I have wanted to be a doctor for a long time, but it wasn’t until recently that it was even realistic for me to even begin thinking about it. I have been working with physicians on the business side of medicine for the last 20 years as it relates to medical practice management and clinical software development, training and support so I have been exposed to many different types of doctors, medical specialties and clinical environments. 20 years ago, there was not a medical school in the Phoenix area and that was a big problem for me as I am married and had young children at the time. Now there are two medical schools in the Phoenix area and my children are older which now makes it possible to explore my options. The problem is, I have two big strikes against me. Problem #1: I am 45 years old. Problem #2: The only med schools I can attend are ASU and Midwestern here in the Phoenix area. Other med schools are out of the question because I have a family so my educational options are extremely limited which seems to lower my chances significantly of getting into medical school at all. I am thinking about retaining the services of Inquarta and Don Osbourne to guide me through the next two years of my premed work and the medical application process. I spoke with Don Osbourne yesterday and he said he could help me. He also said it would be a big challenge because of my age and my extremely limited medical school options and I will have to work much harder to achieve this goal and stand out in the application process. I am trying to be realistic about this; on the other hand, I have to believe that it is possible. I have applied to ASU for the premed work and will be speaking with my academic counselor next week so I can begin this fall. Any advice is appreciated.
I’m sorry but who are Inquarta and Don Osbourne?
Inquarta is a company that coaches people through the medical application process. Here is a link to their site.
http://www.inquarta.com/
Don Osbourne is the founder of Inquarta. Here is his bio.
http://www.inquarta.com/about/staff-bios/
I have purchased some of their books and they are very insightful. The medical admissions process is very complex and I think the guidance will be invaluable.
Welcome to OPM. Poke around here a bit, and you may see some similar stories. I know that Mary was limited in her geographic area, for many of the same reasons, and it worked out quite well for her.
At the risk of sounding facetious, how do only having two medical schools on Phoenix limit you? Which is your number one priority, staying in Phoenix or going to medical school? No, both is not an acceptable answer. From your posting, it appears that you will stay in Phoenix, whether or not you get into medical school. You also sound like, pardon me for putting it this way, that you “just have to get in medical school here!” If you take that mindset you will drive yourself not only crazy during the process but any potential application failures will leave you psychologically devastated. Wait a minute before you curse me out. I think you would be much better served by an accepting mindset that it is possible but chances are diminished. In other words, I think you have to focus on the goal and not stress over the limitations of your self-applied restrictions. Accept those limits now, and let them vanish. all your energies should be about getting in
Hi Jerilyn, Actually I think the thing that is more limiting is not your age, but your not wanting to leave Pheonix. I understand, and this is something that many nontrads are faced with because unlike traditonal student, we all have established ourselves…from buying a house, to raising children, etc.
I would like to say that it is not impossible…just realize that if you don’t get in the first year,you’ll have to reapply…is that okay with you?
Actually Richard B. only applied to one school (Uni of Kansas, I think), and he got in. Just make sure that you to have the strongest application possible, and find out everything you can about the med schools in your area, and let them know that you want to go to one or the either not because of just location but what it has to offer.
Best of luck!
- Krisss17 Said:
Whoa, hold on a minute. KS is a state with a strong pref for in-staters. They grant first-round interviews to ALL instaters who meet a minimum GPA and MCAT. Also, one of the school's core goals is to educate rural health practitioners. Richard did a lot of above-and-beyond type things that would have made him a strong applicant at KU, particularly with his rural KS ties. I don't know all the specifics of Richard's story, but just tossing out that an old guy got into the *1* place he applied without the full story is a little misleading. I see Richard as an example of someone who did everything within his means to pursue his dream.
- AliJ Said:
- Krisss17 Said:
Whoa, hold on a minute. KS is a state with a strong pref for in-staters. They grant first-round interviews to ALL instaters who meet a minimum GPA and MCAT. Also, one of the school's core goals is to educate rural health practitioners. Richard did a lot of above-and-beyond type things that would have made him a strong applicant at KU, particularly with his rural KS ties. I don't know all the specifics of Richard's story, but just tossing out that an old guy got into the *1* place he applied without the full story is a little misleading. I see Richard as an example of someone who did everything within his means to pursue his dream.
I'm not denying the strong in-state love KU has for its residents...but two things stand out...he did only apply to one school and he did as you said "everything within his means to pursue his dreams." I never wrote to Jerilyn that it would be easy, I just wrote that it might be possible.
It is up to her how much she is willing to do, to make herself the best applicant she can be.
I know it is not a common experience to get into your one and only choice, but it has been done...and if she is willing to take a chance, and even reapply if she doesn't get in...that is her decision. I had only read on another thread that an applicant finally got into her school choice after the 4th time...she continued to work on her application and persistence won out.
Whether someone applied to one school or fifty, I see pretty much everyone on here is doing everything in his/her power to pursue a dream.
I believe my experience was cited earlier in this thread. Let me recap:
When I started considering med school, I was 41 years old with kids 17, 14 and 11. My husband was a senior executive at a consulting firm, where he was paid well, enjoyed his work, and had a great future. I had invested over 20 years of my life in my marriage and my family, and although I definitely recognized that I wanted to pursue a new career in medicine, I sure was not going to do it at the expense of everything I’d done in my adult life up to that point.
So, I did my post-bacc studies locally with an eye towards doing a stellar job - which I did. I studied hard for the MCAT and did very well. I worked to be sure that my letters of recommendation were good (I presume; I didn’t see them) and I wrote, rewrote, edited, polished and buffed my personal statement and my secondary application essays. I worked my ASS off to make my application the very best it could be.
I applied to Georgetown and George Washington in Washington, D.C. I knew that it was a crap shoot, although my grades and scores were good. I knew that there was a real chance that I would not get in. And I figured, well, I’ll take that chance. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I hadn’t gotten in - I’m one of those folks who didn’t have a Plan B and to this day I don’t know how that would’ve played out.
(by the way, I actually have a much harder job than I really want, to be honest, and if I had a Plan B I would’ve taken it)
My point is, there is nothing wrong with saying, “My first priority is to my family and that means that I have to stay here.” Just so you know that by being geographically selective, you are choosing to set your own bar higher.
Mary
If you want to stay in the Phoenix area, then where is AT Still (located in Mesa, AZ) in the mix?
Regards
Mesa, I believe is only about 20 minutes or so from Pheonix. They have an interesting program in which you pretty much do a full year of basic sciences, and then years 2-4 you are assigned to a Community Health Center (different parts of the US, including a few in AZ), where you are with a cohort of about 8-10 students, and a little bit more patient contact than usual in the second year. The nice thing is that when comparing it to other DO schools, all of your rotations in 3rd and 4th year are set within the CHC. While the first year is more lecture based, it sounds as though 2-4 is more PBL, distance learning and working more directly with medical professionals.
It sounds quite interesting!
In my search for becoming a doctor, ASU/UofA is the one that I have selected to go to. While I live right next to UC Davis which has an excellent program, it won’t take my University of Phoenix classes. The new ASU/UofA Medical School in downtown Phoenix, have also opened up the enrolement to those outside of the State to encourage doctors to come to Arizona, which adds to the pluses, amongst other factors bringing me back to Arizona.
I don’t see the fact that ASU/UofA is the only school in your mind to attend being a negative. Nor do I see your age as a negative.
- Mary Renard Said:
My point is, there is nothing wrong with saying, "My first priority is to my family and that means that I have to stay here." Just so you know that by being geographically selective, you are choosing to set your own bar higher.
Mary
I don't know if anyone could have said it better than Mary. My mother in law was in a similar position when she decided to apply to medical school. My father in law had a good job in corporate law and they had 3 small kids. MIL wanted to get into one of two med schools in the state they were in - she did - and then she wanted to do her residency in the same area - she did. But she's told me she worked very hard to make sure she was competitive so that she had the option of staying where she was. Good luck!
- Jerilyn Said:
I am in a similar situation. I am not quite the same age (or as wise, I'm sure!) as you, but I have a young family and can only apply to 2 schools in the area. However, I looked up the statistics, and my schools are not very competitive, which makes me think I have a good chance. For instance, my #1 school interviews 84% of applicants, and of those, 50% get in. So those are pretty good odds! Unless you live in NY or CA, which you don't, I wouldn't think it'd be too hard if your grades are at the level of the schools you're applying to, and you have something in your extracurriculars to really distinguish you from other applicants. Also, if you can ace your interviews, that would give you a real leg up. Have you taken a peek at the MSAR for your schools?
There is actually now a 3rd med school in your area in Mesa. It is a second med school by my alma mater - A.T.Still University. The first school, also the founing DO school, is in Kirksville, MO. The new chool, in Mesa, has only just admitted its first class last year, I belive. Already, the curriculum has won several prestigious awards for innovation. Be sure & check it out!
BTW, one of our speakers on rural medicine, primary care and non-trad students from the 2006 conference, Dr. Robert Bowman, is now a professor there