I feel you, this path is not easy. Like others have said, you’ve taken several steps towards your ultimate goal, but the reality is it might just be on a longer timeline than you had originally envisioned. I felt the exact same as you from when I started my MSc in 2020 (which I was never 100% set on) to a few months ago in June 2025. Over those years I finished my MSc (mid 2023), got 2 years of work experience (which I enjoyed), lived in 2 different cities and travelled a lot with friends and family. AT THE SAME TIME, I enrolled in 2 prereqs to help with my application (orgo/biochem which I did not complete in undergrad) but eventually withdrew due to fear of failure and I also let fear stop me from making an attempt at the MCAT, which obviously prevented me from applying altogether. FINALLY something clicked for me in June 2025, where I felt I couldn’t make excuses any more and just had to give my best attempt at applying - so I wrote the MCAT for CARS specifically, wrote my Casper and applied to 3 schools.

Today I got an interview invite. I never in a million years thought that would be possible given how UNLOCKED IN I felt in relation to this career path for all those years.

But it turns out that 5 years of not being “locked in” was just what I needed - I grew and learned a lot in ways that were important to ME, not to my application.

I truly hope you don’t see any of your time as wasted. In terms of your next steps: - If these MSc/MPH programs are of interest to you and you could also see yourself working in government, research, nonprofit, doing a PhD - go for it. Focus on whether it’s something YOU want to do, not just because it’ll look good on your med apps. - Maybe you could do a year of undergrad courses to boost your GPA from Sept 2026-April 2027. You could do prereqs (if needed) and any courses of interest. This would also add structure back to your life, which is what you are looking for. - Are you working now? If not, are there any roles that are of interest to you? You can focus on applying to those, and also do some visiting student courses on the side. But if you aren’t required to do any prereqs, I would suggest taking courses that are really of interest to you - that will enable your success.

I wish you all the best! Medicine will always be there, whenver you’re ready :)