Engineering degree? Question for a friend.

[HotandCold]

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So I've got a friend from outside the country. The guy tried to do Med School in the middle-east, and he got kicked the first year (Which of course, means the first year of "premed" in the US.)

He's currently taking courses at a community college in the US. He wants a degree in civil engineering.

Over a discussion we had, he basically blasted medical school here, saying something along the lines of 'anyone can do it here' and was really pompous. Then he said an engineering degree could get you into Medical School without taking the pre reqs- all you needed to take was the MCAT. I told him that that didn't sound right, and that I'd find out for him.

So, what would happen if a guy was a civil engineering bachelors degree decided to apply for medical school without taking the pre reqs? Would that work for him? Keep in mind: he hasn't taken any Orgo and no bio beyond the first one. No genetics, no Biochem, no cell. Nothing like that. Just physics and math (at a community college.)

 

[DrMidlife]

Your friend is delusional.

First he needs a green card or citizenship to go to a US med school (there are very, very few exceptions to this).

Second he needs a good MCAT score, which you can't reasonably get without studying the content on the MCAT: bio, chem, ochem, physics, and soon genetics, biochem, humanities and social science. There are people who don't take prereqs who can ace the MCAT anyway and there are some schools that make exceptions with the prereqs, but again, there are very, very few exceptions made.

Third he needs a high undergrad GPA, which I expect will be a problem for him since he was kicked out of undergrad in his home country and hasn't started taking hard university courses yet.

Fourth he needs to demonstrate commitment to medicine by volunteering or working in clinical settings, doing menial tasks. I doubt he has the humility to do this.

Fifth he needs faculty letters of recommendations, which I doubt will be easy for him because he has such disdain for authority.

I hope you have better friends than this one.

Best of luck to you.

 

[NightOwly]

If you're a medical student, then I think you already know what it takes and what others here would say.

So I won't go into that, but what I will say is this --- what someone says (about others) is a confession of self.

Basically, all sorts of red flags go up whenever anyone shows defensive behavior, arrogance, and especially if they put others down. He got himself kicked out of medical school. That says nothing about anyone but himself.

 

[HotandCold]

I mean, I know he's not medical school material. I was just interested in the whole "Civil Engineering Degree, no pre reqs" thing he said. That's what really got me.

 

[pkwraith]

As an engineer, to answer your question, this is the process that would occur if he applies without prereqs (assuming he takes the MCAT):

1. He applies to his schools.
2. 10% of the schools will reject him at the primary stage.
2. 80% of the schools will reject him at the secondary stage after they get their money
3. If he gets any interviews, he will have a 99% rejection rate

If for some reason, in the 0.1% of chances that he miraculously slips through to get an acceptance, he will have a hard 0% matriculation rate, as the last check for prereqs will prevent him from attending.

The end result is that a lot of money spent for a 0% chance.

 

[TriagePreMed]

So I've got a friend from outside the country. The guy tried to do Med School in the middle-east, and he got kicked the first year (Which of course, means the first year of "premed" in the US.)

He's currently taking courses at a community college in the US. He wants a degree in civil engineering.

Over a discussion we had, he basically blasted medical school here, saying something along the lines of 'anyone can do it here' and was really pompous. Then he said an engineering degree could get you into Medical School without taking the pre reqs- all you needed to take was the MCAT. I told him that that didn't sound right, and that I'd find out for him.

So, what would happen if a guy was a civil engineering bachelors degree decided to apply for medical school without taking the pre reqs? Would that work for him? Keep in mind: he hasn't taken any Orgo and no bio beyond the first one. No genetics, no Biochem, no cell. Nothing like that. Just physics and math (at a community college.)

He would get rejected, and seeing how the US is on the top of medical research and clinical practice, he has no idea of what it takes to be a doctor here. People in 3rd world countries have a fascination for pretending their universities are better and tougher, but the truth is they are not.