to get out of the way and enter the real world...start a family, get married, make some tangible income bla bla by your late 20's.
I agree with you partly about third world immigrants and their perceptions on career choices.
However, I think expectations to do well ASAP because 'we immigrated here for you to have the best opportunities' and a culture of pushing kids from a very early age have their detriment....

Hey man,
I am Chinese/Korean and I have 3 uncles who are dentists, a sister in dental school, and 2 cousins in law school. They are all living their dream. So, here am I, a guy who messed up his first three years in college by sleeping and not going to class and two years behind in college. My family therefore would makes comments such as, "Are you a dentist yet?" or "Look at your sister, she is already in dental school. Why aren't you living your dream yet?" **** like that during my last 2 years of retaking courses and studying for the DAT.
I just kept at it and bit the bullet though. Sometimes I broke down and cried, because we are all human. I mean this one exam, DAT, will decide if I live my dream or if I don't, since my GPA is only a 3.29 cumulative. So, I just told myself, "Rich, get your **** together. Take one step at a time and make sure you get in. Don't worry about the crap people say, because you are the one sweating and bleeding for this exam." After that, I studied like crazy for the science and math sections. I am glad I did and I was glad I was able to get my **** together during the test day. Therefore, hard work = 22, or 98.7 percentile from my experience on the Academic Average. I am not smart, just hard-working and persistent. So, I hope my experience will motivate you.
--
Also get plenty of sleep before the exam and try not to study very hard the night before. I didn't sleep and my PAT took a big hit and dropped from the scores I got in practice exams. So, just relax and take the exam.

 

[xxJuiceDxx]

I feel ya brotha. I hear so much yappin coming from my mom about how I am such a f'ck-up because I did way too much of nothing during undergrad. Guess I deserve it sometimes, but it sucks having the typical Korean parent whose sole aim is to make my life miserable by only highlighting my negative achievements. Ah, such is life. 😀

My advice? Do what you have to do in order to maximize your chances of acceptance, i.e DAT, additional courses, etc. However, learn to enjoy life by going out, participating in your fav. hobbies, etc. And if you're living at home, move out. The less you're at home, the less drama that develops.

*I suck at giving advice, so take everything I have said with a grain of salt. Best of luck.

 

[Gulch]

Hey man,
I am Chinese/Korean and I have 3 uncles who are dentists, a sister in dental school, and 2 cousins in law school. They are all living their dream. So, here am I, a guy who messed up his first three years in college by sleeping and not going to class and two years behind in college. My family therefore would makes comments such as, "Are you a dentist yet?" or "Look at your sister, she is already in dental school. Why aren't you living your dream yet?" **** like that during my last 2 years of retaking courses and studying for the DAT.
I just kept at it and bit the bullet though. Sometimes I broke down and cried, because we are all human. I mean this one exam, DAT, will decide if I live my dream or if I don't, since my GPA is only a 3.29 cumulative. So, I just told myself, "Rich, get your **** together. Take one step at a time and make sure you get in. Don't worry about the crap people say, because you are the one sweating and bleeding for this exam." After that, I studied like crazy for the science and math sections. I am glad I did and I was glad I was able to get my **** together during the test day. Therefore, hard work = 22, or 98.7 percentile from my experience on the Academic Average. I am not smart, just hard-working and persistent. So, I hope my experience will motivate you.
--
Also get plenty of sleep before the exam and try not to study very hard the night before. I didn't sleep and my PAT took a big hit and dropped from the scores I got in practice exams. So, just relax and take the exam.

Good job on keeping your head in the game and pulling through on the DAT.