Non traditional

[Nestlemedicine9093]

Hi all I am wondering if i have any chance at all of becoming a doctor I am 24 years old and have never been to college. I am going to start this spring at my local community college i signed up for 2 classes to see if i can handle them while working full time 45 to 55 hours a week taking late classes. I think I am going to get an associate in biology but i have been thinking after I transfer to a university to major in Spanish since I live in a heavily populated hispanic area and want to learn the language is this something that I can do or should I just continue down the science path.

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[brainnurse]

Hi, and welcome! I am new to this journey myself. The consensus is that your major doesn't matter as long as you have all the prereqs done and your GPA is good. Working that many hours while going to college is difficult but doable. You are right to start slow. In a way, you are luckier than many of us who realized later in our academic life that we wanted to be doctors. We are working against years of low GPA and often have to spend years repairing that damage. You get to start on a clean slate, so just try to make sure you get As in ALL your classes, and I'm sure you will have as good a chance as the next premed.

What classes did you pick up, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Nestlemedicine9093]

Thanks for the response I am glad that I realized this later in life as I didnt do that great in high school and I am taking a student success course its required and college algebra. I know its going to take a long time for me to finish does it matter how long its been since the prereqs where done?

 

[AM508]

Well, you got an earlier start than I did. I did a totally irrelevant bachelor's degree when I graduated high school (Political Science). I ended up not using my degree at all and had a career as a paramedic. When I was 29 I went back to college and did a bachelor's degree in biology, took the MCAT, and applied. I'll be 33 when I start medical school.

 

[AM508]

And to address your question about path in college. That part is really up to you as long as you have the pre-requisites covered. However, I found most of my upper level biology electives to be VERY useful for the MCAT and just feeling a bit more prepared to start medical school. Certainly taking Spanish classes is a great idea, but I'm not sure I would major in that, but that is just me. Even if you don't major in Spanish you will have plenty of electives that you need to cover in a bachelor's degree where multiple semesters of Spanish could be taken.