PLEASE READ! Nontrad FAQs and Helpful Links: Updated 10/19/12

This sticky is intended to be a resource to help those of you who are just embarking on your journey to professional school. There are links to several other forums on SDN that can provide you with specific information about these topics. In addition, there are links to threads from this forum that previous users felt would be pertinent to nontraditional students. The original sticky was getting too long and unwieldy, so I am breaking it up into two posts. This one will have links that pertain to issues faced by nontrads in general, while the next one will be geared toward the nuts and bolts of applying to professional schools. Feel free to PM if you have any suggestions for improving this sticky or threads that you'd like to see added.

Start here: What Is the Purpose of This Forum?

Nontrad Awesome Advice Threads
Nontrad "Secrets" of Application Success: posts by accepted nontrads about how they made it into professional school
LOW GPA Success Stories (Posts by Nontrads Already Accepted to Med School): similar to the "Secrets of Application Success" thread
Low GPA Plans for Success (Posts by Premeds Not Yet Accepted to Med School): premed version of the "Low GPA Success Stories" thread
Things I Wish I Knew at the Beginning: advice for how to succeed as a nontrad premed and practical tips for surviving the app process--a must-read for all nontrad premeds!
Pros and Cons of Going to Medical School as a Nontrad: discussion by med students and premeds.

Other Threads and Forums of General Interest to Nontrad Premeds:
"What Are My Chances?" Forum: forum to post threads to seek advice on your competitiveness for medical school
Do You Regret Not Going to Medical School Directly After College? reflections on going to med school as a nontrad
Thinking of Waiving the White Flag: discussion of when to give up on med school in favor of an alternative career. See this thread also.
Should I Mention My Kids on AMCAS? Thread: opinions about how to deal with discussing family on AMCAS
How Old is Too Old? discussion about starting med school in one's 30s
Is 45 Too Old/Late to Make a Career Change?: pros and cons of starting a post bac and applying to med school in one's mid to late 40s.
What Is the Hardest Job That You Have Ever Done? discussion of nontrad work experiences before med school. See this thread also.
Hypothetically, does there ever come a time when it all just wasn't worth it? Discusses dealing with your doubts about the medical training pathway
What Were Your Stats? This thread is kind of like MD apps for nontrads accepted to medical school, all conveniently in one place.

Threads about Medical Student and Physician Experiences
Nontrads Who Just Finished MS1: posts by current medical students and residents about med school life as a nontrad. See this thread also.
Satisfaction with Medicine: posts by med students and residents on how they feel about their decision to go to med school.
Do Young Med Students Accept Older Nontrads?: nontrad and trad student thoughts about the generation gap
Do People Overexaggerate the Difficulty of Medical School? Thread discussing if med school is really as hard as some make it out to be. See this thread also.
Nontrad Blog Roll: List of blogs by nontrad premeds, med students, and attendings.
Nontrad Residency Thread: nontrad residents posting about residency life
Why the cynicism? More thoughts about the downsides of medical school, residency, and being a physician

Threads about Family Life for Physicians and Medical Students
Keeping a Marriage Together in Medical School: posts by married nontrad med students on the work/family balance
Female Doctor and Family: another discussion about how to achieve the work/family balance in medicine. See this thread also.
Spouse Asks: What Is It Going to Be Like for Me? discussion about what to expect as a spouse of a nontrad medical student
When to Have Kids? discussion about the timing of having children during medical training

Financial Issues for Nontrad Pre-Professionals:
Info on Funding for School: SDN's financial aid forum
Funding a Second Bachelors Degree: suggestions about what to do if you've already maxed out your loans
Starting Medical School with 100% Loans: discussion for those going to med school with no financial aid
New GI Bill: thread to discuss the new GI bill, which provides educational funding for those who served in the military
Economic Return of Medicine vs. Law or Business: very interesting thread about the return on your investment in an MD/DO if you are mainly looking to maximize income

Right now, the list is pretty med school-centric. If you're going into another health field besides medicine and would like to get some specific threads for your field added to this list, feel free to make suggestions here. Also, if you find that any of the links are broken or otherwise not working, please PM me and let me know.

This post has links to specific threads and forums that give info and advice on how to navigate through the application process itself.

General Information about Applying to Medical School:
Information for Pre-Allopathic (MD) Students and Applicants: links to SDN resources and FAQs for pre-allopathic students
Information for Pre-Osteopathic (DO) Students and Applicants: links to SDN resources and FAQs for pre-osteopathic students
Information about Caribbean Medical Schools: SDN forum for Caribbean medical schools. See also this thread and this thread.
Re-Applicants Forum: get advice on improving your application before applying again
Texas Fresh Academic Start Program: thread discussing starting over academically as a premed in TX
Disadvantaged--do I claim? Thread discussing when and whether to claim disadvantaged status on AMCAS
Disadvantaged Before Medicine: another thread considering the issue of disadvantaged status. Not by a nontrad, but well worth reading.

Information for Nontrads Applying to Other Health Professions (*not* MD/DO):
Dental FAQs: from SDN pre-dental forum
Optometry: SDN pre-optometry forum
Pharmacy FAQs: from SDN pre-pharmacy forum
Podiatry FAQs: from SDN pre-podiatry forum
Veterinary Do's and Don't's: from SDN pre-veterinary forum

Academic Requirements for Medical School:

Non-Academic Requirements [Extracurricular (EC), Letter of Recommendation (LOR)] for Medical School:
How Much Shadowing is Necessary? posts about how much clinical experience is enough
I Have No One to Write LORs for Me: ideas about who nontrad applicants can ask for LORs
Volunteer Hours--an Unspoken Requirement? Thread: Discussion about the importance of having volunteer experience
Are Personal Statements Really That Cheesy? discussion about what makes a PS good versus cheesy.
How Much Weight Does an EMT Certification Carry? discussion of EMT training as an EC.
Courseload + ECs, how much is too much? thoughts about when doing it becomes overdoing it.

Again, if you would like to get some specific threads added to this list, feel free to make suggestions here. Also, if you find that any of the links are broken or otherwise not working, please PM me and let me know.

Networking Threads and Forums
Support Accountability Partners Thread: find fellow nontrads to go through the process with you
Is Anyone Else Nervous about Starting Med School? Thread: find other MS0's who also have cold feet
Under-Represented Minority (URM) Forum: network with other students from under-represented backgrounds--posters of all backgrounds welcome
Women in Healthcare Forum: discuss women's issues and network--male posters also welcome

Just for Fun:
Nontraditional Student Ages Thread: you think you're old? Check out some of these folks!
How Many Spaces After a Period? seems that most of us still use two.
Ever Make the Mistake of Thinking the 90s Weren't That Long Ago? How about the 80s?
SDN Anonymous: Worried that you might be an SDN addict? You're in good company!
Nontrads, Tell Us about Your 'Wild' Friday Night: Thinking that you've lost your cool edge? If so, you're in the right forum. Read on!
Favorite Songs of Nontrads: Post your favorite songs and music videos here. (Obscene or copyrighted material will be removed in accordance with the SDN TOS.)
Summer Reading List: A thread to pick up some good junk food books, or at least something that's not a textbook, while you're on vacation.
12 AM to 6 AM Thread: Connect with other night owls, and make sure you post what you had for midneat.

Threads for People Considering Whether to Make a Career Change: think about these downsides before you proceed!
Dodged a Bullet: former premed who realized medicine wasn't for them after all
Nova Doctors' Diaries: two hour documentary following the lives of seven medical students--recommended viewing for every potential premed.
Is Anyone Happy in Medicine Anymore? With as negative as SDN can be sometimes, any happy physicians out there?
If You Could Do It Over Again, Would You? Opinions from physicians and med students. Please note that this thread is in the General Residency forum, which is not a place to post premed questions.

Threads about Changing from X Career to Medicine:
Business to MD/DO
Computer Science to MD/DO
Engineering to MD/DO See this thread as well.
Grad Student, MS, or PhD-to-MD/DO
JD-to-MD/DO
Marine Corps to MD/DO
PA-to-MD/DO
PharmD-to-MD/DO
Pilot-to-MD/DO
PT-to-MD/DO
RN-to-MD/DO See this thread also.

Deciding Among Different Health Careers:
Why Not PA School Instead of Med School? thread for people debating PA versus MD. See also this thread, this thread, and this thread.
CRNA versus MD: debating between nurse anesthetist and medicine
MD vs. DO: note that MD and DO are two parallel training pathways to become a physician, with some minor differences

Threads for Motivation and Support:
A Dose of Non-trad Motivation (Quotes): motivational quotes
Is Anyone Else Nervous to Start Med School? support thread for all of you MS0's
Your Grandest Plans Thread: support thread for premeds to post their aspirations and goals