Premed students fear career change will hurt med school chances
12 posts across 4 communities in the last 30 days; 75% from r/premed.
“I’m currently a sophomore engineering student. I’m increasingly finding that I hate engineering and want to pursue my initial path of medicine. My gpa is hovering around a 3.9 but I can expect it to drop to somewhere between 3.7-3.8z This semester it looks like I’m going to get…”
“Hi all, Like the title says, im a career changer that is 33 with a Bachelors in Software Engineering and currently in my 3rd semester getting my pre-med. Based on credits, I’m a sophomore and currently have a 3.78 GPA. I’m worried about how to get clinical hours given my…”
“I know the common major for pre med is biochemistry and biology, but since the medical school marticulation rate is so low, there is a substantial chance where you might have to find a job with that major. Mechanical engineering will provide a very solid fallback option, but…”
Students who have changed their intended career path and are now pursuing medical school worry about how this shift will impact their application. They acknowledge past academic struggles (e.g., a 2.3 GPA) and feel uncertain about the likelihood of acceptance, despite renewed commitment.
SOURCES (12)
“I’m currently a sophomore engineering student. I’m increasingly finding that I hate engineering and want to pursue my initial path of medicine. My gpa is hovering around a 3.9 but I can expect it to drop to somewhere between 3.7-3.8z This semester it looks like…”
“Basically, I'm a senior and recently found a real passion for research and lab work (in an adjacent field to my own). I'm considering taking a lab job and pursuing that career for a bit to decide whether or not I want to go for a PhD or an MD. I have a ton of healthcare experience, so I should be fine in that regard (unless it expires or whatever), but I don't want to appear too wishy-washy with my career direction. Will it look bad to explore other options, after an obvious premed t”
“Hi everyone. I just graduated with my bio pre-med degree in May. It’s always been my dream to be a doctor, however, I’m wondering if I even have a chance or if I should just pursue something else and not even waste my time. The reason I’m wondering this is because of my grades. Here are the main issues: 3.57 cumulative GPA, 3.2 science GPA D+ in gen chem 1 freshmen year; retook and got a B and got an A in gen chem 2 C+ in ochem 1 but got an A in ochem 2 and A- in biochem 1 The rest of my prerequ”
“I switched to pre-med my junior year. I want to be involved in research but all the labs I've contacted are taking freshmens and sophomores. submitted by /u/road2t40 [link] [comments]”
“Hey guys! So here is my story so far.. basically i moved to US a year ago. I am an asian and now a Texas resident. Well I wasnt sure so far after moving here that what field would I wanna get into so I started my freshman as math major and now this, as the last semester of my freshman year, i hv decided to shift to bio major and be a PRE MED!! I have 4.0 gpa.. I got into my institute’s honors academy as a freshman and also i m representing my institution in a Global Fellowship! I have not done a”
“Hi all, Like the title says, im a career changer that is 33 with a Bachelors in Software Engineering and currently in my 3rd semester getting my pre-med. Based on credits, I’m a sophomore and currently have a 3.78 GPA. I’m worried about how to get clinical hours given my situation. I work 9-5 Monday through Friday and go to evening classes Wednesday through Friday, so I’m trying to see how i start getting hours. Anyone else in a similar situation that can offer tips or guidance? Thank you in adv”
“So long story short, I graduated with a degree in biochemistry and right after undergrad I ended up working in a lab making decent-ish money, but ultimately hated the long-term career outlook and wanted to do more with my life. I switched careers and became an EMT, initially planning to pay off my undergraduate debt while figuring out what I actually wanted to do long-term. At 34, after working as an EMT for 5 years I finally decided to pursue PA school mainly because I was still figuring out my”
“Hello! I am currently a freshman in college attending Marquette majoring in biochemistry. I decided on pre med because I had wished to be dr since my sophomore year: however I never ever considered nursing and idk why. Recently I have been contemplating switching to nursing because becoming a dr feels incredibly difficult and long, and its career just doesn't link itself to my personality. For reference, I am an International student (H4 visa, India. grey area...I can specify more if necessa”
“I know the common major for pre med is biochemistry and biology, but since the medical school marticulation rate is so low, there is a substantial chance where you might have to find a job with that major. Mechanical engineering will provide a very solid fallback option, but will it practically make it nearly impossible to meet the requirements for medical school? (GPA, extracurriculars, etc) submitted by /u/LawfulnessOk4194 [link] [comments]”
“Hi long story short I went back and forth all of college with whether to go the PA route or med school but i cannot shake wanting to be a doctor that’s all i’ve ever wanted honestly. I got a BS in biomedical science with 3.56 GPA & i have 3k hours of patient care and about 75 hours of shadowing multiple careers (gonna get more ) little to no volunteering but i want to get some but i just dont feel like im competitive enough im so worried of never getting in but its my dream.. I was thinking”
“Hey, I am a junior at a T20 university studying chemical engineering. I don’t like process design at all and it seems to be the whole major. I also have a low gpa 3.0 so I don’t know what to do with myself. I don’t have any relevant experiences and internships either because I want to focus on getting my gpa up…I want to do med school maybe but I’m afraid of not getting in/ costs for med school. What do I do? Any advice? submitted by /u/Sensitive-Window-925 [link] [comments]”
“Im a senior and I did pretty poorly my first few semesters (2.3gpa at one point) and I ended up believing I had no chance at med school and kinda gave up on the idea. After a lot of thought I realized I really want to do it, and I know I can if I try. But I talked to my pre-health advisor who’s worked here for like, decades, and she said she’s never seen a “career changer” student like me before. So that sort of worried me. And I know I have a few problems to address if I want to make it. So pro”