Plan Feedback on My Path to Medical School

[bomba]

Hi all--I was hoping that I could get some feedback on the sequencing for my DIY post-bacc/application timeline.

For some background, I'm a 36 year old coming from the accounting/finance industry at a Fortune 50 company. I've held leadership positions during my undergraduate education and in industry. My first attempt at higher education was a disaster, but my academic performance over the last decade is stellar. On that topic, I will invoke Academic Fresh Start since I'm a Texas Resident. My plan is to apply to all TMDSAS schools and broadly to DO schools.​

I have two prior degrees including a BBA accounting and an MBA. At the time of application I will have the following GPAs (assuming I maintain a 4.0 during post-bacc):

- TMDSAS: 3.88 cumulative/4.0 BCPM
- AMCAS/AACOMAS: 3.44 cumulative/3.71 BCPM

I'm currently in the first semester of my DIY post-bacc and am on track for a 4.0 semester. My anticipated schedule is as follows:

In addition to taking classes, I currently volunteer four hours per week at a hospice in-patient unit, four hours per month at a soup kitchen, and am shadowing a hospitalist for a few hours per month. I'll likely have ~500 clinical volunteer hours and ~300 non-clinical volunteer hours when I submit my application.

A few questions I have are:
- Does my course plan look sufficient in both rigor and adequacy for MCAT preparation? Anything you would change if in my position?
- Should I consider adding some social science classes like psychology and sociology for MCAT prep?
- Am I pushing the MCAT timeline too close? I know some people have dedicated periods of time where they exclusively prepare for the MCAT, but I'm hoping it's possible to take classes concurrently and get a decent score while still applying early in Summer '24.

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[labratchronicles]

At face value, you should be applying to top 20 MD schools with this schedule and with your interesting background. As someone who tried and failed at an advanced degree before being accepted into medical school, don't let that attempt hold you back.

To be honest, I don't think you should consider adding more classes. If anything, I would avoid summer courses. THEY will hinder your retention of knowledge for the MCAT.

Genetics, anatomy and physiology, micro ARE electives... Don't overdose on school, cram the MCAT, and have to repeat a course, or worse, a cycle.

 

[esob]

The courses look fine. Watch out for anatomy, it can be a killer at the undergrad level, and everyone I know that took it in undergrad said it was not very helpful in medical school. College courses are not great for MCAT prep. They teach either to the textbook test bank (diploma mills) or to whatever esoteric topic the prof is interested in. Neither method is very helpful for the mcat.

If I could do it over again, I would buy an MCAT study guide before beginning classes, and learn the MCAT-specific info along with my courses. Then, I would throw that material in anki with a good spacing algorithm and retain it indefinitely.

 

[BritainKittenMittens]

At face value, you should be applying to top 20 MD schools with this schedule and with your interesting background.

Would not jump the gun here. To be frank, applications are getting so competitive year over year that the ones I'm reading (from a T20) are absolute superstars. Unfortunately, a 36 yo with a finance/accounting background is not in itself a standout unless you have a stellar reason for medicine. Accounting isn't seen as a super prestigious career, unless you were like director+ level.

It's too early to say what schools you'll be competitive for. Most of that will rest on your postbac and your MCAT.

Academic plan seems reasonable to me. If you do get a 4.0 (or even close) and a 515+, no one will question whether you can handle med school science, and you can shoot your shot at every place except for IS bias state schools and the huge stats wh**** (Penn, Washu, NYU, UChicago). It'll still be very, very hard to get into a T20 unless you're URM, but it won't be ridiculous to get an A.

3.8 postbac and 510+ and you'll probably get in somewhere (including DO schools). But honestly, who knows how competitive it will be in 2 years when you apply.

 

[Chardeemacdennis60]

Hi all--I was hoping that I could get some feedback on the sequencing for my DIY post-bacc/application timeline.

For some background, I'm a 36 year old coming from the accounting/finance industry at a Fortune 50 company. I've held leadership positions during my undergraduate education and in industry. My first attempt at higher education was a disaster, but my academic performance over the last decade is stellar. On that topic, I will invoke Academic Fresh Start since I'm a Texas Resident. My plan is to apply to all TMDSAS schools and broadly to DO schools.​

I have two prior degrees including a BBA accounting and an MBA. At the time of application I will have the following GPAs (assuming I maintain a 4.0 during post-bacc):

- TMDSAS: 3.88 cumulative/4.0 BCPM
- AMCAS/AACOMAS: 3.44 cumulative/3.71 BCPM

I'm currently in the first semester of my DIY post-bacc and am on track for a 4.0 semester. My anticipated schedule is as follows:

View attachment 361217
In addition to taking classes, I currently volunteer four hours per week at a hospice in-patient unit, four hours per month at a soup kitchen, and am shadowing a hospitalist for a few hours per month. I'll likely have ~500 clinical volunteer hours and ~300 non-clinical volunteer hours when I submit my application.

A few questions I have are:
- Does my course plan look sufficient in both rigor and adequacy for MCAT preparation? Anything you would change if in my position?
- Should I consider adding some social science classes like psychology and sociology for MCAT prep?
- Am I pushing the MCAT timeline too close? I know some people have dedicated periods of time where they exclusively prepare for the MCAT, but I'm hoping it's possible to take classes concurrently and get a decent score while still applying early in Summer '24

Personally, I would get rid of any classes that aren't required (electives) for the schools you are targeting. Sure, a traditional applicant needs to take these classes but I really do not think it is necessary for you.

 

[bomba]

Would not jump the gun here. To be frank, applications are getting so competitive year over year that the ones I'm reading (from a T20) are absolute superstars. Unfortunately, a 36 yo with a finance/accounting background is not in itself a standout unless you have a stellar reason for medicine. Accounting isn't seen as a super prestigious career, unless you were like director+ level.

It's too early to say what schools you'll be competitive for. Most of that will rest on your postbac and your MCAT.

Academic plan seems reasonable to me. If you do get a 4.0 (or even close) and a 515+, no one will question whether you can handle med school science, and you can shoot your shot at every place except for IS bias state schools and the huge stats wh**** (Penn, Washu, NYU, UChicago). It'll still be very, very hard to get into a T20 unless you're URM, but it won't be ridiculous to get an A.

3.8 postbac and 510+ and you'll probably get in somewhere (including DO schools). But honestly, who knows how competitive it will be in 2 years when you apply.

Frankly, prestige is unimportant to me. All I ultimately care about is getting a high quality medical education that will lay the foundation for me to be a competent physician. Plus, I'd rather be admitted to a state school and pay lower tuition.

 

[BritainKittenMittens]

Frankly, prestige is unimportant to me. All I ultimately care about is getting a high quality medical education that will lay the foundation for me to be a competent physician. Plus, I'd rather be admitted to a state school and pay lower tuition.

That's good and the right mentality. I'm mainly commenting on the other person's suggestion.
If you don't care about the top schools, all that matters is to execute your academic plans and you'll have a good chance.

 

[Sammy2023]

Man looking at your spreadsheet brings me back lol … I did the exact same thing as you 4 years ago. Texas fresh start, 2 years of a self made post bacc, career changer.

Currently an MS4 finishing up med school. Your plan looks good, but make sure you crush the MCAT and you’ll have plenty of interviews at USMDs (incl. Texas)

Don’t underestimate prestige of your med school, it matters a lot when it comes time for residency interviews.

 

[Glassdyr]

- Does my course plan look sufficient in both rigor and adequacy for MCAT preparation? Anything you would change if in my position?
- Should I consider adding some social science classes like psychology and sociology for MCAT prep?
- Am I pushing the MCAT timeline too close? I know some people have dedicated periods of time where they exclusively prepare for the MCAT, but I'm hoping it's possible to take classes concurrently and get a decent score while still applying early in Summer '24.

I would like to echo that college courses are not often good study material for the MCAT. There's a good amount of overlap, but the two curricula differ. MCAT prep is most often done independently of classwork for this reason.

Psychology and sociology (P/S) is almost entirely memorization of a large quantity of vocabulary, psychologists, theories. There are many virtual flashcard sets available online dedicated to P/S. The flashcard app a huge amount of premeds use and swear by is called Anki, and this (and many, many others) is how I succeeded in P/S.

I don't think your timeline is too close. That was similar to my timeline; I began MCAT prep while a full-time student around December 2020 for an MCAT in January 2022. I scored well, avoided the need for a retake, and applied successfully in May 2022.

Best of luck. I'm rooting for you and I truly hope you get in, come 2024.

 

[gyngyn]

Undergraduate anatomy is a time sink and essentially useless for medical school.

 

[PeteytheFish]

Like you, I decided to go into medicine after a career in something entirely different. I started my prerequisites at age 35.

I think you're taking way too many classes. I agree with the previous post that suggests only taking what is required. Definitely lose Genetics and Anatomy/Physiology II. Don't take any more electives. And with your previous degree, did you not take an English class?

My best advice: get on and off this train as fast as you can. You should be able to do your prerequisites in one academic year.

Take an MCAT prep course.

Feel free to DM me! I'm a current MS3.

 

[bomba]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. I figured that I would update this thread as my plan progresses, because I have found it extremely helpful when people such as @esob have documented their journey.

My first DIY post-bacc semester is in the books with a 4.0. All in all, it was very manageable; ochem didn't induce the existential crisis I expected, bio II made me glad I'm not pursuing an ecology career, and microbiology was extremely interesting. I've made some adjustments to my study plan based on feed back from you all and conversations with others. Most notably, I've decided to start lightly studying for the MCAT during the Spring '23 semester, then kick it into high gear and study full time over the summer--targeting a late-July test date. I have also rearranged some of my courses based on course availability and personal interests. My adjusted plan is included below:

Thanks again to everyone that has taken time to provide advice-I truly appreciate your guidance. I hope everyone has a happy holidays!

 

[bomba]

Like you, I decided to go into medicine after a career in something entirely different. I started my prerequisites at age 35.

I think you're taking way too many classes. I agree with the previous post that suggests only taking what is required. Definitely lose Genetics and Anatomy/Physiology II. Don't take any more electives. And with your previous degree, did you not take an English class?

My best advice: get on and off this train as fast as you can. You should be able to do your prerequisites in one academic year.

Take an MCAT prep course.

Feel free to DM me! I'm a current MS3.

I will be exercising Academic Fresh Start in Texas, which will remove a large portion of undergraduate credits from my transcript. Unfortunately, that means I need another semester of English to fulfill the prerequisites for Texas public schools.

 

[karaya]

I think it may be a misstep to take the MCAT before biochem, since the MCAT tests it heavily. Swap it for medical microbio?

 

[bomba]

I think it may be a misstep to take the MCAT before biochem, since the MCAT tests it heavily. Swap it for medical microbio?

Ideally that's what I would have done, but biochem is only offered in the Fall and ochem II is a prerequisite. I'm planning to reassess my preparedness closer to summer. Worst case I'll cancel my test date and revert back to my prior plan.

 

[JToney]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. I figured that I would update this thread as my plan progresses, because I have found it extremely helpful when people such as @esob have documented their journey.

My first DIY post-bacc semester is in the books with a 4.0. All in all, it was very manageable; ochem didn't induce the existential crisis I expected, bio II made me glad I'm not pursuing an ecology career, and microbiology was extremely interesting. I've made some adjustments to my study plan based on feed back from you all and conversations with others. Most notably, I've decided to start lightly studying for the MCAT during the Spring '23 semester, then kick it into high gear and study full time over the summer--targeting a late-July test date. I have also rearranged some of my courses based on course availability and personal interests. My adjusted plan is included below:

View attachment 363192

Thanks again to everyone that has taken time to provide advice-I truly appreciate your guidance. I hope everyone has a happy holidays!

This looks similar to what I’m doing. Just curious, are you working full time and doing these classes? And are any of them online? I just finished my first semester back in school after being out for awhile and I did A&P and Physics 1 at my CC to dip my toes in the water.

 

[bomba]

This looks similar to what I’m doing. Just curious, are you working full time and doing these classes? And are any of them online? I just finished my first semester back in school after being out for awhile and I did A&P and Physics 1 at my CC to dip my toes in the water.

Nope, I left my job because it required a fair amount of travel, which made taking post-bacc classes unworkable unless I wanted to commit to taking exclusively online courses. Ultimately, I decided the online route introduced potential bias against my application that I was not comfortable accepting--there are also several schools to which I will be applying that flat out don't accept online prerequisite coursework. Walking away from a comfortable salary was certainly difficult, but on this side of things I'm happy with my decision thus far.

 

[bomba]

I hope everyone is having a great end to their semester! As mentioned earlier in this thread, I'm giving periodic updates on my pursuit of medical school as a non-traditional applicant--partly for personal accountability and partly to document the process for others thinking of taking the same path.

Another semester is in the books. There were definitely some stressful moments (like my house flooding at 11 PM the Saturday before my midterms), but I managed to pull through with a 4.0 for the semester. It's funny how those big stressful events always seem to come at the worst times--c'est la vie!

I have adjusted my study plan to get rid of the extra classes that don't fulfill prerequisites, which means I only have two classes remaining. Additionally, I heeded some advice given here and decided to hold off on taking the MCAT until I have completed biochem. As such, I will study for the MCAT while concurrently taking biochem in the Fall '23 semester.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Have you ballparked a date to take the MCAT? Are you thinking Jan or Mar 2024? Networking plans, especially for recruitment events in Fall 2023?

 

[bomba]

Have you ballparked a date to take the MCAT? Are you thinking Jan or Mar 2024? Networking plans, especially for recruitment events in Fall 2023?

Yes, I'm planning to take the MCAT in January.

This might sound stupid, but I've been so caught up in the details of checking all the boxes for an application that networking didn't occur to me as an option. Do you have any recommendations on the best approach for networking with medical schools? I can't find anything regarding formal networking events at schools I'm planning to apply to.

 

[LindaAccepted]

Networking is certainly part of this, but I was thinking you should (after your MCAT mostly) dig into school research. Either using a spreadsheet or a tool like Evernote or Google Keep, start researching the schools, their values, the things you like and dislike about different programs and take notes that you will be able to refer to when you get secondaries and interviews. Yes, attend pre-med events, network with current students, and meet with adcom representatives, but some of your research can be done online. Invest in MSAR and look at school sites thoroughly. Follow some of the programs you are most interested in on social.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Agreeing, please read

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