Seeking your advice!

[deleted393700]

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Hello everyone!

I've really hit a wall with my pre-medical/post-bacc study situation and I have no idea what to do. I'm desperate and I really need your help. I'll try to keep it as short as possible.


Background

I have a BA in religion, and an MA in the same field from an Ivy League University. For various reasons, I decided that I want to go to medical school, and I applied and was accepted to the HCP program at the Harvard Extension School.

However, I was working as a scribe, about 60 hours a week, mostly overnights, and I had to withdraw from the classes because I was WAY overloaded (so there is one W on my transcript - how awful is this, by the way?). A few months later I was fired from my job (long story - manager and I had a poor working relationship - swear it wasn't my fault). I applied to Bryn Mawr, Goucher and Hopkins and was rejected from 2/3 with no interview, and it looks like I'll be rejected from the third as well.


My Question

Since my whole life is basically falling apart, I am able - and seriously considering - picking up and moving and starting over somewhere new. I am interested in wide array of topics including spirituality in medicine, preventative medicine, and medical ethics. I was thinking that I could apply to the UChicago grad student at large program and take the courses there (this is my dream med school and they have an amazing religion program as well), or maybe the Penn program, the UC program, or California, really, anywhere.

Should I move somewhere new? Stay in the Boston area and try again at the Harvard Extension School (despite my previous withdrawal)?

Also - what kinds of jobs would you recommend I look for? I'd love to have a research job, but I doubt my academic history in the humanities is very impressive to scientists. Though I did scribe for over a year in the ED so I do know medical terminology quite well....

Anyway - ANY help wold be appreciated. So much is going so wrong for me right now that I'm having trouble thinking clearly and making a plan. But do keep in mind that this is a tumultuous time for me, so kind words and gentle suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you so very much!

-ReligionMD

 

[common man]

first, i don't see too much damage here. ok, you got fired from a job. no biggie. one W? that' not a biggie either (if it was several Ws that'd be something else). how many Ws did you get? what does your HES transcript look like?

based on your description of things that interest you (spiritual healer etc.) you don't sound like you're certain that you want to be a medical doctor. no problem. just figure out what interests you, take your time, and test it out. now, for you to work 60 hours / week AND take classes, shows that you grossly underestimated HES (awesome school btw!) and underestimated coursework. so i would definitely take a time out before you lose more money and do poorly. even a 40 hour full time job while doing HES courses is crazy. courses get first priority IMO, then activities, and if you are doing them well and have time for a part time job, then do it.

 

[deleted393700]

Hey! Thanks for your reply! I understand that from what I wrote above it sounds as though I'm not certain, but I am definitely certain that I want to be a physician - I just didn't want to write a huge essay explaining why since there was already a lot of information I wanted to convey. Also, I think I underestimated my job, to be honest - I agree that courses should be my priority.

Yes - it's one W, but since it was in Physics, I thought it would be a bigger deal? It makes me feel a bit better that you seem to think it isn't. So do you think I should pick up at HES if possible?

 

[common man]

one W is not a big deal at all. avoid it in the future and bury it with As. you should definitely pick up at HES - however, I would tread cautiously. get your feet wet with a class or two, make sure you've adjusted before you really pick up. this is especially true for core pre med classes. space it out even if it takes time. you gotta get the As. in my experience, credit for credit, core pre med classes are more time consuming than even some upper level science classes. i guess it's because they are survey courses where you have higher volume.

 

[deleted393700]

Thanks so much for your advice! This is so immensely helpful. Can I ask why you recommend staying at HES? I was sort of leaning towards UChicago (even though they don't write a committee letter) because it's a fresh start, new city, and a university I have wanted to be at for a long while. Also - how important is a committee letter to an application? Thanks SO much for your help - it really does mean a lot to me.

 

[common man]

HES is popular here on SDN, it has a good reputation, IIRC its tuition is very reasonable, I've heard of people at HES being very successful, and Cambridge is one of the best cities for pre-meds with its many opportunities. I myself took classes at HES (but not pre-med classes) and was very pleased with my experience. I'm not familiar with Chicago. However, since it's you who's doing this and not me, your preferences have more weight. If you think you'll do better in Chicago, go for it!

Committee letter IMO is important because you want to make it as easy as possible for the adcoms to admit you. They expect a committee letter and if you don't have it they are puzzled. It makes their job a bit tougher. The committee letter keeps everything organized. Of course, a committee letter is supposed to help you so that's another plus. I just did my committee interview because I'll be applying this cycle and my letter writer asked repeatedly what my best quality was, my strengths, etc. They're trying to help you so it's a great opportunity. However, the most important factor by far, is that GPA.

 

[deleted248403]

Committee letter IMO is important because you want to make it as easy as possible for the adcoms to admit you. They expect a committee letter and if you don't have it they are puzzled. It makes their job a bit tougher. The committee letter keeps everything organized. Of course, a committee letter is supposed to help you so that's another plus. I just did my committee interview because I'll be applying this cycle and my letter writer asked repeatedly what my best quality was, my strengths, etc. They're trying to help you so it's a great opportunity. However, the most important factor by far, is that GPA.

Not true in the slightest.

Go look in the HES thread and see how many of them are actually pursuing a committee letter.

I didn't get a committee letter from Penn and can promise you didn't come up once on the interview trail. They didnt even mention my LOR.

Never make a decision based on a committee letter.

 

[deleted393700]

Wow you guys are super helpful - i really appreciate both your perspectives - thanks so much! I do have to admit that I did have quite a negative experience at HES, and I felt quite unsupported. This, coupled with a hectic work schedule, is what resulted in my withdrawal, to be honest.

 

[deleted393700]

Sorry! Submitted too soon on the mobile app.

Anyway - I'm a bit nervous to start back up there to be honest. Location is, indeed important. But maybe a fresh start will be good? Anyway - would it be better to show that I could do well despite having previously had a W there, or would it be ok to just start somewhere new?

 

[brew]

Sorry! Submitted too soon on the mobile app.

Anyway - I'm a bit nervous to start back up there to be honest. Location is, indeed important. But maybe a fresh start will be good? Anyway - would it be better to show that I could do well despite having previously had a W there, or would it be ok to just start somewhere new?

If the only reason you don't want to move is because you want to show you can get past a W and get a better grade, you should start packing your bags 😀

One W isn't that big of a deal and if it does come up, just tell the admissions committee what you told us. I doubt they will even ask. From reading this thread, it seems like you are set on going to Chicago. Don't let the W bog you down. Good luck wherever you decide to go!

 

[smiley27]

Wow you guys are super helpful - i really appreciate both your perspectives - thanks so much! I do have to admit that I did have quite a negative experience at HES, and I felt quite unsupported. This, coupled with a hectic work schedule, is what resulted in my withdrawal, to be honest.

Hey Religion, that's unfortunate HES left you with a sour taste. It sounds like you want a fresh start in a new city and you should go to where you will be happy with your personal life so you will do well in class. But I imagine UC's tuition to be much more than HES, right?

Were you just taking physics and working full-time?

 

[RegisBioMedMS]

Have you visited the University of Chicago yet? If not, I highly recommend you make a trip before you enroll. It has a very distinctive culture that is great for many students, but really difficult for others to get used to. Hyde Park is kind of an unusual "island" and is not your typical Chicago city neighborhood at all. Again, wonderful for some, tough for others to handle. Take the time to make a trip, talk to enrolled students and do your groundwork.

For jobs, check into clinical research coordination... Loyola, Northwestern, U of Chicago and Rush have good sized clinical research programs. That would be interesting for you. Your scribe experience will help you get the job, if you don't point fingers at your "bad" employer. Play it cool there.

Most of all, relax. You don't need to feel defensive. 🙂 It is all good.

 

[JaeTare]

hey religionmd, i saw your post on the jhu waitlist thread.

i definitely second the post before this. also, i wanted to reach out to you since i did my undergraduate at the university of chicago, so if you have any questions about the school, definitely feel free to message me!