Should I tell my DD to not be pre-med?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She’s done with those grades unless she goes to Caribbean

Sadly, yes. A C+ in organic chemistry puts her out of the running for US Medical schools.
I have way too much experience with this between myself, my brother and my cousins. I have a family where it was expected that we go to medical school (I don't recommend this life view).

The Caribbean is risky too because the schools are $$ and the model is based on weeding out students so many people start and never finish.

I would encourage her to pursue something else at the undergraduate level. If she's getting Cs-Fs in science classes they are probably not her thing.

[Anonymous]

What were her science/math grades in HS? AP courses?

[Anonymous]

Agreed that you don’t know she couldn’t cut it as a doctor. If she is a hard worker, she can pull out of this. Maybe she can graduate in five years instead of four, while retaking courses. Let her do as much as she can work for. It’s a marathon not a sprint. You don’t need to call it for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What were her science/math grades in HS? AP courses?

Straight A's in everything except 1 A- in Physics. Her freshmen year she had all A's in her neuroscience courses/chemistry labs and A-'s in her chemistry lecture.

[Anonymous]

Is she on drugs? Getting the d from a guy? These things could be contributing to her downfall

[Anonymous]

Huh. I didn’t know colleges still gave out Cs and Ds.

Let me guess: O Chem?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is she on drugs? Getting the d from a guy? These things could be contributing to her downfall

No, just a normal college student. Well, she had taken on a lot of activities (research, 2 jobs, various speaking engagements related to her advocacy, other community service stuff)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What were her science/math grades in HS? AP courses?

Straight A's in everything except 1 A- in Physics. Her freshmen year she had all A's in her neuroscience courses/chemistry labs and A-'s in her chemistry lecture.

And she’s in a top 10 college? Something is off, OP. Organic chemistry is hard but not that impossibly hard for a clearly intelligent kid.

[Anonymous]

My kid quit after dutifully finishing the pre-med track. Got admitted to med school but told us that med school was not DC's dream after all. We were gobsmacked. Why even bother to apply and do all the crazy hours of shadowing, EC and MCAT? Kid thought that medical was our dream, not his, so the only way he thought he could get out of it was to get in and prove to us that he can get in. He basically told us that he had sacrificed 4 years in HS slogging his butt off, and 4 years in college meeting all requirements and suddenly realized that it was just not worth it for him. He said he could not live an unbalanced life for another 8 years or so, because that was not his passion. Our fault as parents was to not figure out what he actually felt in his heart. Don't put your kid in that situation where they feel that kind of pressure. If they don't want to do premed for whatever reason, let them change. It is not the end of the world. Do medicine only if it is a burning passion. It is not that great of a choice if you don't have a passion and the desire to put your life on hold to travel on this long and lonely road. The rewards may not be that great in that case.

[Anonymous]

She's not getting into Med School. When/how she figures that out, I'm not sure.

[Anonymous]

Yes she won’t get into med school.

[Anonymous]

OP, you may want to educate yourself. StudentDoctor Forum website might be good to read. If you tell her, you'll want to have stated opinions of what it takes to be accepted, rather than just your opinion.

Insist she talk to an academic course counselor at school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes she won’t get into med school.

Damn

[Anonymous]

She’s probably smoking lots of weed. I’m not judging-I know you said she’s a “normal” college student but that IS fairly normal. It doesn’t make everyone lose their stride but it does zap plenty of kids motivation and executive function. At this point led school is probably off the table but that doesn’t mean she has to switch majors if she gets her act together.

[Anonymous]

she should major in something that she can get a career in if she does not end up in medical school. take all the med school pre-reqs. tons of kids at my DD's school majored in ChemE and went to medical school from there.

mine was going to do something medical. PA, med school, anesthesia, pharmacy ... then fall of senior year decided she didn't want to go to more school. dumb decision, but that is what she did.

anyway it worked out.

tldr: don't major in pre med. get a real degree with potentil in case med school doesn't become a reality.