Are You Smart Enough To Go To Medical School? [Simple Answer]

Are you smart enough to get to medical school?

This question has been thrown to me so much over the last few weeks that I just had to make a blog post about it.

And yes – med students are smart. (Sure I act dumb most of the time, but I’m just a bad apple in the barrel)

But are you smart enough for medical school? Do you have what it takes? Can you make it to the finish line? Are you cut out to be a doctor?

Truth is – I asked myself this question multiple times in my journey. And I’m okay admitting that sometimes the answer I came up with was no.

But I kept going because the motivation was still there.

And you know what I realized? The answer to the question of “Am I smart enough for medical school” comes down to one simple question.

What is it?

First, let me ask a smaller question.

Let’s Do A Quick Exercise:

 

Think about when you study. Focus on how hard you would have to work to ace a quiz or exam you have next week.

Can you work hard studying for one day? Most of you would nod (stop doing that if you’re in public).

Now, what about two days? Can you study hard for two days in a row?

Sure that sounds easy!

What about a week? You’re likely still not phased! Good for you! 😀

How about a month?

You’re probably doing that right now if you want to go to college or medical school. So a month is doable.

Now, how about a year?

See this is where I start to lose some people. A year is a long time (365 days long to be exact).

But still many of you who are reading this have done a year in the past. You can do another year.

Now the final question…

Can you study hard consistently for years?

Oh snap. I smell doubt.

That’s doubt isn’t that you’re having?

You may be asking – what do I even mean by years? 2 years. 5 years. 10 years? What is it?

Can you study hard for 12-16 years?

Did I lose you? That’s how long most of you will have to go through normal schooling (+ college) to just get into medical school.

So here’s the real question to know if you’re smart enough to go into medical school

Can I Work Hard Consistently For A Long Period Of Time?

That’s it?

That’s the magic question to answer if I’m smart enough to be a doctor?

Yep!

You see those of us in medical schools are looked upon as if we’re geniuses.

Not true. I don’t have a genius bone in my body. (I should know – I went to medical school. It’s not one of 206 I learned.)

What we are, however, is a bunch of crazy, hard-working, and consistent creatures.

We have studied hard for every class, every grade, every test…

and eventually we had the GPA, we had the board scores. We were considered “smart enough” to go to medical school

But we weren’t that smart from day 1.

We just worked our butts off day in and day out. No one took notice day 1, month 1, year 1.

But then when you’re consistent for years – people have no choice. They have to come up with labels. Smart is just the one we got assigned.

Your Everday Celebrity:

Now you may not be convinced. I don’t blame you. Arguing that anyone can go to medical school is easy for me to say.

But let me introduce how this same argument makes sense in every other industry.

Consider a bodybuilder. A very visual representation of time, effort, and consistency.

Shoot I workout but I damn sure don’t look like that!

How come? Because I haven’t been worked hard consistently for a long period of time. (My workout streak currently is 4 days if you count today…)

Think of your favorite singer. Did Adele come out of the womb singing “Hello” to the world?

Well, she kind of did say “Hello from the other side!”. Just not in the beautiful voice we know her to have today!

It took time, effort, commitment, and a long streak of consistency (more than 4 days).

Now while we may not aspire to become Arnold or Adele – can we reach their talent level?

Short answer – yes.

Caveat? With a lot of time and effort!

The Snowball Analogy: 

Think about an avalanche. Huge right?

How did it start?

The mountain slowly gathered snowflakes… one by one.

No one even noticed. But with the time that gathering of snow covers the whole mountain.

Then we give it some appreciation but not enough. Eventually, the mountain can’t hold another snowflake…

and BAAM – avalanche!

Now I’m not comparing myself to an avalanche. I can’t even ski.

But med students can look like that avalanche to someone who may just currently be a stack of snow – an impossible finish line.

But we all started with little and grew to what we are today.

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So are you smart enough to go to medical school?

Really question is – are you willing to be consistent enough to BECOME smart enough to go to medical school?

Whether you said yes or no – you have your answer.

Remember – consistency, hard work, and time are the reasons I am where I am today – not natural intellect. (My current intellect is always dependent on Spellcheck)

Hope this post was helpful to you! (Hopefully, you enjoyed my grayscale personality as well).

Thanks as always for reading.

If you enjoyed this post then check out the following:

Here are some blog posts that will also help you with your studying:

Top 5 Study Methods For Medical School
Ultimate Guide – How To Study in Medical School
How I Studied Less Than 5 Hours A Day
How To Perfect Long-Term Retention in Medical School
How To Study Effectively in Med School
My Morning Routine in Med School

If you’re looking to learn faster in college or medical school – learn how I cut my studying in half while getting better grades!

Check out my free 9-part video course where I take you from start to finish how I studied in medical school.

You can get the free course if you’re interested here!

Enjoy this post? Comment below! I’d love to hear what you think + answer what question you have for me!

Thanks for reading.

Until next time my friend…