med school dropout wants to go back

[ruffity]

hi

i entered med school in 1996 and, for various reasons dropped out after my first year to pursue a career in computer science. now that i'm in the field of bioinformatics research, my interest in biology has resurfaced and i'm thinking about going back to med school. i was wondering if anyone out there has successfully gained admission to med school after dropping out in the past (or has heard of anyone who has).

as for my qualifications, i think my academics would be okay (enough to get me into several top ten med schools back in 1996), and i would retake the mcat, hopefully doing okay, but i'm worried that adcomms would "blackball" me or reject me on account of the fact that i already gave up a space at a med school years before (please don't flame me for this!). i'm just wondering if i should even consider returning to medicine, i.e., if it's even possible to get back into med school given my past history of dropping out, and if anyone has ever done this. any feedback or responses would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

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[VienneseWaltz]

I would think adcoms might consider letting you back in if there were extenuating circumstances such as family problems or an illness, but if that were the case, you would have taken a leave of absence from your old med school.

From the looks of your post, you dropped out essentially because you could make more money immediately in the tech industry, but medicine is about delayed gratification on a number of levels. You wasted a tremendous amount of other people's money (not just your out-of-pocket tuition) by going for a year then dropping out, so I'm going to venture that it is VERY unlike that a U.S. medical school will take you unless you can prove you had a better reason for leaving and that you would be back for good. DO you know that medicine is what you want? Have you shadowed and volunteered? Did you do that before? Qualifications go far beyond academics, as I'm sure you know if you gained acceptance in 1996.

I'm not trying to sound harsh--I don't mean to flame you, but rather give you an honest answer.

 

[jennie 21]

Well, I'm by no means an expert, but if you got into several top-ten medical schools the first time then I assume that your academics must be very good. However, the fact that you got in, then dropped out will be a major red flag on your record, which schools will rightfully be concerned with. I would think that, given your (presumably) excellent academic credentials, some medical school will probably be willing to take a gamble on you, if you apply to enough of them. But where you will be able to get in will probably be several levels down from what you could expect, based on your credentials, if you had not dropped out once.

As somebody who is not yet accepted to ANY medical school, and who wants desperately to become a doctor, I would urge you to take a good, hard look inside and make sure that this is what you really want to do; it's not fair otherwise to take a spot that could be used by somebody else.

 

[All-Star14]

Let's say that the economy does a 180 by this time in 2006. Will you be tempted to once again leave medicine to pursue a career that will lead to a quicker pay-day? Since you've done this once (during the Clinton years) already, then how can med school admissions committees be 100% sure you won't "jump bail" again? Medical school is a serious 4-year committment; people are jumping through hoops during this time to train you for a very important career. Med school shouldn't be used as your 2nd-option; it should be your first (especially if you've gone through the premed hassles of taking all those classes and the MCAT and volunteering/research). I tell this to my engineering/econ friends all the time...you've got to be committed to the study of medicine...not just run to it whenever the economy hits a slump and you can't find a job. But, if you're ABSOLUTELY sure you want to go through med school, then by all means GO FOR IT! But beware, the economy will improve (someday ). I'm trying not to preach to you; I'm just keeping it real. Don't take someone else's slot in a class if you're not sure you can make it through the four years (not academically, but interest-wise).