CrownJewel
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2006
- Messages
- 1,895
Not just for docs!! This thread is for anyone who has a hard time balancing studies, work, Pricescope-ing, and wedding planning.
I've noticed many medical students posting on Pricescope, and although I doubt they will have much time to post in this thread, I thought that we could all share stories about how our diamond obsession eats into our studying time, how the ring settings affect wearing surigical gloves, how you plan a wedding without any sleep, etc!
Allycat this is for you! (She asked to hear about my stories as a premed).
I'm still a LIW, (my BF picked up the completed e-ring 2 hours ago). I'm not allowed to see it and have no idea when he will propose. AGONY! Anyway, many people have given me great advice in the past few weeks, including Allycat, and I've finally decided to stay on my path to an MD. It's been a 4 year struggle. I got my BA in Architecture and loved working with architects. All throughout college though, I had this itch to take premed classes, but the architecture program didn't allow for all that. So when I graduated college, I decided that I would enter a postbaccalaureate premed program and take all those premed requirements. I moved back home with my parents, a verbally abusive older brother and my younger, incredibly overachieving sister. The emotional and financial burdens of living at home really took a toll on my studies. My mom suffered a stroke when I was a senior in high school and ended up paralyzed on her dominant side, meaning she couldn't write, drive, or work. She was such an active superwoman before the stroke, and the thought of her being homebound wrecked my concentration all throughout college and even more when I moved back home. My brother is a doctor and kept telling me I can't do anything right. My sister is just perfect (really, I love her so much and I'm so proud of her). But she makes me look bad.
My parents weren't educated, they came to America as refugees from the Khmer Rouge Genocide in Cambodia. After my mom's stroke, my dad was the sole supporter of the family, and that income was very little to begin with. I chose to take time away from my studies to help them with filling out medical forms, insurance forms, financial assistance forms, etc. There were just a lot of things, friends getting sick, friends' parents funerals, boyfriend's motorcycle accident, that I chose to take care of before concentrating on school.
Anyway, there were semesters where I got A's in my premed classes, followed by C's whenever my emotions got the better of me (I know, bad trait for a doc). This started to chip away at my already unstable confidence and ego. I had a really big ego when I was younger (in 4th grade, I kept outscoring the older kids so my school and my parents sent me to a better public school that had "special" programs for encyclopedia readers like me. I was the top scorer on every exam and beat all the boys in math and science and even woodshop class. I was the only elementary school student allowed into an advanced art program for the junior high kids. Ok I'll stop now). So I tried to retake the classes that I got C's in. This turns a 2 year program into a 4 year program for me, peppered with extreme highs and extreme lows, but never hitting middle ground. I took the MCAT without adequately studying and got a score too low to qualify me as a decent applicant. That was 2 years ago and my confidence never recovered. I've tried studying for the MCAT 2 more times after that, but always wasn't able to put my "all" into studying. I kept thinking about how much I suck, and about designing, business ideas, my mom, my friends, cooking, reading non-science books. So August 2006 was the last attempt at the MCAT, but I never actually took it. Never applied to med school. I started thinking that I'm not smart enough, I'm not committed enough. But my struggle with moving on was that all I can see in my future are patients and medical research. I keep coming back to that.
So this past week, I talked to many docs and advisors at the university and they think if I can get myself to take the MCAT, I'll be a strong applicant for med school. I asked if there are other fields I can go into where I can still have patients and conduct my own research studies. An advanced practice nursing program was mentioned, but one advisor said to me, "You've never tried HARD to take MCAT. You've never applied to medical school." She's so completely right! All of my friends and professors and mentors believe I can do it, but I keep telling myself that I'm not good enough. (I forgot to mention that my little sister, who is in her 4th year of college, took her MCAT in August. She signed up for a prep course like a smart girl, unlike me, and actually went through with the exam.) I think I needed to conquer the idea of committing to medicine before I could finally concentrate, wholeheartedly. I needed to realize that I have lots of time in my life later on to sew, or design, or learn to cook, or travel. I am ok with putting my other interests on hold for the next 8 years (4 for med school and at least 4 for residency). So I'm signing up for a Kaplan prep course that starts next week and goes until March.
My BF and I are both 25. He and his parents came here from Russia. I was born in Thailand at an American Red Cross refugee camp. We are a perfect fit for each other. I stress out a lot, and he never does so he calms me down and I show him why it's good to worry (sometimes). I'm romantic, he's logical (so we are really good at compromising). He's tall, I'm short (he takes up a lot of room and I'm space efficient). And he's really good at building my confidence. And he bought me a diamond!
Sorry this was so long.
I've noticed many medical students posting on Pricescope, and although I doubt they will have much time to post in this thread, I thought that we could all share stories about how our diamond obsession eats into our studying time, how the ring settings affect wearing surigical gloves, how you plan a wedding without any sleep, etc!
Allycat this is for you! (She asked to hear about my stories as a premed).
I'm still a LIW, (my BF picked up the completed e-ring 2 hours ago). I'm not allowed to see it and have no idea when he will propose. AGONY! Anyway, many people have given me great advice in the past few weeks, including Allycat, and I've finally decided to stay on my path to an MD. It's been a 4 year struggle. I got my BA in Architecture and loved working with architects. All throughout college though, I had this itch to take premed classes, but the architecture program didn't allow for all that. So when I graduated college, I decided that I would enter a postbaccalaureate premed program and take all those premed requirements. I moved back home with my parents, a verbally abusive older brother and my younger, incredibly overachieving sister. The emotional and financial burdens of living at home really took a toll on my studies. My mom suffered a stroke when I was a senior in high school and ended up paralyzed on her dominant side, meaning she couldn't write, drive, or work. She was such an active superwoman before the stroke, and the thought of her being homebound wrecked my concentration all throughout college and even more when I moved back home. My brother is a doctor and kept telling me I can't do anything right. My sister is just perfect (really, I love her so much and I'm so proud of her). But she makes me look bad.
Anyway, there were semesters where I got A's in my premed classes, followed by C's whenever my emotions got the better of me (I know, bad trait for a doc). This started to chip away at my already unstable confidence and ego. I had a really big ego when I was younger (in 4th grade, I kept outscoring the older kids so my school and my parents sent me to a better public school that had "special" programs for encyclopedia readers like me. I was the top scorer on every exam and beat all the boys in math and science and even woodshop class. I was the only elementary school student allowed into an advanced art program for the junior high kids. Ok I'll stop now). So I tried to retake the classes that I got C's in. This turns a 2 year program into a 4 year program for me, peppered with extreme highs and extreme lows, but never hitting middle ground. I took the MCAT without adequately studying and got a score too low to qualify me as a decent applicant. That was 2 years ago and my confidence never recovered. I've tried studying for the MCAT 2 more times after that, but always wasn't able to put my "all" into studying. I kept thinking about how much I suck, and about designing, business ideas, my mom, my friends, cooking, reading non-science books. So August 2006 was the last attempt at the MCAT, but I never actually took it. Never applied to med school. I started thinking that I'm not smart enough, I'm not committed enough. But my struggle with moving on was that all I can see in my future are patients and medical research. I keep coming back to that.
So this past week, I talked to many docs and advisors at the university and they think if I can get myself to take the MCAT, I'll be a strong applicant for med school. I asked if there are other fields I can go into where I can still have patients and conduct my own research studies. An advanced practice nursing program was mentioned, but one advisor said to me, "You've never tried HARD to take MCAT. You've never applied to medical school." She's so completely right! All of my friends and professors and mentors believe I can do it, but I keep telling myself that I'm not good enough. (I forgot to mention that my little sister, who is in her 4th year of college, took her MCAT in August. She signed up for a prep course like a smart girl, unlike me, and actually went through with the exam.) I think I needed to conquer the idea of committing to medicine before I could finally concentrate, wholeheartedly. I needed to realize that I have lots of time in my life later on to sew, or design, or learn to cook, or travel. I am ok with putting my other interests on hold for the next 8 years (4 for med school and at least 4 for residency). So I'm signing up for a Kaplan prep course that starts next week and goes until March.
My BF and I are both 25. He and his parents came here from Russia. I was born in Thailand at an American Red Cross refugee camp. We are a perfect fit for each other. I stress out a lot, and he never does so he calms me down and I show him why it's good to worry (sometimes). I'm romantic, he's logical (so we are really good at compromising). He's tall, I'm short (he takes up a lot of room and I'm space efficient). And he's really good at building my confidence. And he bought me a diamond!
Sorry this was so long.
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