- Joined
- Apr 4, 2007
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Do any SDN members have any advice for this poster?
Dear SDN mentors/advisors,
First of all, thank you for the time and advice you put into each of these posts. It was by sheer luck I stumbled upon this community recently, and the exchange of information I have seen thus far has been extremely helpful. Keep up the great work!
Now for my "pickle". I graduated from UC-xxx as pre-med with a B.A. in Music. I have been interested in a career in medicine since a very young age, and upon entering college, was advised to pursue a major that was interesting to me despite my career goals (I could take all the requisite classes for med school anyway). Having been a classically-trained pianist since the age of 4, I naturally chose Music as the logical choice of my studies. To challenge myself even further, I decided to go ahead and enroll in those pre-med courses, partly because UC-xxx requirements included science and math courses in their broad liberal arts education, and partly because I knew I was pursuing a career in medicine. I found myself hovering the unit cap often, and doing so very early on in my college education. Unfortunately, I also quickly found myself emotionally drained from attempting to commit compromised efforts in two areas of focus that clearly demanded fuller attention. I continued this relentless scheduling for almost three whole years. Perhaps I was not working diligently enough, I thought. Suggestions from college counselors and advisors only encouraged this quarterly behavior, and they somehow convinced me I was doing the right thing. I had the feeling that many, if not all, of the campus counselors had not dealt with someone of my educational situation too often. I began to lose motivation, and it was reflected on the quality of work I submitted. I grew weary physically despite healthy lifestyle practices. A visit to campus psychological services finally convinced me to go against college advising. During my 3rd year, I decided to finally decrease my work load. But it seemed too little too late, as even simple, basic tasks were difficult to complete. I struggled to complete the rest of my coursework at UC-xxx, and I was not enjoying learning as I once had before. Only now in hindsight do I realize the extent of my emotional exhaustion.
My college background was humbling and eye-opening, to say the least. Despite this somewhat alarming experience, I think it is always necessary to look for the silver lining. I had the opportunity to take a refreshing step back this past year, as I moved back home and finished the last GE class required for my degree. I had a lot of introspective time pondering where I wanted the direction of my life to go. I write today with an even greater sense of motivation to continue to pursue medicine. To be honest, many people have told me I am wasting my time even thinking about continuing on this path. However, I refuse to let fear or apprehension get in the way of the dream I have been chasing since I was a child, and I will continue this determination until I have exhausted every last resource available to me. The knowledge and wisdom I have gained, and the lessons learned over the last several years as a result of this entire experience, are lessons that can only be attained through experience; they cannot be taught.
Now, there are a few things I am considering:
1) The total amount of time I spent as an undergrad, including the year at home finishing the GE, was six years. Whatever pre-med courses I took were scattered throughout the five years I lived on or near campus. I seem to be ineligible for many post-bacc progams because I have taken a large majority of the pre-reqs, and many of those programs require I take their "core" classes in their program. I do not have a problem with this, as I feel I would need to retake almost all of the pre-reqs anyway. Without posting my numbers, which are embarrassingly abysmal by ANY standards much less pre-med standards, retaking those classes is nearly mandatory for me.
2) I do not see myself doing anything other than medicine, but I do however have a calling for youth and music ministry that I would love to volunteer my time to. Without realizing it, I have been helping younger generations since as early as high school. My church parish recently revamped their youth program, and they asked if I would be willing to assist in mentoring the young adults in the program. I happily agreed, as working with young people partially drives my desire to be a physician.
3) My "backup" plan would be to go into nursing, and then someday apply for med school. I do not know how comfortable I would be with this situation, but it is something people have told me as an alternate route. I do not, however, want to sell myself short of my dreams.
So I suppose my question is, what would be my next step? My most glaring need at the moment would be to somehow rectify my tarnished undergraduate record. Community college for classes, SMP (I don't even know if my GPA qualifies me for many programs), or attempt to convince some post-bacc program that I would want - even need - to take all of their courses? Nursing as a stepping stone? Explore the youth/music ministry till the "statute of limitations" on many of my science courses runs out, and then try to apply for a post-bacc again (some post-bacc programs allow students to enter who have not taken science courses in "several" years)? While I will not shed all of the responsibility of my short comings, it is in my opinion that my deficiency is more a result of situation rather than of character. I am prepared to do whatever it takes to reach my highest dream (and whatever my wallet will allow).
Again, thank you very much!
