Another Non-Traditional...

[Rcola23]

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Good Afternoon Everyone,

I have been reading this forum for MONTHS and I sincerely appreciate everyone so willing to share their story, lend support, and offer genuine advice/criticism. A bit a bout me - I am 28 years old, married to a Nurse. We have a 14 month old boy with another child on the way, due in March. I was prior service Army, got my BA in Criminal Justice and I now run a successful Insurance Agency.

Here's my dilemma: I have ALWAYS wanted to be in the Medical Field either as an MD or DVM. Maybe this is a quarter life crisis, but with the support of my family, I am in the process of registering for the pre-req. science classes that I would need to apply for Medical School.

Being that I am prior-service, my intention would be to apply for the HPSP program in any branch and hopefully be picked up.

I guess my biggest fear is that I was not a strong science/chem student in undergrad or highschool, largely because I did not focus or pay attention to it, and I am nervous going back and not being able to do well in the classes.

Anyone that has any word of advice, support, or maybe in a similar situation, I would love to hear it as I begin this journey!

Thank you for your time!

 

[Goro]

Read everything in this forum by the wise @DrMidlife.

 

[Rcola23]

@Goro

Thank you for the advice!

 

[Goro]

@Goro

Thank you for the advice!

And many thanks for your service to our country. Hoooahh!

 

[Rcola23]

Here is another question that I have: I have 64 credit hours towards my Criminal Justice Bachelors, with almost no science courses taken except a Natural Science course.

I currently have a 2.9GPA -- which is not great, but two of those semesters I was dealing with deployment/pre-deployment.

Being that I don't have any science classes taken, should I go and finish my CJ bachelors and work in the science classes? Or, should I switch majors and go for something science based?

I would appreciate any advice!

 

[rufflev]

Here is another question that I have: I have 64 credit hours towards my Criminal Justice Bachelors, with almost no science courses taken except a Natural Science course.

I currently have a 2.9GPA -- which is not great, but two of those semesters I was dealing with deployment/pre-deployment.

Being that I don't have any science classes taken, should I go and finish my CJ bachelors and work in the science classes? Or, should I switch majors and go for something science based?

I would appreciate any advice!

Your major doesn't really matter. Having a 2.9 GPA isn't great, but you only have 64 credit hours, so theoretically you could raise it to around a 3.4 upon graduation. Further, it's beneficial in that you have no science classes meaning that your sGPA is untouched, so starting now if you take science classes and excel, you could potentially have a 4.0 sGPA. Note that sGPA > cGPA (but both matter).

Thank you for your service to our country!

 

[Rcola23]

@rufflev Thank you for your support! So, what would you do in this scenario? Since Bachelors is over half done in Criminal Justice, would you just complete that and then add science classes post-bacc?

 

[rufflev]

@rufflev Thank you for your support! So, what would you do in this scenario? Since Bachelors is over half done in Criminal Justice, would you just complete that and then add science classes post-bacc?

I would finish up the degree in criminal justice while taking your pre-medical requisites. As it stands, you don't really want to extend your undergraduate career by a year by switching majors, especially if your ultimate goal is to go to medical school. I don't think you'll require a post-bacc (but if you don't think you can handle your current coursework + pre-med classes, then maybe. I

f you're applying normally, you'll be applying next year so your senior classes won't be calculated into your GPA at that time, so you may need to do a post-bacc/SMP or just take a year off and apply the next cycle.

 

[YTY0410]

hey @Rcola23 I was somewhat in the similar situation as you are.
I'm turning 28 this year and have bachelors and masters in criminal justice. I also have a 6 month old baby girl.
I was in law enforcement for about a year back in 2014 until i decided to go back to college to take some pre reqs for dental school.
I'm not gonna lie.. the classes weren't easy since I had absolutely no background in science and my gpa back in college wasn't so great either. I think it was around 3.1 or so.
When I decided to enroll back in college and started taking chemistry, biology and physics, I had to withdraw once or twice because I was having a hard time passing those classes and still wasn't sure if this is the route i wanted to take. But I stuck through it and ended up getting all A's in genchem, physics, orgo, and biochem and B's in biology I & II.
The funny thing is, I didn't even do this well in my criminal justice classes. I guess it's just all about how much you want it and trust me, if I can do it, so can you!
My only advice is that since you don't have any science background, don't try to rush it and only take one or two classes at a time.
It's a long process and it took me nearly 2 years and half to finish the pre reqs but i'm glad that I didn't rush to take as many classes at once because I honestly don't know if I would've done well if i did.
I also recommend that you take the lower division science courses at a community college to save some money and take the upper division courses at a university.
Good luck with everything and dm me if you need any more info!

 

[Rcola23]

hey @Rcola23 I was somewhat in the similar situation as you are.
I'm turning 28 this year and have bachelors and masters in criminal justice. I also have a 6 month old baby girl.
I was in law enforcement for about a year back in 2014 until i decided to go back to college to take some pre reqs for dental school.
I'm not gonna lie.. the classes weren't easy since I had absolutely no background in science and my gpa back in college wasn't so great either. I think it was around 3.1 or so.
When I decided to enroll back in college and started taking chemistry, biology and physics, I had to withdraw once or twice because I was having a hard time passing those classes and still wasn't sure if this is the route i wanted to take. But I stuck through it and ended up getting all A's in genchem, physics, orgo, and biochem and B's in biology I & II.
The funny thing is, I didn't even do this well in my criminal justice classes. I guess it's just all about how much you want it and trust me, if I can do it, so can you!
My only advice is that since you don't have any science background, don't try to rush it and only take one or two classes at a time.
It's a long process and it took me nearly 2 years and half to finish the pre reqs but i'm glad that I didn't rush to take as many classes at once because I honestly don't know if I would've done well if i did.
I also recommend that you take the lower division science courses at a community college to save some money and take the upper division courses at a university.
Good luck with everything and dm me if you need any more info!

Thank you very much for your words of encouragement! It's a relief to see someone with a similar background, both professional and familial, decide to peruse their dream!

Good for you on getting those grades... I'm hoping that I will be in the same boat! I think being mature and knowing what you want certainly makes a difference. If I'm honest, the only reason I chose CJ as an undergrad is because the Military made me declare a major in order to pay for school.

I will be heeding your advice and taking all the CC science classes that I am able to do save a few bucks.

How did everything turn out for you? Are you in Dental school? If you prefer, can chat via DM as well.

Thank you again!