Realistic med school pathway (SWE -> premed)

[hazlexnut]

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Hi folks! I'm looking for some feedback on where I stand in terms of med school applications and realistically what would be a good plan to prepare to apply to med school. I'm 5 years out of undergrad, and have been working as a software engineer for that time.

Stats at a glance:
Undergrad: Ivy League
Major: Applied Math + Computer Science
uGPA: 3.86, sGPA: 3.33

I'm missing most of the premed core courses, have to take 7-8 classes.
Hours:
Clinical: ~60 hours ER volunteer (2016)
Shadowing: 0 hours
Leadership: not sure what counts, maybe ~50-100 depending on what I describe as leadership
Nonclinical Volunteer: ~250 hours, and ongoing

• ~70 hrs from undergrad
• Rest from Mental Health Phone Line, Food Bank, Harm Reduction (graduation - now, consistent)

Research: (pretty old, freshman / sophomore year) ~1000 hours
- Pathology Lab affiliated with hospital: ~200 hours
- Research w/ NASA lab: ~800 hours, presentation at conference, co-author PLOS paper (kind of a fake publication)

MCAT: haven't taken

URM/Identity:
- ORM/Asian, not economically disadvantaged
- California Resident
- Transgender (visible/vocal, involved in LGBT advocacy)

Questions:

1. Not sure if I would benefit from applying to "competitive" post-baccs since I think I'm a semi competitive applicant (ie. Scripps, Bryn Mawr, etc.) which statistically would give me a high chance of getting into med school but is expensive vs. doing a DIY post-bacc in the Bay Area where I'm currently pretty rooted and have ongoing clinical and nonclinical relationships I'm cultivating + my support system is here.
2. Does my research need to be "fresh"? I have a bunch of hours but it's from almost a decade ago.

Perceived strengths:
- Strong consistent thread of serving URM/marginalized populations through volunteer and ECs out of school
- Solid undergrad performance in a difficult major from a "prestigious" institution
Perceived weaknesses:
- Weak ugrad science GPA (hopefully will be remediated by post-bacc performance)
- Old research
- Lack of clinical hours
- Lack of shadowing

My current plan is to complete my missing coursework requirements + take the MCAT over the next couple years through either DIY or structured postbacc, continue my non-clinical volunteering, work as a medical assistant to get clinical hours, and find someone to shadow at some point. I foresee this process taking 2 years if things go smoothly academically, and 3 years if not before I can apply. Hoping to get some thoughts and feedback both on where I stand and whether I'm missing something important in my plans for preparing to apply.

 

[Faha]

You should accumulate 50 hours of in person physician shadowing (including primary care) The more clinical and non clinical hours the better (ideally 250+ of each). You could do a DIY post bacc at a local college and take all the prerequisites there.

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

I was in a similar position to you albeit graduated in 2014, got a tech-ish MS, and had a lower uGPA. Took me about 3 years to get everything done while working full time. This was my app that resulted in 1 MD A, older WAMC linked in this thread too:

MD & DO - WAMC - Nontrad Career Changer ~3.4 cGPA, ~3.6 sGPA 509 MCAT

Hello again, yall. Unfortunately the cycle has ended very unsuccessfully for me, with zero II. My best guess for this is that I hadn't completed enough science coursework for schools to be confident with my app. That should be fixed this time around with all of the prereqs under my belt and a...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

I had to do most of my DIY post bacc remotely because I lived in BFE and the only local uni didn't take post bacc students unless you paid for their absurd $65k program. That did limit my options somewhat but most of the social justice oriented places were on my list and I got into UVM which is 25-30% queer per their own report. 🙂