Need Help and vote of confidence !!!

[Lakshmi76]

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I am sorry if I am in the wrong forum.

I am thinking of switching my career to medical as that’s my passion....
I need some help and vote of confidence !!!

I am from India and have my Bachelors in Pharmacy degree(4years) from a reputed University in India. But I have been in the IT field in US for the past 5 years.

Though my current salary is not bad, but I feel it’s boring/monotonous and I want to switch to medical field as it was my passion.

I was very good in my academics and still have urge to study and work hard. I am 33, married, have 2 kids (5 & 3yrs) and my husband will support me no matter what. I live in MD.

Do you think I have a chance? Am I too old to switch now? Any idea/tips/suggestion will be highly appreciated.

Where should I start? If someone who are/were in similar situation and could guide me, that will be a great help.

My immediate actions are going to be:

1) Get my education evaluated by ECE.org
2) Meet with Admission counselor in the University
3) Prepare for DAT (also brush up my knowledge in Pharmacy)

Thanks

 

[doc toothache]

]I am sorry if I am in the wrong forum.
I am thinking of switching my career to medical as that’s my passion....
I need some help and vote of confidence !!!
I am from India and have my Bachelors in Pharmacy degree(4years) from a reputed University in India. But I have been in the IT field in US for the past 5 years.
Though my current salary is not bad, but I feel it’s boring/monotonous and I want to switch to medical field as it was my passion.
I was very good in my academics and still have urge to study and work hard. I am 33, married, have 2 kids (5 & 3yrs) and my husband will support me no matter what. I live in MD.
Do you think I have a chance? Am I too old to switch now? Any idea/tips/suggestion will be highly appreciated. Where should I start? If someone who are/were in similar situation and could guide me, that will be a great help.My immediate actions are going to be:
1) Get my education evaluated by ECE.org
2) Meet with Admission counselor in the University
]3) Prepare for DAT (also brush up my knowledge in Pharmacy)

Keep the flame of passion in studying since you are going to need it to complete the pre requisites/degree from a US university. With that in mind you may want to hold off preparing for the DAT.

 

[Lakshmi76]

Keep the flame of passion in studying since you are going to need it to complete the pre requisites/degree from a US university. With that in mind you may want to hold off preparing for the DAT.

Thanks for your reply.

I have done B.Pharm which is a 4 year professional bachelors degree from India. This should be equivalent to 'Pharm D' in the US.

If Pharm D fulfils the pre-requisites for DDS admission, then I believe
B-Pharm also should fulfil the pre-requisites.

Can someone please confirm if Pharm D fulfils the pre-requisites for DDS admission?

 

[peanutb123]

Thanks for your reply.

I have done B.Pharm which is a 4 year professional bachelors degree from India. This should be equivalent to 'Pharm D' in the US.

If Pharm D fulfils the pre-requisites for DDS admission, then I believe
B-Pharm also should fulfil the pre-requisites.

Can someone please confirm if Pharm D fulfils the pre-requisites for DDS admission?

Hey lakshmi,

Yeah same here i was in the IT field its soo boring. Not only monotonous but very boring as f***. plus due to the outsourcing our jobs are usually laid off or always unstable. pay cuts etc... all that bs.

I am soo sorry to tell you this. but according to my calc. you must be done w/ your Bpharm in india when you were 21 years old. now you are 33 years old. So that's more than 10 years gap. Yeah you have to take the courses(NOT REPEAT). plus i am going to give you this bad news you are going to hate me for this & please correct me if i am wrong but i am 100% sure i am not.
I know these 2 girls (b.tech from india recently green card holders) who are in the same situation. they had to get their BS or BA degree again just to be eligible. But thats another 4 years. NOT TO WORRY. there is a shortcut 😉

My cousin who also came from India. He did masters in Biology, another cousin did it in dental science, another one did it i believe chem. and they also took the pre reqs: bio, chem, phy, bio chem, & orgo & some did physiology. They were able to finish MS in less than 2years and acquired the knowledge to do very well on dats. also it doesnt matter if you are green card holder or citizen anything lower might cause trouble down the road.

First see if you can handle it w/ all the responsibilities by take some classes. As your kids must be really young. then after that go full force and tackle it. You can do it. and no matter lakshmi will be with you lol $$

 

[peanutb123]

dont do any academic work.... UNTIL YOU ARE 100 % sure set on it. FIRST BEFORE YOU QUIT YOUR JOB OR SOMETHING FIND OUT A LOT OF INFO.

-call up dental schools and explain them your situation. talk to the admission people. not just the lady who picks up the phone.
-evaluate your options weather you want to get a Bach. or MS. then consult d-school or M-school about your decision and ask for suggestions. Enroll in a good university, keep this in mind some univ. might give your more gpa or more credits for your previous work so dont just stick to one univ. contact couple.

-just do the required academic work. you dont need to brush up on ur pharm skills.

 

[peanutb123]

-if those options seems viable then after doing about half of your course work shadow a dentist, do some volunteer service, something to be unique.
you are def. not too old to switch.
there was a this prof. he just got his PHD and you know what his age is 78 years old. and when you ask him why. the only word that comes out of his mouth is persistence is the key.
-it will be a little long road but you can def. do it lakshmi. dont give up.

 

[dentalWorks]

wait, Im confused, do you want to be a doctor or a dentist?

 

[peanutb123]

wait, Im confused, do you want to be a doctor or a dentist?

doesnt really matter... its basically the same for both. other than shadowing, and dat.

 

[AskJeeves]

Just do a post-bac or take classes at a University to fulfill your requirements. I was able to fulfill all of my requirements in a year and I did really well. Harvard has a really easy post-bac program and schools really look favorably upon Harvard's program. A friend of mine completed all of the requirements at Harvard and finished the program with above a 3.8 and received a full scholarship for dental school.

 

[Lakshmi76]

-if those options seems viable then after doing about half of your course work shadow a dentist, do some volunteer service, something to be unique.
you are def. not too old to switch.
there was a this prof. he just got his PHD and you know what his age is 78 years old. and when you ask him why. the only word that comes out of his mouth is persistence is the key.
-it will be a little long road but you can def. do it lakshmi. dont give up.

Thanks for all your replies.

 

[Lakshmi76]

Just do a post-bac or take classes at a University to fulfill your requirements. I was able to fulfill all of my requirements in a year and I did really well. Harvard has a really easy post-bac program and schools really look favorably upon Harvard's program. A friend of mine completed all of the requirements at Harvard and finished the program with above a 3.8 and received a full scholarship for dental school.

Thanks for your reply.

Out of all pre-requisites. I lack only physics. Is it possible to take only physics?

 

[AskJeeves]

Thanks for your reply.

Out of all pre-requisites. I lack only physics. Is it possible to take only physics?

Dental schools may not accept credit from foreign institutions and/or they may not accept credits over 5 years old. You should speak with an advisor, but it may be that you may have to fulfill all of the requirements in a US school. A lot of really good schools have post-bad programs that will let you finish the requirements in a year during the spring, fall and summer semesters.

 

[Lakshmi76]

Dental schools may not accept credit from foreign institutions and/or they may not accept credits over 5 years old. You should speak with an advisor, but it may be that you may have to fulfill all of the requirements in a US school. A lot of really good schools have post-bad programs that will let you finish the requirements in a year during the spring, fall and summer semesters.

I don't see any such condition that the credits should not be > 5 years old:

http://www.dental.umaryland.edu/admissions/adm_new/dds_prereq.html

As you said, I will speak with an admission advisor.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[htmrkp]

I am in a similar boat. I have a bachelors in engineering from India and a masters from US univ in engg. The schools in texas need 90 under grad credits I repeat 90 under grad credits from American or Canadian University ,to apply.
So what I am doing right now is, complete the under grad credits at an American university and then apply for admission.

1. I contact almost all the school across the length and breadth of USA about my situation. Even though some schools say you are eligible, they end up rejecting your application if you haven't done any courses in US.
2. Some people do masters and apply. I guess that works because some schools just need 90 credits.it doesn't matter if they are under grad or grad.
3. coming to the under grad credits themselves - I need 90 (in the state of texas), these include the core courses (even if I have done them already in India, they need the core credits from American or Canadian University.
4. if any of the american university allows you to transfer your under grad credits and issues a transcript for them, those credits work. But still the core need to be from here
( I know I keep repeating the same stuff all over again n again).

Not to discourage you or anything but keep the time length in mind when you are figuring out the plan and some of the few things which i ve mentioned below


- You might spend atleast a year or two in doing the pre reqs ( there are some schools which offer 1 year post bac programs but most of them are tailored for students who graduated from american or canadian schools)
(if you take 18 credits a sem, not including the summer, you will need 2.5 yrs to complete the pre reqs)
-med school is 4 yrs
- residency atleast 3 yrs

- i am living it right now, even with the entire family support ( i mean including your in laws), i have my share of emotional dramas and frustrations about the entire thing.

- but you can do it by taking lesser course load. but im not really sure how that's gonna work because you be competing with students who are taking regular course load. yeah, technically you could take lesser course load n finish the pre reqs.

- money - yup - the green with big M - you will end up with atleast 250 K loan or similar amount spent ( in texas it s a lot cheaper but northeast and every where else, the schools are obnoxiuosly priced!). you wouldn't have pay for atleast 8 years.

- just giving you the practical point of view.

- if you need more info, send me a message with your email id.

Thanks and good luck!

 

[htmrkp]

Hey lakshmi,


I am soo sorry to tell you this. but according to my calc. you must be done w/ your Bpharm in india when you were 21 years old. now you are 33 years old. So that's more than 10 years gap. Yeah you have to take the courses(NOT REPEAT). plus i am going to give you this bad news you are going to hate me for this & please correct me if i am wrong but i am 100% sure i am not.


-some schools as for courses less than 5 yrs old and some schools dont. it varies from school to school.

-it's never too old to switch

- green card matters if your gonna apply for loan or fin aid

-spend time with your kids as they are growing and are aware if you are not there for them when they need you and take a lighter course load to start off with. ( not to make you feel guilty about it but trust me, i have seen both ends of that problem even with all the support)

 

[AKM86]

I don't see any such condition that the credits should not be > 5 years old:

http://www.dental.umaryland.edu/admissions/adm_new/dds_prereq.html

As you said, I will speak with an admission advisor.

Thanks again for your help.

Most schools prefer that you have completed a good portion of your coursework in the United States as they will be more reflective of the way classes might be taught/organized in American Dental Schools. As far as the University of Maryland, someone I know attended their dental hygiene school, but later wanted to attend their dental school...she was told that depending on when she applies to the dental school, the prereqs she took before she went to hygiene school may expire if she waits too long to apply. This would suggest that University of Maryland does indeed have a policy regarding how long prereqs are valid.
Even if there was no policy, you took these classes over 10 years ago and my feeling is they might look more seriously at someone who has taken these classes recently as the information will be more fresh in their minds. If you had worked in an industry that maybe you would have used a lot of this information, it would help your case, but as you mentioned you were working in IT.
I'm not saying this to bring you down, but I'm just speaking from my experiences in applying and the things I have learned from hearing other people's situations.
Regardless, I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide to do.

 

[anschutz1913]

I am in a similar boat. I have a bachelors in engineering from India and a masters from US univ in engg. The schools in texas need 90 under grad credits I repeat 90 under grad credits from American or Canadian University ,to apply.
So what I am doing right now is, complete the under grad credits at an American university and then apply for admission.



This guy has it right....I know lots of people who have much more education that I do (like Masters, PhD's, etc.etc.), but because it was from a foreign U, it doesn't matter and are rejected due to the 90 hr. rule. I am in Oregon btw.

 

[peanutb123]

ps. i am not trying to discourage you.... But if you do decide to change... DONT SLACK OFF JUST B/c YOU HAVE b.pharm from india. Its completely unrelated to what you are going to learn here. Its going to be hard. so never take any course easily give it all. i had these 2 girls in orgo and physics. they couldn't get good grades b/c they told me its completely diff. from b.pharm in india.

 

[Lakshmi76]

Thank you all for your valuable inputs. I am not discouraged, I understand the fact. I also spoke with few schools about my situation. They also said the same.

Now, I have a question about the following pre-requisite I found in one of the Universities (UOP):

Required Courses --------------------------Semesters-----Quarters
Biological Sciences with laboratory------------------4------------------6
Physics with laboratory-------------------------------2------------------3
Inorganic Chemistry with laboratory----------------2------------------3
Organic Chemistry------------------------------------2------------------3
English, Communication or Speech------------------2------------------3


How do I interpret the above? Does it mean that 'Biological Sci w/ lab' should be taken at least for 4 semesters which means I need to do a 2 year course? If this is correct, then I believe one year Post-Bacc program will not work out in my case, Right? Also, What does the quarter mean here?

I really appreciate your inputs on this.

 

[AKM86]

Thank you all for your valuable inputs. I am not discouraged, I understand the fact. I also spoke with few schools about my situation. They also said the same.

Now, I have a question about the following pre-requisite I found in one of the Universities (UOP):

Required Courses --------------------------Semesters-----Quarters
Biological Sciences with laboratory------------------4------------------6
Physics with laboratory-------------------------------2------------------3
Inorganic Chemistry with laboratory----------------2------------------3
Organic Chemistry------------------------------------2------------------3
English, Communication or Speech------------------2------------------3


How do I interpret the above? Does it mean that 'Biological Sci w/ lab' should be taken at least for 4 semesters which means I need to do a 2 year course? If this is correct, then I believe one year Post-Bacc program will not work out in my case, Right? Also, What does the quarter mean here?

I really appreciate your inputs on this.

4 semesters of Biological Sciences w/ Lab does not mean taking a 2 year-long biology course. It's just taking 4 biology courses that include labs, each lasting a semester. For example, you could take Cell Biology, Animal Biology, Microbiology, and Genetics. Those are lab sciences at most universities. Other subjects, like Organic Chemistry for example, are technically the same subject between semesters but are just different levels of that specific subject. An example would be Organic Chemistry I for one semester and Organic Chemistry II for the next semester.

 

[Lakshmi76]

4. if any of the american university allows you to transfer your under grad credits and issues a transcript for them, those credits work. But still the core need to be from here ( I know I keep repeating the same stuff all over again n again).

Is this really possible? Are you saying that American university can transfer my under-grad credits (from India) and issue transcripts for them? Do you know anybody tried this? Do you know any particular university that does this?
Can you please provide more details on this?

When you said core course, Did you mean 'Post-Bacc' ?

Thanks.