to be a psychiatrist or not?

[fanpires]

Hello, I'm 18 and I'm interested in becoming a psychiatrist. I've been interested in this profession for a while now, but I'm hesitant because I feel as though I'd do poorly on the MCATs. I've never had a good science teacher. I was never taught the curriculum the right way, hence, I was very bored in every science class, and barely learned anything. But, I AM interested and willing to learn science in college. The thing is, I don't know if I could do well on the MCATs. I don't want to devote myself to taking all these math and science classes and then get a low grade on the MCATs. I'd love to be a psychiatrist, though. I don't know what to do. How exactly hard is psychiatry? How much math is involved? How are the MCATs? What do you suggest?

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[NewmansOwn]

Hello, I'm 18 and I'm interested in becoming a psychiatrist. I've been interested in this profession for a while now, but I'm hesitant because I feel as though I'd do poorly on the MCATs. I've never had a good science teacher. I was never taught the curriculum the right way, hence, I was very bored in every science class, and barely learned anything. But, I AM interested and willing to learn science in college. The thing is, I don't know if I could do well on the MCATs. I don't want to devote myself to taking all these math and science classes and then get a low grade on the MCATs. I'd love to be a psychiatrist, though. I don't know what to do. How exactly hard is psychiatry? How much math is involved? How are the MCATs? What do you suggest?

The quality of your high school teachers has nothing to do with your performance on the MCAT. Are you still in high school or have you started college?

If and when you're in college, you'll learn most of what you need for the MCATs in your science courses. The rest you'll study on your own from Kaplan books or whatever else you choose to consult. Your score on the MCAT will be largely directly proportional to how well you prepare for it, so you've probably got what it takes to get a great score, so long as you have the drive.

Worry about college before you worry about choosing a specialty -- how "hard" a specialty may be is an illogical query and a very poor reason to choose any career. If you're truly afraid of math and of failure, my personal suggestion would be to steer clear of medicine -- if you're just nervous, then try to recognize that everyone was in your shoes once and tens of thousands of people each year get into medical school and succeed thereafter.

 

[fanpires]

The quality of your high school teachers has nothing to do with your performance on the MCAT. Are you still in high school or have you started college?

If and when you're in college, you'll learn most of what you need for the MCATs in your science courses. The rest you'll study on your own from Kaplan books or whatever else you choose to consult. Your score on the MCAT will be largely directly proportional to how well you prepare for it, so you've probably got what it takes to get a great score, so long as you have the drive.

Worry about college before you worry about choosing a specialty -- how "hard" a specialty may be is an illogical query and a very poor reason to choose any career. If you're truly afraid of math and of failure, my personal suggestion would be to steer clear of medicine -- if you're just nervous, then try to recognize that everyone was in your shoes once and tens of thousands of people each year get into medical school and succeed thereafter.

I just graduated from high school, and am entering college. Ok, thank you. I'm just nervous about the MCAT, not medical school itself.

 

[NewmansOwn]

I just graduated from high school, and am entering college. Ok, thank you. I'm just nervous about the MCAT, not medical school itself.

Congrats.

Sign up for Gen Chem and see how you like it. At my program, Gen Chem II was really hard, so I figure if you get through that, you'll probably be able to handle the rest with some hard work and discipline. If you get through all your prereqs by junior year and get good grades in them, the MCAT should seem far less daunting to you.

Best of luck.