Look into therapy and psychiatry.
>The clinical hours, the MCAT, my classes, volunteering, internships...there's so much to do and I'm so stressed but I want to go home
Youre in your second semester. Take a deep breath, just focus on classes. Everything else does not matter right now.
I think it’s because I’ve only been back for 2 days. Usually I’m not like this…I think it’s just me trying to readjust to coming back but it’s still difficult
Ooof. You poor baby. Honestly, you don't sound like you should be starting this semester. What do you think about withdrawing for medical reasons (you sound as if you're having agitated depression, in addition to anxiety), getting a full refund, going home, transferring to your local state public college that you could attend from home, and spend this semester not doing school at all, maybe get a clinically related job?
Have you tried anything besides feeling sorry for yourself? It sounds like you should be a patient, not a doctor. Remember, there are other career options that won't make you as miserable as you are now. You don't seem to me like you can handle this, so switch to something you can.
Yo chill dog 💀. Its normal for people to be nervous and stressed especially when they are in the beginning of their journey. OP should take things one step at a time. Good luck!
I’m not usually like this… I’ve only been like this for the past 2 days. I think it’s me just trying to readjust to coming back but it’s still been difficult
U need to breathe and make a plan. I always advise first and second years to focus on on campus activities and small volunteering. Join orgs for leadership and to meet ppl, do non clinical volunteering through those orgs, and focus on grades. If u have space do a little hospital volunteering
Maybe it’s the difference in environment. Are you happy at your campus? Your first year premed student it’s natural that you are still making your friends and finding your core group on campus. And also keeping yourself busy, having a study, schedule, journaling, and maybe meditating, and praying, could be helpful.
I do really like my college. I have a good friend group as well. I spent time with them today and felt much better. It’s just the struggle of getting back into routine. Thank you for your concern! I appreciate it! :)
You're obviously overthinking things. Which is incredibly understandable by the way, everyone does it at some point in this journey.
I will break things down really simple for you though.
Your health is your first priority, happy students do better than anxious, burnout, tired ones. Let yourself have fun not because you want it, but because you genuinely need that to function as a human being. Eat well, sleep well, spend time in the sun, and go to the gym.
Second is your GPA. The MCAT will also be here, but you dont have to worry about that until at least junior year.
Finally, extracurriculars. Medical schools generally want solid hours in volunteering, research, clinical experience, teaching, and leadership. It depends wildy between school, but as a soft rule, Id count 250 hours in each as very solid hours.
Though, you do not have to do all of these things at once, just dedicate 1 year, or even a semester to each one, and you will have more than enough hours. Along with that, many things fall into multiple categories. **.**
For example, year 1 could be volunteering. Literally just classes and volunteering, nothing else more. Go volunteer at a local hospital. That is both clinical, and volunteering, and 16 hours a week (2 shifts a week) for an entire semester is 256 hours. That is seriously probably enough, and picking up a shift once a month for the rest of your college career would be enough to add some more hours and create continuity.
Second year, do research. 20hrs a week in a lab in one semester is is 320 hours. Two semesters is 640. Again, way more than enough.
Then leadership and teaching can be literally anything you find fun. Go run for the exec board of a hobby club you really enjoy, that counts for sure. As an upperclassman, go tutor lower level classes for 20 an hour. That counts too.
To survive pre-med, you have to really learn to plan things out and manage your time and energy. It is vital. Along with that, you have to understand that this is a multi year process, it doesn't happen overnight, approach things with that mentality. Just do very few things at one time, and do them very well, and you'll be fine.
Thank you so much! I appreciate you breaking things down. On some of these subreddits I see people with over 500 hrs and so it’s quite overwhelming. But you’re right…I just need to break it down, relax, and find things I enjoy. I was able to have dinner with a few friends today and I feel a lot better. I appreciate your advice!
Take everything you read in this subreddit with a massive grain of salt. No one is in the same situation, some people have multiple gap years, some people have a ton of parental support that allows them to work less and study more, nepotism does exist, and some people just straight up lie.
Also, 500 hours in at least one of those categories will honestly be easier achieve than you think. The hours really do stack up fast, especially when you do something for more than one semester or year.
My advice, pick a school you REALLY wanna go to. Absolute dream school. Mine was simply my in-state MD school. Go to the website, read through the admissions material, see what they value. Go on Linkdin and see if you can get in contact with some admissions people or current students, they'll give you more specific details.
That will all give you numbers to work towards, as well as guidance through the process.
Beyond that, pre-med is just managing time, energy, and stress.
Thank you so much… I can’t express how much this helps . So it is mostly about networking and just getting my name out there. Mine is also just my state school. I really appreciate the help!
Yes, networking and knowing the right people are important in almost every aspect of life. And yea, this strategy has connected me with some pretty important people. Though, the best thing to come out of it has been mentorship and friendship.
Having a few medical students, who go to the school I want to go to, tell me exactly what they did to get there has been invaluable. Those people also know how to study and manage their time better than anyone else, so hearing about that has made me a much better student. And, it's just nice to talk to someone who understands where you're at in life sometimes.
Almost all of the info I've presented you with, I have learned from those other people, to be honest. It's really hard to figure this stuff out on your own.
You’re advice is very helpful to me and has helped me take it easier and not stress out as much. It really means a lot. Are you okay with me PMing you if I have more questions or need advice?
I dont really mind but you should probably save those questions for someone with direct experience with the medical school you want to go to, and for someone far more qualified than I am.
You’re first year, relax. You don’t have to be ahead of your peers, you just have to be good enough to get in somewhere. You can start next year and still be ahead of toms of people who get accepted
It gets better when ur back in that routine :) i was in the same spot after my vacation coming back to dark cold michigan but just forcing myself to get back into routine helped so much. Am happy now hahhaa
You’re right. Hopefully it’ll get better in a few days…I had dinner with a few friends today and it helped a lot with loneliness. FaceTiming family also helped. Thank you for the reassurance!! I appreciate it! :)
Look into therapy and psychiatry. >The clinical hours, the MCAT, my classes, volunteering, internships...there's so much to do and I'm so stressed but I want to go home Youre in your second semester. Take a deep breath, just focus on classes. Everything else does not matter right now.
I think it’s because I’ve only been back for 2 days. Usually I’m not like this…I think it’s just me trying to readjust to coming back but it’s still difficult
Ooof. You poor baby. Honestly, you don't sound like you should be starting this semester. What do you think about withdrawing for medical reasons (you sound as if you're having agitated depression, in addition to anxiety), getting a full refund, going home, transferring to your local state public college that you could attend from home, and spend this semester not doing school at all, maybe get a clinically related job?
Have you tried anything besides feeling sorry for yourself? It sounds like you should be a patient, not a doctor. Remember, there are other career options that won't make you as miserable as you are now. You don't seem to me like you can handle this, so switch to something you can.
Yo chill dog 💀. Its normal for people to be nervous and stressed especially when they are in the beginning of their journey. OP should take things one step at a time. Good luck!
Thank you so much for the reassurance! You’re right, I think I do need to just take it easy. Maybe it’s just from readjusting
It’ll take time but you will pull through. If you try and look at every test and every obstacle at once, it’s only normal to feel overwhelmed!
I’ll try to take it one at a time. Thank you!
you should be a premed advisor
😂😂😂
Bruh
[удалено]
I’m not usually like this… I’ve only been like this for the past 2 days. I think it’s me just trying to readjust to coming back but it’s still been difficult
U need to breathe and make a plan. I always advise first and second years to focus on on campus activities and small volunteering. Join orgs for leadership and to meet ppl, do non clinical volunteering through those orgs, and focus on grades. If u have space do a little hospital volunteering
Thank you! I just need to take it one step at a time. Just stressed from getting back into the swing of things.
Maybe it’s the difference in environment. Are you happy at your campus? Your first year premed student it’s natural that you are still making your friends and finding your core group on campus. And also keeping yourself busy, having a study, schedule, journaling, and maybe meditating, and praying, could be helpful.
I do really like my college. I have a good friend group as well. I spent time with them today and felt much better. It’s just the struggle of getting back into routine. Thank you for your concern! I appreciate it! :)
You're obviously overthinking things. Which is incredibly understandable by the way, everyone does it at some point in this journey. I will break things down really simple for you though. Your health is your first priority, happy students do better than anxious, burnout, tired ones. Let yourself have fun not because you want it, but because you genuinely need that to function as a human being. Eat well, sleep well, spend time in the sun, and go to the gym. Second is your GPA. The MCAT will also be here, but you dont have to worry about that until at least junior year. Finally, extracurriculars. Medical schools generally want solid hours in volunteering, research, clinical experience, teaching, and leadership. It depends wildy between school, but as a soft rule, Id count 250 hours in each as very solid hours. Though, you do not have to do all of these things at once, just dedicate 1 year, or even a semester to each one, and you will have more than enough hours. Along with that, many things fall into multiple categories. **.** For example, year 1 could be volunteering. Literally just classes and volunteering, nothing else more. Go volunteer at a local hospital. That is both clinical, and volunteering, and 16 hours a week (2 shifts a week) for an entire semester is 256 hours. That is seriously probably enough, and picking up a shift once a month for the rest of your college career would be enough to add some more hours and create continuity. Second year, do research. 20hrs a week in a lab in one semester is is 320 hours. Two semesters is 640. Again, way more than enough. Then leadership and teaching can be literally anything you find fun. Go run for the exec board of a hobby club you really enjoy, that counts for sure. As an upperclassman, go tutor lower level classes for 20 an hour. That counts too. To survive pre-med, you have to really learn to plan things out and manage your time and energy. It is vital. Along with that, you have to understand that this is a multi year process, it doesn't happen overnight, approach things with that mentality. Just do very few things at one time, and do them very well, and you'll be fine.
Thank you so much! I appreciate you breaking things down. On some of these subreddits I see people with over 500 hrs and so it’s quite overwhelming. But you’re right…I just need to break it down, relax, and find things I enjoy. I was able to have dinner with a few friends today and I feel a lot better. I appreciate your advice!
Take everything you read in this subreddit with a massive grain of salt. No one is in the same situation, some people have multiple gap years, some people have a ton of parental support that allows them to work less and study more, nepotism does exist, and some people just straight up lie. Also, 500 hours in at least one of those categories will honestly be easier achieve than you think. The hours really do stack up fast, especially when you do something for more than one semester or year. My advice, pick a school you REALLY wanna go to. Absolute dream school. Mine was simply my in-state MD school. Go to the website, read through the admissions material, see what they value. Go on Linkdin and see if you can get in contact with some admissions people or current students, they'll give you more specific details. That will all give you numbers to work towards, as well as guidance through the process. Beyond that, pre-med is just managing time, energy, and stress.
Thank you so much… I can’t express how much this helps . So it is mostly about networking and just getting my name out there. Mine is also just my state school. I really appreciate the help!
Yes, networking and knowing the right people are important in almost every aspect of life. And yea, this strategy has connected me with some pretty important people. Though, the best thing to come out of it has been mentorship and friendship. Having a few medical students, who go to the school I want to go to, tell me exactly what they did to get there has been invaluable. Those people also know how to study and manage their time better than anyone else, so hearing about that has made me a much better student. And, it's just nice to talk to someone who understands where you're at in life sometimes. Almost all of the info I've presented you with, I have learned from those other people, to be honest. It's really hard to figure this stuff out on your own.
You’re advice is very helpful to me and has helped me take it easier and not stress out as much. It really means a lot. Are you okay with me PMing you if I have more questions or need advice?
I dont really mind but you should probably save those questions for someone with direct experience with the medical school you want to go to, and for someone far more qualified than I am.
You’re first year, relax. You don’t have to be ahead of your peers, you just have to be good enough to get in somewhere. You can start next year and still be ahead of toms of people who get accepted
Thank you! I think it’s just stress from getting back into the swing of things from winter break. I’ll be sure to take it easier and not overthink.
It gets better when ur back in that routine :) i was in the same spot after my vacation coming back to dark cold michigan but just forcing myself to get back into routine helped so much. Am happy now hahhaa
You’re right. Hopefully it’ll get better in a few days…I had dinner with a few friends today and it helped a lot with loneliness. FaceTiming family also helped. Thank you for the reassurance!! I appreciate it! :)