Hi everyone, I have posted on this site before and I frequently search OPM forum for more knowledge based info. I would like to thank everyone whom has taken the time out of their life to assist other people in the process of obtaining their dream of getting into medical school. I recently posted that I am an LPN trying to bridge to the RN program. I did apply recently and was not accepted this round; however, I do have the opportunity to apply again in a few months. After evaluating all my options I am having second thoughts about trying to pursue nursing prior to starting premed. At this point as far as government loans, I only have enough money to pursue one direction (premed or nursing), in other words if I pursued nursing which would be an associate degree, I would have to pay for the bachelors degree out of pocket. I was only going to advance in nursing due to I am already half way there by me being an LPN, and it would be a back up if medical school does not work out, in addition to better job opportunity if I had to work during pre-med. I have decided that if medical school does not work out I will still have time to pursue something else in the medical field. I recently spoke with an advisor at a 4 year University regarding the biology degree. Everything was explicated to me appropriately; the university does have an accelerated program with an affiliation with LECOM in Bradenton FL. their DO medical school. After receiving the relevant info about the Biology degree it seems like it would be very difficult to work full time. I have been contemplating on taking a year off and working 2 jobs to save money in effort take a few years off, or either taking classes part time and continuing to work. I hate the thought of taking a year off due to I have already been out of college since May and feel like I am forgetting so much of the chemistry(knowing that organic chemistry is the next step). I have a very flexible but demanding job in home health care, and my job give its employees lots of paid time off. It would be very easy to request certain times off for final exams, test days etc. I set the time for nursing visits so it’s easy to get away for classes without having to take the whole day off from work. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Is it feasible to work during pre-med or am I better off taking a year off to work and save so I could take 2-3 years off. Sorry for the long post. All advice will be greatly appreciated.
Are you able to work at least part time with your present employer? If not maybe you could look in to working on campus. The state uni I graduated from employed both undergrad and grad students and were very accomodating in scheduling work hours before, between and after classes
If you can work nights you can probably do a degree part-time. It just takes longer. You probably can’t work full time and go to school full time and get the grades you need, so you do have to make choices. Tell us more about what you were told about the degree program.
The answer to your question pertaining to the feasibility of working and taking premed classes can be yes and no, because this is situation dependant. Bear in mind that there are a lot of variables to consider. While some people are able to do extremly well balancing both full time work and school, others are not very successful at doing so. It is my opinion, that one should take into account factors such as background with the science courses, personality type, study habits, demands of job, family structure and support system to make a decision about working full time and taking premed courses. So if you are able to take full time load at school and do not work, this might give you more time to concentrate on your classes and get better grades. Personaly, i am doing both and it is a challenge.
Working part-time could be a possibility, the only problem with my job is that it requires a lot of paper work and doucumentation. This could interfere with studying even while working partime at my present job. I may have to look into other job possibilities if I make the decision to work while taking courses.
It also depends on your responsibilities and dedication to your work. I was too focused on my work and at one point it negatively affected my grades. But even after I re-focused on school the existence of payroll depended on my work alone, so I couldn’t just skip a day to have more time to study for an exam.
If I could go back in time I would either cut my hours down to a reasonable level 2 years earlier than I did, or quit and get a job with less responsibility. 
I have not met with the director over the program as of yet; therefore, I have not been educated on the in-depth info of the program. What was explicated was more so the courses in somewhat detail, and the affiliation with LECOM of finishing 90 credits before transferring to medical school and getting a bachelor of science biology degree after completion of one year of medical school. A layout of the courses over 2.5-3 years was initiated and seems quite intense. I will know a lot more after a meeting with the director.
It really depends on your personal capabilities academically and your time management skills. I work part-time and go to school part-time. I was trying to go full-time at school this semester but ended up cutting back on some of my classes. Once I realized how much effort Organic Chemistry would require, I dropped a class that I could take later with a lighter load. I’m still busy 24/7 but I feel it is more manageable.
Although I want to get my prereqs done ASAP, here’s how I ended up approaching the situation.
- I could push myself with as many school and work hours as possible and possibly suffer academically. This would negatively affect my med school chances.
- I could have a more manageable schedule (although still very busy) and hopefully achieve high marks in my prereqs and not hurt my med school chances.
Choice 1) possibly never get into med school by taking on too much and hurting my academics.
Or choice 2) do well and maybe apply a year later but with better chances than choice 1)