Brand new- Need some advice!

[alb3335]

Hello everyone!

Well, this is my first post, though I have been doing a lot of reading on this forum already. I am interested in applying to med school in about 1.5-2 years and need some advice! First, here is a little bit about my background-

I am 29 (will be 30 in Nov), married, and am currently enrolled in an online undergraduate program at Utah State University majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders. I graduated from my local community college last May, and have since decided that I want to pursue med school. Previously, I have held professional jobs in business management until deciding to attend college at age 26. I did attend two semesters at my local university, but due to being older and needing to work to pay the bills while my husband finishes school, I wanted to finish my undergrad online in a subject area that is at least somewhat scientific. It is a competitive online program (You need to have at least a 3.7-3.8 to do well in it, so they say), but because I am older, I feel as though I have numerous life experiences that would help substitute for college club involvement, etc. I had a 3.83 GPA when I graduated with my AA, and currently, I have a 3.8 GPA. I am just looking for some guidance for how I can continue to supplement my applications in the future. I'm doing great with my science courses right now (taking those locally), and I am about to start volunteering two days a week at our local hospital starting very soon. I know I am non-traditional, but this is what I want to do! Any thoughts? What else can I do to increase my chances in the future? Be kind- remember this is fairly new to me!
Thanks in advance!

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[kevinsword91]

You will need to make sure you are taking the required pre-reqs as many schools do not allow pre-reqs to be online. MSAR Online is a good resource to investigate this.

 

[alb3335]

Yes, I am taking the pre reqs at my local college. They don't offer them online anyway because there are labs. What else can I do to help better myself?

 

[AromaticOreo]

I would definitely seek some more clinical experience in addition to the hospital volunteering. With more experience in clinical activities, I think you will be more equipped to answer the question of why you switched from business management to medicine.Also, definitely try to get some shadowing in, so that you can see what the day of a physician is really like. The shadowing is more important for you to decide if being a doctor is something that you will actually like, although a bunch of schools place an emphasis on it as well. You said you have ~2 years until you apply, so you still have plenty of time to get this stuff under your belt. Keep that GPA up high, rock the MCAT, and you should be in good shape. Good luck!

 

[alb3335]

Thank you Aromatic! Any advice on how/where to get more clinical experiences outside of just volunteering at my local hospital? Should i try to get certified in something lower level ad work? like emt/cna or something? Thank you again!

 

[AromaticOreo]

There are a bunch of places you can volunteer. Just to name a few, you can go to a hospice, a nursing home, planned parenthood, the red cross, or a volunteer ambulance corp.

If you want to put the time into getting your EMT or CNA certification, that's definitely a great thing to have on your application. I have been volunteering as an EMT for about 3 years now, and it's probably one my all time favorite ECs because you really get the opportunity to get you hands dirty and work with patients directly. It gave me A LOT to talk about during interviews, as Adcoms were very interested to hear what I learned from my experiences in EMS. Bear in mind though that having the certification alone isn't enough, you have to use it for it to be meaningful to Adcoms.

 

[gyngyn]

Bear in mind though that having the certification alone isn't enough, you have to use it for it to be meaningful to Adcoms.

Agree!