Give me your good, bad, & the ugly of starting sooo late...

[Z06]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Anyone else close to 40 out there thinking about starting or completed any post-bacc programs from non-trad background? If you have no science background like me, how long are you planning on taking your core classes? Thank you in advance for any insight. 🙂

 

[relentless11]

Anyone else close to 40 out there thinking about starting or completed any post-bacc programs from non-trad background? If you have no science background like me, how long are you planning on taking your core classes? Thank you in advance for any insight. 🙂

In theory it should take you about 1.5-2 years to get all your pre-reqs done, and take the MCAT. Although 40 ain't bad, there are med schools that have 40 year olds that are starting their first year, but always good to do things effectively but efficiently as well.

My suggestion is to do a post-bacc program intended for "career changers". One example is Scripps in Southern California. Although expensive, they essentially get you ready to go (coursework, MCAT), and also have some "guaranteed" admission to some of the east coast med schools. I think Georgetown or George Washington was one of them (please check these). Its competative to get into as well, and the program itself is quite rigorous.

Pretty much you don't want to move to fast and get bad grades, but at the same time you don't want to get bogged down in tedious pre-med coursework since you also have to prepare for the MCAT, and the application cycle can be long and frustrating. Think of it as a marathon.

 

[blee]

If you have at least some working knowledge of calculus (enough that you could look up something in a text if you needed a particular integral/derivative), then you can knock out all of the science pre-reqs in one full year. I knew plenty of non-science majors who went through their post-bacc programs at the same pace that I did and got similar grades.

(As an aside, I went through Georgetown's post-bacc program. It does not guarantee admission anywhere, but it is ideal for career changers or anyone who lacks the basic science courses or needs a refresher.)

I would advise taking a courseload as heavy as possible while still making As. If that means that you can take gen chem over the summer, then orgo/bio/physics concurrently during the school year while preparing for the April MCAT, then so be it; if you have to work, or if you think you'd be better served by taking two classes at a time instead, then that's what you have to do. Don't waste your potential by sandbagging your coursework, but don't set unrealistic goals either.

BTW, on the good, bad, & ugly -- it appears that the "good" would be a Z06. 😉 Life could certainly be worse, couldn't it?

 

[Z06]

Working F/T right now so planning on taking 2 years P/T in post-bacc. From what I've heard that might be the best timeframe and the one I feel most comfortable with to soak in everything. Thank you for the comments & insight.