Any lawyers/JD's out there?

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jrortega

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Hi, I am hoping to find people who practiced law or have a JD before making the switch to med school. I'd really love to hear your experiences throughout this whole process.

For anyone else wanting to pitch in about post bacc programs in general, how do you plan to pay without any financial aid assistance? Or how are you doing it now if you're already in a program. I guess private loans from a financial institution is the only option right? ( i don't have rich parents or sugar honey lol). I'm just curious as to how so many people get through this financially prior to getting into med school.

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You don't want to be a lawyer?

I can't even imagine the kind of loans are you looking at with undergrad, law school, post bacc, then med school. You will never pay it all off unless you get loan forgiveness or become a surgical specialist.
 
You don't want to be a lawyer?

I can't even imagine the kind of loans are you looking at with undergrad, law school, post bacc, then med school. You will never pay it all off unless you get loan forgiveness or become a surgical specialist.

Going to law school was a pressure thing but I don't regret it at all because it really was a great experience and all the knowledge I gained was worth it for me. I don't have undergrad debt and I recieved a full scholarship for law school so my debt isn't as much as you'd think someone in my position would be. Plus, going to med school isn't an overnight decision it has been my goal since my first introduction to the field 12 years ago, but when you grow up in a particular kind of family you get told/pressured on what you can and can't do.
 
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Hi, i'm doing a DIY post bacc right now. I'm not sure how long you have been working as a lawyer, but I've been working a few years as an engineer and have saved up a good bit to pay for a couple semesters worth of school. For the rest, I am using unsubsidized and subsidized federal loans. If you want to do it that way, remember to sign up as a degree seeking student for something like Biology or Chemistry where your degree required courses match up with the med school pre reqs.

I would say most people need loans or work full time and take 2 or 3 classes at a time. I took 3 classes while working full time for my first semester, and it was really difficult, so I went full time with class. There are also other people who are married with a spouse who can pay for school. I'm also thinking about doing HPSP(army) for med school since I've thought about doing the military for awhile.
 
Are you switching because there are too many lawyers? What's your mcat score? Done with all the prerequisites?
 
Hi, i'm doing a DIY post bacc right now. I'm not sure how long you have been working as a lawyer, but I've been working a few years as an engineer and have saved up a good bit to pay for a couple semesters worth of school. For the rest, I am using unsubsidized and subsidized federal loans. If you want to do it that way, remember to sign up as a degree seeking student for something like Biology or Chemistry where your degree required courses match up with the med school pre reqs.

I would say most people need loans or work full time and take 2 or 3 classes at a time. I took 3 classes while working full time for my first semester, and it was really difficult, so I went full time with class. There are also other people who are married with a spouse who can pay for school. I'm also thinking about doing HPSP(army) for med school since I've thought about doing the military for awhile.

This was helpful, thank you! I am not a lawyer, I recently graduated in 2019 and since I knew during my 2nd year I didn't want to be a lawyer I did not force myself into the field. Two of the post bacc programs I want to get into suggested I take Intro science and physics since I haven't taken a single one of those classes since high school (12 yrs) so I took (at a CC) intro bio and chem this summer and now i'm in intro organic chem and pre-calculus. If i don't get into the program I had planned on taking the core pre-req classes (general bio/chem, etc) at a 4yr college through the open university but those do not offer financial aid since its like an extension school. At the CC I am signed up under a Biology degree (AA i think) so I qualified for the fee waiver and all my classes are free at the moment so I want to be able to get as much done at a CC if possible before taking classes at a 4yr university.
 
Are you switching because there are too many lawyers? What's your mcat score? Done with all the prerequisites?

Hi! Seeing how there are currently over 30,000 applicants registered for the Bar Exam in California this fall, I'd definitely say there are too many lawyers out there haha. But no, I graduated law last December and found out about post-bacc programs during my 2nd year (I had no idea there were JD/MD programs too! Wish I knew) so I have been trying to figure out how to go about all this. I'm looking at structured programs and DIY in case I don't get into a structured one. I am barely starting out the process so no pre-reqs or MCAT yet. I am currently taking free introductory science/healthcare and math classes at a CC (suggested by the 2 schools I am applying to) but if I end up going down the DIY route I wanted to take the core pre-req classes at a 4yr and I'm trying to learn how to finance that since there is no Financial aid through open university admissions and even with the structured post-bacc it is limited to a small amount in direct loans for 1 year (they are both 2 yr programs). I am also looking at which Med Schools will allow CC credits so I can take as many non-core pre-reqs there. Meanwhile, I should be starting my volunteering job soon which I am excited for since it was put on hold back in March when I was supposed to start.
 
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