Getting admission to medical schools is tough. But to cope with medical colleges and education is tougher. Many students take up admission to med colleges but end up getting stressed and dropping out of college.
Quick Takeaways
1. Wrong career choice
- The following are the top reasons why students drop out of medical school-
2. Academic capacity
3. Change in lifestyle
4. High tuition fees
5. Family pressure
6. Learning disorders
7. Length of the college time
8. Not able to adjust to the college
However, you must read till the end so that you could get a better understanding of what are the reasons why students drop out of medical school.
What is the rate of med school dropouts?
The percentage of students that fail to finish the course is known as the dropout rate. Since it might be difficult to track dropout rates in percentages, a lot of the data must be interpreted with caution. Most medical school students drop out in their first year. A shocking fact here is students in their final year also drop out of college. If we see, there is an overall 10% of students drop out. However, accurate numbers are difficult to determine. Further, when you are applying to the university, you must remember that you will see awaiting fulfilment option when you are applying to the university which means that your results are received at the university.
Top 8 reasons why students drop out of medical college
The following are the factors why most students get drop out of medical college-
1. Wrong career choice
Many students take up the medical stream just because they think they want to become doctors. But actually, they might just be fascinated with the lifestyle of other doctors and have different abilities. Such students gradually learn about what is their actual potential and drop out of med college.
2. Academic capacity
Not every student is as good at biology as in other science-related subjects. Many students think that if they are best at Physics and Chemistry, they can easily take up a medical college. But this is not true. To get into medical college you must know biology. The best way to determine if you are academically capable of medicine or not is by taking the Medical College Admission Test. Sometimes it is not the students but the teachers who are not able to teach properly.
3. Change in lifestyle
When you are admitted to medical colleges, you spend around 8-10 years of life in medical schools. The way you live also changes. Till the time you have joined the medical college, you may have time to travel, enjoy movies, etc. But when you join medical school your life changes, and you become busier with your studies.
Various students are not able to cope with the change in the way they were living earlier. They need both financial and emotional support as they were getting it earlier. Students must use student planners to manage their free time. Sometimes students also get into colleges that do not have much good atmosphere. This may be the same case for you and thus you must choose the college that has happy students. Thus looking for different medical schools is the best option if you are thinking of pursuing a medical career. You may have to regularly wear the dress code which was not part of your daily life.
4. High tuition fees
There is no doubt that to attend a medical school, you need to pay high tuition fees and rent too. Also along with high tuition fees, there are other related expenses that the students have to take care of. Although there are also various financial aids that the students get from various institutions. But some students have to do a part-time job to pay their fees and also expenses.

It becomes difficult for many students to create a balance between doing part-time work and studying. Various studies show that high tuition fees are one of the greatest factors, why most medical college students drop out of college. Thus you must know how will you afford the fees of medical schools before applying to it.
5. Family pressure
Many parents want their kids to become doctors. As a result, they take admission to it. Many students take up medical college just because of family pressure. Consequently, the students start getting stressed regarding it and end up dropping out of it. Also sometimes families compare their children with others. This also makes the student feel stressed and causes a sense of depression in them.
6. Learning disorders
Some students have various learning disorders. Many parents do not understand this thing and think that their students are not simply giving attention to their studies even when they are trying hard to do it. Such students need counselors to get rid of such disorders. If you are facing such issues don’t be shy to talk to your family. They will surely listen to you and help you in the best way they can.

7. Length of the college time
Medical college life is generally about 4 years and after that, you need to do residency work for 3 to 4 years. There are chances that you may be married or even have a family when you enter medical school. If you are a student at medical school you have to sacrifice many things in your life. You may also get late to class many times. Due to this reason, you might lose interest in your studies causing you to drop medical school. You also think that you may not get much free time in college and thus may not want to go to college.
8. Not able to adjust to the college
You may need to spend 7 – 8 years of your life to achieve medical college. This means that you are giving almost 10 years of your life to a specific college. You need someone with whom you can talk. Many students feel difficulty adjusting to college. You may not be able to make new friends and as a result, may start lacking the feeling of attending college. For this, you can take the help of the Greek organizations by taking part in rushing.
Conclusion
It becomes difficult when you make any wrong decision in your life. Similarly, when you are not happy with the subjects that you have taken, you may feel stressed and depressed. Many students drop out of medical college even in their final year. There are different reasons why you may also want to drop out. If you are also facing some issues, try to talk to someone before making your choice to drop out.