Hi everyone!! I’m so glad that I found this board. It is very inspiring to see people my age and older pursuing the dream of medical school. A little about me…I’m 34, mother of 1 son, age 7. I’m currently in my 4th year of undergrad at UC Santa Barbara (Religious Studies major) and just recently decided to start taking the prereqs for med school. If all goes well I hope to begin med school in 2006. I’ve decided not to tell any of my family or friends for fear of being carted off to an insane asylum, so I’ll plug away at the prereqs and tell everybody after I’ve been accepted, so at least it seems more real. I am technically supposed to graduate with my BA this June but I got an approval to delay my graduation until my prereqs are done, that way I don’t have to find a post bacc program. Well here I am…very happy to be with you guys on this long journey.
Welcome! You’ll find a good set of friends here for advice and support. Good luck with those pre-req’s.
Welcome! Just wanted to pop in here quick and tell you you’ve come to a good place for resources and support/encouragement…and the jokes are good here too!
It sounds like you’ve got a good plan worked out. Please keep us posted on how your post-bacc goes and if you have any questions, OPMs is a great place to ask. Good luck!
Hi and welcome to OPM,
I wish you well on your journey. It was a great idea to delay your graduation so you can finish your pre-med requirements, although they may ask you why it took you so long to complete your four year degree. But you have a good excuse so don’t worry too much about it.
Make sure you are getting your clinical volunteer experiences in so you can have a great application when the time comes.
Good luck
Welcome welcome! I love this board for exactly that reason… I don’t want to share my dreams with everyone, yet I need a good amount of support. SO, share here, and surprise everyone else when you have been accepted to medical school!
Hey Van,
Welcome to OPM. I’ve not been around much lately but I still wanted to say hey. It’s always good to have another individual on board.
Hi vanwhalen!
Welcome to this great site. It’s nice to have a fellow religion major around–that was my college major too. USCB’s a great place for that, isn’t it? How have you liked it? I even went to UCSB for one quarter back when I was a freshman. Well, I hope you enjoy taking the pre-reqs, and keep us posted on your progress!
Nice to have you here!
Andrea
Hi Andrea,
Yeah, UCSB is definitely good for Religion majors. I’m starting next quarter with Gen Chem, Physics, and Calculus, so we’ll see how it goes. I’m in the process of trying to teach myself to think science, science, science, instead of religion. This will be the first time I have ever ventured into the science buildings on campus, so I’m nervous and excited at the same time. I’ll keep you and everyone here at old premeds updated on my progress. Thanks for the encouragement!!
Hello! Welcome to OPM! You’re so smart to major in what you want and take your prereqs at the same time. (I wish I had figured that out when I was in school the first time around. Oh well.)
I think religion would be a really interesting major, and I bet you would do well in medical school. I’ve heard that philosophy majors have a high rate of acceptance and do well b/c of their critical thinking skills, which I’m sure you would develop as a religious studies major.
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.
Love,
Stacy
Welcome to OPM! Never think you are too old. Just read the posts of some of our members in their 50s. They are more energetic than kids half their age!! I’m 41 myself, and though I may not get an acceptance this year, I’m not giving up!! Good luck in your endeavors!
Kathy
Welcome aboard! Lots of nice folks here.
I kept my plans mostly to myself for a full semester, and it was hard. I finally started telling people, and I was quite surprised how supportive people were. There are always a few naysayers, including a very well-meaning friend who is convinced I’d be much happier as a nurse practitioner, but the support I’m getting is amazing.
Oh, they think I’m crazy. But it’s a kind of divine madness. So if your plans start to leak out, it’s okay.
If you’ve been doing very little in the way of math and science lately, doing general chem, physics, and calculus all at once may be a bit of a shock. All three courses are very math heavy and require a lot of practice to be able to do the problems at speed so you can finish the exams. Two of the three probably come with time consuming labs, and maybe even discussion sections. You know yourself best, of course, but please do think about that time commitment.
And you’re a spring chicken, dearie. I’m 40 and won’t finish my prereqs until next year. Welcome, welcome, welcome!
Hi Denise,
Thanks for the warm welcome!! I just signed up today for my spring classes and will be taking gen chem and calculus. I’ve decided to wait for physics, don’t want to overwhelm myself right off the bat. Thanks for the advice. I’m shooting for 2006 as well, so maybe I’ll see you in first year medical school. Good luck!!