Fastest Route to Med School

[DrSmooth]

Hi Everyone,
I am 33 and recently decided after months of soul searching that I am going to become a doctor. I have a BS in Child Development, cumulative GPA of 3.39 and am in Southern CA. I need to take all the science pre reqs and calculus. I would like to take the quickest route possible to Med school and am a very strong student who unfortunately did not apply myself in undergrad. I need to stay in Southern CA for pre med and would like to go to Med School in Denver if possible, both for family reasons. My question is, what is the fastest way for me to get there?

I am too late to apply for the Scripps post bac program, I am currently looking at USC, CSUF (alma mater), CSLA, CSSB, University of Laverne, Azusa Pacific, La Sierra, and Chapman.

It sounds like it will take me three years at any of those schools counting a glide year. Is there a way to do it faster, considering application deadlines, closed classes, MCAT, etc? Thanks.

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[Manyac86]

You could do the whole process in 2 years and not 3.
If you have absolutely no BCPM prereqs done:

Summer 08:
Chem 1 + Lab
Chem 2 + Lab

Fall 08
Calc I
Ochem 1 + Lab
Bio 1 + Lab
Physics 1 + Lab

Spring 09
Calc II
Ochem 2 + Lab
Bio 2 + Lab
Physics 2 + Lab

Summer 09:
Study for MCAT for 2 months. Take a late summer MCAT. Apply.

Fall 09 + Spring 10:
-Take more advanced classes such as Biochem. (which a few schools require). Have a relatively relaxed year where you can take time off from work going to interviews and also enjoy your last year of freedom.


Some thoughts about this plan: You will have a packed schedule with a lot of labs. You probably will not have time for this schedule plus a full time job (although if have good time management the sky's the limit) Also this means you do not have much time for extracurriculars. Although with a degree in child development I'd imagine you've worked in a clinical environment which would work.
Possibly you could try to move another class to the summer 08 in addition to chem. Also you could delay taking a few of the labs until the fall 09-spring '10 year. Thus you would have covered the material in time for an MCAT and be slightly less stressed in your 1 year fast postbac.

about where to go: I'd say go to a university that is convenient/cheap for you for your postbac.

 

[jlittlej]

If you're crazy, you could take Chem I&II this summer and Phys I, Bio I and Orgo I in the fall and their second semesters in the spring. MCAT next summer. You'd be applying a little later than optimal, but it could still work. Or you could move Orgo I&II to next summer if you're working a lot and then take the August MCAT.

As far as where to take these courses...presumably your concerns are money and grading difficulty. State schools are a lot cheaper than private schools in most cases. I've anecdotally read that the Cal State schools are easier to get As in than the UC schools, and that might be an important consideration. If you sign up for what's called an "informal post-bac," you're not in a formal program, and you just take the courses on a ad hoc or a la carte or another latin or french phrase basis. A lot of people have done this, and it's easy and generally cheaper, but you don't have the formal support structure or peers. If you need financial aid, you can declare for a second bachelor's degree even if you do not intend to finish it.

There's only one allopathic medical school in Colorado, and it's a state school in Denver. A lot of state schools have a quota in terms of the number of state residents per class, and gaining admission can be more difficult if you're an out-of-stater. I believe an osteopathic medical school either recently opened or is opening soon in a Denver suburb, if you're interested in that. With the difficulty of getting into medical school, I probably would not set my hopes on one school, let alone one I'm not a state resident of.

Finally, it's easy to conceive of going back to school and being a great student. You have an OK GPA in a field that's presumably a lot less difficult than the science classes you're going to be taking (no offense attended, I had a lower GPA in a probably easier field). Your study habits will have to seriously change if you want to succeed. I've met a lot of people who go back to school thinking they're all of a sudden going to be excellent students , and many don't or won't make it. Some drop out once they realize the commitment required. Some get mostly Bs and maybe a C or two and won't get in anywhere. Good luck.

 

[jlittlej]

I forgot about Calc, which actually isn't required at a lot of schools or the Colorado one, though they do require some "college-level" math. You could always put it off to the fall right after you apply, as it's not tested on the MCAT, and you can take algebra-based physics.

 

[glamqueen]

Did you realize U of C at Denver med school is about 70,000 a year for non-residents? Just something to think about...

I'd love to go there too, but I'm going to look at it for residency instead, because this number is unreasonable compared with my state school plus more reasonably priced out-of-state ones.

 

[gman33]

Don't look for the fastest route, look for one that will get you into med school. If you have been out of school for a while and have never taken any hard science courses, you are asking for trouble by taking 3 or 4 science courses with labs at the same time. As a post-bacc student 1 or 2 bad grades will make it very difficult to get accepted. Summer classes also move very fast, I'd stay away from them until you have a few classes under your belt. I advise starting out very conservatively and making sure you get A's in every class you take. Search the boards if you want to hear more stories about people who started out poorly and are now struggling to ever get in anywhere. I know a few personally.

Also, don't go into this with the plan of attending a particular school. With your low UG gpa, you will have to apply very broadly and take any acceptance that you may get. You may even need to take some additional classes in order to get your gpa up a little. I'd say you are about 2 years of full-time coursework away from applying.

Don't forget about the rest of your app. Get a volunteer position now. Many schools won't consider you without this experience. Plus, it's the best way for you to figure out if you really want to be a doctor.

Good luck.

 

[njbmd]

Hi Everyone,
I am 33 and recently decided after months of soul searching that I am going to become a doctor. I have a BS in Child Development, cumulative GPA of 3.39 and am in Southern CA. I need to take all the science pre reqs and calculus. I would like to take the quickest route possible to Med school and am a very strong student who unfortunately did not apply myself in undergrad. I need to stay in Southern CA for pre med and would like to go to Med School in Denver if possible, both for family reasons. My question is, what is the fastest way for me to get there?

I am too late to apply for the Scripps post bac program, I am currently looking at USC, CSUF (alma mater), CSLA, CSSB, University of Laverne, Azusa Pacific, La Sierra, and Chapman.

It sounds like it will take me three years at any of those schools counting a glide year. Is there a way to do it faster, considering application deadlines, closed classes, MCAT, etc? Thanks.

Your uGPA is low for allopathic medical schools and quite likely by the time you apply, the average medical school matriculant uGPA will be significantly higher as this average goes up yearly. With that 3.39, most allopathic schools would likely find this too low so get your uGPA up. Since you are a non-science major, you need to really work on that uGPA.

Needless to say, you need to take the pre-med courses and do extremely well in them (no grade less than B+ and mostly As) but even then, you are going to raise your uGPA just a bit (the more hours you have the more difficult to raise uGPA with additional coursework). You can do a spreadsheet and figure out high you can get with all As, mostly As etc.

You also need to take the MCAT and score well. This is easier said than done and takes careful prep. I have seen plenty of A-students bomb this exam because they believed that just getting As in the pre-reqs would be enough prep. Take plenty of time and prepare for this very important exam.

Nothing about application and preparation for medical school is a rapid process. It's expensive and long-term (think losing 100 pounds here, it isn't likely to be successful if you attempt to crash-diet) You need a fully competitive application which includes minimally, a competitive uGPA and MCAT, good extracurriculars, solid letters of recommendation and a well-written personal statement that clearly outlines why you believe you would make a good physician.

To attempt to rush through this process adds years not cuts them. Take your time and put up some excellent academics which you have yet to do. To state that you are a "strong student" who just "did't apply" themselves is an oxymoron. If you are a strong student, you apply yourself and you have good academics which you don't show any evidence of. I can tell you that a medical school admissions committee (because I sit on two) is going to look at what you have quite objectively so make your work stand out.

 

[Law2Doc]

Don't look for the fastest route, look for one that will get you into med school.

I agree with the prior two posts. The goal isn't to rush, the goal is to get in. That means lining all your ducks into a row before pulling the trigger. This isn't a game of rushing. Once you get into med school, you still have 4 years of med school and 3-6 years of residency, maybe some research years depending on your program, perhaps a fellowship, etc before you get to practice. So honestly an extra year at the onset that facilitates the next step is not something you should try to avoid -- it is negligible compared to the number of years of school and training you are going to have to devote to this effort. Plan on it taking a long time, don't focus on shortcuts. Patience is a virtue.

 

[DrSmooth]

Thanks so much for the feedback! Will it matter to Adcomms that my upper division GPA (pre post-bac) was 3.67 (my final 2 years), while lower division was 3.24 (my first 2 years), or are they just looking at the cumulative GPA and premed courses? In addition, I have done 20 units of graduate work and have all A's. Thanks again.

 

[gman33]

Upward grade trend is good, grad GPA means next to nothing.

 

[Law2Doc]

Upward grade trend is good, grad GPA means next to nothing.

Agreed. Grad work in medical school type classes (such as an SMP) will be of value in showing your ability to handle the work, but the GPA itself is not used in admissions in any meaningful way. (Tanking a non-SMP grad school can keep you out, but acing one won't add much).