Guidance? My Stats included

[Valkryst]

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* Cumulative GPA 3.6
* Business Administration Degrees in Finance / Information Systems from the University of Washington
* Worked for over 1 year in portfolio management (hedge funds)
* Worked for over 1 year in private sector consulting

After two years in the business setting -- I want a job that is more personally fulfilling and challenges me to keep up to date on the sciences. I was looking into law but that would be a step away from where I want to be.

Ideally I would want a 1 year postbacc that provides linkages or a high rate of acceptance to med school. Can anyone provide initial direction for me?

Thanks and cheers! 👍

 

[DannyV]

Have you taken any of the premed courses yet?

 

[Valkryst]

Not yet. Though I have a healthy mathematics base and I believe I could jump right into the content on the premed curriculum.

I am also beginning to volunteer on a weekly basis at a local hospital.

 

[DrMidlife]

Do you need to stay in Seattle? That would be unfortunate, but not impossible.

Scripps and Mills, in California, have good reputations, but frankly their linkages are unimpressive. Goucher and Bryn Mawr are the ones that set the standard.

 

[Valkryst]

I would definitely be open to the possibility of relocation. Though, the CA options are appealing as I am a resident of the state now (been living there for a year).

Based on my GPA and work history should I be optomistic about my prospects or should I take a dose of reality and keep my options open (I.E. law schools)?

(btw I really appreciate the feedback here - great community 😀)

 

[camaras2480]

I would definitely be open to the possibility of relocation. Though, the CA options are appealing as I am a resident of the state now (been living there for a year).

Based on my GPA and work history should I be optomistic about my prospects or should I take a dose of reality and keep my options open (I.E. law schools)?

(btw I really appreciate the feedback here - great community 😀)

I think you can certainly do it. A strong year of postbac covering all your pre-reqs would of course be the best start. Assuming you can continue maintaining a GPA of 3.6+, an MCAT in the 31-33 range would open up several doors.

Good thing you are starting to volunteer at a hospital weekly. However, it would be very helpful to include some other things as well - clinical shadowing for sure, and if possible, some type of research project.

Whether or not you need a dose of reality depends entirely on how you perform in your postbac, and how well you score on the MCAT 🙂

 

[ali20685]

I would definitely be open to the possibility of relocation. Though, the CA options are appealing as I am a resident of the state now (been living there for a year).

Based on my GPA and work history should I be optomistic about my prospects or should I take a dose of reality and keep my options open (I.E. law schools)?

(btw I really appreciate the feedback here - great community 😀)

Your GPA looks decent as you go into a post bac program. Post bacs also require you to submit either your SAT or GRE. If you did not do too well on the SAT then you may want to consider taking your GRE. I don't know your testing stats, so you would need to decide which is right to submit for your situation. Bryn Mawr is a really good one year post bac on the east coast (Pa.) with linkages as well as high medical school acceptances. You are on a good road with volunteering at a hospital, but may want to consider other volunteer work as well. I know that shadowing was helpful to me when writing my personal statement/reasons for entering medicine, so you might consider that as well. Again, these are just some options that I know of for you to consider. Good Luck!!

 

[DrMidlife]

I would definitely be open to the possibility of relocation. Though, the CA options are appealing as I am a resident of the state now (been living there for a year).

Based on my GPA and work history should I be optomistic about my prospects or should I take a dose of reality and keep my options open (I.E. law schools)?

(btw I really appreciate the feedback here - great community 😀)

You're in a neutral position with respect to being an appealing med school candidate. You need to:
1. Figure out what you want. Try, really try, to find something you'd be happy doing instead of medicine.
2. If you're pretty sure you want to pursue medicine, get exposed to the good bad & ugly of it. While volunteering, take advantage of every opportunity to hear docs & residents complain. Pay attention to what midlevels & admins do and why and whether they're happy. Don't miss a chance to shadow or participate or whatever. Dive in.
3. That 3.6 is pure gold. Don't let it go down. Make it go up. Do whatever you have to do to kill your prereqs. Note that plenty of smart people have their fannies handed to them in hard science - be ready to buckle down.

If you want to stay in CA, then forget about linkages. Just pick any 4yr school at which you can succeed.

bolty

 

[Valkryst]

As someone walking the non-traditional path -- what's the a good way to begin contributing to research?

I am minutes away from UCLA and could reach out to profs, but my lack of deep science knowledge might turn them off. Any suggestions?

 

[camaras2480]

As someone walking the non-traditional path -- what's the a good way to begin contributing to research?

I am minutes away from UCLA and could reach out to profs, but my lack of deep science knowledge might turn them off. Any suggestions?

Well, ideally you find a field of research in which you are genuinely interested in. Say, diabetes. Contact the researchers in the Dept of Endo at UCLA and see who may be willing to meet with you to consider offering you a position (unpaid) for the next year. You would have to explain that you will be in school, so your hours would be variable/limited/whatever.

Just reach out, like you suggested. You may be (and hopefully will be) surprised by the response.

 

[NewmansOwn]

As others have indicated, Bryn Mawr would offer you some excellent linkages and top-notch support -- I myself am proof of this. I would recommend the program to anyone with a strong academic background who wants to fast-track into med school. Goucher (in Maryland) is of equal quality and also offers several linkages.

Your GPA is fine, but you'll also need extensive volunteer experience in the healthcare arena, as well as strong SAT and/or GRE scores to be competitive for Bryn Mawr/Goucher. Research is, quite honestly, less important than extracurriculars, but if you feel you can get a meaningful position and work hard at it for the next year, it will certainly help. If you're near a large research university, simply start making cold calls to departments or checking out their websites. Without any science credits, the job you get will, frankly, suck -- but hopefully it'll provide some valuable resume padding which is about 3/4 of the med school application game.

Oh and Midlife is wise to classify you as 'neutral' at the present time. Your GPA is high enough to keep you in the running for admission to most med schools, but not high enough to make anyone swoon. You haven't done anything else yet that med schools would be interested in, so just consider yourself a blank slate -- as long as you do well academically and extracurricularly from here on out, you will get into medical school.

 

[camaras2480]

Good thing you are starting to volunteer at a hospital weekly. However, it would be very helpful to include some other things as well - clinical shadowing for sure, and if possible, some type of research project.

Someone said research is less valuable than other ECs in general. This would be true in your case, OP. Note from one of my earlier posts - keep up the weekly hospital volunteering, and try to get some clinical shadowing. Then, if possible, try to do some research.

 

[gl0baltrader]

Before even looking for post bac, you should consider volunteer at the hospital or shadow a physician to see if you find them fulfilling or challenging.
I am a non traditional as well and I found that interning at the hospital really helped me decide to pursue medicine.
As far as post bac, ca has several legit program: such as UCSF, UCLA, etc. It's much cheaper And they have a high percentage. 100% in some cases.