Mike:
I second what castaway said about being well-rounded. My experience is that many of the Texas schools use your academic data as a qualifier. Let me explain this by telling you the speech we received during interviews at UTHSC-SA. It was the first week of interviews and everyone there was pretty stoked (having an early interview is supposed to be a very good sign). The first thing that we were told was to put any thoughts about your GPA and MCAT to the side. If you are here, they are no longer an issue. He used this as a lead in to explain the admissions process. The UTHSC-SA and a few other of the Texas Schools are famous for having large GPA and MCAT ranges. The reason for this, as explained to me, is that they do indeed look at the totality of the application. First, they want to know if you are academically capable of making it through medical school. They do this by looking at your numbers, as well as your academic load and all outside stressors you had to contend with (e.g. you work forty hours a week while taking 9 -12 hours). Once they decide an applicant is qualified then they set the numbers to the side and look at the rest of your application, i.e. personal statement, background, extracurricular activities, exposure to medicine, letters of recommendation, etc. If they like what they see, then you get an interview. Afterwards, your application is presented to the admissions committee and they rank you for the state match (see the TMDSAS website for an explanation on the match). Again, whether or not you are accepted will depend on the totality of the application; it is a big deal to them. GPA?s and MCAT scores qualify you, the rest gets you accepted or rejected.
In the beginning, concentrate on getting good grades and preparing yourself for the MCAT. Since you are working and are a parent, they will not hold it against you if you do not have a long list of extracurricular activities, community service, and volunteer work. Your being a parent will substitute for some of this. After all, you do not have all the freedom that a young single college student has---although, you do need to get some serious exposure to medicine. You can start by volunteering in one of the clinics in Houston for the underserved. Volunteering at the VA is another option. If you can, I favor the approach of taking an EMT-Basic course (I think it is 5 to 6 credit hours) at Houston Community College. It looks good on an application and will set you up with real-world patient contacts. In addition, you have to do rotations through the hospital to get your certificate and to be eligible to take the state exam. This type of patient contact is excellent. After you become certified, you can volunteer/work part-time in an E.R. or for a Ambulance service. I do not recommend the associate degree in EMS; it would take you way off the premedical track. As far a research experience goes, I personally have never spent a single second in a research lab. It did not seem to hurt me in my application process. I have been told it is more important if you claim that you have an interest in research or academia as a career. With that said, if you want to go to Baylor or Southwest (examples of the big research schools) they place a lot more weight on research experience.
As far as CLS at UTMB goes, I decided against it. The CLS is a good set up if you are looking for a back up career in case you do not get into medical school. However, it is all laboratory, you will never have any contact with patients...except of course when you do blood draws. I do not think it would hurt you, but it would not be that great of a boost. Moreover, as a biology major I was more able to take other courses to give me a head start on medical school. In the CLS program, the courses are very structured and leave little room for electives. After all, it is a career producing program...it exists to make professional medical technologists, which are a very important part of the health care team, but are not very patient oriented. If you want to do it as a back up to not getting into medical school, then go for it. If you are doing it just to give your application a boost, it is way too much effort for the benefit. I would personally, stick to the premedical route and take an EMT course. I would also arrange my electives to ensure to cover all the prerequisites for the various Physician Assistant programs in Texas. It would give you an alternative if down the road you decided that you love medicine, but did not want to spend an additional 7-9 years after college before you have a job with a decent salary. If you go the PA route, it is only three years max, after you finish your B.S. (here is the UTMB applicant link if you haven?t seen it already
http://www.sahs.utmb.edu/programs/pas/ My point is, whatever you decide about how to approach it, HAVE BACK UP PLANS. One other thing, make sure you involve your wife in everything (especially if she is not in the medical field); being a premedical student, medical student and resident is a hard road and a complete team effort when you are married, even more so with a child.
Another thing, the schools in Texas that are most receptive to non-traditional students are San Antonio, Galveston, Houston, North Texas (D.O.) and to a lesser extent Texas Tech. They are even more so, if you tell them you want to go into family practice (or another primary care specialty). Like the rest of the U.S., there is a need for FP?s in many underserved Texas locations. I know you want to be a Pediatric Surgeon, but it would not hurt to keep an open mind. Especially when writing your personal statement and during your interview. Besides, pediatric surgery is 4 years of medical school, 4 years of surgical residency and then another two in a fellowship (I think); better you then me.
Well, I hope I have helped. It is a little difficult to get Texas specific advice on this board. With it's own application service, it appears to be its own little republic sometimes. ...It is a long road so I wish you the best of luck. Also, remember that everything I have said above is just my humble opinion based on my personal experiences. Talk to as many people as you can. I recommend going to the source and setting up appointments with admissions counselors at least at UTMB, Houston, and if you can San Antonio (if you are interested, do not forget about Baylor; however, remember they have a separate application). If you have an advisor at your school, ask them how much experience they have advising non-trads. Although it is not all to dissimilar, there are some differences. In addition, try to talk to other successful non-trads like myself and those I described in my other posts. Their perspectives will help you out.
Sincerely,
Dale Jackson, B.S., EMT-P
MSU-COM 2005
P.S. If you need advice about interviews, I can only help you with Houston, San Antonio and North Texas. My Galveston and Tech interviews were scheduled after I had been accepted to Michigan State in October, so I canceled them. Once I had been accepted to a D.O. school closer to my family, I was sure I did not want to go anywhere else.
One other thing, I also suggest that when you do any extra volunteer/community service. Make it a family event and involve your wife. There are tons of events that fall into this category and that you can participate in together.
Cheers
[This message has been edited by RDJ (edited April 12, 2001).]
[This message has been edited by RDJ (edited April 12, 2001).]
