Starting undergrad at 30 years old advice needed

[TomatoGrower]

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Background (feel free to skip if you would like)

I am a 30 year old mother who just re-entered the work force after staying at home with my children. I have always dreamed of becoming a physician but when I graduated high school I was not even close to being mature enough to complete college. I started a 4 year university but dropped out after 2 semesters. I only have 30 undergraduate credits. I am starting school again with the plan to pursue a degree in Biology. I currently work as a licensed substitute teacher for my children's school district. My husband is a Senior software engineer for a FAANG so we are lucky enough to be very close to financial independence. As a gift to me for taking care of the children in their early years (and managing their complex early intervention programs) we are putting our focus on my pursuit of a career. My husband works remotely so we can move anywhere in the US for my education.

Questions

In order to save money and keep a flexible schedule I would like to attend community college and transfer to a 4 year school to finish my undergrad. Will this work against me when I apply to medical schools?

I currently live in Oregon. There are only two medical schools in the state. Should I consider moving to another state, like Texas, for my undergrad? Is there any state that is incredibly advantageous to live in with regards to medical school applications?

I have ties to Illinois because I graduated from high school in Illinois, southern IL. Would that help me with applications to Illinois schools? I really dislike the property tax rate in IL but I wouldn't mind living there otherwise.

I know I will need clinical experience for my application. I was considering getting an EMT B certification this summer. Will work as an EMT B or MA be helpful for an application?

Thanks in advance!

 

[SpoiledMilk]

If you move from the PNW to Texas with a goal of attending one of the now 15 medschools in the state, then you won't be the first one I am aware of. A fellow SDNer who lived in Washington state also moved their entire family (spouse, kids) to Texas to est residency and attended a community college during a DIY PB to go at a Texas medschool. Many Texas schools do not look down upon CC credits and value non-trads with life experiences. As long as your cGPA and sGPA are uber high with a slightly above average MCAT score, you have a good shot at Texas medschools. Google the TMDSAS website for the current stats of matriculants.

EMT B or MA will be helpful as clinical experience, but you will need also PC shadowing (50hrs minimum), non-clinical volunteering, and the other boxes checked. Property taxes are high here also, but at least no state income taxes, and lower COL...

 

[Bonne Nuit]

Background (feel free to skip if you would like)

I am a 30 year old mother who just re-entered the work force after staying at home with my children. I have always dreamed of becoming a physician but when I graduated high school I was not even close to being mature enough to complete college. I started a 4 year university but dropped out after 2 semesters. I only have 30 undergraduate credits. I am starting school again with the plan to pursue a degree in Biology. I currently work as a licensed substitute teacher for my children's school district. My husband is a Senior software engineer for a FAANG so we are lucky enough to be very close to financial independence. As a gift to me for taking care of the children in their early years (and managing their complex early intervention programs) we are putting our focus on my pursuit of a career. My husband works remotely so we can move anywhere in the US for my education.

Questions

In order to save money and keep a flexible schedule I would like to attend community college and transfer to a 4 year school to finish my undergrad. Will this work against me when I apply to medical schools?

I currently live in Oregon. There are only two medical schools in the state. Should I consider moving to another state, like Texas, for my undergrad? Is there any state that is incredibly advantageous to live in with regards to medical school applications?

I have ties to Illinois because I graduated from high school in Illinois, southern IL. Would that help me with applications to Illinois schools? I really dislike the property tax rate in IL but I wouldn't mind living their otherwise.

I know I will need clinical experience for my application. I was considering getting an EMT B certification this summer. Will work as an EMT B or MA be helpful for an application?

Thanks in advance!

I am also from the PNW and believe me, I feel your pain regarding the lack of medical schools in our corner of the country!

Basically, your application strategy is going to be to apply to OHSU and then as many OOS private schools (or the small handful of public schools that accept OOS) as you can afford. I think you should move to Texas only if you want to live in Texas. Applying TMDSAS is likely going to limit you to only the Texas schools (and maybe some OOS DO) - which is fine if you want to put down roots there! Otherwise, it's probably just easier to stay in Oregon, honestly.

Graduating HS in a state is usually considered a "strong tie" so you might qualify for special consideration at the IL schools. You could always reach out to the admissions offices to check; sometimes this information is on school websites as well.

Regarding 4-year vs. CC: 4 year is always best just because it's universally preferred, but some CC credits are usually OK. Medical schools typically like to see that you've taken your difficult science coursework at a 4 year, so try to take as many prerequisites as you can after you transfer. I recommend buying a subscription to the Medical School Admissions Requirements database (~$30/year) to do more research about which schools allow CC and which want to see all 4-year coursework.

Have you shadowed a physician yet? I think you should do that first before you start planning out major life moves. EMT can be great clinical experience for an application, but I still think you should spend some time shadowing a primary care physician before you start working on putting any of the other puzzle pieces in place.

 

[TomatoGrower]

If you move from the PNW to Texas with a goal of attending one of the now 15 medschools in the state, then you won't be the first one I am aware of. A fellow SDNer who lived in Washington state also moved their entire family (spouse, kids) to Texas to est residency and attended a community college during a DIY PB to go at a Texas medschool. Many Texas schools do not look down upon CC credits and value non-trads with life experiences. As long as your cGPA and sGPA are uber high with a slightly above average MCAT score, you have a good shot at Texas medschools. Google the TMDSAS website for the current stats of matriculants.

EMT B or MA will be helpful as clinical experience, but you will need also PC shadowing (50hrs minimum), non-clinical volunteering, and the other boxes checked. Property taxes are high here also, but at least no state income taxes, and lower COL...

Thank you for this information. I was born in Texas and I have a lot of extended family there. Property taxes in TX are higher than OR but the lack of income tax is nice. I took a look at TMDSAS stats for matriculants in '20 and '19 per your recommendation and it was very encouraging. I love that the Texas schools are so affordable.

I have not yet shadowed a physician but I will absolutely do so very soon. I already have many hours of non-clinical volunteering and will continue to accrue more during undergrad.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

If you and your H decide to move back to Tx and have further questions about medschool admissions, PM me.

Edit: Having reread your original post, when was the date of your last college course during your first 30 credits? Have you actually re-enrolled in college or not yet? What was your cGPA and sGPA during these 30 credits? I am asking because you could possibly use Texas Academic Fresh Start if your last college course was 10 years or older, you have not re-enrolled in college recently, your GPAs are low, and you want a clean slate. College For All Texans: Academic Fresh Start

 

[TomatoGrower]

If you and your H decide to move back to Tx and have further questions about medschool admissions, PM me.

Edit: Having reread your original post, when was the date of your last college course during your first 30 credits? Have you actually re-enrolled in college or not yet? What was your cGPA and sGPA during these 30 credits? I am asking because you could possibly use Texas Academic Fresh Start if your last college course was 10 years or older, you have not re-enrolled in college recently, your GPAs are low, and you want a clean slate. College For All Texans: Academic Fresh Start

My last college course was spring '13. I have not started classes again but plan to on the 28th of march. In order to qualify for Fresh Start does that mean I couldn't take any college courses at all until after I move to Texas? I'm not sure if I can do that. My cGPA for the 30 credits was poor but my sGPA is 3.53. I was sexually assaulted and developed an eating disorder so I stopped attending classes (I literally didn't even go to my finals it was ridiculous and I want to shake my past self). My plan was to get my classes from that time turned into a medical withdrawal due to the circumstances but having the fresh start as an option would be incredible. I anticipate no issues achieving excellent grades this time around in school. I went to the library after work yesterday and spent a couple of hours doing Khan Academy MCAT practice questions and I barely got any wrong (the ones I got wrong were all due to rushing through the reading or not having some background knowledge). I know that probably doesn't mean anything but I just want to emphasize that the rigor of the coursework in undergrad will not be a problem for me.

 

[TomatoGrower]

I am also from the PNW and believe me, I feel your pain regarding the lack of medical schools in our corner of the country!

Basically, your application strategy is going to be to apply to OHSU and then as many OOS private schools (or the small handful of public schools that accept OOS) as you can afford. I think you should move to Texas only if you want to live in Texas. Applying TMDSAS is likely going to limit you to only the Texas schools (and maybe some OOS DO) - which is fine if you want to put down roots there! Otherwise, it's probably just easier to stay in Oregon, honestly.

Graduating HS in a state is usually considered a "strong tie" so you might qualify for special consideration at the IL schools. You could always reach out to the admissions offices to check; sometimes this information is on school websites as well.

Regarding 4-year vs. CC: 4 year is always best just because it's universally preferred, but some CC credits are usually OK. Medical schools typically like to see that you've taken your difficult science coursework at a 4 year, so try to take as many prerequisites as you can after you transfer. I recommend buying a subscription to the Medical School Admissions Requirements database (~$30/year) to do more research about which schools allow CC and which want to see all 4-year coursework.

Have you shadowed a physician yet? I think you should do that first before you start planning out major life moves. EMT can be great clinical experience for an application, but I still think you should spend some time shadowing a primary care physician before you start working on putting any of the other puzzle pieces in place.

Thank you for all of your advice. I went ahead and grabbed a two year subscription at AAMC for the MSAR database. This information is going to be incredibly helpful to me.

Why is it that applying with TMDSAS would limit me to Texas only schools? I assumed I could still apply to private MD schools and OOS DO schools as well right?

I have not shadowed a physician yet; but I have a couple of physician cousins, physician friends, healthcare worker family members, and healthcare worker friends that have all shared tons about what their jobs are like. I've been obsessed with medicine since I was a very, very, young child that spent hours looking at anatomy books. Interestingly enough my son inherited this same obsession with anatomy. I had a very low self-esteem as a teen and young adult which prevented me from pursuing my dreams. I don't want to bore you with the details but just know that this career is something I have spent most of my life desiring. Now that my youngest child no longer has health issues and is in preschool, I am desperate to this journey!

 

[SpoiledMilk]

Regarding Texas Academic Fresh Start: see this thread for a good discussion of it Texas Academic Fresh Start Program- Confused!!

In essence you don't have to wait until you move to Texas to start classes. It just means any grades (GPAs) you have that are 10 years and older will be wiped cleaned once you invoke Texas Fresh Start. However, you are required after invoking Texas Fresh Start to have a minimum of 90 hours (starting with Freshman courses, etc like English 101) to be able to apply to TMDSAS. It's an all or nothing law.

Hypothetically: If you thinking about moving back to Texas and invoking Texas Fresh Start, you could take a bunch of transferable 3000-4000 science courses now or courses that are not normally taken in the fresh/soph/junior years in college, have a 4.0s in them, move to Texas and invoke Texas Fresh Start in Spring 2024. That would be 11 years from Spring 13. So the GPAs up to Spring 13 will be wiped clean and your GPAs start anew from classes in 2014 and beyond. Then you can take all the required Fresh/Soph/Junior classes (English 101, etc) to get to 90 credits needed to apply to TMDSAS or get the degree before applying (since Tx medschools give preference to applicants with an undergrad degree).

EDIT1: My math might be off, but I hope you get the gist. Also Texas Fresh Start can be confusing based on whether you have a degree already or not. You could also contact TMDSAS directly to ask them about your specific circumstances..

EDIT2: Unless your app is uber competitive (Hardvard level) most OOS MD schools that get apps from Texas residents will disregard them since they assume you will end up matriculating in Texas cuz of costs...

 

[Bonne Nuit]

Thank you for all of your advice. I went ahead and grabbed a two year subscription at AAMC for the MSAR database. This information is going to be incredibly helpful to me.

Why is it that applying with TMDSAS would limit me to Texas only schools? I assumed I could still apply to private MD schools and OOS DO schools as well right?

I have not shadowed a physician yet; but I have a couple of physician cousins, physician friends, healthcare worker family members, and healthcare worker friends that have all shared tons about what their jobs are like. I've been obsessed with medicine since I was a very, very, young child that spent hours looking at anatomy books. Interestingly enough my son inherited this same obsession with anatomy. I had a very low self-esteem as a teen and young adult which prevented me from pursuing my dreams. I don't want to bore you with the details but just know that this career is something I have spent most of my life desiring. Now that my youngest child no longer has health issues and is in preschool, I am desperate to this journey!

Texas residents often struggle to garner interest from OOS schools because these programs know that it’s highly likely Texans will want to stay in-state. You see lots of Texans with high stats get rejected pretty much across the board at OOS schools. You’re not barred from applying out of state, of course, but if you move there, you need to mitigate your expectations about being able to leave Texas for medical school.

Regardless of how many physicians you have in your family or how long you’ve been interested in medicine, it’s not the same as shadowing. Shadowing is a requirement for medical school applications anyway, so get that out of the way first. It sounds like you’re already planning to do that soon.

When you do, I strongly recommend spending substantial shadowing time with a PCP, as a majority of medical students end up matching into primary care. If you love it, great! If you hate it (and some people really do once they’ve seen several days of nothing but diabetes and hypertension management at a series of rushed 15 minute appointments), I can’t recommend going further with this career path.

 

[gyngyn]

The low rate of OOS matriculation for TX applicants results in OR applicants actually having a higher percentage of overall success compared to TX.

https://www.aamc.org/media/6016/download