Unusual path through undergrad

[wfamtwsch]

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So I have kind of a different background for my undergrad path, and I can't find anyone else taking a route similar to this (I would love to be corrected though). I had personal issues throughout my first two years of high school, my mom kind of went insane, I was diagnosed bipolar II (I've been asymptomatic for over a year, and before then I had pretty good self control.) Anyway, I only finished 6.5 credits over 2 years of high school, but I always did good on the standardized tests. I turned 17 last July, I started thinking about my high school, if I was lucky I could graduate in 3 years, when I'm about to turn 20. Since I've always wanted to pursue a professional degree, this is a big setback. I took the GED blind, and passed. I would hate to sound like I'm bragging since that means literally nothing. After taking the test, I enrolled in my local community college, and I'm in the middle of the fall semester now. I haven't had any trouble so far, but the semester has just begun. As of right now I have 90-100% in all classes, not much to go off of though. I'm taking mostly intro classes to keep my expectations in check, and if none of my credits transfer I'm ok with that. I turn 18 right before the next academic year starts, so I could basically pretend I'm a freshman. I'm wondering, assuming I do well in school and extra-curriculars, should I emphasize this upward momentum, or pretend it never happened? Of course I won't mention the bipolar stuff.

Sorry for wall of text tl;dr I'm a highschool dropout help

 

[NotASerialKiller]

You don't need any help. You overcame adversity and are doing well, your priorities should be exactly the same as any other pre-med while acknowledging that you have to be aware of your mental health during stressful times in undergrad.

Well done, keep it up!

edit: People can probably advise you on when/how to switch from CC

 

[wfamtwsch]

Well actually, my biggest problem was getting in over my head. Its an accomplishment for me to not be taking 18 credit hours, gen chem already, etc. My only issue has been math, because you can't use innate intelligence to learn that, you have to work your way up. But with my current math class I should be up to Calc level next year. Oh, my major is tentatively chemistry, as well, I've always loved chemistry. MD/PhD is very appealing to me, but at this stage in the game I would be crazy to even think I could get in to one of those programs. So I'm transferring to my 4 year institution of choice next year, and maybe I can trick everyone into thinking I'm a freshman. 😉

 

[MikeyDub]

I was also a highschool drop out and had about 5 years off between school. I have maintained a 4.0 and have 2 interviews for medical school so far. I have briefly mentioned being a highschool drop out in my personal statement. I did all of my non prerequisites in a CC and then transferred to a 4 year to start with prerequisites, and that is what I would recommend doing if you can. I would have probably started with more ECs earlier if I could redo it.

 

[NotASerialKiller]

Well actually, my biggest problem was getting in over my head. Its an accomplishment for me to not be taking 18 credit hours, gen chem already, etc. My only issue has been math, because you can't use innate intelligence to learn that, you have to work your way up. But with my current math class I should be up to Calc level next year. Oh, my major is tentatively chemistry, as well, I've always loved chemistry. MD/PhD is very appealing to me, but at this stage in the game I would be crazy to even think I could get in to one of those programs. So I'm transferring to my 4 year institution of choice next year, and maybe I can trick everyone into thinking I'm a freshman. 😉

Sounds like a solid plan. Take it slow and gear up. I took 1st year calculus 6 years after graduating high school, and I failed all my math courses in high school. It ended up being one of my best grades, so it can definitely be done.

Don't worry about your age, you're not even close to being strangely old for a 1st year. Nothing wrong with starting med school in your mid to late 20s or even beyond.

 

[Promethean]

Don't fret about your past. Anything that happened before you enrolled in college is not of concern in professional school admissions - unless it involves bad legal troubles or something like that.

You don't need to "pretend" to be a freshman. You are one. You have a GED, which is a perfectly reasonable way to get high school out of the way, and you are in college. That makes you a freshman. Keep at it and consider where you want to transfer for the next phase of your education.

Focus on the present and the future. Keep your grades up. You need As as much as possible. You want your GPA as close to a 4.0 as you can get it. Participate in an activity or two. Volunteer. Study hard. Stick around and read a lot of threads so that you have some idea of what you are getting into and how to go about it.

Don't neglect your own mental health. However well you might be doing at this moment, you need to have a good support system in place before you need it. Look for resources through your school, etc. But build a relationship with a therapist and a psychiatrist now. Even if you only see them every month or so, just to check in. With a family history of mental illness and your own experiences with it, you can't afford to act as if bad times will never come again. Prepare for the certainty that something along this path is going to be stressful. If you are ready for it, with allies, it won't have to derail you.

 

[wfamtwsch]

Yeah, definitely. I was very mild when I did have symptoms, typical clinical depression, with sporadic bouts of extreme motivation with a little irritability. Nowadays I'm just moderately motivated all the time. I want to transfer to Indiana University next year. I plan on getting a 100 volunteer hours a semester at least, we have a great pre-health club where I am. Of course I won't be able to do that when I get into the hard stuff. I see a primary care almost monthly and never stopped taking my meds or crazy stuff like that. When I say pretend to be freshman I mean next year at IU. If none of my credits transfer, or very few, and I just turned 18, I might as well be.

 

[Promethean]

Look into CLEP exams. I was able to knock a full year off my undergrad by taking about 30 credits of CLEP exams. I am also ridiculously good with standardized tests. I picked subjects in which I had some basic ability or interest, studied independently with free resources from the library or the internet, and then spent about $600 for all the tests. 30 credits for $600 = $20/credit. It is the best deal in education, and most colleges will accept around 30 credits worth. (I actually earned 42 credits this way, but only 30 counted toward my degree.

 

[wfamtwsch]

Yeah, standardized tests have always been my strong suit, we use Accuplacer here, didn't make the cut for ACT since I decided to go to college 2 months ago. I first got into pre-algebra (3 classes down from the first credit-bearing math) after some self study for a week or two I brought myself up to our lowest credit bearing math class, Intermediate Algebra, then College Algebra and Trig (and calc next year).