Hello everyone. My name is Michael Dearnaley. I am a 39 year old single father of two outstanding teen-aged boys. I received my BS in computer science many years ago and I have been working in software development ever since. I first thought of pursuing a medical career eight or nine years ago. Even then I recognized that as a software developer my work was meaningless and “hollow”. In 2005, at the age of thirteen, my oldest son became very ill and required a heart transplant. The experiences that my son and I have shared with his medical team throughout the years has inspired and encouraged me to act on my dreams. Now that my sons are approaching college-age I feel that I can start to tackle the prerequisites needed to take the MCATs and apply to medical schools in the next few years. This leads me into the first of what will surely become an infinite list of questions…
Should I take just the recommended science courses or get a B.S. in biology? I would consider getting the second undergrad degree if the benefits of the course work were worth the extra time and money. I am not enrolling until spring '10, so I still have some time to weigh my options.
Michael
It’s not necessary to get another bachelor’s degree or another degree at all. You’ll need to take at least Chemistry 1&2, Biology 1&2, Organic Chemistry 1&2, and Physics 1&2 all university-level and all with labs. These are the basic prerequisites to get into most schools as well as topics that are tested on the MCAT. You’re also going to want to ace them! You can do it!
Just look to your local medical schools website and see what their basics requirements are. Then see what you have completed.
We always recommend contacting the admissions directly.