Do most med school applicants have a bachelors degree?

[Determined]

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Thanks for any feedback,
Determined

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[waiting123]

I do think that most med school applicants will have gotten a bachelor's before they ENROLL in med school, not while APPLYING. HOWEVER, most of these people are in their twenty's and are about to finish college to go straight to med school or they have graduated college and taken only a year or two off. Thus, I think in your case it would be fine to apply to med school because you are a non-traditional applicant and it sounds like you have had enough school. Obviously you have had a great job in another career so they shouldn't expect you to finish your bachelor's eight years later. I think the bachelor's requirement is because they do not want to take people with only 50 or 60 hrs. for example or people who are only like 20 or 19 yrs old with only two years of college. Go ahead and apply and call the schools you plan on applying to to ask them. Remember that you can always take the extra classes in the year of your application so you graduate before you enroll in med school.

 

[Determined]

Thanks for the reply, that is encouraging. Everyone thinks I am crazy for leaving my current career, but in 20 years I will not be satisfied looking back on my life unless I am a doctor. I am 27 now and my wife is an RN (which just made me want to go to medical school worse).

I have scored up to 31 on practice MCAT's so I hope after my prereqs and addtional study I can get to 34 to demonstrate I have not lost any knowledge from when I was in college full time.

Determined

 

[mpp]

Some medical schools require a bachelor's degree before you can begin. But I think it would be best if you will have your degree completed before you begin medical school. You certainly can apply in the summer preceding your anticipated completion.

By the way, have you seen <a href="http://www.oldpremeds.net" target="_blank">www.oldpremeds.net</a> ?

 

[Determined]

Hey thanks mpp! That is a perfect site for me (however this is the first time in my life that I have been referred to as 'old' :wink: ). I supposed it is relative though. My wife is 25 and she this I am old at 27.

Determined

 

[rajneel1]

i think that all allopathic medical schools require you to have a degree before your enroll. so i think you should go ahead and get your degree. if you don't get into medical school then atleast you can reapply while having your degree or do a masters or something based on your degree or get a job with your degree. i think having your degree is pretty important. remember that in medical school admissions, you are competing with really smart people...all of which have or will have college degrees.

 

[analu]

Determined, look in the MSAR at the schools you're interested in. If I recall correctly, there are statistics for each school regarding the number of matriculants who possess bachelor's degrees, grad degrees, or NO degrees (or it might be found on the AAMC website)...the numbers are pretty low. I am sure that MOST schools do NOT require a degree, as long as the applicant fulfills all prereqs. However, they usually say something like "we strongly urge applicants complete baccalaureate prior to matriculation" or "most of our applicants have completed or will complete their bachelor's prior to admission," blah blah blah. Bottom line, a bachelor's can only HELP your chances.

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