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Hi all,
Looking for some advice and thanks in advance for anything some of you may have to offer. I am 27 (almost 28) and have spent the last 4 years working in business. I am strongly considering a change to the medical field but have questions about the process and likelihood that medical school is a realistic option for me.
I am 5 years removed from receiving a bachelors degree in Pol Science. Goal throughout much of undergrad was law school but had a change of heart 3/4 of the way through. My initial focus was always going to be law or medicine. Chose law and regretted it. Fortunately, I was able to become a partner of small, successful business that I was able to grow substantially (and later sell when the local conditions soured). I parlayed this into a training & business development position in the corporate world that has gone equally well - extremely positive annual reviews, growth in influence, development of new processes, etc. I love being of service to others and in my current role have been able to create some programs and processes that have dramatically improved the financial performance of multiple companies. I am currently in that role still and the future there looks bright. I currently work tremendous hours (80+ hour weeks) and travel often. I have grown accustomed to this and feel that interns of quantity, no workload is too great for me to handle. Whether or not I understand the material is obviously a different story. I am just not intimidated by major time commitments.
However, I am at a point where I am uncertain if this is something I am interested in long term. The business world is very unpredictable and I am finding myself valuing something sustainable more and more. Medicine and a career helping people in this sense is very attractive. This is a major career change, but this direction has the strongest pull to me. My undergrad GPA is fine but not great (believe it was 3.3). I was not overly interested in what I was studying and just floated through to a 3.3. I am certain that, should I combine the discipline and work ethic I have developed working in the real world, I would fare much better. I need to take/retake all needed science courses because I remember essentially nothing of this aside from that I found them interesting.
1. What plausible paths forward are there for me, and at what speed?
As I see it, after completion of required science courses, I would be near or at 30 when attending medical (assuming admission). Which would put me at 36/37 upon completion. Which isn't old but isn't young to me either. If the earliest I am looking at entering the work force is age 37 or later, than I am not sure if this is the correct path for me.
A. Are accelerated course available? I.E. ones thats would not take 2 years to complete? My largest undergrad semester was 23 credits and resulted in 5 A's, 1 B+, and a D+ (strangely this class took up most of my time, but there was no saving it. Professor issue for everyone unfortunately).
B. I've read about post-bac programs. Are there any programs with acceptance tie ins/likelihood increases? I.E. a friend whose undergrad program (forget where, somewhere in FLA) basically assured admission to the same universities medical school assuming qualifying numbers.
C. Are any of these paths ones that require undivided attention? I am quite satisfied with my current pay and would be interested in keeping my job while going through some of these classes if possible. The only issue may be that volunteer work is critical and atm thats not possible given my extensive travel.
2. Is this something is even realistic?
I know straight from undergrad applying is extremely difficult and competitive. Being a non traditional with a blah GPA isn't going to make for the most attractive application.
A. Would my work experience be plus or minus?
B. Is my 3.3 a deal breaker? Even if I dominate the science classes that I would need to take?
3. if the realistic answer is a 'NO', are there more options? Physician assistant for example. Or should I just start studying for the GMAT now?
Thanks for all advice.
Looking for some advice and thanks in advance for anything some of you may have to offer. I am 27 (almost 28) and have spent the last 4 years working in business. I am strongly considering a change to the medical field but have questions about the process and likelihood that medical school is a realistic option for me.
I am 5 years removed from receiving a bachelors degree in Pol Science. Goal throughout much of undergrad was law school but had a change of heart 3/4 of the way through. My initial focus was always going to be law or medicine. Chose law and regretted it. Fortunately, I was able to become a partner of small, successful business that I was able to grow substantially (and later sell when the local conditions soured). I parlayed this into a training & business development position in the corporate world that has gone equally well - extremely positive annual reviews, growth in influence, development of new processes, etc. I love being of service to others and in my current role have been able to create some programs and processes that have dramatically improved the financial performance of multiple companies. I am currently in that role still and the future there looks bright. I currently work tremendous hours (80+ hour weeks) and travel often. I have grown accustomed to this and feel that interns of quantity, no workload is too great for me to handle. Whether or not I understand the material is obviously a different story. I am just not intimidated by major time commitments.
However, I am at a point where I am uncertain if this is something I am interested in long term. The business world is very unpredictable and I am finding myself valuing something sustainable more and more. Medicine and a career helping people in this sense is very attractive. This is a major career change, but this direction has the strongest pull to me. My undergrad GPA is fine but not great (believe it was 3.3). I was not overly interested in what I was studying and just floated through to a 3.3. I am certain that, should I combine the discipline and work ethic I have developed working in the real world, I would fare much better. I need to take/retake all needed science courses because I remember essentially nothing of this aside from that I found them interesting.
1. What plausible paths forward are there for me, and at what speed?
As I see it, after completion of required science courses, I would be near or at 30 when attending medical (assuming admission). Which would put me at 36/37 upon completion. Which isn't old but isn't young to me either. If the earliest I am looking at entering the work force is age 37 or later, than I am not sure if this is the correct path for me.
A. Are accelerated course available? I.E. ones thats would not take 2 years to complete? My largest undergrad semester was 23 credits and resulted in 5 A's, 1 B+, and a D+ (strangely this class took up most of my time, but there was no saving it. Professor issue for everyone unfortunately).
B. I've read about post-bac programs. Are there any programs with acceptance tie ins/likelihood increases? I.E. a friend whose undergrad program (forget where, somewhere in FLA) basically assured admission to the same universities medical school assuming qualifying numbers.
C. Are any of these paths ones that require undivided attention? I am quite satisfied with my current pay and would be interested in keeping my job while going through some of these classes if possible. The only issue may be that volunteer work is critical and atm thats not possible given my extensive travel.
2. Is this something is even realistic?
I know straight from undergrad applying is extremely difficult and competitive. Being a non traditional with a blah GPA isn't going to make for the most attractive application.
A. Would my work experience be plus or minus?
B. Is my 3.3 a deal breaker? Even if I dominate the science classes that I would need to take?
3. if the realistic answer is a 'NO', are there more options? Physician assistant for example. Or should I just start studying for the GMAT now?
Thanks for all advice.
