Greetings everyone! Have been pondering the idea of medical school for a year or so, and wanted to put my idea's in writing and hopefully get some insight and advice from others who have been in the same boat.
Some background: I'm currently 34. I'm a Navy veteran who did poorly in school originally (like 1.6 GPA bad before the Navy) and after the Navy clawed my way up to a 3.00 with an Electrical Engineering degree and I'm now an Engineer at NASA. My spouse is a Psychiatrist and was really the one who spurred my interest and made me realize that going to medical school is not outside of the realm of possibility. I also learned just how different all the specialties are and that increased my interest drastically as I had less interest in doing family medicine or emergency medicine, but i am very interested in fields like radiology and the research behind it.
My plan so far: I am 5 classes shy of my premed requirements (Chem 2, OChem 1&2, Bio 1&2) and planning to take a class at night each semester starting in Spring of 25. When i worked out the timeline, I realized that would mean i need to apply to medical school starting next year if I wanted to start in Fall of 26. Writing down a loose schedule of how things could pan out made me realize i need to start prepping for the MCAT asap.
I took one diagnostic test to gauge my standing after being out of the classroom for about 5 years. It was the Blueprint diagnostic test (judging from other posts, companies seem to make them harder to make it look like you improve more for the real thing?) I scored a 487 (118/125/118/126). I wasn't to surprised with the score given how i haven't taken any pure science classes in about 9 years, but it definitely highlighted my area's to focus on.
I know the prep for this is going to be tough since i wont be taking any of these classes except maybe Bio 1 or Chem 2 before i have to take the MCAT for my actual application (assuming i do okay). If anyone has any prep tips I would be glad to hear them for how you brushed up!
Currently, I'm starting to review all the terminology since that was the biggest thing that messed me up on the diagnostic test given how far removed from school I am. Also starting to review a bit of KA, i used them a ton in engineering school and loved the way they conduct videos.
Expectations: My goal is to get at least a 515 MCAT, aiming for a 520. I'm hoping with my background and a higher MCAT it will make up for my GPA.
Is this too lofty of a goal/expectation that it would be enough to get into a Florida school?
Looking forward to this journey and any criticism/feedback you all have for my loose plan!
Some background: I'm currently 34. I'm a Navy veteran who did poorly in school originally (like 1.6 GPA bad before the Navy) and after the Navy clawed my way up to a 3.00 with an Electrical Engineering degree and I'm now an Engineer at NASA. My spouse is a Psychiatrist and was really the one who spurred my interest and made me realize that going to medical school is not outside of the realm of possibility. I also learned just how different all the specialties are and that increased my interest drastically as I had less interest in doing family medicine or emergency medicine, but i am very interested in fields like radiology and the research behind it.
My plan so far: I am 5 classes shy of my premed requirements (Chem 2, OChem 1&2, Bio 1&2) and planning to take a class at night each semester starting in Spring of 25. When i worked out the timeline, I realized that would mean i need to apply to medical school starting next year if I wanted to start in Fall of 26. Writing down a loose schedule of how things could pan out made me realize i need to start prepping for the MCAT asap.
I took one diagnostic test to gauge my standing after being out of the classroom for about 5 years. It was the Blueprint diagnostic test (judging from other posts, companies seem to make them harder to make it look like you improve more for the real thing?) I scored a 487 (118/125/118/126). I wasn't to surprised with the score given how i haven't taken any pure science classes in about 9 years, but it definitely highlighted my area's to focus on.
I know the prep for this is going to be tough since i wont be taking any of these classes except maybe Bio 1 or Chem 2 before i have to take the MCAT for my actual application (assuming i do okay). If anyone has any prep tips I would be glad to hear them for how you brushed up!
Currently, I'm starting to review all the terminology since that was the biggest thing that messed me up on the diagnostic test given how far removed from school I am. Also starting to review a bit of KA, i used them a ton in engineering school and loved the way they conduct videos.
Expectations: My goal is to get at least a 515 MCAT, aiming for a 520. I'm hoping with my background and a higher MCAT it will make up for my GPA.
Is this too lofty of a goal/expectation that it would be enough to get into a Florida school?
Looking forward to this journey and any criticism/feedback you all have for my loose plan!
