jcr_massage said:
After an exhausting few days of finals and the relief of another semester done all I wanted to do when I finished my last final today was go home and sleep.
But I couldn't stand it, I had to log on the website and see how many of my grades had been posted before I left school and then at seeing the results I had to go and look at the tests that had already been graded.
I got two B's, yes I understand B's aren't horrible but for some reason they have me stressing. I had 4 A's and 2 B's
which brought my 4.0 before this semester down to a 3.8 something. Uggggggh! A 3.8 isn't bad and I know I shouldn't whine because some pre-meds would kill for a 3.8 but never the less my much anticipated nap today was non-existant as I was riddled with anxiety. I'm only a sophomore, I have many more classes to go, I was trying to save the B's for Ochem and Biomechanics.....the weeder courses in my major. As a 28 year old undergrad I feel an intense amount of pressure to prove that despite the fact that I will be 31 when I enter medical school, I can keep up with my 22-24 year old peers.
The funny thing is I am completely aware that this sounds crazy and I shouldn't be stressing, I should just be gearing up for next semester now.......but the what if's are making me nuts! What if I had stayed up just two more hours the other night instead of heading too bed when I got tired, maybe that one B would have been and A (I was 1 point off).
Okay so enough said....you get the point. I'm sure I'm not the only one who stresses this way or who makes themself crazy......what do you guys do to let it all go and move on to the next semester?
Blessings
Bodyworksweety
I think that your determination to become a doctor is a pretty good thing. I know I oftened said a small prayer before and after I started studying at the libary each night; and believe me, I didn't do as well as you did. (Just for your information, I did my undergrad at St Joseph's University in Philadelphia)
I never got an A in biology at all! I always got a B+. During freshman year, there would be some days when I would walk to lab and all of a sudden find out I had a lab practical! Talk about me being stupid
When I was a senior, I would look back on my freshman days and just tear myself apart. I mean how could I have been so stupid and clumsy enough to not even realize that there would be lab practicals! And I forgot several times too!
But by sophmore year I was beggining to change and really cranked up the studying a lot. For organic chemistry, I would study perhaps two weeks in advance in order to make sure I knew the material. Despite of this, in the end I never did well in Organic Chemistry. The first semester I got a B+. The second semester I got a C+. I was bitter about it because I studied so much. It was a miserable experience.
My only As came in General Chemistry 1 and 2, and Physics 1 and 2. Yeah, I was like "Damnit Peter, how come you do so well in physics classes, and then do poorly in biology? What sort of a biology major are you?"
So, you see. My undergraduate experience was a very tulmultous experience such as yourself.
I ended up with a 3.49 GPA and a 24R MCAT. I met a lot of wonderful people along the way, however I was bitter about my academic performance.
To make matters worse for me, I always thought that if I was kind and sympathetic to all people, somehow I would do better on all of my classes and test. I never hesitated to give to someone in need. Went to American Red Cross blood drives like crazy. If there was a student donation towards a charity, I would put in more than a few dollars.
Good works ≠ Good grades and that really destroyed my moral during the last weeks in school.
I still believe in doing good things for other folks, but perhaps not with the zeal I once had before.
The good news is that I have been accepted into two DO schools so far. I know there's a lot of small yet discomforting discrimination against DOs, but I'll worry about that later.
Considering your concern about your grades and determination to show that you are more than many 22-24 year olds, I suspect you would do very well when applying to the medical schools.
You will do better than my 3.49 and 24R. I finished freshman year with a 3.6 and fought bitterly to stop it from falling under 3.5, but alas!
Also, your posting here on SDN! That is a HUGE plus/advantage right there.
Make sure you have some good ECs and you will be fine. By the time you start applying to medical school, the DO schools would have raised thier entrance stats just a little bit higher and you could probably get into a decent MD program too.
So let's face it, your getting into medical school.
God speed you safe and sound,
C&C
