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- Dec 30, 2015
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I'm a 29 year-old non-traditional student who resides in Boston, Massachusetts. I endeavor to earn an MD and am very flexible on the program/location as well as willing to put in more years of work to get a spot. My backup would be to become a PT, which I know is ambitious and difficult enough to get into as it is, so my final backup would just be to stay at my work and continue my career without another degree. MD is what I have my sights set on though. Like I said I'm 29 and I know I'm not getting any younger, so I'd like to take major steps towards achieving this soon.
Cumulative GPA: 3.24 from a top 40 university...in 2009. Aside from being lackluster and old I have the further obstacle of my previous majors being in journalism and film. From researching the med school process I think I just need to start from scratch. I think my best shot is to get into a two year second bachelor's degree program in a state school. I am hoping to keep cost down somewhat and have read that UMass is about $6,000 per semester, which I can handle, but am trying to keep cost down. I'm really eager for advice on what is the best program to go to for my second bachelor's degree program if this is indeed the best route for me.
Math and Science GPAs: Pretty much non-existent. Despite graduating from a top 40 school they had very weak standards for math and sciences. I did well in my science classes, but since they are so old I'd need to retake them since I know med schools want classes within the past 5 years.
Professional Background: 4 years. I have worked since June 2012 as a residential counselor. I'm very drawn to mental and physical rehabilitation. I know it's not a very impressive job title and in the next couple of years I'd like to find better ways to grow my experience. I'm very interested in advice about this. As it is since 2012 I have worked at one company starting with a job where I worked for a year in a group home with an older population with schizophrenia and similar ailments. I then switched jobs in the same company to work in a high intensity program with a similar population. In May 2015 I also started working full-time with another company where I work awake overnights with a population with traumatic brain injuries. So, I work a minimum of 80 hours per week and frequently do overtime. When I start classes again I would leave the high intensity program as the awake overnight is honestly not that stressful and think I would have a good amount of time to focus on my second bachelor's degree.
Current Plan:
-Find a way to complete my pre-reqs, perhaps through a second bachelor's degree program. I'd do the program full-time, but with a light course load so I can do as well as possible in each class. Interested in Summer classes to speed up the process.
-Get some research and clinical voluntary experience.
-Continue to work my awake overnight job with some overtime.
-Study a ton and eventually take the MCAT.
-Apply to a lot of MD and PT programs. The UMass Medical School is a top choice as are places around NYC. Very flexible though, will travel anywhere in the US.
Obstacles:
-Finding a second bachelor's degree program or some other way of satisfying my pre-reqs. I'm very studious, flexible, and patient. Ideally I'd like to find the program in MA that gives me the best shot of getting into an MD program that also doesn't break the bank. I'd love to start in Fall 2016, but am cutting it awfully close so Winter 2017, Summer 2017, or Fall 2017 would be options as well. Bonus points if the degree/pre-reqs can help my career ambitions in case the MD/PT routes don't work out.
-Finances! Being a residential counselor doesn't pay much. I more than get by now, but that's only because I work so much. Quitting one job will cut my earnings in half. I have a master's degree from an Ivy League school (it's in journalism, which doesn't really help in this endeavor), which I only bring up because I still have to finish paying off some loans for that though it's not a ridiculous amount. It'd take a few years though and I really don't want to delay school that long. I have been very good about paying loans back up to this point. I'm really trying to avoid going into too much debt, at least before I actually get into an MD or PT program, where debt almost becomes unavoidable.
-Zero research and clinical voluntary experience. I'm willing to put in 2 years (perhaps 3) just to prepare for the MD/PT programs and need to find ways to grow my experience from zero to something in that time.
-Time management. Like I said I'll still technically be working full-time and going to school full-time. This can be pretty stressful even if my regular job isn't that stressful and I did bank a lot of vacation/personal time for this endeavor.
I'm sorry I wrote a book to explain all this! Thank you so much to anyone who can offer any helpful advice. Especially about the best affordable program/way of fulfilling my pre-reqs in MA. I'm 29 and weak in experience, but this would be my only commitment. I'm completely willing to adapt my plan as needed and relocate for MD/PT school.
Cumulative GPA: 3.24 from a top 40 university...in 2009. Aside from being lackluster and old I have the further obstacle of my previous majors being in journalism and film. From researching the med school process I think I just need to start from scratch. I think my best shot is to get into a two year second bachelor's degree program in a state school. I am hoping to keep cost down somewhat and have read that UMass is about $6,000 per semester, which I can handle, but am trying to keep cost down. I'm really eager for advice on what is the best program to go to for my second bachelor's degree program if this is indeed the best route for me.
Math and Science GPAs: Pretty much non-existent. Despite graduating from a top 40 school they had very weak standards for math and sciences. I did well in my science classes, but since they are so old I'd need to retake them since I know med schools want classes within the past 5 years.
Professional Background: 4 years. I have worked since June 2012 as a residential counselor. I'm very drawn to mental and physical rehabilitation. I know it's not a very impressive job title and in the next couple of years I'd like to find better ways to grow my experience. I'm very interested in advice about this. As it is since 2012 I have worked at one company starting with a job where I worked for a year in a group home with an older population with schizophrenia and similar ailments. I then switched jobs in the same company to work in a high intensity program with a similar population. In May 2015 I also started working full-time with another company where I work awake overnights with a population with traumatic brain injuries. So, I work a minimum of 80 hours per week and frequently do overtime. When I start classes again I would leave the high intensity program as the awake overnight is honestly not that stressful and think I would have a good amount of time to focus on my second bachelor's degree.
Current Plan:
-Find a way to complete my pre-reqs, perhaps through a second bachelor's degree program. I'd do the program full-time, but with a light course load so I can do as well as possible in each class. Interested in Summer classes to speed up the process.
-Get some research and clinical voluntary experience.
-Continue to work my awake overnight job with some overtime.
-Study a ton and eventually take the MCAT.
-Apply to a lot of MD and PT programs. The UMass Medical School is a top choice as are places around NYC. Very flexible though, will travel anywhere in the US.
Obstacles:
-Finding a second bachelor's degree program or some other way of satisfying my pre-reqs. I'm very studious, flexible, and patient. Ideally I'd like to find the program in MA that gives me the best shot of getting into an MD program that also doesn't break the bank. I'd love to start in Fall 2016, but am cutting it awfully close so Winter 2017, Summer 2017, or Fall 2017 would be options as well. Bonus points if the degree/pre-reqs can help my career ambitions in case the MD/PT routes don't work out.
-Finances! Being a residential counselor doesn't pay much. I more than get by now, but that's only because I work so much. Quitting one job will cut my earnings in half. I have a master's degree from an Ivy League school (it's in journalism, which doesn't really help in this endeavor), which I only bring up because I still have to finish paying off some loans for that though it's not a ridiculous amount. It'd take a few years though and I really don't want to delay school that long. I have been very good about paying loans back up to this point. I'm really trying to avoid going into too much debt, at least before I actually get into an MD or PT program, where debt almost becomes unavoidable.
-Zero research and clinical voluntary experience. I'm willing to put in 2 years (perhaps 3) just to prepare for the MD/PT programs and need to find ways to grow my experience from zero to something in that time.
-Time management. Like I said I'll still technically be working full-time and going to school full-time. This can be pretty stressful even if my regular job isn't that stressful and I did bank a lot of vacation/personal time for this endeavor.
I'm sorry I wrote a book to explain all this! Thank you so much to anyone who can offer any helpful advice. Especially about the best affordable program/way of fulfilling my pre-reqs in MA. I'm 29 and weak in experience, but this would be my only commitment. I'm completely willing to adapt my plan as needed and relocate for MD/PT school.