pre-med with TONS of questions..

[futureDrC]

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(like thats anything new, right?!)

1. Will starting out at community college hurt my chances of getting into med school? I am a wife and mother of two children and am concerned with money (I want to have enough should I get to med school!) and am starting out and taking some of my pre-med classes at community college. Will that hurt my chances?

2. I read someplace- it may even have been here- that an undergrad degree in psychology wasnt great to get into med school. Is that true? I am really interested in psychology and would love to have a strong background in it no matter what specialty I pursue, but especially if I choose psychiatry.

3. My children are 3 and 18 months now- they will be in middle school when I get into my residency. I need the real deal about how hard a surgery residency is... Thats where my main interest lies now (although I know that could change any time between now and then!) and I need to know if its even worth it to dream about it!

4. With children and my husband working 80+ hours a week and working through law school (yeah, I know, were crazy... ) I wont have too much time for gaining experience. If I only have a few hours a week but a few years to learn, where would you recommend I do some volunteer work? Do med schools REALLY weigh that in heavily when screening applicants?

If I have any more I will come post them. I SO appreciate your advice, everyone!

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

(like thats anything new, right?!)

1. Will starting out at community college hurt my chances of getting into med school? I am a wife and mother of two children and am concerned with money (I want to have enough should I get to med school!) and am starting out and taking some of my pre-med classes at community college. Will that hurt my chances?

No, starting out won't really hurt you that much. I recommend taking bio 1 & 2 + chem 1& 2 at a CC. Try your hardest to take O-chem and physics at a 4 year though. Otherwise there's almost no problem. Also medical schools do put in consideration money problems and real life experiences like this.

2. I read someplace- it may even have been here- that an undergrad degree in psychology wasnt great to get into med school. Is that true? I am really interested in psychology and would love to have a strong background in it no matter what specialty I pursue, but especially if I choose psychiatry.

It's a good degree to pursue. Major wise you can major in basketweaving and still get in as long as you have a good gpa + pre-med pre-requisites done.
3. My children are 3 and 18 months now- they will be in middle school when I get into my residency. I need the real deal about how hard a surgery residency is... Thats where my main interest lies now (although I know that could change any time between now and then!) and I need to know if its even worth it to dream about it!

It'll be tough, I won't lie it'll be difficult to maintain a family and do a surgical residency. 80 hours a week isn't unheard of for surgery.

4. With children and my husband working 80+ hours a week and working through law school (yeah, I know, were crazy... ) I wont have too much time for gaining experience. If I only have a few hours a week but a few years to learn, where would you recommend I do some volunteer work? Do med schools REALLY weigh that in heavily when screening applicants?

Yes, volunteering is highly important both clinical and non-clinical. Without it you will not get into medical school. I understand its difficult, and take your time, your married and can hopefully work out a decent schedule with your husband.
If I have any more I will come post them. I SO appreciate your advice, everyone!

Good luck 😀

 

[GoSpursGo]

1. Will starting out at community college hurt my chances of getting into med school? I am a wife and mother of two children and am concerned with money (I want to have enough should I get to med school!) and am starting out and taking some of my pre-med classes at community college. Will that hurt my chances?

There are mixed feelings on this question. Some people maintain that it doesn't matter where you take your classes, as long as you get a good MCAT to backup your GPA and prove you know your stuff. Others will say that you should try to take the pre-reqs at a University, but that other classes that you might need for your degree like history, etc, might be doable at a CC. A third group would say that it doesn't matter where you take your classes, BUT you might have trouble with the MCAT if you take it at a CC from a professor who isn't as knowledgeable, and that you might have trouble dealing with a pre-med department at a CC.

Personally, I think I'm closest to the third group; I think the grades are all the same no matter where you get them, but I do think going to a CC somewhat limits your opportunities to get involved with relevant ECs and get good letters of rec, and may not prepare you as well for the MCAT depending on your teacher.

2. I read someplace- it may even have been here- that an undergrad degree in psychology wasnt great to get into med school. Is that true? I am really interested in psychology and would love to have a strong background in it no matter what specialty I pursue, but especially if I choose psychiatry.

Not true at all; having a degree in psych will neither hurt nor help your application.

3. My children are 3 and 18 months now- they will be in middle school when I get into my residency. I need the real deal about how hard a surgery residency is... Thats where my main interest lies now (although I know that could change any time between now and then!) and I need to know if its even worth it to dream about it!

Ah, obviously I can't help much here 🙂

4. With children and my husband working 80+ hours a week and working through law school (yeah, I know, were crazy... ) I wont have too much time for gaining experience. If I only have a few hours a week but a few years to learn, where would you recommend I do some volunteer work? Do med schools REALLY weigh that in heavily when screening applicants?

I really don't think it matters WHERE you do the volunteering so long as it's somewhere that's medically relevant with actual patient contact. I personally volunteered at a local homeless clinic, but if you can work something out with a local hospital where you would get actual patient interaction (not just sitting in the gift shop or anything), that would be fine. A few hours a week, over a couple of years, should be enough if you are really dedicated to it. But I will say that having some clinical experience is essentially necessary these days; there are so many applicants these days with solid GPAs and MCATs that there has to be some way to differentiate them. Furthermore, while they won't "screen" you based on ECs, realize that these extracurriculars will be what you mostly talk about in your med school interviews, so you need some good ones to make yourself memorable.

Good luck to you!

 

[476515678234896]

(like thats anything new, right?!)

1. Will starting out at community college hurt my chances of getting into med school? I am a wife and mother of two children and am concerned with money (I want to have enough should I get to med school!) and am starting out and taking some of my pre-med classes at community college. Will that hurt my chances?

if you explain the money issue and transfer to a reputable university then you'll be fine. Taking prereqs at CC will hurt your chances if you don't do well after you transfer because adcoms (admission committees) will think that you can only handle CC work.

2. I read someplace- it may even have been here- that an undergrad degree in psychology wasnt great to get into med school. Is that true? I am really interested in psychology and would love to have a strong background in it no matter what specialty I pursue, but especially if I choose psychiatry.

it's fine, just make sure to take some upper division bio classes after transfer so that you even the playing field a bit. Psych is a good major although many adcoms believe that it is easier to get a good GPA w/ psych when compared to bio,chem,physics,eng,ect. Just keep your grades up and get a good MCAT score and they won't have any reason to think of your major as a bad thing.

3. My children are 3 and 18 months now- they will be in middle school when I get into my residency. I need the real deal about how hard a surgery residency is... Thats where my main interest lies now (although I know that could change any time between now and then!) and I need to know if its even worth it to dream about it!

It's going to be hard because of the long hours, limited weekends/holidays, and call. But no pre-med or med student can give you a realistic answer to this question. I would suggest you talk to some residents.

4. With children and my husband working 80+ hours a week and working through law school (yeah, I know, were crazy... ) I wont have too much time for gaining experience. If I only have a few hours a week but a few years to learn, where would you recommend I do some volunteer work? Do med schools REALLY weigh that in heavily when screening applicants?

They weight heavily, but when you explain how your circumstances differ from the average college student..they'll get the idea. Spend a couple hrs over the weekends volunteering at a hospital and make sure to shadow several doctors (you'll need a LOR). As long as you keep your grades up and your MCAT high, the fact that your time was limited will be of less importance.


Best of luck!

 

[rbnsafsadgf]

As the other posters have answered you questions well, I just want to refer you to the Non-traditional form on SDN for extra support related to having children, and then the Mom MD forum for issues relating to being a mom and pre-med ( http://www.mommd.com/forum/ ).

Being a psych major is fine, I can say from personal experience. Just make sure you do well in your hard science courses.

 

[LizzyM]

Are you right out of HS starting in community college or did you finish HS >1 year ago? Have you attended college in the past? If you attended college in the past (before the children came along), what activities were you engaged in during that time period? That time counts, too, so any volunteer work you did back then, any service to the school or the community woudl demonstrate an interest in community service. In the same vein, since HS graduation, have you tested your interest in medicine by shadowing physicians or otherwise engaging in activities in a health care setting (other than being a patient or the family member of a paitent.)?

 

[gadad]

...

 

[tremulousNeedle]

1. Will starting out at community college hurt my chances of getting into med school? I am a wife and mother of two children and am concerned with money (I want to have enough should I get to med school!) and am starting out and taking some of my pre-med classes at community college. Will that hurt my chances?

Not at most medical schools. Some of the more elite schools, may look down on this, they may not. Adcom members realize that not everyone takes the traditional path towards medicine.

2. I read someplace- it may even have been here- that an undergrad degree in psychology wasnt great to get into med school. Is that true? I am really interested in psychology and would love to have a strong background in it no matter what specialty I pursue, but especially if I choose psychiatry.

For getting into medical school, you major and/or minor doesn't matter. Do something you enjoy and do well in it. If you like the idea of psychology then great, go for it.

As an aside, many would comment that having a psychology degree won't prepare you any more or any less than not having that degree (i.e. a residency trained psychiatrist is no more or less qualified based on the undergrad degree they received). Others would argue that physicians need more training in psychology to become better at motivating patients, understanding their behaviors, and persuading them to engage in healthier behaviors.

3. My children are 3 and 18 months now- they will be in middle school when I get into my residency. I need the real deal about how hard a surgery residency is... Thats where my main interest lies now (although I know that could change any time between now and then!) and I need to know if its even worth it to dream about it!

A surgery residency averages 80 hours per week for at least 5 years. This may be broken-up by elective months or research time, but they are usually a lot of hours too. Obviously, there are also vacations hidden in there.

With that being said, I know surgical residents that have children. While this is not ideal it is possible with a strong support system.

4. With children and my husband working 80+ hours a week and working through law school (yeah, I know, were crazy... ) I wont have too much time for gaining experience. If I only have a few hours a week but a few years to learn, where would you recommend I do some volunteer work? Do med schools REALLY weigh that in heavily when screening applicants?

Some official and unofficial advisors think that volunteering is a must. It is not. I was accepted without any volunteer experience and I have interviewed great applicants who have lacked volunteer experience. Adcoms want to see that you have done good things with your time. If part of your time is occupied caring for a family, which is a good thing. However, given how current applicants strengthen their applications it would be hard not to have some sort of community service and healthcare experience.

Explore other threads on this site for the recommended extracurricular activities and see what you are able to do. Remember that you are looking for ways to demonstrate your compassion for other and to demonstrate you motivation for medicine (and that you know what you are getting into). If you can accomplish this with a few commitments, a couple hours a week for an extended period of time, that should be fine for most medical schools (as long as you convey that you were raising a family at the same time).

Again, all of this may be less acceptable at the more elite schools, but who wants to go to a family unfriendly school if they have a family.