Need Advice from a SERIOUS (meaning they wont laugh at me outright) Dr. PLZ!

[SweetPea07]

I would like to speak to a doctor or experienced med student that is honest as well as having a high level of discretion as I will disclose very personal matters in order to let them fully understand my predicament.
PM asap. Thank you.
Let me get to the issues: I am a 20 yr. old hispanic female.
1) Ever since I was a little girl I have dreamed of becoming a doctor. Seriously, my mom kept a "goals" poster I made in the 3rd grade that said I wanted to be a doctor "and help babies' hearts" it said
2) My mom gave me an Overview of Human Anatomy and Physiology when I was 9. I've read it so many times I can practically recite it.
2) I stopped with this dream in HS. I was so used to learning things so easily, without effort, that when I stumbled in my Algebra class and got a C+ ( I didnt study as much as I should've), that's when I kissed that dream goodbye thinking that a DR. that sucks at math obviously wont make a good one.
3) I graduated in 2005 in the top 15% out of 300 at age 17. I skipped fourth grade. In fifth grade was where my math skills began to be shaky.
4) College began immediately afterwards. I went to the local CC in my hometown (which apparently isn't that bad) bc my mom felt I was too young to be out on my own. She was right. :-/
5) I've been in and out of majors, still not finding my niche. So far I've done pretty well in my Sciences and Math. But I did play around alot. I have some bad grades (business is DEFINTELY not what I was supposed to do).
6) Sophomore (fall) yr. (the yr. that I got my bad grades) was horrible. I knew I shouldnt have even registered, but my mom insisted. My family was going through a very hard time. My grandfather was diagnosed with colon cancer ( I'm very, very close to him) and plus INS was having problems renewing our documentation which was beyond aggravating. (The whole reason my mom and I moved to the States when I was 6 was so I could go to college since she couldn't).
7) The following semester (spring) I was going in with full intent of doing well, but I became very ill, blacking out often and they discovered I had heart valve issues and such. So I had to drop out.
8) I went back during the past summer and did a FULL load. (18 credits) and kicked butt My mom is still freaked about my health since the drs. here are still baffled as to why I'm sick. I have 3 DIFFERENT opinions!
9) My final reason is my fiance. After having to deal with a week of health shows (my mom and I play a game where we watch shows like Diagnosis X or Mystery Diagnosis and based on the symptoms we hear we try to figure out what they have b4 the drs. tell us), he asked me, "Why don't you just go to medical school?" I had no answer. Except that I was scared that I couldn't cut it. That I wasn't good enough. I'm the type of person that strives for PERFECTION. Seriously, it aggravates everyone I know. When I really want something, even if I have to sacrifice I will do it. But I feel that just as the clouds have dispersed I can't anymore. My GPA is crap (2.7). I haven't finished my BS yet though. Even if I could somehow miraculously lift my GPA to stellar heights (3.8!!!???). How do you know you have what it takes?

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[Manyac86]

For some perspective, I'm a beginning med student so I can give you some first-hand perspective on what it takes to get in but the rest is heresay

I think your biggest challenges right now are deciding on whether medicine is right for you and then fixing your GPA. Also from a slightly different perspective you might want to find a college major you enjoy.

In terms of finding out if medicine is right for you I would go to your primary care physician and ask if you can shadow him/her. From there if you know any other doctors, ask them. Or if you know someone who knows a doctor etc., seriously don't be shy, many will be happy to help you. Also you could go to your universities pre-health/pre-med advisor and ask about different opportunities. Other than that try to find a job that's somewhat health-related possibly in a doctor's office or in a hospital so you can just get a look. From here you can make a better decision. You might see that being a doctor kinda sucks and isn't really what you expected. Or maybe you'll find some other aspect of health care you like more.

If you decide then that medicine is for you you'll have to start polishing that resumee/app. First, are you going to become a citizen of the US any time soon? It's MUCH harder to get in if you're not a citizen especially if your app isn't stellar. You might want to look at med schools in your home country, they might be easier to get into and/or free too. Assuming the US is for you, you've got to work on that GPA. Your being hispanic will help you but realisticly you've got to get above a 3.2 or 3.3 at least. There's 2 types of GPA you'll have to be worried about. Your BCPM GPA (bio. chem. physics. math) and your overall GPA. both should be above 3.2 or 3.3
There's also a possibility that the level of difficulty of your classes will jump up when you go from CC to a University.

From there, to keep working on your app you'll need to take the MCAT and do reasonably well on it. You'll also need to do the usual pre-med things like community service, leadership, and/or scientific research.

But I would definitely not be discouraged. If you work hard and have motivation you can do great things. The main problem you've got is your GPA, but there's still time to improve those grades. However it's hard to magically change from a 2.7 student to a 3.5 student let alone a 4.0 student. Hopefully you've put your problems behind you and can get steady good grades for 2 or 3 years of full classes to have a good GPA when you apply.

 

[Law2Doc]

I would like to speak to a doctor or experienced med student that is honest as well as having a high level of discretion as I will disclose very personal matters in order to let them fully understand my predicament.
PM asap. Thank you.
Let me get to the issues: I am a 20 yr. old hispanic female.
1) Ever since I was a little girl I have dreamed of becoming a doctor. Seriously, my mom kept a "goals" poster I made in the 3rd grade that said I wanted to be a doctor "and help babies' hearts" it said
2) My mom gave me an Overview of Human Anatomy and Physiology when I was 9. I've read it so many times I can practically recite it.
2) I stopped with this dream in HS. I was so used to learning things so easily, without effort, that when I stumbled in my Algebra class and got a C+ ( I didnt study as much as I should've), that's when I kissed that dream goodbye thinking that a DR. that sucks at math obviously wont make a good one.
3) I graduated in 2005 in the top 15% out of 300 at age 17. I skipped fourth grade. In fifth grade was where my math skills began to be shaky.
4) College began immediately afterwards. I went to the local CC in my hometown (which apparently isn't that bad) bc my mom felt I was too young to be out on my own. She was right. :-/
5) I've been in and out of majors, still not finding my niche. So far I've done pretty well in my Sciences and Math. But I did play around alot. I have some bad grades (business is DEFINTELY not what I was supposed to do).
6) Sophomore (fall) yr. (the yr. that I got my bad grades) was horrible. I knew I shouldnt have even registered, but my mom insisted. My family was going through a very hard time. My grandfather was diagnosed with colon cancer ( I'm very, very close to him) and plus INS was having problems renewing our documentation which was beyond aggravating. (The whole reason my mom and I moved to the States when I was 6 was so I could go to college since she couldn't).
7) The following semester (spring) I was going in with full intent of doing well, but I became very ill, blacking out often and they discovered I had heart valve issues and such. So I had to drop out.
8) I went back during the past summer and did a FULL load. (18 credits) and kicked butt My mom is still freaked about my health since the drs. here are still baffled as to why I'm sick. I have 3 DIFFERENT opinions!
9) My final reason is my fiance. After having to deal with a week of health shows (my mom and I play a game where we watch shows like Diagnosis X or Mystery Diagnosis and based on the symptoms we hear we try to figure out what they have b4 the drs. tell us), he asked me, "Why don't you just go to medical school?" I had no answer. Except that I was scared that I couldn't cut it. That I wasn't good enough. I'm the type of person that strives for PERFECTION. Seriously, it aggravates everyone I know. When I really want something, even if I have to sacrifice I will do it. But I feel that just as the clouds have dispersed I can't anymore. My GPA is crap (2.7). I haven't finished my BS yet though. Even if I could somehow miraculously lift my GPA to stellar heights (3.8!!!???). How do you know you have what it takes?

Enjoying TV shows about medicine is a really bad reason to go to med school. In most cases there is nothing remotely similar to real medicine in them. My first suggestion to you would be to spend some time shadowing and volunteering in hospitals. See what doctors actually do. Observe the doctor patient interaction first hand. Talk to as many doctors as possible about their jobs, what they like, don't like, would they do it over again etc. Only after you have done all that, and still are pumped about it, should you proceed any further. After that point, your next step would be to spend the time to raise your GPA. It will be a long, long road to get the GPA up to par. Consider DO since they allow you to replace bad grades with retakes, so your path will be quicker. And once you are at that stage, study hard for and do as well as you can on the MCAT. Have faith that if a med school accepts you at that point, they have decided you can handle the workload. So it never really is an issue of knowing if you have what it takes. If, after researching it fully, it is what you really want, and you can get your numbers to a competitive range, then you have what it takes.

 

[sindadel]

I think it would look best if you took a break from school for a couple of years and got a job with as much clinical involvement as possible. Then, when you are established as an adult, and you know whether you still want to be a doctor, go back to school, full-time at a university and get a degree. If you get 4.0 in all the rest of your pre-reqs, or even just A's and B's, your GPA will look a lot better, and you'll have a strong upward trend. You'll also have a good answer for why you got bad grades and what has changed for you since then.

If you don't address these issues now: health, emotional, grades, math anxiety, I predict that you'll graduate from community college with a marginal GPA (3.2 or something like that). And then you'll realize that you'll have to do extensive remediation with an expensive post-bacc program to make your application competitive. Far better to slow down now and then do really well when you do go back to school. You are young and have a lot of time ahead of you.

 

[DrJosephKim]

It's essential that you create a clear and deliberate plan. If you're persistent and determined, you'll be capable of many things. However, it's when people get distracted or lose their focus that they stumble and fall.

Consider the reality of various possibilities. Are you ready to face the consequences of student loans? Do you have solid contingency plans? Make sure that your goals are grounded in reality and get support from the people around you.