Thoughts on Non-trad Route?

[Rhodium]

Hi all,

Long story short -
I graduated high school with ~48 credits (from AP and college courses at community college)
Went to nursing school, picking up some nursing credits (about 45)
Came back and did 1 semester in engineering (12 credits)
Withdrew early in semester, and started alternate degree program
Finishing pre-reqs at community college/ wrapping up degree

So, the questions:

Will withdrawal from the semester of engineering to switch degree programs be viewed as a super negative factor on an application? (I understand they generally are)? Yet I feel that I could justify the decision, if asked, as it let me keep my full time job in healthcare and accelerate my degree path to medical school (I can complete the remaining requirements for my new degree in less than half the time of the engineering program).

Will the fact that I have completed many of the science prerequisites at a good community college seriously negatively affect my application? I appreciate the standard answer to this (that someone took CC classes because they were "easier") but in my case, my university is primarily online and does not offer them - given my non-trad military/full time work I am not sure if this negative stereotype will still apply to me. For what its worth, I will also end with two A.S. degrees from the CC from transfer credit/prereqs.

I have not taken my MCAT (registered) but I have a 4.0 GPA, which will hopefully (if paired with a good MCAT score) help to balance the potential image of not "trying" hard enough in prerequisite courses...

So any thoughts on this?

Much appreciated.

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[Jasmine2022]

Question #1 - Withdrawing a full semester may catch AdComs attention during a file review, but I doubt it will have a strong impact since you had a logical reason. My undergrad career spanned 18 years, with at least one full semester withdrawal. People change majors or have life events happen. Be prepared to discuss your reasoning during interviews, and if appropriate, write about it in your personal statement.

Question #2 - Every person at every school who reviews your file may have a different opinion about community college coursework. During an interview at my top choice school, I was asked extensively about this and discussed experiences to prove that I was ready for the rigors of medical school. Other schools did not care one bit about my CC coursework. While most schools now accept CC coursework, there are some which have rules about how many courses can come from a CC or specific courses they won't accept from a CC. Even after completing 2 years of upper level full-time science coursework, it was a factor and I'm still awaiting a decision from my top choice.

My impression is my A.S. in Chemistry doesn't mean much to AdComs. Be cautious of online coursework as well because that also carries a stigma, and one that may be more significant than community college. Getting a fantastic MCAT score will alleviate some of these concerns - my score is average so perhaps that's why my CC background was considered more significantly - but I know many non-trads with stellar MCAT scores who spent as much time at CC as I did and got accepted to great schools.

 

[Rhodium]

Jasmine2022,

Thank you for your input. I agree with you on the withdrawal - I am hoping that given my reason it'll be okay.

I am worried that the CC coursework may be the weakest point of my application - I think otherwise I have everything else I need to put together a reasonably strong packet. To your point, I am really investing in MCAT preparation/studying to shoot for the highest score possible, as I think it may be the single datum that my success is contingent on.

Thanks again for the opinion.

 

[mk04447]

Nobody will care about CC if you perform on the MCAT (granted I only applied to one school and it wasn't Harvard, cost as much though). Point is, we make the best application we can and we apply. I don't recommend this path if the destination isn't the most important part of the journey. If it is, do your best and swing for the fences. Do whatever works and move towards the goal with every decision.