part time pre-med, full time work?

[ghostman]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi,

New to the forums here. Some background information: I'm about to turn 27 and I currently work full time, 9-5, in the IT field. I have a BA with a double major in Computer Science and Economics. I forget what GPA I had, but I believe it was near 3.7. Unfortunately, I didn't take any science courses in that time. Recently, I've been giving some serious thought into pursuing my "dream" of becoming a doctor.

What are people's opinion's about trying to maintain a full time job and taking pre-med night classes at a public university? Looking at the class schedules (so far, only at Hunter College in NYC), it seems that with labs, I'd only be able to fit 1 class per semester. Is it even feasible to handle two classes and a full time job every semester?

Thanks. I appreciate hearing people's thoughts, even from a full time student's perspective.

 

[bjolly]

community college courses aren't recommended for doing your pre-reqs. Whether fairly or not, they're seen as less rigorous than courses at a 4 year college. If you can do courses at a regular college, there's nothing wrong with doing night courses - that's how I did it because I needed to work full time. One class with lab took two nights a week, so I was able to take 2 courses a semester. In summer session a lab class was 4 nights a week. It's not easy doing it while working full time, but it's doable.

 

[JuniperB]

I work fulltime - adjusted schedule to fit night school 730-4. Started 1 class at a time and worked up to 3/4 time at school. I have no life, other than work and school. The summer sessions can be killers - 4 nights a week, but over quick!

Dont know about CC versus 4 year. A conversation with UC Davis adcom didn't eliminate the CC, they wanted to make sure I took high level courses though.

 

[fioric2]

I would start at 1 course per semester and see how it goes. I'm 25 and I know that you want to get things moving as a nontraditional, but you need to know the material COLD for the MCAT, so you don't want to just take the course and receive a decent grade. There is nothing more stressful than being overwhelmed with MCAT material while working full time.

As for community college, I really don't think it matters that much: especially for intro level classes like biology and chemistry. I took a science class at a community college: it's pretty much the same material. The only difference is that the student tend to be less competitive and it's easier to stay above the curve.

 

[Nasem]

I been doing post-bacc since January of 2007.... I also work in IT (software development).

I started off with always taking 1 class per semester along with 1 lab (when labs are possible) this was for spring and fall of 2007...reason is that here in the lansing area, MSU doesn't off many night courses, esspecially for the pre-meds so I was forced to take them during the day and its almost impossible for me to do more than 1 class per semester because .... even though my job is pretty flexiable with me, they aren't THAT flexible to let me take 2 pre-meds during the day...

I think you should mostly focus on doing what you CAN handle at first, if you can handle 1 class per term and rock it, try 2 classes per term and see how it works out....

For me personally, I took most of my pre-meds at MSU just because of the CC-stigma.... After I rocked most of my pre-meds (key word "most") at the university level, I decided to take just 2 classes at our local CC because those classes were not offered at a good time at MSU, so I was forced to take them at our CC....

However, I think, for most of us non-trads (us folks with lower GPAs), the KEY, the ultimate KEY for us to make it into medical school is how many upper level sciences we take in our post-bacc and how well we do in them... I am at a point where my overall GPA is about a 3.2 (science is between 3.3-3.4 not sure)... and the ONLY way for me to increase my GPA is by taking upper level sciences (there are no other meaningfull classes for me to take to increase my GPA)....

 

[DrJosephKim]

Right, focus immensely on academics now. Devote yourself to intensive MCAT preparation. Make the proper investments and it will pay off.

 

[agirl]

deleted.

 

[gman33]

Best to start out slow if you are working at the same time.
I would start with 1 class per semester and increase it only if you can think you can still make all A's.

I would strongly recommend going to a 4 year school if at all possible. CC won't keep you out of med school, but it will make it a harder road.
No sense hurting your chances if you can help it.
Look into some of the larger 4 year schools in your area.

If you give some info about your location, someone will probably give you some suggestions.

 

[agirl]

deleted to leave space.

 

[ghostman]

Best to start out slow if you are working at the same time.
I would start with 1 class per semester and increase it only if you can think you can still make all A's.

I would strongly recommend going to a 4 year school if at all possible. CC won't keep you out of med school, but it will make it a harder road.
No sense hurting your chances if you can help it.
Look into some of the larger 4 year schools in your area.

If you give some info about your location, someone will probably give you some suggestions.

Wow. I just realized how big of an idiot I am. For the longest time, I had equated "community college" to "public universities" and I was disappointed that everyone was suggesting that I avoid those.

Ok, then let me make a correction to my original post. I intended to say "taking pre-med classes at a public university". For me, living in NYC, that would be part of the CUNY system. Is there a stigma associated with taking pre-med classes from these types of schools?

From what I understand, Hunter College and City College (both part of CUNY and are not community colleges) both offer postbac pre-med programs. How does being in a postbac program differ from enrolling myself into the required classes? And, do med schools care if I've only take the core classes and no additional science electives? These may have already been answered in the stickied threads, so I'll read those over.

Thanks for all the responses. My original question has been answered. It seems the consensus is to try to take on one class first, and if I do well, try to take on two at a time. I'd love to hear experience from people who has done the full time work/part time pre-med route though.

 

[bradt9881]

I am in about the same situation as you do.
I tried to find a night class to fit in my working schedule. but can you believe all the universities, about 5 of them, only one has night class with an afternoon lab session once a week. I can not leave for that afternoon, so it is very hard for me to commit to even this schedule.
As a result I will just take organic chem at a community college who offers night class with lab in the night as well, what a disapointment that is.

http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/online-degrees/undergraduate/online-organic-chemistry/

See if this might work for you.....

 

[Lacheln]

From what I understand, Hunter College and City College (both part of CUNY and are not community colleges) both offer postbac pre-med programs. How does being in a postbac program differ from enrolling myself into the required classes? And, do med schools care if I've only take the core classes and no additional science electives? These may have already been answered in the stickied threads, so I'll read those over.

I don't know anything specific about NYC postbacc stuff, but you might want to see if there is anything over in the post-bacc forum: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=71

As for med schools caring if you only take the core classes - given that you haven't taken any of the core classes already my guess would be that it would be fine. There are plenty of people who are pre-med and non-science majors who don't do much more than the basic requirements as undergrads, I don't see why post-bacc would be different. That said, it wouldn't hurt to call a couple of schools about it and see what they say.

Thanks for all the responses. My original question has been answered. It seems the consensus is to try to take on one class first, and if I do well, try to take on two at a time. I'd love to hear experience from people who has done the full time work/part time pre-med route though.

It is definitely doable. It is a major time sink though, especially since you need to get clinical experience as well. Many people have done it successfully, it's all about knowing what you can handle, and being prepared to be 100% committed. In one year I was working full-time (50hr/wk inc travel), taking 2 classes at a time (summer, spring, fall), and volunteering. I had no life, it was really hard, but I got it done with A's. After that year though I switched jobs because I realized I couldn't keep up that pace without sacrificing my health and sanity - it was a smart move. I'm at a much lower pressure 40hr/wk job now. Whee!

 

[trustwomen]

I worked 40 hours a week and took 3 classes during my first 1.5 years of undergrad (my second undergrad, that is - the one that got me into med school), then 32 hours a week/4 classes for a year, then 30 hours a week/5 classes for my final year.

Getting good grades wasn't the problem. Getting med schools to count those grades was. In Canada nobody loves a part-time student, doesn't matter if you were also working 80 hours a week, they still won't look at the grades you got part-time.

Except for McGill which let me in.

In the US it's different, they love non-trads instead of trying to cut them off at the knees like in Canada.

As for whether you can handle the classes, well, only you know that. I worked nights and went to school during the day and did fine, but then again I had a stable and happy (and non-busy!) home life.

 

[Travisgee]

Commenting on what Nasem said about, ..."the only way for me to increase my GPA, is by taking upper level sciences."

I was considering taking a Spanish I and a Spanish II course. I have no language studies in my previous degree, and I realize it isn't necessary for postbac work before med school. However, is it not a way to add two classes to bring up my cumulative GPA, and still offer a class that would be beneficial? In other words, I'm not simply looking at it as a way to boost my gpa, although it will, and I could comment on a very specific reason for taking those classes, if I were put in the position to comment on them. What say you?

 

[Newmanium]

I'm probably going to take the Oregon State class - I checked with one med school and they were fine with it.

I'm uncertain whether it would ding me at other schools. My local university only offers organic chem from 9-10 MWF (two sections, both the same time!!! punks!!), so I don't have much of an option. Why can't schools be more accommodating?

 

[Lokhtar]

It's possible. People in my post-bac mostly work full time, and the program is on the weekends, and it's only one year in length. So it's doable, as long as you find the right program designed for people like you.

 

[student1799]

Commenting on what Nasem said about, ..."the only way for me to increase my GPA, is by taking upper level sciences."

I was considering taking a Spanish I and a Spanish II course. I have no language studies in my previous degree, and I realize it isn't necessary for postbac work before med school. However, is it not a way to add two classes to bring up my cumulative GPA, and still offer a class that would be beneficial? In other words, I'm not simply looking at it as a way to boost my gpa, although it will, and I could comment on a very specific reason for taking those classes, if I were put in the position to comment on them. What say you?

Sure, go ahead. I'd say that Spanish would come in very handy in most urban hospitals. (I worked in a major teaching hospital ED in NYC, and our patients were about 2/3 Spanish-speaking.) However, just keep in mind that adcoms will be paying the most attention to your grades in the BCPM courses, so most of what you take should be in that area.

 

[BacardiGirl]

Ghostman, I know exactly how you feel in your situation, as it sounds like mine.
I am taking Pre-Pharm pre-reqs (math and science, since my current B.S. didn't require those courses) and also work 40-50 hours a week, fulltime. I have managed to squeeze in General Biology (at night) last winter, medical terminology (online) this summer, and looking forward to Intro Chemistry and Biology of Aging this Fall (afternoon-night). All of my courses have been through the University of Minnesota. I face the hurdle of the upcoming classes starting next spring not being offiered at night (or even late afternoon) and while my employer is a little flexible with my schedule, I am sure they will not allow me to leave at say, 1 or 2 pm for a class. So, my solution is going to be finding a different job that has varied hours. I am sure it will mean a huge paycut, but my education is more important than $ at the moment!

 

[student1799]

From what I understand, Hunter College and City College (both part of CUNY and are not community colleges) both offer postbac pre-med programs. How does being in a postbac program differ from enrolling myself into the required classes? And, do med schools care if I've only take the core classes and no additional science electives? These may have already been answered in the stickied threads, so I'll read those over.

Ghostman, you should know that Hunter has a formal postbacc program, and it has an excellent reputation. (I didn't go there myself--went to an expensive private school instead--but if I had it to do it over, I'd choose Hunter.)

You don't have to "apply" to get into the program (you just have to register as a non-degree student at Hunter and fill out a form), but they have formal advising and write you a recommendation letter for med school. (This is worth a LOT in the med school admissions procress, which is a big reason to do a postbacc program as opposed to taking the classes by yourself.)

There's another thread in the nontrad forum where Hunter is discussed. Here is the link:http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=555291

A current Hunter student just posted there, saying s/he is willing to answer questions via PM.

 

[StealthNerd]

Wow. I just realized how big of an idiot I am. For the longest time, I had equated "community college" to "public universities" and I was disappointed that everyone was suggesting that I avoid those.

Ok, then let me make a correction to my original post. I intended to say "taking pre-med classes at a public university". For me, living in NYC, that would be part of the CUNY system. Is there a stigma associated with taking pre-med classes from these types of schools?

From what I understand, Hunter College and City College (both part of CUNY and are not community colleges) both offer postbac pre-med programs. How does being in a postbac program differ from enrolling myself into the required classes? And, do med schools care if I've only take the core classes and no additional science electives? These may have already been answered in the stickied threads, so I'll read those over.

Thanks for all the responses. My original question has been answered. It seems the consensus is to try to take on one class first, and if I do well, try to take on two at a time. I'd love to hear experience from people who has done the full time work/part time pre-med route though.

Hey buddy, no worries. It's totally doable. I'm a med student that had to do the same thing you're considering. It really comes down to what you can handle. If you can hack it, go for it. To give you an idea of what can be done, I'll give you a quick synopsis of what I did.

Two year personal "post bach" program I designed for myself to get the remaining pre-reqs I needed, and all the courses I needed to be an EMT so I could get clinical experience. During those two years, all my classes were night and/or weekends. I worked a full time job (40 hours) the entire time, and volunteered as an EMT. Between work, night school, EMT, and commuting to/from all that, I averaged about 100 hours per week. I took classes each spring, summer, and fall semester. My minimum load for those two years was 9 credits, my maximum load was 16. That semester I actually had class every day of the week except Sunday.

My wife and I would often go two and three days without seeing one another. For example, once a week I had to get up before her, head to class straight from work, from class to the fire station (EMT), would spend the night at the fire station, be home to shower/change into my suit before she woke up the following day, and then get home from class (after work) the following day after she was already asleep. It wasn't uncommon for me to say on a Sunday night: "I love you, see you Wednesday night for a late dinner".

Bottom line: it can be done. But it sucks. Hard.

For your other questions: my classes were at my local CC, but it's pretty well respected (that actually have a cadaver lab). Also, my program was my own special compilation of whatever I wanted/needed. Finally, I think the fact that I had a 3.8 undergrad GPA was fairly evident that the CC classes were due to my ridiculous schedule and not because I couldn't "hack it" at a better institution. So it seems from your situation you wouldn't need to worry about where you took your classes.

 

[Drhenney3]

New to the board, I posted an intro in the military medicine section:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=7888924#post7888924.

Im almost created the same thread. Im going to Bellevue Community College which is a cc but is one of the top cc's in the U.S so I've heard from people in this area. I work 40 hours a week as a property manager and I take 2-3 classes a quarter. It just feels like its taking forever. I have 65 quarter credits need 90 for an associated and transfer to Univ. of Wasihington.

 

[Crelal]

I did work full-time (50+ hrs/week) in a professional position, took 6-9 credits a semester, volunteered quite a bit, and had three babies while doing my post-bac. The key was that I had a job that allowed for a flexible schedule, and I stayed in a job that I was not the most happy with just because of the flexible schedule. It was a long road and it was frustrating at times, but it was well worth it and I feel it showed admissions committees that I was both serious and capable of handling the volume of work load I will be facing this fall.

I would recommend looking to see if there are other job/career options for you that offer a flexible schedule. I was able to take a day off during the week and switch it out for a weekend day- I was able to get more work done b/c no one else was at the office, and scheduled all labs on the one day a week I was off of work totally.

Also, academics/MCAT aside, make sure you do volunteering and shadowing of physicians. As a non-trad applicant, you have to be able to discuss what it is that has drawn you to medicine NOW versus at the age of 2.

Good luck!

 

[Drhenney3]

What about everyone saying dont take your pre-reqs at community college? I cant really afford to go to a university. Im already paying out of state tuition right now. Im doing the two year associates/transfer degree to University of Washington. By the way Crelal I have 2 days off during the week that I take my 2-3 classes a quarter.