Change of Plans: Math to Medicine

[mathmajor97]

Hi everyone. It used to be my dream to be a doctor, but I decided to pursue mathematics instead. I'm a junior math and statistics major at The College of New Jersey which is a reasonably well known public school in the Northeast. I am minoring in Actuarial Science and that's the field I plan on going into. I've completed the first 3 actuarial exams and have an internship lined up this summer at one of the top consulting firms. I am doing very well in school and have maintained a 3.8+ GPA. My internship will likely turn into a full time offer and I can come out of undergrad making ~75k and probably hit 100k within a few years. All of this seems great on paper. But I can't stop thinking that maybe I should become a doctor instead.

The main reason I chose not to pursue my dream of being a doctor is because I thought I wasn't smart enough, but after excelling in a difficult major, I feel like I'd be able to handle medical school/residency/etc. Medicine seems much more meaningful to me than actuarial science and the thought of saving lives seems amazing. I know that an actuarial career would have way less stress but I feel like if I don't enjoy the work then what's the point? The process of assessing symptoms, knowing what disease that corresponds to, and executing a treatment seems like much more useful knowledge to have than knowing what probability distribution someone's risk should be modeled with.

I have been thinking about making the switch but it's so daunting. At this point, it wouldn't make sense for me to not finish my mathematics BS since I'm so close. If I decide to switch to medicine, though, I could drop my actuarial minor and that would free up one class each semester of senior year, so I could at least get the general chemistry sequence done before I graduate which would enable me to take organic chemistry, biology, and physics together. I don't really know where I would take the prereq classes since my college makes it difficult for people to take classes here after they graduate and I'm not sure how much guidance they provide for post grad med school applicants. I was thinking maybe a post bacc pre med program would be better, but I'm not that familiar with these programs.

Anyway, assuming I go through with this, would I have a reasonable shot at getting into med school assuming that I do well in the prereq classes and score high on the MCAT? Financially it seems not to make sense right now because I would basically be giving up a high paying, low stress job with no undergrad debt to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on medical school and 5-10 years in residency. But I don't want to not pursue this and regret it in 5 years. After all, I'll be making good money as a doctor eventually so I feel like I shouldn't not pursue this only because of money.

I realize this is very long so I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read it and provide advice.

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[LizzyM]

Anyway, assuming I go through with this, would I have a reasonable shot at getting into med school assuming that I do well in the prereq classes and score high on the MCAT? Financially it seems not to make sense right now because I would basically be giving up a high paying, low stress job with no undergrad debt to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on medical school and 5-10 years in residency. But I don't want to not pursue this and regret it in 5 years. After all, I'll be making good money as a doctor eventually so I feel like I shouldn't not pursue this only because of money.

I realize this is very long so I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read it and provide advice.

Do your actuarial thing... if 3-5 years after graduation, you find that medicine is still an itch you need to scratch, head out and volunteer in a setting where you see patients and speak to them. Use that "foot in the door" to shadow some physicians. Does this seem like a good path for you. In all likelihood, you could do the pre-reqs over 2 academic years and prep for the MCAT concurrently, (everything would be fresh in your mind) and then apply as a non-traditional chareer changer.

 

[redfish955]

My engineer to med school friends pushed back their senior year a year. They were rocking like 3.8 gpas. They did all their pre-reqs after their junior year and then took the mcat. Then they purchased a Engineer In Training review book and reviewed the month prior to their engineering starting back up.

 

[DubbiDoctor]

Do your actuarial thing... if 3-5 years after graduation, you find that medicine is still an itch you need to scratch, head out and volunteer in a setting where you see patients and speak to them. Use that "foot in the door" to shadow some physicians. Does this seem like a good path for you. In all likelihood, you could do the pre-reqs over 2 academic years and prep for the MCAT concurrently, (everything would be fresh in your mind) and then apply as a non-traditional chareer changer.

Agree with the above, though it's not necessary to wait 3-5 years, maybe 1-2 if you don't find being an actuary fulfilling enough. If you decide on med school, there's an advantage in this route, in that you can apply to post-bacc programs that only accept students who haven't taken the pre-reqs and studied something other than science in college. Some of these post-bacs offer excellent linkages to med schools. Columbia offers such a program, with great outcomes.

 

[redfish955]

Just because he has a good career lined up doesn't mean he shouldn't pursue medicine. Finding jobs mid career in stem is tough. These employers would know that you are a year out of work if you did a post bac and didn't get into med school. If you pushed back your senior year a year you should still be able to find work once you graduate since you have the actuary certifications and the gpa. If you want a low stress math job in medicine you could do a bio start PhD at a top twenty school.

 

[LizzyM]

Here's everything you need to know about post-baccs.
Post-baccalaureate Programs