Need Sage Counsel

[tubatu111]

Starting undergrad, I had no particular passions directing my course of studies (was pre-business). I was an average student my freshman year. During the start of sophomore year, I had experienced a medical crisis which devastated my academic performance. I took time off to get better and during that time re-evaluated whether or not it was worth it to go back to school. In this reflective time, I was introduced to medicine and how fulfilling it could be.

Unfortunately, long story short, I never felt it was in the cards for me being how low my GPA was. Taking stock of my situation and competitiveness I decided to compromise with optometry. I went back to school and took my 1.80 cGPA back to 2.95 as a Biochem major (virtually back-to-back 3.5-4.0 semesters for 4 yrs) along with a 3.8 scienceGPA and extensive EC's.

I took the OAT (scored in 90th percentile), was accepted into optometry school and attended for 2 quarters. With a different perspective, I felt early on that it was not the best for me (passion is not there to say the least/experience was drastically different from experience shadowing) and strongly regretted not having fought harder for medical school. During the 2nd quarter the same medical condition popped its head up and I struggled academically failing my anatomy course. I went before an SPC panel and petitioned for a leave of absence to get better.

Since leaving, I have also been using the time off to reflect on whether or not to maybe change course. I have started studying for the MCAT for the past month and feel I could perform very high. However, this is such a risky decision with so many unknowns. Is there anyone who feels that have meaningful advice on the matter, particularly if you have been in the same situation?

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[austintr]

My counsel is far from sage, but it sounds like you have the aptitude, at least. Unfortunately, there's always the risk that the issues that cause you to do poorly in undergrad and optometry school will continue to plague you if you were to be admitted to med school. Those kinds of problems would probably be a lot more damning to your medical education because the required effort and focus will be even higher. Hopefully others can weigh in on specific plans of action because the lack of grade forgiveness negates most of my personal experience in applying.

Hopefully you can do some research and talk to some docs and maybe find out if medicine really is your calling. Because it definitely isn't all sunshine and rainbows and I get the vibe that becoming a physician won't suddenly make all your woes disappear.

 

[sjcha]

I guess the question is: how do you know that medicine is for you (i.e. medical school experience may be drastically different from shadowing/patient contact experiences)? Please don't take that the wrong way; I bear no malice toward you. Going down this path may or may not be a long, dark road. Please know what you are getting yourself into if you choose to pursue medicine. Given that your GPA is 2.95, you may need to do a DIY post-bac or SMP.

I hope you have found help for your medical condition. Do not neglect your own health for ANYTHING!

 

[Electric Head]

If you don't like optometry, but secretly want to be a physician, then do that. Don't waste your time pursing goals that won't make you happy. Pick the direction you want to go in and head straight at it. There is no "Sage Counsel". Study for the MCAT, apply for med school and don't look back.

 

[Goro]

Agree 100% with this. before you go any further, shadow doctors, and volunteer with patients. Then come back for an update and advice.

Starting one professional program and stopping it is a red flag. Your medical condition is NOT red flag, but if it doesn't get resolved, then its an issue as to your success in med school.

IF the medical issue was a mental health issue, then it's even more crucial to have it dealt with before med school. Med school is a furnace and I've seen it break even healthy students.

I guess the question is: how do you know that medicine is for you (i.e. medical school experience may be drastically different from shadowing/patient contact experiences)? Please don't take that the wrong way; I bear no malice toward you. Going down this path may or may not be a long, dark road. Please know what you are getting yourself into if you choose to pursue medicine. Given that your GPA is 2.95, you may need to do a DIY post-bac or SMP.

I hope you have found help for your medical condition. Do not neglect your own health for ANYTHING!

 

[123456ers]

I mean your best bet is probably an SMP with linkage.. If I were you AND I was positive this is what I wanted to do than I would take the MCAT in August and apply to a bunch of linked SMP programs this fall. A lot of them open up their app cycle in October so if you perform well on the MCAT you could immediately apply into one of these programs.

Pursuing med school is risky, you're right. It's just a question of whether or not you want to do this. Only you can decide! But it's not life or death, either. There are plenty of people out there who thought they wanted to go to med school, devoted significant time and resources to get in somewhere, and then decided it wasnt for them and moved onto something else.

So again, if it were me, I'd take the MCAT in August, see how you do, and apply to a couple linked SMPs that interest you. IF you feel this is what you want to do and IF you feel like your health condition won't preclude you from fully committing yourself and achieving your complete potential.

good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[White Coat Hopefuls]

Like everyone else has stated, you just have to know medicine is right for you. Medicine is a huge life commitment, and you need to make sure it aligns with all aspects of your life. It sounds as if you've been spending some quality time thinking about this, but make sure you're asking the right questions. I actually just finished a three-part post about this at whitecoathopefuls.com. Feel free to check it out. Always keep in mind that if you find your passion, you'll be successful!