Brass tacks: my plan

[InLocoAbsentia]

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So, now on the presumption that I am going to shoot for this thing, here is my "plan" (inasmuch as you can really nail down a plan for applying to medical school).

The first problem is that I do not want to go to med school in my current state; I have to move and obtain residency before I can apply. However, I can't move from my current job right now. I have less than $1,000 cash on hand and over $40,000 in long term debt, of which about $19,000 carries an average interest rate of 9.6%. The other stuff is federal Stafford loans. I also have other liabilities, including an apartment in my current city and a promise to pay some money towards my nephew's college fund (long story there). I make very good money right now. So, part one of The Plan is to stay here until next May, paying off most of the high interest debt and saving up some money to carry me to the next part. In the meantime, I can take some programming-related self-study cert exams to make myself more marketable to other software firms. This will come in very handy later.

I will then move back to my Home State next May, in which my extended family lives. I can go to Large State-Supported University which will allow me to knock out my general biology and Organic Chemistry courses in the span of one summer (also something I can't do in my current city). I already aced freshman English, Chemistry, and Physics back in undergrad (and most of my other classes for that matter: 4.0 sGPA, 3.97 cGPA). After that, I hope and pray that I will be able to find steady, full-time employment that will allow me to (re-)establish state residency and make both ends meet. While I'm doing that, I'll volunteer at one of the local health care organizations.

Winter 2012 will see me studying for the MCAT while working full time and volunteering once a week. Take the test in May, then file the AMCAS to both of Home State's public med schools and several med schools for surrounding states. After that, it should all be academic, provided that I don't get too many interview requests that my future boss will get really ticked off at me. With any luck, I matricular in August 2013, just after my 29th birthday.

What do you guys think? Is this reasonable? What, if anything, should I change?

 

[mspeedwagon]

Imho, there is so much wrong with this plan, I don't know where to begin.

First, you do NOT have to re-locate and obtain state residency somewhere before you apply to medical school. In all likelihood, you are going to need to apply broadly and having one or two in-state school to shoot for is not a good plan. I would NOT move to obtain residency just to apply to the local state school in your new state. There is a reason every one here advocates applying broadly. I know you mentioned the surrounding states as well, but here your in-state residency will not help you out (as you know).

Second, if you have a well paying job, put the whole medical school plan on hold until you have wiped out your debt. Taking medical school loans on top of already having debt is a very bad idea. To add to this, if you have poor credit as a result of these loans, then this will impact your financial aid at some schools. Start medical school with a clean slate as far as debt is concerned.

Third, aiming to take the whole biology and organic chemistry sequence in one summer is just setting yourself up for disaster. Organic chemistry needs to be properly prepared for. If you take it over the summer, make sure you have absolutely nothing else to do. You'll barely have time to shower/eat etc.

I think a much, much better plan is to stay where you are UNTIL your debt is paid-off. In the process if you can find local evening classes, take them to start knocking out the remaining pre-med requirements. As soon as you have done that, start looking for another job in the state you would like to move to. Once you have found a job, then and ONLY then consider moving to the state. At this point, look up classes that you still have left to take. Take them while working and saving up money. In the process start studying for the MCAT. This may set you back a year, but it'll be well worth it.

 

[InLocoAbsentia]

First, you do NOT have to re-locate and obtain state residency somewhere before you apply to medical school...I know you mentioned the surrounding states as well, but here your in-state residency will not help you out (as you know).

I'll go ahead and tip my hand a bit: I want to move back to Tennessee. Here is an excerpt from UTHSC's policy on residency and admissions:

Applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States at the time of application. Applications are considered from: [1] Tennessee residents, [2] residents of the eight states contiguous to Tennessee - Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and [3] children of UT system alumni regardless of their state of residence, i.e., father or mother. As a state-supported institution, the College of Medicine gives priority to qualified Tennessee residents. In each entering class, a maximum of 10% of the matriculants may be non-residents.

Here is what ETSU says about state residency and admission:

The Quillen College of Medicine is a state-supported school and provides a very heavy preference for state residents. Applications from non-Tennessee residents are strongly discouraged except for those from the Appalachian region who desire a career in primary care medicine and those with outstanding credentials in every respect and a well-focused, documented career goal in the practice of primary care medicine. Well qualified minorities are encouraged to apply regardless of residency.

Based on the statistics from the MSAR, this preference is quite apparent in the interview rate: less than 10% of out-of-state applicants are interviewed at either school. Abut one-third of in-state applicants are interviewed at ETSU and about two-thirds of in-state applicants are interviewed at UTHSC. At Louisville, Kentucky, UAB, and MC Georgia, you see a similar trend (MC Georgia only inteviewed less than 2% of out-of-state applicants!). The point is that if having residency will largely determine where I go to med school, I'd rather arrange it so that I can go to med school closer to my extended family than where I currently am.

Second, if you have a well paying job, put the whole medical school plan on hold until you have wiped out your debt.

With respect to debt, I do plan to pay off everything but Stafford loans, bringing my total debt burden down to $20k. Paying off these loans in addition does not actually seem like the best course of action. That would mean I discount the future value of money at less than 5% (taking the student loan interest deduction into account here). For someone who is preparing for med school, this seems like too low a rate; if having money in the future is not that important compared to having it right now, it kind of defeats part of the purpose of going to school, right?

Third, aiming to take the whole biology and organic chemistry sequence in one summer is just setting yourself up for disaster.

It certainly seems that I might have gotten ahead of myself here. Turns out that the schedule won't allow one to actually do this, at least not at MTSU. Even if it did, it would be eight hours of class and lab a day four days a week, excluding study time. Accounting for discretion and valor, perhaps splitting this out over two terms is the right play.

Unfortunately, the schools in my area do not offer biology or organic chemistry at night, and my current job won't permit me to take time during the day to attend lectures. The hope was that if I could get bio and organic done over the summer, I could secure a job offer before starting the classes. That way, I wouldn't have to explain why I've been taking organic chemistry to another software shop that would be a prospective employer. But it looks like that has been busted.

 

[mspeedwagon]

With the additional information provided, your plan actually sounds more reasonable. Though not encouraged, I would consider taking an online class to help you get started. I'd also still consider wiping out as much debt as possible.

 

[InLocoAbsentia]

You make a salient point, though, when you assert that moving without a job offer in one's pocket is not a good idea, at least not while I have so much debt without much in the way of assets. The good thing about TN is that it isn't difficult to establish residency. If you work full time, you can still take classes part time while establishing domicile. At MTSU, if you work full time and take classes part time, you can not only get in state tuition for the semesters you are part time, after two terms, you can get permanent in state classification.

If try to work and take classes to establish residency, the idea is that I get an evening job in a position that does direct patient care like a patient care tech or a nurse assistant (if I bother to do that cert), or maybe a unit clerk if I can't find one of those positions. During the day, I would take Gen Bio I and Orgo I in the summer, and Gen Bio II and Orgo II in the fall. Another route is to take a first shift full time job down there next year and get residency established while continuing to save and volunteer. Option three is to work here one last year and move down there, taking whatever second shift, full time job I can get while going to school, even if that means foodservice, so I can establish residency and get the prereqs out of the way.

I'm all about contingency plans.