UTD Certificate in Biomedical sciences or TCOM SMP

[jd221b]

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I dropped out of Texas Tech Health Science Center medical school in 2003 after attending less than a semester in 2002 and taking a 1 year leave of absence. I had legal custody problems with my stepson that did not allow him and thus my wife to move to the location of the school that I had been accepted to. I had been optimistic that the legal stuff would straighten itself out and I had to admit that I was wrong and chose family over career. This felt like a permanent decision because I felt like I wasted my chances (legal battle and 22 hrs in last semester after acceptance significantly dropped my gpa). This is no longer a decision I can live with and I'm re-comitting to a career in medicine. The legal problems will not be there anymore as my stepson will be 18 and graduate from high school in 2014.

My numbers:
SMU 2002 Chemistry
GPA 3.0
2001 MCAT 14 PS 10 BS and 9 V without studying outside of the Kaplan classroom until the last week

So since my target matriculation is fall of 2014, I have some time to plan. Here are the options I've come up with:

My goal is UTMB though I will take anything I can get.

All plans would include 1-2 hours per day of Ivy Hall Review's Verbal Reasoning Mastery style reading from now until MCAT.

Summary of below choices I'd like a comment on are UTD Certificate in Biomedical Sciences Post Bacc versus TCOM SMP or perhaps both in sequence. Comments on how realistic any of the plans are would be appreciated as well. Something not included in plans is volunteering/shaddowing. I'm not sure where that fits into the plan. I had excellent LOR from ED Doctors I used to work with back in 2000 and would love the opportunity to reconnect with them.

A)


- Within next week: Finish application to UTD Certificate in Biomedical Sciences Post Bacc program. (Yes I know I'm late, but the deadline is May 15th and thats why there's a plan B)

- Now to August 2011: Self study MCAT content review for brush up and so the ongoing light review while I'm in Post Bacc will be review rather than relearning. Hopefully get accepted to Post Bacc

- Aug 2011 through December 2012: Take approximately 8 hours per semester while working full time (negotiable depending on spouses work status) Also continue MCAT content review at 2hours per week to keep it fresh and make it second nature over time.

- January through May 2013 Intense MCAT review and practice tests. Take MCAT in May and score a 36 or higher.

- Spring 2013 possibly apply to TCOM SMP as a backup application year improvement in case I'm not accepted the first year

- May through Jun 2013 Apply to all Texas schools and a few select others for good measure

- August 2013 through May 2014 attend TCOM SMP full time while I learn of my acceptance/denial

-August 2014 Matriculation

B)

- After rejection from fall reapply for Spring 2012 entry to UTD Certificate in Biomedical Sciences Post Bacc program.

- Now to January 2012: Intensive Self study of MCAT material and taking MCAT in January 2012

- January 2012 through Spring 2013: Take approximately 8 hours per semester while working full time (negotiable depending on spouses work status)

- Spring 2013 possibly apply to TCOM SMP as a backup application year improvement in case I'm not accepted the first year

- May through Jun 2013 Apply to all Texas schools and a few select others for good measure

- August 2013 through May 2014 attend TCOM SMP full time while I learn of my acceptance/denial

-August 2014 Matriculation



C)

- After rejection from Spring 2012 entry Apply for Fall 2012 entry to UTD Certificate in Biomedical Sciences Post Bacc program.

- Now to May 2012: Intensive Self study of MCAT material and taking MCAT in May 2012

- Fall 2012 through Spring 2013: Attend UTD Post Bacc full time (no or part time working)

- Spring 2013 possibly apply to TCOM SMP as a backup application year improvement in case I'm not accepted the first year

- May through Jun 2013 Apply to all Texas schools and a few select others for good measure

- May 2013 through May 2014 attend TCOM SMP full time while I learn of my acceptance/denial

-August 2014 Matriculation

D)

- After rejection from Spring 2012 entry to UTD Post Bacc Apply for May 2012 entry to TCOM SMP

- Now to March 2012: Intensive Self study of MCAT material and take MCAT in March 2012

- May 2012 through May 2013: Attend TCOM SMP full time

- May through Jun 2013 Apply to all Texas schools and a few select others for good measure

- August 2013 through May 2014 attend TCOM SMP full time while I learn of my acceptance/denial

-August 2014 Matriculation

 

[jd221b]

bump

any feedback would be appreciated

 

[MeowMix]

you are not getting many replies b/c your post is so complicated. I will apologize in advance if any of this seems overly harsh, but without more information you do not present a compelling case for anyone to consider you as a med school applicant.

#1 which schools will even consider your application if you already dropped out of med school once?

#2 everything you have is over 10 years old. LOR, MCAT, prereqs, everything. I think you recognize that you are essentially starting from scratch here. None of the old stuff counts.

#3 what have you done over the past 10 yrs? If you haven't done anything medicine-related, why not, if it's your life's work and true passion?

#4 how are you going to convince us that another family problem will not turn into another 10-year hiatus?

#5 your MCAT plan needs some work (but that is low on the priority list right now). Your plan to score over 36 is exceedingly optimistic.

#6 do you have a realistic financial plan for how this is going to happen?

#7 you need a much more realistic Plan B that includes way more than 1 post-bacc program and way more than some "select" med schools

 

[jd221b]

Thanks for your response. Please don't worry about being harsh. I'm resolved on this and anything anybody can do to try to shake my resolution/make me look at something I'm not considering, can only help my planning and success.

Some of the info your talking about was omitted because my post was already complicated enough.

FYI, I will not be doing this alone, UTD's program has excellent advising service and I'll rely on them to help me reshape my image with EC's and LOR's and such.

In answer to your questions/concerns:

#1 I'm finding this my biggest problem when speaking to admissions departments over the phone. Some consider the risk questions answered and some don't.

#2 Starting from scratch is essentially what I'm doing although technically the Prereqs and degree still count, the post-bacc/SMP are intended to supplement them and prove that I can still handle the academic load

#3 My last 10 years have involved trying to support a family and build a career that would essentially allow me to return to school. Being honest I have tried to move on from medicine and use my degree in industry. Dissatisfaction with this is what has lead me to the firm conclusion that I am on the wrong path and there's a way to get on the right one.

#4 I was young and immature. I felt like I was invincible and this lead me to believe that I could get married(we were advised that this was the only way that residential restriction could be removed), pursue legal action on my own without a lawyer, take 22 hours of advanced science, prepare to move, graduate, and train for a marathon at the same time. I've grown up a lot and know my limitations much better. The family problem wasn't a family problem, it was a legal problem that involved my family. My timing alone addresses that. On a more personal note, I deeply regret my decision and it would take much more (read death to more than one member of my immediate family and even then I'm not sure) to ever steer me off the path again. Sometimes I've had to travel for months at a time or work 120 hours a week to make things work. In hindsight medical school would have sometimes been less stressful because I would have been working my ass off the same, but with an end in sight (that would have already come) and security for our future.

#5 Perhaps optimistic, also unnecessary after speaking to admissions offices. The biggest factor is raising my GPA which after more thorough analysis with a spreadsheet I have learned that I can move to 3.34 for MD schools and 3.53 for DO with as little as 39 hours including the Post Bacc program.

#6 yes

#7 More realistic? I'm not sure if you mean that I need a backup plan if all this doesn't work or that my assumed workload is too high. Select Med Schools will be any that after speaking verbally to them (I'm calling 2 schools per day and recording response) and looking at published stats offer a realistic shot. I will probably have to limit my applications to 20-30 for financial reasons.

Thanks,

JD