lucy_less
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- Apr 18, 2021
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Hello! I am graduating this summer from a great university with a great GPA, but my degree is in the humanities. I have regrets about not doing premed -- I started out wanting to do it, had worked extensively in medical jobs and as a scribe and had a lot of personal experience with the field as well. But I struggled with science classes, which were weed-outs at my university, partly due to chronic medical problems as well as mental health challenges.
Now that I am graduating and looking at jobs, I am realizing medicine is the only job I would really be excited about (besides doing a PhD in the humanities, but unfortunately there are no career prospects there). I considered nursing school, but would really love to be a physician so that you can manage a case for yourself and engage in medical decision-making at a high level. I know the field inside and out and am confident in what it entails. I love the lifestyle of working with patients and of seeing new things and new cases every day. I feel most at-home in hospitals and clinical settings and like this is where I am supposed to be. I find the corporate world soul-crushing by contrast.
However, I am concerned about whether the investment as a non-traditional student is worth it. I am graduating undergrad now at 24, nearly 25. I have two options for a postbacc -- attend a yearlong postbacc program full-time, or work full-time and take premed classes in the evenings. I am fortunate enough that my family would be able and willing to pay for me to attend a yearlong postbacc. However, there is a long history of chaos and abuse there and in order to do that, I would need to remain on my family's health insurance and financially dependent, which would prevent me from obtaining adequate mental health (or medical, to a degree) treatment. In undergrad, I struggled with science classes due to focus/executive function challenges and depression, and I don't know how successful I would be in a postbacc if I could not obtain treatment for those first.
On the other hand, if I work full-time and take premed classes in the evening, my understanding is it would take around 4 years to complete the postbacc and matriculate at med school. That would have me starting at around 29 years old and not finishing until 33. As a woman, I am interested in having a family someday and am concerned I would have to do that before med school in order to get through the classes well enough to get a decent residency. That would delay med school even more, and put me in a situation where in my mid-thirties I would need to either take on ~200k+ of debt or again take money from my family which prolongs and complicates our uncomfortable relationship. (Due to my parents' income bracket I would never be eligible for aid in med school).
I just don't know if it is worth a 7+ year investment to even get to the point of being a resident. I could stomach a 5 year investment maybe, but don't know how to get through a postbacc without being able to access healthcare and being this involved with my family. And I don't think I can stomach the loans for a FT postbacc on top of med school.
To complicate the matter, I think I would basically have to totally give up my interests in writing and the humanities if I pursue this because I would need to work in consulting/data science for at least a few years to make enough money to pull off a postbacc (whether during, or before to save up). On the other hand, if I worked in consulting/data science full time at least I could still write on the side. I don't think I can have time for that during this rigorous process of pursuing medical school. As much as I am passionate about medicine, I am not sure if it would be worth totally giving up my other passions versus being able to continue them if I maintained a high-paying day job that I could obtain right away (i.e. data/consulting) instead of being a science student for 7+ more years.
Sorry this is a lot of information, but I'm just trying to figure out if this is a route that is worth it or if I should stop now, and any advice or experiences from non-traditional students (especially those with multiple interests). Thank you for any insights or opinions!
Now that I am graduating and looking at jobs, I am realizing medicine is the only job I would really be excited about (besides doing a PhD in the humanities, but unfortunately there are no career prospects there). I considered nursing school, but would really love to be a physician so that you can manage a case for yourself and engage in medical decision-making at a high level. I know the field inside and out and am confident in what it entails. I love the lifestyle of working with patients and of seeing new things and new cases every day. I feel most at-home in hospitals and clinical settings and like this is where I am supposed to be. I find the corporate world soul-crushing by contrast.
However, I am concerned about whether the investment as a non-traditional student is worth it. I am graduating undergrad now at 24, nearly 25. I have two options for a postbacc -- attend a yearlong postbacc program full-time, or work full-time and take premed classes in the evenings. I am fortunate enough that my family would be able and willing to pay for me to attend a yearlong postbacc. However, there is a long history of chaos and abuse there and in order to do that, I would need to remain on my family's health insurance and financially dependent, which would prevent me from obtaining adequate mental health (or medical, to a degree) treatment. In undergrad, I struggled with science classes due to focus/executive function challenges and depression, and I don't know how successful I would be in a postbacc if I could not obtain treatment for those first.
On the other hand, if I work full-time and take premed classes in the evening, my understanding is it would take around 4 years to complete the postbacc and matriculate at med school. That would have me starting at around 29 years old and not finishing until 33. As a woman, I am interested in having a family someday and am concerned I would have to do that before med school in order to get through the classes well enough to get a decent residency. That would delay med school even more, and put me in a situation where in my mid-thirties I would need to either take on ~200k+ of debt or again take money from my family which prolongs and complicates our uncomfortable relationship. (Due to my parents' income bracket I would never be eligible for aid in med school).
I just don't know if it is worth a 7+ year investment to even get to the point of being a resident. I could stomach a 5 year investment maybe, but don't know how to get through a postbacc without being able to access healthcare and being this involved with my family. And I don't think I can stomach the loans for a FT postbacc on top of med school.
To complicate the matter, I think I would basically have to totally give up my interests in writing and the humanities if I pursue this because I would need to work in consulting/data science for at least a few years to make enough money to pull off a postbacc (whether during, or before to save up). On the other hand, if I worked in consulting/data science full time at least I could still write on the side. I don't think I can have time for that during this rigorous process of pursuing medical school. As much as I am passionate about medicine, I am not sure if it would be worth totally giving up my other passions versus being able to continue them if I maintained a high-paying day job that I could obtain right away (i.e. data/consulting) instead of being a science student for 7+ more years.
Sorry this is a lot of information, but I'm just trying to figure out if this is a route that is worth it or if I should stop now, and any advice or experiences from non-traditional students (especially those with multiple interests). Thank you for any insights or opinions!
