Will this keep me out of Med School?

[yungdoc]

Hey everyone,

So long story short... I graduated High School FOUR YEARS AGO. I went to CSULB as a freshman wanting to be a nurse. After my first year, I no longer wanted to be a nurse and I didn't want to spend so much of my parents' money while figuring out exactly what it was I was going to do (I've always wanted to be a doctor, I just couldn't commit to it as an immature 18 year old) so I transferred to my local community college. I have now been here for 3 YEARS and just recently got accepted to UC Berkeley to finish up undergrad. I think I would do significantly better at Berkeley if I was there for 2.5 years and not just 2 years (I don't want to risk my GPA dropping). The problem is.... That means it will have taken me 6.5 YEARS to finish up undergrad. I have never taken less than 12 units/semester so it's not like I've been taking it easy BUT it's going to take me 6.5 years to finish as opposed to the majority of others who finish in 4 or 5 years. Assuming I do well on the MCAT, will this keep me out of Med School? My EC's are great and I will be doing more at Berkeley.

Thank you for your insight!

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[sammiesings]

Hey everyone,

So long story short... I graduated High School FOUR YEARS AGO. I went to CSULB as a freshman wanting to be a nurse. After my first year, I no longer wanted to be a nurse and I didn't want to spend so much of my parents' money while figuring out exactly what it was I was going to do (I've always wanted to be a doctor, I just couldn't commit to it as an immature 18 year old) so I transferred to my local community college. I have now been here for 3 YEARS and just recently got accepted to UC Berkeley to finish up undergrad. I think I would do significantly better at Berkeley if I was there for 2.5 years and not just 2 years (I don't want to risk my GPA dropping). The problem is.... That means it will have taken me 6.5 YEARS to finish up undergrad. I have never taken less than 12 units/semester so it's not like I've been taking it easy BUT it's going to take me 6.5 years to finish as opposed to the majority of others who finish in 4 or 5 years. Assuming I do well on the MCAT, will this keep me out of Med School? My EC's are great and I will be doing more at Berkeley.

Thank you for your insight!

You'll be fine. Just make sure you keep your grades high. Makes it a lot easier lol

 

[wagonwheel23]

There is no rush. Take your time! Go at the pace at which you will be successful. Many people start medical school later in life (me included). It's just your path.

 

[Crayola227]

mostly for financial reasons (you pay by the credit and I needed to maximize that per term disbursement) and also for working 20 hrs a week and EC's and keeping that GPA high, I was a super super senior and took 6.5 years to graduate. I had a major, minor, and the extra courses that were pre-med that didn't count toward either in some cases.

it's totally OK as long as you don't go under full time enrollment, keep those grades up, and look busy on paper

I got in no problem

a few LOR writers were taken about by my super senior status but I explained the financial and family obligations I had and the need to keep GPA up for med school

no problemo

 

[DokterMom]

You have good reasons for making the decisions you made. Explain your reasons as you've explained them here and you'll be fine. Actually recognizing your own immaturity is a pretty good sign of maturity...

 

[MareNostrummm]

Take your time... a lot of people rush through classes and do poorly. Grade repair can be a nightmare.

 

[HalpSendHalp]

I feel like you're on the right track - take your time, breathe, do all that you possibly can to do well in school. People find their direction at various points in life, and it's okay that you take time to fully comprehend what you're getting into, especially for medicine.

 

[confidentandgood]

Look up the age range for matriculating students at medical schools. The numbers always vary because (as is commonly said on SDN) the process is a marathon, not a sprint. Better to take your time and build the strongest application than rush and risk an unsuccessful cycle. Props to you for keeping an eye on GPA! Best of luck.

 

[Lucca]

Even though it took you longer, your reasons are, well, reasonable and you did show maturity. Good luck at Berkeley