I Struggled In Engineering, Will I Make It As A Premed? | Old PreMeds Ep. 309

This nontrad struggled through their engineering journey. Can they make the shift to premed and survive?
Our question this week is taken from the Premed Hangout. (Ask your own questions at medicalschoolh...)
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[@doctorricky]

I can relate with the struggle part in school. Just do it girl. Go get it. Upward trend is huge.

[@JamesJoyce12]

A quarter of my class in engineering went on to medical school - they said it was noticeably easier than engineering and they all aced the mcat without any pre-med [btw traditional highest scores on mcat are elec eng]

[@Metachief_X]

My gpa is 2.6 and have one more class to finish in computer engineering in NYC. I struggled with school because I had an undiagnosed mental illness (bipolar type 1) for many many years. I was hospitalized due to psychosis twice during school. After 2 years of being stable on meds, I’m seriously considering to study medicine (psychiatry) because I feel like I have a duty to help people in similar situations. Also because I recently converted to Christianity and feel like God is telling me to do it. Lots of people are suffering from the harmful effects of technology/social media/drugs/trauma/abuse… im 29, still live with my mom, no kids, no girlfriend… I am caregiver for my mom and that takes care of rent and utilities… I’m thinking I have a privilege that most people don’t have and I should take advantage of it… do you think I have a shot? Considering I’m on meds now and attend therapy regurlarly… would med schools pass me over? Any help or comments would be greatly appreciated… thank you!

[@PringleTheOne]

Go for it. Just grind as much as you can and utilize the school resources if it's any good.

[@amerac4473]

premed is tough but I know many and I mean many bioengineers make it so definitely possible

[@blaby4ever]

I understand Ryan is trying to sell a dream. I don't blame him because its how he gets the bread rolling. To the woman reading this: You've done software engineering for quite a while. Why haven't you find this career fulfilling despite managing to work with such skills for so long? Was there a dream in being a video game developer or as such that you haven't quite achieved yet? It seems to me that you still haven't discovered yourself in the world of software engineering. I'd be reluctant to tell you to switch over to pre-med. In the pre-med journey, most of the coursework, studying, and requirements to get in are not for studying medicine but to merely avoid being weeded out until medical school. Are you sure you wish to completely switch industries? Why not revisit software engineering one more time.

[@jaronmaxwell7809]

So I'm in my last year of computer science undergrad, I have pre-med classes and have always wanted to apply to medical school. Do you think it is possible for a Computer Science major to apply to medical school.

[@HungUpOnADream1122]

I was told by one of my professors that people with differing majors that still completed the premed requirements are at an advantage for being accepted. They are looking for well rounded individuals. You completing your coursework and going the extra mile to complete their requirements on top of that is a huge green flag for admissions.

[@bigfoot2575]

My ENT was a computer science major before going the med route. He was the first to digitally automate record keeping in his practice.

[@patriciatorres5154]

Hi Jaron, can you share how did you combine your CS schedule with the Pre-Med track? My son will start the sane this fall and has received a lot of discouragement from Pre-Med / BSMD advisors.

[@youcan8488]

pre-med is a walk in the park compared to Electrical Engineering. My EE program graduated only 1 in 10 of those who started and you only start EE if you typically have a bare minimum 1300 SAT. Biology is the easiest major there is among the sciences. The key among most people who go to med school is their parent was a physician, they are first born and benefit from parents' motivation and investment in the first kid. These days 85% of all people admitted to medical school are female. If you are White or Asian Male, you had better have jaw dropping MCAT and grades. I knew a girl whose MCAT was 497. That is the shittiest MCAT I ever heard of. She still got into Med School. Why? Reason #1: Black. Reason#2: Female. I knew someone with a 525 MCAT (and straight As) who did not get in anywhere. Why? Reason #1: Male. Reason #2: White.

[@hi-mj5oi]

Dont care

[@chiemelieosigwe2060]

Someone’s pressed 🤭

[@FelixTheForgotten]

Honestly that stuff pisses me off. In my engineering class of 40 (small university), there was 3 girls. Girl1: gpa 2.3 and rich, Girl2: gpa 2.8 also rich, Girl3: 3.2 gpa and middle class. Long story short, they all had around $20 000 in scholarships because of the programs for "women in engineering". Me on the other hand, 3.55 gpa and low income. I think I got $500 scholarship from the Mcdonalds I was working at. All these institutions keep claiming, "we want equity and equality of opportunity for everyone..." but they are more concerned with making a diversity political argument, even though I was much better than all the girls and was financially struggling. It's so nice to be a white male, surely I'm benefitting from white privilege when I'm getting denied everything. Joys of Canadian politics. What a joke? You know there is a problem when the recurring joke is "I'm so poor I might have to become transgender to get the women in engineering scholarships".

[@humzahashraf9078]

As an electrical and computer engineering major, and if I take the premed classes can i get into medical school