Dear Postbacprmed,
Great questions. Let me answer them 1 by 1:
1) Career changing may be a plus, since medical schools often look for 'out of the ordinary' people to create a diverse class. I see a lot of engineers/computer science people in my classes.
2) Regarding preparations: I had a computer science degree, so I lacked many of the pre-med req's (i.e. organic chemistry, higher level bio, physiology, etc.). So basically I didn't have any type of preparation. Actually, I did take an anatomy/physiology course, but that was after I had applied to a post-bac. 99% of my preparation for med school was obtained in the post-bac I attended. But if you want to bulk up on pre-med classes before going to a post-bac, I'd say jump right in... just be careful that you do well since you don't want to mess up your GPA. Basically, the more preparation that you do before med school, the better. I know of people who have taken medical school-level classes, and now the first year of med school was review for them. If you could get there, you'd have an advantage.
3) How many med schools did you apply to?
I applied to about 15 medical schools. The post-bac that I attended (MEDPREP in Southern Illinois University... you can google them) was EXCELLENT in so many ways; one of which was the fact that the students from previous classes could tell you which schools were a good fit for your profile (i.e. grades, preferences, financial options, chances of getting accepted, teaching styles, etc.). In my opinion, you need to have 3 catagories when applying for med school:
A) Med schools that you have a slight chance of getting into (AKA 'Reach schools')
B) Med schools that you have a good chance of getting into (Where you have seen others with similar scores/profiles attend... and make sure that you look at the minorities when you are comparing your profiles, since minorities fall under a different grading system in many schools)
C) Med schools that you KNOW you can get into (or at least you think you know you can get into). These will be your 'safety net' schools.
If you apply to about 5 of each, you should have success. The absolutely essential part of all of this is to do you research and know which schools are really in which catagory... I've seen people apply to schools that they were certain would take them, only to be dissapointed. Also know that the reason you apply to several in each catagory is because some schools that you should get into will not accept you for various reasons (sometimes they know that you wouldn't go there, so they save themselves a 'rejection'). If you have low MCAT scores (below 24), you may have to increase the numbers in you safety-net schools. An MCAT of 25 or above should get you in somewhere. MCAT's above 30 are good enough to be competitive in schools like Case Western and U. Chicago, and anything above 35 and you can apply pretty much anywhere you want to. Remember: MCAT is THE most important factor in many of the med schools out there.
4) I have heard other posters suggest contacting the Office of Diversity at med schools, did you employ this and if so was it helpful and how?
I think that it could help. Like I said, many schools have a general profile of what kind of student they are looking for (i.e. MCAT scores, GPA, etc.). Some schools pay a lot of attention to whether or not they think you can survive at their school; especially if you are applying to a school that has very low diversity statistics. So in those cases, its good to emphasize your ability to adapt and your access to support. But going back to the original question: I was fortunate because my post bac program (MEDPREP) had a big enough 'name factor' that most schools already know what kind of students came out of it. So for the most part, when I came down for the interview, the diversity deans and I talked about the other MEDPREP students that came through. Many times it seemed that they were recruiting me, which is a great feeling! If you went and called the office of diversity, it could help to show that you are very outgoing and interested, but don't overdo it... the last thing you want is to be a nag. Give them a call, show enthusium (i.e. 'I LOVE your school!'), and tell them why. Hopefully these deans will pursue you, if your scores are within their ranges. Let me go off on a tangent for a quick second: I can't overemphasize the importance of your MCAT score: DO YOUR BEST TO ACE THE MCAT!! Trust me, a good MCAT score (over 30) will earn you serious brownie points with whomever you come in contact with. I know its not fair, but that one score can pretty much sum up your relationship with schools... with several exceptions, I'd say that a complete jerk with a 30 has more of a chance of getting into med school than a great person would with a 20. It's just a sad fact of life.
I have a question for you... did you take the MCAT yet? If so, how did you do (if you don't mind sharing). Also, you should know which medical schools are going to be more 'minority friendly'... this is hard information to come by sometimes, so getting to know other minority med students can really help.
Hope this helps
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