Where to begin?

[BusinessToMed]

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After months of wrestling with myself, I have decide to become a doctor. Just wanted to introduce myself to everyone and ask for some advice. I am non-traditional based on career track not age as I am turning 24 in August. A little background:

• Undergrad from University of Michigan Business School - 3.6 GPA
• Currently working in NYC in finance department for a major bank.
• Recently shadowed a doc for a day to make sure I wanted to push my chips all in.
• I am planning on applying in 2010 for matriculation in 2011.

I am planning on moving back to my home state of Michigan to take all of the pre-reqs (assuming they give me resident status at UofM). I would like some advice on how to best get the necessary ECs as I will be playing catch-up in this department. Thanks 🙂

 

[sawood]

Welcome.

By EC's I'm assuming you mean clinical experience? I asked around until I found a doc who would let me work with him (unpaid of course), he let me do and see a lot, which gave me good material to talk about. Its tough as a non-trad sometimes to get your foot in the door. Just be persistant and something will land. Then, develop the relationship with the doc so you can get a great letter of rec.

 

[OncoCaP]

After months of wrestling with myself, I have decide to become a doctor. Just wanted to introduce myself to everyone and ask for some advice. I am non-traditional based on career track not age as I am turning 24 in August. A little background:

• Undergrad from University of Michigan Business School - 3.6 GPA
• Currently working in NYC in finance department for a major bank.
• Recently shadowed a doc for a day to make sure I wanted to push my chips all in.
• I am planning on applying in 2010 for matriculation in 2011.

I am planning on moving back to my home state of Michigan to take all of the pre-reqs (assuming they give me resident status at UofM). I would like some advice on how to best get the necessary ECs as I will be playing catch-up in this department. Thanks 🙂

Look at some places you might like to go to school. Find out what they require. Pick a large state school (like UofM) and take post-bacc courses while you put your application together. Study a lot for the MCAT and practice a lot. Good luck. You'll be starting before you know it.

 

[bottles999]

After months of wrestling with myself, I have decide to become a doctor. Just wanted to introduce myself to everyone and ask for some advice. I am non-traditional based on career track not age as I am turning 24 in August. A little background:

• Undergrad from University of Michigan Business School - 3.6 GPA
• Currently working in NYC in finance department for a major bank.
• Recently shadowed a doc for a day to make sure I wanted to push my chips all in.
• I am planning on applying in 2010 for matriculation in 2011.

I am planning on moving back to my home state of Michigan to take all of the pre-reqs (assuming they give me resident status at UofM). I would like some advice on how to best get the necessary ECs as I will be playing catch-up in this department. Thanks 🙂

First, Good luck. If this is really what you want. I would suggest that your start researching ALL the pre-req's some written and some unwritten ones, e.g. such as volunteering atleast 100 hrs in some clinical experience. Since your talking about Michigan, you might want to consider Wayne State. Their Undergrad costs are very reasonable when compared to alot of other universities. Its not the presteige that U of M certainly has. However, in the end a High GPA is still a high GPA regardless where it comes from.

In addition, Wayne State has alot of evening classes for most of the basic pre-req's that a med school would require. This would prolong the application process, but enable you to possibly work and take classes. That is just something to think about.

Good luck

 

[DrJosephKim]

You've learned about the importance of networking by working in the business world. Well, you can learn some great 'pearls' of advice by networking with some old friends and colleagues who are currently students, residents, doctors, etc.

It's invaluable to collect advice and to invest your time and energy on appropriate things. For instance, you'll really want to shine on the MCAT. However, it can be really tough to brush up on all that science. So what do you do?

SDN is also a great place to network and learn, so use this resource!

 

[fireflygirl]

I would also suggest talking to your pre-med advisor once you choose where you want to do your pre-reqs, and find out what connections the school has in setting up ECs. My post-bac had a lot of non-profits, medical centers, and local hospitals nearby so there were lots of post-bacs involved in these facilities because of the need. Even if you do your pre-reqs on your own, as a student, I would imagine you would have a chance to use the career office at the least and find out what kinds of opps might be in the area. If you work with a hospital full or part time they may even consider giving you tuition benefits.