A few questions - would LOVE advice from those those who have already walked this path!

[deleted690116]

Hi everyone,

I have a few questions for you.

I know many of these have probably been asked, but I haven't found any specific answers to my questions and would love advice/thoughts before I start e-mailing a bunch of med schools I am interested in.

First of all, I am a U.S. Citizen. I graduated from a university in Mexico with a B.S. in Psychology.

I have decided to enroll in a community college in the U.S. to complete my pre-reqs prior to applying to med school (this may put me at a disadvantage, but I can't pay the amount of a formal postbac (esp as an out of state student), considering I would be in enough debt would I get into med school.

Anyway, I these are the questions I have:

1. I have the following classes left to take (took 3 at a a 4 year U.S. university prior to completing undergrad in Mexico)

- Bio 1 lab
- Bio 2 with lab
- Chem 2 with lab
- O Chem 1 with lab
- O Chem 2 with lab
- Physics 1 with lab
- Physics 2 with lab

I did well in my previous pre-med classes (6 ish years ago). The college I am currently enrolling in does not offer labs separate from their lectures (I cannot take Bio 1 lab alone, I would need to retake the class).

This doesn't concern me too much, except set me a bit behind on the schedule I had planned (wanted to complete this in one year including summer).

- Would you recommend retaking Bio 1 or taking the lab at another college that offers it separately? (Got a B+ in my previous Bio class)
- For Bio two, I have the following selection to choose from. I do not see a formal "General Bio 2 course" listed, can you recommend which one to take to satisfy the class? (And would Biol 107 be fine would I retake Bio 1)?

BIOL 107 - General Biology - Lecture and Laboratory
BIOL 160 - Elements of Human Anatomy and Physiology
BIOL 205: General Microbiology
BIOL 201A: Intro to the Biological Sciences
BIOL 210B: Intro to the Biological Sciences 2
BIOL 230: Human Anatomy
BIOL 235: Human Physiology

From the research I've done, I believe the best Bio sequence to take would be BIOL 107 and either BIOL or BIOL 205, correct? (Not sure about 160)

- My second question is, would I retake Bio 1, does a courseload of the following seem adequate?

FALL 2015
Chem 2 with lab
Bio 1 with lab or just lab
Bio 2 with lab

SPRING
O Chem 1 with lab
Physics 1 with lab

SUMMER
O Chem 2 with lab
Physics 2 with lab

- Lastly, for ECs, I have done hours of shadowing physicians in different specialties in Mexico (cardio, neuro, emergency, gyno, plastics, maxillofacial, psychiatry). I have done an internship with a neurology team at a Center for Vascular Illnesses at a well known hospital in Mexico City, (which included shadowing, research at the Center for Neurosurgery and Neurology in Mexico City), and participating in lectures at the UNAM School of Medicine). I did another internship at the CBT Center in Mexico City working with CBT therapists and psychiatrists, and another internship at the Center for Social Psychology in Mexico. I have worked in mental health counseling as well. I published a book a year ago and participated in research articles regarding mental health illnesses, particularly the treatment of eating disorders.

I am wondering if this satisfies ECs or if there is further activities which I would need before applying. I could do some volunteer work during this year, but because of the full-time course work I would enroll in I am wondering if it would be better to just focus on my classes 100% (and MCAT study since I have the previous EC's completed).

Would love your thoughts on all of this.

I spoke with several counselors/admissions committee at my school but they pretty much told me to "set up my plan on my own; guessing this is one of the cons of not enrolling in a formal post bac program.

Thanks so much!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DrMidlife]

you need experience with US health care. if you want to do med school in Mexico and practice in Mexico then you're all set, but at this point you have no idea what you're getting into with US health care. This is completely separate from the comparative merits and faults of the two systems. so yes, get yourself a 4hr/wk US clinical volunteering gig right away and keep it up.

i think you're saying you don't have a state of residence in the US yet, probably because you haven't been back long enough. you need to be very concerned about whether you are gaining legal state residence this coming year while you're in school. i won't look up the rules for you on this; go find your current state's laws on definition of domicile, from the state .gov site as well as on your future med schools' admission sites.

understand that your choice to do the rest of your coursework at a CC, possibly instead of waiting to become a resident of your state who is eligible for instate tuition at a university, is not helping your story. your degree is foreign, and that transcript is never going to carry as much weight as your US coursework. that foreign GPA, regardless of how much it costs to get it evaluated, isn't taken seriously. you have to make it EASY for US med schools to see how competitive you are vs the cookie cutter premeds. a foreign transcript plus CC prereqs makes it DIFFICULT for you to be seen as an academic peer to your competition. you need to make it clear that you are not an international applicant, but a US applicant with a very interesting set of experiences outside the US. if you doubt that this is important, then you need to review the sheer number of applicants to US med schools. 60% rejection.

lastly, you need to worry about US credit hours and med school app timing. your remaining prereqs need to add up to a US credit hours count above the minimum specified by your med schools of interest. frequently the requirement is 60 to 90 credit hours, or 2-3 years of full time US study. and the schedule you list above has a poor fit with the US med school app cycle, in which you need to have a complete and compelling app submitted in early summer. that means june 1 if possible. that means an MCAT exam date in the spring. that means your prereqs are done enough for you to begin rigorous MCAT prep in the winter.

See the reapplicant forum, the postbac forum and the international forum for commentary that can help you develop a comprehensive strategy based on consensus opinions from those who have made it to where you want to be.

best of luck to you.

 

[deleted690116]

@DrMidlife

Thank you for your detailed response and information. Very helpful.

As far as the specific Bio 2 requirement, which of the courses would you recommend (other than upper division courses should I transfer to a 4 yr uni later)

Thanks again!

 

[DrMidlife]

i'm sure you missed the part above where i strongly recommended against doing CC work. you have far too little US university work for CC work to be sufficient in building a candidacy for US med schools.

in other words, no, i won't help you sort through the bio offerings at your CC.

 

[deleted690116]

Nope, did not miss it.

Thanks for your input.