What are my chances of?

[2017MU2017]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hey everyone,

I am currently a 5th year studying finance and accounting from a fairly reputable university and I will be graduating next month. I only have to take an extra semester because I did an internship full-time with a Big 4 firm in the Spring. About a year ago, I started reconsidering my career path and have been narrowing down on medicine ever since. I have been making strides this past semester in terms of planning everything that must be done and weighing the financial feasibility of taking prerequisites and I'm ecstatic to say that it looks like I can afford it. My GPA is good (3.4 cumulative, 3.6 major), but it's not like I've been preparing for med school for the past 4.5 years. Fortunately, it has a very strong upward trend (cum. GPA has gone up every semester) and I had about a 3.75 at the midterm this semester. Math and science have always been my strengths (36 and 30 on ACT, respectively, and completed AP Phys, AP Stats, BC Calc). As of now, my plan is to take my prerequisites over the next 3 semesters (with 16 credits over the summer) while scribing in the ER for 20 hours/week.

I really hope it doesn't sound like I'm bragging about my credentials (especially because I know many people out there having better credentials than I do)! I just want to give people a summary of where I'm at.

Can anyone reasonably tell me what my chances are of getting into med school? Also, is scribing 20 hours/week while in school too much to take on especially while taking 16 credits over a summer? Any answers or advice in general would be greatly appreciated. Also, this is my first post; so go easy on me!

 

[etp123]

This probably won't be the kind of answer you're looking for but asking whether something will be too much to take on is very difficult to answer because everyone is different. There are people on this forum who need to focus on one thing at a time and there are others who can juggle work, classes, and extracurriculars all at once so that's a determination you will be better able to make on your own rather than asking strangers.

Try to see what people have said about your classes and if they say it's not that bad, and if you think you'll do OK with the subject matter, then balancing scribe work in there probably won't be so bad. You just have to ask yourself if you can handle it and allocate your time well enough they don't start running into each other and you fall behind.

Anyway besides that your chances are fine, you have no big red flags. There's nothing that bars career changes from pursuing med school idk where people get this idea that they're somehow hindered by that. It's actually more on the positive side to have a diverse background. My digression aside, do well in your prereqs, show you are committed to the field by having solid extracurriculars (doesn't have to be extreme, just meaningful), ace the MCAT, and you're as good as any imo.

 

[2017MU2017]

This probably won't be the kind of answer you're looking for but asking whether something will be too much to take on is very difficult to answer because everyone is different. There are people on this forum who need to focus on one thing at a time and there are others who can juggle work, classes, and extracurriculars all at once so that's a determination you will be better able to make on your own rather than asking strangers.

Try to see what people have said about your classes and if they say it's not that bad, and if you think you'll do OK with the subject matter, then balancing scribe work in there probably won't be so bad. You just have to ask yourself if you can handle it and allocate your time well enough they don't start running into each other and you fall behind.

Anyway besides that your chances are fine, you have no big red flags. There's nothing that bars career changes from pursuing med school idk where people get this idea that they're somehow hindered by that. It's actually more on the positive side to have a diverse background. My digression aside, do well in your prereqs, show you are committed to the field by having solid extracurriculars (doesn't have to be extreme, just meaningful), ace the MCAT, and you're as good as any imo.

Thanks for the input! I've talked to many physicians and they agree that having a diverse background could actually be beneficial. Outside of scribing and shadowing, do you have any recommendations as to how I can get more exposure/experience in the medical field? Do you know of any volunteer opportunities that would give me more hands-on experience?

 

[etp123]

I'm not sure where you are but there are volunteer programs out there that actually have you scrub up alongside doctors nurses etc in a hospital and assist them with patient care. I participated in one myself and it was amazing. But similar programs may not be available anywhere so honestly best place to ask is your university. Where are the other pre-med students getting their experience? Maybe your career center or whatever pre-med advising entity exists at your school has some info. Or if there's pre-med clubs at your school maybe they have a list of resources that would be helpful to look into. If all else fails just google local hospitals and health systems you have access to and see what their opportunities are for hands-on clinical experience.

Otherwise honestly I think shadowing and scribing isn't bad at all. Don't get overly neurotic on trying to get so many different checkmarks on your application. You can still have meaningful inspiring experiences as a scribe that reaffirm your desire to enter medicine