i feel like all of you at least did something medical in your previous life! me? i was a corporate monkey, struggling my way up a very short ladder (i only have an associates degree)! am i the only one? does that make me even crazier? currently, i am hoping to interview for a new job doing administrative assistant work in the biochemistry research department. i figure that even though it is still admin work, it would be in a field that is kind of neat.
that said, i am in a good position here. i have to go back to school to get my bacc. the problem i am having is deciding what to DO. unfortunately, i’m one of those people that loves learning, so all the programs look interesting to me! its making it hard to decide what to major in.
so just out of curiosity, those of you that have gone before me… what is your undergrad degree?
i think i am going to do something science-y…although whatever i major in, i will be going in the evening (sadly, i have to work for us to survive here in NY) the local university has a pretty interesting B.S. in health science, with a few tracks available to follow… clinical, non-clinical, administrative, etc. and its pretty flexible. though i am having a hard time finding any school that offers lab classes in the evening!!!
i may be confused, but at least i am having fun now! i have a direction! a destination! woo hoo!
My bachelor’s is in communications and my master’s is in library science. I’ve been a librarian for thirteen years. I know how you feel.
When looking at health science degrees, take a close look at the required courses. Sometimes the sciences offered are not the same as the prerequisites you need for med school (different chemistry, for example). Make sure you can substitute the more rigorous pre-med courses without also having to take whatever courses are required–so that, for example, you don’t have to take the two-semester o-chem for pre-meds AND o-chem for health sciences majors.
My B.S. and M.S. are both in Communication Disorders and Sciences (fancy terms for speech-language pathology). I’ve been practicing for over 5 years as an SLP. I even went so far as to spend almost 2 years in a Ph.D. program before I wanted to jump out of a window (j/k). Really, that’s when I knew I wanted to go into clinical medicine.
Choosing a major can be tough - but the important thing is to choose something you LIKE. We all hope the best for you, but in the event you don’t get into med school (assuming you’ve done all you could), you definitely want to have something you like to pursue. If you enjoy biology, then go that route. If you enjoy business, go that route. But since you like the sciences, I guess biology would be the most helpful, too. If you are really having trouble deciding, why don’t you sit in on a few classes in the majors you are interested in and see what you think?
Good luck!
thanks for the ideas! i never thought to sit in on a class… that is actually a great idea! i’ll have to ask about that.
i agree, megboo. i want to choose a major that i can use should the med school thing not go through for any reason. i thought the health science thing would be good… its actually a neat program. the first part of it you design yourself, so long as you take all the courses that are required by the school. then, in your senior year, you take the health science courses in the pathway of your choosing. i thought this sounded like a pretty great idea! now to decide which pathway i would want to go through! LOL! somedays, i wish i hated school. i sound like such a geek, but i can’t help it! i could probably be a professional student, if there was such a career! another reason medicine appeals to me… you never stop learning interesting things!
well, thanks. i am happy to see there are others out there that lived out in left field too! and that you all are so successful in such a dramatic career change!
Oh, I know! I get chided all the time for my “student” career! If I had the time, I’d get a 2nd B.S. in Biology but don’t have the time or $$$. I envy you!
Hey Susanna,
I can’t imagine anyone thinking you shouldn’t be a doc, with that kind of enthusiasm.As far as degrees, well my undergrad is in psychology and I had just started my masters in ed psych when I realized that I was once again taking the second best choice for some baseless reasons. You really aren’t in a bad position because you can design your undergrad to work for you and fill your prereqs at the same time. It is hard to work, be a Mom, and school at the same time. No doubt about it. Why we don’t have a system that allows us to do otherwise and just let us pay it all back is a good question. WOuldn’t that be nice? Since I am new here too, I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other over the next few years; I’ll be glad to hear how things are going for you and I’m rooting for you.
Sheryl
hey sheryl! thanks for the encouragement! i’m glad to see another newbie around here… we can root for each other!
yeah, it is tough to be a mom and do all this again. it would most certainly had been easier logistically if i went this direction right out of high school. but i’ve never been known to settle for the path of least resistance! hmmm. i don’t know what that says about me, but i guess maybe i just like a challenge? either that or i’m some kind of deep seated masochist and can’t live without the torture. LOL 
however, being a mom has taught me that i can’t make everything go perfectly all the time, when you fall down you get up and try again, and to accept small accomplishments with the same joy as the big accomplishments… everything i’ve learned, i’ve learned from my 1.5 year old daughter! i was definitely more neurotic in my younger days, i would have crashed and burned real quick. i probably even had some “gunner” tendencies back then 
, and i think i would have been crushed if i didn’t get high 90s on the first test. so i definitely feel that, for me, there are some advantages to having waited.
and megboo. oh yeah… time? money? oh shoot, i forgot to factor that into things!!! i don’t have either!!! a few years back, before i had my daughter, i was going to try this again. i got discouraged at the thought of taking out loans to pay for undergrad on top of the potential med school loans. back then, i had plenty of time and no money. now look at me! i have no money AND no time! and what do i decide to do now!!! 
hmmm. maybe i do have some masochistic tendencies…
take care everyone!
Absolutely nothing medical in my previous life, so I can identify acutely with your feeling of unpreparedness.
Major was Latin American studies with an emphasis on literature and history.
Goodness, don’t follow me!, but I have an undergrad in engineering and an overgrad in statistics. Not sure if this will help me get into anything, but I am gonna try.
hey look! another new yorker! well, ok, so i’m out in the woods on long island, but i used to work in manhattan! did some time down on greenwich and park, moved on up madison and then on over to broadway. i kinda miss the food! there was a neat little mexican lunch place down near my park place office… lizards or something. yummy. and cosi uptown more. i soooooo miss cosi sandwiches. the mozzarella and tomato one… drool drool… and the garage… is that place still there? down in the village? and i still never got the chance to check out raos in harlem. but then again, i’m not famous! i’ll have to settle for buying the rao’s sauce in a jar from pathmark. LOL
mmmm. ok, now i’m hungry. i’ll have to get you to ship me some food from over in little italy. the torrone!!! oh, i really really miss the festival.
sigh. oh well. back to my haute couture sandwich dinner. i’ll just call it burro di arachidi e nutella instead of jif and nutella and pretend it came from little italy.
take care and best of luck to you!
<— Another New Yorker here, delurking during a brief lull
After working as a Systems Analyst for over 8 years I am now a full time student and am finishing up my post-bacc at Columbia this year. I had my third Orgo test today. 
School is a lot of work but also so much fun. It’s amazing to be learning all these cool things and dealing with such interesting people.
I grew up in Manhattan and currently live in Westchester. I’m still trying to decide between Dental or Medical and am running out of time.
Best wishes to you on your journey, Susanna.
While I worked 18 years as a pediatric home health nurse, my undergrad degree was interdisciplinary studies with a pre-med concentration (my first jump into the sciences) and foundations in Humanities and Sociology. Many of my classmates have non-medical backgrounds. We have several former engineers in my class alone. There is only 3 out of 50 with previous medical experience, 2 nurses and one cardiac echo tech. (We’re also the oldest!! )
Welcome! Well we all take different paths and I’m an RN and because of that my volunteer work is different (something I will continue) It’s in the BSA. I want to be honest though, Medical School is different than Nursing and Nursing school.
Yes it does help that I’m a nurse but not tremndously. A relly good student who does really well can “Kick my butt” at times in Med School.
Who Knows It may be You!
Good luck.