Non-traditional student

[mrs hopeful md]

Good evening all!

I would like an honest assessment of my chances of getting into medical school and then surviving it with the following information provided below:

1. Undergrad. GPA 3.55
2. BSc in Chemistry
3. Worked after graduating in 2008 and attempted several programs but became uninterested in them until I found myself back to wanting to go to medical school
4. Have a family already, with an almost 2 year old.

Additionally, what is the best way to shadow physicians in Houston, Tx area?

Thank you and have a blessed day!

Mrs Hopeful MD

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[futuremdforme]

When you attempted programs, does that mean you were enrolled in a bunch of them, or that you considered them but did not enroll? If you were enrolled, that could look like a red flag.

The way to get over that would be lots of volunteer work, shadowing, etc to show you know what you're doing in medicine and that you won't drop out. Obviously you'll need a good MCAT and any missing pre-reqs. For shadowing, if you find a volunteer gig, you can often find a doctor to shadow there, or ask around for people who know people.

 

[mrs hopeful md]

When you attempted programs, does that mean you were enrolled in a bunch of them, or that you considered them but did not enroll? If you were enrolled, that could look like a red flag.

The way to get over that would be lots of volunteer work, shadowing, etc to show you know what you're doing in medicine and that you won't drop out. Obviously you'll need a good MCAT and any missing pre-reqs. For shadowing, if you find a volunteer gig, you can often find a doctor to shadow there, or ask around for people who know people.

So, would I need to find a volunteering program to shadow a doctor? I've asked several in my area and received negative responses due to liability.

 

[CyrilFiggis]

Volunteering in a hospital is just as valuable to your application as shadowing.

 

[futuremdforme]

So, would I need to find a volunteering program to shadow a doctor? I've asked several in my area and received negative responses due to liability.

I'm just saying that's how I found someone to shadow. I also did about 1 day of shadowing and didn't even include it as a separate item on my application. I think you'll probably need more if you have dropped out of a bunch of programs though (plus I agree with @CyrilFiggis that you need to volunteer).

 

[Goro]

Have asked your personal doctor?

Also, contact UT Houston and Baylor to see if you can find a doctor to shadow.

Good evening all!

I would like an honest assessment of my chances of getting into medical school and then surviving it with the following information provided below:

1. Undergrad. GPA 3.55
2. BSc in Chemistry
3. Worked after graduating in 2008 and attempted several programs but became uninterested in them until I found myself back to wanting to go to medical school
4. Have a family already, with an almost 2 year old.

Additionally, what is the best way to shadow physicians in Houston, Tx area?

Thank you and have a blessed day!

Mrs Hopeful MD

When you attempted programs, does that mean you were enrolled in a bunch of them, or that you considered them but did not enroll? If you were enrolled, that could look like a red flag.

The way to get over that would be lots of volunteer work, shadowing, etc to show you know what you're doing in medicine and that you won't drop out. Obviously you'll need a good MCAT and any missing pre-reqs. For shadowing, if you find a volunteer gig, you can often find a doctor to shadow there, or ask around for people who know people.

 

[drkennyj]

Good evening all!

I would like an honest assessment of my chances of getting into medical school and then surviving it with the following information provided below:

1. Undergrad. GPA 3.55
2. BSc in Chemistry
3. Worked after graduating in 2008 and attempted several programs but became uninterested in them until I found myself back to wanting to go to medical school
4. Have a family already, with an almost 2 year old.

Additionally, what is the best way to shadow physicians in Houston, Tx area?

Thank you and have a blessed day!

Mrs Hopeful MD

Hey I thought I would offer my encouragement as I was in my thirties when I applied to medical school. I did not have any shadowing or volunteering. I also had a family with 3 kids and was the sole income for our household. I would say you should definitely apply to medical school and it is very doable with a family as long as you have some help. I had a lower GPA then you 3.01. I joke with the admissions people at my school about why in the world they accepted me and they said for non-traditional students its easy. They are looking for the same things in all applicants. Leadership, resiliency, compassion and dedication. Its actually much harder for traditional students to show these things and that is why the normal advice is to volunteer, shadow, etc.... Non-traditional students are easier because they often have work and life experiences that fulfill these requirements. Of course you need to do well on MCAT and get some letters of recommendation. If you don't have grades from those attempted programs then I wouldn't even mention them. I dropped out of school 2 times before graduating so I did need to address that in my personal statement. Shadowing is really worthless, it doesn't say anything about you. Basically you just watched someone work. I think the personal statement is going to be the key to your success. Try to use this format in your personal statement and additional essays. Briefly describe an experience. How did it affect you. And most importantly how will it make you a better Physician, Lifelong Learner or Community Server. Avoid talking about how it affected others. Get letters of recommendation from people that really know you. I got one from an auto repair shop owner that my business was next to. I don't even think it was grammatically correct but he was passionate about my career change and spoke strongly in my favor. You also probably should get one from someone who can talk about your academic ability. Basically the way admission committees work is its kind of like a one up match. Many people are assigned to review applications and they want the people they reviewed to get accepted so one person will say this is so and so who did whatever and the next persons will be like well this person not only did that but they are also blank. Two things that are almost never discussed are your grades or MCAT score. Imagine these two applicants. One person got a high GPA and good MCAT score and shadowed a bunch of physicians and maybe volunteered to feed the homeless. Then the next reviewer has a non-traditional applicant. They are going to be like this person used to work as a corporate manager and run the southwest division of xyz company. Who would you choose? I give you this example to say don't worry about your stats focus on your story. I have some classmates that are very young but everyone in my school has an amazing story. We have athletes that have competed at high levels, ex military people, and some who have started large nonprofit organizations etc... I brag about my classmate all the time cause they are amazing people but I never talk about their GPA, MCAT or shadowing time. Anyways I'm trying to say that no one ever got into medical school on grades and MCAT scores. You probably have some really cool things that you have experienced in you life and you should highlight those in you personal statement and explain why they will make you a better doctor. If you don't then you should get them by volunteering or whatever means necessary.
BTW I did not apply to many schools but I was accepted to every single one. Good Luck!