Advice for career changer

[SojournerProof]

Hello,

I'm looking to transition to a career in medicine and I'd appreciate some advice in helping formulate a game plan.

I got my bachelor's in 2015 in Math, Statistics, and Economics. I got AP credits for two semesters of intro biology, general chemistry, and physics (all credits include lab) and one semester of english and psychology. I didn't take organic chemistry or biochemistry, and I took five philosophy classes, including ethics.

In terms of pre-reqs I obviously need to knock out organic chemistry. Does anyone recommend that I retake the other intro classes? I'm not sure if adcoms will look at my application negatively if I'm non-traditional and using AP credits for so much of the pre-reqs.

As a follow on, would it be worth it to consider a formal post-bac or master's program? Not sure if those are worth the cost.

Thanks for any advice!

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[curbsideconsult]

You have to take all of the AP pre-reqs as med schools won't accept those. I can't think of any program that would allow you to substitute actual coursework with AP credits. Buy the MSAR to make sure.

If you have a very strong academic history and have money to spare, you should look into well-established post-bacc programs with linkages like the Bryn Mawr post-bacc program. If you don't have the money, you can DIY the pre-reqs at any accredited institution, including CC.

The biggest barrier to med school, aside from numbers, that you'll see on SDN is when otherwise great-on-paper candidates don't have enough of the right extracurricular work. So if you're really interested in medicine, you need to start volunteering ASAP if you're not doing so already. You need to find volunteer work that is serving the destitute. You also need to find clinical experiences whether paid or volunteer. Of course, finding a clinical volunteer position would probably be best since you'd be knocking out two birds at once.