Hardest part of non-trad?

[KentuckySuper]

I am curious about what folks thought are/were the most challenging parts of being a non traditional student.

For myself, I am early in the pre-pod phase, part-time classes while managing full time professional career. I am a few years away from pod school so I have no ground on which to speak. Being literally a decade removed from science classes and jumping in with young college kids is a trip. Making dedicated study time is a balancing act as well. I want to do so well, and know the attention to detail required of my non-science graduate school work and want to apply the same effort to this. It is all so different and exciting. Why did I bother with a masters degree in music?

Do the schools penalize for taking the science classes part-time? My science classes will be spread out over a couple years just because I can't drop working for some undergrad science classes. (I've got to pay for the classes out-of-pocket)

What kind of challenges lie ahead?

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[zdlamkin8195]

Since you have been out of school for a while, I think that doing the pre-req's and then going straight into pod school will benefit you. You should have the maturity that comes with real world experiences and will have some sort of study schedule in place before you start pod school. Both are important for success. Just keep your head down and work hard - everything tends to fall in place...

 

[KentuckySuper]

Speaking of me, I finished my graduate degree in 2011...but I was hoping to start a more general conversation.

Which brings me to another question...I've been reading folks "stats" (overall GPA, science GPA etc) is it normal for folks to have a higher overall than science GPA? I have seen a lot of that posted online. It seems opposite of how it works in music. 3.0 overall and 3.5 in Major were considered the magic undergrad numbers to have.

Burning through biology 1 text for the summer course. Looking forward to the class, not looking forward to undergrad crap after having completed graduate crap.

 

[hughesn2]

I will speak more of what I would think of if I were an admissions committee (and I am not anyone in that job title, but the way I look at the medical profession this would be my critical assessment):
-I could care less about your success in your music graduate program. A music grad program is on the completely opposite spectrum as that of podiatry med school.
-You may be 10 years wiser, but you aren't 10 years wiser in the medical or even science field.
-You're gonna need a lot of pre-req science courses
-You have to take the MCAT
-Why are you feeling the need to go to a medical program after this long of having no science background for the last 10 years?

You can easily do it if you go back if you really want to, but at the same time you have to understand that to go back for a couple more years of summer courses and then the MCAT it will be time consuming.

 

[selectedagainst]

ya I was a military vet in college at 26 with the 18-22 crowd, and I felt like an outsider as a full time student. I got through it, did the mcat prep, focused on pre-reqs, and it paid off. There's a psychological aspect to it all that you're in this huge waiting line, waiting to begin your life, which is not true but it does feel that way. Pretty much focus your energy on pre-req classes, focusing on getting healthcare experience, and kill the MCAT. You'll have interviews whereever you apply.