Mom of 4, non-trad with foreign degree seeking advice

[MOFNT]

Hello, this is my first time posting on SDN. Thank you in advance for reading my post.

I'm 33 with 4 kids. I had been a stay home mom for 9 years. I was a foreign born with a foreign BA in English from a decade ago. And I worked as a translator for only one year after college. I'm probably among the list of most non-trad students here. Anyway, I found my passion in medicine when I was preg with the youngest. At that time, we were still living overseas, and with little ones to care for, I quickly dropped the idea of med school and started looking at a Physician Assistant career.

We moved to NC 2 years ago. Early last year I started volunteering at the hospital. Last summer, I began to take courses (mostly PA school pre-reqs) at a community college and have finished 40 credit hours so far. I went full time. I took 15 credits in fall and 20 this spring. I studied really hard and my GPA is 4.0. Currently, I have only 2 courses left for PA prereqs(Chem II and Microbiology) .

Then 3 weeks ago, a small incident occurred that made me think about the med school again, much more serious this time than 5 years ago. Medicine is what I love then why not a medical school I asked myself? What's stopping me? My age, my young children, my foreign non-science BA or my non-English native language?

Certainly, I've regained my confidence after a year of study here. Although I like the flexibility and little money stress of taking classes at CC, I soon realized that my GPA earned from a CC wouldn't be as competitive as others from a 4 year uni for med school.So I looked into the pre-med post-bacc programs, quickly applied to the only one around (UNCG) and got admitted last week.

This all happened really fast during these busy final weeks of the semester. Fortunately, my husband is very supportive of what I want to do. But we are both concerned about me driving 3hours round trip to school for a year. The commute will take away a big chunk of my time needed for my family and children.

I'm thinking of maybe taking some general courses at CC while doing the upper levels at UNCG. Is that a bad idea? I understand that my situation is quite different from most of you all. But I would really appreciate any advice you could give. You don't have to be a mom with four children or another non-trad student with a foreign degree. Thanks!!

P.S. Just to clarify things, I'm a US citizen, and my foreign degree and transcript had already been verified.

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[DrMidlife]

First off, hopefully you have permanent US residency or citizenship, otherwise it's nearly impossible to finance med school in the US.

Generally you're expected to do 2 years of full time university study at a US school, or 90 semester units, with a foreign degree. I would not do more community college, because that doesn't demonstrate what you need to demonstrate: that you can keep up with the university kiddoes with whom you're competing for a med school seat. 60% of US MD applicants are rejected every year. A 4.0 at a CC is absolutely permission to go for it, but don't blow it by thinking med schools will view CC work as equivalent to university work.

You don't have to do a structured postbac. You can take classes at any university, if there's one closer to home.

You need to be getting clinical experience. That's more time away from family, but at least you can do it closer to home. Think 4-8 hours/week in a hospital or clinic.

Keep in mind that if you're successful and you get into med school you'll have 7-10 years during which you don't control your location. If moving to where you can do school is impossible now, will it be possible if you get accepted somewhere other than the closest med school? Note: applying to 25 med schools is the norm, and is what you should be looking at.

You have to get your foreign transcript evaluated, which is a slow, expensive process, and then those grades won't be taken seriously. It's just to verify you completed a degree.

Best of luck to you.

 

[deleted480308]

While you can drive 3hr roundtrip (I drive near that)... it sucks hard

Like impossible to describe hard

Try and move closer

 

[MOFNT]

Thank you DrMidlife and sb247 for your kind replies.
Being a mom w 4 kiddos(4 to 9yrs), I'm constantly weighing my options. Fortunately, my husband works from home so we do have some flexibility on where to live when I start the med school. But we are not going to relocate just for this post-bacc year. I plan to commute and take classes for 2-3 days a week only. It won't be easy but I think it's doable.

 

[coppernickel]

I agree with another poster, look into universities closer to you and create your own post bac, hopefully there is one closer. 3 hour round trip is doable, yes, I am doing that for my postbac but I can't imagine how that would change your family situation. I'm 27, no kids, but with a mom who will make me dinner as I'm studying for the mcat. You're going to need support like that because I personally think it's hard to split your brain so many different ways and still do great in everything. Tip about driving, record your lectures and re listen to them when you are driving or something. 9 hours of just driving every week is going to seem like a waste of time because your time will be precious. Find out if they video record lectures etc. you do need to be present though for recommendation letters later. Last thing, I'd recommend no more community college classes because you can get away with some but I don't believe you can do it for all. Good prices but the education quality is way different, and I can confirm that because I've taken bio classes at my cc too. I'd check with a do school rep about that though (md for sure). Good luck! Your kids will be proud.

 

[MOFNT]

Thank you coppernickel. Listening to course videos while driving is what I have been doing for the past year! Oh and throw in drinking blended meals through a straw as well. Frankly, every min of my time is precious. I always try to multitask (Except texting and driving). Going to school full time can be really stressful for a mom sometimes, but I'm grateful for my super supportive husband. As for my kids, they still get freshly cooked healthy meals (my hubby cooks when I have eve classes), homemade breads (I'm an enthusiastic bread baker) and tutoring (Let's be honest, elementary education here is sub-par, math in particular).
Most importantly, I think I would be a better role model pursuing my dream against all odds.

 

[SupermommyMD]

Hello,

Definitely don't think that it is necessary to join a Post-Bacc program so far unless it guarantees you at least an interview with an associated medical school. I would just take courses at a closer university (sorry I know others have said this but just wanted to reiterate). As a mother of 2 I get it and you will be sacrificing a lot of time away from them but why do it now unless you absolutely have to.

Also pre-requisites are probably the most important to take at a 4 year university although with that said as a non-traditional student I think medical schools can see that maybe you didn't take them at the 4 year university for financial reasons so I would not stress the competitiveness of CC classes so much. I personally would take the 4 year classes mainly for myself to see if I can keep up because medical school is going to be much harder even then the uni classes.

Best of Luck,

Cristina
Supermommd.org

 

[SymphonyNo9]

I agree with all of the above said.
I'm not an expert of career planning or the life of being a parent. However, I'm an incoming M1 with foreign bachelor degree who shared the experience of applying in such situation. If you have decided to apply to med school, you might find my post helpful:
A Guide to Applying US Med School with a Foreign Bachelor Degree

Feel free to ask me questions : )