Here are my stats if you dont mind commenting…
age when applying =30
GPA from Bsc 2001 (Biochemistry) = 3.66
MCAT (expired) =30…assuming I can repeat this performance.
Am I a lesser candidate now then I would have been at 2001? Since then I have been in a PhD program…
My other question is… Can you be a good father and study medicine at the same time. As a PhD student…I have to say I work about 65 hours a week and I really dont see myself going to far beyond this and maintaining my sanity! I am talking this over with my fiancee but I expect kids in the near future…and its critical to be able to at least be a sufficient father (time-wise) during medical school…
What are residencies like these days? 24 hour rotations?
Any help about where to get this sort of information about people doing as I might be considering and information about the general expectation of a non-trad student…
thanks
John
John,
if you search the forum, you’ll find answers to most of your questions.
Your GPA and MCAT score looks good to me, and they are in the range of most medical school (providing that you can score the same or better on the MCAT again).
Are you going to finish your PhD program? Without this don’t even try applying. Most schools will question if you can finish medical school, after you haven’t finished your PhD.
Do you have any clinical and volunteering experience? It’s a very important factor in admission process.
As far as your last question is concerned - again! Search the forum! Lots of moms and dads in here. I know many people who had kids in the medical school…it’s a doable but probably not an easy thing.
Kasia
P.S. btw - welcome to the forum
I hope they look past me not finishing my Ph.D. degree!!!
I left my Ph.D. program in 2003, with good reason, and have been in a private practice and completing pre-reqs since then.
After talking with several med schools, they were accepting of me not finishing my PhD (I do have a Master’s though).
Sometimes things change and do not work out like you originally intended. My major professor left the PhD program and I was beginning to want to do more than just speech-language pathology anyway.
All-in-all, I wouldn’t change anything and it worked out for the best for me.
Also, while it’s geared toward moms, mommd.com is a great resource for parents in med school/working toward admission to med school
Well finishing the PhD would certainly be great in my mind (in theory)however…The 2-3 years which I have left will mean applying to Medicine in 2009!! Making me 32…I wonder which is the harder pill to swollen???
How would it be different if I was a school teacher or chemical engineer…and leaving my career behind?
Feed back would be great as I think she brought up a good point…
John,
I guess every single person is teated individually by admisson people. Everything depends on your overalll application. On your GPA, MCAT, volunteering! And I know that all these extracurricular things a getting more important when you get older.
I wish you could attend our conference last weekend. Like always, they had lots of tips for non-traditional students. You would find answers to a lot of your questions.
I said that you should finish your PhD program, b/c this appeared in one of the presentations on the conference. Why would they addmit you to a medical school knowing that you haven’t finish one program already? What quarantee will thay have that you might actally finish their school? But again, megboo is a the best example that it’s possible to get into medical school w/o finishing PhD.
Why don’t you schedule an appointment with an admission officer and find out answers to your questions?
I was considering PhD program as an alternative if I don’t get this time around. But I’m not so sure any more. I don’t want to commit myself to next few years of studies and not being able to apply to med schools until I’m done.
One more comment. You’ll find lots of people on this website who were much older than 32 when starting medical school and it worked out just perfect for them. Try to think how you can use these 3 years to your advantage, if you decide to finish your PhD program. You were asking about family/ kids etc. Why not try to have a kid a that time for example? (it’s not like I’m talking you into it. just a suggestion/ brainstorming. I’m trying to show you options…)
Kasia
Well, where are you in your program? Can you smoothly take a master’s and get out? You’d be finished without being stuck for so long.
- Johnmillsbro Said:
How would it be different if I was a school teacher or chemical engineer..and leaving my career behind?
Feed back would be great as I think she brought up a good point...
As Kasia pointed out, 32 is not that old; there are people starting medical school who are 10, 15, even 20 years older than you are. Starting medical school at 35 is not that unusual these days.
I would say, don't let your age or a sense of impatience drive your decisions; rather, try to keep a cool head and think about what you want to achieve in your life.
If your Ph.D. figures into your career plans--which it must have at one time or you wouldn't have begun it--then you need to decide whether the extra sheepskin is worth the time. If it's not, then terminate the program cleanly and move on, but you'll need to be prepared to explain why.
As for being a parent--it's not easy, but people do it. I think it's most important that your spouse be signed on to your plans and you are both going into this with your eyes open. At the conference there were some interesting discussion on this subject--one suggestion was to reserve Friday nights and maybe a day on the weekend for doing something with the family, except perhaps before an exam, and thus stay engaged with your loved ones.
- Johnmillsbro Said:
My other question is.... Can you be a good father and study medicine at the same time.
Earlier today, at the request of a former client, I attended Stanford's med school luncheon, commencement, and champaign celebratory reception. Not only was it a special treat to watch her get her degree, but during the march across the stage, I lost track of how many graduates were carrying babies and young children with them. One woman was carrying ~8 mo. old twins in her arms! The dean of the med school is a pediatrician and after the formal part of the commencement made a cute comment about all of the young children participating.
During my tenure in Stanford admissions, we admitted many single moms and even some single dads. They were successful graduates.
Cheers,
Judy
This concept of having to finish the PhD is puzzling me. All things being equal, finishing the PhD is the way to go. No debate.
But, as non-trads, we all are changing coures to enter medicine. Perhaps we are leaving a career we have have invested in, perhaps we considered going to med school earlier in life but never took all the steps, perhaps we have found that the things we are doing now are not a good fit because we are wired with the special talents of a doctor.
How is this issue of leaving a PhD program any different? Surely the reason a person is making that change is the key. Or is it?
- edjohn Said:
...How is this issue of leaving a PhD program any different? Surely the reason a person is making that change is the key. Or is it?
It is less an issue specific to needing/preferring a Ph.D. and more about the potential for portraying yourself as someone who wil not/can not complete a rigorous academic program. By no means am I insinuating that is the case with you...but you have to bear in mind that AdComs do not 'know' you & you have to be very careful in how you guide them in developing a mental image of who you are.
Your PS is an opportunity to explain yourself. Also, networking by meeting admissions people in person may help too. Done correctly, the worst that will likely happen is that you will have to articulate the "why" in your interviews. Done incorrectly, it could yield a lot of rejections.
So, I would try to get info straight from the horses' mouths - try to set up visitation/networking visits with any med schools in proximity to you or on your 'dream school' list. Pose this question straight to them. Tell them your situation & that you are concerned about this being perceived negatively & how they suggest to avoid that perception.
- Johnmillsbro Said:
My other question is.... Can you be a good father and study medicine at the same time. As a PhD student..I have to say I work about 65 hours a week and I really dont see myself going to far beyond this and maintaining my sanity! I am talking this over with my fiancee but I expect kids in the near future....and its critical to be able to at least be a sufficient father (time-wise) during medical school.....
What are residencies like these days? 24 hour rotations?
Any help about where to get this sort of information about people doing as I might be considering and information about the general expectation of a non-trad student..
John
Hi there,
No matter what residency you choose, you are going to be doing 24-hour shifts. Even as a third-year medical student you will have 24-hour shifts when you are on call for some rotations especially surgery and ob-gyn.
As I am in a General Surgery residency(the most demanding time-wise), I am the only female without children and one of two people that are not married. Residency does not preclude being a good father, husband, son or brother. You are not joining a monastary but undertaking an apprenticeship.
You will have plenty of time for anything outside medicine that you find important. The days are virtually gone when you ate, slept and lived at the hospital for weeks at a time.
Forget what you see on the telly especially Gray's Anatomy and Scrubs. Medicine and surgery are just not like the entertainment industry. Besides, there plenty of careers outside medicine where you will be putting in excess of 60 hours per week.
Todays medical student and resident is not either/or in terms of family life. As with anything else in life, you take time for the things that are important.
Natalie