non-trad student plan: sanity check

[pinstripe-pies]

Hi all! I am a non-traditional student who doesn't have access to any kind of pre-health advising. I'm hoping to get other's advice on my current plans to see if there are changes others with more experience would recommend. I am aiming to apply in the 2027-2028 cycle. I am still looking into different schools to see what ones interest me most, but I find myself drawn to service-oriented schools, primary care, and public/community health areas. I'm also considering applying to combined MD/MPH programs.

Background:

• attended Colorado School of Mines (small public university, very research heavy) and have a degree in Computer Science.
  • My cGPA was 3.99 by the university's calculation (not sure yet how AMCAS will calculate it).
  • I was involved in research during this time and have several publications in a robotics specific field.
  • I have credit for calc-based Phys 1 and 2 w/lab and plan to only self-study this because I'm very comfortable with physics.
  • I have credit for psychology from high school AP and plan to only self-study this if possible.
• Have worked in tech for about two years (a variety of software development and product management roles).
• Originally from Texas and interested in re-establishing residency there.
  • considering applying to UTD's post-bacc program, in order to re-establish residency in Texas, gain access to more pre-health advising and support, and take high quality advanced science courses
• I am a woman but not URM.
• I quit my tech job and have found an MA position at a nephrology clinic where I can work full time for at least the next year!
• Between quitting my job and securing the MA job, I have been working on setting up some volunteering positions for organizations that I'm passionate about (yay!), and I plan to have between 2-5 volunteering hours each week for quite a while.
  • This is not so much because its a requirement for med school, and more because I missed how much volunteering I got to do in high school and college. I'm trying to re-ignite my passion for service!

Things that need work:

• Before applying, I need to at least take the gen chem -> orgo -> biochem sequence as well as gen bio -> advanced biology classes. The chemistry sequence is definitely my critical path when it comes to coursework.
• I may need to retake Statistics (if statistics for engineers is not accepted) as well as some "humanities" classes (if my very few humanities classes are for some reason not accepted).
• Shadowing is a bit difficult to find. I have been able to shadow both my dad and my father-in-law and have a handful of connections through my church. However, many of the hospitals in my area require you to be in a formal degree/certificate program to be allowed to shadow.
• Because I'm a bit removed from university, I don't have academic LORs

The Plan:

• 2024-2025 academic year:
  • work full-time as an MA
  • take Gen Chem 1 and 2 w/lab as evening classes through CC
  • volunteering between 2-5 hrs/week
  • shadowing sporadically as I can find things
• 2025-2026 academic year:
  • work part-time as an MA
  • take Gen Bio 1 and 2 w/lab through CC
  • take Sociology 1 and 2 through CC
  • take Orgo 1 and 2 through a university
    • I can take orgo through CC here in Colorado, but at least one school I'm interested in applying to wouldn't accept it and I just don't want to chance it
  • ideally continuing to volunteer between 2-5 hrs/week
  • shadowing sporadically as I can find things
  • Apply to UTD's post-bac program
  • If I got in, move to Dallas in summer of 2026
• 2026-2027 academic year:
  • take Biochem 1 and 2
  • take A&P 1 and 2
  • take advanced biology classes such as genetics, microbio, neuroscience, cell bio, etc
  • study for and take the MCAT in the spring
• summer 2027 onward:
  • submit AMCAS and TMDSAS in May/June after finishing last classes
  • secondaries, interviews, and so on.

What are y'all's thoughts? Are there any courses or activities you think I've missed? Is trying to re-establish Texas residency stupid? Am I trying to hard, or not hard enough? Any insight or direction is welcome! Thanks y'all!

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[Dee2daK]

Okay, for your sanity check: You’re insane. Thats okay, most of us are.

For real though, your plan generally seems workable. MA will get you lots of direct clinical contact hours which are always helpful for admissions. Your scholastic plan is adequate as far as I can tell, with the caveat that if you find your psychology understanding is lacking, consider taking another course in it. As a new-ish comer into medicine, a medical terminology class might help you, especially in your job as an MA. A&P may not be super beneficial, as you’re going to learn it in so much more detail during medical school that premed may not scratch the surface enough to make it easier to digest, but I’ve heard a mixed bag as far as recommendations there.

Trying to re-establish residency in Texas is not a bad plan as it will open those schools to you that would otherwise be inaccessible, and are generally less expensive to attend. Make sure it’s clear that you’re not moving to Texas just for school purposes though - that’s often an exception to residency rules. @wysdoc can better advise you there.

As far as shadowing, if the hospitals are saying “no”, you can always call around to clinics and physicians’ offices and see if they will allow it. Hospitals, after all, are not the only place physicians work.

Remember that SDN does offer pay-as-you-can advising, and since you don’t have access to any formal program, I’ll strongly recommend it. There are some highly respected experts here.

 

[winder333]

Re-establishing Texas residency seems like a good idea, and UTD's post-bacc program could be a great way to do that. Keep prioritizing volunteering and building relationships for LORs. Don't forget to prep for the MCAT and take care of yourself during this process!

 

[pinstripe-pies]

Okay, for your sanity check: You’re insane. Thats okay, most of us are.

Man my heart dropped for a second - but glad I'm in good company!

For real though, your plan generally seems workable. MA will get you lots of direct clinical contact hours which are always helpful for admissions. Your scholastic plan is adequate as far as I can tell, with the caveat that if you find your psychology understanding is lacking, consider taking another course in it. As a new-ish comer into medicine, a medical terminology class might help you, especially in your job as an MA. A&P may not be super beneficial, as you’re going to learn it in so much more detail during medical school that premed may not scratch the surface enough to make it easier to digest, but I’ve heard a mixed bag as far as recommendations there.

Thank you for the additional recommendations! I might be able to find an async med term course this fall, and I'll be sure to check my psych knowledge before my MCAT study semester to see.

On A&P - I've been hearing the same mixed bag of recommendations. The main rationale was that TCU actually requires physiology, but if for some reason I choose not to apply there I might replace those classes.

Trying to re-establish residency in Texas is not a bad plan as it will open those schools to you that would otherwise be inaccessible, and are generally less expensive to attend. Make sure it’s clear that you’re not moving to Texas just for school purposes though - that’s often an exception to residency rules. @wysdoc can better advise you there.

Yes! I need to work through the specifics for residency, but I'm hoping that my husband's work will help - even if it ends up being something like "my husband has been gainfully employed for 12 months so he's a resident, and we're married, so I'm a resident too".

Remember that SDN does offer pay-as-you-can advising, and since you don’t have access to any formal program, I’ll strongly recommend it. There are some highly respected experts here.

Thanks for mentioning this! I wasn't aware this was a resource but it sounds like exactly what I need.

 

[BeGladNonTrad]

On A&P - I've been hearing the same mixed bag of recommendations. The main rationale was that TCU actually requires physiology, but if for some reason I choose not to apply there I might replace those classes.

Do you have any specific pros or cons? My bio teacher recommended I sign up for it w/ lab. Could it be a lab vs no lab thing?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Things that need work:

• Before applying, I need to at least take the gen chem -> orgo -> biochem sequence as well as gen bio -> advanced biology classes. The chemistry sequence is definitely my critical path when it comes to coursework.

Yes, that's important you have the right chem sequence to get to biochem.

• I may need to retake Statistics (if statistics for engineers is not accepted) as well as some "humanities" classes (if my very few humanities classes are for some reason not accepted).

This is super-low priority. Stats for engineers works, as would stats for psychologists and stats for physicists. I would not worry about humanities courses unless you had none in getting your engineering degree.

• Shadowing is a bit difficult to find. I have been able to shadow both my dad and my father-in-law and have a handful of connections through my church. However, many of the hospitals in my area require you to be in a formal degree/certificate program to be allowed to shadow.

Network first with the people you know who can refer you to people you don't know.

• Because I'm a bit removed from university, I don't have academic LORs

If you have to take the premed requirements, you'll get a chance to get academic LORs.

 

[pinstripe-pies]

Do you have any specific pros or cons? My bio teacher recommended I sign up for it w/ lab. Could it be a lab vs no lab thing?

Probably it would be best to ask your bio teacher why she recommends it (and why with lab).

What I've heard is: on the one hand, you're gonna re-learn it in medical school, so it would be a waste of your time, money, and effort to do it before. On the other hand, there's a ton of information covered right up front in medical school, and so having some familiarity with the content is helpful to reduce how much you're learning from scratch. Some medical schools seem to recommend it, but only two that I've seen actually require it.

 

[pinstripe-pies]

This is super-low priority. Stats for engineers works, as would stats for psychologists and stats for physicists. I would not worry about humanities courses unless you had none in getting your engineering degree.

Got it - I had been scared seeing some schools require "stats for scientists" or something along those lines, and wasn't sure if mine would actually count.

Regarding humanities - how much are schools actually evaluating how writing-intensive a course is? This would be my main fear with my humanities courses, that they weren't writing-intensive enough.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Regarding humanities - how much are schools actually evaluating how writing-intensive a course is? This would be my main fear with my humanities courses, that they weren't writing-intensive enough.

The syllabus for your humanities classes should be described as 'writing intensive' according to the standards of your provost's office. These are usually indicated for classes that could substitute for a typical 'English composition' course. Under the circumstances where a university has ditched English Composition with Writing-Intensive courses... that's the only time I have had to look up how writing-intensive or reading-intensive a course is for prerequisites.

 

[jvquarterback]

For required courses that aren’t going to help with MCat prep just take them after the MCAT or not at all if you get an acceptance somewhere you don’t need it.

 

[pinstripe-pies]

The syllabus for your humanities classes should be described as 'writing intensive' according to the standards of your provost's office. These are usually indicated for classes that could substitute for a typical 'English composition' course. Under the circumstances where a university has ditched English Composition with Writing-Intensive courses... that's the only time I have had to look up how writing-intensive or reading-intensive a course is for prerequisites.

My university was exactly what you're describing: no formal English composition courses, only writing intensive courses on other topics (ethics, global cultures, American politics, music, film, and so on). I didn't realize I could use the syllabi to verify that, but that will help a ton. Thanks!

 

[Fluidity of Movement]

I would cut your timeline in half. Take the necessary science pre-requesites however you can and apply. I'm not sure what the extra classes and formal program are for. That's time you could be spending boosting the other parts of your application / studying for MCAT

This year: Chem 1-2

Next year summer: bio 1 - 2

Next year fall Orgo1, spring: Biochem + Orgo 2

Summer: MCAT + application


Best wishes to you