Skip FInal Year of Undergrad?

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medschoolfreak8 said:
i have the option to skip my final year of undergrad and go straight to medical school. should i do it or enjoy my last year and do something else?
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Enjoy your last year. There is no rush. When you are spending every sunny weekend in the library in med school at least you will have another fun year of college to reminisce about.
 
medschoolfreak8 said:
i have the option to skip my final year of undergrad and go straight to medical school. should i do it or enjoy my last year and do something else?
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Well obviously you should do what your heart desires, but I'd recommend sticking around for your final year of undergrad, because once you are in medical school, you won't have as much free time to enjoy and to do what you please. Enjoy the abundance of that final year. There's absolutely no reason to rush.
 
Just start medical school. You will be done with medical school one year sooner, rather then another year later.

Enjoying undergrade is overrated.
 
jonathon said:
Just start medical school. You will be done with medical school one year sooner, rather then another year later.

Enjoying undergrade is overrated.
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I agree with this. If you don't go straight to med school, you're going to keep thinking "I could be 1 year ahead of where I am right now." I recommend you start med school now and get it over with.
 
Work now. Play later.
 
thesauce said:
I agree with this. If you don't go straight to med school, you're going to keep thinking "I could be 1 year ahead of where I am right now." I recommend you start med school now and get it over with.
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No you will be in med school continuously thinking -- "I have no time to do anything fun -- I could have stayed in college one more year". This isn't a race and you don't win anything by getting to the end first. Once your life is over, it's over. Enjoy the fun parts of the trip.
 
if u dont like ure school... start med school now... if you like ure undergrad, then stay a year...
 
thesauce said:
I agree with this. If you don't go straight to med school, you're going to keep thinking "I could be 1 year ahead of where I am right now." I recommend you start med school now and get it over with.
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You do realize that your education as a doctor never ends, right? You never really get it over with, so to speak. Once you start walking down the medical school road, the demands on your time and energy, as well as your responsibility, get increasingly larger. From questioning my friends, it gets to the point where you don't see daylight for very long periods of time, and sleep becomes your hobby. You probably don't have the same demands on your time in undergrad; drink, party up, take basket weaving 101, etc., while you can.
 
spicedmanna said:
You do realize that your education as a doctor never ends, right? You never really get it over with, so to speak. Once you start walking down the medical school road, the demands on your time and energy, as well as your responsibility, get increasingly larger. From questioning my friends, it gets to the point where you don't see daylight for very long periods of time, and sleep becomes your hobby. You probably don't have the same demands on your time in undergrad; drink, party up, take basket weaving 101, etc., while you can.
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You'll hear a lot of that "learning never ends" stuff, and that's certainly true to an extent, but medical school wouldn't have the reputation of being so hard if a doctor's entire life was of that same intensity. You're almost certainly going to have a much better quality of life when you get out of residency that you do when you're in it...depending on your specialty of course.

I'm been in med school for 1.5 years now and I have to say that it hasn't been nearly as hard as I was told it would be. I've had a lot more time to relax and enjoy myself in med school than I ever did in undergrad (albeit I was a chemical engineer).

True, this isn't a race, but I've heard every student that was older that me say, at least once, "I would be in my ___ year of medical school/residency by now if I had started when I should have." I've said my piece: I think the OP should get started.
 
What is so amazing about your undergrad to want to stay a year longer than neccessary? Maybe you have a world-renowned prof. who has taken you under his wing and you don't want to miss out on this great mentor. Maybe you're part of a fraternity or club that you love and would like to spend another year. Maybe you're working on a research project that you could publish if you put in another year.

However, maybe you're working part time while taking 18 credits to finish up your degree, largely going through the motions without any special passion for what you are doing beyond getting in to med school.

If you don't have compelling, solid reasons for staying the extra year, then start med school a year early. Start enjoying med school rather than trying to grasp some undefined "undergrad experience". (practical note: You'll be ~$200,000 richer in the end for doing it.)
 
one year in the long run wont make a difference one way or another. if you are enjoying your undergrad experience then by all means stay. since you clearly dont need to be there, you can just take some cake classes and make the most of it. and its not like your 36 and the clock is ticking, theres plenty of time left in your life.
 
thesauce said:
True, this isn't a race, but I've heard every student that was older that me say, at least once, "I would be in my ___ year of medical school/residency by now if I had started when I should have." I've said my piece: I think the OP should get started.
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As a nontrad student, and thus probably older thanyou, I'm saying the opposite. Enjoy college. As a chem e you probably didn't but this dude still has a chance.
 
thesauce said:
True, this isn't a race, but I've heard every student that was older that me say, at least once, "I would be in my ___ year of medical school/residency by now if I had started when I should have."
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Wow. That's exactly the opposite of every nontrad med student I've talked to. To a one they've talked about not trading in the years they had before med school for the world.

OP- If you know doctors, take them out for drinks sometime. You'll notice that you hear very few stories of "No $hit, there I was at 32 trying to expand my practice..." and lots of stories about their undergrad years.
 
spicedmanna said:
You probably don't have the same demands on your time in undergrad; drink, party up, take basket weaving 101, etc., while you can.
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I am so sick and tired of people knocking basket weaving...hey man, if you enjoy, you do it. Try underwater too. You try basket weaving while schools of fish swim by and tickle you and what not. You pre-meds think you're just the greatest thing on Earth....
 
EDIT: Nevermind; please disregard... I misread your statement. :laugh:

ReachingTruth said:
I am so sick and tired of people knocking basket weaving...hey man, if you enjoy, you do it. Try underwater too. You try basket weaving while schools of fish swim by and tickle you and what not. You pre-meds think you're just the greatest thing on Earth....
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notdeadyet said:
Wow. That's exactly the opposite of every nontrad med student I've talked to. To a one they've talked about not trading in the years they had before med school for the world.

OP- If you know doctors, take them out for drinks sometime. You'll notice that you hear very few stories of "No $hit, there I was at 32 trying to expand my practice..." and lots of stories about their undergrad years.
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My testicles are at least as old as L2D's, and I agree with him.
 
notdeadyet said:
Wow. That's exactly the opposite of every nontrad med student I've talked to. To a one they've talked about not trading in the years they had before med school for the world.

OP- If you know doctors, take them out for drinks sometime. You'll notice that you hear very few stories of "No $hit, there I was at 32 trying to expand my practice..." and lots of stories about their undergrad years.
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That really surprises me. I've heard it a # of times. And I can totally relate to them when I compare myself with the 7-year med students in my class. I certainly wish I'd had the chance to start sooner...I'd be finished with the boards already!
 
spicedmanna said:
Oh brother. I forgot how easy it is to offend people on this forum. Apparently, I got so involved in trying to assist people that I seemed to have misplaced my manners. 🙄

Listen, I clearly hit a sensitive spot, and I feel sad and scared that you somehow interpreted my comments as an attack. Yet, I have no control over how you view me or my comments, so I'm just going to leave you with your experience. I hope you can find some joy out there beyond getting hot and bothered over some internet advice. Although, I do acknowledge that instead of citing "basketweaving", I probably could have simply stated that I thought the OP should take some very enjoyable classes while he/she has the opportunity. I meant no disrespect toward you, basket weaving, or anyone else. 😉

FWIW, I do not think I am the greatest thing on the Earth, so your comment, which appeared directed toward me, is at err. I know this because I have had the crap knocked out of me quite a few times in the 33 years of my life. At the risk of sounding self-righteous, I've worked quite a few jobs, some glorious, others completely undesirable, and lived in a variety of different conditions, including being homeless. Whatever self-importance I have left is probably real and well-earned. Thanks, though, for inviting me to check out areas that I might still be unconscious about. 😀

As to other pre-meds, I cannot speak to that.
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I was completely joking. I just figured basketweaving really didn't exist as a real option, so I thought the sarcasm was apparent. I myself am a premed. Sorry about the miscommunication. And I respect people who've done a lot more than I ever have. Again, no offense was meant. Just wanted to add humor and will clarify next time.
 
ReachingTruth said:
Dude, I was totally just joking. I didn't know that people actually were offended by basketweaving. I thought the sarcasm was apparent. I myself am a premed. Sorry about the miscommunication.
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Oh, I see. :laugh: My seriousness filter is set too high, apparently... Geez, I need to relax. 🙂
 
medschoolfreak8 said:
i have the option to skip my final year of undergrad and go straight to medical school. should i do it or enjoy my last year and do something else?
Click to expand...

Depends on whether you like undergrad or not. I'd step over my own mother to go back and time and taste that nectar once more. All I did was party my ass off, snog my girlfriend and take occasional roadtrips. We lived like kings.

I'm a non-trad, and I'd totally trade the subsequent six years of PhD work. I'd toss those MFers in the dustbin in a heartbeat in order to have started med school earlier.
 
I agree that it depends if you like undergrad. If you don't have a whole lot of friends who are willing to have fun with you the last year, you'll probably feel like you're wasting your time.

What a lot of kids at my school who could finish early did was go part time and get a research job working for the school/affiliated med school. I would take as few classes as possible and make this your "year off." Do what you always wanted to do and may never be able to do again while still sticking close to your undergrad friends. Once they are gone, things change big time.
 
sprinkibrio said:
I agree that it depends if you like undergrad.
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You're right. I guess I just have to get my head around that. I'm a nontrad and didn't know any premeds and everyone I knew that went to college loved undergrad.

I never heard of people not enjoying college until speaking with premeds on SDN. What a shame. Even those of us who had to work our a$$es off to pay for college still seemed to have had legendary years.
 
its pretty simple. just listen to your instincts. If you liked your undergrad and there are people there (like a significant other) that you care about and want to spend more time with because you are about to embark upon years of never having that same type of time to spent with people you love, then stay that extra year. If you find it laborious to walk through campus and curse yourself for ever going to school here, then don't. Take that extra year and travel or matriculate into medical school. But before you do, be forewarned, matriculating a year early are for sadists and take pleasure out of being punished :meanie: Lol just playing but if I were you, I'd take that extra year to find a really fun job. My friend works in the flight industry as the individual who collects tickets before boarding a flight (no exp required). He gets to travel on any flight as a standby in which there are extra seats left on the flight. So far he's been to every continent (except antarctica) and over 50 countries. That is a pretty fun venture to me 🙂
 
lord_jeebus said:
I disagree

At least use the money that would go to that last year of tuition and travel the world for a year
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lord_jeeb has some good advice here. I was faced with pretty much the exact same problem you are, medschoolfreak. After talking to current med students, profs, and advisors, I opted to take the year off. So far I am simply thrilled with my decision. Instead of paying money to the school, I used it to fund a few trips to various places in the world. Also, I work full time in a research lab, and will be starting med school with a few more publications to my name 🙂 In my opinion, you are faced with a very rare opportunity now. For one year you will not have very many responsiblities, so I say enjoy it. That being said, your decision will need to be made based on your own gut feeling. Good luck!
 
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