All About G

That’s what I’m feeling right about now, though Mom told me over AIM about 10 minutes ago to “not panic”. I’m not panicking right now; I’m just feeling doubtful that I won’t be able to do what I want to do.

‘Well, what is it that you want to do?’ you might ask. Maybe too much.

I want to graduate with a B.S. in Athletic Training (maybe I might try to get a M.S. too, if I have the money), and use that background in sports medicine when (if) I go to med school and specialize in Orthopedic medicine. I want to be an orthopedist who can competently and specifically help athletes with injuries.

Of course, at this point, I’m behind in the AT program; I started out here at IC a HPPE (Health Promotion and Physical Education) major, and a ton of the things I took for that program don’t carry over in the requirements for this one. In the AT program, you immediately start out in your freshman year with the specific curriculum. And for the pre-med program, I still need to take a year of biology, a year of physics, and two years of chemistry, both general and organic.

It’s already certain that I won’t have the time for these pre-med courses, since I’m barely going to have the time for the AT requirements; in order to graduate on time I need to take two required courses this winter, and since the cost of doing just that is near $4,500, it looks like I’m going to graduate a semester late (and that’s if we can afford it… if I recall, they stop financially aiding you once your 4 years are up).

Not just that, but in order for me to become an ATC (Athletic Trainer Certified), I need to take the national exam to get my license… and will a B.S. be enough? Or will I need to go to graduate school and get my M.S. too?

In between doing that, getting a job, and then preparing for the MCAT, I need to get those pre-med required courses, which I’ll have to take either during the summers between now and when I graduate or after I graduate and get a job. Will I get a good enough job to afford those credits? Not to mention paying for practically everything when taking the MCAT, applying under the AMCAS and then twice more under the individual med schools, along with going to interviews should I get accepted…

And this isn’t half of what I’m a little worried about. Specifically, grades. What if I don’t do good enough and then get rejected from med school?

All of this is probably unnecessary stress and all, but, looking at what appears to be the odds (academic performance, money, and time, specifically) that are stacked against me and my goal, it kind of looks like it won’t happen in the end.

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