Recent engineering graduate, please help!

[ponderingripple]

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Hi SDN,

I'm new to this forum and would really appreciate any advice people have to offer. I've been sifting through online forums but haven't really found anyone similar to my position. I've been thinking about medical school throughout my undergraduate and graduate programs. However, after graduating and working full time for a year, I went through a crisis and finally realized that I really want to be a doctor.

Background:
B.S/M.S. in Electrical Engineering
Undergraduate: UCLA - GPA: 3.94/4.00
Graduate: Stanford - GPA: 3.83/4.00
Relevant Background:
- Research in biomedical sensors and monitoring systems (1 year - published 2nd author small journal)
- Research position in design of nuclear medicine imaging systems (1/2 year)
- Small community volunteering events
I'm currently working in the hardware industry and have worked/interned at large well-known hardware companies.

I've been accumulating a lot of information from forums and other online resources but I'm not sure how to act. I have most of the physics/math medical pre-reqs satisifed from college but have little to no coursework in the biological/chemistry area. Due to my college major, I have barely any medical related experience on hand.

From trying to enroll in a post-bac to taking classes at a CC, what is the best way to fulfill the prereqs and appear as a competitive candidate to medical school admissions? Where do you start approaching volunteering and clinical opportunities? Is it possible for a non-traditional applicant to be accepted in top tier medical schools? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for any input!

 

[SrootsWwings]

Hi SDN,

I'm new to this forum and would really appreciate any advice people have to offer.

Greetings and salutations!

However, after graduating and working full time for a year, I went through a crisis and finally realized that I really want to be a doctor.

Take this with plenty of salt, as I'm just some schmo from the Internet, but it is most likely prudent to confirm the assuredness of your desire to be a doctor (i.e., that's where you want to be moving forward, and it's not just out of the frying pan and into the fire). Volunteering/shadowing/clinical experience is good for that.

Your GPA is like a shiny, new M5 next to my '95 Geo. Relish it. There are several conversations regarding post-bacc options. Below are links to two different stickies: 1) the non-trad FAQ's and helpful links, which is where it's at, and 2) the general 2012-2013 applicant sticky, which contains links on the AMCAS application in series. You can learn a lot from both of these.

 

[SrootsWwings]

And the links, because they are just like attachments and e-mails:

Freshly updatedNon-trad FAQs and Helpful Links: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=532079

2012-2013 Applicant sticky: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=897817

 

[didanawisgi]

There may be others who will offer opinions based on more insight into the process, but from what I've gathered after reading this site for a couple years I think you would be fine doing the community college route. I understood it to be that admissions committees frowned on CC classes because they didn't show whether or not a student was capable of succeeding in a more rigorous curriculum. Your background will remove any doubt.

If I were you, I'd continue working, ace your bio pre-reqs at a CC, and shadow/volunteer all that you can. Doing so will give you experience that most undergrads will not - leadership, project management, etc. Additionally, it will give you some time to reflect and ensure that your decision is what you really want - something you will gain from 100s of ER volunteering and shadowing. Lastly, it will provide an opportunity to save up some money and have a bit of a cushion during med school.

To be sure, though, contact the schools you're interested in and get their opinion. Tell them your situation, your GPA, and your intentions. Not only will you get the word from the horse's mouth, you can start building a report with them. If you're interested in a school close-by, you may be able to volunteer or shadow with doctors that are affiliated with the school...

 

[nashaiy]

Glad to here someone else out there is like me. I have an engineering undergrad as well (no masters though) although I do already have some of the med pre-requisites because I took the option of "biomedical" as a sub specialty to my engineering degree. So let me offer the minimal advice I have based on the fact that I have many friends who also graduated in engineering and are in medical school and from the research I did:

1. Find out the pre-requisites first! I know this sounds stupid but there are several schools that are taking away pre-requisite course requirements for entrance into medical school. I'm in Canada so I don't know if it's the same for other countries but there are schools here taking away their course requirements and making them "recommended" instead. So, maybe you can save some time by not having to do all of the pre-requisites first.

2. Find out what the med school looks for in terms of the MCAT and take the MCAT with that in mind. To elaborate, some medical schools just want a minimum in each of the sections and then ignore any grade above that. So it doesn't matter if you just barely meet the minimum or exceed it by a large margin. Some schools consider some sections above others (i.e. I know of a school that only looks at the Verbal section). Thus, find out what your school looks for and study with that in mind. If you are planning to take a lot of pre-requisites, I would take the MCAT after because that course material is basically what is tested on the MCAT. However, for Canada, it will increase the application process by a year.

3. Have some sort of extra-curricular activity. Most people think medical research or volunteering at a hospital is ideal but I disagree. I find that many medical schools are now taking into account work experience and other extra curriculars. I think they just want to see that you haven't sat in your room for x number of years and studied. They want to see community involvement in some way. And especially something different as they probably have thousands of applicants with the "cookie-cutter" research and hospital volunteering. You already have some really relevant research (and are published!) so I think you're good but just continue to do something in the community or outside of work so that it your extra-curriculars aren't just bunched into small sections from a long time ago.

As for if you should take the pre-requisites in a CC or as a post-bac, I really don't think it matters. Your GPA will be what counts and for a lot of schools, they count the GPA based on years of full time study so the grades you get for your pre-requisites might not even matter. At least that is what I have been told since I don't yet have the pre-requisites entirely but the admissions offices at the schools I contacted said that my GPA will be calculated from my engineering degree and not from the pre-requisite courses because those won't be full time years.

Anyway, hope that helped somewhat as I am in a similar boat to you. I am currently studying for the MCAT (procrastinating is more like it) and applying for admission for 2013.

Good luck!👍

 

[dmf2682]

I know this sounds stupid but there are several schools that are taking away pre-requisite course requirements for entrance into medical school. I'm in Canada so I don't know if it's the same for other countries but there are schools here taking away their course requirements and making them "recommended" instead. So, maybe you can save some time by not having to do all of the pre-requisites first.

2. Find out what the med school looks for in terms of the MCAT and take the MCAT with that in mind. To elaborate, some medical schools just want a minimum in each of the sections and then ignore any grade above that. So it doesn't matter if you just barely meet the minimum or exceed it by a large margin. Some schools consider some sections above others (i.e. I know of a school that only looks at the Verbal section). Thus, find out what your school looks for and study with that in mind. If you are planning to take a lot of pre-requisites, I would take the MCAT after because that course material is basically what is tested on the MCAT. However, for Canada, it will increase the application process by a year.

3. Have some sort of extra-curricular activity. Most people think medical research or volunteering at a hospital is ideal but I disagree. I find that many medical schools are now taking into account work experience and other extra curriculars. I think they just want to see that you haven't sat in your room for x number of years and studied. They want to see community involvement in some way. And especially something different as they probably have thousands of applicants with the "cookie-cutter" research and hospital volunteering. You already have some really relevant research (and are published!) so I think you're good but just continue to do something in the community or outside of work so that it your extra-curriculars aren't just bunched into small sections from a long time ago.

As for if you should take the pre-requisites in a CC or as a post-bac, I really don't think it matters. Your GPA will be what counts and for a lot of schools, they count the GPA based on years of full time study so the grades you get for your pre-requisites might not even matter. At least that is what I have been told since I don't yet have the pre-requisites entirely but the admissions offices at the schools I contacted said that my GPA will be calculated from my engineering degree and not from the pre-requisite courses because those won't be full time years.

Yeah Ive never heard of what you're talking about in items 1 & 2. Can you please post sources or references? Also, all grades are looked at, period. Some may be looked at with more scrutiny but all will be looked at.

 

[nashaiy]

If you look at the University of Calgary's site (as I mentioned, I am from Canada), they have taken out the requirements for pre-requisite courses and made them recommended. The same is true for University of Calgary's use of MCAT scores. Their applicant manual states that only the verbal score is considered and the rest of the score might be used holistically along with GPA, course load, types of courses to determine your academic ability to ensure you can handle a medical school course load. The page that has the downloadable applicant manual is linked below:

http://www.ucalgary.ca/mdprogram/admissions

Also, the University of Toronto (in Canada) has changed their pre-requisites to a more general requirement. Thus, you just need 2 years (or 4 semesters) of life sciences courses (could be biology, biochemistry, organic chemistry, etc) and 1 year (or 2 semesters) of social sciences (history, economics, etc.). Thus, there is a bit more leniency in the course requirements.

In terms of universities considering only a minimum grade on sections of the MCAT, this is true for the University of Toronto as well. They want a minimum of 9 in each section and an N on the writing sample (don't quote me on the writing sample letter grade, I have to double check that one) and then they ignore the rest of the MCAT score. To verify this, I actually called their admissions department and they said it doesn't matter if you get the minimum (9 on each section) or a 13 on each section, it is considered the same. Once you meet the minimum, they don't look at your MCAT anymore.

In terms of looking at grades, I again called all universities I am applying to in order to verify which grades are considered. Grades are pretty much looked at in order to calculate GPA and it is a weighted average based on credits. I asked if it mattered that some of my pre-requisites were either done through I.B. (similar to AP) in high school or even during a non-full-time semester. They said that the GPA calculation will take away my lowest year (or lowest semester or grade depending on the uni) and calculate my GPA based on the other 3 full time years. And that is the only thing they consider the grades for. Thus, even though some of my pre-requisites will come from I.B. courses or during non-full-time semesters, they will not be considered at all because they won't be in the GPA calculation. That is the way the admissions department in every university described it to me but it's probably different at different universities.

I hope that helps!