im a first year pre med student. i will not change my mind or give up my dream of becoming a doctor no matter what and will do whatever it takes. however it would be useful to know how to effectively play a huge game of catchup and be able to compete in very advanced premed courses when i know nothing about the subject. i dont have science tutoring available, however i do have math. please give me advice, im sure most people have dealt with a situation like this before to some extent
2007-02-23 02:26:10 · 10 answers · asked by billy t 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Higher Education (University +)
No offense, but if I were a patient, and I realized that my doctor sucked at math and science in school, I'd go out of my way to make sure you never practice again.
2007-02-23 03:15:53 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
The big problem I have with this question is, why do you want to do a job that is ALL math and science when you suck at science. How do you think you are going to be able to care for your patients? You will be killing people left and right! I don't think you have really explained what you mean here, 'cause that can't be right, can it?
You understand that 35,000 premed kids are going to apply to med school this year and less than half will be accepted. The med schools dont care what your major is, but they do care what GPA you got in the key courses: calculus, physics, biochem, chem, organic chem and biology. And you are going to have to take the MCATs which are all about chem and bio and have lots of calulating in them.
You will have to take chem and bio and math over and over until you get it. Until you actually understand and can do it. Otherwise, what's the point of taking the MCATs just so you can get a bad score.
Make up your mind that you have to do this stuff, and then do it. You are talking the talk, but before you can get into med school you have to walk the walk.
Good luck!
2007-02-23 04:37:41 · answer #2 · answered by matt 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Exactly how bad do you suck in math and science? If you're getting below a 3.0 gpa in science/math classes, it will be VERY difficult to get into med school. If that's the case I would look towards the Caribbean schools (they aren't as selective as USA but they are still very good). I would suggest trying different study methods. Try doing outlines, reading and rereading chapters, going over notes several times, defining terms in the chapters, flash cards, etc. There are several different ways you can try to learn the material.
Also, you can do a lot of volunteer work. If you do A LOT of it, it can compensate slightly for a less than adequate gpa. And study hard for the MCAT.
Not to discourage you or anything, but a friend of mine applied to medical school and just got his letter back. I was basing my strategy on him. He had a 3.9 gpa and scored a 32 on the MCAT and he just made the alternate list. Needless to say, I will not be applying to medical school.
Good luck! If you want it bad enough, you'll find a way.
2007-02-23 04:45:04 · answer #3 · answered by stu12019 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, you may have to take extras years of schooling with classes that will build foundations for you in math and science before beginning your work in pre-med science and math. I would very highly recommend taking advantage of tutoring for science and most schools do offer some sort of help with a math lab as well. I'd check into it.
But I would recommend looking at getting your basics down before beginning greater work in other higher level classes. You need to remember, you have to have excellent grades to get into medical school as well.
2007-02-23 02:32:16 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
As far as i know the math is not the most important topic for medical aside from basic math. The fact that you are not doing so well in science is another issue as biology is very important to some parts of the medical world, as far as i know. If you have a good memory and can work under pressure then these things can be surpassed. Being a doctor is hard work, so don't let it get to you.
2007-02-23 02:31:55 · answer #5 · answered by Robo 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Sounds like we have hope here, someone who wants to be a doctor because it's their dream, not because of the money, GOOD ON YOU.
Since this is your passion, math and science wouldn't nail you down cus it's part of medicine. your passion will guard you thru those courses. it's like i'm so into music engineering that my passion made me able to gobble down the math and physics part(i suck at those too), no sweat, compared to if i was to just go and take a pure math or science degree. again, your passion for becoming a doctor will make you come to appreciate what you've learnt in math and science that you can apply back into medicine.
GOODLUCK!!!
2007-02-23 02:43:04 · answer #6 · answered by bill 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
as i was 37 when i went back to school for pre med, i can completely relate to your problem. i found the chemistry and physics particularly difficult. some advice---NEVER miss a lecture or a lab in one of the problem classes. make friends as quickly as possible in all of your classes, but especially in the hard ones. get their numbers and converse at night while you are studying. work out problems together and discuss them in depth. make sure that your study partners are competent in the area. make contact with the professor and maintain it, it does help if they know that you are trying your best and can offer additional resources and in some instances they will offer to tutor you themselves. work on the problem areas daily, you cannot afford to slack up because in colege they move so fast that you can be overcome very quickly. also you may want to take a lightened course load when taking more difficult classes or take the hard ones while taking some easy elective courses, the humanities often offer some very light study classes. good luck!!!!
2007-02-23 02:47:26 · answer #7 · answered by karchar 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
find books meant for kids on science. Advanced ones, but with pictures and comics and stuff. Also some layman texts, called popular science. And of course there are magazines that may interest you.
another choice is taking catch up courses at a community college (I know a lot of people who did this for math with great success).
The problem with university texts in science is that they aren't well written. I used to love science in school.
Also, don't get discouraged if you don't do well at first. Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare. Often people who struggle at first remember things better when they finally understand them.
2007-02-23 03:19:09 · answer #8 · answered by dude 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Most schools have a science tutoring center or a student support services department that can assist you on tutoring. Also, try to see if you can join a study group.
2007-02-24 19:00:15 · answer #9 · answered by chikeymonky 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try to find some friends that are good at science and get off the computer and try to go to the library and study there. You will be amazed at how much you can teach yourself.
2007-02-23 02:32:12 · answer #10 · answered by Apollos 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋