Econ Major, want to do med. where to start?

[sl2obel2ts]

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This question is for my girlfriend.

She was planning to go to law school but after working in the field for a couple of years, she realized that it is not for her, and she wants to pursue medicine.

I suggested her going through community college to take some prereqs at night (she works during day). do medschool adcoms look down on cc classes? I think it is a better idea to go to local state college but she wants to work full-time.

She majored in econ from one of the top 25 univs and she didn't take a single science classes except some caclulus and nutrisci. Her GPA isn't really strong, but I think she can pull 4.0 science GPA from a community college or a state college no problem. What are her options?

 

[EnjoyCoke]

This question is for my girlfriend.

She was planning to go to law school but after working in the field for a couple of years, she realized that it is not for her, and she wants to pursue medicine.

I suggested her going through community college to take some prereqs at night (she works during day). do medschool adcoms look down on cc classes? I think it is a better idea to go to local state college but she wants to work full-time.

She majored in econ from one of the top 25 univs and she didn't take a single science classes except some caclulus and nutrisci. Her GPA isn't really strong, but I think she can pull 4.0 science GPA from a community college or a state college no problem. What are her options?

only the cc has night classes?

taking some classes at ccs is ok, but i think it might be best not to take ALL your prereqs at a cc... schools like to see you can succeed at a four year college.

 

[Nuggles]

She should look into a post-bac program. There are many 'career-changer' programs out there designed for people like her. They typically take one to two years to finish all of the prerequisites required for medical school.

SDN even has its very own forum for us post-baccers 😀! Good luck!
http://more.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=71

 

[sl2obel2ts]

what do you guys think about research. I go to UCSF dental, and I can hook her up with a research position, but is it mandatory or necessary? In order to do some research, she gotta quit her job.

 

[rama kandra]

give me her info/biodata. I think I may have her answer.

 

[sl2obel2ts]

econ ba at cal 3.2gpa, no science courses at all
3 part-time jobs during undergrad (finances and lawfirm), pretty much worked whenever she had free time
volunteering and leadership in college
Teach for America internship
currently workin at mesothelioma law firm <-- this is where she found out she doesnt wanna do law but wants to deal with sick people instead
no research, no publications

 

[rama kandra]

Well, I read through this and really dont find any reasonable way to oppose her going into medicine. She sounds like she wants to be a doctor or work with people in healthcare. I wish her the best and that if she did not feel law was for her, she really wont be happy. I suggest she follow her gut on this.

One thing that I would like to know is the reason why she did not like law and what she likes about healthcare. She obviously got experience in the field for law but has she worked in a hospital? Spent time around doctors and patients to know that she may hate that field too?

 

[Bernoull]

econ ba at cal 3.2gpa, no science courses at all
3 part-time jobs during undergrad (finances and lawfirm), pretty much worked whenever she had free time
volunteering and leadership in college
Teach for America internship
currently workin at mesothelioma law firm <-- this is where she found out she doesnt wanna do law but wants to deal with sick people instead
no research, no publications

If she does very well in her sciences (>3.6), get clinical exposure, and MCAT, she'll be good to go..

 

[Morsetlis]

Start post-bacc and the necessary medical volunteering/clinical/research EC's. This process takes ~2 years.

 

[LizzyM]

It is very reasonable to take the courses in a community college setting while continuing to work. I interviewed someone this year who had that type of application (and my school makes interview invites to very few applicants). She has graduated from a good undergrad instituiton and so has shown the ability to handle that setting. The MCAT will tell us if her cc gpa is inflated or not. (We see someone with an excellent gpa from a low tier school and an MCAT of 39 we sit up and take notice, if the MCAT is a 26, not so much).

A lab gig would help if she is interested in a top 20 research oriented med school. If she is more interested in being a good clinician and attending a mid-tier school it is less important to have done research.

She should shadow some docs and spend some time in clinical settings to see if the reality of health care matches her perception of what it is (she thought she wanted to do law before she spent some time in a law office). Finally, she should be involved in some community service, even just a few hours per week. It can be a clinical setting (2 birds/1 stone) or non-clinical (shelter, soup kitchen, food pantry, tutoring, adult literacy). It shows an ability to serve others (altruism).

There is something to be said for post-bac programs. The good ones will link students with clinical experiences and research opportunities and they write the very best (informative) LORs that really describe the student's journey to medicine in great detail (no limit as with the AMCAS personal statement). The down side is that they are full-time and expensive and usually mean giving up your job (some can be done part-time, evening for awhile and then switch to full time if it seems to be working out).

 

[Morsetlis]

Lizzy hit the nail on the head with the post-bacc's.