Living in my Car + Need Advice

[nennenu]

Current Situation:

I am a 22 year old living in my car in CA. I have a 3.0 GPA from a Studio Art Associates, from a different city in CA, I never finished. None of the bad grades are from STEM classes. Bad grades were due to domestic violence, but I left thst situation finally.

Here's my Plan:

> Get certification in Medical Coding to support myself
> Go to a CC and choose a STEM degree so the extra classes cushion my GPA
> Transfer to SJSU (hopefully)
> Volunteer!! A LOT!!

Questions:

> Should I apply for my Studio Art Associates or does it offer nothing?
> Is there something other than Medical coding I should do? (Omg like EKG? Just thought of it now.)
> I haven't registered for this new community college yet, but is it going to be more difficult finding opportunities to volunteer as someone who isn't currently a student? Or I can say I'm just taking a gap year?

Any other advice or things I should be aware of? I know I'm non-traditional, but I was told I'm atypical and should reach out on this forum.

Please and thank you!

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[Dave1980]

You have a long and difficult road ahead. Sounds like you've been through a lot.

I don't see how the studio art degree would help you at all.

Your living situation sounds really tenuous. I would focus on getting that medical coding certification and getting a job to support yourself and setting up a decent living situation before going back to a CC and volunteering.

 

[Calizboosted76]

Try and become a scribe. Most people say it doesn't pay well but I make 13 an hour with a guaranteed dollar raise per year and a dollar raise if I work overnights. Do this and then focus on yourself for now. Get into a stable environment and reenroll into school and bust ass. You got this.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

Current Situation:

I am a 22 year old living in my car in CA. I have a 3.0 GPA from a Studio Art Associates, from a different city in CA, I never finished. None of the bad grades are from STEM classes. Bad grades were due to domestic violence, but I left thst situation finally.

Here's my Plan:

> Get certification in Medical Coding to support myself
> Go to a CC and choose a STEM degree so the extra classes cushion my GPA
> Transfer to SJSU (hopefully)
> Volunteer!! A LOT!!

Questions:

> Should I apply for my Studio Art Associates or does it offer nothing?
> Is there something other than Medical coding I should do? (Omg like EKG? Just thought of it now.)
> I haven't registered for this new community college yet, but is it going to be more difficult finding opportunities to volunteer as someone who isn't currently a student? Or I can say I'm just taking a gap year?

Any other advice or things I should be aware of? I know I'm non-traditional, but I was told I'm atypical and should reach out on this forum.

Please and thank you!

I’m so sorry to hear about your struggles. Focus on stabilizing your housing first and foremost, then start thinking about medical school prerequisites. I believe you can do it, but pre-medicine is a very difficult path even under perfect circumstances. You’re still young and have lots of time to pursue your goals, so make sure you’re in a solid position to succeed - at a minimum, you should have housing and enough income/funds to take care of your basics.

I like the scribing suggestion. Medical coding won’t be very helpful for a future medical school application (it won’t be unhelpful, it’s just not clinical experience), but scribing will allow you to observe physicians in practice. Medical assisting or some kind of tech work could be an alternative.

Are you open to relocating out of CA? If you move to a state with a lower cost of living, you might be able to find less expensive housing. Also, California is super crazy competitive even for in state applicants, so you might look at living in states like Texas or Florida that have lots of medical schools but far fewer applicants than California schools. Just a thought.

Good luck!

 

[Calizboosted76]

I’m so sorry to hear about your struggles. Focus on stabilizing your housing first and foremost, then start thinking about medical school prerequisites. I believe you can do it, but pre-medicine is a very difficult path even under perfect circumstances. You’re still young and have lots of time to pursue your goals, so make sure you’re in a solid position to succeed - at a minimum, you should have housing and enough income/funds to take care of your basics.

I like the scribing suggestion. Medical coding won’t be very helpful for a future medical school application (it won’t be unhelpful, it’s just not clinical experience), but scribing will allow you to observe physicians in practice. Medical assisting or some kind of tech work could be an alternative.

Are you open to relocating out of CA? If you move to a state with a lower cost of living, you might be able to find less expensive housing. Also, California is super crazy competitive even for in state applicants, so you might look at living in states like Texas or Florida that have lots of medical schools but far fewer applicants than California schools. Just a thought.

Good luck!

Florida resident here, all of our schools are receptive of reinvention. Also scribing here is amazing. I have opened so many doors doing so and I am able to sustain life. I feel like I have learned more as a scribe than I have my entire undergrad career.

 

[dingdong28]

If you're open to moving like others have posted, look into Ohio. Fairly low COL and there is an assortment of hospitals/hospital systems to choose from if you consider living in the Cleveland area. In addition to the job market, Cleveland has 3 medical schools (Case, NEOMED and OU-HCOM at South Pointe Hospital) which give precedence to applicants who've established Ohio residency.

For your job situation, look into the routes others have stated and maybe a phlebotomy program as well. Working as a phlebotomist exposes you do different professions in the hospital that may have you change your mind on pursuing medical school and allows you to work in a variety of settings (inpatient, outpatient, ER, etc.). Plus, working for certain hospitals/hospital systems may also have tuition assistance, which all of the big names in Cleveland offer some form assistance.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

Michigan is another great option with 6 MD programs.... if you can tolerate the winters.

 

[Calizboosted76]

Michigan is another great option with 6 MD programs.... if you can tolerate the winters.

Nah screw that come to Florida, we have the sun, beaches, and hurricanes that come oddly close to us and never hit.

 

[nennenu]

I’m so sorry to hear about your struggles. Focus on stabilizing your housing first and foremost, then start thinking about medical school prerequisites. I believe you can do it, but pre-medicine is a very difficult path even under perfect circumstances. You’re still young and have lots of time to pursue your goals, so make sure you’re in a solid position to succeed - at a minimum, you should have housing and enough income/funds to take care of your basics.

I like the scribing suggestion. Medical coding won’t be very helpful for a future medical school application (it won’t be unhelpful, it’s just not clinical experience), but scribing will allow you to observe physicians in practice. Medical assisting or some kind of tech work could be an alternative.

Are you open to relocating out of CA? If you move to a state with a lower cost of living, you might be able to find less expensive housing. Also, California is super crazy competitive even for in state applicants, so you might look at living in states like Texas or Florida that have lots of medical schools but far fewer applicants than California schools. Just a thought.

Good luck!

Thank you! I am open to moving out ot California, but only for medical school so far... College is going to be so much cheaper for me here since my goal is a public university. I know I can probably wait one or two years to establish residency in a different state, but I don't want to delay my education any longer.

On a different forum, I noticed people mentioning how some medical schools reject you if you're out of state? Or maybe it was residencies... Either way, how common is that?

Edit: I might be open to leaving California for undergrad. I'm still thinking about it. I also risk losing medicaid and other benefits I could get since I'm still here.

 

[solitarius]

Same type of advice we give to morbidly obese people trying to lose weight. Go Incremental... One Step at A Time.... If you're winning, aim higher .... if not, reconsider.

Go To Texas.
Get A Job. Stabilize your life and finances.
Once stable, aim for mid-level career. Start with same pre-requisites for MD/DO and mid-level
If You're Winning, Aim Higher for MD/DO.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

Thank you! I am open to moving out ot California, but only for medical school so far... College is going to be so much cheaper for me here since my goal is a public university. I know I can probably wait one or two years to establish residency in a different state, but I don't want to delay my education any longer.

On a different forum, I noticed people mentioning how some medical schools reject you if you're out of state? Or maybe it was residencies... Either way, how common is that?

Edit: I might be open to leaving California for undergrad. I'm still thinking about it. I also risk losing medicaid and other benefits I could get since I'm still here.

Well, I don’t know much about how your safety net will be affected by moving to a new state, so that’s definitely a consideration for you. You don’t want to relocate and find that your sources of assistance are cut off! Keep your situation as safe and stable as you can; that should always be your first priority. If you find you can relocate, though, I would encourage it - California is a notoriously competitive state for medical school admissions. There are just way more Californian premeds than there are medical training spots in your state. You’re in a difficult spot right now, and I understand that you want to get on with your education, but I’d think long and hard about staying in California unless you’re a superstar student or you truly can’t leave for other reasons.

It’s not just some medical schools that reject you if you’re out of state, it’s most public medical schools. State universities typically have missions to train doctors from their own state, and accept few to no nonresidents. Private medical schools usually don’t care about your state of residency, but that also means they get many more applications from all over the US and Canada, so private schools are quite competitive too.

I first decided to pursue medicine over 10 years ago, then my life got in the way, and now I’m applying in my mid 30s. I have learned that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and this is especially true given your situation. Medical school/premed studies will always be there for you when your situation is stabilized, so try to resist the urge to rush this. I hope it works out for you, I’m rooting for you!

 

[nennenu]

Well, I don’t know much about how your safety net will be affected by moving to a new state, so that’s definitely a consideration for you. You don’t want to relocate and find that your sources of assistance are cut off! Keep your situation as safe and stable as you can; that should always be your first priority. If you find you can relocate, though, I would encourage it - California is a notoriously competitive state for medical school admissions. There are just way more Californian premeds than there are medical training spots in your state. You’re in a difficult spot right now, and I understand that you want to get on with your education, but I’d think long and hard about staying in California unless you’re a superstar student or you truly can’t leave for other reasons.

It’s not just some medical schools that reject you if you’re out of state, it’s most public medical schools. State universities typically have missions to train doctors from their own state, and accept few to no nonresidents. Private medical schools usually don’t care about your state of residency, but that also means they get many more applications from all over the US and Canada, so private schools are quite competitive too.

I first decided to pursue medicine over 10 years ago, then my life got in the way, and now I’m applying in my mid 30s. I have learned that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and this is especially true given your situation. Medical school/premed studies will always be there for you when your situation is stabilized, so try to resist the urge to rush this. I hope it works out for you, I’m rooting for you!

Thank you. I'm going to spend more time reflecting the decision to move and fight my ego and insecurities. I have one more question though.

Do you know how is Hawaii for pre-med/med school? I know it'll be crazy expensive, but I do have extended family members I can maybe cut a deal with for housing. A lot more support is available for me, if it works out.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

Thank you. I'm going to spend more time reflecting the decision to move and fight my ego and insecurities. I have one more question though.

Do you know how is Hawaii for pre-med/med school? I know it'll be crazy expensive, but I do have extended family members I can maybe cut a deal with for housing. A lot more support is available for me, if it works out.

I don’t know how Hawaii is for premed. In terms of medical training, from what I understand, Hawaii has only one medical school (UH) and they only accept in-state resident applicants/applicants with strong ties to the state (e.g., born and raised in HI). You’d have to establish Hawaiian residency to be considered. States with one medical school can be tough. Burns SOM at UH has a little over a 20% in-state acceptance rate. Not terrible, but other states are better.

But honestly, if you have family/support systems wherever you relocate, then the competitiveness of the state medical school should be a secondary consideration. You’ll be in a much better position to excel in your studies and be a competitive candidate for all schools if you have a strong support network available to you. If you’ve got people in Hawaii that can help you out, then I say go for it. Aloha.

 

[Dr.Gains]

Try and become a scribe. Most people say it doesn't pay well but I make 13 an hour with a guaranteed dollar raise per year and a dollar raise if I work overnights. Do this and then focus on yourself for now. Get into a stable environment and reenroll into school and bust ass. You got this.

Do you work for a company or were you directly hired by the hospital? 13/hr doesn't sound bad at all with the added benefits you mentioned.

 

[Calizboosted76]

Do you work for a company or were you directly hired by the hospital? 13/hr doesn't sound bad at all with the added benefits you mentioned.

We’re a private contracted company to the hospital system in our area. It’s a really good gig. Benefits are included as well if you are full time. Also if you know your stuff and can train new scribes you get a $5 an hour bonus each shift you’re training, so for a premed getting experience in the field making $19 an hour at 24 years old isn’t that bad. Haha

 

[Dr.Gains]

We’re a private contracted company to the hospital system in our area. It’s a really good gig. Benefits are included as well if you are full time. Also if you know your stuff and can train new scribes you get a $5 an hour bonus each shift you’re training, so for a premed getting experience in the field making $19 an hour at 24 years old isn’t that bad. Haha

That's quite amazing. You make me want to move down to Florida now lol.

 

[Calizboosted76]

That's quite amazing. You make me want to move down to Florida now lol.

CMON down *The price is right voice”

 

[nennenu]

You guys convinced me, lol. I'm looking into moving to Texas now for undergrad. I saw in state students with amazing grades be rejected by California med schools, and I think I cried when I saw apartments less than 1500 in Texas. Apartments start at a little over 3000 here in my part of California. God.

 

[nennenu]

Michigan is another great option with 6 MD programs.... if you can tolerate the winters.

I love winters, tired of the heat here, but is there a way to compare Texas vs Michigan (medical schools)? Is the acceptance rate in Michigan higher than Texas? Things like that.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

I love winters, tired of the heat here, but is there a way to compare Texas vs Michigan (medical schools)? Is the acceptance rate in Michigan higher than Texas? Things like that.

You definitely want to get a subscription to the Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR) database. You can look up the admissions stats and criteria for every MD program in the US and use that to compare programs (I made an Excel spreadsheet with this information when I was first starting out). I don’t know if there’s something similar for DO programs, but individual osteopathic programs’ websites should have that information as well.

The MSAR is free if you qualify for the AAMC fee assistance program; it’s less than $30/year if you can’t/don’t want to apply for fee assistance right now.

 

[Calizboosted76]

You guys convinced me, lol. I'm looking into moving to Texas now for undergrad. I saw in state students with amazing grades be rejected by California med schools, and I think I cried when I saw apartments less than 1500 in Texas. Apartments start at a little over 3000 here in my part of California. God.

Apartments down here in Florida start around 500 a month if you want a studio, 650 a month for a two bedroom, and 800 for a 3.

 

[Dr.Gains]

You guys convinced me, lol. I'm looking into moving to Texas now for undergrad. I saw in state students with amazing grades be rejected by California med schools, and I think I cried when I saw apartments less than 1500 in Texas. Apartments start at a little over 3000 here in my part of California. God.

If you're not planning on using academic fresh start, which you most likely aren't (you have to be 10+ years removed from undergrad). Than Florida is also a nice option. As @Calizboosted76 mentioned Florida does have a list of both MD/DO schools who are receptive to non-traditional students. You can work as a full time scribe to support yourself, take part time classes and volunteer on the side.

 

[RNthenDoc]

+1 for TX/FL.

The bright side is, you’ll have some great material for your “overcoming adversity” essays!

Good luck to you; I sincerely hope you find home stability soon.

 

[SenselessDuck]

Apartments down here in Florida start around 500 a month if you want a studio, 650 a month for a two bedroom, and 800 for a 3.

Good Lord, what part of Florida are you living in because a studio is like 900-1K and a 1 Bedroom is like 1200$ easily where I am at...

Plus, would you be able to tell me more about that scribe position? I'm in FL too and have been searching but can't find much at least in my area

 

[Calizboosted76]

Good Lord, what part of Florida are you living in because a studio is like 900-1K and a 1 Bedroom is like 1200$ easily where I am at...

Plus, would you be able to tell me more about that scribe position? I'm in FL too and have been searching but can't find much at least in my area

Dm me

 

[RNthenDoc]

Good Lord, what part of Florida are you living in because a studio is like 900-1K and a 1 Bedroom is like 1200$ easily where I am at...

The further from the water, the cheaper things get

 

[Calizboosted76]

The further from the water, the cheaper things get

I’m 15 minutes from the beach. But beachside does have a jump.

 

[Calizboosted76]

I’m 15 minutes from the beach. But beachside does have a jump.

Crazy that those 15 minutes make so much difference in price.

 

[SenselessDuck]

The further from the water, the cheaper things get

True. Closer to Palm Beach Island or the coastline the more everything is which is exactly my problem now lol