Information for a Newbie

[crashk1996]

Hi Guys,

I am new to the whole student doctor thing. I came into college determined to serve in the military, and therefore chose to study political science and criminal justice. Unfortunately, I have had some medical mishaps over my experience here in school, and I need to find a new dream. I know I want to help people, and have gained a fascination with medicine through my own times in the sports medicine office. So I want to apply to a postbacc program to get the credits I need for medical school, but am seriously concerned I won't be competitive at these programs. I have a 4.0 GPA but it's at a Southern School with a certain reputation for football and beer. I have some volunteering experience, a marketing internship, and was captain of a sports team in school. However, I am terrified to go up against (Checks profiles of current postbacc students) investment bankers from Citi Group, Peace Corps workers, and Google engineers. Should I even apply to places like Bryn Mawr, Goucher, etc? Or should I stick to less established programs? Sorry if this is in the wrong area of the forums, like I said, I am pretty new to this.

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[Gropey_Monk123]

I don't see why you can't apply to bryn or Goucher. It's going to be tough, but that's by design. And when you get into medical school you are going to be around similar sort of classmates who are smart and hard working so might as well start now. AAMC has list of a bunch of post-bac programs and you can filter by categories. You should look at that and choose the career changer category and visit the websites of the schools and see which fits you best. Usually career changer programs have curriculum's designed to fill in gaps in your application and fulfill your pre-med requirements. Pick one based on your needs e.g. MCAT prep, pre-med requisites, EC/Medical exposure etc. You can look at SDN for some other information and background on the programs as well.

If you are cautious because you aren't sure about being able to get the grades, then maybe consider doing some community college classes or at undergrad as non-degree seeking just to get your bearings and then apply.