I think I want to be a doctor.

[Candyflip]

But I don't know if I can bare to put myself through 8 years worth of school. Has anyone else had really high career aspirations that ended up falling through? Has anyone spent more than 4 years in college? Or (slightly less likely) is anyone here a doctor?

[Smooth Groove]

2nd year med student.  I'll answer questions if you want.  It's more than 8 yrs if you include residency where you're still basically treated as a student by other doctors. 

[Candyflip]

How difficult is the school? How high of a GPA do you have to maintain? How much is your tuition by semester? Why did you choose to be a doctor? What do you want your specialty to be, and why? And it's probably too early to ask, but do you have any regrets about choosing this path?

I can't believe I never noticed your tag before

[The Fake Shemp]

You should just get some kind of quick medical degree in Latin America.

[Smooth Groove]

How difficult is the school? How high of a GPA do you have to maintain? How much is your tuition by semester? Why did you choose to be a doctor? What do you want your specialty to be, and why? And it's probably too early to ask, but do you have any regrets about choosing this path?

I can't believe I never noticed your tag before

You don't need to maintain any kind of GPA at med school.  Most schools go by a pass/fail system.  Academically, med students are usually differentiated by their board scores.  The higher your board score, the better your chances of getting into your desired specialty.  All med schools are difficult.  It's the equivalent of taking 30 hard core science units in 1 semester in Undergrad.  Tuition varies just like undergrad.  Public schools are cheaper but also harder to get into, in certain states such as California.  Most private schools are at least 30,000 to 35,000 a year just for tuition. 

I'll like to get into something like Opthalmology or Dermatology because they have high pay/easy hours and everyone knows the guys in those specialties are smarter.  I'm an arrogant prick so I want to be recognized for my superiority.  Also, I've had some research experience with Opthal and think that it's a really fun field. 

About regrets, of course I have them sometimes, like most other med students.  Every now and then, you're faced with a mountain load of crap and you really wish you were doing something else, like playing videogames. 

[Candyflip]

How difficult is it to get IN to med school on average? And about how much time a day would you say you spend on homework?

Thanks for all the answers.

[Smooth Groove]

How difficult is it to get IN to med school on average? And about how much time a day would you say you spend on homework?

Thanks for all the answers.

It's by far the hardest grad school to get into.  You have to be smart and diligent.  Undergrad GPA matters a lot and so does the MCAT.  Unless you're black or mexican, of course.     Standards are also a bit easier for females. 

Scoring really high on the MCAT (>35) would not make up for a GPA that is lower than 3.2.  There are Harvard graduates with <3.2 gpas and really high MCATs that can't get in any schools because while the admissions commitee can tell that they're smart, the low GPAs also indicate that they're not very hardworking students.  Going to a prestigious undergrad school would also help alot.  While it is possible for students from average state colleges to get into med schools, it's not that common.  If you check, only 1 or 2 students from no-name schools would get in med schools each year.   

Going to a more famous undergrad program would help but keep in mind that you would still need a really strong GPA (at least 3.6) in order to have a good chance of getting into med school.  If you don't feel you're capable of getting a strong GPA at a famous U, then it's better to just go to somewhere that's less prestigious but easier.  A 4.0 from an average U would still look much better than a 3.0 from a Top 10 university.  Med schools care about the stats of their students alot so they don't want them to be pulled down by low GPAs or low MCATs. 

The MCAT is a pretty tough test for alot of people.  You get tested on physics, chem, Ochem, bio, and a verbal section.  Oddly, the verbal section seems to be the most important and the hardest hurdle for most science majors.  I know many people with excellent GPAs who did terrible on this test.  The MCAT is a tough test because it requires logic and reading skills much more than memorization.  You can take some Kaplan/Princeton Review courses to improve your skills but alot of it just seems to be dependent on natural talent.  MCAT seems to be an indicator of IQ while GPA is an indicator of your dilligence.  Since there might not be much you can do about improving your MCAT, the best thing you can do is to try to get as high a GPA as possible. 

In addition to your academics, make sure to do enough extracurricular stuff that you can put on your resume.  Med schools don't want nerds that do nothing but study.  It's a pretty tough road to get there so make so you really want this career before you embark on it.  However, it doesn't take a genius either.  If you're pretty smart, you'll be able to get in if you work hard enough. 

[bud]

is it like how it is in scrubs?

i love scrubs

[Candyflip]

is it like how it is in scrubs?

i love scrubs

I was watching Scrubs and mulling over what I really wanted to do after high school when I made this thread. But I think me spending months of my life in hospitals is a bigger deciding factor.

Thanks again for all the help mister Smooth Groove. One more question. Would majoring at, say, UC Davis help my chances of being accepted in to their medical program? Are med schools more lenient towards students coming out of their undergrad college?

I'm going to bookmark this shit and bump it if I ever have any more questions in the future.

[brawndolicious]

my uncle's becoming a dentist (he graduated a year ago, don't know what he's doing now) and he said the reasons he went for dental school are:

A. People don't sue dentists that much.
B. You get to choose your hours.

If you want to get into a medicine field in general, then dentistry's a good choice but if you want to get into it because of a humanitarian benefit, then you should probably try becoming an obstetrician because they're in short supply because there's a very high chance of getting sued.

[Madrun Badrun]

Dentistry and vet school are also a lot harder to get into, at least here. 

Schooling is shorter though, I do believe. 

[Smooth Groove]

Would majoring at, say, UC Davis help my chances of being accepted in to their medical program? Are med schools more lenient towards students coming out of their undergrad college?

No, it wouldn't help at all unless you use your undergrad oppurtunities to get know to someone on the med admissions commitee.  The standards are going to be just as high for a UC Davis undergrad.  Getting into UC Davis med school is going to be 10x harder than getting into UC Davis's undergrad.  Think of getting into UC Davis' med school as getting into Stanford's undergrad program.  I'm sure that UC Davis has premed advisers.  Make sure you talk to one as soon as possible.  A recommendation from a premed adviser can be very important.  Also, they would let you know what you need to do immediately.  If you want to get into med school, you really have to start working hard from the moment you start your college career.  Unlike other fields, it's really hard to make up for mistakes that you might make in your first couple of years in College. 

my uncle's becoming a dentist (he graduated a year ago, don't know what he's doing now) and he said the reasons he went for dental school are:

A. People don't sue dentists that much.
B. You get to choose your hours.

If you want to get into a medicine field in general, then dentistry's a good choice but if you want to get into it because of a humanitarian benefit, then you should probably try becoming an obstetrician because they're in short supply because there's a very high chance of getting sued.

Dentistry is not really considered a medical field.  There're alot of limitations on what dentists can treat and the the type of medications that they can prescribe.  It's a health profession but not "medicine". 

Yeah dentistry is sweet (four day weeks!) but it is so hard to get into many people go to medical school as a backup.  Vet school is by far the hardest graduate program to get into.

In Canada?  That's pretty odd because in most countries people use dental schools as backup.  In the US, it's definitely quite a bit easier to get into dental school.  Pre-dental students take easier classes, go against lesser competition and their entrance test is easier also.  Pre-dental is still hard but there's probably about a 25-30 % difference in terms of academic requirements of Med and Dental Schools. However, it is getting increasingly hard to get into Dental schools in the US too.  Mostly because Dental residencies are shorter so you start making money earlier.  The salary ceiling can be much higher for doctors though.  Also, dentists have to rely on their hands/eyepower much more than doctors so they usually have to retire earlier and any hand injuries would also prevent them from doing their jobs until they're recovered. That could make a big difference in your life if you like playing sports.  My dentist friend has to quit many sports because he's afraid of injuring his hands. 

Vet schools could possibly be harder to get into than Med school in the United States simply because of how few Vet schools there are.  The academic requirements are not as high but you probably have to do much more extracurricular activites to show that you really want to be a vet. 

[Smooth Groove]

My buddy is going to Georgetown medical School because he was denied for Vet school.  the academic requirements may be lower the competition is alot more fierce.

I'm not surprised that he couldn't get into Vet school.  There're so few spots available.  Showing a strong desire to work with animals is probably more important than having a strong academic resume.  Personally, I've never know anyone that's considered both Vet and Med schools.  They are such different career paths.   Most people I know that could get into Georgetown Med school would probably not consider Vet schools anyway.  I do know many people that go into Dental when they get rejected from Med schools rather than try again to get into Medicine. 

[Smooth Groove]

There's some overlap between coursework but also enough differences to make it troublesome enough that most people probably don't want to take a prevet/premed path.  Med schools require a bit more from Chem/physics but Vet schools require more animal physiology.  Also, pre-vets take the GRE instead of the MCAT.  The Mcat is not really worth studying for if Med school's not what you really want to do. 

[brawndolicious]

Dentistry is not really considered a medical field.  There're alot of limitations on what dentists can treat and the the type of medications that they can prescribe.  It's a health profession but not "medicine". 

well yeah I mean a health field.  he was going to go to medical school after college but decided on dental cause it's easier.  the pay ceiling is obviously lower but you don't have to live in hell for your first couple years.

[Himu]

THE doctor?

[Candyflip]

THE doctor?

Doctor Cox SON.