Career Change - Seeking Post Bacc Advice

[BeanPot22]

First time poster here, I apologize for the length and scope of this post but I am actively seeking advice, insight, and opinions of those with similar experiences or knowledge of this process-

I am 23.5 years old, graduated in 2015 with a BA in Economics, 3.54 GPA with extensive extracurricular activities (founded and VP'd an investment club and a faculty relations director for a group sponsored by an economic think tank in DC). I am currently working as an analyst in commercial banking and have been promoted in the last year, and am overall doing quite well in finance.

I am interested in a complete career change to medicine, with the eventual goal of gaining entry into a US med school. A close family friend of my mother's is an emergency MD at a local hospital in Massachusetts (where I reside) and has offered to let me volunteer and observe a few hours a week to either solidify or dissolve my plans of attending post bacc. I have no science undergrad coursework on my resume, and subsequent to my aforementioned interactions with my mother's friend, no medical exposure.

Obviously, here is where some of you wonder why out of the blue I am considering such a massive change, and I don't blame you, I have tremendous respect for your profession and do not take lightly the sacrifices I know undoubtedly accompany your lifestyle. I understand it won't be easy or even pleasant at some points. That is why I am taking a very methodical approach to making this decision, and if my thought process is not wavering after working with the MD offering me his time, I will commit to going back to school full time.

My question then for anyone willing to answer is: what programs in MA, or elsewhere, are best suited for returning students like me? I have ~2 years of solid work experience at a well known bank(demonstrating ability to achieve, I know relatively irrelevant but not totally worthless), the 3.54 Economics degree, and will have approx 30-50 hours of volunteering/shadowing upon the time of application. I have read about UMass Dartmouth, UVM, Bennington, Temple, and Brandeis post baccs, but would prefer UMD obviously for cost and convenience. Can anyone offer any insight? I appreciate any and all replies.

Thanks

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[Mitochondrion21]

Congrats on your decision to pursue a career in medicine! First, are you working now and do you want to keep your job while taking classes? If so, look for a 4-yr university nearby that offers evening science classes, if UMD doesn't. You might want to add Harvard Extension School's premed program to your list, it's perhaps the 'best' DIY option.

Formal post-baccs are more expensive, but can be more accommodating to career-changers (e.g., access to evening classes, volunteer/research/shadowing opportunities, committee letters). In MA, Boston U and Tufts also have formal post-bacc programs but I don't know how good they are. Moving to another city to do a post-bacc will cost even more, so think carefully about whether it's worth it. If you can get into Temple that would be a risk worth taking, as it's guaranteed admission to their medical school if you meet the requirements, and is only 1 year. But it's very hard to get into.

Good luck!

 

[sakuraba]

Yo beanpot, have you looked into post bac premed classes at the Harvard Extension School in Cambridge? It's more of a do-it-yourself type program than a formal program (and thus much, much cheaper), but it gets the job done if you're dedicated enough. It's like $1200 for a 4-unit semester of a pre-req class.

I have a similar story as you (worked in finance/accounting for a few years after college) and then did all my prereqs at the Harvard extension school. I applied last cycle and got into a good school.

Good luck with your decision though, whatever it may be. Shadowing the ER doc will definitely help with that.

 

[cptnjack]

I was kinda like you, engineering major with no medical experience or classes in my back pocket. I took all the prereqs at a local college, not community but full fledged 4 year university, raised my GPA/ science GPA, shadowed, volunteered, re-invented myself and my application, applied to a masters program (SMP with linkage) at Rosalind and after completing the masters, through there I'll now be starting as a M1 at a US MD school 2.5 years after starting that journey. Its a long road, a hard one, but very doable if you put in the work! If you have any questions, I'd be happy to help via PM!

 

[hunterjumper14]

I had zero science background and went to Bennington (graduated from medical school last month). PM with with any questions at all! Your post demonstrates significant maturity and understanding for your position in this process. Congrats on getting that far! Good luck!