med students please help me!

[foodiecoodie]

hello all, I am a non traditional student applying to medical school. Unfortunately I have an extremely unique situation and I don't know if I will be able to apply in the may 2019 app cycle. Let me give you guys the back story: I finished high school at 15 years old and then decided to get my Associates in Science at a community college because my family could not afford to put me in University. After completing 60 credits and receiving my associates in science I was deciding what my next step would be. I knew i wanted to be in medicine, I just did not know what I wanted to do. and honestly by the time i finished my associates degree I had just turned 17 and most people where telling me to take time off from school but I was not the type to do that and had never taken a summer off before in my life so I decided to jump into my education. I had always been interested in being a doctor, but I was also interested in Oriental Medicine. So I decided to pursue my bachelors in Science and Oriental Medicine at a University and after completing that I decided to go for my masters and then think about applying to medical school to become an MD. so thats exactly what I did and by 20 I had finished my B.S. and my M.S. and I also became a licensed acupuncturist. After graduating, I decided (again for financial reasons) to go back to community college and take my medical school pre reqs there. (chem,physics,orgo,etc..). I am now 21 years old (i graduated with my masters last year) and I was gearing up to apply to medical school in the MAY 2019 cycle when I was hit by a shocking discovery. After talking to a friend, who went through a similar problem, I found out that the university I attended (for my bachelors and masters degree) was Nationally Accredited... but NOT regionally accredited(naive 16 year old me did not realize there was a difference) and so my friend told me that apparently because my degree was not REGIONALLY accredited that it would not be acknowledged by medical schools and so therefore I CANNOT apply to medical school because the TMDSAS AND THE AMCAS would not acknowledge my degrees . After doing my own research, I discovered that some medical schools will allow you to apply with 90 credits... I currently have 83 credits (from community college) outside of my degree and by next may ill have hit 90. My question to you all is
1.) is it true that my nationally accredited bachelors and masters will not be acknowledged and there for does not count
2.) if thats true can I apply to medical school and be accepted with my 90 credits? or do I have to go get another bachelors degree before applying? or can I apply with my 90 credits and say i have a bs and ms and get in

i apologize if this is confusing, and i am more than happy to answer any questions you all may have. i am seriously freaking out... please help me .

i do have a great GPA, lots of volunteer hours, I've shadowed a lot of MDs and i have about 3 years experience working in an ER. I also have about 8 letters of recommendations from MDs.

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[MakeLifeHappen13]

Technically some schools only require 90 credits, however, I've never actually seen someone get in without finishing their bachelors. And if you look at MSAR 99% of applicants admitted have a Bachelors degree.

Basically, plan on getting a Bachelor's that is recognized by all med schools.

 

[Kuratz]

No US MD schools will honor credits you received from acupuncture/"Oriental Medicine" school. If you aren't trolling I'm afraid you will have to utilize the community college credits and attend a traditional undergraduate institution to obtain a degree. While I admire your ambition, your post suggests you could use some time gain some experience and maturity. I can't imagine many medical schools looking at an applicant who was keen enough to graduate high school at 15 and get a masters by 20 but fail to realize they were attending a school that has questionable respectability, and not at all similar to a standard 4-year US university. It just isn't an issue for the vast majority of four year universities in the US. Sorry to burst your bubble but I have I feeling you are trolling.

 

[foodiecoodie]

No US MD schools will honor credits you received from acupuncture/"Oriental Medicine" school. If you aren't trolling I'm afraid you will have to utilize the community college credits and attend a traditional undergraduate institution to obtain a degree. While I admire your ambition, your post suggests you could use some time gain some experience and maturity. I can't imagine many medical schools looking at an applicant who was keen enough to graduate high school at 15 and get a masters by 20 but fail to realize they were attending a school that has questionable respectability, while obtaining a hogwash degree. It just isn't an issue for the vast majority of four year universities in the US. Sorry to burst your bubble but I have I feeling you are trolling.

dude, im not trolling lol - the school I attended WAS regionally accredited, but they no longer are. they are still accredited and recognized by some institutions since they have their national accreditation... also I'm not the first one with an oriental background to want to pursue medicine. my close friend graduated from a different oriental med program (hers was both regionally and nationally accredited) and now attends texas tech med school. Also, I don't get the point of you "questioning my maturity" when you literally do not know me at all. I posted on here seeking help for a problem I am facing. I am 21, married to a 4th year med student, and expecting my first child. though I would not like to go back and get another bachelors degree if thats what I have to do then I will.. thank you for your response!

 

[precisiongraphic]

No US MD schools will honor credits you received from acupuncture/"Oriental Medicine" school. If you aren't trolling I'm afraid you will have to utilize the community college credits and attend a traditional undergraduate institution to obtain a degree. While I admire your ambition, your post suggests you could use some time gain some experience and maturity. I can't imagine many medical schools looking at an applicant who was keen enough to graduate high school at 15 and get a masters by 20 but fail to realize they were attending a school that has questionable respectability, while obtaining a hogwash degree. It just isn't an issue for the vast majority of four year universities in the US. Sorry to burst your bubble but I have I feeling you are trolling.

This is a very condescending reply and the bolded portion is incorrect. Degrees from "Nationally accredited" schools and universities are accepted by many states and for many reasons. The US Government, many states and school districts and hospitals accept degree holders from Nationally accredited schools as well as from "Regionally accredited" schools but some professions need RA accreditation.

RA schools are generally more prestigious and yes, some NA schools are more like trade schools but they are not hogwash. They are not frauds and neither are their graduates. Some RA universities, it is true, will not accept NA grads into graduate programs like MBAs. NA schools are shown as accredited by the US Department of Education here and here's the link for OPM acceptance of NA degrees for hiring.

Getting to OP's question, I think that a NA degree will put you at a disadvantage and may in fact keep you from getting into a large percentage of MD schools. You might find one but realize that most successful applicants apply to 20-30 MD schools, so by limiting your pool so much you're unlikely to be successful. DO schools I don't know as much about. And I hate to say it but some MD/DOs might be biased against oriental practitioners (or question their bona fides) so I think a second BA/BS degree might be needed. Oriental medicine on its own is unlikely to prepare you for allopathic/osteopathic medicine. Luckily you have 83 CC credits and can get your prerequisites done which will get you closer to a new Bachelor's degree. You might be able to find an RA school that will take some of your NA credits for graduation.

OP, you sound really determined and smart but I think checking with an academic counselor at your CC (who has surely advised other pre-med students) or at a local four-year university would be helpful. Many four-year universities have articulation agreements with CCs where CC transfers are integrated into the university.

Source: I've been a community college and university (RA) professor for over 10 years.

P.S. If your degree was earned when the school was still RA, then your degree was RA. Send me a personal message if you want to review privately.