I feel hopeless

[premed2005]

I graduated on May 2005 with a BA in graphic design in Phoenix,AZ and have a great job at a big company. The problem is I want to do a formal 1 yr post bacc in CA, because I want to do a career change. I don't want to do informal at ASU.

How can I do this, my mom says I need a lot of money to do this, we are not rich. I told her I can transfer to another state within the same company. She tells me it isn't 100% for sure, what if there isn't any positions in CA. She also asked me how will I pay the rent since the school won't let me live on campus, because I am a college graduated and can only live off campus. Is it possible to live off student loans or will I need a private loan. I know the rent is high in LA, but I assume I can make more than $12 hr to survive over there. I told her I can look for a studio apartment or live with roommates



I am the first generation and minority in my family to finish with a BA, and so I feel helpless here because I can't find a way to do it. Any advice would be appricated.

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[NapeSpikes]

A one-year postbac program means you will be going to school full-time, and it is very hard to hold down a job while completing the intense courseload.

You do have the option of going to school full-time, and not working. Many formal postbac programs are full-time and grant a premed certificate, and that means you can get federal financial aid. You will probably need to take out a private loan, too, if you do not work. The school you attend will help you get in touch with private banks that have pretty low interest rates for educational loans. It's what I did: I moved from CA to do a one-year formal postbac on the east coast. It was a lot of money--$30,000 (all loans) for one year for tuition and living expenses. But it can be done, and I don't regret my decision at all. Good luck!

 

[premed2005]

I was thinking of going from full time work to part time, and maybe go fulltime in school or maybe part time. I don't have a lot of credit history so I feel I won't be able to get a private loan for school if I decided not to work. I also know my mom can't get a plus loan because of her income and credit, which is why I have had grants in the past but I know I can't get anymore grants after getting a BA.

I perfer not to work and study really well in school since the 1yr post bacc I will be studying one yr nonstop, with no summer break. After I get done with the post bacc I might return to Arizona and go to UofA or I may just stay in CA, so I don't know where I will end up. This job I am working at has great benefits(free pension plan, basic health and etc),and the company is located in almost all 50states, so I really want to hold on to it until I get my MD.

So would you all consider me non-traditional student, as soon as I got my high school diploma I went directly to college and completed my BA on May 2005. Now I want to go a career change at the age 24 and need to do a post bacc because I have no science course.

 

[DaveinDallas]

You will have to take loans at most postbacc programs that 'feed' into medical school. Trying to work while going to school is usually pretty rough.

Whether or not you're a non-trad really doesn't matter. Have you started your medically related volunteer work at this point? Before making such a major switch I would do that and then see if the post bacc programs have any prereqs (most do and they are generally the same as for medical school -
2 years of biology, 1 of Physics, 1 of General Chemistry, 1 of Organic Chemistry, calculus/statistics and English) and get those knocked out while working and saving cash. Once that's all done, you'll probably need to take the MCAT and then see about applying to the post bacc. Or heck, if you've done all that, just apply straight to medical school.

Hope this helps.

I would strongly recommend volunteering in the field and/or shadowing a doc to see if this is really what you want to do.

 

[NapeSpikes]

premed2005 is specifically looking for a career-changer PRE-MED postbac--this probably means he/she has not done any of the med school prereqs and is looking for a program to do so. These types of programs usually DO NOT require any science prereqs to enter.

A one-year postbac is full-time. Whether you want to try to work part-time is up to you, but it's tough even without a job. You cannot finish all the prereqs in one year if you go to school part-time.

You say premed2005, that you do or don't want to work? If you do want to work, consider taking more than a year to do the prereqs. If you're fine without working, you can finish the courses in one year, but be prepared to rack up the loans. I wish you the best.

 

[fiznat]

Why are you stuck on getting your postbac done in only one year? Going to school full time is really going to make it impossible for you to work, and even if you find time your grades are going to suffer for it. Why not do a "do it yourself" post-bacc at a local community college, take 2 classes per semester, work say 30 hours a week, and concede to getting your pre-med work done within 2 years.

Seems like a reasonable idea to me, especially since you already have obligations that need to get taken care of like rent/other bills etc. This plan is exactly what I'm doing: 2 classes per semester and working on average 36 hours/week (usually 3 12 hour shifts). The money isnt great but my grades dont suffer, my bills are paid, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. In addition, the school costs arent that bad since you pay per semester instead of in one huge chunk. My costs have been about $2k per semester, which really isnt that bad when you have time to save for it.

 

[riceman04]

I graduated on May 2005 with a BA in graphic design in Phoenix,AZ and have a great job at a big company. The problem is I want to do a formal 1 yr post bacc in CA, because I want to do a career change. I don't want to do informal at ASU.

How can I do this, my mom says I need a lot of money to do this, we are not rich. I told her I can transfer to another state within the same company. She tells me it isn't 100% for sure, what if there isn't any positions in CA. She also asked me how will I pay the rent since the school won't let me live on campus, because I am a college graduated and can only live off campus. Is it possible to live off student loans or will I need a private loan. I know the rent is high in LA, but I assume I can make more than $12 hr to survive over there. I told her I can look for a studio apartment or live with roommates



I am the first generation and minority in my family to finish with a BA, and so I feel helpless here because I can't find a way to do it. Any advice would be appricated.

What's wrong with doing an informal post bacc, especially if it is cheaper?

 

[riceman04]

Why are you stuck on getting your postbac done in only one year? Going to school full time is really going to make it impossible for you to work, and even if you find time your grades are going to suffer for it. Why not do a "do it yourself" post-bacc at a local community college, take 2 classes per semester, work say 30 hours a week, and concede to getting your pre-med work done within 2 years.

Seems like a reasonable idea to me, especially since you already have obligations that need to get taken care of like rent/other bills etc. This plan is exactly what I'm doing: 2 classes per semester and working on average 36 hours/week (usually 3 12 hour shifts). The money isnt great but my grades dont suffer, my bills are paid, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. In addition, the school costs arent that bad since you pay per semester instead of in one huge chunk. My costs have been about $2k per semester, which really isnt that bad when you have time to save for it.

I would not complete the work at a community college! Yes, in many cases they are the same classes, but adcoms tend to be weary about community college classes.
This person can even take extension courses, which would allow him/her to work during the day and take classes at night.

I would not recommend being full time at work either (if he/she wants to take a full load).

 

[bubbleyum]

I graduated on May 2005 with a BA in graphic design in Phoenix,AZ and have a great job at a big company. The problem is I want to do a formal 1 yr post bacc in CA, because I want to do a career change. I don't want to do informal at ASU.

How can I do this, my mom says I need a lot of money to do this, we are not rich. I told her I can transfer to another state within the same company. She tells me it isn't 100% for sure, what if there isn't any positions in CA. She also asked me how will I pay the rent since the school won't let me live on campus, because I am a college graduated and can only live off campus. Is it possible to live off student loans or will I need a private loan. I know the rent is high in LA, but I assume I can make more than $12 hr to survive over there. I told her I can look for a studio apartment or live with roommates



I am the first generation and minority in my family to finish with a BA, and so I feel helpless here because I can't find a way to do it. Any advice would be appricated.

hi premed,

why don't you want to do an informal at asu? and why would you want to go to cali?? of all the states to go to that is probably the worst because med school admissions is so competitive out there.

i am a graphic designer as well, switching careers to medicine (hopefully). luckily for you and me, graphic design is a profession where you can do freelance/contract work. what i did was attend classes at my local state university while holding down my full-time job and sometimes doing extra freelance work to help supplement all the school expenses. it is defiinitely hard, because you have to work full-time, take classes, then in the evenings and weekends study during all your free time. but if that is your goal you need to do it.

i don't know what your reasons are for wanting to leave arizona, but i think you should stay and take advantage of the in-state tuition and job/resources that you already have. you are still young, so doing an informal post-bac will take about 2 years(instead of the one year that a formal post-bac might take) but it should not be a problem at all.

 

[DaveinDallas]

premed2005 is specifically looking for a career-changer PRE-MED postbac--this probably means he/she has not done any of the med school prereqs and is looking for a program to do so. These types of programs usually DO NOT require any science prereqs to enter.

I understand . I just knew of a case where a school had a pre-med, post bacc program that fed into the schools medical program. This particular post-bacc program required the applicant to have all the medical school prereqs and either taken the GRE or MCAT. Either way, premed2005 will have to do the medical school prereqs UNLESS they are specifically waived by whatever certification they get out of the aforementioned PRE-MED postbac program. As a career changer myself, I was waitlisted and then applied and was accepted in a post-bac program. I was called off the med school waitlist while waiting for the post bacc to start.

Again, check all your options.

 

[rairai]

Why Cali? There are postbac programs all over the country! Drexel in Philly,Wake Forest has one, So.Ill.at Carbondale,etc. Most of these programs are one year for students who have already done some science. If you don't have any of the science done its gonna take you two years--chemistry is a two year sequence(you can take some in summer sessions). LA is expensive! $12/hr. not enough to live on so you will need major loans.

Informal at Arizona not bad if you find some minority faculty who will mentor you and help you with the application process. Or look at the community colleges at Arizona and see if they have advisors who will support you with sending out your letters for you when you apply. Community colleges are ok as long as you get good MCAT scores, above 26 should give you a shot somewhere. WHat about osteopathic schools? Isn't there one is Arizona? They may have some advice as to where to get your prereqs. done too. AAMC has a list of advisors who talk to students; I know the one at Hunter is good and the one at Yale. You could look at exploringhealth.org (might be exploringhealthcareers.org)too. They are a new website for disadvantaged students.

I graduated on May 2005 with a BA in graphic design in Phoenix,AZ and have a great job at a big company. The problem is I want to do a formal 1 yr post bacc in CA, because I want to do a career change. I don't want to do informal at ASU.

How can I do this, my mom says I need a lot of money to do this, we are not rich. I told her I can transfer to another state within the same company. She tells me it isn't 100% for sure, what if there isn't any positions in CA. She also asked me how will I pay the rent since the school won't let me live on campus, because I am a college graduated and can only live off campus. Is it possible to live off student loans or will I need a private loan. I know the rent is high in LA, but I assume I can make more than $12 hr to survive over there. I told her I can look for a studio apartment or live with roommates



I am the first generation and minority in my family to finish with a BA, and so I feel helpless here because I can't find a way to do it. Any advice would be appricated.

 

[Law2Doc]

This job I am working at has great benefits(free pension plan, basic health and etc),and the company is located in almost all 50states, so I really want to hold on to it until I get my MD.

If you are thinking of holding down a job not only during an intense one year postbac but also 4 years of medical school ("until I get my MD"), I think you need a reality check. In all probabilities you will not be able to work very significant hours during postbac, if at all, if you intend to complete the program in a single year -- you need to get good grades and as someone without a science background you will likely find these courses hard and demanding a ton of time. And you will not be able to hold a job during med school in all probability.

 

[Orthodoc40]

I graduated on May 2005 with a BA in graphic design in Phoenix,AZ and have a great job at a big company. The problem is I want to do a formal 1 yr post bacc in CA, because I want to do a career change. I don't want to do informal at ASU.

How can I do this, my mom says I need a lot of money to do this, we are not rich.

I am the first generation and minority in my family to finish with a BA, and so I feel helpless here because I can't find a way to do it. Any advice would be appricated.

One step at a time. First the pre-reqs...
Okay, you're feeling hopeless because you are trying to do 2 conflicting things. You need the income from your job, and you need to do the pre-reqs for medical school, but you're insisting it be in a full time program. There is no reason to force yourself to do these pre-reqs through a full time 1 year post bacc program. I really think this idea is the source of your stress.

Keep your job, and take the classes 1 or 2 at a time at a good evening program somewhere nearby (not a community college if possible, but it's not the end of the world if that's your only choice). This way, you still have the source of money to pay bills and to pay for those classes (does your job offer any tuition reimbursement program?) and possibly to save a little bit up. You're young - its 1 year's difference. A year goes by fast (think about what you were doing this time last year...!) It is worth another year to relieve the stress, believe me.

When you're ready for medical school, you can deal with the financial situation of medical school then - having not put yourself in huge debt taking the pre-reqs, the MCAT (and possible prep-course), and application fees.

2 years ago I was stressing myself out because I thought I HAD to do a formal post-bacc program that was very expensive, and would not allow me to keep my job. They boast this ridiculous % of their people getting into medical school and I thought I just had to do it in order to get into medical school myself. I was heartbroken at first when I didn't get into the program, but in retrospect, it saved me major stress & a ton of money. I met some great friends and did really well taking classes at another good school nearby while keeping my job, got all A's in the classes, and am better off for it today.

 

[Law2Doc]

One step at a time. First the pre-reqs...
Okay, you're feeling hopeless because you are trying to do 2 conflicting things. You need the income from your job, and you need to do the pre-reqs for medical school, but you're insisting it be in a full time program. There is no reason to force yourself to do these pre-reqs through a full time 1 year post bacc program. I really think this idea is the source of your stress.

Keep your job, and take the classes 1 or 2 at a time at a good evening program somewhere nearby (not a community college if possible, but it's not the end of the world if that's your only choice). This way, you still have the source of money to pay bills and to pay for those classes (does your job offer any tuition reimbursement program?) and possibly to save a little bit up. You're young - its 1 year's difference. A year goes by fast (think about what you were doing this time last year...!) It is worth another year to relieve the stress, believe me.

When you're ready for medical school, you can deal with the financial situation of medical school then - having not put yourself in huge debt taking the pre-reqs, the MCAT (and possible prep-course), and application fees.

2 years ago I was stressing myself out because I thought I HAD to do a formal post-bacc program that was very expensive, and would not allow me to keep my job. They boast this ridiculous % of their people getting into medical school and I thought I just had to do it in order to get into medical school myself. I was heartbroken at first when I didn't get into the program, but in retrospect, it saved me major stress & a ton of money. I met some great friends and did really well taking classes at another good school nearby while keeping my job, got all A's in the classes, and am better off for it today.

I think this post is good advice. If you must work, spread out the postbac courses as long as it takes to do well. Once you have finished all the prereqs, take the MCAT at whatever time gives you at least a few months to study for it. Then, once you are in med school, you can see what kind of fin aid and borrowing you can do to offset the fact that you in all probability WILL NOT HAVE TIME TO WORK DURING MED SCHOOL. (except perhaps over the summer after first year). Good luck.

 

[junebuguf]

I don't think any of the other posters have mentioned this but if you are considered an underrepresented minority (your post is vague on this matter) you would do well to explore the many post-bacc programs that are specifically for this demographic. Wake, Indiana, ECU and some others have minority programs. You have not mentioned your grades, but if they are on the low side, you would be especially well served by these programs since many virtually guarantee admission to their med programs (they are basically feeders that maintain the minority quota) instead of swinging for the fences like the rest of us.

Also I would urge you to not work while doing a post-bacc program since part of med school admissions is proving to adcoms that you can a full load of science classes. I know working and taking classes is a lot, but not the same type of work. You may find that you are burning out in science classes whereas work (particularly if its enjoyable) seems to be comparatively easier. If you can (even if it means private loans) dedicate yourself to post-bacc and try to get into med school asap. If you save a year getting into med school, that years pays dividends at the end of your medical career, as an extra year spent practicing before your retire. Even if it costs $10-15k more in loans to pay for living expenses during the year you are not working (and you pay out $25k in interest/principal), this would pale in comparison to the roughly $175-200k salary you would be earning towards the end of your career. Plus, you begin your lifes work sooner, which is a reward in itself.

 

[Orthodoc40]

If you can (even if it means private loans) dedicate yourself to post-bacc and try to get into med school asap. If you save a year getting into med school, that years pays dividends at the end of your medical career, as an extra year spent practicing before your retire. Even if it costs $10-15k more in loans to pay for living expenses during the year you are not working (and you pay out $25k in interest/principal), this would pale in comparison to the roughly $175-200k salary you would be earning towards the end of your career. Plus, you begin your lifes work sooner, which is a reward in itself.

The OP has money concerns. If the OP takes this route, it is a full year with no income at all. That is far more stressful than the alternative, which is to take classes at night while working and maintaining that income for the time being. The OP will have 4 years of little to no income as a med student. Its insane to start that asap for a person with financial concerns!

As far as beginning life's work sooner, we are talking about the difference of 1 year, 2 at worst - and doing the pre-reqs is a part of getting there, so it has its rewards. Especially if it is done in a way that causes less stress.