Your Biggest Regrets...?

[choo301]

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My biggest regret: not cultivating enough relationships with professors. I know that some people, myself included, are very loner-type "I can do this on my own" people, but don't be afraid to ask for help from the professors. Not only might he/she give you the benefit of the doubt come final-grade-calculation time, but if you want a letter of recommendation (LoR) from him/her later down the road...

Let's just say, it's definitely a plus if they recognize you by name and face and can talk about your personality, rather than your academic performance in a certain subject (which will ultimately be more concretely expressed in your GPA).

 

[laffertydaniel]

My biggest regret: not cultivating enough relationships with professors. I know that some people, myself included, are very loner-type "I can do this on my own" people, but don't be afraid to ask for help from the professors. Not only might he/she give you the benefit of the doubt come final-grade-calculation time, but if you want a letter of recommendation (LoR) from him/her later down the road...

Let's just say, it's definitely a plus if they recognize you by name and face and can talk about your personality, rather than your academic performance in a certain subject (which will ultimately be more concretely expressed in your GPA).

my uncle is already a doctor, he went to Penn for undergrad, and Mount Sinai for MD, and he sees a therapist because he believes that he wasted his college career studyn as opposed to going out more and having a fun college life. I think hes nuts. (which is why hes seeing a therapist)

 

[DrSus]

I don't regret going to a challenging school, I think my undergrad institution's name has carried me very far. I don't regret taking hard classes because it shaped my discipline and tested my commitment to medicine.

I do regret:
- not taking as many humanities classes as I would have liked
- making some poor decisions the day before taking my MCAT
- taking too many courses that require attendance this semester with a heavy interview schedule (PLAN AHEAD and REALIZE that you can't do everything)
- not having more balance in my life

 

[caliprincess]

actually, one of my biggest regrets is not working during school. having my parents pay for everything made me take a lot of things for granted; i also feel like having a job would have forced a schedule on me. i was taking some upper div science classes (sort of an informal postbac situation) last semester while also working part-time, and i think that knowing that i had to work forced me to study at appropriate times.

I'm not saying don't work at all because I do think it teaches you a level of discipline and responsibility (max 20-25 hrs a week). However, if you have to work to practically support yourself completely (40 hours +), avoid it at all costs. Taking a few upper div science classes and working part time is very different from full time job/full time pre-med student status. Nonetheless, I see your point though. 🙂

 

[Smiley2012]

My second regret was not matriculating at an Ivy and taking advantage of grade inflation 🙂

hahaha, this is definetly one of my regrets....I had a lot of friends take their Organic chem clases during their summer breaks at Harvard, ended up getting As, and then they laughed at the rest of us when we showed them our tests, problem sets, etc..


But most importantly...I regret being a stressed out pre-med. Yes grades are important, yes the MCAT is important, but if you're not happy with yourself and your life, you're going to end up doing horrible no matter how many hours you study.

I totally disagree with the "education before romance" idea. I kick myself now for not allowing myself to be more happy during my college years. It wasn't until my 4th year that I decided to give this guy a shot, and now we're engaged! I took the hardest classes during my 4th year (I was a chem major), and my grades had never been better because of my babe! He just made me soo happy, and motivated me to get all my work done efficiently druing the week so that I could spend my whole weekend with him.

The point is, find something else besides all the pre-med requirements to be passionate about, something that fulfills you as a human being, releases your stress, and puts you at ease. You'll see that your grades will improve, you'll have more energy to do things, and you'll be more succesful in general. In my case, it was finding the love of my life😍, but it could be anything...

 

[VoiceofReason]

I don't know if I can articulate this clearly enough, and even if I can, I'm not sure that it's something you can learn until you've put in lots of years. The most important thing I've learned is how much fun it is to work hard and do a good job. I've come to appreciate having and keeping a schedule. I enjoy going to bed at night knowing that I've crossed items off the "To Do" list, and that those items were done well. My work ethic has helped me develop my sense of self-worth, has earned the respect of my peers, and has carried me through both happy and stressful situations. It's been a constant source of comfort to me. So I guess I would tell you to start early on building a strong devotion to and love for work, because later you'll realize the legacy you've been building for yourself.

Very nice post. Well articulated, if you're considering medicine this should be at least a significant facet of your personality.

Please don't take this the wrong way guys, but I dare say that you should take a long hard look at what you want out of life. It really shouldn't bother you too much that you won't be partying a whole heck of a lot, or that education will come before romance for a very long time. You should enjoy working long and hard, knowing that what you do is extremely important to people. You shouldn't be staring longingly out the window, with a textbook in front of you, wishing you could be partying instead (you know what I mean, shouldn't be doing it all the time).

 

[whateva07]

I managed to have fun in college and do pretty well. I regret not going out more though. Of course school is first, but if u have a free weekend take advantage. Study when you need to, but have fun when you can. I think that med school should be like that too.

 

[drizzt3117]

hahaha, this is definetly one of my regrets....I had a lot of friends take their Organic chem clases during their summer breaks at Harvard, ended up getting As, and then they laughed at the rest of us when we showed them our tests, problem sets, etc..

Well, I went to the OTHER school in Cambridge, which was great for my previous career, but not so good in terms of getting a high GPA or being a premed 🙂

 

[chizledfrmstone]

My biggest regret: not cultivating enough relationships with professors. I know that some people, myself included, are very loner-type "I can do this on my own" people, but don't be afraid to ask for help from the professors. Not only might he/she give you the benefit of the doubt come final-grade-calculation time, but if you want a letter of recommendation (LoR) from him/her later down the road...

Let's just say, it's definitely a plus if they recognize you by name and face and can talk about your personality, rather than your academic performance in a certain subject (which will ultimately be more concretely expressed in your GPA).

^ Word 🙂

 

[Spin]

I used to freak out every time one of my pre-med friends would find a good volunteer opportunity and not tell me about it, so I'd do the same and try to shaft them. Basically, I regret starting out with a cutthroat attitude. Work with the premed friends you have, not against them. You'll both help each other go farther that way.

 

[DoctaJay]

Hello everyone! I'm a freshman with a clean slate... As I begin my journey on the treacherous path to gaining acceptance to a medical school, I was hoping you could all share a couple of your greatest regrets in your own preparations so that those of us who are just now beginning the voyage might benefit by learning from your mistakes 🙂. Even if they are just a few words of advice, a couple tips, hints... please share! Thank you so much!

I wish that I studied more for knowledge rather than just to get an A in a class. I felt like I had to relearn alot of information when I was studying for the MCAT because after I finished taking a class, the information completely left my brain.

 

[Spin]

I totally disagree with the "education before romance" idea. I kick myself now for not allowing myself to be more happy during my college years. It wasn't until my 4th year that I decided to give this guy a shot, and now we're engaged! I took the hardest classes during my 4th year (I was a chem major), and my grades had never been better because of my babe! He just made me soo happy, and motivated me to get all my work done efficiently druing the week so that I could spend my whole weekend with him.

The point is, find something else besides all the pre-med requirements to be passionate about, something that fulfills you as a human being, releases your stress, and puts you at ease. You'll see that your grades will improve, you'll have more energy to do things, and you'll be more succesful in general. In my case, it was finding the love of my life😍, but it could be anything...

👍👍👍 I second that! There's nothing wrong with having a relationship while being pre-med. Knowing that studying during the week will give me more time with my boyfriend on the weekend definitely helps me focus, and he's an excellent study partner too 😀

 

[Drogba]

I wish that I studied more for knowledge rather than just to get an A in a class. I felt like I had to relearn alot of information when I was studying for the MCAT because after I finished taking a class, the information completely left my brain.

You can say this as a med student. I could imagine someone not making it in and saying "I wish I would have focused my efforts to learn material for the tests and not get too distracted by my intellectual curiousity and desire to deeply understand what I'm learning."

Also, studying for knowledge and making As need not be mutually exclusive, but realistically you have to prioritize and target your studying when under time constraints. Sometime (most of the time?) deep understanding is the most effecient method of studying, but not always.

I understand your post is a reflection of your personal experience, but it brought up a general point worth commenting on.

 

[goodoldalky]

Hello everyone! I'm a freshman with a clean slate... As I begin my journey on the treacherous path to gaining acceptance to a medical school, I was hoping you could all share a couple of your greatest regrets in your own preparations so that those of us who are just now beginning the voyage might benefit by learning from your mistakes 🙂. Even if they are just a few words of advice, a couple tips, hints... please share! Thank you so much!

Talk to some actual primary care physicians (ER, internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine) about their experience, and what they believe the pros (and most importantly) cons of practicing medicine are. In my experience, everyone in the field and out of it knows what the pros are. Watch a TV show and you'll get the picture. But it takes experience to see the entrety of the situation.

I find far too many pre-meds have rose-colored sunglasses on when it comes to thinking about medicine and are very unaware of some of the struggles that come along with it.

At least find out what you're getting into before you get too far along. (The MCAT is too late, by the way - do it now, lol.) If you are willing to accept the reality of a physician, go for it! But figure out what it is, first... from real life, living, breathing doctors.

 

[goodoldalky]

my uncle is already a doctor, he went to Penn for undergrad, and Mount Sinai for MD, and he sees a therapist because he believes that he wasted his college career studyn as opposed to going out more and having a fun college life. I think hes nuts. (which is why hes seeing a therapist)

I think a lot of practicing physicians are disillusioned with the reality of the profession. I've certainly seen it.

One of my lab partners in anatomy 1st year told a story about talking to his dad (who was a physician) about his desire to go to medical school. Well, his dad laid out the cons very clearly and said that he didn't recommend it and thought it would be a poor choice. Well, this kid went and thought about it, and then told his dad that he was going to go through with it and that he was enrolling in medical school. His dad called him an idiot and that was the last that was said of it.

I certainly hope that isn't me one day, but rest assured your uncle probably isn't the only one who feels that way. Not sure about the details but I assume it has something to do with where he is now...

 

[collegefootball]

I know you are to live life with no regrets, but F that. We all have regrets. You have not lived life if you don't have regrets.

Here are some of mine:

- Not stuyding for general chem I and II (did poorly in both terms)
- Getting a biology degree
- Not doing better in school (GPA wise)
- Taking speech as a senior with a bunch of fresman
- Asking for one of my science professors if they would criticaly analyze one of my papers (research proposal) when she never emails me back to start with....God I hat this professor...what a stuck up b@$*h
- Actually thinking my science factuly can understand what my research presentation meant (Relationship between BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in clinical outcome in women with breast cancer)..... I got questions like, what does ipsilateral mean, what does negative and positive receptor mean, how much does genetic testing cost, what is a gene mutation (an actual question asked by a chem professor), what is a T-test (an actual question by a student), and so many other really poor questions. What toped it off was getting asked a question by two professors that I already answered in my presentation. I answered back by saying, as I pointed out already in this slide...........

- Actually thinking someone that I have classes with was a friend. I invited him to my presentation for my research project and he didn't show up, but he came to class the next hour. So I asked him, why didn't you come to the presentation? He said, oh, I forgot. Sorry! So I thought to myself, whatever, you are not no friend.

- not doing better in high school

The smartest professor I ever had in college was my speech professor. I really enjoyed her. What is really funny is I told my research advisor when preparing for my speech that I need to do what is called a 30/70. My science advisor had no idea what I was talking about. So I said to her, you spend about 30 percent of your presentation on the introduction and conclusion and 70 percent on the body.

Word of the wise. NEVER have the same boss for 2 jobs.

 

[powerful_squib]

Living in a single in a freshman dorm the year that I'm taking the MCAT. This is the third time that their shenaningans *sp woke me up. I'm not taking the MCAT until next semester, but still, this is ridiculous.

 

[FishDish]

I regret spending too much time studying in college and not enough time having fun.

And I wish I was taking more time off between college and medical school.

 

[jace's mom]

...education will come before romance for a very long time.

Nice post! I agree with most of what you've said, but as a married mother of four, I'd have to admit that romance made an appearance a few times during my undergrad and grad school years. 😉 Yes, I love to work more than I do many other things (watch TV, for example), but I also have other interests. I guess it's a "Work hard; play hard" kind of philosophy. Just know that there will be times when you will have to work very hard for long periods of time, so it helps if you enjoy working.

 

[Jacky Treehorn]

Not using "rate my professor" sooner.

 

[go lakers]

not realizing the impact of starting off poorly in college and digging yourself out of the GPA-hole for 4 years.

 

[Azadi]

My biggest regret is not pursuing a chemical engineering degree. But I do not regret the experiences I've gained from being a zoology biomedical sciences major. I made some great friends and met some interesting people.

 

[xcgirl]

I regret...
-taking engineering physics after not having had calc for 3 years
-not switching academic advisors once I realized mine was worthless
-not studying abroad
-quitting French because it was affecting my GPA
-taking biochem and orgo simultaneously

I'm happy I decided to...
-switch my major sophomore year
-go to a competitive school with no grade inflation
-do a lot of ECs that eventually affected my GPA
-have a social life
-play varsity sports three seasons per year
-graduate a semester early
-apply to medical school the summer after my jr year
-take the MCAT the summer after my sophomore year
-save lots of money by not taking an MCAT course (using EK instead)
-not take anything on SDN too seriously

 

[45408]

I wish I'd applied sooner to the ambulance company that I eventually ended up working for instead of trying to get hired elsewhere. It didn't really make that much of a difference though.

 

[Pembleton]

I regret taking Orgo 1 and Physics 1 & 2 in the same summer as the MCAT. I foolishly thought taking these classes would help me prepare for the MCAT. I did well enough on PS (10), but not so well on BS (8). Furthermore, I was really burnt out by the pace of my studies that I struggled really hard to get passing grades in those courses.

 

[DeadCactus]

Not playing the "game", just a little bit.

I never took light semesters, just because I could. I never worried about pick-a-proffing the professor who handed out the most A's. I never looked at how hard the various options were when looking at courses to fill a requirement.

I wouldn't go back and completely just Gunner my way through, doing whatever it took to make an A as easy as possible. I could have made college a little easier on GPA though, and now I'm going to pay for it...

 

[Bond8204]

Have fun in college (following that cliche Tom Petty quote) but keep out of trouble (especially regarding alcohol, drugs, or more importantly cheating and stealing). If you do get into trouble, do everying you possibly can to ensure those things aren't on your record.

I sound like a felon there, but a few dorm drinking violations on my institutional record kept me out for try #1.

 

[rwessinger23]

Take the kaplan course if you're at ALL not ok w/ standardized tests.

 

[lucybug]

Ask for help if you need it. Don't be afraid to approach your professors or get a tutor for a challenging class. It is worth both the money and time!