Hi I am new here with some questions

[Wuracio]

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I found this site today and went through over 50 pages of topics already. I really like the different and helpful questions and answers on this board. I still have some questions of my own since I am a non-traditional Pre-Med (going to be) student. I got a BS in Computer Science and minor in Math about 2 years. I've always wanted to be in the Medical field. I love helping people and being needed for my skills and knowledge. I would like to go back to school and get all my Pre-Med courses out of the way. How do I go about doing that? Do I just apply at the Unversity again? Does the Unversity that you do your Pre-Med at matter much? (ie: Big name school vs small private unversity) Another thing is that my GPA aren't the greatest. I have only a 3.2 cummulative and 3.5 in my major. Would retaking some of those courses help? I am planning on going back to school full time for 2 years and get all my Pre-Med courses taken care of then I will apply to Med school. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks. 🙂

 

[DesperatelySeekingMD]

I would look into post-bac programs which seem to be a great way to both get the pre-med courses out of the way and raise your GPA. I don't have much info about specific programs, but post-bac is definitely the way to go. Good Luck...maybe AMCAS will have everything sorted out in 2 years, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

[Wuracio]

What do you mean by "maybe AMCAS will have everything sorted out in 2 years"?

 

[rxfudd]

Originally posted by Wuracio:
•What do you mean by "maybe AMCAS will have everything sorted out in 2 years"?•

Wow...you are new around here. Haven't you heard of the AMCAS catastrophe? It's almost folklore by now.

 

[Wuracio]

Originally posted by rxfudd:
•Wow...you are new around here. Haven't you heard of the AMCAS catastrophe? It's almost folklore by now.•

Yeah I read about that. I thought he was referring to something else.

Another question...
If I do go back as a Postbaccalaureate, do I have to apply as a matricaulated? or can I just apply to do non-matricaulated?

 

[mj]

Hi Wuracio,

I respectfully disagree with Desperate. A formal post bacc program is one way to go but not the only way. I would venture that it isn't even the most popular. You can find information on formal programs in the Med. School Requirements book, I believe though.

For doing your pre reqs., while most schools won't admit you as a student unless you are working on a degree, most schools do alow non degree seeking students to take whatever classes they want up to so many hours as long as you meet the requirements. At one of my schools it is 11. I say "one of my schools" because I take my pre req classes at different schools depending on schedule. This isn't the best way, but the only way I can swing it. You can even take classes at a community college, although most people don't advise it if you can avoid it. Where you go isn't a huge deal as long as you do well.

Once you are near the end of your pre reqs. you will need to take the MCAT. You should also be looking into getting some clincal health care exposure if you don't have some already. You could do this through volunteering at your local hospital or in many other ways.

Your GPA isn't that bad. If you rock in your science classes and do well on the MCATyou should be OK...like every other pre med.

If you aren't already, you should look into DO schools.

If you are near a major univeristy it would be worth while to make an appointment with the pre med advisor there and explain your situation. Most people are eager to help.

Hope that helped. I'd be happy to answer any other questions you have.

good luck and welcome,
mj

 

[mpp]

I think that most public university's would allow you to take classes without being a degree-seeking student. I've done it several times without any problem.

You can easily do everything in one year. Since you have a computer science and math degree you've probably already taken physics and general chemistry (but I could be wrong). Just take one year of biology, and one year of organic chemistry. Some medical schools have a biochemistry or psychology requirement so you might have to take one of those classes as well.

All told, probably about nine to 11 credits per semester. Plan on taking the MCAT in April by working through some prep books and taking practice exams. Good luck. There are many, many people that go the route that you are headed. Cheers.

 

[Wuracio]

Originally posted by mj:
•Hi Wuracio,

If you aren't already, you should look into DO schools.

mj•

I am not familiar with DO schools. Can someone explain the difference?

 

[[email protected]]

Wuracio:

Please read the information provided in the following links to learn more about the Osteopathic and Allopathic distinction.
http://www.studentdoctor.net/do/about.html
http://www.aoa-net.org/Consumers/whatdo01.htm
http://www.osteohome.com/SubPages/Article1.html

Good luck, and notice the ridiculous amount of threads dedicated to this topic when you search the SDN website for similar interests.