I'm excited to hear where everyone is going!! (So hurry up and make up your minds y'all! 😉)
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2016 Nontrad Applicants' Progress Thread
Started by doctorold
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Yeah I've been thinking about how great it has been to follow everyone's progress and to feel like there are other people out there that get how this process can feel sometimes. I'm going to miss seeing how everyone is doing.
I'm down to my Final Four, I think. Now I'm just sitting and waiting here like:
Two of mine haven't released anything yet. One didn't start releasing FA until mid-April last year. This year they said we'd have it "by April 30th". Very helpful.
I hear you. My school hasn't even given a date. And I noticed recently that in one email it says "late April" and the other says "early May." Ahhh.
I hear you. My school hasn't even given a date. And I noticed recently that in one email it says "late April" and the other says "early May." Ahhh.
Are they allowed to hold it till after we're required to make a final decision? Seems a good way to lose anyone in your class for whom the money is an important issue...
That's a good question. I was under the impression that they wouldn't wait that long but we'll see, I guess!
Guys I'm just sayin, last year's thread had 3059 replies and we're at 2873. We can't go down like this.
There is plenty more time to keep the thread going. Two hundred more posts? Easy. Gotta pad up that messages count so people think you're legit.
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Yes
I agree
Now we're a few posts closer 😉
That was one crazy ending, and hell I don't even like watching basketball
SO HOW BOUT THEM BEARS
So, we had a garage sale last weekend to get rid of schtuff. We got rid of a lot of schtuff. And made around $1000 for our schtuff.
I've been donating all of my stuff (including lots of brand new clothes, shoes, and furniture) to the good will.... Now I feel very dumb. Should have done a garage sale 🙁So, we had a garage sale last weekend to get rid of schtuff. We got rid of a lot of schtuff. And made around $1000 for our schtuff.
Well, now I feel very selfish. Ha!
That's OK you have kids to feed 🙂
I don't have kids to feed and I've sold some stuff >.>
If any non-trads are in Southern California and you have books you want to get rid of, instead of the Goodwill, contact http://rebookit.org/ They do free pick-ups and the distribute the books to different organizations, hospitals, foster homes, prisons, etc. I just personally like the idea that the books are going to provide free reading rather than be resold.
I wonder if they have something similar up in Washington state. I have a lot of books to get rid of.
What do you guys think about commuting 40 minutes to school? Michigan is about that far from my house and Wayne State is about 10 minutes from my house. I was accepted to both. My SO has a decent paying job near our home (near Wayne), and our rent is super super cheap.
I was thinking of going to Michigan and just driving (I drive about an hour to work now). That would put less financial pressure on my SO (among other benefits including maybe children soon.... But not sure). If we move closer to school, we could not afford Ann Arbor and would probably move to Ypsilanti (which would have a commute time of 15-20 minutes).
Is this too much of an hassle? What do you guys think about Wayne? Of course I have my own opinions and have talked to some students who are in both situations (commuter vs non commuter). What do you think?
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I was thinking of going to Michigan and just driving (I drive about an hour to work now). That would put less financial pressure on my SO (among other benefits including maybe children soon.... But not sure). If we move closer to school, we could not afford Ann Arbor and would probably move to Ypsilanti (which would have a commute time of 15-20 minutes).
Is this too much of an hassle? What do you guys think about Wayne? Of course I have my own opinions and have talked to some students who are in both situations (commuter vs non commuter). What do you think?
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I think commuting tolerance is a personal thing. For me, I commute <25 min every day and it means the world to me to have a short commute. If you are like me, the commute would be a serious thing. But maybe it doesn't matter to you nearly as much...
If you are asking, though, if long(er) commute distance is a valid reason to pick one school over the other, I would say it can definitely be if that is important to you.
Hey! Totally off topic but I'm here now visiting OUWB for second look (in Royal Oak/Auburn Hills). Did you get accepted outside of Michigan, by any chance? Curious what keeps you here! The people are nice but everything feel so spread out...
I would love to hear the praises of four years spent in Michigan, is what I'm saying.
I absolutely HATE commuting, but in the case of 4 years of medical school, if your situation arose I'd choose my favorite school regardless of commute time.
However if you're thinking about kids soon, do you really want to commute for an extra hour each day (compared to Wayne) and not have that time to spend with them?
Other than that, I'd say Michigan sounds like your best option.
Born in Michigan, raised in Michigan, love Michigan lol. I guess I never realized how "spread out" things are because it seems normal to me. In addition, I think thats more of a problem with OUWB than with Michigan and Wayne. Ann Arbor is a college town and WSU is in downtown Detroit so you can basically get everywhere without a vehicle if live on campus at either place.
As far as praise, Michigan is shaped like a freaking mitten (Not including the Yoopers whom basically have their own state up there - totally different... lol). What is it not to love?
I commuted an hour during UG, but not sure if med school is a different ballgame. Everyone says how busy you will be so I guess I'm just wondering if I'm going to regret not having that extra 40 minutes per day studying or spending time with family (given my ypsi commute is 20 minutes one way). I think Wayne is an assume school, but think the extra time is worth it for Michigan.
Also something to consider - how much does the school allow just using recorded lecture vs having to be in person. This seems to be all over the place, and I know some people that literally only step foot on campus year 1 to take tests and labs. Everything else is from recorded lectures at 2-3x speed
Oh that changes all my math! I thought it was 40 minutes one way. 40 minutes round trip isn't much. So Wayne would be 10 minutes round trip then? Which means the difference is just 30 minutes, not an hour. It's not bad.
Currently, it takes me anywhere from 40-60 minutes one way (depending on traffic) to get to work. I don't particularly mind it, as my wife and kids aren't awake until I'm already at work so I'm not losing too much time with them. However, we decided to move to on campus housing precisely to eliminate the commute for med school. Most of the med students I've spoken to were pretty big on reducing commute time, but like was said above it will depend on how often you are in class.
Because you mentioned kids, I thought I'd add this: while it's fairly easy for my wife and I to talk about how busy things can be, it's something else when your kids get a little bit older. My daughter is almost six; she understands that I have to go to work, but hates it to all hell. I get around two hours a day with her (on work days) which includes dinner and bed time.
She tells me every night how she wishes I didn't work so much and it eats at my insides to hear it. This is only going to get worse with 3rd & 4th years and residency. If you two do have kids they won't be this old until you're almost through residency anyway, but it's something to think about with the commute stuff.
I was refering to the difference between ypsilanti to the med school and my current home to the med school. Sorry about the confusion. Every home I looked at in Yspilanti is about 20 minutes away from the med school. My current home is 40 minutes away. These are both the one way times. If I consider a round trip, that 40 minutes per day driving if I move and 80 minutes per day driving if I stay put. Thus 40 minutes difference. Now I know you are probably thinking "now that's bad" lol.
This makes me sad.
My hope is that during the SUPER busy time (3rd yr, 4th yr, residency) they will be really young and there is a possiblity they won't remember that I am the reason for their "attachment issues"..... lol jk.... sort of...
I feel that it never seems like the "right" time for children in this profession but I was just thinking that medical school is as good of time as any (if not med school then some time during residency). My thinking is that even if a commute inconveniences me, it will make the baby process easier if we are near family.
I'm basically here sharing this because I want to go to Michigan but not move and I just wanted you guys to say "that's okay" so I won't seem like a complete nut job for not going the easier routes (eg going to wayne and staying vs moving to ypsilanti and going to Michigan - but either way I will commute).
Lastly, would you guys really choose Wayne over Michigan. I feel like the distance is too short to miss out going to one of the best medical schools but far enough to make you second guess.... (if the Financial Aid package is right of course).
There are a lot of reasons to choose a school, and while I wouldn't say you're necessarily insane for choosing Wayne over Michigan for personal reasons , I think it's something to be sat down and really thought over. The big question is, does Michigan have things that you want where Wayne doesn't? And vice versa. You only get to do this once, and sometimes the focus and opportunities available a school make extra time and/or money worth it...to a point.
I currently commute 50-60 minutes one-way to class. That hour commute is something I can't freaking wait to be rid of, and this is just an undergrad-level workload. When I get home sometimes I feel fried just from all the driving, and it does rob me of 2+ hours in the day that I could be spending doing other things (like sleeping in the morning, lol).
Something to consider is whether Michigan has mandatory lectures or not in the first two years (apart from anatomy). You may be able to get away with just doing the drive when you need to -- unless you're the type that benefits from being in lecture, as some people are. When you get to rotations, though, especially ones that start busting moves at 5am and potentially have overnight activities (like surgery), are you going to want to be an hour away? Could you consider moving at the end of second year to be closer for rotations?
"Bad" is very relative but as mentioned above I hate commuting so personally I wouldn't want to do it. If you don't mind commuting then maybe it's not that bad.
My commute for undergrad was 40 minutes to an hour one way, by bus, with a connection, so it was pretty awful. If I had been accepted at UW (Seattle) then I'd have had that same commute again and I was not at all looking forward to it.
The thing is when it comes to it, moving is a hassle. To save you 40 minutes a day for 4 years though it might be worth it.
If you definitely will be happier at Michigan then go there!! And if you'll be happier not moving then don't move. Anything you do will be OK and it will work out for you in the end. You just need to be very honest with yourself about the commute, and if you truly don't mind it then just do what you clearly wasn't to do, which is go to Michigan.
Hi guys!
Got accepted to my state school (MCG) and recently withdrew my acceptance to EVMS. I'm very thankful for the opportunity that EVMS gave me, letting me sit pretty on an acceptance from all the way back in October. They certainly saved me from the stress of not knowing IF I was going to go to medical school.
Now, about the commute thing... the place the spouse and I will be living is about 25 minutes from campus. On top of that, Augusta, GA doesn't believe in having stop lights at entrances/exits to large subdivisions, so now I have to take a left (suicide) across 3 lanes of traffic to get to where I'm going. Did I mention that the entrance/exit to my subdivision is kind of on top of a hill, mostly obscuring how far I can see traffic on both the left AND right?
Yep. I can bitch for days about it. 😛
Got accepted to my state school (MCG) and recently withdrew my acceptance to EVMS. I'm very thankful for the opportunity that EVMS gave me, letting me sit pretty on an acceptance from all the way back in October. They certainly saved me from the stress of not knowing IF I was going to go to medical school.
Now, about the commute thing... the place the spouse and I will be living is about 25 minutes from campus. On top of that, Augusta, GA doesn't believe in having stop lights at entrances/exits to large subdivisions, so now I have to take a left (suicide) across 3 lanes of traffic to get to where I'm going. Did I mention that the entrance/exit to my subdivision is kind of on top of a hill, mostly obscuring how far I can see traffic on both the left AND right?
Yep. I can bitch for days about it. 😛
Congrats. Sorry about that left turn... Hopefully you'll still be alive in 4 years to tell the tale of how many times you braved death!
@medic86 Congrats on your acceptance and your decision to attend your state school! No congrats on that commute, that sounds sucky.
@idontknowwhatnametopick @mavric1298 @VegasPreMed @Eccesignum (hope I didn't forget anyone), thanks for all of your input. I really do need to think more about this commute. I did the same commute for undergrad for 2 years (Michigan grad) on a daily bases but I'm nervous that this will make my clinical training suck. I may actually look into moving after first year as one of you guys suggested.
As for required class time, Wayne actually seems to have less class time than Michigan by a few hours. I have never been a "go to lecture" person, and they both stream everything!
I don't want to make it seem like the the location is the only thing appealing to me about Wayne (my post may suggest that). I love the patient populaion and I plan on working in Detroit.... for now. But like most things, interest change and if mine does, Michigan may be better fit to handle that because of all of the opportunities. Even with that, if Wayne was unranked and P/F during clinical years, I would probably be leaning more towards Wayne. The are serious about helping the underserved in Detroit and so am I.
@idontknowwhatnametopick @mavric1298 @VegasPreMed @Eccesignum (hope I didn't forget anyone), thanks for all of your input. I really do need to think more about this commute. I did the same commute for undergrad for 2 years (Michigan grad) on a daily bases but I'm nervous that this will make my clinical training suck. I may actually look into moving after first year as one of you guys suggested.
As for required class time, Wayne actually seems to have less class time than Michigan by a few hours. I have never been a "go to lecture" person, and they both stream everything!
I don't want to make it seem like the the location is the only thing appealing to me about Wayne (my post may suggest that). I love the patient populaion and I plan on working in Detroit.... for now. But like most things, interest change and if mine does, Michigan may be better fit to handle that because of all of the opportunities. Even with that, if Wayne was unranked and P/F during clinical years, I would probably be leaning more towards Wayne. The are serious about helping the underserved in Detroit and so am I.
Just accepted at RFUMS. Managed to go 4/4!
She tells me every night how she wishes I didn't work so much and it eats at my insides to hear it.
It's funny how certain things can change the way you feel in as little as one day. My daughter said the above bolded last night. Tonight, as she we were chatting while she was getting ready for bed, she said this:
"Daddy, I know you work hard. And I miss you a lot. But I'm proud that you are going to go to doctor school. I told my friends my daddy is going to be a doctor. I want to work hard like you so I can be something I want to be too."
I would be lying if I said I didn't have tears in my eyes as she fell asleep tonight.
It's funny how certain things can change the way you feel in as little as one day. My daughter said the above bolded last night. Tonight, as she we were chatting while she was getting ready for bed, she said this:
"Daddy, I know you work hard. And I miss you a lot. But I'm proud that you are going to go to doctor school. I told my friends my daddy is going to be a doctor. I want to work hard like you so I can be something I want to be too."
I would be lying if I said I didn't have tears in my eyes as she fell asleep tonight.
Guys can we have a non-trad talk about money? How are you all thinking about this? Have we talked about this before?
I am currently visiting the school that offered me full tuition. I don't think I can matriculate here.
The school is in the middle of suburban-nothing-much for miles around. The students vehemently told me "all we have is each other here, there is nothing to do." Even the hospital is half an hour away on the freeway. Attendance is mandatory and the students report staying at the school studying from 5am to 8pm, so I would have trouble even taking time to volunteer. They're nice kids (many still live at home), and it's a beautiful school, but as a non trad I now realize how important it has been to be able to leave my post-bacc and go hang out with people my age. I can't do this. I would spend the two years of pre-clinicals feeling completely alone.
So, I'm back thinking about money. Paying back loans into my 50s doesn't sound wonderful on paper, but you get used to thinking of age differently as a non-trad. Anyone here applying NHSC? I'm scared of that a little bit but it does appeal. How are you guys thinking about this issue?
I am currently visiting the school that offered me full tuition. I don't think I can matriculate here.
The school is in the middle of suburban-nothing-much for miles around. The students vehemently told me "all we have is each other here, there is nothing to do." Even the hospital is half an hour away on the freeway. Attendance is mandatory and the students report staying at the school studying from 5am to 8pm, so I would have trouble even taking time to volunteer. They're nice kids (many still live at home), and it's a beautiful school, but as a non trad I now realize how important it has been to be able to leave my post-bacc and go hang out with people my age. I can't do this. I would spend the two years of pre-clinicals feeling completely alone.
So, I'm back thinking about money. Paying back loans into my 50s doesn't sound wonderful on paper, but you get used to thinking of age differently as a non-trad. Anyone here applying NHSC? I'm scared of that a little bit but it does appeal. How are you guys thinking about this issue?
I'm so sorry. 🙁 That's a major bummer. What is the difference in total cost for the next on your list? I can say I was pretty determined to go wherever was cheapest, but I won't be socializing much so "culture" wasn't as big of a deal to me.
Do you know if there are any other older students in the incoming class? You may be able to socialize with them if so. Do they have an accepted student's facebook? You could maybe find out from there.
So far from the Facebook everyone looks pretty young. I wouldn't mind if it were easier to access doctors or professors or an off-campus culture. Still open to getting new info tho. It is a bummer.
That is quite a pickle. I am extremely sorry. It sounds like getting punched in the gut... You had this awesome amazing thing with the scholarship and now that let down...
Mandatory attendance is quite difficult. Without that you could convince yourself that you could somehow basically lead a different life and only show up for labs and tests.
I have vacillated about what to think about money this whole process. Some days I think about how I'll be paying $5k or $6k or more or whatever on loans every month and that is insane to think about. So much money! Then I think about how, whelp, you do make a good chunk of money as a doctor...
I think there is no wrong answer here. If you think, "I can just close my eyes and get through these two years because it's only two years and then I'll be in the hospitals," that is okay. Or if you think, "There is no way I can live like this it will kill my enthusiasm and I won't learn as much as I want to," that is valid, too. You should give it some thought, but feel free to pick what is a fit for you. Don't feel constrained by the opportunities available to you.
Random offshoot: If you are currently visiting the school I think you are talking about, I remember that they had a lot of videos online talking about how non-trad friendly they were on their website...
First, I never post on SDN. I read like crazy, but never post. Reply to Pageantry
I live in a southwestern small city of 250,000 with two major universities. I am an extreme non trad with two previous degrees who travels to an undergraduate university 55 minutes from where I live. I enrolled there because I wanted small lectures and lab classes. I only intended to show up for classes and leave immediately. Well, that was short sighted of me. I needed the group study, the cohort academic experience etc. Guess what? They needed me too. That initial experience of 12 hours of biology, 12 hours of chemistry, 8 hours of physics and 4 hours of biochemistry has turned into a degree in molecular biology. These young academic colleagues are my friends even though they are 20 years my junior. Guess what, again? Age does not matter in medicine. I'm old enough to be their mother, but I'm not their mother. I'm their classmate, teammate and future physician colleague. These kids are my future physician colleagues as I am their future colleague. My age cohort female friends do not understand me, my work load or my desire to pursue medicine. I might add that I'm married to a doc who was non trad in medical school. Friends from that pre medicine era (with the exception of about 10 people) are not in our lives now. We didn't leave them behind intentionally. They kind of left us because the common things of life were not present aside from children the same age.
My point - Go to that post bac. I promise that you won't be alone. You will be enriched as they will be too. My doc finished residency at 50. He loves life as a doc. I love life. It can be done. Hint for future interview question for the non trad: Interviewer - Hey, you gave up a lot in life to do this pre med thing? My answer: I have not given up anything. I have gained everything.
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I live in a southwestern small city of 250,000 with two major universities. I am an extreme non trad with two previous degrees who travels to an undergraduate university 55 minutes from where I live. I enrolled there because I wanted small lectures and lab classes. I only intended to show up for classes and leave immediately. Well, that was short sighted of me. I needed the group study, the cohort academic experience etc. Guess what? They needed me too. That initial experience of 12 hours of biology, 12 hours of chemistry, 8 hours of physics and 4 hours of biochemistry has turned into a degree in molecular biology. These young academic colleagues are my friends even though they are 20 years my junior. Guess what, again? Age does not matter in medicine. I'm old enough to be their mother, but I'm not their mother. I'm their classmate, teammate and future physician colleague. These kids are my future physician colleagues as I am their future colleague. My age cohort female friends do not understand me, my work load or my desire to pursue medicine. I might add that I'm married to a doc who was non trad in medical school. Friends from that pre medicine era (with the exception of about 10 people) are not in our lives now. We didn't leave them behind intentionally. They kind of left us because the common things of life were not present aside from children the same age.
My point - Go to that post bac. I promise that you won't be alone. You will be enriched as they will be too. My doc finished residency at 50. He loves life as a doc. I love life. It can be done. Hint for future interview question for the non trad: Interviewer - Hey, you gave up a lot in life to do this pre med thing? My answer: I have not given up anything. I have gained everything.
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I think that there is no amount of money that makes up for how isolating and soul-crushing those two years could be. I was hoping I could close my eyes, etc, but I think that's how I would learn the mechanisms of sadness and resentment by heart.
But! I have one ace in the hole that not everybody has and that is, I have built successful businesses from scratch in Manhattan. I worked for four years with Israeli diamond dealers, two years in Israeli tech. I know a lot about corporate tax and regulations--and have already faced the consequences of making mistakes--so I know I could do it again. So I guess I'm remembering now how fast $100k can come when you structure a business properly. And that makes me feel like the difference in loans could actually be negligible in the end. Bear in mind, if you structure your future practice as an S-Corp and write student loan repayment into your CEO benefits, that becomes a tax deductible corporate expense.
Psychiatry here I come.
See my reply above to your concerns.
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@pageantry do you think you can "tough it out" for two years as @TravelingPanda suggested?
I have my own issue with indecisiveness when it comes to picking a school so I'm not judging. I thonk you should really decide if hanging out with people your age is worth the extra money.
As @nontradmom said, you may really click with your classmates and the age might not be as bit of a deal as you think. As nontrads, I think "fitting in" is always a worry for us. Sometimes we may let it hold us back a little from a great opportunity. This has happened to me before during my pre med studies. I convince myself that doing whatever the task is with my 18-21 year old classmate will be unbearable but when I actually do it, it's never really that bad.... I actually usually quite enjoy it. (Although it never stops me from having that feeling the next time. Haha).
I have my own issue with indecisiveness when it comes to picking a school so I'm not judging. I thonk you should really decide if hanging out with people your age is worth the extra money.
As @nontradmom said, you may really click with your classmates and the age might not be as bit of a deal as you think. As nontrads, I think "fitting in" is always a worry for us. Sometimes we may let it hold us back a little from a great opportunity. This has happened to me before during my pre med studies. I convince myself that doing whatever the task is with my 18-21 year old classmate will be unbearable but when I actually do it, it's never really that bad.... I actually usually quite enjoy it. (Although it never stops me from having that feeling the next time. Haha).
