What to do with my life after admitting defeat?

[Wowzers3000]

I was pre-med for all of college. I graduated with a 3.6 gpa and completed everything necessary to be a successful med school applicant except for the MCAT. I’ve been studying for the MCAT for 2 months and haven’t broken 495 on a practice exam yet. I am using a Kaplan course but I feel as though I’ll never grasp the info at the level necessary to score > 500. I’m wondering when it’s time to admit defeat and pursue something else? I’m already 22 and beginning to worry that I’m just wasting more time at this point. I’m the type of person that would be happy in nearly every career. Although medicine is the goal, I’ve started to consider pharmacy, optometry, and even law. Any advice on whether or not to throw in the towel? What are some good alternative careers?

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[deleted1139416]

The average incoming med student is around 25. No need to freak out just yet. Frankly your emotional response to this is more concerning than your practice scores.

How are your practice exam scores balanced across the different sections?

 

[zanaflexing]

I'm almost 30 and just got my first MD acceptance after three cycles. If you're committed, it will happen eventually.

 

[Wowzers3000]

The average incoming med student is around 25. No need to freak out just yet. Frankly your emotional response to this is more concerning than your practice scores.

How are your practice exam scores balanced across the different sections?

Pretty balanced on every exam so far. My last full length was C/P 124, CARS 123, B/B 123, P/S 124

 

[LunaOri]

You have only been studying for two months! Spend more time reviewing the subjects, or take a review course.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

... I’m the type of person that would be happy in nearly every career. Although medicine is the goal, I’ve started to consider pharmacy, optometry, and even law. Any advice on whether or not to throw in the towel? What are some good alternative careers?

One should not change career interests just because of a standardized exam. Have you done any shadowing in any of these areas?

Basically, from what you said here, you are approaching this in reverse. If you would be happy in any career, you don't have a career plan but are just going through the motions. You lack any true purpose of passion in medicine or healthcare from what has been disclosed above. Even if you got a 520+ score, would you really be happy as a physician? It sounds like you don't even know.

 

[Catalystik]

I was pre-med for all of college. I graduated with a 3.6 gpa and completed everything necessary to be a successful med school applicant except for the MCAT. I’ve been studying for the MCAT for 2 months and haven’t broken 495 on a practice exam yet. I am using a Kaplan course but I feel as though I’ll never grasp the info at the level necessary to score > 500. I’m wondering when it’s time to admit defeat and pursue something else? I’m already 22 and beginning to worry that I’m just wasting more time at this point. I’m the type of person that would be happy in nearly every career. Although medicine is the goal, I’ve started to consider pharmacy, optometry, and even law. Any advice on whether or not to throw in the towel? What are some good alternative careers?

Podiatry. They have less lofty expectations for MCAT scores. Pre-Podiatry Students

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

I was pre-med for all of college. I graduated with a 3.6 gpa and completed everything necessary to be a successful med school applicant except for the MCAT. I’ve been studying for the MCAT for 2 months and haven’t broken 495 on a practice exam yet. I am using a Kaplan course but I feel as though I’ll never grasp the info at the level necessary to score > 500. I’m wondering when it’s time to admit defeat and pursue something else? I’m already 22 and beginning to worry that I’m just wasting more time at this point. I’m the type of person that would be happy in nearly every career. Although medicine is the goal, I’ve started to consider pharmacy, optometry, and even law. Any advice on whether or not to throw in the towel? What are some good alternative careers?

For heaven's sake, don't go to law school. Law school is not a back up plan. You should only go to law school if you have a law school itch that must be scratched. 70% of the people who go to law school either flunk out, fail to pass the bar, find it impossible to get a decent job or just end up being miserable in a profession loaded with jerks. How do I know this? I have a law degree.

Catalystik suggested podiatry school and that is a very good suggestion. Podiatry is America's most underrated profession. Podiatrists alleviate suffering and with an aging population their services are in demand. If I were in your shoes, I would keep studying for the MCAT and take the test when you are at your best. The average MCAT score for matriculants at Kent State's pod school is only 493. You'd get in.

Class Profile | Kent State University

Class Profile College of Podiatric Medicine |

www.kent.edu

 

[almanack22]

you need to spend a bit more time than 2 months of studying to admit defeat my friend…you’ve just started.

hit anki for P/S
premed HQ youtube videos for chem/phys
CARS more practice
B/B watch youtube videos on concepts

reinforce everything with UWORLD QBank. it’ll take some time to get through it. do it in tutor mode and you’ll catch the parts of the passages you may not realize contain valuable info. do AAMC practice test + QBank.

Make this your 3 month plan, stay focused, BELIEVE in yourself, and stay committed to your dreams. You will do amazing. Good luck!!!

 

[M&L]

I would also suggest - below 500 score might show deficit in knowledge. I would watch Khan academy MCAT playlist once or twice (i watched it 4 times, and it was the only resource i used)

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Computer science

 

[PostBaccEngineer]

I was pre-med for all of college. I graduated with a 3.6 gpa and completed everything necessary to be a successful med school applicant except for the MCAT. I’ve been studying for the MCAT for 2 months and haven’t broken 495 on a practice exam yet. I am using a Kaplan course but I feel as though I’ll never grasp the info at the level necessary to score > 500. I’m wondering when it’s time to admit defeat and pursue something else? I’m already 22 and beginning to worry that I’m just wasting more time at this point. I’m the type of person that would be happy in nearly every career. Although medicine is the goal, I’ve started to consider pharmacy, optometry, and even law. Any advice on whether or not to throw in the towel? What are some good alternative careers?

Hi! No alternate career recs, but just wanted to say, I am 28 and graduated with an engineering degree and have a very successful and lucrative career but decided in 2018 to pursue medicine (despite a low undergrad gpa) and did my postbacc for about 2 years. First time I took my mcat scored 499 and then scored 509 and I got into 3 med schools so far and I am incredibly happy because a lot of people on this site led my to believe I almost had no chance. I would kill to be 22 or even 24 when I started this process... I wouldn't give up just because you are 22, but if you truly believe you will not be able to improve your mcat score or have a realistic chance to get in then sure, try something else.

 

[Goro]

I was pre-med for all of college. I graduated with a 3.6 gpa and completed everything necessary to be a successful med school applicant except for the MCAT. I’ve been studying for the MCAT for 2 months and haven’t broken 495 on a practice exam yet. I am using a Kaplan course but I feel as though I’ll never grasp the info at the level necessary to score > 500. I’m wondering when it’s time to admit defeat and pursue something else? I’m already 22 and beginning to worry that I’m just wasting more time at this point. I’m the type of person that would be happy in nearly every career. Although medicine is the goal, I’ve started to consider pharmacy, optometry, and even law. Any advice on whether or not to throw in the towel? What are some good alternative careers?

I suggest that you talk to your College's career advancement office

 

[chicandtoughness]

I’ve been studying for the MCAT for 2 months and haven’t broken 495 on a practice exam yet.

Well there's your problem. 1) You simply haven't studied long enough, and 2) you might not be studying effectively. My first practice exam after 6 months of "studying" was a 502 (and look, there is chill studying and then there is balls to the wall studying - be honest with yourself about which you've been doing). It took me nearly 2 years to be ready for the MCAT and then I smashed it. Take your time. It's not a sprint. You want to be ready for this exam before you take it because you don't want multiple retakes with poor scores. For me, I had to completely change up my style of studying. I was using Khan Academy lectures + Anki and that's just not how I learn.... ended up just grinding practice exams - 10 Altius, 10 NextStep, and all AAMC material - and that got me where I needed (520). Go talk to a career counselor or tutor at your school and figure out how you learn best. You might be studying a certain amount of time but none of that material is sticking because you're not studying in a way that's effective for you.

That said, if you are a "I'd be fine with any career" person and don't really truly want to do medicine for medicine's sake, then do some hard thinking about whether this is actually the path you want.

 

[deleted1139416]

Well there's your problem. My first practice exam after 6 months of "studying" was a 502 (and look, there is chill studying and then there is balls to the wall studying - be honest with yourself about which you've been doing). It took me nearly 2 years to be ready for the MCAT and then I smashed it. Take your time. It's not a sprint. You want to be ready for this exam before you take it because you don't want multiple retakes with poor scores. For me, I had to completely change up my style of studying. I was using Khan Academy lectures + Anki and that's just not how I learn.... ended up just grinding practice exams - 10 Altius, 10 NextStep, and all AAMC material - and that got me where I needed (520). Go talk to a career counselor or tutor at your school and figure out how you learn best. You might be studying a certain amount of time but none of that material is sticking because you're not studying in a way that's effective for you.

That said, if you are a "I'd be fine with any career" person and don't really truly want to do medicine for medicine's sake, then do some hard thinking about whether this is actually the path you want.

Agreed. In a way, getting in is the hardest part because that’s when most people stop and, for the most part, all med students become doctors. But in terms of how hard it gets, then getting through med school and residency is TOUGH - in every way possible.

 

[LizzyM]

Step back and explore what you want in a career. Scientific bent? Make a difference in the world? Help people one at a time? Held in high esteem by society? Low unemployment? Relatively High income? Geographic flexibility?

Get "What Color is Your Parachute?" There is a reason it has been in print for 50+ years. Work through the exercises to catalog your interests and strengths (I could be remembering this unclearly, I did this about 35 years ago). Medicine might be the right path for you or there might be a better path. Before you sink too much more time and energy into the MCAT, figure out if you should even be taking it.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

For heaven's sake, don't go to law school. Law school is not a back up plan. You should only go to law school if you have a law school itch that must be scratched. 70% of the people who go to law school either flunk out, fail to pass the bar, find it impossible to get a decent job or just end up being miserable in a profession loaded with jerks. How do I know this? I have a law degree.

Catalystik suggested podiatry school and that is a very good suggestion. Podiatry is America's most underrated profession. Podiatrists alleviate suffering and with an aging population their services are in demand. If I were in your shoes, I would keep studying for the MCAT and take the test when you are at your best. The average MCAT score for matriculants at Kent State's pod school is only 493. You'd get in.

Class Profile | Kent State University

Class Profile College of Podiatric Medicine |

www.kent.edu

My college roommate is a.country DPM, so is his wife. My wife and I are overpaid specialists. They are very successful, and highly skilled in their profession. If he dropped his checkbook in the parking lot, I would burn mine. Not saying money is everything, but financial.security is good. DPMs are very skilled in what they do and also with local anesthesia.

 

[EArlyBirdGetsTheWorm]

Almost 22? laughs in 33.

If you want it, you won't give up this early.

 

[Hippocratesintraining]

mid 30's and starting med school. take a breath and relax.

 

[Rside]

32 here and applying next cycle for the first time! Take a deep breath, you're going to be okay.

 

[Spiceupyourlife]

I'm 30. Lemme tell you, for my sake and the sake of my future patients, I'm soooo glad I didn't go straight to med school at 22. The things i know now. Whewww. Sure, I've missed out on somethings but I've gain a lot. Learned from my failures, traveled, and got work experience.

One of my best friends is an M2 and 33yo with a 1 yo kid at home. Don't let your age get to you if this is what you want.

Buckle down, get a better grasp on content, DO PRACTICE PROBLEMS, like a lot of questions, and then take the exam.

 

[Teeth and Titanite]

I do not think you should give up on pre-med, 22 is not that old and the MCAT will become doable if you stay persistent. Keep in mind though that if the MCAT has got your number, you've got a lot worse coming your way in the path to becoming a physician. STEP 1 is no joke, I've always been an excellent standardized test-taker and its kicking my butt.

In your surprisingly broad list of alternative careers, I was surprised to see that dentistry was absent. Allow me to throw its name in the ring; I'm having a good time in dental school right now and the profession can provide a good life if you manage to keep your debt low.

 

[runner31]

I was pre-med for all of college. I graduated with a 3.6 gpa and completed everything necessary to be a successful med school applicant except for the MCAT. I’ve been studying for the MCAT for 2 months and haven’t broken 495 on a practice exam yet. I am using a Kaplan course but I feel as though I’ll never grasp the info at the level necessary to score > 500. I’m wondering when it’s time to admit defeat and pursue something else? I’m already 22 and beginning to worry that I’m just wasting more time at this point. I’m the type of person that would be happy in nearly every career. Although medicine is the goal, I’ve started to consider pharmacy, optometry, and even law. Any advice on whether or not to throw in the towel? What are some good alternative careers?

Have you tried other companies' practice exams yet? I took a Kaplan exam during my MCAT prep and found that it was much harder than the AAMC or Blueprint exams. Before throwing in the towel, I would agree with what others have said: (1) increase your studying and (2) try your luck with other companies to see if you're doing better than you think. Best of luck!

 

[KatsuCurry]

Kaplan MCATs are heavily deflated. My highest Kaplan practice MCAT was 10 points lower than my real MCAT score.

Why are you getting most of your questions wrong? Is it mostly content gaps?

 

[Wowzers3000]

Kaplan MCATs are heavily deflated. My highest Kaplan practice MCAT was 10 points lower than my real MCAT score.

Why are you getting most of your questions wrong? Is it mostly content gaps?

Thank you everyone for your replies. I’ve read them all and will take your advice!!

I’m using the Kaplan on-demand course. The course had me take AAMC FL #1 as a diagnostic and I scored 491. I was shocked at how low that was. Then I took a blue print half length and scored 495. The 494 was my most recent and that was Kaplan FL #1. So after 2 months of studying I’ve only progressed 491 to 494. I think it’s mostly content gaps. It seems I can’t retain the info regardless of how much I study, especially in B/B.

 

[LunaOri]

If you can’t retain the info by rote memorization, you may have to audit the actual classes and re-learn the material. Check out MIT open courseware online (free).

 

[inwantstobeadoctor]

Don't be afraid to YouTube concepts you dont understand! Premedhq, Leah4sci, Chad’s Videos have excellent videos! I watched all of Chad's Videos ps

 

[ProReduction]

I am in my late 30s and went straight into medical school from undergrad at 21. I know a mix of doctors from my class, now in our late 30s to mid 40s. We went into the full spectrum of practice: rural and urban, academic and community, spanning many fields (EM, Neurology, IM and subspecialties, ENT, Radiology, Anesthesia, CT Surg, OB).

It is chilling to read that there are so many people here excited to apply to and attend medical school in their mid 30s, when all of the doctors my age want to quit clinical medicine ASAP and see it as the worst decision they ever made. All of us have kids now and none of us are joking when we say that if our children become doctors then we have failed them as parents. Every time I influence a pre-med into going into science, biotech, or engineering, I feel like I've saved a life.

 

[PeteytheFish]

I am in my late 30s and went straight into medical school from undergrad at 21. I know a mix of doctors from my class, now in our late 30s to mid 40s. We went into the full spectrum of practice: rural and urban, academic and community, spanning many fields (EM, Neurology, IM and subspecialties, ENT, Radiology, Anesthesia, CT Surg, OB).

It is chilling to read that there are so many people here excited to apply to and attend medical school in their mid 30s, when all of the doctors my age want to quit clinical medicine ASAP and see it as the worst decision they ever made. All of us have kids now and none of us are joking when we say that if our children become doctors then we have failed them as parents. Every time I influence a pre-med into going into science, biotech, or engineering, I feel like I've saved a life.

With respect, as a 39 year old MS3, I would suggest that it's the people in their 30s who might be the best placed to choose medicine as a career. What I hear you saying is that you're burned out, which happens to many people in many careers. It's a massive problem in medicine. But I also hear you saying that you got on the treadmill and never had the chance to get off. You made your decision at a very young age and might not have made it for the right reasons. I know I am not the same person that I was when I was 22 and I'm glad that I didn't make a huge life decision like that when I was too naïve and immature to make it. I can only speak for myself, though.

However, at 39, I have already had a successful career, which I loved. I'm married to my best friend. We have all the kids we're going to have (0). I've traveled, experimented, learned languages, and really lived a life. So when I made the decision to go to medical school, I had the power of experience and knowledge of the world backing me up.

I'm sorry that you and your friends are so burned out. That's a real shame. But seriously, don't fall into the trap of believing that your experience will be everyone's experience. Maybe instead of steering people into other science professions you can use your unique knowledge and skill set to help people really figure out if medicine is for them or not. The realities of clinical medicine are stark indeed, but surely one of the greatest services any of us can do for our profession is to encourage the right people to get into it for the right reasons.

 

[Snoozles]

Great response above. After a decade-long successful engineering career, I look back and am not sure if I made any long lasting positive impacts on any singular customer or client. Sure, I saved companies I worked for tons of money and fulfilled the business's contractual obligations, but I felt totally bored and empty. When your job is mostly sitting at a desk shuffling virtual papers around and you spend most of your work day on reddit, it's hard not to feel like something is missing from your life. The answer may not be medicine for everyone, but it has been for me. Or I guess I'll find out when I get started officially. I trust my own judgement after all the experiences I've had personally and professionally over adulthood. I certainly wouldn't have arrived at this point at age 22.

 

[currentsurferfuturemd]

I was pre-med for all of college. I graduated with a 3.6 gpa and completed everything necessary to be a successful med school applicant except for the MCAT. I’ve been studying for the MCAT for 2 months and haven’t broken 495 on a practice exam yet. I am using a Kaplan course but I feel as though I’ll never grasp the info at the level necessary to score > 500. I’m wondering when it’s time to admit defeat and pursue something else? I’m already 22 and beginning to worry that I’m just wasting more time at this point. I’m the type of person that would be happy in nearly every career. Although medicine is the goal, I’ve started to consider pharmacy, optometry, and even law. Any advice on whether or not to throw in the towel? What are some good alternative careers?

Saying you are "already 22" is if that means you are too old to keep going...

 

[ProReduction]

With respect, as a 39 year old MS3, I would suggest that it's the people in their 30s who might be the best placed to choose medicine as a career. What I hear you saying is that you're burned out, which happens to many people in many careers. It's a massive problem in medicine. But I also hear you saying that you got on the treadmill and never had the chance to get off. You made your decision at a very young age and might not have made it for the right reasons. I know I am not the same person that I was when I was 22 and I'm glad that I didn't make a huge life decision like that when I was too naïve and immature to make it. I can only speak for myself, though.

However, at 39, I have already had a successful career, which I loved. I'm married to my best friend. We have all the kids we're going to have (0). I've traveled, experimented, learned languages, and really lived a life. So when I made the decision to go to medical school, I had the power of experience and knowledge of the world backing me up.

I'm sorry that you and your friends are so burned out. That's a real shame. But seriously, don't fall into the trap of believing that your experience will be everyone's experience. Maybe instead of steering people into other science professions you can use your unique knowledge and skill set to help people really figure out if medicine is for them or not. The realities of clinical medicine are stark indeed, but surely one of the greatest services any of us can do for our profession is to encourage the right people to get into it for the right reasons.

I am not saying that my experience is universal. I am simply sharing my N = Hundreds of doctors that have been practicing for years. Many if not all of them felt the exact same way as you did in M3. The doctors I know that have taken reality on the chin the hardest were the ones that came in for all the "right reasons". We are all burned out. I hope that is very clear and not being hidden in any way.

It is after years of practicing that the reality of this career choice sinks in. Granted, my training was all done at "World's Best Medical Centers", where the career expectations and trajectories of doctors are heightened, and contemporaries that are not in medicine are all high-level policy makers, industry folks, scientists, tech leaders, etc. You see people in other careers making much bigger and more meaningful differences in the world and that can amplify the issues doctors have with burn out.

I am one of the lucky ones that has found success in a non-clinical career (Engineering) that I love and am able to work on problems every day that excite me and keep the neurons stimulated. Most doctors that went all-in on medicine do not have other options.

Please write a follow-up to your post in 9-10 years once you have been in independent clinical practice. I sincerely want to know your thoughts and hope that they are very different from all the doctors that I know.

 

[LunaOri]

I am not saying that my experience is universal. I am simply sharing my N = Hundreds of doctors that have been practicing for years. Many if not all of them felt the exact same way as you did in M3. The doctors I know that have taken reality on the chin the hardest were the ones that came in for all the "right reasons". We are all burned out. I hope that is very clear and not being hidden in any way.

It is after years of practicing that the reality of this career choice sinks in. Granted, my training was all done at "World's Best Medical Centers", where the career expectations and trajectories of doctors are heightened, and contemporaries that are not in medicine are all high-level policy makers, industry folks, scientists, tech leaders, etc. You see people in other careers making much bigger and more meaningful differences in the world and that can amplify the issues doctors have with burn out.

I am one of the lucky ones that has found success in a non-clinical career (Engineering) that I love and am able to work on problems every day that excite me and keep the neurons stimulated. Most doctors that went all-in on medicine do not have other options.

Please write a follow-up to your post in 9-10 years once you have been in independent clinical practice. I sincerely want to know your thoughts and hope that they are very different from all the doctors that I know.

I have been in practice for almost 30 years and still happy that I chose medicine as a career. My colleagues in various specialties, across multiple hospitals, seem satisfied as well. I have lnown a few docs (maybe 5%) who have left medicine for teaching or administration. Have worked in small rural hospitals (private practice) and larger community hospitals with residency programs.

 

[PeteytheFish]

Please write a follow-up to your post in 9-10 years once you have been in independent clinical practice. I sincerely want to know your thoughts and hope that they are very different from all the doctors that I know.

Am I going to feel differently about medicine after I have worked as an independent clinician for 9-10 years? Surely that goes without saying. I'm not suggesting that I am looking forward to feelings of burnout but the reality is that we all contend with these issues in our careers. Why do you think I switched gears in my mid-thirties? I loved my old career but after ten or so years I was ready to move on. People change, they learn, realities set in, frustrations build. I recognize that medicine is one industry that is hit the hardest by burnout, but it's not unique. But just because it is not all sunshine and rainbows does not mean that it can't be a meaningful and fulfilling path for the right person. But then I am not going into this because I have fantasies of changing the world or even making anything but the smallest impact. I am going into it because I love medicine and am called to do it.

For what it is worth, as a 39-year-old who went to college on a traditional schedule, all of my friends who are doctors are now attendings. They have been in practice for roughly as long as you have. Most of my friends from college went down this path, so I am fortunate to have lots of old friends who are physicians. Not one of them has left practice, and not one of them encouraged me not to go this route. I guarantee that every single one of them has had burnout and feelings of frustration, and yet all of them seem to be able to find the good in what they're doing.

I do have a friend who left a high-flying law career for a career as a professional musician and I have another friend who left a veterinary career for music as well. I have a friend who was an educator who is now a flight nurse. A friend who started as an engineer and is now an attorney specializing in cannabis law. My point? Changing careers mid-stream isn't that weird: people change and their priorities change with them. It is not restricted to medicine. These feelings of mid-career frustration are rife within most professions. It doesn't mean that going into law, veterinary medicine, education, or engineering is necessarily unwise for everyone.

We can all guard against burnout by acknowledging it and embracing it when it comes, but the LAST person anyone should take career advice from is a person in its throes.

With that, I wish you well and the very best of luck in what sounds like a more fulfilling path for you.

 

[ProReduction]

We can all guard against burnout by acknowledging it and embracing it when it comes, but the LAST person anyone should take career advice from is a person in its throes.

If I was a soldier entering the battlefield, the very first person I'd take advice from was the seasoned, weathered soldier exiting the battle after years of fighting. I'd also listen to soldiers choosing to fight on. Balance is always important. I sincerely mean it when I say that every time I advise a student and he/she decides not to go to medical school, I feel like I've saved a life.

I'll hear from you in 9-10 years. I'd rather be wrong and pleasantly surprised than right and reaffirmed. You come across as a completely normal person with a good life and interests outside of medicine (the exact kind of people I know dissatisfied with a career in medicine), so I would bet on the latter but hope for the former.