Very unconventional background... Thoughts?

[CDO]

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Hello,

I've been searching for people who are in the same boat as me, but I just don't think they exist.

Here's my story... Before joining the Navy I earned my ass. degree by taking classes with a few colleges. After joining the Navy I began taking classes with University of Maryland University College, and every one of these classes has been via distance learning. I will earn my BS in Psychology in May and plan to apply to post bac programs for the Fall 2010.

Stats:
GPA- 3.5
SAT-1090 from 10 years ago
Military service for 6 years.
Volunteered when I could between deployments, underway periods. But nothing regular due to the irregular schedule we keep.

My questions are these... Do I have a shot at getting into a post bac program with my distance learning background?

Provided I DON'T get in and I obtain my basic med. pre-req's on my own at a state school and do well in those classes, keep a high GPA and score well on the MCAT, will ADCOMs be willing to overlook the fact that my BS was obtained via distance learning???

None of you have any interest in my success and so I truly apprecaite any comments or advice you have.

Cheers!

 

[camaras2480]

Hello,

I've been searching for people who are in the same boat as me, but I just don't think they exist.

Here's my story... Before joining the Navy I earned my ass. degree by taking classes with a few colleges. After joining the Navy I began taking classes with University of Maryland University College, and every one of these classes has been via distance learning. I will earn my BS in Psychology in May and plan to apply to post bac programs for the Fall 2010.

Stats:
GPA- 3.5
SAT-1090 from 10 years ago
Military service for 6 years.
Volunteered when I could between deployments, underway periods. But nothing regular due to the irregular schedule we keep.

My questions are these... Do I have a shot at getting into a post bac program with my distance learning background?

Provided I DON'T get in and I obtain my basic med. pre-req's on my own at a state school and do well in those classes, keep a high GPA and score well on the MCAT, will ADCOMs be willing to overlook the fact that my BS was obtained via distance learning???

None of you have any interest in my success and so I truly apprecaite any comments or advice you have.

Cheers!

First - don't call it an ass. degree lol. 😛

And second - you were in the navy. this will be highly respected. you also apparently dedicated what little time you had off to volunteering, which is great. your BS was forced into being distance learning - people will understand this, and will look to your postbac. So to address your question, will adcoms look past your distant learning bachelors? Absolutely, provided you destroy that postbac (3.8+) and put up a great MCAT (~32-34).

The only other thing I'd recommend is clinical shadowing. This is sort of a de facto requirement no matter how non-trad a given applicant is. You have plenty of time to get it done, just make sure you do.

 

[Stratego]

Let me bring to your attention this recent thread dealing with a similiar topic: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=645984

In the past I saw a thread where an active military person called a few schools in (I think) Texas and found that his on-line credits would be accepted, but he didn't have as much as you do. I would not be so optimistic as to presume that all adcomms will look past a distance-learning bachelors. And I've never seen it asked as to whether one could get into a post-bac with one.

It would be helpful if you called the schools you most want to attend and asked the question so you have no surprises later. It would be appreciated if you let us know what you find out so we can efficiently help others in the future.

Also check out the Non-Traditional Forum where you'll find more people like yourself, ie lots of military. Use the search function.

You'd be wrong to say we have no interest in your success. A lot of appreciation has been expressed on this forum for those who serve our country.

 

[Stratego]

I did a bit of searching in Non-Trad and found two more somewhat relevant threads for you:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=8049744&highlight=distance#post8049744
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=7741897&highlight=distance#post7741897

 

[camaras2480]

You'd be wrong to say we have no interest in your success. A lot of appreciation has been expressed on this forum for those who serve our country.

And for those who have not served our country, lol.

 

[CDO]

I don't know what to say to you guys. I didn't really think I was going to get any replies, to be honest. Thank you so much for your advice and insight and the links to the other threads. I'm going to call some of the post-bac programs I'm looking into and see if my DL degree will prevent me from gaining admission.

I WILL come back and post my findings.

Thanks again!

Cheers!😀

 

[CDO]

First - don't call it an ass. degree lol. 😛

And second - you were in the navy. this will be highly respected. you also apparently dedicated what little time you had off to volunteering, which is great. your BS was forced into being distance learning - people will understand this, and will look to your postbac. So to address your question, will adcoms look past your distant learning bachelors? Absolutely, provided you destroy that postbac (3.8+) and put up a great MCAT (~32-34).

The only other thing I'd recommend is clinical shadowing. This is sort of a de facto requirement no matter how non-trad a given applicant is. You have plenty of time to get it done, just make sure you do.

I wasn't even thinking when I typed "ass. degree." Never again... Never again...

Cheers!

 

[camaras2480]

I don't know what to say to you guys. I didn't really think I was going to get any replies, to be honest. Thank you so much for your advice and insight and the links to the other threads. I'm going to call some of the post-bac programs I'm looking into and see if my DL degree will prevent me from gaining admission.

I WILL come back and post my findings.

Thanks again!

Cheers!😀

No problem - hope it works out!

 

[camaras2480]

I wasn't even thinking when I typed "ass. degree." Never again... Never again...

Cheers!

hahaha 😛

 

[Stratego]

I don't know what to say to you guys. I didn't really think I was going to get any replies, to be honest. Thank you so much for your advice and insight and the links to the other threads. I'm going to call some of the post-bac programs I'm looking into and see if my DL degree will prevent me from gaining admission.

I WILL come back and post my findings.

You're welcome. We look forward to hearing back from you.

 

[danny317]

The only other thing I'd recommend is clinical shadowing. This is sort of a de facto requirement no matter how non-trad a given applicant is. You have plenty of time to get it done, just make sure you do.

i have to disagree w/ this. i was accepted into med school just fine w/o any shadowing. of course i was asked about why i didnt have any shadowing during my interviews. im a non-trad and had to juggle several jobs so this left me with virtually no time to go shadow a doc. i think as long as you show maturity and understanding that life as a doctor wont be like a tv drama, youll be fine.

as far as the op goes, i think your limited free-time would be better served volunteering or getting a job in research. from my experience, shadowing wasnt a pre-req.

good luck!

 

[Phosphorus Ylide]

from my experience, shadowing wasnt a pre-req.

Wow. I hear that for most applicants, clinical experience is quite imperative. Can some of you other SDN veterans comment on this? 🙂

 

[camaras2480]

i have to disagree w/ this. i was accepted into med school just fine w/o any shadowing. of course i was asked about why i didnt have any shadowing during my interviews. im a non-trad and had to juggle several jobs so this left me with virtually no time to go shadow a doc. i think as long as you show maturity and understanding that life as a doctor wont be like a tv drama, youll be fine.

as far as the op goes, i think your limited free-time would be better served volunteering or getting a job in research. from my experience, shadowing wasnt a pre-req.

good luck!

Yeah thats the thing, if you don't have it, it comes up - sure, if they like your defense, your ok - but most people don't have a good reason for not shadowing. I feel like when someone does have shadowing, it is unlikely to come up for discussion. But when they don't have it, it does come up. My view is that why get into that situation if you can avoid it? 🙂

 

[danny317]

Yeah thats the thing, if you don't have it, it comes up - sure, if they like your defense, your ok - but most people don't have a good reason for not shadowing. I feel like when someone does have shadowing, it is unlikely to come up for discussion. But when they don't have it, it does come up. My view is that why get into that situation if you can avoid it? 🙂

your right for the most part. but in the op's case (and in the case of many non-trads and students who have to work while in school) he probably doesnt have the luxury of free time in order to shadow.

try going to classes in the morning then working until the late evening. then you have to study for classes and also get some rest so that you can repeat the cycle the next day. maybe he can shadow if he cuts down on sleep. but then that will effect other areas of his life...

while shadowing is a good experience, i dont think it is necessarily a pre-req for med school. as long as you can show that you understand that being a doc is not like the shows you see on tv.

 

[danny317]

Wow. I hear that for most applicants, clinical experience is quite imperative. Can some of you other SDN veterans comment on this? 🙂

clinical experience is not limited to shadowing. i feel there are plenty of ways to gain clinical exposure that are more rewarding and relevant.

while it may be beneficial to shadow a doc once or twice, i wouldnt invest too much time in it.

 

[Phosphorus Ylide]

clinical experience is not limited to shadowing. i feel there are plenty of ways to gain clinical exposure that are more rewarding and relevant.

Ah, my mistake. I was thinking you were referring to clinical experience in general. Must be sleep deprivation.

 

[camaras2480]

your right for the most part. but in the op's case (and in the case of many non-trads and students who have to work while in school) he probably doesnt have the luxury of free time in order to shadow.

try going to classes in the morning then working until the late evening. then you have to study for classes and also get some rest so that you can repeat the cycle the next day. maybe he can shadow if he cuts down on sleep. but then that will effect other areas of his life...

while shadowing is a good experience, i dont think it is necessarily a pre-req for med school. as long as you can show that you understand that being a doc is not like the shows you see on tv.

Yeah i see where ur comin from, you raise really good points, probably from experience it sounds like. I just feel like, you only need to shadow like twice, to be able to say that you have. And you can spin those two days however you like to make it sound like an amazing experience at an interview. But I see what your saying too.

By the way, being a doc is all about being House!! im not as smart as him, but i certainly have the @$$hole part down! 😀