Need some advice on getting prereqs done

[Venedeaz]

I'm currently a psychology major at UMUC and will graduate with a Bachelor's degree late 2015. I'm interested in medical school but i don't have any of the prerequisites done. Once i graduate, where and how could i get these prerequisites done? I'm hoping to attend college somewhere in the San Diego area and wondering if there's any programs out there for someone like me.

My current overall GPA is at a 3.7 and hopefully i can maintain it until graduation. Any advice is appreciated.

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[DrMidlife]

1. Online coursework is not accepted at many medical schools.
2. California is the most competitive state in the nation for med school admissions. Moving there is counter-strategic.
3. Moving to another state means you have to wait and work and establish legal residency before you can get instate tuition or admissions consideration.
4. It's entirely normal to approach the med school prereqs after completing a bachelors. Start researching premedical postbaccalaureate programs. There is a listing on AAMC and a subforum on SDN.
5. Again, you will have difficulty finding programs that respect your 3.7 because the coursework is online. Consider alternatives.

Best of luck toyou.

 

[nyvrem]

1. Online coursework is not accepted at many medical schools.

Just wondering, when you mention online coursework, does that pertain to just the pre-medical components or to any coursework done during undergraduate studies ?
Eg; if say 30 credits of the 120 credits obtain for the 4 year degree was taken through online modules because the Uni has online class options ?

thanks.

 

[DrMidlife]

1. pick a med school
2. find their admissions website FAQ
3. repeat from step 1

If you need better info than you can get off the FAQ, then contact the admissions office for clarification on your situation.

 

[Venedeaz]

1. Online coursework is not accepted at many medical schools.
2. California is the most competitive state in the nation for med school admissions. Moving there is counter-strategic.
3. Moving to another state means you have to wait and work and establish legal residency before you can get instate tuition or admissions consideration.
4. It's entirely normal to approach the med school prereqs after completing a bachelors. Start researching premedical postbaccalaureate programs. There is a listing on AAMC and a subforum on SDN.
5. Again, you will have difficulty finding programs that respect your 3.7 because the coursework is online. Consider alternatives.

Best of luck toyou.

Thanks for the response,

I’m a legal resident of California as my whole family lives there right now. I know online coursework looks bad but I haven’t taken any science classes yet so I’m hoping a great GPA in my prereqs as well as a good MCAT score would give me a decent shot. Not all my coursework is done online. I transferred over from a CC in San Diego so most of my classes are from face-to-face. Thanks for the heads up I’ll be researching some of these postbac programs and see if anything fits my needs.

 

[Rocketdog]

Once i graduate, where and how could i get these prerequisites done?

Sometimes Universities will allow you to take a few courses as a non-degree applicant. Might want to look in to that.

 

[Holmwood]

I have a research colleague in the same situation. You will need to do a post-bacc to complete your science pre-requisites.

Online coursework can not fulfill any of the the medical school prerequisites, and some the requisites can't even be taken at a CC level. Therefore, you will need to do post-bacc at a 4 year university. You would have to do research to see which postbac will adequately fulfill your requirements in a timely manner. For instance, some schools will let you take ochem and biochem with fewer prerequisites than other schools.

These can all be taken care of in 2 years. During that time, you will also have to commit to significant outside-school work. This includes clinical volunteer work/employment, research, and non-clinical volunteer work.

I would start with the clinical volunteerwork first to see if allopathic/osteopathic medicine is really the right path for you. If the hospital turns out to be an unpleasant experience for you, you have other options. Other medically related jobs include counseling, physical therapy, medical technician, EMS, medical officer in the military settings, etc.

Do thorough research and trying out before forking over cash to post bac programs. Even taking a gap year to save up money and explore your options isn't a shabby idea.


Good luck.

 

[silleme]

UCSD and SDSU are both very good schools. See about enrolling toward a second degree like in microbiology or some other set path that will allow you to get those pre-reqs out of the way. I'd suggest getting with an advisor at one of those schools and see where that takes you. I know UCSD especially has a great pre-med student body, but either school should get you where you want to be.

I also agree with a lot of what Holmwood stated . . that the volunteer work and shadowing just might be your biggest hurdle, and if you haven't started that already, it's an easy way to get going while still finishing up at UMUC.

 

[takeonme]

The only drawback with getting prereqs done after you graduate is the lack of priority registration and $$. While I did have some credit at a local CC, I was able to get some classes there but for other classes, especially those I could either not get at CC or upper div, I had/will have to go to a university where you pay out of pocket, per unit (rather than a set amount for part-time/full-time status like undergrad ex. now paying ~300$/unit at univ) and in my case, I could not register until basically the first day of school, after getting things filled out by the professor.

At the time, applying for a second degree was not feasible with working full time which is how I ended up my own DIY post bacc but it does get pretty scary thinking "if I don't get this class, I'll get pushed back x long." Every semester feels nerve wrecking but it didn't make sense for me to apply to a post bacc program because of work and because I had completed a few pre reqs during undergrad

 

[Holmwood]

The only drawback with getting prereqs done after you graduate is the lack of priority registration and $$. While I did have some credit at a local CC, I was able to get some classes there but for other classes, especially those I could either not get at CC or upper div, I had/will have to go to a university where you pay out of pocket, per unit (rather than a set amount for part-time/full-time status like undergrad ex. now paying ~300$/unit at univ) and in my case, I could not register until basically the first day of school, after getting things filled out by the professor.

At the time, applying for a second degree was not feasible with working full time which is how I ended up my own DIY post bacc but it does get pretty scary thinking "if I don't get this class, I'll get pushed back x long." Every semester feels nerve wrecking but it didn't make sense for me to apply to a post bacc program because of work and because I had completed a few pre reqs during undergrad

Not all post-bacc programs are the same. SDSU's one is open university, and it's no better than your situation unfortunately. In contrast, Scripps has a more structured post-bacc with a defined 13 month schedule. http://www.scrippscollege.edu/postbac/ . Not to mention the additional benefit of linkage agreements to medical schools across the nation, mcat support, etc....

There are pros and cons for every post-bacc program. Therefore, the OP has to do thorough research prior to committing to one.

 

[takeonme]

Not all post-bacc programs are the same. SDSU's one is open university, and it's no better than your situation unfortunately. In contrast, Scripps has a more structured post-bacc with a defined 13 month schedule. http://www.scrippscollege.edu/postbac/ . Not to mention the additional benefit of linkage agreements to medical schools across the nation, mcat support, etc....

There are pros and cons for every post-bacc program. Therefore, the OP has to do thorough research prior to committing to one.

That's true. I actually didn't look too heavily into any formal post-bacc programs because of the timing of it so everything I did was DIY. In my case, it ended up cheaper than some of the more local post-bacc programs