MS2 Nontrad Mom - AMA

[ChopinLiszt]

Alright fellow Nontrads.. I came here a lot when I was applying and anxious and feeling alone, so I’m back to try to help out however I can!

A little about me - I was originally premed in college but then I was out of undergrad for about 15 years before I actually applied to med school. I didn’t retake my prereqs but I did take a one-year postbac of upper level science classes (mostly bio) to show recent grades, get LORs, and prepare for the MCAT. I only applied to 10 schools (which seems crazy now, ha!) and got into 3. I had my family between undergrad and med school, so I’m balancing school and kids - but I don’t have to worry about when to time pregnancies, etc., since I already did that. I worried about how being a mom would look on my application but I only got grief about it at one interview. Overall it was either positive or didn’t come up.

So there’s a quick intro - fire away and I’ll try to respond when I can!

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[jrh2132]

What was your cGPA/sGPA/MCAT when you applied?

 

[ChopinLiszt]

3.56/no idea/518. GPA wasn’t the best but I went to a good school for undergrad.. maybe that helped some?

 

[Dr.Gains]

3.56/no idea/518. GPA wasn’t the best but I went to a good school for undergrad.. maybe that helped some?

How long did you study for the MCAT? Are you at a T20/T50 school? What speciality do you plan on pursuing?

 

[nimbus]

Chopin or Liszt?

 

[ChopinLiszt]

How long did you study for the MCAT? Are you at a T20/T50 school? What speciality do you plan on pursuing?

A few months during my postbacc. I’m at a T20 school now, but honestly when I was applying I was nervous about being older and having a lower gpa (not horrible but not ‘safe’) and wasn’t sure I’d even get interviews! The process can be very nerve wracking when you’ve prepared and/or waited a long time!
I haven’t decided 100% on a specialty but am leaning toward a surgical subspecialty.

 

[ChopinLiszt]

Chopin or Liszt?

Chopin all the way. Liszt=simply too many notes.

Also, the name came from a magnetic shopping list my nerdy musician dad had on his fridge for years.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

Is it doable, in your opinion, to have a first pregnancy while in medical school? I’m in my mid-30s and applying this cycle. I hear the biological clock ticking louder every year, and I feel the pressure to have a child soon if I’m going to at all. My husband and I are thinking about only having one, and I think it would have to be during med school (I’m going to be ~40 by the time I’m a resident) Any advice would be appreciated

 

[ChopinLiszt]

Is it doable, in your opinion, to have a first pregnancy while in medical school? I’m in my mid-30s and applying this cycle. I hear the biological clock ticking louder every year, and I feel the pressure to have a child soon if I’m going to at all. My husband and I are thinking about only having one, and I think it would have to be during med school (I’m going to be ~40 by the time I’m a resident) Any advice would be appreciated

Yes, and I think med school (years 1,2, or 4) would be better than residency. There are two pregnant students at my school and admin has been good about working with them for time off once their babies are born. There’s more time flexibility during school, and it would be nice for the baby to (hopefully) be sleeping through the night before residency. I’ve heard other moms say that it was hard being pregnant during residency interviews because of the issues they then had to discuss, etc, so if it were me I’d aim for years 1-2. You’ll need to find some type of child care no matter when you do it. Good luck either way!

 

[njtrimed]

Is it doable, in your opinion, to have a first pregnancy while in medical school? I’m in my mid-30s and applying this cycle. I hear the biological clock ticking louder every year, and I feel the pressure to have a child soon if I’m going to at all. My husband and I are thinking about only having one, and I think it would have to be during med school (I’m going to be ~40 by the time I’m a resident) Any advice would be appreciated

I had my second during M2, and it was significantly easier (both throughout pregnancy AND post-delivery and nursing) than having my first when I was working full-time.

 

[olderbrooklyndoc]

Thanks for sharing your story! As a nontrad who entered medschool at 30, I'm definitely wondering: are their any questions you ask on the residency trail (or plan to ask) to determine if a specific program would be good for your family?

 

[ChopinLiszt]

I won’t be applying for 2 more years, but I am most concerned about the location and culture of the program. I would of course like to find a program that is flexible and supportive, but would not expect special treatment or scheduling. Mostly it’s important to me that the residents support each other! But I’m not there yet so it’s hard to say.

 

[Agentcross]

Hey, I’m a father to two kids nontrad and I’ll be starting medical school next fall. Any tips for me or my family?

 

[ChopinLiszt]

Hey, I’m a father to two kids nontrad and I’ll be starting medical school next fall. Any tips for me or my family?

Most of the dads in my class (there are several!) seem to keep regular hours at school like a full time job. Some also study at home after kids go to bed. Two of them have stay at home spouses so that simplifies child care, but the ones with working spouses tend to keep the same schedule anyway - something like 7 or 8am until the school day is over, and studying in the library/study room when we’re not in class. I feel like I’m juggling a bit more and don’t keep as regular hours, but I wish I did! Haha
So I guess I’d say try to keep a regular ‘work’ schedule but be flexible when you really need to be. Maybe try to figure out if you’re going to be an Anki user or more of a textbook study guy - if you can figure out what type of studying works for you to some extent you can save some trial and error time once school starts. Good luck!

 

[ChopinLiszt]

How is the time management with being a mom and in school? I'm a parent to toddler. Still interviewing MD/DO so don't know where I'll end up but was recently accepted DO. We will probably be trying for number 2 in my first year of med school.

For me it’s kind of complicated. I have several school age kids so they have events - games, performances, etc - that I want to be present for, and there’s always a lot going on over the weekend. Probably the same as for most working moms, I guess. My school has a lot of required attendance lectures and clinical observation sessions that take up most of the day, so it can be tough trying to find solid study time. Time management can actually be more simple when the kids are babies or toddlers - they have more physical needs, but they can go to bed early and don’t need to be picked up from friends houses or orchestra concerts at 10pm.

That said, it is actually working out pretty well so far. I don’t have a lot of consistent study blocks but I fit it in where I can and stay late at school before exams. I try to get some work done on research projects here and there, too (sometimes during boring lectures, lol). If you’re very disciplined and can hold yourself to a detailed schedule, it will be easier to stay on top of everything and keep your stress to a manageable level. But if you’re not (like me) you’ll still probably be able to squeeze things in and make it work. I know that’s not a very specific or rosy answer, but it really is a one day at a time thing, at least for me. You just keep going and try to do what needs to be done and try to enjoy the ride.

 

[bluerock]

Is it doable, in your opinion, to have a first pregnancy while in medical school? I’m in my mid-30s and applying this cycle. I hear the biological clock ticking louder every year, and I feel the pressure to have a child soon if I’m going to at all. My husband and I are thinking about only having one, and I think it would have to be during med school (I’m going to be ~40 by the time I’m a resident) Any advice would be appreciated

I've met women who've done it in residency, and that seems way worse than during medical school. Some people take a break between MS2 and MS3, usually for education, but you could probably swing it for child rearing too.

 

[Cornfed101]

Most of the dads in my class (there are several!) seem to keep regular hours at school like a full time job. Some also study at home after kids go to bed. Two of them have stay at home spouses so that simplifies child care, but the ones with working spouses tend to keep the same schedule anyway -

Man it would be great if my wife could stay home, but it just doesn’t seem possible with the amount of loans they give you for COA... have you received any adjustment to that or seen others get any additional loans with families?

 

[ChopinLiszt]

Man it would be great if my wife could stay home, but it just doesn’t seem possible with the amount of loans they give you for COA... have you received any adjustment to that or seen others get any additional loans with families?

Yes, I get a loan adjustment for family size. Most schools will do that. Many families in school will also get WIC/food stamps/Medicaid for kids etc to help them out during their education. My husband works from home right now, so that helps, but I still have to take out extra loan bc I don’t need extra financial stress added to school stress!

 

[HopesDreams]

Thank you for doing this. My questions are

How much time do you spend at school and studying each day.

How much time do you get with your family

What type of flexibility is there in med school and if you happen to know, in residency, for family emergencies.

Did you have to relocate your family and how did the family handle the adjustment.

Basically, do you feel that you can still live your life. Is life on pause for the next several years.

 

[annad_700]

I see this thread isn’t too recent but I’m crossing my fingers for a reply I’ve got a masters in finance and a career that I don’t like (and sort of detest the idea of doing for the rest of my life). After about a year of soul searching I decided medicine is where I want to be. I’m currently taking prereqs, volunteering, working FT. I guess you could say I’m making up for my younger years of “getting through classes” because after making the mistake of not actually ever pausing to make sure I was enjoying the content and the future it would give me, I don’t want to make that mistake again. Trying to balance everything is tough. I have a fiancé, we want to start a family relatively soon-ish. I’m 30 yo. He is onboard but I’m trying to manage everything in a way that is as fair as possible to him and us and our future. Some of my classes will be online. I’ve already done my research and understand that many schools don’t accept online credits, and I also understand that each school has somewhat differing requirements. Right now I’m tailoring my class plan to what is required for University of Washington as I live in their “WWAMI region” and therefore I believe have some potential preference for acceptance off the bat. You mentioned applying to 10 schools, and I am wondering what an appropriate number of schools is, and if I’m cutting myself short of options with the classes I’m taking. I should be able to finish taking required courses, take MCAT, and apply for schools in Spring 2022.

 

[catlady87]

Just wanted to chime in that I had a baby (my first) in med school about 5 months ago, if anyone ever wants to chat about that. Honestly, it’s been pretty hard, but so far everyone’s still alive!

hi @ChopinLiszt

 

[StudentDoGter]

Just wanted to chime in that I had a baby (my first) in med school about 5 months ago, if anyone ever wants to chat about that. Honestly, it’s been pretty hard, but so far everyone’s still
alive!

what year are you in? I’ll be starting school at 29, so I worry about running out of time sometimes