Pumping self up for pre-med post bacc?

[Safavi]

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I'm a year and a half out of college and have decided to go the post-baccalaureate pre-med route. I'm stoked about this decision and have also added pre-nursing courses should I decide in the middle to go to nursing instead or should I decide to do it anyway as a back up plan. I have all my bases covered, however from time to time I lose my confidence as pre-med is such a daunting task. I'm worried about the MCAT, then med school then the board exams, then the licensing, then all the other crap, especially residency and matching. Whatever it is I will not be going to a Caribbean school... and I have a small dent in my grades from undergrad with an upward trend that I can continue with my post-bacc. I'm just trying to re-motivate myself because it's like a rollercoaster with my motivation and I need to be 100% motivated. How do I do this?

None of this "don't pursue it" crap, I've decided I will.

I let stupid crap get in the way and throw me off. I can't believe last week I was like "I'll never be a doctor". Sometimes people doubt me or try to talk me out of it out of their own insecurity and jealousy, and this affects me. So I've stopped telling people of my plans because I don't want to make them insecure or to ruin my friendships/acquaintanceships.

 

[corpsman33]

I'm a year and a half out of college and have decided to go the post-baccalaureate pre-med route. I'm stoked about this decision and have also added pre-nursing courses should I decide in the middle to go to nursing instead or should I decide to do it anyway as a back up plan. I have all my bases covered, however from time to time I lose my confidence as pre-med is such a daunting task. I'm worried about the MCAT, then med school then the board exams, then the licensing, then all the other crap, especially residency and matching. Whatever it is I will not be going to a Caribbean school... and I have a small dent in my grades from undergrad with an upward trend that I can continue with my post-bacc. I'm just trying to re-motivate myself because it's like a rollercoaster with my motivation and I need to be 100% motivated. How do I do this?

None of this "don't pursue it" crap, I've decided I will.

I let stupid crap get in the way and throw me off. I can't believe last week I was like "I'll never be a doctor". Sometimes people doubt me or try to talk me out of it out of their own insecurity and jealousy, and this affects me. So I've stopped telling people of my plans because I don't want to make them insecure or to ruin my friendships/acquaintanceships.

When I decided to apply to med school I made the decision to go "all in". I knew that I would never succeed if I only half-heartedly pursued it. It was a scary decision (especially since I have a family of 5 to support) and I told my wife (I remember the day vividly) that I was going to apply to med school. I asked her for her support and said that if I do this then I have to give it everything.

That meant that if I needed to sell my car, sell possesions, or take extra loans to pay for the application fee, travel expenses to interviews, whatever, then so be it. I decided to go for it.

The people who I see fail are the ones who stand at the cross-roads and never fully commit. If you give it 100% effort your chances of success are much much better.

But first you have to decide if this is what you want. If the answer is "yes" then go for it and don't look back.

 

[Goro]

If you truly want to do it, then you will. You know what you have to do. If you haven't done so already, try doing some patient contact volunteer work, and that should remind you of why you're on this path. Good luck!

I'm a year and a half out of college and have decided to go the post-baccalaureate pre-med route. I'm stoked about this decision and have also added pre-nursing courses should I decide in the middle to go to nursing instead or should I decide to do it anyway as a back up plan. I have all my bases covered, however from time to time I lose my confidence as pre-med is such a daunting task. I'm worried about the MCAT, then med school then the board exams, then the licensing, then all the other crap, especially residency and matching. Whatever it is I will not be going to a Caribbean school... and I have a small dent in my grades from undergrad with an upward trend that I can continue with my post-bacc. I'm just trying to re-motivate myself because it's like a rollercoaster with my motivation and I need to be 100% motivated. How do I do this?

None of this "don't pursue it" crap, I've decided I will.

I let stupid crap get in the way and throw me off. I can't believe last week I was like "I'll never be a doctor". Sometimes people doubt me or try to talk me out of it out of their own insecurity and jealousy, and this affects me. So I've stopped telling people of my plans because I don't want to make them insecure or to ruin my friendships/acquaintanceships.

 

[gmcguitar4]

Trust me, I know what it's like coming back from a fairly large dent in an application. Don't consider nursing as a backup. Commit yourself 100% to med school and you WILL get it one day. I applied, 3 times, with no backup plans. My only plan was to get in..and I did! It is really stressful and extremely daunting. Just take it one step at a time and work hard.

I have had many people try to talk me out of it. Try to remind me of how miserable it can be, doctors have told me, "don't do it, it's not worth it!" Usually these people have no idea what they are talking about or went into medicine for the wrong reasons. It isn't easy and you will work a lot. But who doesn't these days? I have friends working their asses off just so that they aren't the ones picked for the next layoff. The friends I have that pursued something solely for money, are all miserable and want to change careers. The ones that truly enjoy what they are doing are as happy as they could ever be. Both of these groups of people work 60-80 hours per week easily..especially the ones in politics.

So if you can't imagine yourself doing anything else and you really want it, then go for it. Doubting yourself is a normal reaction, but doubt it just a feeling and nothing more.

 

[hallowmann]

Trust me, I know what it's like coming back from a fairly large dent in an application. Don't consider nursing as a backup. Commit yourself 100% to med school and you WILL get it one day. I applied, 3 times, with no backup plans. My only plan was to get in..and I did! It is really stressful and extremely daunting. Just take it one step at a time and work hard.

I have had many people try to talk me out of it. Try to remind me of how miserable it can be, doctors have told me, "don't do it, it's not worth it!" Usually these people have no idea what they are talking about or went into medicine for the wrong reasons. It isn't easy and you will work a lot. But who doesn't these days? I have friends working their asses off just so that they aren't the ones picked for the next layoff. The friends I have that pursued something solely for money, are all miserable and want to change careers. The ones that truly enjoy what they are doing are as happy as they could ever be. Both of these groups of people work 60-80 hours per week easily..especially the ones in politics.

So if you can't imagine yourself doing anything else and you really want it, then go for it. Doubting yourself is a normal reaction, but doubt it just a feeling and nothing more.

+1 for this.

 

[benlinus]

I'm a year and a half out of college and have decided to go the post-baccalaureate pre-med route. I'm stoked about this decision and have also added pre-nursing courses should I decide in the middle to go to nursing instead or should I decide to do it anyway as a back up plan. I have all my bases covered, however from time to time I lose my confidence as pre-med is such a daunting task. I'm worried about the MCAT, then med school then the board exams, then the licensing, then all the other crap, especially residency and matching. Whatever it is I will not be going to a Caribbean school... and I have a small dent in my grades from undergrad with an upward trend that I can continue with my post-bacc. I'm just trying to re-motivate myself because it's like a rollercoaster with my motivation and I need to be 100% motivated. How do I do this?

None of this "don't pursue it" crap, I've decided I will.

I let stupid crap get in the way and throw me off. I can't believe last week I was like "I'll never be a doctor". Sometimes people doubt me or try to talk me out of it out of their own insecurity and jealousy, and this affects me. So I've stopped telling people of my plans because I don't want to make them insecure or to ruin my friendships/acquaintanceships.

 

[hallowmann]

I'm a year and a half out of college and have decided to go the post-baccalaureate pre-med route. I'm stoked about this decision and have also added pre-nursing courses should I decide in the middle to go to nursing instead or should I decide to do it anyway as a back up plan. I have all my bases covered, however from time to time I lose my confidence as pre-med is such a daunting task. I'm worried about the MCAT, then med school then the board exams, then the licensing, then all the other crap, especially residency and matching. Whatever it is I will not be going to a Caribbean school... and I have a small dent in my grades from undergrad with an upward trend that I can continue with my post-bacc. I'm just trying to re-motivate myself because it's like a rollercoaster with my motivation and I need to be 100% motivated. How do I do this?

First off, you need to take a realistic look at yourself, where you are, and what you want. This forum is actually very helpful, because the pre-osteo crowd includes a lot of non-trads and generally people with "dents" in their academic history. Here's the bottom line, if you want it, you can get it. Don't worry about other people, just deal with your goals.

You don't need to worry about matching or residency right now. I mean you haven't even taken the MCAT yet, so really you have no idea about your chances. When I went back to school, I was filled with doubt about everything. I was in my mid-twenties going to classes with teenagers (18-19), and quite frankly it sucked at first. That being said, when I pulled off 30 consecutive credits of 4.0 (mostly science credits), I felt better about my choice.

Where are you right now? >3.0?, >2.5? If so, you'll be fine if you want it and put in the effort. Don't be scared of the MCAT, its really just something that you spend 1-3 months studying for and taking practice tests for, and then you are ready. It won't be your last standardized test, and it definitely won't be your hardest.

Also, even if you are <2.5 you can bring that up to >3.1 in a couple years of a strategic post-bac. Its amazing how much retaking a few bad grades can improve your GPA.

 

[Safavi]

I have a cumulative GPA of 3.45, and a science GPA of 3.3, consisting of human biology and A&P.

 

[Goro]

Quit fussing; you're fine for DO programs...just score >25 on the MCAT

I have a cumulative GPA of 3.45, and a science GPA of 3.3, consisting of human biology and A&P.

 

[hallowmann]

Quit fussing; you're fine for DO programs...just score >25 on the MCAT

Yeah, seriously, just get a good score on the MCAT and you're fine.

 

[Safavi]

Quit fussing; you're fine for DO programs...just score >25 on the MCAT

Lol

 

[hallowmann]

Lol

And that's straight out of the mouth of an adcom!

 

[Safavi]

What if half of that GPA is from a community college? Though the postbacc should help as its from university

 

[hallowmann]

What if half of that GPA is from a community college? Though the postbacc should help as its from university

If its only half, I doubt it would make much difference. You've taken enough other courses at a university to prove your performance.

 

[Safavi]

Well I did better at the cc than the college during my ba period but that was due to other circumstances. My ba was 64 credits at a 3.1 while my as was 65 credit at 3.8... I'm adding 60 more credits now, aiming for no less than 3.5... I'm afraid the low stats on the ba will hold me bck

 

[Goro]

Doesn't hurt, unless it's one course/semester or year.

What if half of that GPA is from a community college? Though the postbacc should help as its from university

 

[10roshni]

I currently have my A.S. in Nuclear Medicine and a bunch of science courses done becuase I was in a BSN nursing program. However, I stopped after first semester, even though I had all A's. I want to become a D.O., can I still get into the schools with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Science in something like Public Health, with all the science requirements completed? Thanks for any input! Or am I better off spending another 3 years getting a normal BS degree in biomedical science or biology?

 

[hallowmann]

I currently have my A.S. in Nuclear Medicine and a bunch of science courses done becuase I was in a BSN nursing program. However, I stopped after first semester, even though I had all A's. I want to become a D.O., can I still get into the schools with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Science in something like Public Health, with all the science requirements completed? Thanks for any input! Or am I better off spending another 3 years getting a normal BS degree in biomedical science or biology?

As long as you have a 4 yr bachelor's degree, it doesn't really matter what its in as long as you have the pre-reqs complete. Just finish whichever degree is faster, and apply with good grades and a solid MCAT.