Non-Trad success story

[jjbodean]

went back to school in 2010 at the age of 39 to take my prerequisites after graduating in 1992 with a business degree and a 2.83 GPA. after 2 years of starting off slowly and working my way through the coursework, i held a 4.0 post-bacc. extensive shadowing experiences as well as strong EC history. took the mcat twice: 25R, 27N. married with kids ages 2, 3, and 5.

accepted to Marshall and waitlisted at WVU. if i can do it, anybody can do it.

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[InHIShand]

went back to school in 2010 at the age of 39 to take my prerequisites after graduating in 1992 with a business degree and a 2.83 GPA. after 2 years of starting off slowly and working my way through the coursework, i held a 4.0 post-bacc. extensive shadowing experiences as well as strong EC history. took the mcat twice: 25R, 27N. married with kids ages 2, 3, and 5.

accepted to Marshall and waitlisted at WVU. if i can do it, anybody can do it.

That's awesome! Congratulations! I have three kids as well, and have debated several times to just quit and pursue something else. Are you applying pretty broad or only in your local area?

 

[jjbodean]

That's awesome! Congratulations! I have three kids as well, and have debated several times to just quit and pursue something else. Are you applying pretty broad or only in your local area?

i only applied to my 2 in state schools, rolled the dice with putting so few apps out, but i was realistic that with my mcat i wasnt going to be overly competitive OOS, plus, my family isnt moving (we just moved here 2 months ago for my wifes job), so it had to be somewhere close.

 

[InHIShand]

i only applied to my 2 in state schools, rolled the dice with putting so few apps out, but i was realistic that with my mcat i wasnt going to be overly competitive OOS, plus, my family isnt moving (we just moved here 2 months ago for my wifes job), so it had to be somewhere close.

That's about what I will be doing next cycle as well. I am 33, three kids, a non-working ex-wife, and a custody agreement that keeps me in-state. My choices are limited to a highly competitive MD state school, and my number one choice DO school that's about an hour and a half away. I'll keep trying till I get that acceptance, not giving up med school or the kids.

 

[jjbodean]

That's about what I will be doing next cycle as well. I am 33, three kids, a non-working ex-wife, and a custody agreement that keeps me in-state. My choices are limited to a highly competitive MD state school, and my number one choice DO school that's about an hour and a half away. I'll keep trying till I get that acceptance, not giving up med school or the kids.

good luck, you just do what you have to do, and it will all be worthwhile in the end.

 

[2008orbust]

well done. So nice to hear, thanks for sharing.

(I was in the same boat as i felt limited by location also because of my family. I applied to one school I could commute to and also managed to match a residency in my backyard. My kids got to stay in their elementary, we didn't have to try to sell a house in this market and my wife got to keep her support system near. we really lucked out. See, we are hearing more and more great non-trad stories every year!)

 

[InHIShand]

good luck, you just do what you have to do, and it will all be worthwhile in the end.

Thank you! That's exactly how I explained it to a patient today, when he asked how will I get in to med school...one step at a time. I look at each pre-req as a small victory--keeps the positive momentum going.

 

[Belle Melodie]

went back to school in 2010 at the age of 39 to take my prerequisites after graduating in 1992 with a business degree and a 2.83 GPA. after 2 years of starting off slowly and working my way through the coursework, i held a 4.0 post-bacc. extensive shadowing experiences as well as strong EC history. took the mcat twice: 25R, 27N. married with kids ages 2, 3, and 5.

accepted to Marshall and waitlisted at WVU. if i can do it, anybody can do it.

I love that quote. Def gives me hope. (im 27 y/o)

 

[Md2be77]

Thank you for sharing, there are so many of us with similar situations on the verge of giving up our dreams, i have 4 & know that i need a graduate degree, have a BSN & thinking of going MD/DO, appreciate you sharing and definetly will keep my dream alive!

 

[NuttyEngDude]

 

[kasmir8199]

This gives me hope! I thank you for sharing your success story. I'm a non-trad too in the Atlanta area; 31 years old and a single mother of 2 (ages 6 and 4). I almost need to get into one of the schools in-state so that I can continue to have the support of my family when it comes to managing the kids. Just so happen that they're all pretty competitive MD schools and 1 DO school, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm hoping to apply for the entering class of 2015.

 

[kalvin008]

JJbodean!! Congrats!!!!! I'm a non-traditional student who recently got in as well!!!

 

[jjbodean]

JJbodean!! Congrats!!!!! I'm a non-traditional student who recently got in as well!!!

thanks, and congrats to you as well!

 

[Docility]

Congrats! Thanks for sharing your success story.

 

[sengineer]

congrats and all the best for the road ahead. I do have a question and it's a bit of a personal one so you may choose not to answer or send me an answer privately. This is the one issue that is keeping me tied down. Currently doing the prerequisites and it has been really hard thus far; not due to the study load but more from my duties at work and my financial situation. Did you work as well or have a spouse working and how was your financial situation? Are you taking school loans and did you have help with the kids? I realize these are personal but just trying to put my situation into that of one similar cause it is usually the current financial situation that dictates the stress levels of the non-trad's return to school. Thanks; and hats of to you for what you have accomplished thus far.

 

[jjbodean]

congrats and all the best for the road ahead. I do have a question and it's a bit of a personal one so you may choose not to answer or send me an answer privately. This is the one issue that is keeping me tied down. Currently doing the prerequisites and it has been really hard thus far; not due to the study load but more from my duties at work and my financial situation. Did you work as well or have a spouse working and how was your financial situation? Are you taking school loans and did you have help with the kids? I realize these are personal but just trying to put my situation into that of one similar cause it is usually the current financial situation that dictates the stress levels of the non-trad's return to school. Thanks; and hats of to you for what you have accomplished thus far.

i dont mind answering at all, thats a very good question.

i realize that i am in a very fortunate situation: my wife is a physician and i did not work while attending school. the kids go to day care/school all day long, leaving me the time to attend classes and study. now, it hasnt always been easy. my wife left private practice a little over a year ago and did locums out of town for weeks at a time, leaving me home to attend to the 3 kids while also going to school and making all A's in organic chem (amongst other classes) and doing my mcat prep. but, all things considered, it hasnt been terribly bad. the financial aspect is something i've been very lucky to not have to worry about too much.

additionally, having a spouse who has been in my shoes means that she is very understanding and allows me to have protected time to study and do what i need to do to bolster my application.

good luck, and let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[sengineer]

thanks for your reply and again, great job in getting this far. All the best.
Oh by the way, did not check your profile; but did you work in business prior -- using your business degree and what made you change.

 

[jjbodean]

i did work in business for 14 years, however, my degree was not a prerequisite for the job i had

i had several life changing experience including the death of my first spouse as well as a near death experience of my own. that combined with my current spouse exposing me to medicine from a perspective i hadnt seen before and "demystifying" the process for me led me to where i am today.

 

[jjbodean]

now accepted at wvu. applied to 2 schools, accepted to both. indescribable feeling.

 

[amazing tekkers]

now accepted at wvu. applied to 2 schools, accepted to both. indescribable feeling.

Well done. As a youngster, I really feel that's an amazing story. Enjoy your journey.

 

[doctorold]

Congratulations. Very happy for you.

 

[kayak30]

Congrats! Thank you for sharing your pre-med journey. Did you do a formal post-bac? What school? All the best on the future journey ahead

 

[Woland]

Congratuations! This is an amazing and inspiring journey.

 

[jjbodean]

Congrats! Thank you for sharing your pre-med journey. Did you do a formal post-bac? What school? All the best on the future journey ahead

i did not do a formal post-bacc, i just enrolled at the local 4-year university and started taking coursework.

thanks to all for the kudos, and good luck to you all!

 

[Back 5]

i did not do a formal post-bacc, i just enrolled at the local 4-year university and started taking coursework.

thanks to all for the kudos, and good luck to you all!

Would you mind posting your final cGPA and sGPA please?

Congrats on the acceptance. WVU over Marshall, or vice versa?

 

[jjbodean]

Would you mind posting your final cGPA and sGPA please?

Congrats on the acceptance. WVU over Marshall, or vice versa?

per AMCAS my cGPA comes to a 3.18 and sGPA a 3.53

both WVU and Marshall are great schools and I am lucky to have to choose between the 2 of them, I would be happy at either institution.

 

[PreMedBeauty]

JJbodean!! Congrats!!!!! I'm a non-traditional student who recently got in as well!!!

Where you get in?

 

[PreMedBeauty]

per AMCAS my cGPA comes to a 3.18 and sGPA a 3.53

both WVU and Marshall are great schools and I am lucky to have to choose between the 2 of them, I would be happy at either institution.

Congrats! I have a business degree with a GPA lower than yours and want to go into medicine as well. Did you study a lot for the MCAT as well? Was it difficult?

 

[Mad Jack]

Where you get in?

Given that there hasn't been a response to this post in over a year and a half, the chances of you getting one now are fairly slim.

 

[doctorold]

True. That's exactly why we shouldn't bring posts from the dead.

 

[desdes]

went back to school in 2010 at the age of 39 to take my prerequisites after graduating in 1992 with a business degree and a 2.83 GPA. after 2 years of starting off slowly and working my way through the coursework, i held a 4.0 post-bacc. extensive shadowing experiences as well as strong EC history. took the mcat twice: 25R, 27N. married with kids ages 2, 3, and 5.

accepted to Marshall and waitlisted at WVU. if i can do it, anybody can do it.

Congrats and I wish you the best

 

[PreMedBeauty]

It doesn't mean that they won't reply esp if they want to be helpful. As you said most of the trends are better left alone. lol

 

[jjbodean]

Where you get in?

i'm currently an MS2 at WVUSOM

 

[jjbodean]

Congrats! I have a business degree with a GPA lower than yours and want to go into medicine as well. Did you study a lot for the MCAT as well? Was it difficult?

i took the kaplan classroom course, which i would not recommend, though the materials were valuable. yes, i studied quite a bit, and yes, it was tough. i didnt do as well as i had hoped but well enough to get in.

good luck and let me know if you have any other questions

 

[PreMedBeauty]

i'm currently an MS2 at WVUSOM

Medical Student 2nd year? Congrats, thanks for the reply! How do I PM?