What if I don't get into Medical/Dental school?

[avatarftw]

Very incorrect. I've already posted the information from the PA website about the acceptance rates for PA applicants and their characteristics but its all publicly available online. Getting into PA school is MUCH easier than MD schools.

Also, the issue about whether the MCAT is more difficult than the GRE is hard to determine. However, the overwhelming majority would say that the MCAT is much tougher.

for those of you considering pa as a "back up plan" you may want to think again.
many pa programs are as competitive or more competitive than med school.
lots of programs get 1000 apps for 200 interviews for 30-40 seats.
many of todays applicants apply to > 10 programs and MAYBE get an interview or 2 their first yr applying(many folks apply for 2-3 yrs before getting in).
additionally most premeds don't have some of the prereqs or health care experience a typical pa program is looking for.
yes, there are "lower tier" pa programs with lesser requirements just like there are for medschool but why strive for that?

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[NonTradMed]

Honestly, this question has bugged me in college as well.

Of course, I believe all college students should have a shot at whatever they want to pursue. However, I also acknowledge that some people won't make it in. I will never advise someone to "keep trying" ad nauseum. At some point, you have to get on with your life.

My mom is a biologist and she sees a lot of premeds going through her lab. She saw many students who applied multiple times and failed. These students went to solid schools, did the research, moved hundreds of miles to get "in state" residency. They held off on getting "real" jobs, or buying a home. But hard as they try, the stars just weren't aligned for them when they applied and they failed to gain entry to med school. It does happen. The result is that some of them end up returning to school to get masters in something else because they hadn't counted on using their degree for a career.

My advice to high school and college students thinking about medical school is to pick a major that will help you in your future job/career not med school related. Then pick a second major/minor for fun/interest. And then, make sure your premed courses are covered. I did that, and I was able to apply to med school AND had job offers after graduation. I took the job offer, then decided to do med school. Four years changes a person. I never thought I'd not apply to med school after college, but there I was. It's always wise to make decisions that will maximize your choices later in life.

Don't pigeonhole yourself into one career at such a young age. If you decide med school isn't for you, or you failed to gain entry multiple times, you'll have a 'back up' without having to go back to school.

College is the best time of your life, but don't treat it as a weight station. It should be a time to prepare you for your future. Plan out your "life strategy". It's easy to say, "Yeah, it's med school or bust!", but I've seen students who've tried multiple times, put their life on hold for years in order to apply. The ones that fail in their attempts find themselves either with degrees they don't want to use, or degrees that are useless. Don't waste four years of your life and thousands of dollars on a gamble like that. You can be practical and idealistic. There's nothing wrong with learning something "practical" AND something "fun" AND be premed. I did all three. College was still the greatest time of my life.

 

[dentaldylan]

Personally speaking, if I do not get into dental school this upcoming cycle, I am also applying for a second bachelors degree program so I can get my degree in Business Administration. To those of you entering college, my best advice to you is get a degree that you can get a job right after with such as business instead of a science degree. I wish I had done this and now because of it will have to go to school an extra two years if I do not get in, but I will also apply next cycle, plus still do some more EC's. Also according to the job prospective, you can get into the marketing business if you know marketing since only like 40 percent of people in marketing have a business major. Could also work for a company like genentech, but you have no room for advancement without a higher degree, but I think they still make 70k a year. Only problem is you will be a lab monkey for the rest of your life. I know someone who has a biological science degree and she is working for a real estate broker group, go figure.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

My mom is a biologist and she sees a lot of premeds going through her lab. She saw many students who applied multiple times and failed. These students went to solid schools, did the research, moved hundreds of miles to get "in state" residency. They held off on getting "real" jobs, or buying a home. But hard as they try, the stars just weren't aligned for them when they applied and they failed to gain entry to med school. It does happen. The result is that some of them end up returning to school to get masters in something else because they hadn't counted on using their degree for a career.

If it is any consilation....it is even worse for Ph.D. programs (theoretical and applied).

 

[hugs]

Hi all,

I have posted a few posts and as you can see I'm still quite confused on which profession I should go into..I was going to go into Nursing, but have decided it isn't for me, I switched to Environment Science major, due to me wanting to join the military after, and this is one of the fields that the military will let you become an officer with, and if all else fails it shouldn't be that difficult to find a job, in additon to it being interesting to me obviously, so this is my problem, As far as advanced training is concerned I can't decide between Dental,Physical Therapist, Podiatrist, or D.O and it would really look bad to apply to all four to the admissions boards, I still have quite awhile to decide I have about 3 years left to knock out the requirements for the Environmental Science degree, but was hoping for suggestions on how to figure out which profession I would be the best for, Salary is not an important factor for me, I'm also older, I will be around 34 or 35 when starting the admission process,

4 years of school appeals to me with DDS and Physical Therapy, but not a good reason to make a decision on which to go into so if anyone is currently practicing in the above professions please list pros and cons...

In addition how many hours of shadowing would be ideal for someone to just see if they would like the field or not realistically,

Any other suggestions on how to eliminate the choices, thanks..

 

[SarahSunshine]

I can honestly say I am struggling with this problem at the moment. I am a high school senior set to graduate in 3 months. I was offered, and I accepted early admission into Penn State's Premedical Program. I am now feeling the pressure of constructing a back up plan for myself. I've wanted to be a doctor since I was 5 years old, and I've never had a single doubt concerning my career & future until now. I see so many people struggling to be accepted to medical school, that I can't help but think "What if that ends up being me?" With a degree in premedicine, how am I going to support myself and start repayment of my loans if I don't get accepted until my 5th cycle, or if I just flat out never get accepted? While I am all for believing that a positive attitude can do it all, the reality is that for some people, it just isn't enough, and I don't want to find myself stunned and up a creek without a paddle if god forbid that person be me. I am contemplating taking the associate degree RN program at the Community College near my Campus ( I opted to start a branch campus instead of main campus for personal reasons) but if it isn't possible to complete the program at CC before my required time to go to PSU Main, then I'm out of luck. Any suggestions or words of advice would be appreciated
Thank you.

 

[ryanhok]

Getting into medical school is tough. Even many 4.0 GPAs fail to make the cut. Have a back-up plan.

Paramedics, nurse practitioners, physicians assistants, and emergency room nurses all do many of the same things as doctors, but don't have the daunting training requirements. (Yes, guys can be nurses and often are nowadays.) In a rural area a nurse practitioner might be in charge of an entire clinic, with just a telephone link to a doctor.

 

[tayloreve]

1) Go to the Caribbean
2) Work at McDonalds

 

[BillySimmons]

If you think medical school is what you really want to do, make it happen. Study, have fun, and work hard. As long as you do those things (and you're semi-smart,) you'll make it

 

[Swiss Medical]

That's why we apply to DO schools.....Yay for alternatives!!!!

 

[Gigantron]

That's why we apply to DO schools.....Yay for alternatives!!!!

 

[Swiss Medical]

Is there something wrong with my post.....

 

[kcin]

Is there something wrong with my post.....

Gigantron is a well known douche bag that is going to flunk out and not get into WVU. Please disregard him.

edit: Check out http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=816175 to verify.

 

[Depakote]

let's keep the discussion in this thread civil. thanks.

 

[Dr Oops]

for those of you considering pa as a "back up plan" you may want to think again.
many pa programs are as competitive or more competitive than med school.
lots of programs get 1000 apps for 200 interviews for 30-40 seats.
many of todays applicants apply to > 10 programs and MAYBE get an interview or 2 their first yr applying(many folks apply for 2-3 yrs before getting in).
additionally most premeds don't have some of the prereqs or health care experience a typical pa program is looking for.
yes, there are "lower tier" pa programs with lesser requirements just like there are for medschool but why strive for that?

This is complete nonsense. Med school is much more competitive. Most pre-meds have lots of requirement and while med schools may not require healthcare work experience, you most definitely will have to have to exposure to healthcare/patient care. Not to mention the MCAT vs GREs

PA school is great option for people who would rather not spend all the time training and I dont think it sohuld be a "back up". Theres pros and cons to both jobs, but please stop spreading misinformation.

 

[Mahliah]

Ahh, the infamous "What if" question.

Well, I've come to the realization that taking the "Get-a-Bachelors-of-science-degree-and-apply-to-medical-school" route is quite a risky one, as I recently discovered that only 30% of applicants get accepted (a third of which have 3.8-4.0 GPAs). Consequently, seeing as I'm applying for University programs this year, I'm unsure of which programs to apply and which degree to pursue. Originally, I was planning to apply for the Life Sciences program at McMaster, pursue a BSc, and major in Biology. However, I've noticed that the careers to which a BSc holder qualifies aren't very "health-care-oriented", to say the least. For instance, I remember coming across "Science Columnist" as one of the possibilities.

My questions are:

1. What is/was your back-up plan, in case you don't/didn't get into medical/dental school?

2. Are there programs to which I can apply where the degree can qualify for other careers in health care that are similar to that of pediatricians and dentists (e.g. help others on a daily basis, hospital/clinical environment, high-paying)?

3. What types of jobs can I get with a BSc? MSc (majoring in Biology)?

Thanks in advance!

1. Strengthen application and reapply the following year.
2. This is why it's a good idea not to major in a science, unless you want to be in a lab all day.
3.Lab work.

 

[Merchan93]

I haven't read the studies, but I absolutely agree.
Again, agreed, but if you don't have that baseline level, you're sunk.

I got into med school with a 3.1 and a 2.9 science GPA.

I know this is an old thread but i'm kind of in the similar boat at the moment. I'm a junir and my GPA is a 2.6 which a sGPA of about the same. I'm worried my early on damage to my GPA will keep me non-competitive. It scares me since i see Medicine as my only true passion. If you don't mind me asking, where and how did you go about being accepted with low GPA?

I'm just always reminded of studies I've read which show with plenty of certainty that entering grades for dental students have almost no correlation onto their ability as a clinician.

When I speak to the possibility of achieving what you want to if you've got the dedication and ability to do the hard work needed, I speak from personal experience. In my sophomore and junior year I devastated my sGPA with D's and C's, and by the time I applied I was able to get my sGPA back up to 3.01 . Knowing what I was against, I kicked my ass into gear and studied like my life depended on it. Because of that I was able to rock the DAT, and my scores were able to completely counter balance my horrible GPA. I got into multiple schools on my first attempt, including Ivy League. I've shared this story many times here.

I don't think I've ever said that my case is common, or easy to replicate, but I do like to provide others with the greatest of all gifts, hope, and I don't consider it a false hope.

Lastly, getting into profession school definitely doesn't require intelligence in any amazing form, what it does require is hard work. Exactly how smart do you have to be to memorize things in a book? Having intelligence makes the memorization easier, and require less hard work, but enough brute repetition of the TCA cycle will get you to memorize the structures, enzymes, and electron pushing one way or another. My commencement speaker had a graduating highschool GPA of 1.6. After serving in Vietnam with medics, he wanted to go to med school, and when he applied to undergrad universities he was laughed at. He went the CC route and ultimately graduated valedictorian of his undergrad. Now he's one of the top neurosurgeons in the US. How'd he say he did it? Hard work and dedication to his goal.

Now if a candidate can't put in the work needed to get in, they'll find that out themselves, and maybe they'll learn from their mistakes and try again (be it 1 or 6 attempts), or maybe they'll live with the fact that they tried - but telling someone to give up hope because their current scores aren't great is a damned shame.

Sorry for the tirade, but I consider myself to be spokesman for the United Underdogs association, haha.

P.S. How about, hard work and dedication can get you in? haha

I hope to rock the MCAT like you say in this story but it still worries me the damage I've done is irreperable. I'm currently a bio major and although i do love the classes i would not want to be stuck doing bad lab jobs like some of the members here describe. I've been on the fence of switching over the Psychology for the sake of jobs as a backup plan but all in all i'm just all over the place right now. Do you think that would be a good idea?