Question on what to do after undergrad

[Alphadorian]

Dear Sirs:

Just a quick bit of background and then a question! I'm 27 years old and have worked for a major health care insurance company for 8 years with doctors and hospitals. I help them send electronic transactions and claims. I'm also married, and my wife fully supports the effort to attain the dream of being an MD.

In any case, I'm working on my undergrad - I'm a medicinal chem major with a poli sci minor. I'll finish in 2.5 years or so. I have been reading everything I can on the process, what is need from volunteer service, ensuring that I am pursuing the career for the right reasons, research, test prep, etc.

I just finished reading through the document published under "The Not So Short Introduction to Med School." If I read correctly, the author had more eduction after his undergrad prior to apping to the medical school of his choice.

As I understood it a person could finish their undergrad, have the required courses, GPA, MCAT scores, volunteer, research, and have a shot at getting into a good Med school. My GPA is 3.85 so far, and I haven't taken my MCATS.

Does a person in my situation need post undergrad education prior to applying to Med School?

Lastly, any tips on the process anyone would care to share?

This is my first post, though I've read the forums for a few weeks now.

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[bradt9881]

Does a person in my situation need post undergrad education prior to applying to Med School?

There is no need for further education if your GPA is as solid as it is now on graduation. There is just a lot of us old folks who had no idea they wanted medicine (or in my case physician assistant) and our GPAs were low, requiring us to go back to school to improve them. It took me 2 additional years 24 years after graduation to go from 2.7 to 3.2.

Good luck on med school and the MCATS in 2 years.

 

[Alphadorian]

Thank you for the quick response. I appreciate the support these forums provide for folks hoping to get into med school.

 

[sindadel]

What's up with the "Dear Sirs"?

There do happen to be a few women hanging around these boards.

If English is your second language (I hope!) then I would suggest doing what you can to improve that, or the MCAT Verbal will likely be very difficult for you.

 

[Alphadorian]

"Dear Sirs:" is an older formal salutation. "Sirs" in this case would be gender-neutral. I apologize if that offends. Perhaps a PC course is in order for me.

 

[sindadel]

The formality is out of place on a message board of students. Furthermore, "Sirs" has not been considered gender-neutral in business writing for some time.

If you want a gender-neutral salutation, I'd suggest gems such as:

Hi -
Hello -
Greetings -

or the ever popular, if somewhat stilted:

To Whom It May Concern:

Hope this helps. I find that use of "Sirs" not exactly offensive, but a suggestion that either a) you think there are no/few women around or b) are not very familiar with English usage. It's not about political correctness at all, but about using the language appropriately.

 

[Alphadorian]

Thanks for the tips.