BFA Illustration to Pre Med?

[doc art]

Hello all,
I am a recent grad at the age of 26 with a BFA in Illustration and am realizing my true calling is in Endocrinology (I have been a diabetic since I was 4).
I have a 3.5 GPA, some teaching experience, and am planning to do some lab and volunteer work.

I have e-mailed a few colleges and would like to know if members of the forum would be willing to answer my worry-filled questions:

1) Can I get into Pre Med with my degree and a few JC classes or should I got for a second bachelors in Biochemistry?

2) I currently have 23,000 in loans. Should I try to pay these off or continue my education?

3) I have a lot of nay-sayers in my family (mainly parents and a few friends who came out of the art program telling me I'm making a big leap to a totally new career path) and I wanted to hear from other people who have made this change and, even with 100k in loans, found it rewarding and lucrative.

4) About how old will I be when I expect to graduate and how long does it take to establish yourself afterwards?

Thanks and I'm looking forward to hearing you stories. 😍

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[MedPR]

Hello all,
I am a recent grad at the age of 26 with a BFA in Illustration and am realizing my true calling is in Endocrinology (I have been a diabetic since I was 4).
I have a 3.5 GPA, some teaching experience, and am planning to do some lab and volunteer work.

I have e-mailed a few colleges and would like to know if members of the forum would be willing to answer my worry-filled questions:

1) Can I get into Pre Med with my degree and a few JC classes or should I got for a second bachelors in Biochemistry?

2) I currently have 23,000 in loans. Should I try to pay these off or continue my education?

3) I have a lot of nay-sayers in my family (mainly parents and a few friends who came out of the art program telling me I'm making a big leap to a totally new career path) and I wanted to hear from other people who have made this change and, even with 100k in loans, found it rewarding and lucrative.

4) About how old will I be when I expect to graduate and how long does it take to establish yourself afterwards?

Thanks and I'm looking forward to hearing you stories. 😍

Your true calling is endocrinology because you're a diabetic? I have no interest in becoming an allergist even though I have about a billion allergies.

1. I don't know what a BFA is, but assuming you've completed all the pre-reqs for med school, your major doesn't matter so long as it's a bachelor's degree (or better) from an accredited university.

2. Don't worry about paying off the $23k. There's much more of that on the way if you get in to medical school.

3. My parents kicked me out of their house and cut me off financially (and in every other way possible) when I decided to not give up on becoming a physician. Don't worry about what other people are saying. If it's really what you want, then do whatever it takes.

4. I presume you haven't taken the MCAT. If that's the case, you'll need to wait and apply next year to matriculate into the class of 2018. Assuming all goes well, you'll have 3+ years of residency, but you'll still be a doctor. Once you finish residency you're thrown out into the real world to figure things out for yourself. At this point, your salary is in your control (within reason).

If you haven't completed the pre-reqs, you are probably looking at another 2-3 years of coursework depending on how much time you have to be in school.

 

[doc art]

BFA = Bachelor of Fine Arts
It's from an accredited university but none of my classes were related to anything in the sciences (all life drawing and digital painting coarses).
This is why I was wondering if I should go for a second bachelors degree.

Haha I guess I should reconsider the focus of my medical degree.
It's scary to hear the fact that my parents could (and may eventually) kick me out because of my career switch.
But, I'll keep plugging away and try to advance my way onto becoming a MD.

Thanks!

 

[MedPR]

BFA = Bachelor of Fine Arts
It's from an accredited university but none of my classes were related to anything in the sciences (all life drawing and digital painting coarses).
This is why I was wondering if I should go for a second bachelors degree.

Haha I guess I should reconsider the focus of my medical degree.
It's scary to hear the fact that my parents could (and may eventually) kick me out because of my career switch.
But, I'll keep plugging away and try to advance my way onto becoming a MD.

Thanks!

Idk, I don't think many parents kick out their kids. They might be unhappy or unsupportive, but I doubt they'll absolutely throw you out.

Anyway, if you take the pre-reqs and do well (As) plus do well on the MCAT, your major really doesn't matter. There are special masters programs for students like you. Perhaps you could look into those. A second bachelors is also an option, but that would take another 3-4 years and a ton of money. I imagine you could just do the pre-reqs at a community college, but many believe there is a stigma that could reduce your chances.

 

[Mommy Doc 85]

Anyway, if you take the pre-reqs and do well (As) plus do well on the MCAT, your major really doesn't matter. There are special masters programs for students like you. Perhaps you could look into those. A second bachelors is also an option, but that would take another 3-4 years and a ton of money. I imagine you could just do the pre-reqs at a community college, but many believe there is a stigma that could reduce your chances.

Many medical schools make a point to say that community college level courses (especially the sciences) are very much the frowned upon way to go.

OP- Look into the med schools you are interested in to see where and what classes you should be taking. Math and sciences are what you are likely missing. Your science gpa is a big deal, so knock these courses out of the park. 2-3 years, more likely 3, for pre-reqs. 4 years med school and minimum of 3 years residency. But, your age isn't a big factor here.
Many people here have undergrad debt. It is what it is. Push on, and pay when it's feasible.
What about your diabetes makes you want to get into endo?

 

[NightGod]

Don't get a second degree. Take the four pre-req classes and the MCAT and kick ass at both (go in with the mentality that a B is the same as a C and a C would be the same as an F and put in the work appropriately). The advice about avoiding CCs (which is less and less relevant as the economy goes more and more in the tank) never really applied all that much to career changers who had a Bachelor's already and just wanted the pre-reqs out of the way. Attend full-time so that your loans continue to get deferred and just roll the debt into med school costs-that amount will seem small once you start getting med school tuition bills.

Friends and family, well, if they truly love you, they will eventually see that you're serious about the path and eventually support you. This usually happens after you bring home that first semester worth of As, I know it did for me.

Timeline, you're most likely looking at a minimum of two years before you matriculate. Pre-req classes starting in the fall and MCAT next spring would put you on track to submit your apps next summer when the system opens in June and then it takes about a year to complete the application/interview/acceptance cycle, so you're looking at Fall 2014 for matriculation. Med school is 4 years and then you have another 3 to 8+ years of residency (depending on what field you go into). During residency you'll be making ~$40k/year. The good news is, once you finish residency, the money is generally pretty quick to start coming in.

 

[Xenops]

While I don't have advice about career-changing, I do recommend that you take some sort of biological science (pre-req or not) and see if you even LIKE the classes. It sounds like from your post that you just up and decided you wanted to be a doctor (endocrinologist too!). So I would find work related to your arts degree, take one or two science classes at a CC (for costs sake), and shadow doctors.

Essentially, take time to think if this is THE path for you. Medicine is a huge commitment or time, money, and relationships. See if it's worth the cost, while with your current degree I think you would have a lot more flexibility in all of those things

 

[thlaxer]

There are post-bac programs out there for 'career-changers' in your situation. These programs will let you finish all of your prereqs in one or two years (I would recommend doing the two-year over the one-year route).

Essentially, take time to think if this is THE path for you. Medicine is a huge commitment or time, money, and relationships.

+1. Start with some shadowing and volunteering first before committing to classes and most importantly, be very honest with yourself about whether you really want this (and what you're willing to sacrifice to achieve it). Some people in my post-bac program left after a year of classes (and paying tuition) when they realized this path wasn't for them.

 

[doc art]

Hey everyone,
Thanks for the advice.
I've talked with my endocrinologist and I've signed up for volunteer work at my local hospital.
I've also applied for the Fall semester at PSU for Biochemistry (really the Pre Med classes) and begin my career down that path.

I'm probably looking a ton of debt and graduating from Med School around age 32-4, but it is what I want to do.

 

[Chanandler Bong]

Hey neat, another person with an art background starting this fall. 🙂 I'm volunteering outside SE Portland, what about you?

 

[doc art]

Oh it's good to hear someone else doing the same thing.
I'm volunteering at el Camino hospital at their health library and signing up with the peace Corp for the health section.
If I don't get leave for Portland in the fall, I'll do it in the spring after I've gotten the shadowing done.