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The good news is, you’ve still got a while to decide, especially if you’re in a country like the US where medicine is a graduate-entry course. I recommend doing some work experience and volunteering in hospital to get an idea of what medicine is like from the inside. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...Medicine is tough, but it’s not impossible. I went in as a grad, having somewhat mucked up my A Levels (that’s what we leave high/secondary school with) just enough to sabotage applying originally. Whoops. One science degree later, I was in a much better place to apply again, and also a much stronger student. Though medicine isn’t a grad-only course here, I really feel going in with the experience of how to work, read papers, write essays etc to a university standard made my first couple of years much easier; compared to final year of biomed I found first year medicine a bit of a walk in the park.  However my school leaver friends found it quite a jump up from A levels. When we got to clinical medicine, the playing field evened out considerably and it was more or less equally difficult for us all. I think it is definitely a huge undertaking, but it can be overcome with the same kind of hard work that got you there to begin with. I have to be honest with you. Medicine as a field (and I’ll include students) has more than its fair share of mental illness and addiction. You’ll have to learn to look after not only yourself, but also your friends and peers. I can honestly say that the number of close friends of mine in medicine who have never had problems with exams, personal circumstances, mental health difficulties or health problems etc is vanishingly small. Perhaps if we’d all gone into a less stressful field, less of us would have suffered, but we chose to do medicine knowing the risk we were taking.However, we look after each other, and there are avenues of support if you are struggling; it’s important not to suffer alone. I’m indebted to the friends and family who supported me when I was at my lowest; I couldn’t have gotten here without them. In turn, I try to do my damnedest to help those who are struggling now. There will almost certainly be days when you are fighting back tears, or crying quietly in the treatment room whilst a friendly nurse makes you a cup of tea. There may be days when you make mistake, days where your colleagues are your problem, and days when patients and their relatives are absolutely abusive towards you. But there will be days when you hold the hand of a crying patient, when you’ve saved someone’s life, or restored someone’s faith in medicine. There will be cameraderie, and times when you surprise yourself. Medicine can be horrible, but it can also be the best feeling in the world. Money TalksAs for the financial aspects, it’s hard for me to advise because we all live in different systems in which university studies are founded differently. I don’t know much about the level of support students get in the US, or how much of a struggle it may be for poorer students to get by. Medical school is an extra several years where you will either only be able to work the odd part time job (if lucky) or not work at all; on top of all the fees. I can tell you that as someone who goes back to school to give talks on this kind of stuff every once in a while, it’s become much harder for me to advise students, particularly those wishing to study medicine as graduates, as the situation has changed in the UK. However, as a job, medicine is financially viable enough that wherever you work, you’ll be able to pay back your tuition fees eventually. There’s a good chance you’ll find a job in medicine (though not necessarily in the place or speciality you want) and it’s more stable than a lot of jobs. Nobody becomes ridiculously rich through medicine (though I doubt anyone going into medicine has that in mind), but you can get by well enough if you enjoy the job itself. In summary...It’s tough, not only because of the academic pressure, but also because you’re learning to deal with life and death. You’re a confidant to the vulnerable and the adovocate of those who have nobody else to speak for them. It’s a huge privilege and responsibility. Whilst some of your friends won’t have to worry about anything more serious than handing in an essay or getting dumped, you’ll be holding the hands of dying pensioners or having patients confess their deepest secrets to you. You will learn a lot about how to talk to others, and even more about how to listen. And you’ll keep perfecting those skills for the rest of your life; there will literally never be a time during your career where you’ll stop learning the science, or stop trying to be a better doctor. Only you can decide if it’s the job for you. You’ve got time to read around, to volunteer and try to experience some of it for yourself. I can’t tell you if it would be right for you. I can only say that, despite the hardships and the frankly disastrous effect on my social life, I don’t think I’d choose a different course if I could go back. Perhaps I won’t always be in medicine, but I don’t regret my choice at all.

Good luck!!