Sudden change of heart

[phoxyphearse]

This fall I'll be a first semester junior in undergrad. I'm currently pursuing a double major in criminal justice and social sciences, and I'm highly interested in forensics. I took a medicine program in high school and loved it, but felt that med school would take too long, cost too much, and interfere with my other life plans. However, I recently went on a trip with my honor society that was focused heavily on medicine, and I'm starting to rethink medical school. I would love to be a forensic pathologist...I had never even thought about it before because I immediately disregarded any career that involved more than 4 years of college, but I've been looking into it more and more and it seems to be everything I've been looking for.

I know it's not a requirement to major in sciences in undergraduate school, but I don't have any of the biology, chemistry, or physics classes that are supposed to be pretty much required. I don't know if I'll be able to fit those extra classes in with my existing double major. Plus, I'm not in a "pre-med" program so I don't have the connections with advisers or a committee to guide me along or anything. Any advice on how I would go about even STARTING to investigate this plan at my current stage?

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[OncoCaP]

Any advice on how I would go about even STARTING to investigate this plan at my current stage?

Talk to your school's pre-med advisor or an advisor that is closest to this role at your school.

 

[Mobius1985]

Perhaps someone in your Criminal Justice Dept has the connections to arrange for you to shadow a Forensic Pathologist. Watching someone like this while they do their work, and having an opportunity to discuss with them their perspectives on their job would be a good way to cement if this is a good path for you. There's no point in starting the premed requirements if you don't maintain a solid interest during such an experience. And I also agree with OncoCap: meet with a knowledgeable advisor. Your're probably looking at adding a fifth year of college to complete all the needed classes. A pre-med advisor is available to everyone, not just someone in a given department. Keep reading these forums. Much of what you need to know is here.

 

[tbo]

Talk to your school's pre-med advisor or an advisor that is closest to this role at your school.

I second this emotion. Even your current academic advisor might know who you can/should talk to about making a shift to pre-med. I remember my advisor was really knowledgeable about a number of career paths outside of science (my suspicion is because so many UGs change majors ALL THE TIME). Best of luck, and check out HBO's Autopsy series if you haven't already. I'm sure that will stoke your forensic pathologist fire

 

[njbmd]

This fall I'll be a first semester junior in undergrad. I'm currently pursuing a double major in criminal justice and social sciences, and I'm highly interested in forensics. I took a medicine program in high school and loved it, but felt that med school would take too long, cost too much, and interfere with my other life plans. However, I recently went on a trip with my honor society that was focused heavily on medicine, and I'm starting to rethink medical school. I would love to be a forensic pathologist...I had never even thought about it before because I immediately disregarded any career that involved more than 4 years of college, but I've been looking into it more and more and it seems to be everything I've been looking for.

I know it's not a requirement to major in sciences in undergraduate school, but I don't have any of the biology, chemistry, or physics classes that are supposed to be pretty much required. I don't know if I'll be able to fit those extra classes in with my existing double major. Plus, I'm not in a "pre-med" program so I don't have the connections with advisers or a committee to guide me along or anything. Any advice on how I would go about even STARTING to investigate this plan at my current stage?

If you can't fit the pre-med coursework into your current schedule, then do those courses in a postbacc program. You can continue along your scheduled major but look into post bacc programs especially those at Hopkins and UVa that are designed for people who did not major in the traditional sciences.

You can also take these courses (six) outside of formal post bacc and see how you do while you are working in your current field. The difficulties with being a non-degree student is that you often register for coursework after all of the declared majors so it might make sense to declare a major as if you were going to pursue (biology for that matter) and then register for your courses. You would also have access to advising as you take your courses.

In any event, at some time, you will have to do the pre-med coursework and take the Medical College Admissions Test. You might also go to this website: Pre-Med Handbook from Michigan State University and download Michigan State's Pre-Med Handbook (especially the section for Non-Traditional Students which can get you on your way.

Good luck!

 

[sawood]

Talk to your school's pre-med advisor or an advisor that is closest to this role at your school.

One word of caution: Not all pre-med advisors are created equally. The ones at my school don't really have a clue on how to advise someone who was not the cookie-cutter undergraduate bio/chem major.

I'd recommend a combo: your pre-med advisor, SDN, asking around in your department, finding a forensic pathologist in town to chat with, other research on the internet, etc.

You don't have to decide right now, you have time to explore, but whatever you do just keep your GPA up.

 

[phoxyphearse]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. It's summer now, so no one at my school seems to be available. I've emailed my current advisor and a listed health/pre-med coordinator, so I'm waiting to hear back from them. I'm already planning on interning at a crime lab and hopefully getting some connections from my forensics professor with a medical examiner or forensic pathologist.

I live close to Hopkins and I've looked into the post-bac program, which seems to be one of my best options right now if I can afford it. I'm also doing EMT training and Red Cross volunteer work, as well as some extensive research in criminology for departmental and university honors. My GPA is 3.83 right now so I'm not too worried about that.

I know I still have time to explore and make decisions, but I'm really enthusiastic about this so I'm trying to look into it as much as possible right now. Thanks again for all the suggestions!