Success Stories

[Lt.]

Hello, friends. I am a nontrad premed (post military), freshly embarking on the journey towards med school. Having already completed my gen eds/Associate's, the rest of my undergrad will be spent on stacking rigorous science courses. As such, in the fall I'm taking Cell Bio, Physics 1, Gen Chem 1, and Calculus at once. It'll probably be the most academically difficult semester I've yet taken, and the goal is to maintain a 4.0. Forgive me, but I'm a little nervous as I'm basically going full-blown back into school after taking a long hiatus from formal education.

Please brag about/post your success stories about overcoming much harder semesters with glowing colors for encouragement!

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[gyngyn]

I'm taking Cell Bio, Physics 1, Gen Chem 1, and Calculus at once.

I recommend spacing these out to assure that you get the best possible grade on each one. After you have assessed your capacity to achieve A's in the sciences, you can start adding more in a given semester!

 

[Lt.]

I would like to, but unfortunately I'm fairly locked in, my rationale being: I have to start the Chem series to be ready for the MCAT on time, can't move that. If I pushed Physics back, I'd be taking it alongside Organic Chem, which would be even more difficult. Don't want to move Calculus because I'm coming right off of Precalculus so it'll be freshest in my head. That leaves Cell Bio as the last option to shift, but there aren't many other viable classes to use as a fluff- I've already completed virtually all general education classes, and the upper division biologies use Cell as a prerequisite. Hence why I'm here 😅

 

[Bonne Nuit]

I would like to, but unfortunately I'm fairly locked in, my rationale being: I have to start the Chem series to be ready for the MCAT on time, can't move that. If I pushed Physics back, I'd be taking it alongside Organic Chem, which would be even more difficult. Don't want to move Calculus because I'm coming right off of Precalculus so it'll be freshest in my head. That leaves Cell Bio as the last option to shift, but there aren't many other viable classes to use as a fluff- I've already completed virtually all general education classes, and the upper division biologies use Cell as a prerequisite. Hence why I'm here 😅

For Heaven's sake, do not take this courseload. This schedule should make you nervous, because this is an absolute recipe for disaster - especially since you have had a "long hiatus" from higher education. You need to listen to @gyngyn and start slow.

It sounds like you are a career changer taking your prerequisites for the first time. As such, you do not need "fluff" classes or upper division science courses unless you are intending to significantly repair an established low sGPA. My advice is to save yourself money, time, and heartache and drop cell bio. You probably don't need it.

If I were you, I would take calculus + one other science lab course and see how you do your first semester back. If you can achieve a 4.0, then add on another lab class for semester #2. Be prepared to spend up to 80 hours per week on your studies and ECs.

There is no "on time" for the MCAT. You will be ready to take the MCAT when, and only when, you are scoring above your target score on official AAMC full-length practice tests. You will be ready to start preparing for the MCAT (meaning least 3 months of full-time prep) and then take these full-length practice exams after you successfully complete the following coursework series: general biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, biochemistry + an additional semester of general/intro psychology.

If you are serious about doing the best you can in your postbac, you cannot fall into the trap of being overly committed to a specific timeline. That's how nontraditional premeds crash and burn. I've seen it happen frequently throughout my time here and in my real-life premed advising. Banish all thoughts of "timelines" and ease yourself back into college at a reasonable pace.

Source: I am a very nontraditional third-year medical student who completed my DIY postbac when I was in my early 30s. I did not even consider taking 3 heavy science classes in a semester until I was a year in to my DIY postbac, and I never took 4 BCPM classes at once. I ended up with a 3.98 postbac GPA, 90th percentile MCAT, 7 MD interviews, 5 MD acceptances. I treated this process as a marathon, not a sprint, and I strongly encourage you do the same.

 

[gyngyn]

I would like to, but unfortunately I'm fairly locked in.

You are not "locked in!" You can move the MCAT.
Please take my advice. I have seen the results of this plan hundreds of times over the course of more than 40 years. It is not a story of success.
It is a story of a deep hole from which one does not emerge unscathed.

 

[Lt.]

Thank you for the advice. I should clarify that I'm not coming from completely "cold" and have not the ability to learn whatsoever, lol. I've consistently filled my own spare time with studying and such, done continuing education and conducted military medicine training. I've also eased back into school by taking 3 summer courses to get a head start, which I'm doing well in.

By on time, I mean taking the MCAT in the summer of the application cycle I intend to apply. 2 years from now doesn't seem like a terribly unrealistic projection.

As far as "not needing" Cell Bio, it is a requirement for my major (Biomedical Sciences/this university's version of Premed) as well as a prerequisite to all the other courses I need to graduate. I'm not sure what you meant by that. I will reevaluate, take another thorough look at the options, and try to push it back if possible.

I've read previous stories (threads from searching "is it possible to take 3 lab courses at once?" etc.) and seen many people post crazy stories of how they took 18+ credit hours, 4 lab courses, along with juggling work, kids, and night-time crime fighting and still made it. I guess I was hoping to see more of those, haha. I thought people would say this load was light in comparison!

 

[chssoccer7]

Hello, friends. I am a nontrad premed (post military), freshly embarking on the journey towards med school. Having already completed my gen eds/Associate's, the rest of my undergrad will be spent on stacking rigorous science courses. As such, in the fall I'm taking Cell Bio, Physics 1, Gen Chem 1, and Calculus at once. It'll probably be the most academically difficult semester I've yet taken, and the goal is to maintain a 4.0. Forgive me, but I'm a little nervous as I'm basically going full-blown back into school after taking a long hiatus from formal education.

Please brag about/post your success stories about overcoming much harder semesters with glowing colors for encouragement!

I will preface this by saying, I agree with those who have said to ease your way in. The transition from military to civilian is an interesting one and not altogether free of it's own stress. However, if you are like me, you are going to do the path forward you've set anyways, so i'll offer my n=1 experience.

I've taken 17 credits each semester since i got out last year after ten years in, not entirely far off the semester you have planned. Semester 1 was calculus, gen chem, bio, comp 102, spanish, bio lab, and chem lab. Semester 2 was more or less the second level of all those classes. I got a 4.0 in both semester, but this **** was hard. As in, I gained ten pounds because I was drowning in homework and studying for exams that just never seemed to stop coming. I really didn't have any free time to socialize or do community service/clinical hours. I found out in semester 2 how to be more efficient and fit stuff in, but that first semester was hell. The material isn't overwhelming, you're just gonna have a ton of stuff to do and probably won't be incredibly time efficient. It IS doable, but it DEFINITELY has a high potential to set you up for failure. It's important to remember that a bad semester will set you back farther than delaying your MCAT will.

What I will absolutely stress you do not do is try to take organic chemistry in a semester like this. I'm currently in the middle of an orgo 1 and 2 summer semester and i'm quite sure that this is a special level of hell designed by someone who's dog was ran over by a premed.

Finally, reach out and ask for help if you need it. My teachers have been welcoming, especially due to me being older and presumably more mature than the 18 year olds they see hundreds of every day. There are alot of us in this forum and elsewhere, don't be afraid to reach out if you need help/advice/someone to shoot the **** with.

 

[CoolBreezes]

Nontrad career changer with zero science background here. I started off with a single science class and lab (while volunteering and getting clinical experience) my first semester to try to focus on solidifying my study skills, then launched into 4 science classes + 3 labs + wet lab research for a couple of semesters. Developing strong study skills that first semester was key for increasing my bandwidth so that I could do well with a heavy science load and ECs. I took a light load the semester I took the MCAT and having that extra study time helped me beat my target score.

My advice is to focus on doing a few things at a time with excellence, rather than doing many things to a level that you’ll regret.

 

[Spiceupyourlife]

Thank you for the advice. I should clarify that I'm not coming from completely "cold" and have not the ability to learn whatsoever, lol. I've consistently filled my own spare time with studying and such, done continuing education and conducted military medicine training. I've also eased back into school by taking 3 summer courses to get a head start, which I'm doing well in.

By on time, I mean taking the MCAT in the summer of the application cycle I intend to apply. 2 years from now doesn't seem like a terribly unrealistic projection.

As far as "not needing" Cell Bio, it is a requirement for my major (Biomedical Sciences/this university's version of Premed) as well as a prerequisite to all the other courses I need to graduate. I'm not sure what you meant by that. I will reevaluate, take another thorough look at the options, and try to push it back if possible.

I've read previous stories (threads from searching "is it possible to take 3 lab courses at once?" etc.) and seen many people post crazy stories of how they took 18+ credit hours, 4 lab courses, along with juggling work, kids, and night-time crime fighting and still made it. I guess I was hoping to see more of those, haha. I thought people would say this load was light in comparison!

I WISH I had people to tell me to split up my courseload. Give yourself breather room in general-you'll thank yourself for it, trust me. Of course as older students, our motivation and maturity is different which definitely helps.

I'm non trad in a sense of many gap years. I took 6 courses- 4 were upper level science courses, 1 upper level bioethics; 21 credits and worked 2 jobs during my second to last semester of college for my first degree. I was only 22yo back then, so I had a lot more energy but also crazy. Nearly killed me-literally. Definitely didn't get anywhere near a 4.0- just passed and survived so I could graduate the following semester.

I will say, if math is your strong suit-like you LOVE IT and you've taken calc before, then your schedule could be fine for YOU. I LOVE calc and gen chem 1 was easy for me with all the math problems, so I slept through class and got A's that semester. Physics is just Satan in education form; I took honors and AP physics in HS and it was awful in college. Just know your actual strengths and don't overestimate them.

Also, definitely go to office hours. When I got my second bachelor's I did that and enjoyed it-also could relate to my professors at a different level since I was a good 6 years older than all of my classmates. They'll want to see you succeed even more because of your journey thus far. All and all, good luck and make the best decision for you.

 

[Chardeemacdennis60]

The best advice I received when I started was it's about the journey, not the destination. This advice was in regards to my course load and chance for success, where sometimes slow but sure is better than getting it over with. Schools want to see that you are disciplined enough to structure your schedule in a manner that you also succeed in. I would not recommend taking this many courses off the bat, although I know you are eager to get on with things. I eased into my post-bac with math/bio+lab and it was a great way to get my feet wet.

 

[petomed]

I was an engineering major on my first pass with academics, long before medicine was anything of interest. Here's how a few of those semesters looked. I had a few classes from high school that helped me out my first semester but the rest were 16-20 credit hours each.

Semester 2:
Chem II (4 cr)
Calc II (4 cr)
Phys I (4 cr) - calculus based
Misc engineering (4 cr)
--> 16 credits

Semester 3:
Calc III (4 cr)
Phys II (4 cr) - calculus based
Humanities (4 cr)
Misc. engineering (6 cr)
--> 18 credits

We were told that to get an A, the expectation was the old 3+1 rule. That's 3 hours of studying outside of class each week for every 1 credit hour being pursued that semester. Namely, multiply your number of credits being taken for a semester by 4 and that is the expected total commitment to academics each week in order to obtain a 4.0 GPA. For the above semesters, that would be 16x4 = 64 hrs each week during semester 2 and 18x4 = 72 hrs each week during semester 3.

I certainly did not put in those hours and my GPA was likewise not a 4.0. In hindsight, I do believe I could have gotten close to the 4.0 if I had put in the work. It's worth mentioning that I had no study skills back then, no academic self-confidence, and was a first generation college student.

For you, it depends on how much time you're able to commit to academics. If it's at the 3+1 mark then you might be ok. If not then I think you'll survive but not with a 4.0.

Also consider whether you intend on volunteering during these semesters (which you should) in order to show longitudinal commitment to, and interest in, the healthcare setting. To me, volunteering over the longterm is far more important than having your proposed cell biology course. As far as I can tell, you'd still be a full-time student with 12 credits if you remove it. I highly recommend this. While it may delay your graduation by one semester, it will both give you necessary exposure as aforementioned and also better the odds of obtaining a 4.0.

You also mentioned that you are returning to academics after some time away from them. This was me as well. I worked a corporate job for two years before deciding on the medicine path. After much consideration, I determined taking only one course at a time and remaining a full-time engineer was the best for me. Not only would I be able to sock income away, but more importantly, I knew this would give me many years to both enjoy life before medicine and plenty of time to change my mind. I cannot emphasize how happy I am that I did this. I can't imagine anything worse than rushing into this career change of this magnitude only to find out that I don't like performing the daily functions of a doctor.

So I actually took one course at a time, online, while working 40+ hrs/wk, beginning with biology 1 just to see if I had some manner of non-engineering intelligence to work with. That led to bio II, then orgo I, orgo II, and finally biochem. All A's. Volunteered in an ER 6 hrs/wk continuously throughout that coursework. Absolutely invaluable experiences at the ER.

Eventually took the MCAT. Did not score high. Applied. Accepted to 8 DO schools. And here I am today, about to begin medical school in a few days.

I hope you find this information helpful. I hope you make decisions that will set you up for a low-risk, successful path to medical school, if that ends up being your destination a year or so from now.

Best of luck!

 

[Lt.]

Thank you for the feedback! In light of everyone's advice, I replaced Cell Bio with a history of science elective (not my first choice, but options were scarce). The courseload looks very reasonable now.

As far as volunteering, I've already accumulated a multitude of hours (though I will continue to do so) but I may look for a part-time, clinically relevant job now with the extra time.

Congratulations on your acceptance, and good luck! May I ask which school? I am considering DO as well.

 

[petomed]

Thank you for the feedback! In light of everyone's advice, I replaced Cell Bio with a history of science elective (not my first choice, but options were scarce). The courseload looks very reasonable now.

As far as volunteering, I've already accumulated a multitude of hours (though I will continue to do so) but I may look for a part-time, clinically relevant job now with the extra time.

Congratulations on your acceptance, and good luck! May I ask which school? I am considering DO as well.

Nice, that’ll give you back some time in your schedule. Thanks! You’ll find the world can be a small place sometimes and in the interest of maintaining anonymity, I must decline to disclose my school.