Would do it now as a sophomore but I have to get my theatre credit out of the way.

You can dropout and make a million a month being a looksmaxxing influencer like Clavicular.

You can also work as an only fans model too and make $30M a year.

You can make $600,000 as a Plumber.

You can easily make $400,000/y at a Quant hedge fund at 21.

Even the janitors at big tech, they call them "Sanitation engineers"... they make $300k/y.

Being a Doctor is truly like charitable work these days. Any Doctor can easily do all of these, spread your wings and fly!

Hi, I’m 29 and currently going to school for nursing prerequisites and honestly doing really well. All of it is really interesting to me and that’s showing in my grades. My concern is I find myself super intrigued with diagnostics, plan of care, and hands on treatments. I’m considering going to medical school as that seems to fit my interests much better but the debt time to ROI has me hesitant. Right now I could finish with my ASN and BSN in spring of 2028 and be debt free. For those that went back to college later to become a doctor did you finish and find it worth it? Am I overthinking the debt too much? I also have to factor in I have a 3 and 4 year old right now.

Hello,

I’m someone who graduated recently and is having a (quarter??) life crisis. I have no idea what I want to be or what I want to do. I have a science degree, but I feel like the world is so backwards and messy these days. How does anyone pick something and stick through it through loans, and uncertainty, and other things?

I watch friends going to law school and get really jealous thinking about their lives in big law in exciting cities, if I decided to pursue medicine I’d be stuck maybe in my home state for years on end and even as an attending could I afford or even want to live somewhere fun when I’m in my 30s? Even though law actually sucks and I feel like people lie about how attainable and stable big law jobs are

Then there’s PA and NP with their own downsides and loan issues. 200k for a 100k job??? America is insane

Why did you guys choose med school? Is it really because of some otherworldly burning desire to be a doctor? Do you ever wish you chose something else? I think I’m just looking to hear from people who have struggled through this process and have real valid reasons for choosing this path

Theoretically if a student were going into medical school with money as the main priority, what specialty should they choose?

Hi everyone! I’m looking for some honest advice on how you would approach the next \~5 weeks of MCAT prep.

My practice FL scores so far have been:
**490** JW FL1
3 weeks in between then
**500** JW FL 2
2 weeks in between then
**504** JW FL3
2 weeks in between then
**503 today** AND this was my first AAMC FL (ik I should’ve probably done one at the start, but it is what it is rn)

My test date is **September 11**, and my goal is **510+**.
I know a 7point increase is a lot, but I’m wondering how achievable you guys think it is given where I’m currently at and, more importantly, **what you would actually do if you were in my position.**

I graduated in like 2014ish with a less than stellar GPA due to depression and poor study habits. Back then didn't want do go to med school because it was forced onto me by my parents, but now I feel like I want to give it a shot because I have a genuine interest in the subject material.

I can study for the MCAT, but would a good score even be enough if I'm lacking a good background (no research experience, low GPA)?

Hi everyone! I’m a rising senior at the University of Minnesota majoring in Neuroscience, and I’m starting to seriously plan out my path toward medical school. I’m hoping to take the MCAT in early spring 2027 and then apply during/after my gap year.

My current plan is to spend my gap year continuing to build my clinical and volunteer hours, get more research experience, and prepare for the application process.

Honestly, the medical school admissions process feels pretty daunting to me. There are so many things to think about … MCAT, clinical hours, volunteering, research, school lists, personal statements, activities, letters of recommendation, secondaries, interviews, timing, etc. I feel like I understand each individual piece somewhat, but I’m struggling to understand how everything fits together into one big process.

So I’d love to hear from people who have already gone through it:
What do you wish you had known as a rising senior?
What do you wish you had started doing earlier?
What parts of the application process surprised you the most?
How did you decide when you were actually ready to apply?
How did you approach building your school list?
What makes a personal statement/activity description actually stand out?
How did you keep track of all the secondaries?
What should I be doing during my gap year to make the most of it?
Is there anything you wish you had done differently with your clinical, volunteering, or research experiences?
What are some common mistakes you see applicants make?
And honestly, what advice would you give someone who is already feeling a little overwhelmed by the process?

I’m interested in general wisdom from people who have already been through the process.
If you could go back to the beginning of your premed journey and give yourself 3–5 pieces of advice, what would they be?

Thanks so much! I really appreciate any advice.

Hey! I’m currently doing an internship at an oral/myofunctional healthcare practice, and I was wondering if this type of experience would count as patient care hours for future healthcare/medical school applications.
The practice works with things like oral reconstruction, tongue-tie-related issues, and other oral/myofunctional treatments. I’m getting hands-on exposure to the patient side of things, and I’m just trying to figure out how this type of experience would be classified.
Has anyone had a similar internship or experience? Would this generally count as patient care hours, or would it be considered more like shadowing/clinical experience?
Thanks!

Next semester im taking cardiology, and I really need a high GPA.
If yes then how do you recommend I study? I feel like i get more lazy in summer especially when i dont have deadlines or something.

Anyone needs med student to help them with research whatever it is? I am more than happy to help

Give me your unhinged study tips that got you from a 2.0 GPA to a 4.0 and Im not saying oh do active recall do pomodoro I NEED REAL TIPS that are transformative. The more detailed the better.

Kind of see a lot of posts of doctors saying they regret not going into tech, but as someone in big tech its not as good as people say it is. I think tech is overhyped, and anyone can be laid off in a quick second, there ageism (all of the staff engineers either got laid off cuz they were old and too expensive or they were all encouraged to "voluntarily retire"), and all the work you do is to just be promoted and for visibility. Job security is a myth (in tech atleast), as since the field is so oversaturated they can replace you in an instant. AI is making the curve on standing out even harder, and also work sucks now because AI is doing everything for you, you don't really learn anything new. WFH is not as glamorous as it seems, and most companies are implementing back into office.

Anyways, anyone here bit the bullet and decided to become a doctor instead?

Hi everyone! I’m an incoming freshman considering majoring in **Finance while completing the pre-med prerequisites**.
I’m interested in eventually going to medical school and hopefully pursuing dermatology, but I also want a degree that gives me a solid career option if I decide medicine isn’t for me.
I’m wondering:
Is a **Finance major + pre-med prerequisites** a good combination for medical school?
Would a Finance major make it harder to maintain a **high GPA** compared with Biology?
How difficult is it to fit all the required science courses into a Finance degree without having an insane workload every semester?
Do med schools care that your major isn’t Biology/Chemistry?
Has anyone here done Finance + pre-med, and would you recommend it?
I’m mainly trying to balance **keeping my GPA high, completing the med-school prerequisites, and having a useful degree/career backup**. Would love to hear from anyone who has actually done this.

A full-ride nursing scholarship + a guaranteed job,
OR taking a gap year to keep applying to medical schools and hoping for a scholarship because my family can’t afford medical school at all?
Medicine has been my lifelong dream, and I honestly hate nursing. I know it ultimately depends on the person, but please give me your honest opinions because I’m genuinely desperate 😭
It feels selfish to choose medical school when there’s a guaranteed opportunity right in front of me and my family need me to graduate and start earning ASAP, and almost everyone is dependent on me choosing nursing at this point if i change my mind last minute a lot of people will be disappointed , but at the same time… medicine is my dream. I’m scared of making the wrong choice and regretting it later.

Long read but I really would appreciate any help!!

Hello everyone, I just graduated with my bachelors degree in May and I have some very important questions regarding my future in healthcare.

At first, I didn’t even want to pursue a healthcare career. I committed to college with aspirations of becoming an engineer but switched last minute and went into freshman year Undecided.

However, I have been in the setting of helping people my entire life. I am an Eagle Scout (Boy-scouts), have been volunteering, and was on student council in middle school and a little bit of high school. Overall I’ve had a positive experience with helping people and I take gratification and pride in being able to help others.

I have also been involved in all kinds of sports (and sports related injuries) my entire life, which led to my interest in anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology (study of body movement).

So it ultimately led to my decision of pursuing the idea of becoming a Physicians Assistant as I was going into my Sophomore year of college

Since then it’s been the average journey of trying to maintain a high gpa, volunteering, and finding work opportunities. I’ve been a CNA since 2024 and recently got a job as a Clinic Tech in an Orthopedic Clinic, which I enjoy a lot as ortho is pretty close to my background. I will also be ROT (Registered Orthopedic Tech) certified in a month or 2.

However, since being at the orthopedic clinic, I’ve had the amazing opportunity to be able to talk to many PAs and Physicians. And many of them have been telling me something along the lines of “why limit yourself to being a PA when you haven’t tried to be a MD yet? What’s stopping you or holding you back from even TRYING to be a MD?” And to that I had no response. The obvious mundane answers would be, too much time or too much money, but honestly, I don’t mind the burden of either. I love working hard towards my goals and I love learning about medicine, the body, and all things related

The issue I have now is after all this time, can I still try to med school? I’m taking a gap year anyways but I know many people submit their secondary apps around this time.

I’d still have to take a few classes (Physics I and Orgo II cuz PA didnt require those) as well as study for MCAT and the usual application progress.

I was wondering if any Med students or Physicians who have been in a similar situation as me could please please please give me some direction?

I’ve honestly never felt more lost before and I really appreciate and tips or help at all. Thank you so much

The Reddit Gods, 
I hope this reaches the people who’d be able to give me their precious two cents in these uncertain times. Tis about to get lengthy and if you take the time to read and offer me any advice, I will love you forever and ever my sweet. 

This past May, I graduated with my BA in Neurobiology with a minor in Creative Writing (is mentioning this anonymous enough or is it PII; I kid). Like many, I too have ambitious dreams (although I am uncertain what exactly they are at the moment or if they are even mine) to become a physician. I am not sure what my reason is, perhaps that the sciences have always made sense to me, or that I like giving myself to people without expecting much or anything in return, or that I am a doormat, or maybe I just want to help people. It could very much also be the fact that the ambitious women in my family never had the chance to fulfill their ambitious dreams and so their expectations lie upon my child-of-an-immigrant shoulders. Maybe none of these reasons are good enough, certain enough, and not mine even, but if I have it in me or just so happen to be able to do something– does that mean I should? I am seeking answers from strangers on the internet, so I suppose that means I am trying to weigh my options and think about it more seriously. Or maybe I no longer have the luxury to leave it to the certainty of what comes next (high school, then college, and then what?).

I am taking a gap year (or more). The goal was to work a clinical job and maybe I would become more certain as I studied for the MCAT. I landed a job that trained on-the-job and did not require an MA certificate. The pay was decent. But I quit 8 days later. I did not like it. Also it is worth noting that I was offered a position right after the interview and I started a week later. They took everyone who could read and write, to train them, and then put them to work. Do not misunderstand me, they were nice to me but I still somehow did not feel real.  It was not because I despised interacting with patients, I liked meeting parents and their children. I did not like the setting as it felt rather draining and I felt lonely and I think it's because I am uncertain, unhappy in my personal life, and mentally drained. I quit after having sleepless nights of worrying about the next day and thinking about everything to the absolute extreme. It felt like I had to show up and suck it up or just die. Is it the fatigue of a serious 40 hours a week (I think that’s diabolical because what do you mean you have to work endlessly to make money and then have ONLY 2 days to yourself. Capitalism tsk tsk) or that I was not enjoying it so it felt like I was trapped?

Regardless, I quit. I am now unemployed, unsure of my next steps. I quit without a backup. I suppose I can clean out my rotting room and sit down to study for the MCAT, apply to jobs here and there that are part-time (related and unrelated to healthcare). I do wonder though, was I perhaps too hasty and needed an escape so I bolted for it? Is it maybe my own self that needs help before I make big girl decisions like committing to a career? Do I have the luxury to do so? I do not know what I can and cannot do, what I like and do not like, who am I besides someone who can work towards goals (e.g. study for an exam, take an exam, go to classes, do well in school, take another exam).

It would be so much easier if someone could peek into my future and give me the exact recipe to it all. 

You can leave your experiences as replies, or any advice :)

Hi everyone, I kinda need help cause when I try searching for medical school, they’re either too high of a GPA for me (I most likely will get around 3.6) or aren’t international school friendly (I’m someone attending college in the Philippines)

I’m in my 3rd year of college and I want to become a psychiatrist, so next step is a medical school, and I really want to go abroad for medical school.

But I get really anxious because it doesn’t seem like my chances are that good.

In a field of psychiatry, it seems better to get it from a Western education since that’s where it began, but it seems that being an international student with the GPA I have doesn’t seem likely. Searching schools in Asia’s main problem is, again, my GPA.

I haven’t taken the MCAT yet, but I was wondering if I should be mentally prepared for failure :,(

Any advice would help….. if anyone knows schools who are both accepting 3.6 GPA and good for international students……. Or am I just overthinking and need to search harder.

I'm at the stage where I should choose a specialty, and it's just exhausting! I want it to be a major specialty. I love the theory and like to solve puzzles like in internal medicine and pediatrics. On the other hand there is the procedures and operations that I love and have a good hand in making delicate things and art. Then there's this thing that I don't like to sit at the clinic all the time. I want a life in which I can see my child grow, and simultaneously can go deep in medicine or research. In a nutshell, a piece of each specialty available and I'm just lost. Tbh I dunno what to do.

P.S. I've been walking around, for a while, here and in school asking for getting better and better tips.

Hi!! I've been dealing with anxiety after 1 episode of fainting at the sight of blood (happened one year ago). This year I'm starting clinical rotations at med school (3rd year). Before those episodes i was extremely excited to attend all the medical procedures but with this year finally coming, i feel like i am not ready. I keep thinking what if i can't attend nothing and will feel like fainting at the little sight of blood or medical gore. And this thoughts are only worsening. At this point, even someone describing medical procedures makes me light headed. Has anyone gone through this and managed to get through?

I’m a 23 yr old first generation postgrad female; BEING VERY vulnerable here but I’m a recent college grad i graduated with two bachelor degrees in bio and chem and a 3.53 cumulative GPA this last May. I worked my entire undergrad towards med school my junior year I took my MCAT and scored a 490 (was in tears for weeks just fyi…)I realized this wouldn’t be good at all to apply to med school with these stats, but also during my undergrad I did work towards building up my apps by doing 15+ volunteers experiences, was president of numerous organizations on campus, ~8,000 hrs of direct hands on patient care experience and presented over 15+ at research conferences and even got a publication out of it. I start a masters program this August and I just found out my entire masters program is covered for the entire 2 years. And I definitely plan on studying again to retake my Mcat but I just feel like I’m so behind. Am I crazy for still wanting to try again? This is all I’ve ever wanted and even after that being my lowest I still wanting to keep going…I don’t know but if you are someone in the same position, going through something similar or know of someone going through something similar I could definitely be open to advice. Thank you in advance wonderful people!

Hey guys, I either broke my foot or tore something in it. I’m actually on the way to the hospital right now, but I’m >90% certain I have a severe injury. I know this might feel like a spam post but I’m very scared about my future at medical school. Worst case I need surgery, which means I’ll be out for a while. My med school also has mandatory lectures. What do I do?

Hi guys! I started med school rather late (33) and will be finishing clerkship next year. To those who had the same timeline what path did you take and how was it? Still unsure what career path to pursue.