Advice for 26 year old non-science major

[TheNewGuy8]

Hi Everyone!

This is an advice/encouragement request.

Here's my quick story (I'm leaving out all the WHY I've decided i want to go into medicine, which im happy to answer later).

I'm 26 (27 in March), graduated in 2007 from Oberlin College (a rather well respected liberal arts college - which i dont say to sound snooty but just b/c that seems to matter for apps) with a GPA of 3.7, some academic awards, and lots of extracurrriculars.

No science background - almost no science classes. I took a bio/lab (intro) in highschool that was through a local accredited college, and in college I took 4 credits of physics (though they were for non-physics majors - relativity and quantum mechanics and one solid course on the physics of energy and energy production). Obviously I have a full liberal arts background

I have the advantage of being very financially secure through the three years of working as well as family money. So I can afford to embark on this process and I probably won't need to take out loans.

Here's what I'm trying to figure out: the best and fastest way of getting myself from zero to med school. One oddity I have is that I am already pre-booked this summer from June through August and I can't shift this. I have to be in southern New Hampshire - now I will have time to take some classes but they would need to be flexible (online or a local community college with a schedule i could figure out ahead of time).

From what I've read post-bac programs are preferred over community college (and I can afford to do this, though i certainly dont want to spend it unless its necessary). I want the best chance of getting into a US medical school, though.

It's already november - are there postbacs in the Bay Area of California that will let me start in January (knowing i won't be around in the summer).

What sort of schedule can I expect at that point? Can I do the post-bac from Jan '11 to december '11? I will not need to work while I do the post-bac so I can be aggressive about it (recognizing also that I've never done a full science load before so it will be a big transition for me).

When one does a post-bac do they apply to schools during the program? And then send in Mcat scores?

For post-bacs do I need to have the GRE's done? I don't. I read something on the UC Berkeley site that seemed to indicate they just looked at essays/letters and your GPA.

My hope is that I could finish by December '11 or May '12 and begin med school in June or September of '12.





So Basically I'm just wanting advice. For someone who is 26 with no science background and one summer they can't do a full load, what course of action is recommended?

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[FrkyBgStok]

no. you don't have any science classes done. you need to take general bio 1 and 2, chemistry 1 and 2, organic chemistry 1 and 2, and physics 1 and 2. You may also want to take biochemistry as more and more schools are requiring it. Even if overload your first year you cannot take organic chemistry without taking general chemistry, so you have a minimum of 4 semesters of work. then you have to take the mcat. So lets say you start january, 2nd semester in june 2011, 3rd in august 2011, 4th jan 2012. This is assuming that every class is offered at the given time. You would then take your MCAT june or july of 2012 after clases are finished and after a month of waiting for the scores, if you do well enough you would be in the application for the class of 2013. And this is rushing. You also need to clincal experience that every applicant has as well as something to set yourself apart.

if you didn't feel like reading all of that, long story short, there is no way you can apply in 2011 for the 2012 class.

 

[drimpossible]

Oberlin is a great school. I know a couple of post-baccs who went there for undergrad, and they've done well transitioning into the pre-reqs.

A Post-bacc program is the way to go, but because next summer is out, you're looking at a longish road. Taking the first part of courses (Chem I, Physics I, Bio I, etc.) in spring semester is really difficult if not impossible to do at many schools. They're either non-existent or over-enrolled, and post-baccs are often second class citizens at many schools, meaning that they don't get priority on available seats. You'd be better off applying for a post-bacc program to start Fall 2011, and focusing on linkage if you're concerned about time.

I too had zero science background when I started this process. When I was exploring post bacc programs on this very forum, one thing that I didn't like hearing was that doing this post-bacc thing right trumps doing it fast, 99/100 times. I wanted zero to med school in 18 months, and people told me that this was a bad idea. They were right. There's a lot of ways to screw this thing up, and rushing is a large potential pitfall. My post-bacc peers who didn't have adequate guidance faltered in many different ways. Doing it right will take a little longer, but that urgency you're feeling will be a great motivator to master material that will challenge you in ways you're not likely used to.

Welcome to the forum. Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[zebalong]

First your gpa makes you a great applicant. If you want to rush it you can but if i were you i'd take the extra year to do something mind blowing cool like a long volunteer trip/project/research as well as take the time to apply to one year post-bac programs, especially if your deadset on top teir schools. If your not, then do a post-bac and fast track it with a linkage.

Look in the post-bac program forum but quickly...

Options: Scripps best in the west coast with the best linkages imo
Mills in northern Cali, good program, good linkages.

Bryn Mawr one of the best in the country with a crap load of linkages to top schools in the country.

If your dead set on a UC though then you have to do the traditional glide year, no UC's have linkages.

 

[TheNewGuy8]

Thanks for the info, everyone. There's so much to know! I feel like I need a degree in knowing how to get the degree.

A few follow up questions:

For many of the local post-bacs I could start applying now for the Spring 2011 programs. UC Berkely Extension, however, would let me apply for courses for this coming January.

If I can't start a formal post-bac until spring 2011, is it worth me taking other classes before I do to whittle down some of the necessary courses? For instance, if I could hypothetically do Chem/Bio/Physics I this spring would that shorten my post-bac time later? Also, this summer while I will need to be in NH, I could still do an online or local college course out there. Do post-bacs allow that?

So of the 8 courses listed (9 with biochem), could I do 3 the first semester, 1-2 during the summer, 3 in the fall, and then finish up the following spring?

Is taking 3 of these courses at once suicide? These seem like 4-credit courses, and though I know they're very different from liberal arts credits in college I often took 14-15 credits and I was fine. That is said, of course, not knowing what a full science load feels like.

Thanks all, Much appreciated.

 

[badb100d]

Hey, thought I'd pop in on this thread. If you do coursework starting in January 2011, that's fine, just realize you may have trouble finding courses as it's unusual to start the science sequences in the spring and then you may have to wait a bit to take the second part of the sequences since they are usually not offered in the fall. Also, be aware if you are planning to do this coursework apart from a formal postbacc and you want to enroll in a formal postbacc later on, this could hurt you as many schools stipulate that you need to take the majority of pre-med classes as part of their postbacc program.

You're probably sick of hearing this, but I second (third?) what others have said about taking your time. The goal is to put forth the best application possible, not to be the quickest. What we are talking about in your case is a few months, it will not lengthen the process significantly at all. What I suggest, since you will not be in your usual location during the summer, is to hold off on your postbacc until Fall 2011. But if you really desire to get something done sooner you could take some math courses if you don't have any from undergrad. Most schools require one semester of college level math and some require two. This should not affect your chances at a formal postbacc. Don't do online courses while you are in NH (that's a different can of worms).

I would not take 3 courses at once. While not impossible, you'll be unhappy and it really won't save you time. As Frky pointed out, certain courses have to be taken in a certain order. You don't want to triple up and find you still need to take a whole other year, but then only have 1 course. Spread the love out. Also, you'll be taking labs in addition to the courses and they are ultra time consuming.

Good luck!

 

[TheNewGuy8]

Well, even if its not exactly what I WANT to hear, I still appreciate it.

I emailed the UCBerkeley program and they said that applications for their Jan semester opened Dec. 6th and I could apply to take courses starting then. Is it possible that this was not the official post-bac program?

I guess what I need to do is call all the local post-bac programs in the Bay Area and ask what my options are.

I definitely want to make sure I approach this in the best way to create a competitive application, but I'm also very eager to get started! I feel like I must start coursework in January or I'll burst. If I have to do just math then so be it, though I hope I can find at least ONE science course.

What do people do that did, say, half the pre med pre reqs in college and need to complete the rest? Do they just take the courses piece by piece from a 4-year uni? And not do a formal post-bac program?

 

[FrkyBgStok]

if you HAVE to add a science course, try to get into bio 2. at most colleges, bio 1 and 2 are treated as 2 entirely different classes that don't build off of each other. the rest do.

also i have heard bad things about UC berkley extension, however I cannot, for the life of me, remember what they were or what they related to. could have been a single class, a professor, hell i don't remember. maybe try a search or someone else knows.

 

[sharmi]

Is taking 3 of these courses at once suicide? These seem like 4-credit courses, and though I know they're very different from liberal arts credits in college I often took 14-15 credits and I was fine. That is said, of course, not knowing what a full science load feels like.

Taking science courses is different from taking humanities courses. Science courses (at least the ones for medical school) have a lab component and you have to spent at least twice the effort than any course w/o a lab. So a 4 credit course will have a 3-4 hour lecture class (or 2 1.5-2 hour lecture classes) + another 4 hours of lab.

UC Berkeley Extn does have both the 1 and 2 sequences of your typical science courses in both the spring and the fall semesters. To take the sequence 1 in spring - you may need to take it at the Belmont center.
Their Physics 1 prof (at least the one I had) was the best science professor I have ever had (will make you love physics). I have taken several classes at San Jose State Univ as well, and their professors (well, most of them) are pretty good too. But you will need to apply 9 months - 1 year early for getting in at San Jose State - assuming that they are letting post baccs in now.

I work full-time (have a real career as an engineer), a family and take classes (8 - 11 credits) each semester (have a near perfect post bacc GPA - 3.9+ with only one B in 55 credits so far) - so its possible. But I have the brain of an engineer - with an extensive science background (although from a different country). It might be different if I had a humanities or finance or commerce or arts background.

Best of luck !