scared of med school before even applying

[batista_123]

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I have competitive gpa and mcat score, today I read Barron's Guide to med school, have you seen it?
It's like the MSAR, it lists all med schools, the average GPA, all the info like the MSAR.

in that book they say med school is challenging, the debt causes a lot of anxiety and sometimes depression, all the things that you hear all the time, but I am starting to get discouraged from applying. the statistics is even worse, out of like 5,000 who applied 100 get in.
And I am already heavily sweating thinking about all this - in college you are competing with a bunch of dumb people so it's easy to get a good grade or pass or whatever, but med school I will be competing with all these people who would set the curve in every class and who are much smarter than me.

also I am starting to realize other premeds are so much more accomplished than me. All i have done is study, get a grade, study for the next class, get a grade...Other premeds have leadership roles, they have gone to Honduras and vaccinated the kids...other interesting ECs.

I havent done anything interesting. Although I have done some shadowing and volunteering, nothing interesting happens when i am there. I hear all these interesting stories that premeds have that makes them stand out in interviews. I dont know what I am going to talk about in interviews, I have nothing interesting to say. When I am shadowing, patients come in, the doctor examines them, tells them they need/ dont need surgery. On surgery days, they open the guy up, fix the damage, close him up. again, nothing interestng. How can i have interesting stories for the interviewer when nothing really happens?

So thats why i am feeling really discouraged, I dont know if its a personality issue becasue I do consider myself inferior to others and i have self confidence issues.
I think one answer to this problem is to apply to schools that have much lower standards than my numbers, in that barrons book it said there is some schools where the average mcat is like 27 and 3.5 gpa...if i apply to those will i have better chances of graduating?
I just dont want to go to a school where the average gpa is 3.8 and my classmates have discovered the cure to AIDS and they went to Guatemala and fed the homeless and they assisted the surgeon when the surgeon's assistant got ill and so many other interesting stuff. Hmmm, perhaps i should do dentistry or podiatry.

 

[flip26]

Quit while you are ahead.

Choose another path.

 

[thesauce]

Regardless of your stats in comparison with your class, you're going to have to learn the core medical curriculum. There were a number of students with 27-28 MCAT that dominated in my med school and (based on their board scores) would have done so at any other med school. Be prepared for a challenge anywhere you go. Good luck.

 

[Pedie Packs]

What's the ultimate goal? It's not to set curves in medical school. The ultimate goal is to become a physician.

You want to become a physician? You will go to medical school. Stop worrying, it will be alright.

Coming from someone who is not the epitome of intelligence. I have full confidence I can handle the med school curriculum. You should too. It's about willpower, hard work, and being resourceful. Those 3 qualities can get you through pretty much anything.

 

[bigbad]

Hmmm, perhaps i should do dentistry or podiatry.

lol

 

[DrYoda]

.if i apply to those will i have better chances of graduating?

Very few people don't graduate med school and out of those that don't some of them could have finished but quite for non-academic reasons.

If you get in the school will bend over backwards to graduate you.

 

[shiftingmirage]

all the things that you hear all the time, but I am starting to get discouraged from applying. the statistics is even worse, out of like 5,000 who applied 100 get in.

That is misleading as about 45% of those that apply get accepted to an MD school. So the number is more like 1/2 versus 1/50.

Also, it sounds like you haven't applied yet, so you have at least a year, maybe more, to do something 'interesting'.

 

[Disinence2]

"On surgery days, they open the guy up, fix the damage, close him up. again, nothing interestng. How can i have interesting stories for the interviewer when nothing really happens?"


You don't think surgery is interesting? Why do you want to be a doctor again?

 

[muhali3]

First, don't rely on Barron's to tell you what medical school is like. Second, that statistic of 100/5000 is totally off, as someone already said, it's closer to 50%. Third, you say that medical school is super-competitive like undergrad, and that isn't really true. You don't have to get the best grades in med school to become a doctor; 95% of the students match into some sort of residency, including the students with mediocre/sub-par grades.

From the tone of your rant, it doesn't really sound like you actually want to become a doctor. You described surgery in the most boring way possible, you have an inferiority complex, and you seem to be giving up because you find the path too challenging. Obviously it is very hard and challenging to become a doctor, but that is what filters out the people going into medicine for no good reason from the truly motivated ones.

 

[batista_123]

"On surgery days, they open the guy up, fix the damage, close him up. again, nothing interestng. How can i have interesting stories for the interviewer when nothing really happens?"


You don't think surgery is interesting? Why do you want to be a doctor again?

surgery is interesting, but nothing out of the ordinary happens. dont they want to hear something that doesnt usually happen? something like "oh, this womans foot was swollen and the doctor misdiagnosed but since my grandfather had diabetes i thought it must be diabetes, therefore i saved the womans life"

surgery happens 100 times an hour, its not out of the ordinary or meaningful. i dont have any meaningful experiences.

 

[Tatastrophy]

surgery is interesting, but nothing out of the ordinary happens. dont they want to hear something that doesnt usually happen? something like "oh, this womans foot was swollen and the doctor misdiagnosed but since my grandfather had diabetes i thought it must be diabetes, therefore i saved the womans life"

surgery happens 100 times an hour, its not out of the ordinary or meaningful. i dont have any meaningful experiences.

it has to be meaningful to YOU.
my first surgery experience was watching a woman with cancer get a colostomy bag...not exactly glamorous.
It was meaningful to me because it was an opportunity for me to learn. I learned about the procedure, her cancer, felt her abdomen (it was incredibly hard and large, not to mention strangely cold) to really understand why the procedure was needed.
there is something to take away from every experience, I am sure if you think about it, you will realize how much you have learned by just observing surgeries and diagnostic procedures that go according to plan.

 

[Disinence2]

surgery happens 100 times an hour, its not out of the ordinary or meaningful. i dont have any meaningful experiences.

Let me give you a tip...

EVERY patient is interesting, and unique. The procedure no matter how routine is extremely meaningful to the patient. Each patient has an "extraordinary" story. Each one has something you can learn from. This is an absolutely required attitude for shadowing and for your clinical years in medical school if you wish to succeed.

Personally, most of those "amazing" pre-med stories you have talked about are simply examples of people standing in the right (or wrong) place at the exact right time. Your not expected to have any real medical knowledge going into medical school. And stories of pre-meds acting outside of their scope of practice can hurt you! Example, don't brag about getting to give sutures while shadowing.

Hope this helps...

 

[rama kandra]

I suggest you listen to the Futureheads.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Futureheads


and realize that most of medicine is actually mundane, paperwork and administrative tasks. The fun stuff is interacting with a large patient population or serving a need - if you have a special talent or skill. I'm not sure if House is what you think medicine is, its not.

 

[J ROD]

I have competitive gpa and mcat score, today I read Barron's Guide to med school, have you seen it?
It's like the MSAR, it lists all med schools, the average GPA, all the info like the MSAR.

in that book they say med school is challenging, the debt causes a lot of anxiety and sometimes depression, all the things that you hear all the time, but I am starting to get discouraged from applying. the statistics is even worse, out of like 5,000 who applied 100 get in.
And I am already heavily sweating thinking about all this - in college you are competing with a bunch of dumb people so it's easy to get a good grade or pass or whatever, but med school I will be competing with all these people who would set the curve in every class and who are much smarter than me.

also I am starting to realize other premeds are so much more accomplished than me. All i have done is study, get a grade, study for the next class, get a grade...Other premeds have leadership roles, they have gone to Honduras and vaccinated the kids...other interesting ECs.

I havent done anything interesting. Although I have done some shadowing and volunteering, nothing interesting happens when i am there. I hear all these interesting stories that premeds have that makes them stand out in interviews. I dont know what I am going to talk about in interviews, I have nothing interesting to say. When I am shadowing, patients come in, the doctor examines them, tells them they need/ dont need surgery. On surgery days, they open the guy up, fix the damage, close him up. again, nothing interestng. How can i have interesting stories for the interviewer when nothing really happens?

So thats why i am feeling really discouraged, I dont know if its a personality issue becasue I do consider myself inferior to others and i have self confidence issues.
I think one answer to this problem is to apply to schools that have much lower standards than my numbers, in that barrons book it said there is some schools where the average mcat is like 27 and 3.5 gpa...if i apply to those will i have better chances of graduating?
I just dont want to go to a school where the average gpa is 3.8 and my classmates have discovered the cure to AIDS and they went to Guatemala and fed the homeless and they assisted the surgeon when the surgeon's assistant got ill and so many other interesting stuff. Hmmm, perhaps i should do dentistry or podiatry.

Quit....I saw you were wanting to be a vet too in another thread!!!

 

[TheMightySmiter]

surgery is interesting, but nothing out of the ordinary happens. dont they want to hear something that doesnt usually happen? something like "oh, this womans foot was swollen and the doctor misdiagnosed but since my grandfather had diabetes i thought it must be diabetes, therefore i saved the womans life"

surgery happens 100 times an hour, its not out of the ordinary or meaningful. i dont have any meaningful experiences.

You really don't think that anything you've done or seen in medicine has been meaningful? If you have not yet had a meaningful experience in the field of health care, I don't think being a doctor is for you.

Why do you want to become a doctor? If you don't know how to answer this question (and I don't know how you can with no meaningful experiences, as your words suggest), I think you need to look into a different career path.

Myself and others in this thread may sound harsh, but most people here are passionate about medicine--because in most (or all) cases you have to be to make a good physician.

 

[fever106]

As a fourth year medical student, I thought I might offer my 2 cents to the OP. First of all, medical school is incredibly difficult no matter where you go. Many of the people who kicked butt in my class were not even that impressive in their college careers. You never really know who is going to really thrive in medical school until you go through it. You will find that some things come easier than others, and you may have to work harder than you think you should, or you think other people are, just to pull through. In the end, if you want it, it's worth it.

Based on your post, I really don't think you are mature enough for this process. If you have this attitude already, even with good numbers, you will get eaten alive just during the application process, never mind the actual four years of med school. You are waaayyyyy too fixated on competing with future classmates...you don't even have a seat in med school yet and you are already worried that you won't outrank your "classmates" like you did in college. Second of all, I don't think you have much insight into what medicine is all about if you really think "shadowing and volunteering" gives you any idea what it is like to be a doctor. I hated my volunteer work as an undergrad...I was staring at the clock every ten seconds just waiting for my shift to end. But I was also well aware that actually training to be a doctor would be very different. Do you really think you are going to be allowed to do anything interesting when you have ZERO medical training? Did you expect the surgeons to hand over the whipple to you? You have to keep things in perspective and keep site of where you stand on the totem pole at each stage of your journey. All of this other stuff you have to do as an undergrad is just a series of hoops you must jump through to reach your goal.

In medical school, you are often pushed around, talked down to, and made to feel inadequate (sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally). That is the nature of the game. Some days are just terrible. But some days are wonderful...you learn something fascinating, you kick butt on the boards, you get complimented by an attending, whatever. And those are the things that keep you going. If you have a goal and a passion, these other annoyances don't make you give up hope. If you are so fragile that some statistics in a book are enough to make you want to give up, medicine is not the field for you.

 

[batista_123]

there are many reasons that make me want to go to med school.
I know many people who are a lot less "intelligent" than me who are doing it.
Just the other day I heard this guy who had much lower grades than me in undergrad, who also cheated his way through college by the way, is finishing his 2nd year in med school. I am just afraid that 10 years from now I will look back and be like "wow, this dumb sh** is a doctor and I am stuck in this crappy job, I wish i had gone to med school"

another reason is I HATE EVERYTHING ELSE. I dont really have a passion for anything.

Another reason is that I dont want to be stuck in a dead end $30,000 job.
And please dont tell me "oh, you will start at 30,000 then you will get promoted and make a millioon" If you think this way you really have no idea how difficult the corporate world is, most people that I know get like 20 cents per hour raise every year IF they work their butts off and IF their boss is really generous.

 

[indianjatt]

As a fourth year medical student, I thought I might offer my 2 cents to the OP. First of all, medical school is incredibly difficult no matter where you go. Many of the people who kicked butt in my class were not even that impressive in their college careers. You never really know who is going to really thrive in medical school until you go through it. You will find that some things come easier than others, and you may have to work harder than you think you should, or you think other people are, just to pull through. In the end, if you want it, it's worth it.

Based on your post, I really don't think you are mature enough for this process. If you have this attitude already, even with good numbers, you will get eaten alive just during the application process, never mind the actual four years of med school. You are waaayyyyy too fixated on competing with future classmates...you don't even have a seat in med school yet and you are already worried that you won't outrank your "classmates" like you did in college. Second of all, I don't think you have much insight into what medicine is all about if you really think "shadowing and volunteering" gives you any idea what it is like to be a doctor. I hated my volunteer work as an undergrad...I was staring at the clock every ten seconds just waiting for my shift to end. But I was also well aware that actually training to be a doctor would be very different. Do you really think you are going to be allowed to do anything interesting when you have ZERO medical training? Did you expect the surgeons to hand over the whipple to you? You have to keep things in perspective and keep site of where you stand on the totem pole at each stage of your journey. All of this other stuff you have to do as an undergrad is just a series of hoops you must jump through to reach your goal.

In medical school, you are often pushed around, talked down to, and made to feel inadequate (sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally). That is the nature of the game. Some days are just terrible. But some days are wonderful...you learn something fascinating, you kick butt on the boards, you get complimented by an attending, whatever. And those are the things that keep you going. If you have a goal and a passion, these other annoyances don't make you give up hope. If you are so fragile that some statistics in a book are enough to make you want to give up, medicine is not the field for you.

VERY NICE! 👍👍

 

[rama kandra]

I suggest you go into finance, and start a hedge fund instead. You could be the doctors' hedge fund, since they dont have the time, but have some money. You'll technically be rich, smart, and working an intense job that will require smarts that don't translate from paper grades to investing prowess. Good luck.

 

[Tatastrophy]

there are many reasons that make me want to go to med school.
I know many people who are a lot less "intelligent" than me who are doing it.
Just the other day I heard this guy who had much lower grades than me in undergrad, who also cheated his way through college by the way, is finishing his 2nd year in med school. I am just afraid that 10 years from now I will look back and be like "wow, this dumb sh** is a doctor and I am stuck in this crappy job, I wish i had gone to med school"

another reason is I HATE EVERYTHING ELSE. I dont really have a passion for anything.

Another reason is that I dont want to be stuck in a dead end $30,000 job.
And please dont tell me "oh, you will start at 30,000 then you will get promoted and make a millioon" If you think this way you really have no idea how difficult the corporate world is, most people that I know get like 20 cents per hour raise every year IF they work their butts off and IF their boss is really generous.

really...thats your reason?
Please for all of our sakes-don't go into medicine.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

really...thats your reason?
Please for all of our sakes-don't go into medicine.

+1

OP, from reading what you wrote, I do not think being a doctor is the career for you. I'm sorry that you don't seem to have any passion for anything, really I am. But being "intelligent" is not sufficient to be accepted to and excel in med school. Do not choose the field of medicine if you only care about the money and the prestige. You will regret it for the rest of your life.

 

[zetabetazeta]

I don't think you are interested in being a doctor. You have shadowed a doctor and still haven't found anything interesting about it. Maybe you should do something else instead.

 

[cbear]

I don't think you are interested in being a doctor. You have shadowed a doctor and still haven't found anything interesting about it. Maybe you should do something else instead.

Yea, I think finding yourself in something is a big part of growing up, which it sounds like you still have a lot to do. OP seems to be so fixated on how he is doing in relation to others that he knows nothing about himself.

Throw yourself into two or three big projects. Get into a research lab, and don't just clock in 9 to 5, but research the s*** out of something for a semester or a summer. Go to Mexico and volunteer for a month. Start a charity student group, or even your own business. Go out and undertake a couple BIG things that could majorly blow up in your face. If class is too easy for you (and it sounds like you kind of coast through it), and that won't blow up in your face, then go out and find something that will. Being terrible at one thing after putting everything you have into it is a great way of finding out that you absolutely can't live without something else that you have completely thrown yourself into. It sounds like you are living your life in the mushy lukewarm middle, and that is no way to find your strengths and develop character.

 

[o Farside o]

I think OP needs to find a career that doesn't involve any interaction with people. Absolutely awful attitude towards medicine. You also seem to have some issues to handle.

 

[Slack3r]

You really don't think that anything you've done or seen in medicine has been meaningful? If you have not yet had a meaningful experience in the field of health care, I don't think being a doctor is for you.

Why do you want to become a doctor? If you don't know how to answer this question (and I don't know how you can with no meaningful experiences, as your words suggest), I think you need to look into a different career path.

Myself and others in this thread may sound harsh, but most people here are passionate about medicine--because in most (or all) cases you have to be to make a good physician.

I haven't seen anything particularly mind blowing. Most of the volunteering I've done has been dreadfully boring.

 

[riverjib]

I havent done anything interesting. Although I have done some shadowing and volunteering, nothing interesting happens when i am there. I hear all these interesting stories that premeds have that makes them stand out in interviews. I dont know what I am going to talk about in interviews, I have nothing interesting to say. When I am shadowing, patients come in, the doctor examines them, tells them they need/ dont need surgery. On surgery days, they open the guy up, fix the damage, close him up. again, nothing interestng. How can i have interesting stories for the interviewer when nothing really happens?

 

[riverjib]

"On surgery days, they open the guy up, fix the damage, close him up. again, nothing interestng. How can i have interesting stories for the interviewer when nothing really happens?"


You don't think surgery is interesting? Why do you want to be a doctor again?

Right...that reminds me of why I quoted you in my response. WHY aren't you either asking about what's going on while they "open the guy up, fix the damage, close him up"???? And why aren't you reading more about the surgery on your own? Surgery may not be your thing, but if it bores you that much, maybe medicine (including podiatry and dentistry) are NOT your thing!!!

 

[praspudi]

physical exercise raises self-esteem.

 

[fever106]

I will say it again to the OP, stop basing your decision on what you think other people are doing. Just because someone you know has made it to second year even though he cheated in college doesn't mean anything. I know lots of people in my 4th year class who I wouldn't personally choose to be my doctor, but who cares...that is not your problem. The point is, are YOU going to be the type of doctor, and human being, that you admire? If you are choosing medicine because you HATE everything else, you are finished! I am telling you, from personal experience, four years of medical school is hard enough to get through when you have a ton of passion and drive. Picking medicine because you think you are smarter than other people doing it, or you want to make more money than a entry level job, or you think you are too good for something else, or you hate other things, is a TERRIBLE idea. Please choose something else.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

I haven't seen anything particularly mind blowing. Most of the volunteering I've done has been dreadfully boring.

You've never had an experience where you've thought, "This is why I want to be a doctor"? That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. It doesn't have to happen volunteering, but it does have to happen.