Should i continue to try for med school?

[pom132]

Here is my story:

I have already graduated. During my four years of college, i was pre-med all the way. I have taken the mcat THREE times (ridiculous, i know) and i have gotten 21, 26, 25, respectively. my first score was an absolute disaster (i am a VERY anxious/nervous test taker, my first test was scheduled for 1PM, unfortunately, one of the rooms at the prometric computer lab broke down in the morning which delayed other people who were taking toefl/gre/whatnot in the morning. i didn't get to start my actual MCAT until close to 3pm). before my real tests, i'm usually hitting 30 and 31's... and i'm pretty sure that its the nerves that get the best of me. after my last mcat score (this past april) i simply gave up and decided that maybe medicine is not the right path for me. these past couple of months i have been trying to decide what other career path to pursue- business? pharmacy? pa? nursing? but nothing sounds as exciting as what a md would entail. This has lead me to reevaluate medicine in my future. I am still kind of bummed out about my MCAT, but i really need some opinions/advice- whether they be harsh or nice.

some more stats:
-3.5 cGPA, probably 3.2/3.3 sGPA
-studied abroad for a semester
-volunteered in a hospital during my study abroad, havent actually volunteered here in the US.
-researched in a lab during one fall semester, worked on a part of a grad student's project
-did a GMT trip
-currently working as a researcher in a biotechnology company full time



any feedback is greatly appreciated.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Some of the newer Osteo schools will take you, but stop taking the MCAT.

 

[pom132]

Some of the newer Osteo schools will take you, but stop taking the MCAT.

haha, why do you say that?

 

[coolingglasses]

haha, why do you say that?

With those stats you have a shot at a DO school with a 25, but based on what you said about your test taking habits, your score is liable to drop.

 

[gyngyn]

Medicine is a long (even endless) series of tests. If taking tests makes you miserable or if you cannot find a way to to make peace with the process of testing, medicine is not for you. Even established physicians must continually be tested to maintain board certification and hospital privileges.

 

[pom132]

Medicine is a long (even endless) series of tests. If taking tests makes you miserable or if you cannot find a way to to make peace with the process of testing, medicine is not for you. Even established physicians must continually be tested to maintain board certification and hospital privileges.

let me reword my statement- i am a very bad standardized test taker. tests in college were not that bad, i messed up when i didn't study as hard as i should've...

this might be naive but i feel like in med school i'll be studying stuff that actually interests me so i feel like i can definitely deal with all that testing.

 

[gyngyn]

Not for years. They all become "standardized tests."

 

[Jamie561]

this might be naive but i feel like in med school i'll be studying stuff that actually interests me so i feel like i can definitely deal with all that testing.

Learning physiology may be a fun afternoon hobby. Learning physiology, Anatomy, embryo, Pharm, neuro, path, while juggling patient experiences is overload.

Despite doing poorly in school and on standardized tests, you have excuses for anything. I think you ought to think about your academic potential.

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk

 

[budda10000]

You can take the MCAT again but not before you get your anxiety under control. I have seen similar cases where students take the test multiple times and finally they nail it. Realistically with your GPA you need to break 30 to have a shot at good DO and low tier MD programs.

 

[budda10000]

let me reword my statement- i am a very bad standardized test taker. tests in college were not that bad, i messed up when i didn't study as hard as i should've...

this might be naive but i feel like in med school i'll be studying stuff that actually interests me so i feel like i can definitely deal with all that testing.

In med school you will not have time to be "interested" in the subject, you simply turn into a memorization machine. It isn't fun, it sucks. Studying Flash cards 8-14 hours a days is a sick man's idea of fun. And you will absolutely be learning dry subjects(like pharm). Some of it is interesting and neat but a whole lot of it is just internalizing massive amounts of info.

 

[candbgirl]

You know this thread is almost 3 years old right?

 

[Enginerd2016]

@candbgirl I'm amazed people don't check the original post date when they respond. Lol. How many threads have been resurrected this week alone that are older than 3 years.

 

[candbgirl]

It's amazing to me too!