Need some solid advice!! :)

[DrCourtney]

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Pheww! Finally found the right category to post this under lol. A little on my background: I am 22 years old, working in the financial industry. I've always wanted to become a doctor but never felt so strongly about it until now. I went to a CC for a semester back when I was 19 and received 5 or 6 credits in Public Speaking, & Tai Chi (yeah I know, wtf? Right lol) Truth of the matter is I never really took school seriously. I'm not intellectually stupid by any means, I understand and like Chemistry, Science, Biology etc...I just didn't care enough about school or grades to actually apply myself.

I graduated from high school with an honor's diploma(because I took all honors and AP classes) however, I left with a GPA of like 2.6 or something because I only did enough to pass the classes. Now looking back on my life I know I messed up reaally bad.

Now to my question: What route should I take to become a doctor? Right now I'm thinking of becoming a Radiologist, Radiation Oncologist, Anesthesiologist, or OB/GYN, but right now my focus is just on going to school, applying myself, and getting the prerequisites for med school. A friend of mine, who is an XRay Tech, suggested that I become a Radiologic Tech or Surgical Tech to get the experience, make a decent salary while going to school, etc. I'm contemplating it but I'm just not sure. Part of me just wants to go to go more "traditional" and attend a CC, then transfer to a university for my UG, then go to med school. Then the other part of me is thinking that it may be a good idea to become a Surg Tech or Rad Tech, however, it will take away 2 years of time that I could be going to class and earning credits for my UG.

I'm just so confused at this point and would like as much advice as I can get. Thanks!!!

-Dr. Courtney
(This elderly woman has always called me Dr. Courtney since the first day I met her and it's kind of stuck with me. She says that she knows I was meant to by a doctor. Probably from the fact that my office is filled with medical journals, and that IT has come down on me 4 times for using up a lot of the company's bandwidth from watching surgeries on Youtube all day lol)

 

[Deekle]

Right now I'm thinking of becoming a Radiologist, Radiation Oncologist, Anesthesiologist, or OB/GYN

Slow down tiger....

You've got a ways to go before you need to worry about decisions like this.

Am I correct in reading that you only have 5 or 6 college credits at a community college?

If this is the case, A+ for enthusiasm, but it's time to take a chill pill and focus on the long hard grind that is going to be prepping for med school.

If I'm not correct, what's your college GPA thus far? What's your major? 4 year or CC?

If you've only got the 5 or 6 credits, then you're basically starting at square one. Have you applied/been accepted to a 4 year college yet?

 

[DrCourtney]

Am I correct in reading that you only have 5 or 6 college credits at a community college?

If I'm not correct, what's your college GPA thus far? What's your major? 4 year or CC?

Have you applied/been accepted to a 4 year college yet?

Yes, 5 credits or so from a CC. I am fully prepared for the hard grind that is to come, I'm just really excited that I finally made a decision and following my gut. I honestly have no idea what my college GPA is, I stopped going to college after that first semester because my mom died the night the semester ended and I then fell into a 3 year quest/hellhole of trying to find myself, discover the meaning of life, & figure out what I wanted to do. That 3 year quest is now ending & I am waking up. I have not applied to a Univ yet because I figured with my high school GPA & the fact that I've only completed 2 college courses, that i'd have a better chance at getting into a Univ after I complete courses & prereqs at a CC, which I've already applied to. Currently awaiting a registration date for summer semester. Current major biology, will switch to biochemistry once I get to Univ level.

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[ljpm8224]

Welcome, Courtney.

Do you have the means to support yourself while you go to school full time? Would you do it all on loans?

Doing a surg tech (1 year, right?) program 1st, then using your CC credits to transfer to a 4 year and finish up a bachelors degree while you work isn't the worst plan in the world, especially if it would keep you from taking out loans and raking up a lot of debt. HOWEVER, the cons to this plan are thus:
- it would take longer, arguably
- handling a full courseload while working to support yourself is done often, but it's tough
- less time for all the other extra curriculars that are part of the process, sports, volunteering, leadership, research, papers, etc
- obviously you'd have to hustle to not let working hurt your GPA AT ALL

pros:
- lessen or zero undergrad debt
- clinical experience
- get contacts for shadowing and LORs
- get to see if you really enjoy the field and would like to commit your life to becoming an MD


Correct me if I'm wrong, but most surg tech programs have pre-reqs, I think? At least medical terminology, maybe anatomy, physio, micro? Anyway, you could use those as general credits as well.

Good luck to you!

 

[DrCourtney]

Welcome, Courtney.

Do you have the means to support yourself while you go to school full time? Would you do it all on loans?

Doing a surg tech (1 year, right?) program 1st, then using your CC credits to transfer to a 4 year and finish up a bachelors degree while you work isn't the worst plan in the world, especially if it would keep you from taking out loans and raking up a lot of debt. HOWEVER, the cons to this plan are thus:
- it would take longer, arguably
- handling a full courseload while working to support yourself is done often, but it's tough
- less time for all the other extra curriculars that are part of the process, sports, volunteering, leadership, research, papers, etc
- obviously you'd have to hustle to not let working hurt your GPA AT ALL

pros:
- lessen or zero undergrad debt
- clinical experience
- get contacts for shadowing and LORs
- get to see if you really enjoy the field and would like to commit your life to becoming an MD


Correct me if I'm wrong, but most surg tech programs have pre-reqs, I think? At least medical terminology, maybe anatomy, physio, micro? Anyway, you could use those as general credits as well.

Good luck to you!

Thanks! Yes Surg Tech would be 13 months, 9 months in class, 4 months externship. While I go to school for surg tech or for my undergrad I would still be able to work at my current job and be able to support myself.

I agree with all the cons you listed and would add that my externship would be during the day and at that point I would have to quit my current job. The surgical tech program's that I've checked out, have no prereqs besides a a HS diploma and scoring above a certain number on their entrance exam, which I've done. However, the credits I get from the Surgical Tech program would not transfer. I'll be going to a career tech college and their classes cannot be transfered apparently because the medical terminology/a&p/etc are specifically related to the surgical tech spectrum and does not encompass the subject as a whole..which I think is pretty lame. So I would evidently have to take those classes over again during my undergrad :/..in my opinion that would be a waste of time and money.

Right now I'm leaning towards just getting my undergrad and working. Saving up as much as I can before med-school, unless I can find a surgical tech program whose credit hours are transferable. I need to do more leg work and figure this out.

 

[Bernoull]

Thanks! Yes Surg Tech would be 13 months, 9 months in class, 4 months externship. While I go to school for surg tech or for my undergrad I would still be able to work at my current job and be able to support myself.

I agree with all the cons you listed and would add that my externship would be during the day and at that point I would have to quit my current job. The surgical tech program's that I've checked out, have no prereqs besides a a HS diploma and scoring above a certain number on their entrance exam, which I've done. However, the credits I get from the Surgical Tech program would not transfer. I'll be going to a career tech college and their classes cannot be transfered apparently because the medical terminology/a&p/etc are specifically related to the surgical tech spectrum and does not encompass the subject as a whole..which I think is pretty lame. So I would evidently have to take those classes over again during my undergrad :/..in my opinion that would be a waste of time and money.

Right now I'm leaning towards just getting my undergrad and working. Saving up as much as I can before med-school, unless I can find a surgical tech program whose credit hours are transferable. I need to do more leg work and figure this out.

If ur finances allow, I would advise that you to do school FT, even if that means loans. I did work thru undergrad and grad sch before med sch and it's quite challenging esp. given the grades med school expects of applicants.

Again if ur finances permit, u can do ur 1st two yrs @ a CC then xfer to a 4 yr college. Becoming a competitive applicant for med sch can easily approximate a f/t job if u consider the required grades, EC, research, social life etc etc.

BTW, ur old grades/gpa don't count, even if it's 6 CC credits, it's a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things, just work hard in college and get the best grades u can get.

GL

 

[Deekle]

Yeah, the CC route will be cheaper in the long run. (I got an associates degree at CC first). I also worked full time while in school. It's hard. I'm not trying to discourage you, on the contrary, I want to encourage you to follow your dreams. The reality is that the first four years is all sucky "jump through this hoop, jump through that hoop." The only real return on investment is that med school acceptance letter, and you only get that at the end if you survived all the hoop jumping.

In practical terms, if you're working in finance now, and this can support you and perhaps pay for some school, then night classes at a CC might be the way to go. You'll eventually have to switch to days, but you may be able to get your feet wet and test yourself. Take some gen-eds and first semester chem or physics. That'll be a good test of your capabilities and give you an idea of what the future holds. Right now you've got all the desire in the world, but you need to temper that desire with some reality because desire will only get you so far. Once you get back into school, you'll have a better feel for what it's going to take from you and out of you to pursue that med school acceptance. If you still want to do it, you know where to ask your questions an get some encouragement or a kick in the pants when you need 'em.

 

[DrCourtney]

If ur finances allow, I would advise that you to do school FT, even if that means loans. I did work thru undergrad and grad sch before med sch and it's quite challenging esp. given the grades med school expects of applicants.

Again if ur finances permit, u can do ur 1st two yrs @ a CC then xfer to a 4 yr college. Becoming a competitive applicant for med sch can easily approximate a f/t job if u consider the required grades, EC, research, social life etc etc.

BTW, ur old grades/gpa don't count, even if it's 6 CC credits, it's a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things, just work hard in college and get the best grades u can get.

GL

Thank you! I would like to do school FT but I'm just not sure how I would support myself while I do it. I have a car payment, insurance, and rent ($625/mo) that I will need to pay monthly. Will loans cover those type of expenses over the course of my UG pursuit?

Yeah, the CC route will be cheaper in the long run. (I got an associates degree at CC first). I also worked full time while in school. It's hard. I'm not trying to discourage you, on the contrary, I want to encourage you to follow your dreams. The reality is that the first four years is all sucky "jump through this hoop, jump through that hoop." The only real return on investment is that med school acceptance letter, and you only get that at the end if you survived all the hoop jumping.

In practical terms, if you're working in finance now, and this can support you and perhaps pay for some school, then night classes at a CC might be the way to go. You'll eventually have to switch to days, but you may be able to get your feet wet and test yourself. Take some gen-eds and first semester chem or physics. That'll be a good test of your capabilities and give you an idea of what the future holds. Right now you've got all the desire in the world, but you need to temper that desire with some reality because desire will only get you so far. Once you get back into school, you'll have a better feel for what it's going to take from you and out of you to pursue that med school acceptance. If you still want to do it, you know where to ask your questions an get some encouragement or a kick in the pants when you need 'em.

HAHAHA I will definitely appreciate the kick in the pants when that time comes! Right now I'm definitely leaning towards continuing to work while I complete all my transfer credits at this CC. Good thing is that since I don't have parents living anymore, all of my CC education will be funded through grants, not loans, so I don't have to worry about paying back that portion of my education. I will be able to tuck money away during that time until I get to Univ level, at which point I will quit my job and focus on school FT. I will have a nice nest egg to help support myself while I finish my UG. Or atleast that's the plan I have in my head lol.

Data suggests that allied or specialized health students have the worst acceptance rate to medical school . AAMC publishes reports on almost every possible variable for applicants

a quick break down by percentage of matriculants (ie acceptances of students with same major):

42.84% --- Biology
49.47% --- Humanities
49.10% --- Math and Statistics
42.74% --- Other
49.36% --- Physical Sciences
44.59% --- Social Sciences
32.81% --- Specialized Health Science



The data says nothing about the number of sciences courses taken across majors. One could rationalize the strategy that a non-science major with what is perceived as a less difficult/rigorous course load and less competitive cohort within the major, may find focusing their time, energy, and effort, on only the required prerequisite science classes and not spread among additional difficult courses for a science major, may be a path to success. Furthermore, it may give these student more time and resources to prep for the MCAT in the typical spring of junior year instead of facing finals in a slew of upper level science courses.

My advice is take the major you like the most.

That is quite interesting. I always wondered what the statistic were for majors and acceptance rates. A Friend of a friend was accepted to medical school from a BA in Spanish, which I believed to have been an act of God or REALLY good scores/gpa and AMAZING ECs. But now that you've elaborated more on that subject, I can see why it may have been a good decision for them to major in a humanities subject. Hmm, this provokes futher thoughts and questions. After looking at Table 18 humanities seems like it may be a potentially better option. I was originally a humanites major when I attended my first CC. Hmm, very interesting. I have an appointment with a counselor next monday to go over my academic plan, I'll definitely be bringing this information with me.

Wow you all are sooo helpful!! I love this forum lol!!!

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

That is quite interesting. I always wondered what the statistic were for majors and acceptance rates. A Friend of a friend was accepted to medical school from a BA in Spanish, which I believed to have been an act of God or REALLY good scores/gpa and AMAZING ECs. But now that you've elaborated more on that subject, I can see why it may have been a good decision for them to major in a humanities subject. Hmm, this provokes futher thoughts and questions. After looking at Table 18 humanities seems like it may be a potentially better option. I was originally a humanites major when I attended my first CC. Hmm, very interesting. I have an appointment with a counselor next monday to go over my academic plan, I'll definitely be bringing this information with me.

Major in anything that you are interested in and can get good grades in. Music majors actually have the highest acceptance rate into medical school. That said, you may decide halfway through college that medicine isn't for you, so it might be a good idea to choose a major that will lead to a good job after college, unlike my European History degree.

No matter what you major in, you will need to take a year each of general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics and biology, all with labs. Other classes that medical schools recommend or sometimes require are calculus, statistics, ethics, biochemistry, and anatomy. Yes, all of the classes I listed are very difficult. If premed classes were easy, everybody would be taking them. Of course, you will want to get good grades in everything. Nothing lower than a B, and not too many of those.

 

[DrCourtney]

Major in anything that you are interested in and can get good grades in. Music majors actually have the highest acceptance rate into medical school. That said, you may decide halfway through college that medicine isn't for you, so it might be a good idea to choose a major that will lead to a good job after college, unlike my European History degree.

No matter what you major in, you will need to take a year each of general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics and biology, all with labs. Other classes that medical schools recommend or sometimes require are calculus, statistics, ethics, biochemistry, and anatomy. Yes, all of the classes I listed are very difficult. If premed classes were easy, everybody would be taking them. Of course, you will want to get good grades in everything. Nothing lower than a B, and not too many of those.

I'm thinking at this moment of majoring in Sociology, not quite sure yet. I have a wide area of interests so picking one major is difficult. But, seeing the statistics on humanities majors acceptances into med-school, I'm definitely leaning towars that field of study, with alot of science courses along the way.

 

[jens07]

I definitely sympathize with your situation because I have some similarities. I took all the right classes in high school, but graduated with a horrid GPA (something like a 2.8, I think). My parents were completely against me going to college, so I just gave up trying. At 31 y/o now, I decided to pursue my dream of going to medical school. But I have to start at the beginning, like you. I had a full time job I could not do while in school, so I'm at the end of my phlebotomy courses. It's not the best paying job in the world, but it gives you some patient interaction and the program isn't too long either. You could start something like that along with general ed. classes at a CC. You may want to apply for two programs if you plan on applying for financial aid. Example: surgical tech., as you mentioned, as well as liberal arts (or something like that offered at your local CC so you can take general ed. classes to transfer). Otherwise, you may run into the 150% rule with your financial aid (it happened to me, I'd check it out with your school advisor). CC is cheaper and gives you a chance to raise your grades for applying to a four year university/college. I was able to receive $17400 in scholarships and grants, per year, because of a 4.0 GPA with a few CC transfer classes. Your next difficult task will be deciding on a college and major for your undergrad degree. I think gonnif has some good advice as far as choosing your major. You're still young, so you have plenty of time and don't need to rush anything! Good luck! 🙂

 

[DrCourtney]

I definitely sympathize with your situation because I have some similarities. I took all the right classes in high school, but graduated with a horrid GPA (something like a 2.8, I think). My parents were completely against me going to college, so I just gave up trying. At 31 y/o now, I decided to pursue my dream of going to medical school. But I have to start at the beginning, like you. I had a full time job I could not do while in school, so I'm at the end of my phlebotomy courses. It's not the best paying job in the world, but it gives you some patient interaction and the program isn't too long either. You could start something like that along with general ed. classes at a CC. You may want to apply for two programs if you plan on applying for financial aid. Example: surgical tech., as you mentioned, as well as liberal arts (or something like that offered at your local CC so you can take general ed. classes to transfer). Otherwise, you may run into the 150% rule with your financial aid (it happened to me, I'd check it out with your school advisor). CC is cheaper and gives you a chance to raise your grades for applying to a four year university/college. I was able to receive $17400 in scholarships and grants, per year, because of a 4.0 GPA with a few CC transfer classes. Your next difficult task will be deciding on a college and major for your undergrad degree. I think gonnif has some good advice as far as choosing your major. You're still young, so you have plenty of time and don't need to rush anything! Good luck! 🙂

Thank you!! I live in Los Angeles, so the plan now is to attend Moorpark CC to get my transfer credits and do really well in all of them, then transfer to California State Univeristy-Northridge for my BA..I'm definitely thinking of majoring in a humanities subject, seeing as how the med school I really want to go to, USC, requires 30hours of humanities, along with 2 sem of Gen Bio+Lab, 2 sem of Gen Chem+Lab, 1 sem of Org Chem+Lab, 2 sem of Physics+Lab, 1 sem of Mol Bio...with recommendations of Calculus, Spanish and a computer class. The other medical schools on my list require less humanities and the same science prereqs. My questions now is, should i take these science prereqs at the CC level or wait until I transfer to the University? How should I schedule and team them up?

Dont be mislead by my post on the acceptance rate of various majors. While the percentages for some majors are greatly increased, across ALL majors, science GPA was about 3.6 and none-science was about 3.7 for those who were accepted. That is the statistic and the point that should taken away from the discussion on majors. MCAT scores were higher for most of the non-bio majors. It also be noted that many schools, if not most, list either generally or specifically, additional recommended advanced biology courses to take. So a non-bio major may lighten the science course load, but it still GPA and MCAT that counts the most

Yea that's what I've come to realize which is why I'm going to have to figure out how to support myself while in school without having to work that much, hopefully I win the lottery tomorrow night lol. Because I want to devote as much time and possible to studying so I can maintain A's in my classes and also start studying for the MCAT as well.

 

[Back 5]

Don't burn yourself out in the first week!

It seems like a lot of the (younger) non-trads get this euphoric high when they make the decision to become a "Doctor" then flash and burn out soon afterward.

This entire ordeal may take you 4-5 years before you even complete your bachelors. Nothing in the Univ level works exactly the way you want it to. You could create a 4-year school plan tomorrow and it will dramatically change your first semester when you learn what classes are offered when etc.

Take a deep breath and prepare for your marathon of schooling that's yet to come. You have to make sure you want this bad otherwise you will end up very disappointed and dejected.

Best of luck OP! If this is a dream of yours, you can and will make it happen!

 

[darmalee]

Rule 10: Beware of FUD - Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. This has killed more premeds than GPA and MCAT combined

+1 for sure

 

[impact2d]

Great advice here already, the major breakdown reminds me of stats I saw on a blog showing biochemical engineers scored the highest by far on the MCAT, followed by physics majors then surprisingly English was ahead of Bio and the other humanities. Bio was 2nd to last ahead of "pre medical majors"

English majors were the highest scoring non science major listed, largely do to very high verbal scores and high biological sciences scores. The reasoning on poor Bio major perfmance in the blog was that if you are a strong Bio student you will most likely major in a Bio specialty and not Gen Bio (eg biochem, Bio engineer, micro or genetics) all who scored significantly higher on the MCAT.

At the end of the day do what you love and make sure you can get A's and B+'s-for my undergrad I took media arts and journalism and a double minor in computer science and sociology. If I could go back in time I still wouldn't change that (I just would have done my pre-reqs before I graduated instead of one of the minors)

Also working in your CCs science tutoring center if they have one is a great way to keep all of the prerequisites fresh and earn extra money. It is like being paid to do MCAT prep, looks great on applications, and I HIGHLY recommend it.

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[impact2d]

Also no matter how many times people tell you its a long road it never really sinks in how long until you've been on it for a while, so just buckle down and enjoy the ride😎

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