Is getting a Bachelor's Degree from MD Anderson School of Health Professions a good route?

[cinnaknown]

I’m currently a second-year student at a local community college, where I have completed most of my medical school prerequisites, except for Biochemistry. My AP credit for Statistics was accepted and appears on my transcript. After earning my associate degree, I plan to transfer to MD Anderson for one of their Bachelor's degree programs due to its strong research opportunities, affordability, and accessibility.

However, I understand that credits from an allied health sciences program may not fulfill medical school prerequisites. To ensure I meet the requirements, I plan to take Biochemistry, Anatomy & Physiology, and Statistics at another university. Would this impact my chances of getting into medical school? I know students who have been accepted despite completing most of their prerequisites at a community college.

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[Med Ed]

Just do the normal thing and transfer from CC into a standard 4-year university program.

You would be far better off completing your studies at UH (or similar) than cobbling together some Frankenstein's monster of a transcript.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Read

Community College and Vocational Certifications for Prehealth Applicants - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

If you joined MDA for a certification, that would help you get a job, especially in a hospital system. If you need the money and a full-time job, I'm not going to hold it against you.

It's not impossible to get into medical school if you earn those certifications, but you can't get into medical school without showing successful mastery of the traditional biomedical sciences and prerequisites. It's not a shortcut or a substitute.

Make sure your academic and prehealth advisors assure you such a plan (you are thinking of) will work. You don't want a stupid assumption about acceptable coursework to push your application timeline off. When would you take the MCAT or Casper before submitting your TMDSAS? Have you discussed this with admissions recruiters at schools closest to you (say in Houston)? Are there current medical schools that have succeeded navigating the path you have proposed?

 

[cinnaknown]

Read

Community College and Vocational Certifications for Prehealth Applicants - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

If you joined MDA for a certification, that would help you get a job, especially in a hospital system. If you need the money and a full-time job, I'm not going to hold it against you.

It's not impossible to get into medical school if you earn those certifications, but you can't get into medical school without showing successful mastery of the traditional biomedical sciences and prerequisites. It's not a shortcut or a substitute.

Make sure your academic and prehealth advisors assure you such a plan (you are thinking of) will work. You don't want a stupid assumption about acceptable coursework to push your application timeline off. When would you take the MCAT or Casper before submitting your TMDSAS? Have you discussed this with admissions recruiters at schools closest to you (say in Houston)? Are there current medical schools that have succeeded navigating the path you have proposed?

I plan to pursue a bachelor's degree in one of the lab sciences programs at MD Anderson, as I have been accepted. However, Rice University is my backup choice if I receive a full scholarship. I've reviewed the TMDSAS course listings for MD Anderson (UT MD Anderson School of Health Professions) and found that some of the upcoming courses qualify as advanced sciences, including their Statistics course. I will verify this information with advisors or the schools to ensure the TMDSAS listings are accurate.

The only prerequisite I will be missing is Biochemistry, which MD Anderson does not offer. Therefore, I plan to take it at a nearby four-year university. I'm open to taking a gap year, during which I aim to take the MCAT by March 2027, with hopes of being accepted into medical school for Fall 2028. Time is not a major concern for me since I am relatively young.

Currently, I have a 3.98 GPA in community college, with a total of 80 credits, one research publication, and six oral and poster presentations at regional and national conferences. Additionally, I have accumulated over 300 research hours through my honors college and research experience at Rice University, alongside more than 200 hours of non-clinical volunteering, 100 hours of clinical volunteering, 100 hours of clinical experience, and over 60 hours shadowing various physicians and healthcare workers as a second-year student. Some faculty at MD Anderson have informed me that individuals who have taken similar paths have successfully become doctors.

After graduating with my associate's degree, I plan to speak with admissions recruiters, as my community college does not offer pre-med advising.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I plan to pursue a bachelor's degree in one of the lab sciences programs at MD Anderson, as I have been accepted. However, Rice University is my backup choice if I receive a full scholarship. I've reviewed the TMDSAS course listings for MD Anderson (UT MD Anderson School of Health Professions) and found that some of the upcoming courses qualify as advanced sciences, including their Statistics course. I will verify this information with advisors or the schools to ensure the TMDSAS listings are accurate.

The only prerequisite I will be missing is Biochemistry, which MD Anderson does not offer. Therefore, I plan to take it at a nearby four-year university. I'm open to taking a gap year, during which I aim to take the MCAT by March 2027, with hopes of being accepted into medical school for Fall 2028. Time is not a major concern for me since I am relatively young.

Currently, I have a 3.98 GPA in community college, with a total of 80 credits, one research publication, and six oral and poster presentations at regional and national conferences. Additionally, I have accumulated over 300 research hours through my honors college and research experience at Rice University, alongside more than 200 hours of non-clinical volunteering, 100 hours of clinical volunteering, 100 hours of clinical experience, and over 60 hours shadowing various physicians and healthcare workers as a second-year student. Some faculty at MD Anderson have informed me that individuals who have taken similar paths have successfully become doctors.

After graduating with my associate's degree, I plan to speak with admissions recruiters, as my community college does not offer pre-med advising.

Most community colleges don't offer prehealth advising though we (the community of advisors) have been trying to make stronger relationships there. Regardless, you have us until/once you get prehealth advising to help navigate your university. The plan sounds reasonable enough, but this is on a first blush over internet forums... take it with a grain of salt.

A few premeds I know have degrees and worked in clinical labs. Being a CLT can be much more challenging with their curricula vs. a traditional bio major (their perspective).

 

[cinnaknown]

Most community colleges don't offer prehealth advising though we (the community of advisors) have been trying to make stronger relationships there. Regardless, you have us until/once you get prehealth advising to help navigate your university. The plan sounds reasonable enough, but this is on a first blush over internet forums... take it with a grain of salt.

A few premeds I know have degrees and worked in clinical labs. Being a CLT can be much more challenging with their curricula vs. a traditional bio major (their perspective).

Thank you for your responses!

 

[SpoiledMilk]

yes

You can go through MD Anderson and get into a Texas medical school. N=1

However I was non traditional with 10+years (thousands) of clinical volunteer hours and a previous career.

It can be done but the road would be easier for you and the skepticism less if you transferred to a traditional 4 yr university

EDIT: You might want to anonymize your profile pic if that is your actual pic.

 

[cinnaknown]

yes

You can go through MD Anderson and get into a Texas medical school. N=1

However I was non traditional with 10+years (thousands) of clinical volunteer hours and a previous career.

It can be done but the road would be easier for you and the skepticism less if you transferred to a traditional 4 yr university

EDIT: You might want to anonymize your profile pic if that is your actual pic.

I don't mind the more difficult pathway and skepticism. I aim to lessen the debt I accumulate by having a backup career and a part-time job using my degree. At the moment, I have no debt from cc. Regarding clinical volunteer hours, I have worked with a hospice care program since I was a freshman in which I regularly volunteer for direct patient care. I plan on gaining my CMA certification so I can do more than wound care once I transfer. I am aware that I'm already at a disadvantage by going through cc, however, I try to back it up with research experiences from Rice University, being a volunteer coordinator, and regularly shadowing various physicians. I am curious as to why you went through MD Anderson as well?

 

[SpoiledMilk]

MD Anderson tuition was cheap. I already had most of my sciences from my undergraduate degree. I just needed to shore up on some up-to-date info for the MCAT. I didn't even get the degree. Completed 90 hours as required by TMDSAS with my MCAT and applied.

If you are super charged about getting into Baylor or UTSW, then a 4 year university is your optimal road.

 

[cinnaknown]

MD Anderson tuition was cheap. I already had most of my sciences from my undergraduate degree. I just needed to shore up on some up-to-date info for the MCAT. I didn't even get the degree. Completed 90 hours as required by TMDSAS with my MCAT and applied.

If you are super charged about getting into Baylor or UTSW, then a 4 year university is your optimal road.

Would the kind of University I go to put me at a disadvantage? I had the impression that university you go to don’t matter as much as what you make of it (GPA, MCAT Score, ECs, Rec letters, and Essays). May I ask if you regret going through MDA? (Thank you for your responses)

 

[Med Ed]

I don't mind the more difficult pathway and skepticism. I aim to lessen the debt I accumulate by having a backup career and a part-time job using my degree. At the moment, I have no debt from cc.

This is understandable, but you are at risk of outsmarting yourself. Universities are a cornerstone of civilization. Allied health schools are factories that produce specific technical staff for healthcare systems. The two are not interchangeable, and coming in with a nontraditional education path will draw more scrutiny.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

Yes

If I had to do it over I would not have gone to MD Anderson School of Health Professions. You see I naively was enamored by the name and thought that it would carry weight with med school admissions committees. It doesn’t.

I didn’t finish the degree because you might end up getting the same director as I did of your particular allied health field who doesn’t give a damn about your desires to go to medical school and would do things that will screw up your GPA. They have that kind of power.

In fact you might also end up with an instructor that will screw you over during the final exam when they make a mistake and are too rigid and egotistical to not admit that they failed to provide you enough information to complete a question that was 25% of the final grade. Your appeal will not be heard and you will end up with a non A, your only non A on your journey to get into medical school. And this particular instructor whom you already know lacks character and ethics ends up marrying one of their students (true story).

So save yourself any possible headaches and don’t be too concerned with some debt and go to a four year university. A CC associate degree and a MD Anderson Allied Health degree will put you up against other Asian applicants with similar or better scores and experiences but with degrees from 4 year universities and you will not stand out against that specific pool of high achievers.

 

[cinnaknown]

Yes

If I had to do it over I would not have gone to MD Anderson School of Health Professions. You see I naively was enamored by the name and thought that it would carry weight with med school admissions committees. It doesn’t.

I didn’t finish the degree because you might end up getting the same director as I did of your particular allied health field who doesn’t give a damn about your desires to go to medical school and would do things that will screw up your GPA. They have that kind of power.

In fact you might also end up with an instructor that will screw you over during the final exam when they make a mistake and are too rigid and egotistical to not admit that they failed to provide you enough information to complete a question that was 25% of the final grade. Your appeal will not be heard and you will end up with a non A, your only non A on your journey to get into medical school. And this particular instructor whom you already know lacks character and ethics ends up marrying one of their students (true story).

So save yourself any possible headaches and don’t be too concerned with some debt and go to a four year university. A CC associate degree and a MD Anderson Allied Health degree will put you up against other Asian applicants with similar or better scores and experiences but with degrees from 4 year universities and you will not stand out against that specific pool of high achievers.

Alright, I will take your word for it. Thank you for the thorough response. I was also accepted to nearby universities however MD Anderson and Rice were my top two choices. I will be asking other alumni about their experiences before I choose to commit to either one.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Alright, I will take your word for it. Thank you for the thorough response. I was also accepted to nearby universities however MD Anderson and Rice were my top two choices. I will be asking other alumni about their experiences before I choose to commit to either one.

What's wrong with going to Rice?

 

[cinnaknown]

What's wrong with going to Rice?

It’s expensive 😭 and there’s no guarantee that I’m getting financial aid.

 

[chilly_md]

Closest public 4 yr university is a perfectly fine choice and should be pretty cheap for a TX resident