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[VM3125]

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Hi all,

I've searched the site to see if my question's already been answered, but didn't quite find the same scenario so I am writing this thread.

I'm a 31 non-trad looking to change careers and am looking into medicine. Starting to volunteer at a hospital and am still working full time. I took Bio I, Gen Chem I and II, and Physics I and II about 9-11 years ago. To finish up my pre-reqs I assume I would at least need to take Bio II, re-take Chem II, and then Organic I and II. Being that I am still needing to work full time and take these classes, I'm really looking at taking only 1 or 2 classes a semester, that too most likely at a community college in order to get better class offerings in terms of day/time. The question is.. by only taking 1 or 2 science classes and nothing else (besides work and volunteer activities), how in the world can I prove to an adcom that I can handle the rigors of medical school? What do you recommend?

Note, I have a BS in Computer Science and have about a 3.7 undergrad GPA/3.5 science GPA without the aforementioned classes.

Thanks for everyone's input!

 

[MedPR]

Hi all,

I've searched the site to see if my question's already been answered, but didn't quite find the same scenario so I am writing this thread.

I'm a 31 non-trad looking to change careers and am looking into medicine. Starting to volunteer at a hospital and am still working full time. I took Bio I, Gen Chem I and II, and Physics I and II about 9-11 years ago. To finish up my pre-reqs I assume I would at least need to take Bio II, re-take Chem II, and then Organic I and II. Being that I am still needing to work full time and take these classes, I'm really looking at taking only 1 or 2 classes a semester, that too most likely at a community college in order to get better class offerings in terms of day/time. The question is.. by only taking 1 or 2 science classes and nothing else (besides work and volunteer activities), how in the world can I prove to an adcom that I can handle the rigors of medical school? What do you recommend?

Note, I have a BS in Computer Science and have about a 3.7 undergrad GPA/3.5 science GPA without the aforementioned classes.

Thanks for everyone's input!

At one point I was taking Anatomy&Physiology 1, Gen chem 1 (retake), and Organic chem 1 (retake) while working 40 hours per week and doing research for 5-10 per week. You can definitely do more than 1 class per semester even while working full time, assuming you can find suitable class times. The main reason why I only take 2-3 classes per semester is time constraints. It's hard finding enough time for lecture/lab classes when you already have an 8 hour block of time accounted for everyday. By that I mean it is hard to find classes that have meeting times that don't overlap with work or each other.

As far as proving that you can handle the rigor, I think working full time, taking 8+ credits, and some EC (volunteering, research, etc) is plenty enough. Keep in mind that most traditional students take 16 credits each semester and maybe volunteer at the same time. Work + 8 credits + ECs is much harder than 16 credits + ECs imo.

 

[GenusTide]

As a non-trad, you will not fall under the same criteria that a 22yo will. 31yo working full time and taking as many classes possible is fine where as a trad student whom does not work taking a small course load does not look so good. Your biggest hurdles are going to maintaining a high GPA ( >3.5 and realistically closer to 3.8ish for these last few classes you need) and scoring WELL ( most important in my opinion ) on your MCAT. All the rest are exponentially less important. Shadowing is important but a million hours of shadowing will not make up for sub par stats. Just be realistic about your goals. Will you get into a top tier research school with this approach? Possibly not, but do your best and you will have a shot just as everyone else, trad or non.
Good luck

 

[MedPR]

As a non-trad, you will not fall under the same criteria that a 22yo will. 31yo working full time and taking as many classes possible is fine where as a trad student whom does not work taking a small course load does not look so good. Your biggest hurdles are going to maintaining a high GPA ( >3.5 and realistically closer to 3.8ish for these last few classes you need) and scoring WELL ( most important in my opinion ) on your MCAT. All the rest are exponentially less important. Shadowing is important but a million hours of shadowing will not make up for sub par stats. Just be realistic about your goals. Will you get into a top tier research school with this approach? Possibly not, but do your best and you will have a shot just as everyone else, trad or non.
Good luck

Personally I think you need to get a 4.0 if you're taking CC classes. At least that's the mindset I had when I started doing grade replacement at a CC; "Get a B and kiss med school goodbye."

 

[Deekle]

Personally I think you need to get a 4.0 if you're taking CC classes. At least that's the mindset I had when I started doing grade replacement at a CC; "Get a B and kiss med school goodbye."

Completely false. I got B's in orgo I and II and a C in calc I at CC. I still got in. Granted, I did take a lot of upper level chem at University to finish out my degree.

 

[MedPR]

Completely false. I got B's in orgo I and II and a C in calc I at CC. I still got in. Granted, I did take a lot of upper level chem at University to finish out my degree.

Were the CC classes after you had already finished undergraduate?

 

[Deekle]

Were the CC classes after you had already finished undergraduate?

Nope, they were transfer credits as partof undergrad. The point being that my 3.86 GPA in CC didn't keep me out of med school. I can see your point in that if your only basic science experience isn't stellar, you will have a more difficult path. Let's not forget however that GPA and sGPA are only one part of an application. One B is not going to tank an otherwise great application.

 

[VM3125]

Thanks to everyone for the info! The other question I have is about post-bacc. Say I were to quit my job and do a post-bacc.. what does a post-bacc with linkage really mean? I did some research on it but don't really see "linkage" meaning a guaranteed admission into a med school?

 

[MedPR]

Nope, they were transfer credits as partof undergrad. The point being that my 3.86 GPA in CC didn't keep me out of med school. I can see your point in that if your only basic science experience isn't stellar, you will have a more difficult path. Let's not forget however that GPA and sGPA are only one part of an application. One B is not going to tank an otherwise great application.

Yea I guess I was thinking for my situation and situations similar to it. I meant that if you finish undergrad with poor science (especially pre-req) performance and go to a CC for retakes or GPA repair you should be only getting As. The whole point of grade replacement and taking post-bacc classes (DIY or an actual program) is to show that you can get As in pre-reqs and upper level classes. If you decide to do those at a CC and cannot or do not get As, I don't think that looks really good to ADCOMs. That's just my personal opinion though.

 

[xUSMCx]

During my freshman year I completed something allong the lines of 48ish credits. I started a 100 level math course at a CC with the intent to transfer it in. I found out I didn't need it, so withdrew a couple weeks into the course... or so I thought. Come to find out, I didn't properly withdraw and was given a 'F'. The CC said since it was so long ago, there's nothing they can do. Obviously I'll retake the course and get an A, but how bad is having the origional F on my transcript going to hurt me? Also, I'm new to this, so excuse the dumb question, but mathmatics aren't factored into the sGPA correct?

 

[galaxyx]

Math is counted in the AMCAS sGPA, but mathematically, 3/120 credits is 2.5% which means if you have 120 credits, the F in a 3 credit course will drop your GPA by around 0.1. Obviously, the more credits, the less the F will have an effect. At 160 credits, that one F drops your GPA by 0.07. So, if the rest of your classes average below a 3.5 losing that much could make a huge difference in perception, but if your gpa is above a 3.5, it's not going to make or break you.

 

[xUSMCx]

Math is counted in the AMCAS sGPA, but mathematically, 3/120 credits is 2.5% which means if you have 120 credits, the F in a 3 credit course will drop your GPA by around 0.1. Obviously, the more credits, the less the F will have an effect. At 160 credits, that one F drops your GPA by 0.07. So, if the rest of your classes average below a 3.5 losing that much could make a huge difference in perception, but if your gpa is above a 3.5, it's not going to make or break you.

Well my science gpa will probably factor about 45 credits, so the F will weigh heavier than that, but I get what you're saying.