Don't know if I should apply? Advice pls.

[bzinl]

Hey, I'm new here. And I'm having a quarter life crisis. I'm pouring my heart out here so no judging.

I've always said I wanted to be a doctor for as long as I remember. That's it. There is no story. No one near me has ever been hospitalized and neither have I. No one really close to me has died. I just decided one day. I know I was the one who pursued it first but as I get closer to actually applying, I'm starting to have a lot of doubts.

I am a black hispanic female who is a senior in college with a projected 3.17 gpa and a 24 MCAT(taken once with no desire to retake and slight upward trend on gpa) and I live in NY so I don't think the instate advantage is going to help. I have lots of hospital experience and some minor non-clinical research experience. I don't think I'll get into med school if I apply. My parents and pre-med friends insist that this is enough and not to give up, but I'm not so sure.

Originally my plan was to apply just once and if I got rejected go for my MHA(masters health admin). But I'm not really a people person and I know my stats aren't competitive plus a year is a long time and a lot of money. I'm afraid to get rejected after all that. I've also been hearing that being a doctor isn't all its cracked up to be these days. A doctor friend of mine actually told me not to go to medical school(not cause of my stats she doesnt know about them). I'm not the kind of person to apply 3-4 times or leave the country to get my MD. Should I even bother applying. Now I'm thinking of just taking the year to study for GRE and work and apply MHA.

Really I don't know why I want to be a doctor and I know med schools will ask. My parents and friends are pushing me to apply bc they think I'm afraid of rejection. I am. But I'm also afraid that I'll waste a year of my life. I'm going to be living at home after graduation. Ultimately I just want to make money and move out of my parents house and start my life. I don't know if I want to wait until I'm 30. What should I do? Should I even bother applying?

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[WedgeDawg]

According to Table 24 (https://www.aamc.org/download/321514/data/factstablea24-2.pdf) black applicants with your stats were accepted at a rate of 37.5%. That's lower than the national average of around 45% and around the average for black applicants in general (36.2%).

Based on what you've said, however, you likely aren't really interested in becoming a doctor, or you aren't really sure. Becoming a doctor is not a decision you should make lightly. If you want to do an MHA because your interested in the administrative aspects of healthcare, that's a great idea. However, you either need to figure out if this is really a path you want to go down (as it will be an enormous commitment for the rest of your professional life) or if it's something you're being pressured into. Wanting to become a doctor for the sake of being a doctor is the path to being miserable.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

First and foremost, you need to decide if you really WANT to be a doctor. Have you spent time shadowing physicians or interacting with patients? You mention that you have hospital experience. Can you imagine yourself doing at least some of what doctors do and enjoying it? The application process is daunting, med school is a huge commitment of time and money, and doctors have a lot of responsibility. In light of all of that, it's normal to have doubts! The thing that keeps me going is that I'm truly excited not only by the work of a physician but by the education that goes into becoming one. Without some underlying excitement/passion, you're heading straight for Burn Out City. Not everyone has some life-altering, earth-shattering experience that makes them want to be a doctor. But you probably shouldn't continue down this road unless you can come up with some solid answers to "Why medicine?" If there are other jobs you can see yourself doing that will make you happy, maybe medicine isn't for you.

If you really do want to be a doctor, you're going to have to commit to doing some hard work to even be considered. Both your MCAT and GPA are rather low. You'll likely need to put in some work to boost them in order to have a good shot at MD schools. You may have a better shot at DO programs but you'd likely still need to do some sort of post-bacc, retake some prereqs for grade replacement, a master's or something like that to show improvement. It's not impossible but it'll take time and hard work. And you'd have to get over your fear of rejection. Rejection is part of this process for everyone. You can't let it get to you.

 

[Glazedonutlove]

.

 

[ifnotnowwren]

Agreed with wedge and I want to add: don't base any part of your decision on one doctor's opinion. There are happy and unhappy doctors out there like in any other career.

Absolutely. My primary care doc always told me "don't become a doctor", but it wasn't until I worked for her as a scribe that I truly understood the nuance in that statement, and the reasons for her saying that. For her, she doesn't like the way healthcare is changing, and she doesn't like the bureaucracy of medicine. But she loves seeing patients, she loves science, she loves medicine, and she is a wonderful physician. She is incredibly intelligent and really advocates for her patients. I have seen that there are some things about medicine I don't necessarily love, but they are the type of things I wouldn't like about any other job I would consider pursuing. (large bureaucracies, etc) I've been able to see that for me, the pros certainly outweigh the "cons", and therefore, while I understand why doctors would say "don't do it", I can't see myself doing anything else. I think if OP were to get more perspectives, or even have a more hands-on role in healthcare, they would be able to see the pro-con balance of medicine for themselves.

 

[TBV]

Apply or don't do it that's up to you. Results will be the same either way.

 

[ac62994]

I have lots of hospital experience

I don't know how many hours "lots" are, but going by your definition and your chronic doubt go MHA.