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New Member
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2022
- Messages
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- Reaction score
- 11
Hello,
I am a current graduate student studying public policy at Columbia. While I am interested in my courses and love the idea of helping draft policy that can help a wide range of people, I have recently had an epiphany about my field, and what I'd like to do with the rest of my life.
Since I was young, I've been interested in medicine but didn't know about actually going into the field. To dip my toes in, I took two semesters each of general biology and general chemistry, which kicked my ass, and I was persuaded into going into my other passion, which was political science. While taking those courses, however, I spent time volunteering at a local ambulance organization, worked at a hospital, and took an EMT course, all of which are some of my favorite memories of undergrad. The human element of medicine is something that I greatly admire, but I didn't think I had the intelligence to do well in the courses.
That was 6-7 years ago, and I've had a ton of experience since then. My performance in school had always been lackluster, so I started to think maybe there was something legitimately wrong with me. That was when, after many doctor visits and a meeting with a psychiatrist, I was diagnosed with ADHD. Taking that medication for the first time was like seeing a whole new world, and my performance in school increased. After that, and incorporating better study habits into my routine propelled me into even greater success when taking the GRE, which is how I ended up at Columbia.
I've looked back on those early days of college and thought that if I possessed the knowledge I have now, I could do infinitely better. So I sat down and had a conversation with a friend about it, someone who would really give me the blunt opinion on it, and she said that I should at least give it a shot because it could be something I regret for years to come. I've been around premed students all my life, I've seen all the stress, pain, and depression this field has caused them, but I still want to pursue medicine wholeheartedly.
My question is, where do I fall when it comes Post-Bacc programs? I don't want to do a DiY as I like the structure and resources these actual programs offer, but one thing I see constantly is that they don't like it when you've previously taken premed courses before. Someone even said that I wasn't actually a career changer due to the fact that I took Biology and Chemistry 1&2 (at a community college mind you), and that I should look at career-enhancer programs, but this doesn't make any sense to me as I haven't studied natural sciences in over half a decade and have solely studied and had jobs in the political field.
If anyone could help answer my questions, that would be appreciated. I look forward to being a part of this community!
I am a current graduate student studying public policy at Columbia. While I am interested in my courses and love the idea of helping draft policy that can help a wide range of people, I have recently had an epiphany about my field, and what I'd like to do with the rest of my life.
Since I was young, I've been interested in medicine but didn't know about actually going into the field. To dip my toes in, I took two semesters each of general biology and general chemistry, which kicked my ass, and I was persuaded into going into my other passion, which was political science. While taking those courses, however, I spent time volunteering at a local ambulance organization, worked at a hospital, and took an EMT course, all of which are some of my favorite memories of undergrad. The human element of medicine is something that I greatly admire, but I didn't think I had the intelligence to do well in the courses.
That was 6-7 years ago, and I've had a ton of experience since then. My performance in school had always been lackluster, so I started to think maybe there was something legitimately wrong with me. That was when, after many doctor visits and a meeting with a psychiatrist, I was diagnosed with ADHD. Taking that medication for the first time was like seeing a whole new world, and my performance in school increased. After that, and incorporating better study habits into my routine propelled me into even greater success when taking the GRE, which is how I ended up at Columbia.
I've looked back on those early days of college and thought that if I possessed the knowledge I have now, I could do infinitely better. So I sat down and had a conversation with a friend about it, someone who would really give me the blunt opinion on it, and she said that I should at least give it a shot because it could be something I regret for years to come. I've been around premed students all my life, I've seen all the stress, pain, and depression this field has caused them, but I still want to pursue medicine wholeheartedly.
My question is, where do I fall when it comes Post-Bacc programs? I don't want to do a DiY as I like the structure and resources these actual programs offer, but one thing I see constantly is that they don't like it when you've previously taken premed courses before. Someone even said that I wasn't actually a career changer due to the fact that I took Biology and Chemistry 1&2 (at a community college mind you), and that I should look at career-enhancer programs, but this doesn't make any sense to me as I haven't studied natural sciences in over half a decade and have solely studied and had jobs in the political field.
If anyone could help answer my questions, that would be appreciated. I look forward to being a part of this community!
