advice for a non-trad

[rugby9]

I am a 29 year old and I could really use some advice as far as my chances for med school and any ideas of how I could improve my application.

I graduated in 2003 with a B.S. in Biology and a 3.6 cGPA (my sGPA is similar). I have taken a couple classes since then (for work) and have gotten A's, but they were at a community college- Statistics and Anatomy and Physiology. I completed all of my pre-med requirements while I was in undergrad. Do I need to retake classes? Or take more classes to show I can still do it? Or will a great MCAT suffice (I haven't taken it yet).

Since graduation, I have worked in several different fields and moved around a lot, due to my husband being in the military. He has recently decided to switch over to the reserves making our lives more stable and finally giving me the opportunity to prepare to apply for medical school. I hope to do so summer of 2012.

I currently work for the red cross doing clinical research (and have worked here for 2 years). I also did medical research at NIH while in college and spent a year in a lab testing air samples for biological warfare agents in 2005. With 2 kids and working full time and playing rugby, I haven't had time for much else. I am currently planning on hospital volunteering to get more patient contact hours. My other question would then be, do the ECs I did in college count (I was president of my dorm, volunteered at a vet clinic, helped start the college's biology club, psychology honors society, played rugby etc.) or am I starting over from scratch?

Any thoughts on my chances or ideas to help make me competitive would be great. Thanks in advance!

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[canjosh]

Just do that medical volunteering, and shadow some physicians. Clinical exposure is the hole in your app, as you know. You will report all your ECs from college.

Do well on the MCAT, and you've got yourself a very attractive application. Study, study, study! Good luck!

 

[2050vlsb]

I think the amount of life experience and research you've done will definitely help your app significantly. I don't think prereqs expire, so you won't need to retake the courses ... but given that it has been a while since you've taken these classes, a solid (30-32+) MCAT score will reassure med schools you have a solid basis in the basic sciences.

You should definitely add to your clinical experience as much as possible, since that (EC-wise) seems to be the only place you're lacking. I believe you'll still get some credit for the activities you did while in college, i.e. you can put them on your AMCAS, but as it has been a while, you should definitely make sure to have several more recent activities.

Good luck!

 

[Catalystik]

1) ideas of how I could improve my application.

2) Do I need to retake classes?

3) Or take more classes to show I can still do it? Or will a great MCAT suffice (I haven't taken it yet).

4) I currently work for the red cross doing clinical research (and have worked here for 2 years).

5) do the ECs I did in college count (I was president of my dorm, volunteered at a vet clinic, helped start the college's biology club, psychology honors society, played rugby etc.) or am I starting over from scratch?

6) Any thoughts on my chances or ideas to help make me competitive would be great.

1) Physician shadowing: about 50 hours is average, split among 2-3 docs, including primary care. Nonmedical community service, leadership, and teaching are all helpful. You may or may not need more clinical experience, depending on #4.

2) I don't think you need to retake classes, provided you do well on the MCAT through self study or a formal prep class, to prove you've got the basics down. I've heard of a few schools that expire prerequisites, but the vast majority don't. You'll have to check on the schools you plan to target and avoid any that do.

3) I think it would be very helpful if you could manage some As in upper-level science classes at the university level before applying to demonstrate you've still got what it takes. I've seen more traditional applicants criticized for having no recent academics as little as three years after graduation.

4) Could you describe the nature of the clinical interaction and the type of patients?

5) Yes, if you feel it's interesting or demonstrates an pertinent character trait, then list it.

6) We can comment more reliably after an MCAT score is attained. Don't think for a minute that your age is a deterent. I work with a doc who started med school in his 50s.

 

[thewall]

I am a 29 year old and I could really use some advice as far as my chances for med school and any ideas of how I could improve my application.

I graduated in 2003 with a B.S. in Biology and a 3.6 cGPA (my sGPA is similar). I have taken a couple classes since then (for work) and have gotten A's, but they were at a community college- Statistics and Anatomy and Physiology. I completed all of my pre-med requirements while I was in undergrad. Do I need to retake classes? Or take more classes to show I can still do it? Or will a great MCAT suffice (I haven't taken it yet).

Since graduation, I have worked in several different fields and moved around a lot, due to my husband being in the military. He has recently decided to switch over to the reserves making our lives more stable and finally giving me the opportunity to prepare to apply for medical school. I hope to do so summer of 2012.

I currently work for the red cross doing clinical research (and have worked here for 2 years). I also did medical research at NIH while in college and spent a year in a lab testing air samples for biological warfare agents in 2005. With 2 kids and working full time and playing rugby, I haven't had time for much else. I am currently planning on hospital volunteering to get more patient contact hours. My other question would then be, do the ECs I did in college count (I was president of my dorm, volunteered at a vet clinic, helped start the college's biology club, psychology honors society, played rugby etc.) or am I starting over from scratch?

Any thoughts on my chances or ideas to help make me competitive would be great. Thanks in advance!

Hi there.

I was in a very similar situation several years ago. I'm non-trad, 29, 28S MCAT (most recent), with a ~3.7 overall/science GPA. I graduated in 2004 (major in English/minor in Biochemistry with all the pre-reqs), and have not taken a single science class since. I work in T.V. news.

I knew exactly what I wanted, and that was to get into med school (MD or DO) without having to pay for a post-bac/master's. All of my clinical experience/shadowing is from college. Zero research. For at least a taste of recent experience, I spent a few days on vacation shadowing a doc, and that was it. I work 80 hours a week, and didn't have the time or energy to go through all that resume-building stuff again. I took an MCAT prep course and received a 28... my original score in 2004 was a 31 (expired), but I never applied to med school then.

During the application cycle, I found that some schools won't look at your application because you don't have recent coursework. Others don't care as long as you have a solid MCAT. I applied to 12 schools, and made sure they didn't have any requirements about pre-requisite classes expiring. You are at least doing something in the science field, which will probably help.

Another interesting note: I am in a tough position b/c of my lack of a (recent) science background. I am currently deciding between an M.D. school that is a purely PBL curriculum, and a D.O. school with the traditional curriculum. Students at the M.D. school only meet 9 hours a week, which is terrifying for me b/c I am so far removed from that material. I will likely end up turning down the M.D. acceptance, simply because I cannot imagine learning all that material on my own, seeing as I haven't taken an upper-level science class in almost a decade. Just something to think about.

OK, that was longer than I had planned. Just thought my situation was very similar to yours. Long story short, if you want to volunteer/take classes etc. you will probably have more opportunities. But if you're like me and want to take the MCAT and be done with it, you still have a good shot at a number of schools.

Good luck!!

 

[rugby9]

Thanks for the responses everyone.

I do have some current ECs- I still play rugby and I head up the Family Readiness Group for my husband's army reserve unit. The problem with my current job is that it's clinical research , but with healthy blood donors. We don't work with actual patients.

Sounds like couple more science classes, some shadowing and studying my butt off for the MCAT will be a good place to start.

Thanks again for all the advice!