Engineering to doctor? (pre-requesite courses)

[engdoc]

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Hello all...

I'm a third year mechanical engineering student in canada...
i'm really intrested in med school i was wondering in terms of time...How long it will take to complete the pre-requesite courses needed for med school... take into account that i have no bio or chem courses but i do have quite a bit of courses to meet the physics requirnment.

thanks mates
cheers

 

[RxnMan]

Hello all...

I'm a third year mechanical engineering student in canada...
i'm really intrested in med school i was wondering in terms of time...How long it will take to complete the pre-requesite courses needed for med school... take into account that i have no bio or chem courses but i do have quite a bit of courses to meet the physics requirnment.

thanks mates
cheers

It all depends on the electives allowed in your MechEng program (I knew guys who used pre-med courses to fill elective spots) or what you're willing to do after graduation. You could take night courses and work during the day. At that pace, most folks take 2 courses/semester, which lacking bio and chem, would mean 2 semesters. But you can compact that or stretch it out. Check out the AAMC website for premed requirements and see how that fits with your personal graduation and employment timelines.

 

[Truth_seeker]

Hello all...

I'm a third year mechanical engineering student in canada...
i'm really intrested in med school i was wondering in terms of time...How long it will take to complete the pre-requesite courses needed for med school... take into account that i have no bio or chem courses but i do have quite a bit of courses to meet the physics requirnment.

thanks mates
cheers

It sounds like since you have physics and math completed, you'd only have general chemistry, organic, and biology to complete. If you took two classes/semester, you'd be done in 3 1/2 semesters. Why the switch from engineering to medicine? Good luck!

 

[engdoc]

when would you recommend that i take the MCAT... how about MCAT prep courses are they really as helpful as people say... and if i want to go and buy an MCAT book which one should i go for.. i hear Keplar or somethin is the best
thanks

 

[engdoc]

Truth_seeker.. here is the answer... i decided to make the switch or thought about it when i realized that becoming an engineer would only enable me to plug in numbers into computers and data entry... to tell u the truth iw as misled by many where i was told an engineering job would involve design and improvement of items... now i relize that is probibly 2-5 percent of the jobs out there where the rest are data entry and sitting in a cubicle!! HAVE YOU SEEN officespace!! i don't wanna be another milton lol
cheers

 

[RxnMan]

when would you recommend that i take the MCAT... how about MCAT prep courses are they really as helpful as people say... and if i want to go and buy an MCAT book which one should i go for.. i hear Keplar or somethin is the best
thanks

I did Kaplan, and from their 'diagnostic tests,' I would have scored a 17. I earned a 31 on the real thing after going through their course. Now, you can argue the validity of the diagnostic, but I found it very useful in two ways: 1) they showed (narrowed down) the material the test was going to cover, 2) they had practice exams. The format of the test will change in August, and it will take the test-prep companies some time to readjust their curricula to match. I'd wait a year or more until you take a test-prep course. Remember you need to take the MCAT the spring you apply, which is a year before you'd hope to matriculate (start med school).

 

[RxnMan]

It sounds like since you have physics and math completed, you'd only have general chemistry, organic, and biology to complete. If you took two classes/semester, you'd be done in 3 1/2 semesters. Why the switch from engineering to medicine? Good luck!

I'll put it a few different ways.
Engineering answer: Problems are fun to solve, which is why I like engineering. Within that, people add a level of difficulty not found anywhere else. Socio-economic status, ethnicity, age, mental abilities, life goals, pre-existing conditions - all of these contribute to make working on people-problems a rich and diverse set of challenges.

Visceral answer: I like procedures. They're exciting like nothing else.

Med school admissions answer: (said very passionately) I like to help people!

 

[engdoc]

if i have seen any further its by standing on the shoulds of people from this forum.. 😉 thanks for the answers
k so... let me get things cleared

here is a timeline of this this program they call engineering in canada... can you tell me when if you were me you would prepare and take all the tests and courses and what have yous

Fall 2006(sept 2006)- third year engineering

Winter 2007- OFF(no classes)

Summer 2007 - second semester third year

Fall 2007- OFF (no classes)

Winter 2008- first semester fouth (last) year

Summer 2008- last semester last year and i'm done

I also had a concern about GPA see the thing is... at the university i attend they like to keep gpa down now i'm pretty sure a medical school woudn't know that the university of windsor has high demand of its engineering students... as of now i have a gpa (i'll give you percent because we use gpa out of 13 not 4 😛) of 70-80 now i think that if i was to take the MCAT (with lots of studying of course) i can do better than my gpa would indicate if you know waht i mean... would they take that into consideration kind of like how the SAT is a test to level highschool students and highschools ... thanks in advance
cheers

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

You would need to get a good MCAT score to make that argument. 70-80% = 2.8 - 3.2 GPA on a 4 point scale, which is not competitive at all. Of course, they take your MCAT score into account, but even with a good MCAT score, your low GPA will hurt you. Talk to others or search to find out about how US Medical Schools would deal with the fact that you took the prerequisites in a foreign country. I think some schools do not allow that.

 

[RxnMan]

if i have seen any further its by standing on the shoulds of people from this forum.. 😉 thanks for the answers
k so... let me get things cleared

here is a timeline of this this program they call engineering in canada... can you tell me when if you were me you would prepare and take all the tests and courses and what have yous

Fall 2006(sept 2006)- third year engineering

Winter 2007- OFF(no classes)

Summer 2007 - second semester third year

Fall 2007- OFF (no classes)

Winter 2008- first semester fouth (last) year

Summer 2008- last semester last year and i'm done

I also had a concern about GPA see the thing is... at the university i attend they like to keep gpa down now i'm pretty sure a medical school woudn't know that the university of windsor has high demand of its engineering students... as of now i have a gpa (i'll give you percent because we use gpa out of 13 not 4 😛) of 70-80 now i think that if i was to take the MCAT (with lots of studying of course) i can do better than my gpa would indicate if you know waht i mean... would they take that into consideration kind of like how the SAT is a test to level highschool students and highschools ... thanks in advance
cheers

Strange - I've never seen a trimester system.

The online form for the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) opens up in May each year for the following year's entering class (e.g. apply May of 2006 to get in fall of 2007). You want to have your MCAT at about the time you submit your AMCAS form. Working backwards, if you're looking to enter in fall 2008, I'd think about studying and doing the MCAT early next winter trimester (Jan-March? - with the computer-based format, you can schedule your MCAT much easier) to have it in time for May 2007. That may be hard to schedule with classes, so consider taking another year.

About the engineering GPA, that's a problem many engineering pre-meds face. You will probably need to talk to AMCAS folks to convert your GPA into the 4.0 scale. There's discussions ad nauseum in the Pre-Allo forum about the efficacy of the MCAT to offset GPA. The average MCAT of US med school matriculants is a 30.

 

[engdoc]

okay i can probibly try to get that gpa a little higher BUT here is the thing i was thinking
WHY NOT!!! take my pre-requ classes in an american school ....you know the bio the chem all that fun stuff then i can say look "i got a gpa of 3 from engineering in canada but look.. i went to an american school and i got a gpa of 3.8 in the pre-req classes" now would you think that would have an effect?

by the way... does engineering give me a nice edge or is it not that special

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

okay i can probibly try to get that gpa a little higher BUT here is the thing i was thinking
WHY NOT!!! take my pre-requ classes in an american school ....you know the bio the chem all that fun stuff then i can say look "i got a gpa of 3 from engineering in canada but look.. i went to an american school and i got a gpa of 3.8 in the pre-req classes" now would you think that would have an effect?

by the way... does engineering give me a nice edge or is it not that special

Taking prereqs in the USA sounds like a good idea for you. You are hinting at doing a postbac (which could be informal -- I just took the prereq classes at my local university, not as part of a formal postbac program) which could solve both your lower GPA and needing to take prereqs in the USA problems. ADCOMS will definitely take note of an upward trend in your GPA, but I don't think anyone can really say how much that would help your situation.

Your question about how engineering is looked upon by ADCOMS is an interesting one. I have talked to numerous people and received equally numerous opinions. Here are my conclusions:

- Academically, engineering will PROBABLY be seen as a plus (people know that it is an extremely difficult course of study) but this will NOT make up for a lower GPA. A great MCAT score and a "near 4.0" post-bac in the sciences could help this situation.

- One of the stereotypes of engineers is that they are socially inept. This is something that you will have to overcome in your interview and/or ECs by showing that you are social, able to work well with others, enthusiastic, etc.

I am an engineer applying this cycle, so lots of this is based upon taking to others. Feel free to ping me a few months down the road and I'll be happy to share my experiences.

Good Luck,

Jota

 

[engdoc]

jota jota thanks for the reply and good luck with u'r endevours... i have been reading "The Not So Short Introduction To Getting Into Medical School" it's quite helpful. so as of now waht do you think i shoiuold do... go out anf get an MCAT book... start looking for voulteer experience i'm saying this because i still have 2 months opf my summer left so what would you do if you were i and i were you.

cheers

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

jota jota thanks for the reply and good luck with u'r endevours... i have been reading "The Not So Short Introduction To Getting Into Medical School" it's quite helpful. so as of now waht do you think i shoiuold do... go out anf get an MCAT book... start looking for voulteer experience i'm saying this because i still have 2 months opf my summer left so what would you do if you were i and i were you.

cheers

Most people that I have spoken to say that the top three factors that ADCOMS use to evaluate you are:

1. GPA
2. MCAT
3. Clinical Experience

My advice:

Do what you have to do to make those three factors the best that you can. If you don't have any clinical experience (either by volunteering at a hospital or shadowing doctors) I would try to start ASAP (but you have some time.) Give yourself plenty of time to prepare for the MCAT. Treat MCAT preparation as another class (whether you take a formal MCAT prep. class or not.) I spent about 3 months preparing, and probably would've felt better if I have given myself another month (to do more practice tests, etc,) but I DID get majorly burned out near the end. Also, you'll have to assess whether you feel comfortable or not taking the MCAT without having taken all of the prereqs. I would at least start familiarizing myself with the test and the the types of things that are on it at this point.

Good Luck!

Jota

 

[engdoc]

i was offered a research oppertunity by statistics professor the research involed statistical analysis and all that probability what have yous.... would that help in my application or am i wasting valuable time that could otherwise be spent doing something productive?
cheers

 

[RxnMan]

i was offered a research oppertunity by statistics professor the research involed statistical analysis and all that probability what have yous.... would that help in my application or am i wasting valuable time that could otherwise be spent doing something productive?
cheers

Research experience would be #4 on jota's list, and it's not a waste of your time. Just make sure you get that clinical experience, and try to get some sort of product at the end - poster, abstract, publication. Those are the best evidence you can present to the ADCOMs, proving you do good research work.

I volunteered weekends at the local trauma center, so I was able to fit in both school and EC time. If you're shadowing a doc, they usually like to that during the day. If you work in an ER, for example, its actually better at night when the traumas roll in.

 

[engdoc]

from what i read.. shadowing is following a doctor around and seeing how he works,... now... let me get this straight... do you follow him around the entire time.. even when he's checking up on patients... i'm thinking family medicine here.... i don't get it

 

[engdoc]

i was looking at Kaplan;s MCAT premier program book.. and it seemed like it really began from the basics... can you direct me to what book is best for me since i need absolute basics to more advanced,,, thanks in advance