JD looking for MD

[Inygma]

Hi everyone,

New to the boards and was wondering if people can help me.

Background:

I am a 24 white male, graduating from a top 25 law school (20-25). I always considered med school / law school, but I did fairly well on the LSAT (top 5%), so I decided to do law school. I am regretting the whole law school thing, especially with how bad the legal market is (and with little signs of recovery). I was looking into pursuing medical school, as it is also a strong passion of mine.

I strongly want to attend medical school / residency / work in Southern CA (where I am born and raised).

First thing I would have to do is choose between Post-Bacc program (like USC/CSUF/Scripps) or just take local CC classes for pre-req. Most suggest Post-Bacc, but I was wondering if a Tier 1 law degree helps show ad-comms that I have the skills/determination to do well in a demanding grad school.

Also, what are the chances at securing a place in the Southern CA region? My UG GPA was 3.7, but dropped to a 3.5 once I was accepted into law school (treated last semester as a vacation).

Thanks everyone!

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[Law2Doc]

Hi everyone,

New to the boards and was wondering if people can help me.

Background:

I am a 24 white male, graduating from a top 25 law school (20-25). I always considered med school / law school, but I did fairly well on the LSAT (top 5%), so I decided to do law school. I am regretting the whole law school thing, especially with how bad the legal market is (and with little signs of recovery). I was looking into pursuing medical school, as it is also a strong passion of mine.

I strongly want to attend medical school / residency / work in Southern CA (where I am born and raised).

First thing I would have to do is choose between Post-Bacc program (like USC/CSUF/Scripps) or just take local CC classes for pre-req. Most suggest Post-Bacc, but I was wondering if a Tier 1 law degree helps show ad-comms that I have the skills/determination to do well in a demanding grad school.

Also, what are the chances at securing a place in the Southern CA region? My UG GPA was 3.7, but dropped to a 3.5 once I was accepted into law school (treated last semester as a vacation).

Thanks everyone!

Law degree is going to be viewed like a nice EC. It makes you a bit different than the typical applicant, so if you have what they have "plus" the law degree, that's a plus. Nobody is going to really care about whether it's top tier though. I think no one is going to give you much benefit in terms of skills/determination either. If you had been a practicing lawyer, having transferable skills would come more into play. Everyone who has done both paths will tell you law school is not on par with the rigors of med school, and adcoms know this too. You need to come up with a strong story of why medicine that doesn't involve running from the law. You should start shadowing and volunteering before you take steps to do your postbac so it looks like you actually made an informed decision and looked before you leapt, rather than jump right from law school to postbac because of a tight job market. I wouldn't do community college for prereqs if you have a choice. And finally, don't bank on southern California.

 

[Inygma]

Law degree is going to be viewed like a nice EC. It makes you a bit different than the typical applicant, so if you have what they have "plus" the law degree, that's a plus. Nobody is going to really care about whether it's top tier though. I think no one is going to give you much benefit in terms of skills/determination either. If you had been a practicing lawyer, having transferable skills would come more into play. Everyone who has done both paths will tell you law school is not on par with the rigors of med school, and adcoms know this too. You need to come up with a strong story of why medicine that doesn't involve running from the law. You should start shadowing and volunteering before you take steps to do your postbac so it looks like you actually made an informed decision and looked before you leapt, rather than jump right from law school to postbac because of a tight job market. I wouldn't do community college for prereqs if you have a choice. And finally, don't bank on southern California.

Thanks for the quick and informative reply. I noticed your username... care to share your story? Also, when you say not to bank on SoCal, is that for School/Residency/Work (one, both, all of the above?)

 

[TriagePreMed]

Do you have any concerns about debt or future loans? I can only imagine that UG + Law + Post-Bacc = a lot of money before even getting into med school.

 

[Inygma]

Do you have any concerns about debt or future loans? I can only imagine that UG + Law + Post-Bacc = a lot of money before even getting into med school.

My debt currently isn't too bad. I was fortunate enough to have my parents pay for UG. I was fortunate enough to have most of my law school paid with scholarships/grants. I will be looking at about 60k total of law school debt. Though the debt overall (if I go through with post-bacc/med school, will be a bit large, I don't think it will be unmanageable.

Additionally, if I can find what makes me happy, I don't mind paying for it for the rest of my life =).

 

[Bkid2022]

Yeah I agree that you're gonna need to start working on your "story" now, as in what inspired you to transition into medicine. Volunteering could be a good start.
As for socal, it is tough. I would strike out UCLA now unless you did your undergrad there, I've heard they only like premeds straight out of undergrad.

 

[Law2Doc]

... Also, when you say not to bank on SoCal, is that for School/Residency/Work (one, both, all of the above?)

any or all of the above. It's a competitive market. You can probably get yourself polished up to get into med school, but when you narrow the pool to just a couple, you suddenly don't ave great odds.

 

[Inygma]

I appreciate everyone's input. Would my chances substantially increase in SoCal if I focus on DO schools?

 

[TriagePreMed]

I appreciate everyone's input. Would my chances substantially increase in SoCal if I focus on DO schools?

Since there's only 1 DO school in So. Cal, I don't see why you'd want to focus on that. You'll have to simply apply broadly and hope for the best. Then if you are forced to go out of state, you can worry about how to get back for residency later on. But honestly, don't bank on So Cal because you could become disappointed.

 

[Law2Doc]

I appreciate everyone's input. Would my chances substantially increase in SoCal if I focus on DO schools?

Perhaps, but more doors will be open to you, career-wise if you are more flexible in geography. We dont know your circumstances, but there are plenty of folks locked into geographic areas who don't get into med school that could have become doctors by now if circumstances allowed them to be more flexible. You could go elsewhere for med school and take a shot at coming back for residency or fellowship. But once you start making conditions, and say I want to go to med school, BUT it has to be one of these couple of competitive schools, it's almost not worth disrupting your current career trajectory. The typical applicant will apply to over a dozen programs and not even get interviews at most of them.

 

[Inygma]

Another question...

My GPA in law school is currently a little above a 3.0. This is due partially to forced curved classes (as in we are graded based on our sections...20% As/60% Bs / 20% C+ or below have to be given). This is also partially due to me losing interest in the field.

I mentioned before that my uGPA is about a 3.5. I know I have to kill Post-Bacc, but how hard is the Law school gpa going to hit me?

 

[SunsFun]

Perhaps, but more doors will be open to you, career-wise if you are more flexible in geography. We dont know your circumstances, but there are plenty of folks locked into geographic areas who don't get into med school that could have become doctors by now if circumstances allowed them to be more flexible. You could go elsewhere for med school and take a shot at coming back for residency or fellowship. But once you start making conditions, and say I want to go to med school, BUT it has to be one of these couple of competitive schools, it's almost not worth disrupting your current career trajectory. The typical applicant will apply to over a dozen programs and not even get interviews at most of them.

Could you elaborate? Due to family reasons I would really like to stay in Arizona or if moving - nothing further than 5 hour drive (SoCal, Nevada, etc). Will this really jeopardize my chances
even if my numbers make me competitive?

 

[Supisak]

Well I have to ask, if the law job market weren't so bad would you be looking into medicine? I sense a guy/girl that is looking for a paycheck after the law thing didn't work out. Sorry, call me a cynic. Have seen too many JD to MD posts from 25 or so year olds.

 

[Inygma]

Well I have to ask, if the law job market weren't so bad would you be looking into medicine? I sense a guy/girl that is looking for a paycheck after the law thing didn't work out. Sorry, call me a cynic. Have seen too many JD to MD posts from 25 or so year olds.

Definitely a legitimate question (and one I am almost always asked).

It has never been about the money. I went into law school solely to become a District Attorney (could have easily made more money w/o the law school debt if I stayed at my pre-law job). I am a hands on person, and litigation is the only side of law that would not bore me to death. I would be lying if I claimed that the terrible legal market had no effect on my decision. It is almost a blessing in disguise because it is a lot easier pursuing medicine because the market is so bad for lawyers. It makes it a lot easier sucking up the mistake and pursue what I believe will make me happy.

I have a year left of law school, but I am making time in my schedule to do more volunteer/shadowing next year at a hospital to make sure this is the right decision. I will also be taking classes to pad the GPA.

 

[Law2Doc]

Definitely a legitimate question (and one I am almost always asked).

It has never been about the money. I went into law school solely to become a District Attorney (could have easily made more money w/o the law school debt if I stayed at my pre-law job). I am a hands on person, and litigation is the only side of law that would not bore me to death. I would be lying if I claimed that the terrible legal market had no effect on my decision. It is almost a blessing in disguise because it is a lot easier pursuing medicine because the market is so bad for lawyers. It makes it a lot easier sucking up the mistake and pursue what I believe will make me happy.

I have a year left of law school, but I am making time in my schedule to do more volunteer/shadowing next year at a hospital to make sure this is the right decision. I will also be taking classes to pad the GPA.

I would come up with a good "why medicine" story between now and when you apply. Volunteering/shadowing should help. Med schools dont want people running from other careers or from bad job markets. They want folks drawn to medicine for articulable reasons (beyond "helping people").

 

[Law2Doc]

Could you elaborate? Due to family reasons I would really like to stay in Arizona or if moving - nothing further than 5 hour drive (SoCal, Nevada, etc). Will this really jeopardize my chances
even if my numbers make me competitive?

A lot of the application process involves the nebulous concept of whether a program deems you a "good fit" for the class they are putting together. So competitive numbers don't guaranty admission, and only get you so far in the process. The more places you can apply, the more likely you are to find someplace that deems you a good fit for them. If you have to narrow it to too few schools, your odds are lower.