Non-Traditional Student Long Term Plan

[Wahoo1125]

Hello,
I’m a recent Grad from UVA with a passion for medicine, but far from accomplishing my dreams. I found my love for medicine when I underwent brain surgery my second year and discovered what medicine was really like. I graduated on time after missing time for surgery, but ended up with a poor transcript and GPA due to packing it all in to finish. I majored in Biology and completed some of my prerequisites in college, including Bio 1 and 2, Gen Chem 1 and 2, and Orgo 1 along with all associated labs. With that said I really need to retake all of my prereqs seeing how I got C/C- in all of the lecture portions. My final GPA was 2.7 with 121 credits. Since graduating I got married and my wife is currently pursing her masters in Occupational Therapy. I took a job as a project manager which was my field of study prior to having surgery. It gives me plenty of money and a good work life balance to support my wife while she is in school.

Now that I have provided background I can now explain my plan. I work 8-5pm in Richmond, VA and my plan is to retake all my prerequisites/ complete physics, biochem, and organic chemistry in the evenings at the local community college in their evening slot (6:30-9pm) and study for the MCAT over the next 3 years and apply in 2023. I also have my EMT and will continue to volunteer with it. Does anyone have any advice or knowledge that can make these next 3-4 year more productive along with maximizing my chances of success? I also wonder if anyone has any insight on other science courses that could be taken online and recognized as GPA boosters?

Thanks in advance!

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[deleted932967]

Hey there - I'm also a career-changer and volunteer EMT located in the Richmond, VA area. Funny coincidence!

I'm maybe a year ahead of you, so I don't have much advice or experience to offer. But I would advise you to look into VCU's CERT program if you're interested in going to med school. It's a SMP (special master's program) that is geared to helping people like us get into med school. A buddy of mine did it when he had a 3.0 gpa and sub-500 MCAT from undergrad and he's now a second-year at a DO school.

 

[Wahoo1125]

Small world! What station are you currently volunteering with? We just moved here so I haven’t established membership yet. Also what program/classes are you currently taking in the area? I’d love to know more about your plan and what opportunities you have found in the area for a non-trad.

Thanks again!

 

[deleted932967]

Sorry for the delayed reply, just now noticed yours.

What station are you currently volunteering with?

Let's just say Hanover County for right now (since this forum is such a public place). Henrico stations and the Richmond Volunteer stations are also very good.

Also what program/classes are you currently taking in the area?

I'm at JSRCC for the Paramedic program, and since I was already enrolled there, I decided to complete my pre-reqs there as well. It's definitely a gamble being that it's a community college (and thus looked down on by some schools), but I graduated from grad school at a 4-year college 6 years ago, so it doesn't look like I'm trying to game the system with my pre-reqs and try the 'easier' ones at a CC.

I’d love to know more about your plan and what opportunities you have found in the area for a non-trad.

I have two plans. Plan A is aggressive. Plan B accounts for things not going according to plan in Plan A.

• Plan A: Apply in 2020. Complete OrgChm1 and BioChem this fall. Complete OrgChm2 and Physics2 in Spring 2020. Study for the MCAT in the spring, and hopefully take it in April/May for an early app in June/July. It feels aggressive because I don't know if I can study for the MCAT while finishing pre-reqs.
• Plan B: Apply in 2021. Take my time completing pre-reqs and studying for an MCAT take in Sept 2020 or Jan/Feb 2021. This one is less appealing because I'll be a year older when/if I matriculate. And I already feel old as a pre-med.

 

[bballdragon5]

Wahoowa! I was also a UVA graduate, currently finishing up medical school right now. I want to encourage you both as you are continuing your journey. I was also someone who struggled a bit in medical school. My science GPA ended up being 3.2, and that is with some booster courses. I had a C in Organic chem lab as well as a couple of other science courses. Don't let your GPA deter you from the dream.

The VCU Cert program is a great program, but it is expensive and requires you to take time away from work. Plus, it is a tough program because you are taking graduate level courses. Therefore, it can potentially hurt you if you do not do well. However, if you do do well, you can pretty much guarantee an interview at VCU.

My top recommendation for people who do not have the greatest academics is to boost up the other components of the application. I cannot stress enough the importance of extracurriculars, which include clinical shadowing, volunteering, leadership and research. I've actually reviewed applications before and trust me, grades + MCAT, while important are not the only factors and schools will turn you down just as fast for poor extracurriculars. EMT is a great clinical/volunteering opportunity, so definitely continue with that. However, I would also recommend clinical shadowing. Two reasons, EMT is not the same thing as practicing medicine, and you want to make sure you enjoy medicine before you dive headfirst into it. It also helps if you really have a passion for a certain field and know what you want to do prior to going in, especially if it is a field in primary care! If you are thinking about a more specialized field such as neurosurgery given your inspiration for medicine, I would definitely recommend considering doing some research as well. Again, that might be difficult with an 8-5 job.

Another important note for those who apply a bit removed from college, is making sure you have good recommendation letters. Granted, letters are not the most important, but they are still a component of your overall application and some schools require academic, science letters or letters from clinical experiences.

 

[DNAJB6]

I would caution against going straight into a SMP as suggested. A SMP is high risk and high reward; however, if you are not academically ready for it and you do poorly, your chances for medical school would be over at that point. I agree with you that should retake all of the prerequisites and should maybe add some upper level classes to to boost your GPA first (graduate level SMP classes are separate and won't increase the GPA; some schools have a 3.0 automatic screen when reviewing applications). Depending on what your final GPA ends up, you may still need to do a SMP at that point. An advantage of VCU's SMP is that I believe you are guaranteed a interview in you receive a certain GPA in its program and a certain MCAT score. On another note, while many medical schools are increasingly open to community college credits other schools are not. I wouldn't want to limit the potential pool of schools by doing all of the work at a community college. I would retake them at VCU.

 

[DNAJB6]

For the reasons in my PM and because of potential bias against community college credits, I would sincerely consider VCU to do your post bacc work if at all possible. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

 

[deleted932967]

Wahoowa! I was also a UVA graduate, currently finishing up medical school right now. I want to encourage you both as you are continuing your journey. I was also someone who struggled a bit in medical school. My science GPA ended up being 3.2, and that is with some booster courses. I had a C in Organic chem lab as well as a couple of other science courses. Don't let your GPA deter you from the dream.

The VCU Cert program is a great program, but it is expensive and requires you to take time away from work. Plus, it is a tough program because you are taking graduate level courses. Therefore, it can potentially hurt you if you do not do well. However, if you do do well, you can pretty much guarantee an interview at VCU.

My top recommendation for people who do not have the greatest academics is to boost up the other components of the application. I cannot stress enough the importance of extracurriculars, which include clinical shadowing, volunteering, leadership and research. I've actually reviewed applications before and trust me, grades + MCAT, while important are not the only factors and schools will turn you down just as fast for poor extracurriculars. EMT is a great clinical/volunteering opportunity, so definitely continue with that. However, I would also recommend clinical shadowing. Two reasons, EMT is not the same thing as practicing medicine, and you want to make sure you enjoy medicine before you dive headfirst into it. It also helps if you really have a passion for a certain field and know what you want to do prior to going in, especially if it is a field in primary care! If you are thinking about a more specialized field such as neurosurgery given your inspiration for medicine, I would definitely recommend considering doing some research as well. Again, that might be difficult with an 8-5 job.

Another important note for those who apply a bit removed from college, is making sure you have good recommendation letters. Granted, letters are not the most important, but they are still a component of your overall application and some schools require academic, science letters or letters from clinical experiences.

Thank you for such a detailed reply! It's nice of you to chime in and encourage the both of us. (And I'm sorry I didn't see your reply sooner!)

Clinical shadowing is something I'm definitely pursuing. I have about 16 hours in the ER so far, and will continue with that as I found a physician that I really clicked with (and will hopefully get a LOR from). I'm in the process of coordinating time with an ortho physician and primary care physician for some experience there.

When it comes to LORs, how are non-medical LORs viewed?
For example, I'd like to get the CEO of the company I work for currently to write one for me. We have a great relationship and have been working together for 5+ years - they can definitely write a GREAT letter. I just don't know if adcoms care about those kind of letters? As a career switcher, it feels important to demonstrate success in my current career.

So far, it's looking like I'll have at least one DO letter, hopefully an MD letter, one science professor letter, one EMS instructor letter, and that CEO letter. (Not to count my chickens before they've hatched, however.) I'm working on some others just in case.