Help!!

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Hi,

I received my bachelor of Arts degree from a liberal arts college (around top 30) 2007 May. Math + Econ double major with 3.52 GPA.

I only had 1 general chem (not intro) in the first year first semester (A-) and two general physics also in the first year (A's). I have had a lot of math with some higher level ones not in good grades (1 C+ & 1 C-). All 3 calculus were A's, other higher level classes including stat in B's.

I got into a well-known economics PhD program (ranks 30-40) with fellowship. The highest one I got into without aid was UMN which ranks around 10. Since I was an int'l student, I couldn't get a loan and therefore chose the first.

Last month, at the middle of the first year first semester, came my luck which will enable me to get a green card soon.

Since I have always wanted to be a doctor (I went to medical school for 3 month before I left my country to the US: political reason), winning DV would allow me to get loans and to apply to many schools that require PR status. Yep, I am seriously thinking to drop the current PhD program and try to apply to med schools in the US.

When I checked pre-req @ many med schools, I am falling short for 2 course of biology, 3/4 courses of chem. And MCAT of course.

Another problem is that nobody would write a good recommendation for me right now. I had always suppressed my desire to go to medical school due to the status of international student + no money. So my professors always thought that I would definitely become a good economist. And they wrote recommendations accordingly.

If I drop my PhD this month, I will also lose the fellowship which will very seriously hurt our financial situations. I will have to look for a part-time job. I am thinking to take the required classes from a nearby state university (less-selective and forth tier in the usnews).

I would like your advice (a plan if possible).This is a sharp turn in my life and I really need some great advices. Will it be impossible for me to apply for the 2009 admission? Will the ad-com even be interested in me?

Thanks

by the way, I will be 25 next February.

 

[njbmd]

Hi,

I received my bachelor of Arts degree from a liberal arts college (around top 30) 2007 May. Math + Econ double major with 3.52 GPA.

I only had 1 general chem (not intro) in the first year first semester (A-) and two general physics also in the first year (A's). I have had a lot of math with some higher level ones not in good grades (1 C+ & 1 C-). All 3 calculus were A's, other higher level classes including stat in B's.

I got into a well-known economics PhD program (ranks 30-40) with fellowship. The highest one I got into without aid was UMN which ranks around 10. Since I was an int'l student, I couldn't get a loan and therefore chose the first.

Last month, at the middle of the first year first semester, came my luck which will enable me to get a green card soon.

Since I have always wanted to be a doctor (I went to medical school for 3 month before I left my country to the US: political reason), winning DV would allow me to get loans and to apply to many schools that require PR status. Yep, I am seriously thinking to drop the current PhD program and try to apply to med schools in the US.

When I checked pre-req @ many med schools, I am falling short for 2 course of biology, 3/4 courses of chem. And MCAT of course.

Another problem is that nobody would write a good recommendation for me right now. I had always suppressed my desire to go to medical school due to the status of international student + no money. So my professors always thought that I would definitely become a good economist. And they wrote recommendations accordingly.

If I drop my PhD this month, I will also lose the fellowship which will very seriously hurt our financial situations. I will have to look for a part-time job. I am thinking to take the required classes from a nearby state university (less-selective and forth tier in the usnews).

I would like your advice (a plan if possible).This is a sharp turn in my life and I really need some great advices. Will it be impossible for me to apply for the 2009 admission? Will the ad-com even be interested in me?

Thanks

by the way, I will be 25 next February.

You are going to have a very difficult time convincing a medical school that you are a viable candidate for admission if you "drop" you Ph.D studies. Most medical schools want you to finish whatever degree program you are in before you matriculate.

The tier of the school that you attend as an undergraduate/graduate is virtually meaningless. What does matter most is your undergraduate performance especially in pre-medical coursework so make sure you are on point with this work.

Again, I would strongly discourage dropping any graduate degree program if you have received departmental funding and have not completed the degree. You have plenty of time to finish your degree and complete the necessary coursework for application to medical school.

If I place your application as a Ph.D dropout alongside an applicant who completed their Ph.D (regardless of school attended and subject studied) and did well in their coursework, you will come up very, very short. That 3.53 uGPA is below the average for matriculants and couple that with a graduate "drop-out" status, you will find that you are not able to get into any medical school regardless of residency status.

Finish your degree or at least opt out with a masters if this is possible. In the process, make sure that your pre-med coursework is high-level and that your Medical College Admissions Test score (taken one time ideally and score above 30 with no single score less than 8) is excellent. If you need to take additional coursework in order to accomplish the above, make sure that you have no grades less than B+. Also, make sure that you have some letters of recommendation from your pre-med professors.

If you complete your Ph.D (or at least obtain a Masters), you should be able to get at least one letter from someone in your graduate program that knows you well and understands your wanting to change careers. Even better, find a way to combine medicine and economics and use that for your graduate studies/dissertation. In that way, you can end up with strong support from your graduate program for entering medical school but dropping out is a huge negative.

 

[Luxian]

I think you are a good candidate, and having the green card definitely helps. Okay, what to do though...

First of all, you'll need to finish your pre-reqs. Is there anyway you can use your status as a grad student to take the appropriate classes at your school? This would allow you to take labs (which can be hard to find) and fulfill your requirements at much lower cost. That is, if you quit your PhD now to earn money, then you'll be pushing several $1000s out the door just to pay for tuition as a non-student. Plus, you'll have a less flexible schedule so it might be harder to take a daytime class.

I'm not sure how you feel about this, though, especially since it would essentially be using your program to allow you to go into a different career path.

I have to say I disagree with the previous poster. Don't get a PhD if it's not something you want! I have friends who spent seven years in grad school and then never used it again! On the other hand, even if you had everything set (all your pre-reqs) you couldn't enter your MD program before fall 2009 at the earliest. If you can finish your PhD in three or four years (rather than six or seven), it might well be worth it to finish your degree AND take the couple classes you are missing AND apply to med school along the way. It's very doable. Most of that last year of applying is just waiting, so it shouldn't get in the way of thesis-writing.

Personally, I think economics could be a useful partner with an MD degree. Think hard about how you want to go forward. Finishing your degree (if it doesn't take too long) could give you an easy way to take classes cheaply while earning a living with flexible hours. Not-finishing your degree (if you absolutely hate it) could allow you to focus on med school apps and maybe get in a year earlier.

I don't have any easy answers for you, but good luck!

 

[Luxian]

Ooh! didn't read through everything first. I think that option of getting a Masters instead of a PhD fulfills a lot of your needs! (This is an option at most schools even if you entered as a PhD candidate.) You could finish a degree, get good recommendations AND not lose any time. Think about it!

 

[Ginzo]

Hi,

I received my bachelor of Arts degree from a liberal arts college (around top 30) 2007 May. Math + Econ double major with 3.52 GPA.

I only had 1 general chem (not intro) in the first year first semester (A-) and two general physics also in the first year (A's). I have had a lot of math with some higher level ones not in good grades (1 C+ & 1 C-). All 3 calculus were A's, other higher level classes including stat in B's.

I got into a well-known economics PhD program (ranks 30-40) with fellowship. The highest one I got into without aid was UMN which ranks around 10. Since I was an int'l student, I couldn't get a loan and therefore chose the first.

Last month, at the middle of the first year first semester, came my luck which will enable me to get a green card soon.

Since I have always wanted to be a doctor (I went to medical school for 3 month before I left my country to the US: political reason), winning DV would allow me to get loans and to apply to many schools that require PR status. Yep, I am seriously thinking to drop the current PhD program and try to apply to med schools in the US.

I would like your advice (a plan if possible).

My main suggestion is for you to drop the "I have always wanted to be a doctor" line. Everyone says that, and if your personal statement opens up with that line you're going to make several admissions people vomit.

You're a fine candidate for medical school. You just need to build yourself up a bit.

1) Finish your PhD, and do really well in it. Try to get as many publications under your belt as possible. Your graduate advisor may not be able to comment on your skills in the sciences, but he/she can attest to your work ethic, intelligence, analytical ability, interpersonal skills, etc. Econ is a rigorous field.

Edit: finishing with a Masters, like the other poster said, is probably best for you. It'll save you a ton of time, and still allow you a graceful exit from grad school.

2) Get strong clinical experience. EMT, hospital volunteering, etc. If you can't smell the patient, it's not a real clinical experience.

3) Finish your science requirements, and try to befriend some of the science faculty in order to get science letters of recommendation.

4) Kill the MCAT.

5) Do some misc. non-medical community service/volunteer work.

6) Write a great personal statement. Get professional help if necessary.

7) Apply early, broadly, and to appropriate schools.

 

[Beast11]

Hi,

I received my bachelor of Arts degree from a liberal arts college (around top 30) 2007 May. Math + Econ double major with 3.52 GPA.

I only had 1 general chem (not intro) in the first year first semester (A-) and two general physics also in the first year (A's). I have had a lot of math with some higher level ones not in good grades (1 C+ & 1 C-). All 3 calculus were A's, other higher level classes including stat in B's.

Since I have always wanted to be a doctor (I went to medical school for 3 month before I left my country to the US: political reason), winning DV would allow me to get loans and to apply to many schools that require PR status. Yep, I am seriously thinking to drop the current PhD program and try to apply to med schools in the US.

When I checked pre-req @ many med schools, I am falling short for 2 course of biology, 3/4 courses of chem. And MCAT of course.

I would like your advice (a plan if possible).This is a sharp turn in my life and I really need some great advices. Will it be impossible for me to apply for the 2009 admission? Will the ad-com even be interested in me?

Thanks

by the way, I will be 25 next February.

Several points of your letter are key (why I divided the quotes). I may be reading too much into your story, but I think you need to be very careful.

You said that you just graduated from the liberal arts college. Was every single class from that college, or did you take credit for classes in your (home) country. Medschools need a record of all classes, and I would think that many foreign classes might not count because of the difficulty of getting a verifiable transcript.

You also said you took M.D. classes in another country. I do not think any would count as pre-reqs, or necessarily impress the admissions committees here. Be very careful not to overblow their importance.

I agree that you should not quit, but if you must stop-I think it is CRITICAL that you GET THE MASTERS. Anything else looks bad (Graduate classes are generally graded easier and would not be considered as an informal post-bacc) In fact, you will have a separate Grad GPA (which should be VERY HIGH-3.8 or above, in order to impress the Med Schools)

Based on your story, you can be a doctor, but be prepared to defend yourself!

Good luck

 

[TarHeel55]

I think Luxian's advice is spot-on.

One thing the application process has taught me is that the road to med school is not to be rushed. One possibility for you might be to spend 2008-2009 finishing your pre-reqs, finishing your master's degree, studying for the MCAT, establishing relationships with science profs who could write LORs for you, and doing some clinical volunteering. This way, you would have all the pieces in place to apply in the fall of 2009 for the entering class of 2010. You would also have your master's degree in hand, which would help alleviate concerns that you did not stick with your Ph.D. program.

You must be able to tell a convincing story about why you once thought you wanted a terminal degree in economics, and later discovered that an M.D. is the right path for you. It is essential that you be able to back up your story with experiences working or volunteering in clinical settings.

As Luxian suggested, check to see whether you can take your pre-reqs at the university where you are enrolled for your master's degree. This could mean a huge tuition savings for you.

I have to respectfully disagree with those who suggest that it is imperative that you finish the Ph.D. Will having a Ph.D. in hand, rather than an M.A., give you a bit of an edge in the admissions process? Sure, maybe it will. Is it worth many extra years of study in a program that you may be disinterested in at best, miserable in at worst? Absolutely not, I would say. In my Ph.D. class, I had a classmate who realized midway through that the contemplative life of an academic was most definitely not for him. He applied to med schools with a strong GPA and MCAT, great clinical experiences, and an M.A. from our humanities program. He got in to some amazing schools.