- Joined
- Jul 8, 2006
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Hey folks.
First, I wanted to see how many non-traditional students (e.g., post-bacc, second career students, etc.) are looking towards med school. I met a handful when I went back for a second bachelor's, but I wasn't sure what percentage of the populace we are.
Second, I want to get some feedback from folks who have been accepted into schools to see if I'm simply pipe-dreaming here, or if I have a legitimate shot.
I didn't think about medicine until I was 26; I had gone back to college to complete a BS in psychology (I had been working at a psych hospital, but all of my training was ad hoc) and had planned to stick around academia (I teach at two colleges locally). I was trained for the code team, and ran through a few before I was really bitten by the bug. I did chest compressions on my first patient for 40 minutes and bagged her for another 5 before the attending called it. I managed to restart the heart of my second code (who had attempted to hang herself in her room) and get her stabilized for transfer to the medical facility. I got hooked on the idea of medicine shortly thereafter.
Academically, I'm all over the board. I earned a BSLA in German with Philosophy back in 1998, an MA in Philosophy in 2000, and defended my doctoral dissertation in medical ethics this past January (picking up the Ph.D. in May), along with the BS in Psychology/Pre-Med. I carried a 3.05 from my first undergraduate degree, 3.85 in graduate school, and 3.2 for my second BS. I've worked clinically for several years (including a stint on the faculty of the Dept. of Psychiatry for several months before the hospital closed), and have been working with a research group in critical care medicine since May (four projects at the moment). I met with my pre-health advisor, who disclosed that our pre-health committee had rated me as "competitive" (my science QPA was an issue (B/B- range), but I was working 40+ hours per week, taking the core sciences, teaching three classes of my own, and writing my doctoral dissertation), which isn't all that great (considering there are two rankings above it). I'm applying to 12 schools, some of which are reaches, some are not.
As of this post, I'm looking at UPitt, UPenn, Penn State, Drexel, Thomas Jefferson, Temple, WVU, University of Chicago, NYU, Georgetown, Hopkins, and American. I alternate between periods of "I'll get in somewhere" to "There is no chance in hell with my QPA". Is there anyone else with any similar experiences? Am I pipe-dreaming here?
First, I wanted to see how many non-traditional students (e.g., post-bacc, second career students, etc.) are looking towards med school. I met a handful when I went back for a second bachelor's, but I wasn't sure what percentage of the populace we are.
Second, I want to get some feedback from folks who have been accepted into schools to see if I'm simply pipe-dreaming here, or if I have a legitimate shot.
I didn't think about medicine until I was 26; I had gone back to college to complete a BS in psychology (I had been working at a psych hospital, but all of my training was ad hoc) and had planned to stick around academia (I teach at two colleges locally). I was trained for the code team, and ran through a few before I was really bitten by the bug. I did chest compressions on my first patient for 40 minutes and bagged her for another 5 before the attending called it. I managed to restart the heart of my second code (who had attempted to hang herself in her room) and get her stabilized for transfer to the medical facility. I got hooked on the idea of medicine shortly thereafter.
Academically, I'm all over the board. I earned a BSLA in German with Philosophy back in 1998, an MA in Philosophy in 2000, and defended my doctoral dissertation in medical ethics this past January (picking up the Ph.D. in May), along with the BS in Psychology/Pre-Med. I carried a 3.05 from my first undergraduate degree, 3.85 in graduate school, and 3.2 for my second BS. I've worked clinically for several years (including a stint on the faculty of the Dept. of Psychiatry for several months before the hospital closed), and have been working with a research group in critical care medicine since May (four projects at the moment). I met with my pre-health advisor, who disclosed that our pre-health committee had rated me as "competitive" (my science QPA was an issue (B/B- range), but I was working 40+ hours per week, taking the core sciences, teaching three classes of my own, and writing my doctoral dissertation), which isn't all that great (considering there are two rankings above it). I'm applying to 12 schools, some of which are reaches, some are not.
As of this post, I'm looking at UPitt, UPenn, Penn State, Drexel, Thomas Jefferson, Temple, WVU, University of Chicago, NYU, Georgetown, Hopkins, and American. I alternate between periods of "I'll get in somewhere" to "There is no chance in hell with my QPA". Is there anyone else with any similar experiences? Am I pipe-dreaming here?