Seriously need help with my pre-health career

[awwinterfall]

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Hi

First off I want to thank anyone willing to help me and read through the post.
Be forewarned that my situation will be very complicated and the post will be long.

I have always been really interested in becoming a doctor. I majored in biology. However, biology is not my passion. My father forced me to major in biology because he though that it was most related to healthcare (another issue).
Medical school is my true dream.
I first attended a university and got really good grades with an upward trend in grades i.e. getting better in the latter years. Had about a 3.7 GPA but I transferred to another university (considered prestigious) because my dad wanted me to and also because I had the confidence that I would do well.

To my dismay, I found that the new school was very tough. The competition was soo intense. The Grades were waay tougher and I ended with barely a 3.01 average from this school upon graduating. Furthermore, my prehealth advisor at this school was very rude and condescending to me. I am confused, I never offended her or carried my self in any arrogant way. She forced me to retake physiology which killed my grade. She refused to accept the credit transfer despite the professor already signed the agreement. Yeah, thanks for wasting my money, stupid school.

To complicate matters, I feel like I am just not intelligent enough. After graduating, i worked for a year in a lab (didn't like it at all). I quit the next year and took a MCAT prep course and took many courses at my old university and community college and got A's in all of them except for one B. My current GPA is a 3.36 (all schools and courses combined)
However, I just CANNOT do well in the MCAT no matter how hard I try.
I score around 10 BS 9-10PS 6 VR.
I cannot do verbal for life. Many hours of practice passages didn't move my score from a 6 at all. I have never been a good standarized test taker.
Home life is bad too. My mother has cancer and hates her job. When I came home, I blamed my father and argued alot. Now my family don't care about me because they think I complain too much (another issue). My dad thinks its my own falt that I don't study hard enough but I really do. I have spend an entire summer at Barnes and Noble studying Exam Kracker, Princeton Review and attended the course twice. Sometimes I feel soo sick and stuff that I study just pass through my head.

I tried to look for another job but I cannot find one especially in this economy. It turns out my "prestigious" university was worth two s***. i wasted many plane and train tickets.
To keep my options open, I took the PCAT and applied to pharmacy school but have been waitlisted on all of them. I think its also because everyone else had an easier school and higher GPA. The comitee's really don't look too much at the name of the schools. All they care is numbers. My PCAT is OK at 70% so I really think it boils down to GPA.

I am very depressed in life. I Feel soo down, like I am cursed for life. Honestly, I don't care if I died in a car accident.
Is there any suggestion on how I can get into medical school or at least pharmacy. I think thats the only way I can get my life straight.

Sincerely
awwinterfall

 

[oNichole]

I am very depressed in life. I Feel soo down, like I am cursed for life. Honestly, I don't care if I died in a car accident.

Well I think the first step is starting to value yourself and your life more. You have to have respect for yourself and your future. A lot of times I feel the way you do. I also know that I am depressed. Maybe you aren't in the right state of mind right now, and that is why everything is going wrong, or seems to be. It is a difficult road, and I too wonder if I can actually do it. Maybe, if you can, try talking to someone.

Next step, with a gpa of 3.36 you should probably do a postbac, and/or consider applying to DO schools. Also, make sure your MCAT is amazing. However, I'm not an expert on these things.

I think the first step is having the right attitude, and having confidence in yourself. Otherwise, you will not have the motivation or the discipline to study, or the capability to retain as much information. Your mind is what is going to get you the stats you need, and if it is not in a healthy place you can't move forward.

 

[awwinterfall]

Hi Thanks so much,

I honestly *try* to have a positive outlook but it is very difficult sometimes when you see many people around you succeed and yourself lagging behind despite effort.

About the post bacc, I tried to apply after graduation but never got accepted.
As I mentioned, I did retake some courses at my old college and some community college which I got straight As and one B. I really hope I didn't take them in vain. I was told it didn't matter if you took courses as a non martric or post bacc. Does it matter?

I will apply to DO because this is what I really want with my life. However, a stellar MCAT is hard for the reasons I have mentioned. Has there ever been a proven method for improving verbal? FYI, My middle school life was in another country and I don't know if that would affect my verbal.

 

[gadad]

I am very depressed in life. I Feel soo down, like I am cursed for life. Honestly, I don't care if I died in a car accident.

First thing, you have to find support. It can be extended family, friends, counselors, a physician, ANYONE that you can talk to openly and candidly. It has to be someone that you can call and talk to at any hour.

If you are severely depressed you may need medication to help you until you can think clearly. Don't think it's taboo; get the help if you need it.

Over the internet it's hard for us to judge what's going on in your life; though, it seems as if the major stressor in your life is your family, with all the other issues stemming from that. Somehow you have to find your own independence so that you can think clearly.

To complicate matters, I feel like I am just not intelligent enough.
I score around 10 BS 9-10PS 6 VR.

10 BS and 9-10 PS is not too shabby; others that post SDN make it seem as if those are horrible scores, but they are actually decent. Sure, you need to improve the verbal, but you might find that getting through some of the problems in your life will help with that.

Is there any suggestion on how I can get into medical school or at least pharmacy. I think thats the only way I can get my life straight.

As far as the future, you have to decide that. You may not be able to improve the verbal, but maybe you could find a D.O. school or Caribbean School that would work for you. Maybe you could go to PA school instead (GRE for them) or something else.

To me, you do not seem un-intelligent; just an average pre-med who is having problems. (Remember, the average pre-med does NOT have a 4.0 and a 35+ MCAT).

 

[EpicBearMan]

Many osteopathic schools allow grades to be replaced when a course is retaken for their GPA calculations. Your GPA may be higher than you think in these cases. You could retake even more courses at your old university to further improve your GPA as well.

Keep practicing your verbal reasoning. That section is by far the one which takes the most time to improve. In 6 weeks of MCAT studying, my practice scores on the science sections shot up. My verbal reasoning average improved by about half of a point. Don't give up!