Looking for advice (mom wanting to go to Med school)

[kgray116]

Hi all. I am definitely a non-traditional student and am looking for advice or suggestions on where to get it. I am a 26 year old Houstonian. I am married, pregnant with my second child, and have a bachelors of science degree in cellular and molecular biology. I was extremely irresponsible in early undergrad but when I had my first daughter I grew up and graduated with a 3.3. Since graduation I have been a stay at home mom. I am very passionate about my family and about science, specifically cancer biology and cancer genetics. I've always wanted to go to medical school but again didn't mature early enough. I was all talk and no action until the end. Now I'm kicking myself because this journey with children is going to be so much harder! Regardless, I want to GO FOR IT! I love my children, they are my number one priority but what will be my purpose when they leave for college? I'd rather try and fail than to never attempt and regret it for the rest of my life. I would not apply for the next few years because I want to stay home with my little girls until they're in school, so my questions are what do I do to improve/stay relevant/become a competitive candidate? I know I sound crazy, but sometimes it takes a little crazy to make it happen. Thanks in advance!
-Katie

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[Goro]

Do you have any specific questions? Kinda hard to read that wall of text.

 

[WellWornLad]

I'd start by getting some exposure to medicine. Spend some time volunteering and shadowing and see if you're still interested. Start taking some credited courses somewhere to boost your GPA. You could also look into nursing or PA school. You could certainly get into medical school but it is much less flexible if you're trying to find some work-family balance.

 

[2010houston]

Do some things you can do part time while still mostly staying home with your kids, if that is your priority:
- take some prerequisites - esp MCAT required stuff
- shadow
- do some volunteering
- do some part time work that would look good on a resume
- make sure this is what you want to do!!

Good luck

 

[ChopinLiszt]

I'm older than you and have more kids. I was a stay at home mom for over a decade. A lot of my ECs were from undergrad days, but here's what I've done recently to get my application ready:

I brushed up my Spanish skills and began volunteering as a Spanish medical interpreter at my community's free clinic.

I got a very part time clinical research assistant job - it's unpaid and mostly data entry/patient screening, but I only do a few hours a week and it's good experience.

I took several upper level science courses through Harvard Extension School (mostly online - not lab prereqs) to show recent academic success, worked my butt off and got all A's.

My undergrad gpa was around 3.5 - upward trend as well. I studied hard for the MCAT and managed a 518.

I applied this cycle to 11 MD schools and so far have 3 interviews - 2 of which are from top 20 schools, despite my decade 'off' and lower gpa. It is possible but you better plan on working harder than your younger, childless counterparts, and like others have said, make sure it's really what you want!
Good luck!

 

[AnotherLawyer]

Hi all. I am definitely a non-traditional student and am looking for advice or suggestions on where to get it. I am a 26 year old Houstonian. I am married, pregnant with my second child, and have a bachelors of science degree in cellular and molecular biology. I was extremely irresponsible in early undergrad but when I had my first daughter I grew up and graduated with a 3.3. Since graduation I have been a stay at home mom. I am very passionate about my family and about science, specifically cancer biology and cancer genetics. I've always wanted to go to medical school but again didn't mature early enough. I was all talk and no action until the end. Now I'm kicking myself because this journey with children is going to be so much harder! Regardless, I want to GO FOR IT! I love my children, they are my number one priority but what will be my purpose when they leave for college? I'd rather try and fail than to never attempt and regret it for the rest of my life. I would not apply for the next few years because I want to stay home with my little girls until they're in school, so my questions are what do I do to improve/stay relevant/become a competitive candidate? I know I sound crazy, but sometimes it takes a little crazy to make it happen. Thanks in advance!
-Katie

If you want to go for it then go for it.

It would be easier for us to suggest things you should do if you told us more about what you've already done. Shadowing, research, clinical/non-clinical volunteering, etc.? Also, what's your sGPA and have you done all the pre-reqs?

 

[NightWindDriftr]

I would not apply for the next few years because I want to stay home with my little girls until they're in school, so my questions are what do I do to improve/stay relevant/become a competitive candidate?

Learn Spanish. Volunteer. Pursue a graduate degree part-time. Consider part-time clinical work. Good luck.

 

[ChopinLiszt]

I agree with the above, except that it would be better for your GPA to pursue more undergrad courses and do well in them, as all undergrad courses will be factored into the same cGPA, but graduate courses won't be counted in your GPA at all for medical school.