So now what?

[ramizlol]

Hello!
I am a dual enrolled at my CC soon to be dual enrolled at Wayne State University! My high school stats are complete crap. My HS GPA is 2.7, while my college GPA is 3.78. I am taking four classes my CC and they are A&P 1, General Chem 1, Sociology, and English. I have taken Biology 1, Speech, and Political Science. I haven't gotten anything under A-. I have solid A in every class I am currently enrolled in. By the end of this semester I should have 29 credits, yay! I will be taking four classes this summer. They will be all electives. Then, I will start my fall semester at Wayne to take the rest of my classes to finish my bachelor. I can finish my bachelor at 20 years old. My problem is how medical school will look at me. Maturity wise, will this give me any trouble. Personally, I used to think this was an advantage, but it seems like its more of disadvantage...

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[Johnny Appleseed]

Hello!
I am a dual enrolled at my CC soon to be dual enrolled at Wayne State University! My high school stats are complete crap. My HS GPA is 2.7, while my college GPA is 3.78. I am taking four classes my CC and they are A&P 1, General Chem 1, Sociology, and English. I have taken Biology 1, Speech, and Political Science. I haven't gotten anything under A-. I have solid A in every class I am currently enrolled in. By the end of this semester I should have 29 credits, yay! I will be taking four classes this summer. They will be all electives. Then, I will start my fall semester at Wayne to take the rest of my classes to finish my bachelor. I can finish my bachelor at 20 years old. My problem is how medical school will look at me. Maturity wise, will this give me any trouble. Personally, I used to think this was an advantage, but it seems like its more of disadvantage...

It sounds like you are nailing the academic side of things, so good job! I wish I had started out like you. As for what is next, your grades are really only a part of what med schools are looking for. You need to start working on getting real experience in the medical field. Start getting experience in things like volunteering, research, leadership, shadowing and clinical experience. You also need to think about the MCAT, and how you plan to get a good score on that. In my opinion your age is still a huge advantage, because you have time to acquire those other things you need for your application. For others, like me, time to acquire those things is running thin! That is just my limited and non-expertise advice. Good luck to you!

 

[Doctor Dream]

I'm just an undergrad, so take my opinion for what it's worth, but I would think that as long as you feel you're a mature adult, you shouldn't have any issues. If adcoms can see that you're professional, articulate, and mature, I don't see why they'd view you any differently than a 30 year old applicant with the same qualities.

 

[ramizlol]

It sounds like you are nailing the academic side of things, so good job! I wish I had started out like you. As for what is next, your grades are really only a part of what med schools are looking for. You need to start working on getting real experience in the medical field. Start getting experience in things like volunteering, research, leadership, shadowing and clinical experience. You also need to think about the MCAT, and how you plan to get a good score on that. In my opinion your age is still a huge advantage, because you have time to acquire those other things you need for your application. For others, like me, time to acquire those things is running thin! That is just my limited and non-expertise advice. Good luck to you!

I already have contacted this hospice place near me to let me volunteer. I am going to start next week hopefully! My age is disadvantage when it comes to finding jobs in medical field. Also, I originally started planning to go pharmacy instead of medical. I feel like I should take my PCAT and apply to Wayne Pharmacy school this Fall. If I do get accepted I might go into pharmacy, If I do not get accepted I will keep going into medicine. I would have done about 41 credits and only have 4 more remaining classes to take to finished the requirement for Wayne Pharmacy school. I would also have the volunteering experience and hopefully some shadowing too. My biggest fear is if I do accepted into pharmacy and decide to not go into pharmacy and instead go into medicine. Then, I get rejected from medical school would be devastating.

 

[ramizlol]

I'm just an undergrad, so take my opinion for what it's worth, but I would think that as long as you feel you're a mature adult, you shouldn't have any issues. If adcoms can see that you're professional, articulate, and mature, I don't see why they'd view you any differently than a 30 year old applicant with the same qualities.

I do not consider my self as fully mature yet, but I still have 3 more years to fully mature. I do find myself very responsible, self motivated, and efficient.

 

[Johnny Appleseed]

I already have contacted this hospice place near me to let me volunteer. I am going to start next week hopefully! My age is disadvantage when it comes to finding jobs in medical field. Also, I originally started planning to go pharmacy instead of medical. I feel like I should take my PCAT and apply to Wayne Pharmacy school this Fall. If I do get accepted I might go into pharmacy, If I do not get accepted I will keep going into medicine. I would have done about 41 credits and only have 4 more remaining classes to take to finished the requirement for Wayne Pharmacy school. I would also have the volunteering experience and hopefully some shadowing too. My biggest fear is if I do accepted into pharmacy and decide to not go into pharmacy and instead go into medicine. Then, I get rejected from medical school would be devastating.

I have to agree with Doctor Dream. If you feel and act like a mature adult, you will be treated like one. I know plenty of 30+ year old people that are a lot less mature than some teenagers I know. I don't think you need to worry so much about your age; focus on your GPA, ECs and MCAT, prove that you are a mature adult through those avenues. You have a tough decision to make with pharmacy and med school. My only suggestion is don't let the idea of not getting into med school stop you. Its not easy, but if you really want it, you can get it. Its good to have a back up plan, but don't stray away from medicine because of fear.

 

[Doctor Dream]

I already have contacted this hospice place near me to let me volunteer. I am going to start next week hopefully! My age is disadvantage when it comes to finding jobs in medical field. Also, I originally started planning to go pharmacy instead of medical. I feel like I should take my PCAT and apply to Wayne Pharmacy school this Fall. If I do get accepted I might go into pharmacy, If I do not get accepted I will keep going into medicine. I would have done about 41 credits and only have 4 more remaining classes to take to finished the requirement for Wayne Pharmacy school. I would also have the volunteering experience and hopefully some shadowing too. My biggest fear is if I do accepted into pharmacy and decide to not go into pharmacy and instead go into medicine. Then, I get rejected from medical school would be devastating.

I was in a situation similar to yours a couple months ago actually, I was a pre-pharmacy student and had been pursuing the career for about 3 years before I decided to make the switch to medicine. I always shied away from medicine because med schools are very competitive, and I didn't really have faith in myself or my abilities. My first year and a half of undergrad though I worked hard in school, got awesome grades, did some leadership EC's and volunteering, and pretty soon I had a profile that was competitive for both pharmacy and med schools. I also worked as an in-patient pharmacy technician for about a year, and found out that I liked pharmacy and the idea of being a pharmacist, but it wasn't something that I got really excited about, nor did I want to be pharmacist for 40+ years. Pharmacy doesn't have the face-to-face patient interaction, and doesn't have the "caregiving" aspect of healthcare to the extent that medicine does, which is something really important to me. If I were you, I would look at what you truly want to do with your career. If it really is pharmacy, then work hard, keep getting good grades, dominate the PCAT, and apply to pharmacy school. If it really is medicine, the road might be longer and harder, but if you truly want it and do all that you can to prepare yourself, you WILL get in somewhere. There are numerous threads on here that can attest to that. In your case, I would definitely look at shadowing both medical doctors and pharmacists and really get a sense of what both do, and then make a decision. You don't want to spend 40+ years in a profession you don't like.

As far as age and medical careers goes, I got hired as a pharmacy tech when I was 19, and we hired someone a couple months ago who was 18. I also have friends who work as CNA's and they got hired when they were about 18. I don't think age is too much of an issue with medical careers, you just need to look in the right places. If you're a promising pharmacy, med, nursing, or whatever student, a lot of places would love to have you working for them.

 

[Goro]

We do not care what your high school performance was like.

I am a dual enrolled at my CC soon to be dual enrolled at Wayne State University! My high school stats are complete crap. My HS GPA is 2.7, while my college GPA is 3.78.

If you come across as being mature at interviews, you're fine. I've interviewed several people who started and finished college early and they were fine. Your LORs will go a long way in cementing this.


I am taking four classes my CC and they are A&P 1, General Chem 1, Sociology, and English. I have taken Biology 1, Speech, and Political Science. I haven't gotten anything under A-. I have solid A in every class I am currently enrolled in. By the end of this semester I should have 29 credits, yay! I will be taking four classes this summer. They will be all electives. Then, I will start my fall semester at Wayne to take the rest of my classes to finish my bachelor. I can finish my bachelor at 20 years old. My problem is how medical school will look at me. Maturity wise, will this give me any trouble. Personally, I used to think this was an advantage, but it seems like its more of disadvantage...[/quote]

 

[gyngyn]

The last 19 year old we interviewed, responded more like a 12 year old. It wasn't her chronological age that tanked her.