Prospective premed/med student worried

[jumpbean2]

So I'm a freshmen in college and I'm thinking of embarking on the premed track. Medicine is really interesting to me, and I could really see myself loving working as a doctor. In fact, many specialities sound very appealing to me.

My concern, however, is that I find myself worried about if I'm good or smart enough to be a successful med school applicant and med school student. I fear I'll go down this path then around Jr year of undergrad it will dawn on me that my stats aren't competitive enough or I'm not capable of pursuing medicine.

No other biology/science related field is really of interest to me, so the last thing I would want is to not make it to med school and be left with a bachelors in biology or something.

I just don't want to invest my time and energy going deep down an avenue that may not work out for me. And yet, I also don't want to not go down the premed track when it's something I enjoy simply because I'm concerned I wont be successful enough in it.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this dilemma?

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[passionformed]

So I'm a freshmen in college and I'm thinking of embarking on the premed track. Medicine is really interesting to me, and I could really see myself loving working as a doctor. In fact, many specialities sound very appealing to me.

My concern, however, is that I find myself worried about if I'm good or smart enough to be a successful med school applicant and med school student. I fear I'll go down this path then around Jr year of undergrad it will dawn on me that my stats aren't competitive enough or I'm not capable of pursuing medicine.

No other biology/science related field is really of interest to me, so the last thing I would want is to not make it to med school and be left with a bachelors in biology or something.

I just don't want to invest my time and energy going deep down an avenue that may not work out for me. And yet, I also don't want to not go down the premed track when it's something I enjoy simply because I'm concerned I wont be successful enough in it.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this dilemma?

I had the same concern, but if there's one lesson I learned in college, it's that the way you study and prepare yourself is more important than intelligence.

 

[theseeker4]

So I'm a freshmen in college and I'm thinking of embarking on the premed track. Medicine is really interesting to me, and I could really see myself loving working as a doctor. In fact, many specialities sound very appealing to me.

My concern, however, is that I find myself worried about if I'm good or smart enough to be a successful med school applicant and med school student. I fear I'll go down this path then around Jr year of undergrad it will dawn on me that my stats aren't competitive enough or I'm not capable of pursuing medicine.

No other biology/science related field is really of interest to me, so the last thing I would want is to not make it to med school and be left with a bachelors in biology or something.

I just don't want to invest my time and energy going deep down an avenue that may not work out for me. And yet, I also don't want to not go down the premed track when it's something I enjoy simply because I'm concerned I wont be successful enough in it.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this dilemma?

If you want something, you have to take a risk. If you really don't want a bio degree if you end up not going into medicine, don't major in bio. There is absolutely no reason you would need to, and no real advantage to doing so regarding admissions to med school. What would you do if you don't go to med school? Major in that, keep your grades as close to a 4.0 as possible, and fit in the pre med pre reqs (and do well in them of course) and you will be both in a position to apply to med school if you decide to, and have a backup degree other than bio if you end up not going into medicine.

 

[DrHart]

How can you be interested in medicine but not science? I mean don't get me wrong, you can do anything you want with your life. Definitely major in something other than science if that's the case... All you have to take care of are the pre-reqs for med school. But if you do end up going to med school, it won't be much fun if you don't really like science.

 

[Trastuz]

how can you be interested in medicine but not science? I mean don't get me wrong, you can do anything you want with your life. Definitely major in something other than science if that's the case... All you have to take care of are the pre-reqs for med school. But if you do end up going to med school, it won't be much fun if you don't really like science.

+1

 

[as1212559]

Everyone who is a med student at one point took a risk and committed to that path where they had a chance of failure.

Do it.

 

[jumpbean2]

How can you be interested in medicine but not science? I mean don't get me wrong, you can do anything you want with your life. Definitely major in something other than science if that's the case... All you have to take care of are the pre-reqs for med school. But if you do end up going to med school, it won't be much fun if you don't really like science.

It's not that I'm not interested in science - I am. I just don't see myself pursuing a career as a researcher, biologist, teacher, or, as I said, most other careers that a bachelors in science might enable one to pursue. I like the clinical aspect working as a physician has. Being able to incorporate the knowledge of science in such a practical and relevant way, as well as having the human interaction.

If I wasn't going to be a doctor, I'd probably pursue business/economics. I feel these two avenues are mutually exclusive and it would be challenging to major in, say, economics, while still satisfying all the academic and extracurricular requirements for med school.
But many of you may know better. Is that possible?

 

[dsoz]

A business degree may come in handy for a PCP that is working in a clinic or in solo practice. It would even be helpful for the specialist that runs his/her own office. They need to know how to run an office as well as run the practice. How to manage employees and manage patients. How to pay the bills as well as know how to bill for services.

If business interests you, then get your degree in business. There is nothing stopping you from being a business pre-med.

dsoz

 

[NickNaylor]

It's not that I'm not interested in science - I am. I just don't see myself pursuing a career as a researcher, biologist, teacher, or, as I said, most other careers that a bachelors in science might enable one to pursue. I like the clinical aspect working as a physician has. Being able to incorporate the knowledge of science in such a practical and relevant way, as well as having the human interaction.

If I wasn't going to be a doctor, I'd probably pursue business/economics. I feel these two avenues are mutually exclusive and it would be challenging to major in, say, economics, while still satisfying all the academic and extracurricular requirements for med school.
But many of you may know better. Is that possible?

Yes, it is possible, and in fact I find those applicants more interesting because they bring something different to the table. You should study what you find interesting and what will give you a career you would like after college, regardless of whether pursuing medicine or not.

However, I agree with others with respect to your interest in the sciences. You certainly don't have to love biology or be "passionate" about it, but you certainly need to enjoy it enough to not hate life when you spend quite a bit of time studying it.

I also agree with the note above that says hard work and diligence are just as important, perhaps even more important than, intelligence. If you work hard then you likely won't have any problems. You don't have to be a genius to get into medical school. What you need is a strong work ethic.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717

 

[DrHart]

It's not that I'm not interested in science - I am. I just don't see myself pursuing a career as a researcher, biologist, teacher, or, as I said, most other careers that a bachelors in science might enable one to pursue. I like the clinical aspect working as a physician has. Being able to incorporate the knowledge of science in such a practical and relevant way, as well as having the human interaction.

If I wasn't going to be a doctor, I'd probably pursue business/economics. I feel these two avenues are mutually exclusive and it would be challenging to major in, say, economics, while still satisfying all the academic and extracurricular requirements for med school.
But many of you may know better. Is that possible?

Major in business/ Econ then! Pre med reqs are bio 1/2, gen chem 1/2, Orgo + lab 1/2, and physics 1/2. It is very possible to take these classes and major in something else. Just make good grades in these and study hard for the mcat. Also, it's a great backup if you change your mind about med school somewhere down the road.

 

[gravitywave]

It's not that I'm not interested in science - I am. I just don't see myself pursuing a career as a researcher, biologist, teacher, or, as I said, most other careers that a bachelors in science might enable one to pursue. I like the clinical aspect working as a physician has. Being able to incorporate the knowledge of science in such a practical and relevant way, as well as having the human interaction.

If I wasn't going to be a doctor, I'd probably pursue business/economics. I feel these two avenues are mutually exclusive and it would be challenging to major in, say, economics, while still satisfying all the academic and extracurricular requirements for med school.
But many of you may know better. Is that possible?

Econ is an excellent choice and you shouldn't have any more trouble getting into med school going that route so long as you stay creative about making a schedule work during undergrad. I would look into how bad the grade deflation is in that department at your school though. It could make maintaining a competitive GPA difficult.