Can I still do this??

[nonya]

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Hello guys,

I am a 30 yr old, active duty military just starting my under grad degree. I am weak in the math and advanced science areas because of my 10 yr + gap from high school to college. Id like to eventually become a radiologist or dermatologist. Can I still do this? What can I do to expedite the process? Thanks in advance for all constructive criticism.

 

[DrMidlife]

First, get killer grades. Your continuing GPA is your green light to keep thinking about medicine (or your red light to reconsider).

Find advisers at school who will help you pick appropriate classes and class loads. Note that the person whose job it is to be your academic adviser is typically NOT the person who gives good advice. Look around for good help and always get a second opinion. (SDN is a 3rd opinion.)

Pay attention to how the 19 year olds who have physician parents are doing it. You'll be in class sitting next to a GREAT source of information. Again, always get a second opinion.

Get Iserson's "Getting into Medical School: A Guide for the Perplexed" which is the book form of having a physician parent.

Find mentors in medicine. Take advantage of any contacts you have, and cultivate them. Listen to nurses, PAs and techs as well as to doctors.

Start volunteering in a hospital and in your community.

Lastly, be willing to be talked out of it. This is not to discourage you. Listen hard when people tell you what sucks about a medical career. Don't be naive.

Best of luck to you.

Edit: it's premature to be thinking rads/derm. Wait about 6 years.

 

[nonya]

Dr. Mid-Life,

I know that people frown upon online colleges but I am attending one right now (*Please hold on pushing the flame buttons guys*) I called and spoke to several Texas school, because I am in Texas and would love to goto Texas A&M. They stated that they would except online lab credits (again please hold flames). If I continue my current course of action I can have my BS in two years with a decent GPA. I am thinking of enrolling into the HSPS program although if I could pull it as a civilian I just might do it. I have had lots of people tell me " Aren't you to old?" " or " Why don't you just ride out your twenty years in the military and just retire??" My grandfather was a Dr. of Pharm during the Korean war in the Air Force. He always told my mother that serving dually made his day. Anyway, thank you for the feedback!

 

[DrMidlife]

You have about a 5% chance at any one med school. Call 19 more schools and see how they feel about online coursework. And then pray to the supreme being of your choice that the individual with whom you spoke has a valid opinion, and that the policy doesn't change while you're taking online coursework.

Forget about your age. I'm matriculating this fall at age 42. Find supportive friends and mentors. If your current advisers don't think you should be doing this at all, then don't give their advice partial credit: don't apologize for your age by racing through undergrad.

If you're choosing online coursework because you're afraid of wasting time, that's a mistake. Choose coursework that prepares you for med school. If online work does this, reputably, then fine. I think I've seen elsewhere that you know of individuals who have done what you're planning to do. If these individuals are anecdotes, meaning they succeeded despite their choices, then following their example is naive. Aim high. Don't aim for the minimum.

I know you've heard it all before. But why do you keep asking for guidance in this forum if you're so sure online classes are a good idea?

Best of luck to you.

 

[nonya]

If need be I can always take the labs at the local CC. I just want to be a Dr. I was aiming for IT but with an under lying want for medicine. I now realize that I want to do Medicine. Like I said I can do the labs at the local CC if need be.

 

[njbmd]

Hello guys,

I am a 30 yr old, active duty military just starting my under grad degree. I am weak in the math and advanced science areas because of my 10 yr + gap from high school to college. Id like to eventually become a radiologist or dermatologist. Can I still do this? What can I do to expedite the process? Thanks in advance for all constructive criticism.

If you are "weak" in math and science then don't attempt any of the pre-med science courses until you have a thorough grounding in math. This means algebra (and trig) minimally. If you elect to apply to a medical school that requires calculus/stats, then you will need those courses.

The important thing is not to hurry through this process. Preparation for medical school (pre-med) is a very long and tedious process that you have to do extremely well. This means good and comprehensive coursework of sufficient depth and breadth that will enable you to have a good knowledge base for an excellent performance on the Medical College Admissions Test.

You get one shot at doing well in your pre-med coursework so take the time to make sure that you are getting what you need and that your performance is high. High grades in inadequate coursework is useless because you can't make up for what you haven't learned in an MCAT Review course.

Dr. Mid-Life,

I know that people frown upon online colleges but I am attending one right now (*Please hold on pushing the flame buttons guys*) I called and spoke to several Texas school, because I am in Texas and would love to goto Texas A&M. They stated that they would except online lab credits (again please hold flames). If I continue my current course of action I can have my BS in two years with a decent GPA. I am thinking of enrolling into the HSPS program although if I could pull it as a civilian I just might do it. I have had lots of people tell me " Aren't you to old?" " or " Why don't you just ride out your twenty years in the military and just retire??" My grandfather was a Dr. of Pharm during the Korean war in the Air Force. He always told my mother that serving dually made his day. Anyway, thank you for the feedback!

See my reply above. It doesn't matter if schools will take your online courses in transfer if they are not adequate. Go to the MCAT website and download a list of topics that are tested on this very important test.

Also, make sure that you have the necessary math skills before you move into your pre-med coursework. If you math is not up to par, take general education courses until you get it up to speed. Many people wind up with a very poor performance in General Chemistry and General Physics because of poor math skills. You don't want to be one of them. Make sure your algebra/trig is solid.

Major doesn't matter for medical school as long as you major in something that you can perform well in. For most people, this is an area that has some personal interest. In any event, be proactive and make sure that you get solid pre-med coursework that will prepare you well for the MCAT and for study in medical school.

 

[nonya]

I was planning in getting tutoring or prep classes in these problem areas. Short and long I will do what I need to.

 

[nu2004]

I was planning in getting tutoring or prep classes in these problem areas. Short and long I will do what I need to.

if that's really the case, you should consider at a minimum taking ALL of your coursework at a community college, if not your local 4-year university. if you really want to be a physician, taking the online coursework is just too much of a gamble. even if a school tells you that their policy is this or that, it certainly does not guarantee that whoever interviews you will feel the same way. and +1 to njbmd's points about the MCAT. good luck.

 

[gman33]

Listen to NJBMD's advice.
In addition, take it slow and go to a 4 year school.
Don't do the online thing. You are just adding one other reason for them to not pick you. Saying they accept those credits and a school accepting you are two totally different things.

Get your math skills in order. Start with the easiest math class and work your way up from there if needed. Don't take any prereqs until you get this done. This may take an extra year or two, but the best route is slow and steady progress. Too many people try to rush into things. A few bad classes later and they realize their shot at getting into med school is all but gone.

The process is getting more competitive each year. Take your time and do it right from the start.

 

[OLYWA]

All the posters on this thread have given you great advice.

Yes...you CAN do it...absolutely no question. Click on my mdapps profile and you'll see that about 5 years ago I started getting my pre-reqs in order, at a community college even!, and 5 years later I'm on 2 waitlists. Yes...I got interviews (that didn't result in rejections) from American med schools with a 22 on the MCAT and less than a 3.0 cum gpa.

"f you build it they will come"

If you build it (it being your pre-reqs) they will come (they being the interview invites). You likely won't get your dream school...and the process will be a F#*@ING nightmare at times...but you CAN get it if you put up with the stress and just keep on truckin...there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Good luck!

 

[nonya]

I have learned lot from everyone that replied to my post. The only issue that I have is school. Most if not all of the replies state that I should go to a community college. I am active duty military, this puts me in a huge time crunch..i.e my time is not controlled by me ( last minute issues, deployments etc.) so me attending night school is almost impossible. I am attending an online University to get my Undergrad in IT. Then I plan to get my pre-reqs locally. Hopefully I can find a way to balance my time to get to a real time college.

 

[RLTW75]

If this is something you really want to do....GO FOR IT!!! I would have to agree with most of the posts thus far.....if you're going to do online, go ahead and start working on your lower level math and build your study skills up to the point where your ready to do the Physics/Chem/etc. Then when you get the chance (I was in the military as well and understand the demands on your time) and once you've mastered the math and study skills get it done.....go for it. I'm 28 and have now moved twice in order to get my necessary coursework done....becoming a doctor is going to be a lifelong pursuit so another couple years shouldn't really matter

 

[notdeadyet]

I am weak in the math and advanced science areas because of my 10 yr + gap from high school to college. Id like to eventually become a radiologist or dermatologist. Can I still do this? What can I do to expedite the process?

Do not try to expedite the process! This is the single best piece of advice I can give. You see lots of folks who are unable to get into medical school because they've rushed the process. Very few folks were denied because they took an extra year or two to get it right.

No one should rush it, but especially not you. If you are weak in the math and sciences (the latter of which is obviously really important on medicine) than you most than most should take things slowly to ensure success.

You will be judged, at first pass, primarily by your grades and MCAT. Both will be a reflection largely of how well you learn the basics. If you rush this, you will do poorly in both and possibly cost you any chance of getting in to med school.

Don't sweat Derm or Rads. For one, they may not be the cash cow you hear about now by the time you get to residency (apologies if you just happen to have a deep interest in these two radically different fields). Also, you'll start with a clean slate in med school, so as long as you do great in med school, you can get either of those two residencies from any US medical school.

 

[notdeadyet]

I know that people frown upon online colleges but I am attending one right now (*Please hold on pushing the flame buttons guys*) I called and spoke to several Texas school, because I am in Texas and would love to goto Texas A&M. They stated that they would except online lab credits (again please hold flames). If I continue my current course of action I can have my BS in two years with a decent GPA.

I'll withhold flaming, but do keep in mind that you will rule out the opportunity to go to most medical schools following this path.

I do not judge. I used to work in online education in my past life and have a lot of time for it. But medical schools largely do not. Most schools will flat out not accept any online coursework for prerequisites. I learned this the hard way by having to scramble to repeat some online coursework I had done. If you have an entirely online degree, you can rule out most medical schools.

There was a big discussion on this in the past and the only example of a med school that accepted online prereqs and an online degree was a med school in Texas. Can't remember which one.

Again, you have one chance at this. Do it right. Take a few online classes for general interest and to beef up your skills, but when you have time or schedule or once you're out of the service, do the right thing and just enroll in school like everyone else and get your degree via classwork.

If you don't, you're limiting yourself to the chance to apply to only a small handful of schools. I had a pretty good app, applied to 37 schools and only received three outright acceptances. My results weren't atypical.

Again, not flaming or judging, just hoping you'll avoid winding up thousands of dollars and hours spent towards coursework that many med schools won't accept.

 

[nu2004]

I have learned lot from everyone that replied to my post. The only issue that I have is school. Most if not all of the replies state that I should go to a community college. I am active duty military, this puts me in a huge time crunch..i.e my time is not controlled by me ( last minute issues, deployments etc.) so me attending night school is almost impossible. I am attending an online University to get my Undergrad in IT. Then I plan to get my pre-reqs locally. Hopefully I can find a way to balance my time to get to a real time college.

what kind of commitment do you have left on your military service? do you have any trusted mentors there with whom you can speak?