I am a pre-medical student several years away from applying to medical school. I would like some advice about how to proceed in the next few years so that, when I apply, my application will be as solid as possible despite a number of glaring flaws caused by several years' disruption due to mental illness.
I began college at the age of 16; I attended a well-regarded private liberal arts college and pursued a humanities major. For the first two years, I had a 4.0 GPA; I decided to pursue medicine at the end of my freshman year of college. However, I began to experience severe depression at the end of my sophomore year of college, shortly after turning 18, and made poor grades the first semester of my junior year (A-, B+, B-, D). I took a complete medical withdrawal in my second semester of junior year when my depression (in fact undiagnosed and untreated bipolar disorder) became too difficult to manage. Over the next few years, I struggled to cope with a mental illness I did not understand, was hospitalized several times, and again took a complete medical withdrawal from a state school when I attempted to return to college prematurely.
I eventually did get an appropriate diagnosis two years on, when I finally found a regular psychiatrist, and I stabilized enough to return to my original college; that semester, I again had a 4.0 GPA. Unfortunately, my mood destabilized again, and I veered from a hypomanic episode into a severe depression requiring hospitalization and a third complete medical withdrawal. I have spent the last 18 months getting my mental health in order, again. For what it's worth, during the worst part of my illness my home life was disastrous (two alcoholic parents, PTSD from a previous sexual assault, domestic violence in the home). Additionally, I have dealt with chronic pain for years - migraines and interstitial cystitis.
I have been in school for three straight semesters since my last period of severe illness, and am in my fourth. What is frustrating to me is that I have long periods of stability, and during those periods of stability I am a high achiever and make excellent grades while being very active on campus with volunteering/research/ECs. Currently, I have a GPA of 3.7~ and a sciGPA of 3.8~. This semester I am taking 18 credit hours (and thriving). I work as a tutor on campus, volunteer, am an officer of a pre-med club, and am in the process of organizing a clinic for the homeless as part of that pre-med club. I would be a solid medical school applicant in all aspects were it not for the destruction that bipolar disorder caused for the first three years of my adult life.
I have seriously contemplated abandoning my medical ambitions given the nature of this illness and the fact that the course of it has been far from mild in my case. I have chosen to continue down this path every psychiatrist I have seen has encouraged me to pursue medical school despite my diagnosis, and because I am currently stable on low doses of medication.
Because I have switched schools and majors in order to stay close to family, I will not be graduating from college until 2015. My intentions are to apply in the summer of 2015, so that I will have had eight straight semesters continuous good grades without any withdrawals; if I cannot do this, I will not waste my time applying - I would conclude I am not cut out for a career in medicine. I would like some input about what other methods I can take to mitigate the three full semesters of medical withdrawals on my transcripts, and the lost years of my life where I did nothing productive due to disabling mental illness.
I am also open to the possibility that a career in medicine may not be appropriate for me. I am honestly unsure, however, what other careers are suitable for someone with high academic achievement but uncertain stability.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this novel!
