premed program from sandiego state university?

[yvonne_10]

I lived in san diego, seems not many premed program around here, and ucsd doesn't seem to take first time applicants.
and what''s the critieria of under represented or financially and educationally disadvantage students?

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[relentless11]

I lived in san diego, seems not many premed program around here, and ucsd doesn't seem to take first time applicants.
and what''s the critieria of under represented or financially and educationally disadvantage students?

If you were not pre-med before, e.g.: you are changing your career, you can look at Scripps, which is in SD. The definition of being disadvantaged should be based on AAMC's definition. I can't remember what the exact link is, but browse around on the AAMC website for the AMCAS instruction booklet. I think I found it in there.

For the most part, its something along the lines of at an early age, you were in a place where $$ and/or schools were limited so you didn't have opportunities available to you. As for under represented, you can probably search for a list on this site (and on AAMC). Look for "URM" for under represented minority. Off the top of my head, being a native american qualify's you as a URM. But yea, go to AAMC to find the exact details.

 

[yvonne_10]

thanks for your valuable information.
I'm a RN, after being working so many years, i decided I have to do something which i've dreamed since i was a little kid. So, i'm here. But my undergraduate gpa is only 3.19 due to many reasons(if i can give myself some type of excuses), and it's was from singapore. I just don't know where i shoud start and how promising the chance for me, anyway, i have to give it a shot. I don't want to fall in the same place twice by not trying harder or not even trying.
I think scripps is in claremont, do you mean they do have a school in sd too? Do you think the course from community college is helpful ?

 

[relentless11]

thanks for your valuable information.
I'm a RN, after being working so many years, i decided I have to do something which i've dreamed since i was a little kid. So, i'm here. But my undergraduate gpa is only 3.19 due to many reasons(if i can give myself some type of excuses), and it's was from singapore. I just don't know where i shoud start and how promising the chance for me, anyway, i have to give it a shot. I don't want to fall in the same place twice by not trying harder or not even trying.
I think scripps is in claremont, do you mean they do have a school in sd too? Do you think the course from community college is helpful ?

Ooops! Yes its in Claremont. But anyway, a 1.5hr drive....ok thats witout traffic, but is pretty decent for Scripps since doing well in the program essentially guarantees admission to one of the schools they are linked to. The academic quarter is wearing me thin😉.

Anyway, a GPA of 3.19 isn't too bad, and gives you something to work with. Additionally that was probably a few years ago, therefore its relevance is less assuming you take more classes. In regards to your courses being taken outside of the US, there's a thread somewhere, I think in the non-trads forums which revolves around someone with a foreign degree. If i recall, the general concensus is to do take a year or two of coursework here in the US, and that should be sufficient, however some schools don't really care. I believe the concern was how AMCAS would record these grades. Scottish Chap might be better able to address this than I.

Since you are around UCSD or even SD state, perhaps you can take courses in a non-degree (or even a degree) earning program. UCSD Extension should allow you to do this, however it is quite expensive. Just go to www.aamc.org and search for "post-bacc". It should provide you with a link to their list of post-bacc programs in the US.

Lastly, you may also consider doing a graduate degree. However graduate courses do not increase your undergraduate GPA. This will depend on you. If you can stand doing a post-bacc program where it probably won't result in any degree, and/or guarantee admission to a med school (except for Scripps and Mills). You could do another bachelor's degree, but that takes time. Or you can do a 1-2 year masters program but your courses may not add to your undergraduate GPA, however you get a degree out of it.

 

[MediMama23]

I lived in san diego, seems not many premed program around here, and ucsd doesn't seem to take first time applicants.
and what''s the critieria of under represented or financially and educationally disadvantage students?

I read the program from SDSU. They seem to have a lot of support for their premeds, pre-dents, pre-vets, etc. They have peer counselors and advisors. They do mock interviews and write committee letters for you. The only problem is that applications for admission to SDSU are closed, so you would have to go through Open University ($210 per unit; not TOO bad compared to some of these formal programs). The only thing I can't gather from what I read is whether the Pre-Health office would work with students who were at the school through Open University. But you should give them a try. Or go for UCSD Extension.

 

[yvonne_10]

[ Or go for UCSD Extension.[/QUOTE]
i checked that ucsd extension doesn' t have premed or even bioscience program at least from the internet. Maybe i give them a call.
I just called ucsd extension, they don't have premed program...

 

[MediMama23]

[ Or go for UCSD Extension.

i checked that ucsd extension doesn' t have premed or even bioscience program at least from the internet. Maybe i give them a call.
I just called ucsd extension, they don't have premed program...[/QUOTE]

All of the UCs have a premed advising office (they have to due to their sheer size). The Extension programs just try to give people who don't want to go to the University officially a chance to take classes. UCSD does have a post-bacc program, but like you said, it's for economically/financially disadvantaged students. But if you were to take classes through UCSD Extension, you might be able to use UCSD's premed advising office. That is a situation where you would have to call the advising office and see if they provide such services to Extension students.

Let me know how your talk with SDSU goes. I'm interested in going that route.

 

[yvonne_10]

Let me know how your talk with SDSU goes. I'm interested in going that route.[/QUOTE]

I think i will go ahead take premed from sdsu, it sounds good to me, flexible studying hours, good supporting service, they even has a time table and regular meeting to see how you do along the road.
what do you think!

 

[relentless11]

i checked that ucsd extension doesn' t have premed or even bioscience program at least from the internet. Maybe i give them a call.
I just called ucsd extension, they don't have premed program...

UC Extensions usually don't have a premed program. I think UCLA and Berkeley just came up with something of the kind but, in general, if you were to go through UCSD Extension, you would take classes through open campus. Open campus allows you to take all UCSD classes (undergrad, grad). However you are last priority to register, and pay an arm and a leg. Some classes may also require special permission (e.g.: biomedical engineering).

You do not need to be in a "premed program" if your only concern is taking classes. Official, structured programs are great, they have lots of things that can help you out, including but not limited to MCAT prep, improving study skills, application workshops, etc. Some programs may even have special classes that you can take with med students (SMPs). Whats most important is what you want and how deep your pockets are (or how much you're willing to borrow). I went the UCD Extension route since I didn't need to work on my MCAT, nor my study skills. I just needed classes. UCD Post-bacc wasn't gonna work because my MCAT was too high...ironic huh? There isn't a requirement that your MCAT had to be XX low or high, but they said that this program is for people who needed more help than me (in terms of the MCAT). I wanted to stay at my alma mater and UCD Extension at the time was my only choice. But the $$$ factor ended up pushing me into grad school which is also pretty fun🙂 I think one of the key factors that got me into med school was my post-bacc performance too.

The best part of open campus is you can start now. Even today. They should be starting or have started classes already. Last day to add is in a few weeks. So not too late. Lastly the SDSU route is fine too. Which ever one works best for you. If you get a 4.0 in your coursework, it doesn't matter if you did it at SDSU or UCSD.

 

[yvonne_10]

The best part of open campus is you can start now. Even today. They should be starting or have started classes already. Last day to add is in a few weeks. So not too late. Lastly the SDSU route is fine too. Which ever one works best for you. If you get a 4.0 in your coursework, it doesn't matter if you did it at SDSU or UCSD.

thanks so much for you heartily inforamtion, it makes great sense. I don't know i will get 4.0 in my coursework since it's been 10 yrs out of the school, but will try my very best. As for financially, i think premed program through open university will take away last penny in my pocket, if possbile, i will continue to work over weekend.
Which school is your alma mater? how long did you take to get in the med school?

 

[relentless11]

thanks so much for you heartily inforamtion, it makes great sense. I don't know i will get 4.0 in my coursework since it's been 10 yrs out of the school, but will try my very best. As for financially, i think premed program through open university will take away last penny in my pocket, if possbile, i will continue to work over weekend.
Which school is your alma mater? how long did you take to get in the med school?

Anything is possible. Although people say its harder to get back into school, sometimes a break might make you more motivated.

As for me, I have yet to apply to med school, but been in this game for so long that all the stuff I've seen on SDN and heard from our med school is starting to become etched into my mind. I did undergrad at UC Davis, then did UCD Extension. Now still at UCD for a PhD. Hopefully will finish in 2 years to apply. If I'm super duper lucky (unlikely), UCD can let me into their MSTP. According to their administration, its not against the rules to do that, but its not easy either. I don't mind, I'm learning a lot, and having fun so thats all that matters.🙂 Plus got plenty of time to apply, since this PhD is using up a lot of my time.

Oh yea, I used that 4.0 example as just an example. I think for the most part anything above 3.5 puts you in a good place. You start to enter the yellow zone when you're <3.2 since UC's might screen you out due to the GPA factor. Of course anything below 3.0 is red. However a long time ago, someone got into Tulane with an undergrad GPA of 2.5. BUT, they most likely had some amazing life. Prolly had a masters and PhD with a 4.0 grad GPA to support that. Haha. But yea, after some amount of time, grades from ages ago play less of a role compared to what you are doing now

 

[ccandido]

I recently got accepted into the Scripps post bac program and I think it's well worth the money. One of the current students in the program was a 40+ Nurse Practitioner that got accepted at George Washington through their linkage program. I'm sure as a nurse you can find a part time job and attend Scripps part time at 6k a semester. Their recommendation letter and linkage is worth the money. It's too late to apply this year, but you can always take classes locally and save money.

thanks for your valuable information.
I'm a RN, after being working so many years, i decided I have to do something which i've dreamed since i was a little kid. So, i'm here. But my undergraduate gpa is only 3.19 due to many reasons(if i can give myself some type of excuses), and it's was from singapore. I just don't know where i shoud start and how promising the chance for me, anyway, i have to give it a shot. I don't want to fall in the same place twice by not trying harder or not even trying.
I think scripps is in claremont, do you mean they do have a school in sd too? Do you think the course from community college is helpful ?