starting from scratch at 30

[KTJ0808]

Hi everyone and thanks in advance for your advice. I have so many questions :/

I am 30 years old and never went to college, had no clue what I wanted to do or be when I grew up so I never bothered trying even in high school. I have finally figured out what I want to do- I want to be a surgeon. Orthopedics specifically. I know it is a very very long and hard road but it's what I want to do.

Now I need advice on basically what I need to do to get to medical school in the first place... I understand I need to get my bachelors degree first. So how do I get into college? My high school grades were poor (only for lack of trying- I skipped school a lot and just didn't apply myself.) and I don't even remember what my SAT results are- would colleges want to look at those or are they too outdated since I graduated 13 years ago? Do I do some other sort of testing since I am not fresh out of high school? Also I am confused on what school I should try to get my undergrad from- I was surprised that quite a few schools I have looked in to don't even have pre-med programs. I should go to a school that offers a premed program right? Or just wait for all my medical schooling in medical school? But then how would I be prepared for the MCAT? I ask because I've read conflicting things about whether or not you have to take pre med. I would like to but I also want to keep my options open as far as what colleges I can get accepted into.

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[andrek82]

You're right, that is a long road. I would recommend starting at your local community college. Most do not require sats, and do not filter applicants. Plus, they are cheaper. The big downside is that they tend to be looked down upon as easy. The upside is that you could stay with extremely basic courses to get the background you may have missed or forgotten. While you are in your second/final year, you would apply to a4 year school where your credits would transfer to finish your degree. Another option would be to directly contact the admissions departments of local 4 year universities for advice.

As far as degree, premed is not a useful degree in my opinion. Remember, you are not guaranteed admission to medical school, so a marketable degree is important. Most institutions allow you to begin as an undeclared major and decide in first or second year. Also transfer from a community college would give you that buffer to decide as well. Most med students were in the sciences, but some are in liberal arts degrees or engineering or others. As long as you take the prerequisites (biology, chemistry, biochemistry and some others usually) you are fine. Fire the MCAT, look up the subjects on the exam. Those are the ones you want to have taken and done well in during your first couple years to take the MCAT as a third year.

Good luck from someone who took the long road as well. I wish you the best!

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

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[KTJ0808]

Thank you both so much for your advice! It is much appreciated and helpful- I am going to enroll for spring 2016 classes at my local cc so I can get started on my AA degree.

Thanks again!

 

[Goro]

Major in whatever interest you, but you'll need these courses as pre-reqs.

1 year basic Biology
2 year Chemistry
1 year Physics
1 year Math (usually through calculus, but this will depend upon your UG school and the med schools you apply to)
1-2 semesters of Psych
1-2 semesters of another Humanities
1 year of English

I strongly recommend either Biochem, or Genetics or Cell Bio
And, since you have the hots for orthopedics, Anatomy.

Many schools have adult learning centers, so check them out for advising on this first part of your path.

Hi everyone and thanks in advance for your advice. I have so many questions :/

I am 30 years old and never went to college, had no clue what I wanted to do or be when I grew up so I never bothered trying even in high school. I have finally figured out what I want to do- I want to be a surgeon. Orthopedics specifically. I know it is a very very long and hard road but it's what I want to do.

Now I need advice on basically what I need to do to get to medical school in the first place... I understand I need to get my bachelors degree first. So how do I get into college? My high school grades were poor (only for lack of trying- I skipped school a lot and just didn't apply myself.) and I don't even remember what my SAT results are- would colleges want to look at those or are they too outdated since I graduated 13 years ago? Do I do some other sort of testing since I am not fresh out of high school? Also I am confused on what school I should try to get my undergrad from- I was surprised that quite a few schools I have looked in to don't even have pre-med programs. I should go to a school that offers a premed program right? Or just wait for all my medical schooling in medical school? But then how would I be prepared for the MCAT? I ask because I've read conflicting things about whether or not you have to take pre med. I would like to but I also want to keep my options open as far as what colleges I can get accepted into.

 

[KTJ0808]

Thank you! That's good to know about those pre-req courses. And thanks for the anatomy tip

 

[ThreadStalker]

As far as where to go for undergrad, starting at community college and then transferring is definitely one option. Depending on where you live, there may be 4 year universities that you could get into as well. I'll be honest, I'm not sure if you'd need to retake the SAT... If it were me, I'd try to go whichever route doesn't require a retake! So maybe community college. Ultimately, where you get your bachelor's from isn't a huge deal. Go somewhere affordable! Most schools have some sort of pre-health advising. The quality of pre-med advisors really varies so you'll probably have to do some of your own research but they may be a good resource to start.

I have to respectfully disagree with this comment. The school that you receive your bachelors from will make a difference, and it may be a large one. Med schools will not only evaluate you by your GPA, but also by the rigor of the courses you took to achieve that GPA. A 3.9 gpa from a flagship state school or respected private institution will be ranked higher than a 3.9 from a satellite campus, which is still greater than the same from a community college. I do agree that starting at a community college and then transferring is a good option for you. I recommend that you contact the admission departments at the universities and colleges in your area or state as soon as possible (like, say, Monday). Find out what you need to do to transfer to their institutions and then set about doing it, including taking the SAT. Understand that you will be competing with their students for seats at medical schools, and you need to show that you're equally capable.

In addition to the opportunity to prove yourself in a rigorous academic environment, these schools will also have many more advising resources and extracurricular opportunities. These are invaluable resources for exploring medicine and understanding the field before you fully commit to med school. They will help you gain the volunteering, shadowing, and research experiences that you will need and that med schools will expect you to have. Having other pre-med students around will also be a benefit (or at least a blessing in disguise ).

Overall, you should also think a lot about why you want to to into medicine in general, and why orthopedic surgery specifically. This is one of the most difficult fields around. College is competitive for high school students, med school is even more competitive for college students, and orthopedic surgery is very competitive even for medical students. You must prepare yourself mentally for that, and do not think you can just do the minimum requirements and get into orthopedic surgery. Remember that if you've done everything that is "required" then you've only done the bare minimum. The bare minimum won't cut it here, you need to do everything possible.

But also, don't get discouraged when things don't go right. You'll fail at something along the way. You'll fail at a lot of things along the way. Failures are opportunities to learn, nothing more. The path to surgery isn't about being "smart" or "talented" or any other trait we think we're born with. It's about work ethic and effort; learning from our mistakes and then leaving them in the past. But, enough with the cheerleading...

Best of luck to you on the journey. I hope you stick around here and keep us posted on your progress!

 

[cyang55]

Although I agree that you can major in whatever you want to, I do highly recommend majoring in either biochem or another science major. It seems like for you, college is a stepping stone to medical school and you have a specific goal while in college. Being a science major, especially something like biochem will help a lot because you will get majority of your pre-reqs done for med school while earning your degree and won't have to waste money and time on extra classes. I had friends who had non-science majors and they had to not only take and finish all the classes they needed for their major, but also squeeze in these pre-req classes, and that took them an extra year. It's a waste of time and money.

Another tip. If you are planning on doing half of your credits at a community college, take your buffer classes there, not your main pre-req classes there. It'll look better if you took the classes that they care about in a more reputable school. Also, although the community college option is a little bit cheaper, some of the classes might not transfer. one of my friends took a class at a CC that was supposed to transfer, but they changed the rules that year and it didn't, so it just because a waste of his time and money.

Good luck!

 

[KTJ0808]

Thank you both! I do plan on contacting the guidance counselor at my local cc (which is now a state school that offers AA degrees as well as 4 year degrees- I'm in Florida) to see what all is needed to get started on classes. I do wonder now if the credits will transfer to an out of state school. I will talk to the guidance counselor about that as well... I have a lot of family in North Carolina so I have strongly considered getting my bachelors from a school up there rather than staying in FL... But I am open to anything, really.

I will keep you all posted on what the gc at the cc says