Pre-med survival -SAT link.. anyone?

calmom
Mon, 12 Feb 2007 22:51:07 +0000

Nightingale, a researcher named Rosalie Fink looked at the backgrounds of high-achieving adults, including Nobel prize winners, who had struggled with learning to read as children, to determine what it was that helped them succeed. How does a kid who struggles all the way through their early years end up becoming famous doctors and scientists?

She found that the elements for success were that all were driven by a passionate interest, that they came from families that had high expectations for them, and that the ones who succeeded in the sciences had strong mentors. Unfortunately for the women, their families tended to discourage pursuit of the sciences and they had fewer mentors, which meant that very few of them succeeded in scientific fields – though many were successful in other fields, such as law or social work.

You can find this work summarized here:
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Even if your nephew doesn’t have a learning disability like the 60 accomplished adults who participated in Fink’s research – I would think that the ingredients for success would be the same for anyone: high motivation coupled with a supportive & encouraging family, and mentors to provide help and guidance where needed.

If your goal is to discourage your nephew and make sure that he does not succeed, then I guess it would help to remind him constantly that everyone in the family thinks he’s kind of stupid. Sorry – but no matter how gently you try to dissuade him, that’s what he’ll feel you are saying – the bottom line is that you are telling him you don’t think he’s smart enough to be a doctor.

If he has gotten into the university, then he is good enough to attempt any major that is open to him there. He will figure out soon enough what he is capable of. You don’t have to worry about protecting his feelings while he is in college – if he has been struggling all along, then he is already used to hard work and disappointment. The fact that he aspires to med school shows that he has persistence and drive.

I think that you and your nephew’s brother should back off and let your nephew make his own college choices. The courses he needs for premed are relevant to any career in the sciences, and even if he doesn’t become a doctor, a degree in sciences might be a big help in his future career. So let him do his best and figure out on his own where things shake out.

If he succeeds – and I hope he does – then I guess he’ll have the last laugh for everyone who has ever doubted from. If he fails… at least let him fail on his own, without being nudged in that direction by skeptical family members.