latestart said:
hi guys. im 22 turning 23 this year and so far ive been just doing what a lot of youths have been doing, taking a class here and there and going to work etc. however, i have always wanted to be a doctor and help people. being from a third world country, and being poor, it has always been just a dream. moving here to america has opened up opportunities and going to med school is one of them. now im just starting on my pre med stuff. I have finished my ge requirements for transferring to a UC. however, i have 0 in the core sciences requirements for a biology degree. i am planning to transfer to UCSD or SF (both tough schools to get into). now since i am starting late (ill probably finish doing my science requirement stuff in like 2 yrs or more) are there anyone knowledgeable and if its not too much of a burden, probably briefly outline a step-by-step plan for me? i would really appreciate it and since most of you guys seem like well rounded and sound individuals any input will be much appreciated. thank you guys and good luck to everyone.
p.s
i also got a degree from a technical institute besides my constant amount of withdraws from college courses. now will med schools look at that and see that as indecisiveness or lack of dedication?
In addition to what GatewayHoward suggested...
1) Please take the time to look up which schools you want to transfer too. UCSF IS A GRADUATE SCHOOL. They offer only ONE bachelors degree and thats in dental-hygiene.
2) A degree from a technical institute may not be transferrable to med school, and probably not to a UC for undergrad. If its anything like transferring from a private school like UOP to UCI, those courses are pretty much worthless in terms of credit.
3) Getting 1 or 2 W's is ok, getting too many is bad. I believe UC's will question that even for undergrad, and you can only have too many W's as an undergrad before UC's questions your academic status. Depending on the number of W's you have, you will have to address this when applying to med school. Even though you had to work full-time and so forth, others have to as well and have managed their coursework to survive. Therefore that is the applicant pool that you will be going against when applying to med school.
4) Its not impossible, but will be difficult. My cousin came to the US from SE asia back in the mid-90's not speaking a word of english. After some high school, he went to UCR, and then got into UCLA school of medicine. He had no money, and son on, but also worked his behind off, and was dedicated from the get go.
5) I personally have 2 W's as a freshman in college back in 2000. I worked full-time, and supported my family. After transfering to a UC, i continued to commute about 1.5hrs every other day to support my family. Money was an issue, but you had to do what you had to do. If you can't handle work, classes, and EC's at the same time (within reasonable amounts), then that is not showing adcoms that you can handle medical school. Doing well, as a full-time student, while doing EC's, and having a life (including working) is viewed in a very positive light.
6) If work is of an issue, then you better resolve this soon. As time moves forward, questions will arise such as taking the MCAT, applications and so fourth. You cannot withdraw in the middle of the MCAT, it will show that you voided the test, and you can essentially only take the test 3 times.
So yea, a lot to do, and you will have to see if its feasible or not. That appear to have a lot of underlying factors that may make undergrad challenging, so I would suggest worrying about those first, before worrying about what it takes into med school. Plenty of time to go to med school, but if your application raises red flags to the adcoms, that might be a very long lasting scar on your records...and require a lot of additional work to heal. Good luck!
