Proving you can handle the workload..

[Maggiester]

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Sorry if this has been asked before, but I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for with the search feature.

I hear a lot about how important it is to have a heavy load of classes and ECs as a pre-med to "prove" you can handle the intense workload of med school. How important is this really? Is it important to do it on a sustained basis, or is it enough to have some intense semesters mixed with some lighter ones?

Is there any chance they might understand wanting to take it a bit slow in the lead-up to med school to spend lots of quality time with your kids while they're very little, so that they'll be a little older when you matriculate and things get crazy? Or that I'm not willing to be away from my baby all day every day when he's 4 months old, but will be ready to when he's 4 years old? That the timing also has to do with being optimally complementary with my husband's demanding academic/career path, and the operation of our small business? That I'm not in a rush, because the quality of the journey is just as important to me as the destination? Is there a place to include this sort of context in my app, so that it's not dismissed off hand due to just looking a bit spotty?

I'm a mom of 3 (ages 7, 4, and 3mo), and if I do this at the pace I'd like, it'll take me 7 years to finish my Bachelor's (which I started when my 4yo was 1, never having been to college at all before). Took one semester off when we moved cross-country, one entire year off to have this last baby because I have very difficult pregnancies, and I'd like to be able to finish it off fairly part-time. I'm halfway-ish done now, and if I went back full-time I could be ready to matriculate in 2014, but stretching it to 2015 would allow a more leisurely pace and be better timing in many other ways. There have been semesters where I've worked 20+ hours at a lab job while also getting straight A's across 16 credits including hard sciences, with two very small children and a husband never around due to a demanding job, and although I CAN handle it just fine I'd rather not have things be that hectic again until they have to be. It just seems like unnecessary hardship to put my family through. Opportunity cost be damned, I'd rather not miss the opportunity to be there during these critical early childhood years. Even if it means my oldest will be in college by the time I'm a practicing physician! But will it kill my chances of becoming a physician at all?

 

[LingoLaine]

I don't know the answer but I'm in a very similar situation. I've stretched the pre-reqs out over several years (quite a few more than I originally intended) as I've got two kids (7 and 4), a husband who travels a lot, and my younger child had a lot of health issues requiring all kinds of medical and therapy appointments her first three years. I'm banking on being able to explain the situation when challenged, but of course, first I need to land the interview.

 

[dmf2682]

Sounds like both of you have some interesting times ahead of you. I'll have to keep tabs because we're thinking babies in med school.

 

[DrMidlife]

There have been semesters where I've worked 20+ hours at a lab job while also getting straight A's across 16 credits including hard sciences, with two very small children and a husband never around due to a demanding job

More than one semester like this? Call it good. Work it into your narrative for your personal statement. (You can start working on your personal statement any time you want, btw.)

I'd be interested (if I were an adcom) in seeing relevant recent upper div science, and I'd want to believe that you're sufficiently freed up from (or well-supported in) childrearing that you can thrive in med school. With a good MCAT score on board, I seriously doubt your academic cred will be questioned.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Maggiester]

I'm banking on being able to explain the situation when challenged, but of course, first I need to land the interview.

Exactly. I'm guessing it'll have to be our GPAs, MCAT scores, and interesting ECs/life experiences that will get our feet in the door enough to have a chance to explain. So they'll probably just have to be that much more stellar.

I've got a 3.98 (only B was in a 1-credit lab when I had hyperemesis gravidarum for the last half of the semester), and I'm a pretty good standardized test-taker so I think I should be able to do somewhat decent on the MCAT. I've got some good and interesting work experience, although I'm a little lacking in the volunteering and clinical experience areas so far..

 

[FrkyBgStok]

I can't say it is a bad thing, but I will say that one of my interviewers specifically asked if I attended school part time while working a 50 hour full time job and a 20 part time job. I said no and he responded with a "good, because we hardly admit anyone who went part time, because they generally can't handle the workload." again, this is working 70 hours a week, volunteering, and being a parent to three kids.

This is one school however so don't make life decisions based on it. If you have nothing else going on, other than wanting to spend time with your kids, it could work against you. My answer however is based on my personal experience and at only one school.

I was also taking a 20 credit semesters.

 

[Maggiester]

More than one semester like this? Call it good. Work it into your narrative for your personal statement. (You can start working on your personal statement any time you want, btw.)

I'd be interested (if I were an adcom) in seeing relevant recent upper div science, and I'd want to believe that you're sufficiently freed up from (or well-supported in) childrearing that you can thrive in med school. With a good MCAT score on board, I seriously doubt your academic cred will be questioned.

Best of luck to you.

Thanks!

I had a 16-credit spring and 12-credit summer exactly like that, as well as a 13-credit fall semester before that where instead of the lab job I was doing a 25+ hour/week internship on a political campaign. So that was one full year of pretty hectic pace.

I wonder how I could show that I'm sufficiently ready to do what it takes to thrive in med school when the time comes. *I* know that I'm definitely done bearing children, that my husband will be in a better position to take on more of the childcare duties when the time comes, that I have a great support network locally, etc, but I'm not sure how to let an adcom know that.

 

[DrMidlife]

*I* know that I'm definitely done bearing children, that my husband will be in a better position to take on more of the childcare duties when the time comes, that I have a great support network locally, etc, but I'm not sure how to let an adcom know that.

Don't sweat this. Adcoms have boundaries - they're not going to speculate on risks associated with your plans - they want to know you have plans and an adult understanding of what's time consuming and what's high priority etc.

Compare your ability to speak intelligently about your concerns about your family with what you would have said when you were 21. See what I'm getting at?

One other thing, you can't assume you can stay put for med school. Hope for it; don't plan on it. Apply early (meaning June) and broadly (meaning lots of schools, 25-ish is normal).

Best of luck to you.

 

[Maggiester]

I can't say it is a bad thing, but I will say that one of my interviewers specifically asked if I attended school part time while working a 50 hour full time job and a 20 part time job. I said no and he responded with a "good, because we hardly admit anyone who went part time, because they generally can't handle the workload." again, this is working 70 hours a week, volunteering, and being a parent to three kids.

This is one school however so don't make life decisions based on it. If you have nothing else going on, other than wanting to spend time with your kids, it could work against you. My answer however is based on my personal experience and at only one school.

I was also taking a 20 credit semesters.

This seems insane to me. Honestly, I'm not sure I'd want to go to a school that expected someone with 3 kids to work 70 hours and take 20 credit hours plus volunteering. I'm not even sure I want to live on a planet where anyone ever has to do that! In. Sane.

I wonder, too, if there is any difference between expectations for fathers vs. mothers? It seems to me that, among parents with extremely demanding jobs that keep them away from their families a lot, it's much more often the moms who struggle with work-family balance. Many times the dads don't even have to think of it--their wives just take care of it all. There's a movie out right now about a career woman with children called "I Don't Know How She Does It".. You would never see a movie about a guy with a high-powered job and kids called "I Don't Know How He Does It," because it's really quite common.. Anyway..
/feminist soapbox rant

Don't sweat this. Adcoms have boundaries - they're not going to speculate on risks associated with your plans - they want to know you have plans and an adult understanding of what's time consuming and what's high priority etc.

Compare your ability to speak intelligently about your concerns about your family with what you would have said when you were 21. See what I'm getting at?

One other thing, you can't assume you can stay put for med school. Hope for it; don't plan on it. Apply early (meaning June) and broadly (meaning lots of schools, 25-ish is normal).

Best of luck to you.

I do see what you mean. Thank you. Sadly, I will either have to go to the med school next door (literally a short walking distance from my house), or none at all (I won't bore you with the details, but there are many factors that would make moving truly impossible). So my focus should really be on how to get into this one particular school. Not sure if I should say which one on here?

 

[blue0rchid]

I do see what you mean. Thank you. Sadly, I will either have to go to the med school next door (literally a short walking distance from my house), or none at all (I won't bore you with the details, but there are many factors that would make moving truly impossible). So my focus should really be on how to get into this one particular school. Not sure if I should say which one on here?

I'm in similar situation. I can't relocate and pretty much set my sight on one school near my house. If you want to take that route, I suggest you start making appointment to see an adcom/counselor at that school. Come see him/her for advice and suggestions to help you competitive with the school. Keeping a good and constant relationship w/ the school will help you when you start applying.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

Sorry. I don't think they expected it. That's what I did. But they did specifically comment on the course load. Many people get in without doing what I did, I just wanted to tell you an adcom told me about taking part time classes.

 

[LUCPM]

Can't imagine having to go through this with 3 kids to take care of. Kudos to OP and the rest of you with so much more responsilities!

On a different note, at two of my recent interviews, my interviewers asked how I would balance my school and my family (I am only a father of one girl) while I'm in school. I had to intelligently defend myself by saying I will have to put the school work my top priority and make some 'temporary' sacrifice for this.

They also asked a bunch of questions, basically trying to figure out if I could handle the workload as a non-trad (i.e. If I was working during my post-bac years, what classes I had taken, if I had taken any full course load during my post-bac years, etc.).

So I would say Adcoms want to know if one can handle the rigors of med school, especially for non-trads. It doesn't necessarily mean you have to make 100% sacrifice but you will need to present some evidence that you can handle the work at some point. Best of luck!

 

[DrMidlife]

Sadly, I will either have to go to the med school next door (literally a short walking distance from my house), or none at all (I won't bore you with the details, but there are many factors that would make moving truly impossible). So my focus should really be on how to get into this one particular school. Not sure if I should say which one on here?

I don't get excited about any one individual who comments on their experience with any one particular school. But I do get excited about a large number of collected reports over multiple years from which I can discern a trend. Thus I'd recommend looking through the SDN interview feedback for your target school, and obsessively trolling the interview and acceptance threads for that school (heavily populated by kiddoes, but informative nonetheless) in pre-allo & allo. And, if you see somebody on SDN, who seems thoughtful and mature, who is at your target school, reach out.

Also, get obsessed with your target school's office of admissions, and any outreach they do. Take a peek at the admissions website at UWash (uwmedicine.washington.edu) for a basis of comparison - I think it's pretty good. Stay on top of any planned changes in prereqs or process.

In your shoes my plan of action would be to figure out what the target school's standards are, beat them, and assume it'll take multiple tries to get in.

Putting all your eggs in one basket is a weak plan. If you have no other choice, accept that your plan is weak and make the best of it.

Best of luck to you.

 

[thewilliams1]

I'm the primary bread-winner, husband and father of two. I don't see my kids as much as I'd like, but I try to make at least one game each weekend and I take them to school each morning, so I do get some face time.. albeit not a lot. Next semester I'm upping my course load from 7 credits to 13 and observing in an ER once a week, on top of 40+ hours at work. It seems like a lot. I'm planning on not sleeping or watching TV with my wife when I come home, but rather studying and homework... it feels 'doable'.

 

[LupaCupcake]

I would be careful with this.
I am a mommy and wife so I know it is hard and you have more kids than me, but they generally don't like it when people take on lighter workloads. (so I have heard, not like I am in yet)

If you can, try to balance out the workloads to make it work. Don't pick the easy classes all at once then the hardcore ones all at once. Balance it out with classes you know will come easier to you and the ones that will push you. This enables you to take on more classes without killing yourself. It is stressful sometimes. I am a daycare provider, mommy and I am currently taking over the allowed level of credits so I finish my bachelors a year early. I will be honest, some days I feel a little 😱. I learned that sometimes it is better for me to spend some hours with the family and just stay up late that night to work on school. So I lose a little more sleep...it is worth it and you will discover that quality family time can be very motivating and pick you back up to put your best foot forward in classes.

I am pretty much having an affair with my computer I am at this desk so often working on stuff and as I type this I am yawning lol, but going part time just does not look that good. Yes they are human, but I wonder if you would get to the point of an interview and being able to explain the reasons. I am not trying to sound negative. Just being realistic and probably a little cynical.

 

[cabinbuilder]

It is OK to do your bachelor's in 7 years - especially since you guys are having babies and doing your best to juggle class, work, and being a mom at the same time. It COUNTS.

I did my bachelor's in 7 years, had 2 kids, and went back and did one year post-bacc before getting in at age 32.

The BOTTOM LINE: the first semester of medical school is approx 35 credit hours and you CANNOT drop anything like in undergrad if the going gets tough. They just want to make sure that the students they let in are going to go the distance and make it through and pass all the board exams. I know that medical students who are also parents are exceptionally motivated to succeed and are generally more organized since your study time is generally halved when compared to the childless students. Hope that helps.

 

[ARE83]

I do see what you mean. Thank you. Sadly, I will either have to go to the med school next door (literally a short walking distance from my house), or none at all (I won't bore you with the details, but there are many factors that would make moving truly impossible). So my focus should really be on how to get into this one particular school. Not sure if I should say which one on here?

Just wanted to post to give you some hope re: limiting yourself to one school. I'm in a similar situation. My husband and I didn't want to move out of the area we live now due to his job, so I only applied to one school this cycle. I paid close attention to their requirements/average stats and participated in an invitation-only primary care event at the school the year before applying so they had some familiarity with me (and a file of evaluations/recommendations). My GPA was in their 90th percentile, and my MCAT score was above their accepted and matriculated averages. I took the MCAT in late May and submitted my AMCAS in late June as an Early Decision candidate to that school. I had planned ahead and sent my transcripts to AAMC prior to completing my AMCAS, so my application was processed within 30 minutes of submitting it. I kept on my letter writers to get their letters in by July 31. Interviewed at the school on September 21, and was accepted September 29. Sure, this doesn't happen all the time, but my point is that it IS possible.

BTW - I worked part-time and did a self-guided post-bacc part-time for 2 years because my degree is in the liberal arts. I did some shadowing (40 hours), I'm active in my church and volunteer there, and I did research at my post-bacc college this past summer. No one ever questioned me at my interview about my part-time work/part-time course schedule, or relative lack of volunteering/shadowing for that matter. Because compared to 90% of the people on here, my shadowing/volunteering looks pretty pitiful. My thoughts: your GPA (which is awesome!) and MCAT score will serve as proof that you can handle the course-work, and ad-coms will recognize that you have a whole level of responsibility as a parent and spouse that demonstrates maturity and dedication that 90% of the students you're competing with won't have. They'll certainly have experiences that demonstrate maturity and dedication, but just because yours may not be identical to theirs doesn't mean yours are any less valuable.

Good luck with the rest of your journey - I'm certain you'll be able to make this work with the school you're looking at. The only other thing I'd say is think about when you're going to take the MCAT. I know they're looking to change it, and 2015 sticks in my head as the year they're going to make the major changes. From what I remember of the changes I read about, I was very glad I already took it...