Just starting the non-trad process

[Nomadie]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

About me:
- 33 y.o.
- married (we don't have kids nor do we want them - much prefer travel and eating out)
- financially stable (undergrads are paid off, cars are paid off, have a mortgage)
- living in Boise, ID
- always wanted to be a doctor. Currently interested in neuro and path, though that could all change (and probably will). Thought I couldn't deal with blood. Turns out blood and fluids are fine, people in excruciating pain is what gets to me... that and some OB/GYN stuff.

Coursework:
- Undergrad psychology (with 3 years electrical eng.... didn't like the cookie cutter aspect): 3.85 GPA
- Undergrad research experience in psych and communications, basic study paperwork and transcription
- Graduate degree in Industrial and Systems Eng: 3.92 GPA from a Top 5 program.
- 5 years experience with grant writing, project management, client management, and the like (bored out of my mind and tired of being "just" a designer/pm in the food chain)
- Took Calc 1/2/3, graduate level stats, 3 semesters physics, 1 semester chem, AP Bio (back in 1999)

The plan:
- Start with solid volunteer experience. Looking at the VA and the oncology/EM departments at a local hospital
- Take pre-reqs. From what I can tell that would be Bio, Chem, and O-Chem.
- Rock MCAT (not a problem with solid prep work/good pre-reqs)

Questions:
- Some of my coursework is over 10 years old. Do I need to retake those courses (even if I got A's in them)?
- Volunteer hours. I'm weak in this (understatement). My plan is to volunteer a few days a week at the VA and hospital while I do the pre-reqs. Sufficient to be competitive?

Conclusion:
Basically just wanted to put all this in writing (make it "real" as it were) and see if there are any glaring holes in the plan.

 

[Eccesignum]

About me:
- 33 y.o.
- married (we don't have kids nor do we want them - much prefer travel and eating out)
- financially stable (undergrads are paid off, cars are paid off, have a mortgage)
- living in Boise, ID
- always wanted to be a doctor. Currently interested in neuro and path, though that could all change (and probably will). Thought I couldn't deal with blood. Turns out blood and fluids are fine, people in excruciating pain is what gets to me... that and some OB/GYN stuff.

Coursework:
- Undergrad psychology (with 3 years electrical eng.... didn't like the cookie cutter aspect): 3.85 GPA
- Undergrad research experience in psych and communications, basic study paperwork and transcription
- Graduate degree in Industrial and Systems Eng: 3.92 GPA from a Top 5 program.
- 5 years experience with grant writing, project management, client management, and the like (bored out of my mind and tired of being "just" a designer/pm in the food chain)
- Took Calc 1/2/3, graduate level stats, 3 semesters physics, 1 semester chem, AP Bio (back in 1999)

The plan:
- Start with solid volunteer experience. Looking at the VA and the oncology/EM departments at a local hospital
- Take pre-reqs. From what I can tell that would be Bio, Chem, and O-Chem.
- Rock MCAT (not a problem with solid prep work/good pre-reqs)

Questions:
- Some of my coursework is over 10 years old. Do I need to retake those courses (even if I got A's in them)?
- Volunteer hours. I'm weak in this (understatement). My plan is to volunteer a few days a week at the VA and hospital while I do the pre-reqs. Sufficient to be competitive?

Conclusion:
Basically just wanted to put all this in writing (make it "real" as it were) and see if there are any glaring holes in the plan.

Many of us would've killed for that uGPA 😉 Good for you. Your grad GPA won't help you unless applying to DO schools, but it'll be a good talking point and add something interesting to your app.

Very old pre-reqs can be an issue. In my experience most schools didn't care if a liberal arts (psych, Eng, etc) pre-req was 10+ years old but they did want science to be within the last 3-5 years. But there are exceptions everywhere. I would suggest putting together a list of schools you're particularly interested in and getting in touch with them individually about that, then pursue the course that maximizes your chances.

As for other pre-reqs, the standard course now is Bio 1/2, Chem 1/2, Ochem 1 (2 is becoming less common as a pre-req but some places may require it), Physics 1/2, Biochem, 1-2 semesters of writing-intensive English, Psych, and Sociology. These represent what's on the MCAT. The MSAR https://services.aamc.org/msar/home#null will show you every MD school and break down their pre-reqs (along with other info) for you. DO schools don't have a database like this that I know of, but you can often see their pre-req list on their website.

Volunteer and clinical experience will be vital on your application. Apart from good grades, you'll need to demonstrate that you've spent time exploring this passion for medicine, that you understand (to the extent that a pre-med can) what you're getting into, and that you have a desire to serve others.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Nomadie]

Thanks for your reply! This process is quite a journey, but the time's going to pass anyway. Might as well chase after something I truly want to do.

 

[Seattle Mariners Fan]

You're completely on course.

GPA wise, you're starting from a very strong position, and are certainly competitive for MD. Median non-URM matriculant is 3.7 cGPA, 3.7 sGPA, and most premeds get there while wussing out on calculus, since taking a derivative is apparently really hard. MD doesn't consider graduate GPA.

I would volunteer in a few different settings. When I volunteered at an ER I almost stopped wanting to go to med school - I found it to be a very negative, hostile, gossipy place...put in my 50 and bolted. Then I started volunteering at a hospice, and it was an entirely different experience, and was broadly consistent with my expectations of what working in medicine would be.

Taking the courses at a 4-year university maximizes your options. Institutional quality for the postbac isn't nearly as relevant as most postbacs assume; any 4-year is fine. Taking classes at JC's will limit you to mostly lower-half MD programs and DO. Taking a significant number of classes online pretty much limits you to a handful of MD and DO.

Also, you need biochemistry. Its as heavily tested as biology and psychology. Some are substituting it for Ochem 2 - which many programs are no longer requiring and which isn't really tested on the MCAT - but the safest bet is to take both ochems and biochem.

I don't think I'm as smart as your uGPA suggests you are, and I've had zero trouble working 40-60 hour weeks while taking classes. Straight A's except a B in a one-credit lab where the TA was a tool, with 3 classes to go.

What's your wife's take on it? My ex bailed when I told her, women seem to run in a dating context if it comes out that I'm planning to quit my job in the near future to go to med school...pretty well given up on dating until med school. Not that I care that much, but I would go in eyes open about this.

My one concern is:

- Rock MCAT (not a problem with solid prep work/good pre-reqs)

The MCAT (very) heavily weighs reading comprehension. I would expect GRE verbal or LSAT scores to be the strongest correlates of a good performance - the math 6th grade stuff.

 

[Nomadie]

I would volunteer in a few different settings. When I volunteered at an ER I almost stopped wanting to go to med school - I found it to be a very negative, hostile, gossipy place...put in my 50 and bolted. Then I started volunteering at a hospice, and it was an entirely different experience, and was broadly consistent with my expectations of what working in medicine would be.

Glad your hospice experience was a good one, I've heard some horror stories. Though I guess you can find horror stories from any field/area if you talk to enough people - everything has pluses and minuses. I'm definitely looking at volunteering in a few different settings, hoping to broaden my EC experience and get some strong LORs.

As for other pre-reqs, the standard course now is Bio 1/2, Chem 1/2, Ochem 1 (2 is becoming less common as a pre-req but some places may require it), Physics 1/2, Biochem, 1-2 semesters of writing-intensive English, Psych, and Sociology. These represent what's on the MCAT. The MSAR https://services.aamc.org/msar/home#null will show you every MD school and break down their pre-reqs (along with other info) for you. DO schools don't have a database like this that I know of, but you can often see their pre-req list on their website.

That link was great, I hadn't seen it before, thanks! I'll make sure my science pre-reqs are current (the review probably wouldn't hurt for the MCAT either).

Taking the courses at a 4-year university maximizes your options. Institutional quality for the postbac isn't nearly as relevant as most postbacs assume; any 4-year is fine. Taking classes at JC's will limit you to mostly lower-half MD programs and DO. Taking a significant number of classes online pretty much limits you to a handful of MD and DO.

I'd heard that about the online courses, primarily because of the lack of labs. I do live near a 4-year uni, so that shouldn't be a problem assuming they'll let me take the courses (and I'll ad biochem to the list as well).

Straight A's except a B in a one-credit lab where the TA was a tool, with 3 classes to go.

Nice! I'd say good luck on your last three courses, but sounds like you don't need it.

What's your wife's take on it? My ex bailed when I told her, women seem to run in a dating context if it comes out that I'm planning to quit my job in the near future to go to med school...pretty well given up on dating until med school. Not that I care that much, but I would go in eyes open about this.

Oh man... hey, more time to study and work on your application. Ha, I'm actually the wife, but my husband is cool with me going after this.

The MCAT (very) heavily weighs reading comprehension. I would expect GRE verbal or LSAT scores to be the strongest correlates of a good performance - the math 6th grade stuff.

My plan for the MCAT is taking lots of practice tests under timed conditions, and working through some test prep books. I actually took the LSAT (let's not talk about the six months I spent in law school... mistakes were made), but I prefer math to reading. I won't be taking the test until I've got more courses under my belt, since I don't have college level Bio-anything.

 

[Seattle Mariners Fan]

Well if you take the courses at a 4 year, get decent EC's, and do well on the MCAT, you have a very good shot at getting into a good program. Grades are fantastic. If you did well on the LSAT I'm sure you'll be fine.

MD matriculant data, sorted by the most important factor other than GPA and MCAT:

https://www.aamc.org/download/321498/data/factstablea18.pdf

If you applied DO you'd be a shoe-in:

http://www.aacom.org/docs/default-source/data-and-trends/2012-15-matprofilerpt.pdf?sfvrsn=8

 

[Nomadie]

Thanks, but I've got a small hunch that grades and test scores can help get an interview, but that getting an acceptance is the total package (ECs, LORs, how I do in an interview) get the acceptance. Time to make a game plan.

 

[DrMikeP]

Former EE and Psychologist myself. Sounds like some good advice above. Get your retakes of course req sciences done with As and you should be fine for many schools. Good luck

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[Nomadie]

Thanks all. I figure this process should take about 3.5 years to matriculation (2/2.5 years pre-reqs, plus the extra year between applying and hopeful matriculation).