What to do?

[SockMonster]

---

Members do not see this ad.

hey all..

quick question before my computer crashes again.

alright, so... i'm a rising senior with good grades, yadda yadda yadda. but all of my professors seem to think that if i became a doctor, i'd be wasting my mind and my life. they think that i owe it to myself to become a professor and find a unified theory out of the surrounding chaos. maybe they're right, but, since i was very little i've always wanted to be a doctor. when they found out i signed up for the april mcat, they made me feel so guilty, i didn't want to do well. in fact, i didn't study, purposely answered incorrectly, wrote essays that didn't answer to topic, and ended up with a whopping 28N. this score isn't low enough to completely dash all hopes of ever applying, but it's not high enough to get into an MD/PhD program. plus, i know the professors who know me best, would never write a good med school rec letter. my parents want me to apply this year just to see what happens, but i feel that between the MCAT and the letters, my chances are slim. i'd rather wait a year, actually study for the MCAT, and hopefully land a job where i can meet people who won't judge me, and therefore write decent recs. i'm so lost and upset over this whole situation, i just thought i'd come ask the best advice givers i know.. SDN people. any advice will be greatly appreciated.

thanks

 

[Jonkst]

When I took Kaplan, my MCAT teacher told us all about how he got less than thirty on his first try, and wanted to do Md/PhD. He waited, took them again, and obviously did pretty well, since he was teaching us MCATs to help earn money while he was in Md/PhD at Rush.

Don't give up, and there's no sense in not doing what you dream, even if it takes an extra year. One year now, versus fifty that you're going to go to grad school and work.

Good luck!

 

[zinjanthropus]

i think you would be suprised at your professor's letters.

while, personally, they may not want you to goto medical school because it is obviously in their best interest for you to goto graduate school, it would be, professionaly, very unethical for them to write you poor letters because they disagree with your decisions.

A rec letter is for them to evalauate your potential based on their interactions with you - certainly they have the informaiton to do that. Even if they say 'this person is throwing their life away by going to med school because they would make a great research scientist' then they have still written you a good letter - it shows they respect your potential and intellect.

just make sure to ask them to write you a 'strong' letter....

as far as MD/PhD programs go, I think that might be difficult with a score under a 30, but if you apply now and do get into a school, many places allow you to apply to the MD/PhD track after your first year

 

[Blanch]

Why did you blow off the MCAT if you've wanted to be a doctor since you were a little kid? That doesn't make sense. Are you looking for reasons not to apply for medical school, like a bad MCAT? "Finding a unified theory out of the surrounding chaos" sounds a little lofty. Perhaps you shoud go for a long walk in the hills and think about what that actually means for your goals... specifically. If it's astrophysics you're after, forget about med school. If you're talking about the chaos of substantia nigral projections and their role in Parkinson's Disease, then maybe you should nail the MCAT next time. What YOU want is the ONLY thing that matters. Sometimes professors like to re-live their youth vicariously through students. Don't let that mess with your own goals.

 

[MysticHealer]

So I was actually was kind of in this same situation. I am and was big into research. I shuned all the normal premeds thinking that Going hardcore research or doing a MD/PHD was the key. So I ignored the april mcat date and didn't study for it. THen I decided that I needed to take the MCAT if I even want to try medical school. I found out that for an MD/PHD if you don't want to take the GRE take the MCat. So i studied for the Aug MCat then lin a last few weeks i thought about not taking it and slacked then i decided I might as well push it and see what happens anyway. So I ended up with a 30 (v9P11B10P) So i ended up with a litle better than you. if oyu have a strong GPA I say go for it. I'm happy I pushed and gave it a somewhat try. Thing was that when I wnet to apply I was unsure, becasue I had halfassed my MCAT if i should retake it. And I was talked out of doing so by people. BUt the real thing is you have to be happy with how it represents you... if you test well make sure it shows it. BUt then I applied and got a bunch of secondaries ( Note I applied right around thanks giving of my senior year,[I was un happy with myself representation in my personal statement]). THing was I wasted many months on that stupid statement and thinking about retaking my MCAT. Becasue I applied late I choose many schools by deadline date. ....... MORAL: Be sure you want to apply and that you feel you are ready. Take another year.... its fine .. so long as you do something during it. IT is ALOT of money to apply jsut to test the waters. In the end it is your choice.

MysticHealer
PS: You professors will believe you will utilize your potential either in basic science or medicine or both. You have to make the choice they are there to help you no mater what they say.