Pre-meds, med students, or going into health fields?

Honestly curious if there are any on this forum and how it's going. These career paths require a ton of studying and dedication and I'm wondering how you balance it with Sythe.

Personally I'm premed and a senior in the US.


also, a bit as to why you chose to go into this profession would be interesting to hear from those who share sythe as a common interest as me.

 

I'm pre-med and am a Junior in a US college. When I found sythe last spring, I found it tough as balls to manage. I'd find myself on sythe or RS when I should have been doing other, more productive things. This career path does take a ton of dedication and a ton of time. I once spoke to a physician who worked in a cardiac cath lab who said "pre-med and med school is 90% work and 10% brains. I saw all of the 'smart' kids not pass, while all the others who put in work passed."

I then left RS and sythe for a while and my grades obviously went up a lot. Really, I think what would help most is allotting one's self a certain amount of time on sythe. I had also gotten a website blocker that would prevent me from going to certain sites at certain times or for a duration of time. That had worked pretty decently.

As far as my reasoning goes, I won't get into it. However, it is something that one derives from their own personal experience whether it is helping a family member through a rough time, their coursework, shadowing, a job, or whatever really. It's a pretty loaded question in general, something that may take a while for some individuals to realize. I sometimes wonder, has one really found their calling if they can't answer that quesiton? Sure, it may take some time to develop, but when actually applying to medical schools and they still don't have a good answer to that... That's not good lol

 

what the hell is pre-med? do you guys have an undergrad-esq literal program that is dedicated to getting you into med school? where i live, the only time someone is pre-med is when they've been accepted into med school, just they haven't started just yet. those who dont fit that category around here but refer to themselves as pre-med get roasted since the application acceptance is like below 10% so there's a damn good chance they're not going to make it in...

 

Not too sure where you're from of course, but in the US undergrads and sometimes high school students will refer to themselves as pre-med, or following the pre-med track. That's just because we have to take certain classes and do other things which really define our schedules and such. So, when someone is "pre-med" they are following this track and intend on applying to medical school. I have sometimes even seen pre-med being its own major at certain colleges/universities.

 

Good to hear there's at least someone lol. And yeah, it's really tough. Cutting down on sythe/rs alot more now when I'm studying for MCAT. Are you taking a gap year or planning on going straight in?
Also I agree on the worth ethic thing, and I do think that sometimes you just gotta stick to one thing and go with it even if you're not sure.

Premed is anyone who is in undergrad and planning/completing coursework to apply to med school. It's dumb that its a thing, and even worse that some schools have it as a major (mine doesnt), but yeah.

 

That's definitely a good thing, though. It will certainly pay off, even though it means less sythe lol. I'm planning on taking a gap year. My course schedule hadn't worked out the best, so I kind of have to take the MCAT a year later and thus apply a year later. I've always wanted to get an EMT, but i've never had the time for it, so that's what I plan on doing. I'm not super concerned though, since the average age of applicants is like 24. Plus, I've spoken to current medical students who've just held a non-healthcare related job and have still gotten in. It's amazing how each person's story is different and how it's all looked at. Just be sure to get a decent/competative GPA and MCAT score lol. I assume you're also taking a gap year?

Yes, the course work is rigorous, so sometimes you do just need to stick with it and know it will pay off later. It just gets to be bad when other students don't realize that it's not actually what they want, and and up dropping out of medical school with $50,000 to $300,000 in debt depending on when they drop out. Tuition is absolutely nuts

 

I'm pre-med and just finished my undergrad. I'm currently on my gap year, taking the MCAT in 4 months and going to be applying in the June application cycle (so technically I'm taking 1.5 years off)

I'm volunteering at an orthopedic surgeon, a clinic, working as a psychiatric counselor, teacher's assistant, and have been involved in a few student orgs.

As far as extra curriculars go I'm a strong applicant but my GPA is meh, 3.7 GPA I'm hoping to get 92ish percentile on the new MCAT - I think I'll have a chance at some of my top schools with those numbers.

 

a buddy of mine who is in the middle of his third undergrad year just got his mcat scores back a few weeks back. I believe he scored a 515 (could be wrong) and he was in the 92nd or 91st percentile. scored in the 99th percentile in CARS. i was pretty fucking impressed cause he never took a semester off to study for it and he worked full time all summer.

yall are just crazy tho. your dedication and determination scares me tbh

 

Yeah I'm aiming for a 513-517 range - that's an amazing score and 99th percentile in cars is fucking ridiculous.

A friend of mine (whos a legitimate genius) just got his score back, he got a 524 (99th percentile) and got a 100% on physics and cars, 99% on bio and chem

His score was theoretically a 100% on the MCAT itself, scary as all fucking hell and I'm so jealous

 

Nice. Those are pretty awesome involvements. The 3.7 GPA is actually competitive for medical schools, so I'd bet that you're all good. It's awesome that med schools are now looking more and more at what other characteristics the applicant brings instead of just the MCAT and GPA. I personally plan on getting a DO since it seems more up my ally and interests me slightly more. Fortunately, I don't need as high of a GPA, but I still need it to be pretty darned good lol

 

While I have no intentions of going to med school I have tutored a friend while he was studying for the chemistry and physics portion of the MCAT. My girlfriend has med school ambitions though so we'll see how that pans out in 2 years from now.

 

I used to be Pre-Med but have switched to Healthcare Administration and a political science minor and will then go to get my masters in Healthcare Administration.

I was 2 years into medicine classes as an undergrad in the US. It was very tough and stressful if you weren't prepared for the exams and such material. You don't have to be the smartest but you definitely have to want to do it and commit to it fully. Hard work gets you where you need to be.

 

Nice Dave didn't know you were premed. We are actually in the same application cycle , but sounds like you should have a competitive app so goodluck. I'm taking it in Jan.

Goodluck with that. DO isn't easy either, but its tough I think because there will always be some unreasonable stigma for DOs that you have to be ready for. Gotta have tough skin and not let it get to you if you go into that med field. That's the one thing about the health field that I hate. Those who chose fields that aren't MD like DO/PA/RN have really tough paths too and don't get nearly the credit.

lolz, actually my good friend is going into health admin next year and switched cuz she went abroad and realized she hated being with premeds all the time

 

Yes, I'd agree with you're point about DO's. There certainly is some sort of connotation that comes along with someone with that degree. MD's are seen as 'real doctors' where I feel as though DO's are seen as wanna be docs, or are not as good. Those things aren't necessarily true of course, but I guess that's how it is lol. But yah, thick skin will surely help me out on this path.

Lol those pre-med gunners can be a real thorn in your side

 

Uhh ohhh, some competition! Lmao - but in all seriousness best of luck with your apps and interviews, they're going to be a pain in our asses.

Do you have any top choice schools? What would be your top 5 in an ideal world?

 

Yeahaha there's a ton of competition regardless. In terms of top schools, sort of, but not really. I've done some research on schools just to make sure I have the reqs all set and stuff, but I haven't researched too extensively on which one's I'd like to apply to. Will most likely apply to almost all of my state school plus like 10 outside. My GPA isn't that great either so I'm not aiming too high. My dream school might be BCM, maybe UNC...not sure though. What about you?

Honestly if I were to redo everything over again, I wish I went to an easier undergrad school. Maybe even my state school. I feel like this whole process would be so much easier if I had a better GPA since my other stats are pretty good. What nobody tells you when u apply for undergrad is that the undergrad institution doesn't matter nearly as much as everything else.

 

My dream school would be UCLA - I'd actually give almost anything to go there. Trust me I feel you with that, I wish I didn't go to such a competitive undergrad school, it screwed my GPA immensely.

I would honestly give anything in this world to go to UCLA or USC for medical school - but more UCLA

 

haha why not UCSF or Stanford?

No but really idk if ur in-state, but cali kids are blessed with great schools....and cursed with the amount of in-state people applying to them