Medical school applicants that just seem to wander into medicine?

[Silverman780]

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From what I have seen in various places around SDN and the other uncharted regions of the internet, there is always talk of people that do the college thing, get their diploma and go off to work for a couple months or years. They later get dissatisfied with their work then decide somehow that medicine is the right choice for them.

My Question: is that if medical school is so darn competitive how do these people seemingly meander into medical school with out proper preparation? Are they just brilliant enough to pull it off or does the work experience enhance their med school entry somehow?Any Ideas or thoughts?😕

 

[engineeredout]

Uh nobody "meanders" into medicine. The people who end up deciding after several years to enter medicine go through all the **** that current college students do. Premed classes, getting GPA up, volunteer/shadowing, MCAT. They don't just wake up in the morning and apply. Try browsing around the non-trad forum.

 

[DrYoda]

I agree with engineeredout, once they decide to pursue and MD/DO it probably takes 2+ years to get all the pre-reqs done and all the other hoops properly jumped through.

does the work experience enhance their med school entry somehow

Med schools try to get a very diverse class (and not just racial/ethnic diversity). They do like to have people who were previously something else other than just student. Of course this does not waive the high standards of admissions to med schools.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

there is always talk of people that do the college thing, get their diploma and go off to work for a couple months or years. They later get dissatisfied with their work then decide somehow that medicine is the right choice for them.

My Question: is that if medical school is so darn competitive how do these people seemingly meander into medical school with out proper preparation? Are they just brilliant enough to pull it off or does the work experience enhance their med school entry somehow?Any Ideas or thoughts?😕

I'm a non-meanderer who otherwise fits the bill above regarding the candidate who spent years doing something else, and then pursued medicine; I was accepted as a reapplicant this year.

Schools would prevent anyone from meandering into med school in several ways:

1) min GPA/MCAT cutoffs. Some of us had great grades undergrad, others have to spend a few years to get the undergrad gpa up to the competitive 3.6+ range. MCAT is (at least my version) primarily knowledge based; it took me a total of over 40 recent premed hours to get up to speed on it to earn a competitive score, 1 1/2 years fulltime studies.

2) clinical - several schools I spoke with will not consider a candidate without clinical volunteer or clinical work experience. This makes sense in that the schools don't want a person who's great academically & then will not be able to handle MS3 or MS4 rotations, or residency. 200+ hrs is a solid figure.

3) LORs - these must clearly indicate a candidate's fitness for medicine, generally written by teachers or clinical volunteer managers; a candidate won't get a decent one without showing strong interest in these areas.

4) Interview/Personal statement. The interviewer/app reader is looking for proof of commitment to medicine.

Sorry, the stories of students who "meander" into medicine, in my experience, are false. Kind of like the "brilliant student who aces all tests". I found that the secret to being that student is to put in more study effort than anyone else in their right mind would.

 

[Silverman780]

I'm a non-meanderer who otherwise fits the bill above regarding the candidate who spent years doing something else, and then pursued medicine; I was accepted as a reapplicant this year.

Schools would prevent anyone from meandering into med school in several ways:

....

Sorry, the stories of students who "meander" into medicine, in my experience, are false. Kind of like the "brilliant student who aces all tests". I found that the secret to being that student is to put in more study effort than anyone else in their right mind would.

Thank you that's more what I was looking for!👍

 

[cajunchrisbu]

you can just wander into medicine....kinda..

here is what I mean. I began college not having any particular career plans except for knowing that I wanted to do something with science that involved helping people and being a people person. I found that I liked forensic science so I got my B.S. in that and through attending various clubs with friends and gradual exposure found my self drawn to medicine. I got excited about it at the end of my freshman year of college, got more involved, did some shadowing and eventually got my EMT-basic certification which allowed me to get a job at the hospital in the ER. I took my MCAT, sent off my applications and just got accepted.

The whole thing was initially unplanned and i kinda just went with the flow and found my self where I am today, looking forward to medical school next year. Remember kids its all about staying calm and fighting for what you want after you find it.

all the best

 

[Silverman780]

you can just wander into medicine....kinda..

here is what I mean. I began college not having any particular career plans except for knowing that I wanted to do something with science that involved helping people and being a people person. I found that I liked forensic science so I got my B.S. in that and through attending various clubs with friends and gradual exposure found my self drawn to medicine. I got excited about it at the end of my freshman year of college, got more involved, did some shadowing and eventually got my EMT-basic certification which allowed me to get a job at the hospital in the ER. I took my MCAT, sent off my applications and just got accepted.

The whole thing was initially unplanned and i kinda just went with the flow and found my self where I am today, looking forward to medical school next year. Remember kids its all about staying calm and fighting for what you want after you find it.

all the best

That's what I was more talking about!
Congrats on your acceptance!
Which school are you going to be going to?

 

[cajunchrisbu]

haha yea for sure... I know exactly what you mean silverman. I've heard those kind of stories around my school to and typically to me it sounds like a bunch of bull****. Most of the time the ones I hear saying it are known to be braggers and have been caught in some kind of lie before. So i don't take them seriously.

I absolutely agree there is no way to meander or wander through physics, ochem, gen chem and bio and the MCAT just because you were bored or whatever haha

Anyways I'll be going to LSU-Shreveport in the fall!!! W00t! 3 and a half years of hard work and long nights have paid off.

Are you going to med school in the fall too?

 

[Silverman780]

I WISH!
I am just a lower-ly high school senior 😳

 

[pressmom]

I'm a non-trad in vet med. I had to take all the pre-reqs for the 6 schools I applied to, which varies widely in vet med, maintain a high GPA, take the GRE, and get experience.

College Diploma GPA: 3.64
Pre-req GPA: 3.9
GRE: 590 V, 780 Q, 5.5 A (It is scored similar to the SAT and A is out of 6.)
800 hrs experience with small animal vet
100 hrs equine vet
75 hrs exotic animal medicine
75 hrs wildlife rehab
75 hrs food animal
100 hrs animal shelter

I did all this (minus my original diploma) in 2.5 years. I started in summer 04 and matriculated fall 07. I only worked the spring and summer before I matriculated. I was accepted to all three schools I interviewed at.

Even though I came in late, I obviously showed devotion to and knowledge about the field.

So, in other words, I didn't wander in.

 

[xnfs93hy]

I'm a non-trad in vet med. I had to take all the pre-reqs for the 6 schools I applied to, which varies widely in vet med, maintain a high GPA, take the GRE, and get experience.

College Diploma GPA: 3.64
Pre-req GPA: 3.9
GRE: 590 V, 780 Q, 5.5 A (It is scored similar to the SAT and A is out of 6.)
800 hrs experience with small animal vet
100 hrs equine vet
75 hrs exotic animal medicine
75 hrs wildlife rehab
75 hrs food animal
100 hrs animal shelter

I did all this (minus my original diploma) in 2.5 years. I started in summer 04 and matriculated fall 07. I only worked the spring and summer before I matriculated. I was accepted to all three schools I interviewed at.

Even though I came in late, I obviously showed devotion to and knowledge about the field.

So, in other words, I didn't wander in.

Whoa 😱.

 

[pressmom]

Whoa 😱.

Haha! I'm about average. Many people that apply to vet school have thousands of hours. If you read the successful applicants thread (which has just started getting going for this year) over on the pre-vet board, you'll see there are quite a few people with more.

In fact, here's this year's:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=589279

Here's last year's:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=493514

 

[cajunchrisbu]

I WISH!
I am just a lower-ly high school senior 😳

haha i see, your pre-medical status threw me.

Dang I feel old....high school was 4 years ago...geez

 

[NonTradMed]

No one 'meanders' into medical school. I don't know anyone who randomly takes chemistry, organic etc and the MCAT for the thrill of it. That doesnt' include the shadowing/volunteering plus the letters of recommendation and application process where you spend thousands of dollars flying everywhere to interview.

Now, if you are taking about nontraditionals who decide to go into medical school, most worked hard and made sacrifices to make their acceptance possible.

I was one of those 'meanders' I guess. I did all my prereqs in college but I became a programmer after graduation. I worked for a few years before deciding on med school. My meandering took me back home to study for the MCAT, take more science classes since it was four years since I last touched a biology text, and over a year of anguish, fretting and tears. I got in and was happy up until my first exam block LOL.

Anyways, from an outsider's perspective, it may have looked like I just sent my application out and in came my acceptance. But looks are decieiving. Every medical acceptance came with no small amount of anxiety and stress. Keep that in mind when you are applying. There's no easy road to med school.