Engineer looking to get into Medicine

[Aozkan]

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Graduated in 2015 as an engineer. Looking to get into Med School.Quite serious about this change. What is the pathway that you'd suggest?
I'm aware I need to take the premed classes and raise my GPA.
Is there a structured postbac program that can help me with things Med schools require (extracurriculars,MCAT,prereqs etc..) ?


GPA : 3.27
Took a year of chemistry, physics. No org chemistry.
One Biology class.
No shadowing/volunteering

 

[hamiltonnyc]

The first thing I'd do is remove your profile photo for anonymity. Then I'd ask you want you're looking for in a postbac and ask you what you've done to research this?

 

[AB92]

I'm not in medical school (I'm applying next summer for the 2021-2022 cycle), but I graduated in 2014 as an engineer so I can at least share with you what I have done to get to this point. Take it with a grain of salt, and I can get back to you this time next year to let you know if it was successful!

It was end of 2018 when I decided I wanted to pursue medicine. I support myself financially, so I knew quitting my full-time engineering job and going back to school full time wasn't an option. I started all this the Spring semester of 2019, and I am finishing up my last classes this semester! I plan to take Jan- Mar to study for the MCAT and take that in April, right before applications open in May.

I began volunteering at a hospital for 4 hours every weekend, and I also began volunteering at a hospice and another community organization for a few hours a month. For shadowing, I cold called some physicians in specialties that I was interested in and got about a week's worth of shadowing combined. With COVID now, I'm not sure how easy the hospital volunteering and shadowing are to come by, but there are a lot of community organizations that still need volunteers! I don't necessarily have hundreds of volunteering hours like other posts you'll see on sdn, but I picked a few organizations I really liked, and have been at them for almost 2 years at this point. In my opinion, when you're working full time but doing a few hours a month for a few years, that still says a lot!

 

[Goro]

Graduated in 2015 as an engineer. Looking to get into Med School.Quite serious about this change. What is the pathway that you'd suggest?
I'm aware I need to take the premed classes and raise my GPA.
Is there a structured postbac program that can help me with things Med schools require (extracurriculars,MCAT,prereqs etc..) ?


GPA : 3.27
Took a year of chemistry, physics. No org chemistry.
One Biology class.
No shadowing/volunteering

Start volunteering.

 

[Sleepingdoc]

Graduated in 2015 as an engineer. Looking to get into Med School.Quite serious about this change. What is the pathway that you'd suggest?
I'm aware I need to take the premed classes and raise my GPA.
Is there a structured postbac program that can help me with things Med schools require (extracurriculars,MCAT,prereqs etc..) ?


GPA : 3.27
Took a year of chemistry, physics. No org chemistry.
One Biology class.
No shadowing/volunteering

You have not shadowed or volunteered.... volunteer at an ER for a year.... See how their life is like before you make a change.

 

[DocJanItor]

You have not shadowed or volunteered.... volunteer at an ER for a year.... See how their life is like before you make a change.

Not going to happen during covid

 

[Sleepingdoc]

Not going to happen during covid

So he/she needs to have a really convincing story of why he is switching fields.. Hope its not for the money- not worth it.

 

[anniekat2025]

Graduated in 2015 as an engineer. Looking to get into Med School.Quite serious about this change. What is the pathway that you'd suggest?
I'm aware I need to take the premed classes and raise my GPA.
Is there a structured postbac program that can help me with things Med schools require (extracurriculars,MCAT,prereqs etc..) ?


GPA : 3.27
Took a year of chemistry, physics. No org chemistry.
One Biology class.
No shadowing/volunteering

Hey there! I graduated with my engineering degree in 2017 and applied this cycle. I have a few DO and MD acceptances so far (with a lower GPA than you) so it's definitely possible.

Does your GPA have an upward or downward trend? With a strong upward trend, I think a low GPA is less of a negative factor.

I don't think there is a structured postbacc program that will help you get everything done but I can give you my two cents based on the DIY program I used.

1. I would get some shadowing/clinical volunteering experiences ASAP. Not only will this help you build your application, it will also help you solidify why you want to become a physician. Personally, I got my EMT license and used it to volunteer in some free clinics. Not only did my clinical work help me build my application, it also was a refreshing reminder of why I wanted to be a physician when I was feeling especially bogged down in organic chemistry or MCAT studying. EMT is a great option because in most states it will allow you to work/volunteer in a wide variety of clinical settings. It also doesn't take long to obtain the cert; I got mine in 12 weeks. You can also look into medical assistant or CNA programs.

2. Finish up your prereqs. Every school is slightly different but it is a safe assumption that you will need one more biology class and an organic chemistry class with lab. I recommend taking biochemistry as well, especially before you take the MCAT.

3. It's definitely possible to do self-study for the MCAT. Other people may have different opinions but I don't think you need to take a class to prepare. I feel my engineering background prepared me well for the MCAT and I assume the same will be true for you. It's a problem-solving/critical thinking test, not a rote memorization/regurgitation test.

I realize this reply is very broad and possibly not all that helpful. If you have more specific questions, I am happy to answer them. Always excited to "meet" other engineers transitioning into medicine. 🙂

 

[AB92]

Hey there! I graduated with my engineering degree in 2017 and applied this cycle. I have a few DO and MD acceptances so far (with a lower GPA than you) so it's definitely possible.

Does your GPA have an upward or downward trend? With a strong upward trend, I think a low GPA is less of a negative factor.

I don't think there is a structured postbacc program that will help you get everything done but I can give you my two cents based on the DIY program I used.

1. I would get some shadowing/clinical volunteering experiences ASAP. Not only will this help you build your application, it will also help you solidify why you want to become a physician. Personally, I got my EMT license and used it to volunteer in some free clinics. Not only did my clinical work help me build my application, it also was a refreshing reminder of why I wanted to be a physician when I was feeling especially bogged down in organic chemistry or MCAT studying. EMT is a great option because in most states it will allow you to work/volunteer in a wide variety of clinical settings. It also doesn't take long to obtain the cert; I got mine in 12 weeks. You can also look into medical assistant or CNA programs.

2. Finish up your prereqs. Every school is slightly different but it is a safe assumption that you will need one more biology class and an organic chemistry class with lab. I recommend taking biochemistry as well, especially before you take the MCAT.

3. It's definitely possible to do self-study for the MCAT. Other people may have different opinions but I don't think you need to take a class to prepare. I feel my engineering background prepared me well for the MCAT and I assume the same will be true for you. It's a problem-solving/critical thinking test, not a rote memorization/regurgitation test.

I realize this reply is very broad and possibly not all that helpful. If you have more specific questions, I am happy to answer them. Always excited to "meet" other engineers transitioning into medicine. 🙂

Hi! I'm an engineer planning to apply next cycle. Could I PM you with some questions? I'd love to hear about your experiences this cycle!

 

[anniekat2025]

Hi! I'm an engineer planning to apply next cycle. Could I PM you with some questions? I'd love to hear about your experiences this cycle!

By all means, please do! Sorry it took me a minute to realize you replied.

 

[AB92]

By all means, please do! Sorry it took me a minute to realize you replied.

I can't figure out how to send you a message, but thank you so much for letting me ask you a few questions! I'm interested to hear what schools you applied to and which ones (if any) liked that you have an engineering background. My gpa is a 3.49 and my sGPA is 3.63. I did a DIY post bacc with all A's to get my gpa's up to that because engineering classes didn't do my gpa any favors!

 

[anniekat2025]

I can't figure out how to send you a message, but thank you so much for letting me ask you a few questions! I'm interested to hear what schools you applied to and which ones (if any) liked that you have an engineering background. My gpa is a 3.49 and my sGPA is 3.63. I did a DIY post bacc with all A's to get my gpa's up to that because engineering classes didn't do my gpa any favors!

Sent you a message! Let me know if you can't see it haha.