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Aiden
Student
York, Pennsylvania
1
Question
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What was the most demoralizing aspect of the process of medical school?
I hear a lot about imposter syndrome, the workload, financing life, etc. What was the truly the hardest mental or physical obstacle that you had to overcome or how did you cope with all of it? I am stressed about what I need to do to qualify for a good medical school application, how many clinical hours is good enough, are my extracurriculars good enough, is my gpa high enough, am I personable enough, and so much more. With all of this in my brain, as a freshman in undergraduate, I constantly doubt if I have what it takes to get to my dream while maintaining a good balance where I can be a human being.
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Karin P.
Lecturer, Academic Advisor, Career Coach
561
Answers
Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
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Karin’s Answer
Hi Aiden,
Those are all very valid concerns, but you have to try not to be consumed by them. Take things step by step. Right now, you need to earn your bachelors in something that you enjoy. And remember, that's a degree you can always fall back on, maybe do a masters/PhD in. Next comes the MCAT and then the med school application. So, you have about 4 years before you need to worry about being in medical school.
You'll do the best you can to satisfy all the requirements and submit a good application. After that it's out of your hands. Don't drive yourself nuts about it. And don't fret over which school you might get into. If you get into not-Harvard, that's a great accomplishment. You'll still be a doctor with a good education.
Nobody can tell you right now if you "have what it takes". You need to have some confidence in yourself. Your volunteer hours should give you some sense of accomplishment and the feeling that this is where you want to be. And if you get into medical school it means that the committee believes that you have what it takes (the reverse is not true though).
Should you not get into medical school, there are other careers, even medical careers that you could be passionate about. How about nurse practitioner? Or you can try again next year.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
Those are all very valid concerns, but you have to try not to be consumed by them. Take things step by step. Right now, you need to earn your bachelors in something that you enjoy. And remember, that's a degree you can always fall back on, maybe do a masters/PhD in. Next comes the MCAT and then the med school application. So, you have about 4 years before you need to worry about being in medical school.
You'll do the best you can to satisfy all the requirements and submit a good application. After that it's out of your hands. Don't drive yourself nuts about it. And don't fret over which school you might get into. If you get into not-Harvard, that's a great accomplishment. You'll still be a doctor with a good education.
Nobody can tell you right now if you "have what it takes". You need to have some confidence in yourself. Your volunteer hours should give you some sense of accomplishment and the feeling that this is where you want to be. And if you get into medical school it means that the committee believes that you have what it takes (the reverse is not true though).
Should you not get into medical school, there are other careers, even medical careers that you could be passionate about. How about nurse practitioner? Or you can try again next year.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
I appreciate your support, Karin
Aiden