I need your advice on my specific situation.

[Bythegraceofgod]

I need your knowledge!

I have just begun the journey to becoming a doctor. Here are some quick facts about me.

• I am 28 years old and have a 2 year general credit degree that will transfer into the 4 year institution that I plan on attending.
• I plan on being a biology major.
• I work full time on night shift and have worked at the same company for 9 years. I will continue to work full time while I finish my undergrad.(unless I feel it is going to get in the way of my goal)
• I can do my homework at work. And I go to school in the mornings when i get off of work. (it is a busy schedule, but if that is what its going to take than I am willing to work very hard at it.)
• I am married and have a 13mo old daughter.

Questions are....

1.) what types of things do I need to make sure I do (other than good GPA and pre-requisites) during my undergrad.

2.) How do admission commitee's see someone who had to work full time during there undergrad to support their family? (Since I will have less time for shadowing , research, etc...)

3.)When applying to do shadowing and other things...How do you go about it and when should I start doing them?

4.)When you shadow, what do you do... I feel like I know nothing right now and I would just be in a doctors way?

Any other tips and advice or words of encouragement you would have for me would be greatly appreciated. I realize you are very busy people and thank you for your time.

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[SellerAl]

I need your knowledge!

I have just begun the journey to becoming a doctor. Here are some quick facts about me.

• I am 28 years old and have a 2 year general credit degree that will transfer into the 4 year institution that I plan on attending.
• I plan on being a biology major.
• I work full time on night shift and have worked at the same company for 9 years. I will continue to work full time while I finish my undergrad.(unless I feel it is going to get in the way of my goal)
• I can do my homework at work. And I go to school in the mornings when i get off of work. (it is a busy schedule, but if that is what its going to take than I am willing to work very hard at it.)
• I am married and have a 13mo old daughter.

Questions are....

1.) what types of things do I need to make sure I do (other than good GPA and pre-requisites) during my undergrad.

2.) How do admission commitee's see someone who had to work full time during there undergrad to support their family? (Since I will have less time for shadowing , research, etc...)

3.)When applying to do shadowing and other things...How do you go about it and when should I start doing them?

4.)When you shadow, what do you do... I feel like I know nothing right now and I would just be in a doctors way?

Any other tips and advice or words of encouragement you would have for me would be greatly appreciated. I realize you are very busy people and thank you for your time.

1. GPA is most important must go for a 3.5 or above or you will be nearly hopeless. Also a 30+ MCAT is basically manditory for you. These two elements are probably 80% of the ball game for getting in

2. You can write about this in your personal statement, they will maybe understand, but everybody is busy so it won't excuse low GPA/MCAT

3. Do as much medical clinical experiences, shadowing, volunteering, research as possible, as soon as possible. Its almost a requirement for med school admission.

4. Stay out of a doctors way, only ask questions if they are visibly in down time, and just watch and learn. Its a very very passive activity. Always look interested.

Study hard, GPA and MCAT are by far most important. Good luck, dont forget about your family in the midst of it all either.

 

[dmf2682]

check out the non-traditional forum

 

[alexandertg6]

1. GPA is important and you should aim for a 3.5 or above. Also a 30+ MCAT is basically manditory for admission to PITT SOM. Otherwise, apply broadly to state schools, MD and DO. Pick up a copy of the MSAR from the AAMC to figure out which schools you are likely to have a shot at based on residency and numbers. These elements are not an insignificant part of the ball game for getting in

2. You should write about this in your personal statement, they will want to know about how you are different from everyone else because schools accept <<10% of applicants. Everybody is busy so it might notexcuse low GPA/MCAT

3. Do as much medical clinical experiences, shadowing, volunteering, research as possible, as soon as possible. Its almost a requirement for med school admissionbecause you need to show that you know what you are getting into.

4. Stay out of a doctors way, and be smart with asking questions. Learn as much as possible but dont be a burden or nuisance. Its a very very passive activity at times. Always be interested. Also network whenever possible to gain as broad a perspective as possible.

Study hard, GPA and MCAT are by farsignificant. Good luck, dont forget about your family in the midst of it all either.

Some of the typical SDN bias was edited out and most changes are in bold

Good luck!

Alex

 

[alexandertg6]

check out the non-traditional forum

non-trad is usually useless.

 

[SellerAl]

Some of the typical SDN bias was edited out and most changes are in bold

Good luck!

Alex

i like his changes. i tend to exaggeratee

 

[alexandertg6]

i like his changes. I tend to exaggeratee

 

[Celerity]

OP,
achieving your dreams is possible. I supported a wife and a kid when I went to undergrad and am applying this cycle. Always make every minute of the day count. Does your family support this decision? Your road will be less hard if they support you. Find a degree plan that interests you and stick with it. If you are interested, then achieving a high GPA is possible with less work. Research is cool if you have time. As far as numbers go, I know someone who was accepted with a marginal GPA and 25 MCAT. If you are driven, you can get higher numbers. Dont compare yourself with everyone else. Just be yourself and keep trucking. Make sure that you have a good reason for wanting to be a doc and make sure to convey that in your interviews/PS. PM me if you wanna talk more. Life will test your resolve, so make sure this is what you want.

Good Luck

 

[hiphopcrates]

When do you plan to sleep? (But, seriously.)

It can be a monstrous challenge to work and go to school full-time, and most often your grades will pay the price. I am a non-traditional student and decided to cut my hours from full to part-time when the semester started. Granted, I am deeply involved in a bunch of extracurriculars, which also eat into my time, but I have been able to find a nice balance by putting school first.

At this point, the most important objective is to achieve As (or as close to As as possible) and learn the material well in preparation for the MCAT. I think you may have a hard time working full-time graveyard shifts as a parent and full-time student. If you can't scale back your hours for financial reasons, consider going to school part-time. Don't burn yourself out as a premed.

Best of luck!!

 

[Bythegraceofgod]

Thanks for everyones advice. I don't sleep much as it is right now anyway. I try to gun for about 7 hours a night if I am lucky. It has not effected my grades thus far. I have a 4.0 this semester. So that is reassuring. I realize this is going to require one hell of an effort.

Again Thank you.

 

[SellerAl]

Thanks for everyones advice. I don't sleep much as it is right now anyway. I try to gun for about 7 hours a night if I am lucky. It has not effected my grades thus far. I have a 4.0 this semester. So that is reassuring. I realize this is going to require one hell of an effort.

Again Thank you.

These 7 hours may be the most you ever have if your really going for it. But good luck buddy.

 

[dmf2682]

non-trad is usually useless.

You may think so because over there, if no one has the background to answer something they'll keep quiet. As opposed to here, where you'll get a wealth of mostly worthless responses. I tend to visit here for pure entertainment

 

[Bythegraceofgod]

I am wondering if it would be a bad idea (for admissions) to Major in Communications and Minor in Biology, (considering a good cgpa,sgpa and good mcat etc...)?

 

[theseeker4]

While the above statistic is accurate per school, it does not reflect the reality of the chances of acceptance into any medical school. That is, the national aggregate applicant pool ratio to the number of all 1st year allopathic (MD) seats available to new students.

The AAMC just came out with this info AAMC 2011 Class Data

43,919 total applicants to 19,230 first year "enrollees" making a 43% matriculation rate or 2.32 applicants per first year enrollee seats, assuming that the AAMC is only including 2011 applicants in that enrollee total, which may be incorrect on my part. It could include repeating students (unlikely) and students who deferred acceptance (more likely).

It should be noted that the "acceptance" rate is usually about 2% to 3% higher than the "matriculant" rate as applicants choose something other than to start medical school, so the effective acceptance rate is higher. For example, in 2010 there were 42,742 applicants with 19,641 acceptees (45% or 2.17 applicants per seat) but only 18,665 matriculants (43% or 2.28 applicants per seat). I have no data on where these students go but I would speculate a large percentage choose to start another advanced program or professional degree such as PhD, JD or MBA. And likely another large group simply choose not to go to medical school at this time; some defer acceptance for a year

Have to add, I am sure some of them applied both DO and MD, were accepted to 1 or more MD schools but liked one or more DO schools better than any of the MD schools that accepted them.

 

[theseeker4]

I am wondering if it would be a bad idea (for admissions) to Major in Communications and Minor in Biology, (considering a good cgpa,sgpa and good mcat etc...)?

It doesn't matter. If you maintain a high GPA and do well in your pre-reqs, you will be fine. They won't care what you majored in, and they don't care about minors either. Major and minor in whatever you want to for your own benefit, with a heavy eye to what you will do if you don't get into medical school or change your mind about it between now and then.

 

[theseeker4]

You may think so because over there, if no one has the background to answer something they'll keep quiet. As opposed to here, where you'll get a wealth of mostly worthless responses. I tend to visit here for pure entertainment

LOL, +1,000

 

[coyotelime]

1.) what types of things do I need to make sure I do (other than good GPA and pre-requisites) during my undergrad.
A) Nonmedical community service B) Clinical experience in the form of shadowing and volunteering C) Leadership D) Research E) Hobbies so you seem normal

2.) How do admission commitee's see someone who had to work full time during there undergrad to support their family? (Since I will have less time for shadowing , research, etc...)

A) They understand and realize it may be unrealistic for you to have the normal set of ECs that typical applicants have.

3.)When applying to do shadowing and other things...How do you go about it and when should I start doing them?

4.)When you shadow, what do you do... I feel like I know nothing right now and I would just be in a doctors way?
A) Just stand there and watch mostly. Sometimes doctors will let you get a closer look. It's helpful to ask questions, don't be afraid if you think they're dumb, because you haven't gone to medical school yet.

Good luck!!

 

[Bythegraceofgod]

Thank you for all of your advice and encouragement. I like communications and it would give me the opportunity to learn a second language. I think that I will go down that route.

Again thanks.