Interested in med school. Graduating soon. Haven't completed pre-reqs.

[Uhui]

I have a unique situation (or at least I think it is).

I'm graduating this coming Spring. I have a ridiculous number of units already and my school wants me out.

Over time, I've slowly unraveled that I do indeed want to pursue a health profession... that I've wasted the last few years working on a major that was not as satisfying as I thought it would be. And I KNOW I will graduate this Spring with regrets for not working on a more technical major (I'm finishing up 'history').

Are there programs where I can complete the pre-reqs? Do I just enroll at the local community college and do the math/chem/physics work? I'm unsure of what path to pursue next. I have 3 more classes to complete my major and just a few more classes so that I'm done with all of my university requirements.

I fear that one day I will wake up missing out on something that was right for me.

Thanks !

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[coldweatherblue]

Generally it's better to do your pre-reqs at a university rather than a community college. People may say all kinds of things to the contrary, but this is what I was told by adcom members at interviews, so I believe it.

If you were really serious you could do all the pre-reqs in one year:

G-chem in the summer then Bio, physics, and O-chem the next school year. Then take the MCAT that summer and apply. Conceivably you could matriculate about two years after graduating.

 

[oneandonlylo]

Take a look at the section of SDN dedicated to postbaccalaureate work. You'll find a ton of information and opinions there regarding your various options and explanations of how people have accomplished this. Don't worry, your experience is not nearly as uncommon as you fear. This has happened to plenty of us, and fortunately we all seem to make our way toward medical school in the end. Good luck!

 

[echidna]

Fellow History BA here- I did the same thing, changed my mind during my senior year. I just signed up at a local 4 year for a second BA and started the prereqs without a problem. It's not that unusual. Pre-req's CAN be done in one extremely intense year, but it's probably better to do it over a year and a half or two, especially without a science or math background (although honestly the prereqs are all lower division and not especially difficult, despite the hype around here). I wrote to a few med schools about CC's for prereqs and most said it wasn't a good idea, and one (UC Davis) said absolutely not.

I started last January and will be pretty much done at the end of the fall semester- Phys 2/Biochem in Spring followed by the MCAT and a June application, plus an online calc class sometime during the gap year. I don't know if you have any science or math at all (I didn't), but trig/pre-calc is going to be a pre-req for Physics and gen chem, so maybe you could get that done in the Spring beore graduation. I spent four years of undergrad avoiding anything even remotely sciencey and now find myself thoroughly enjoying this stuff. Anyway, good luck! And start those clinical volunteering hours NOW.

Also, the non-trad forum has some good advice, although it's geared a little toward slightly older students...

 

[brianmartin]

I decided in junior year, so I took gen chem and bio together, then physics and organic the next year. It can be done easily, don't worry about it. The thing is you should take the classes at your 4 year university, not a CC.

 

[Druzie]

You can start here: http://services.aamc.org/postbac/
The non-traditional forum will have firsthand knowledge of the programs listed on the AAMC site.

 

[Law2Doc]

I have a unique situation (or at least I think it is).

This is an incredibly non-unique situation. The whole postbac industry exists because lots of people decide late that they want to go to med school and so take their prereqs after graduation. Many non-sci majors and most nontrads are on this path. In a way it's a smarter path -- if you did well in undergrad you may have a decent GPA not muddled up by competition with other premeds, and can now enroll in a postbac program and concentrate on just the sciences at a more comfortable pace than most folks who did the courses in undergrad. And the good postbac programs have very good track records for getting folks into med school. So no, this is hardly unique. Finish your major and graduate. Apply for postbac programs. Go peruse the postbac board lower on SDN and you will find tons of similarly situated folks and lots of good info.

Alternatively, pre or post-graduation you can do an "informal" postbac which would be just taking the necessary science courses and other prereqs as a non-degree student. I personally would shoot for a 4 year university and stay away from community colleges if you can for the prereqs -- the competition is more questionable at those places and so some schools may not be so impressed with A's there. The disadvantage of this ("informal postbac" track) is you lose a lot of structure, advising, similarly situated peers, and don't have a program director who markets their students to med schools on your behalf, or potential linkages. So if you can afford it and get in, a formal postbac has some advantages. If not, an informal one is a vehicle which has worked for many.

Just bear in mind that this all takes time. The typical formal postbac takes over a year (often two), and then you often have a glide year during which you apply and interview and wait. So you won't be in med school right after graduation. Also bear in mind that to get into med school you need adequate healthcare ECs. So in your spare time you will need to be working in hospitals, shadowing doctors, and maybe snag a research gig too. So it's not really just the classes that you are short right now. So plan on a few years devoted to getting into med school if that's what you really want. Which is fine, this is not a race and you need to do it right or not do it at all. But for those stuck on some arbitrary time table this might be an uncomfortable path. The average age in med school is about 24, and a lot of the class having a couple of years of postbac is a big chunk of the reason it's so high.

 

[Uhui]

I appreciate all of your responses, guys! Thanks so much! 🙂