I’m reaching out knowing that you all can provide me insight and support… and possibly somebody to connect with and communicate with regularly.
I’ve been accepted into 1 postbacc program, waiting on another which is my preference (linkage program) but I’m not confident about my acceptance.
So I’m moving forward with the 1st program and trying to put everything in place to have the pre reqs I still need done by June 2015 for the (new) MCAT. Its ridiculous and scary. I am afraid I’ll regret not doing this (again) but I am also freaked out by quitting a steady and promising job and going back to school for something slightly uncertain.
There are tons of inspiring stories out there - especially in these forums - and I just need someone to communicate with (email?) and talk to me about their own experiences. I need to feel like this happens to other people who are in similar situations and it turns out fine. Is there someone out there who wants to help me be 1000% sure as I jump into this?
(Bonus points if you live in the DC area and can meet up in person).
we are having our conference in June in the Washington DC area, and our first alumni is from VA who did her postbacc at George Mason and her MD at George Washington University.
First of all, congrats on the post-bac acceptance! That’s wonderful.
Second, I second the idea of attending the conference in June. I started going to OPM conferences in 2010, the summer before I started my post-bac, and have been going ever since. I wouldn’t miss one. The conference is not only a great learning and networking opportunity, but it’s also FUN. And we pre-meds could all use a little of that in our lives. I know that’s true for me, at least.
Keep us posted on your progress …
Congratulations on your acceptance to a post-bac program. Having shepherded hundreds of students through several different post-bac programs (Goucher and Johns Hopkins), I’m very familiar with post-bac students and the transition they undergo from a prior career to full immersion in premed courses. It takes tremendous courage and fortitude to abandon a career that feels safe and comfortable, to possibly take on debt to pursue your dream (I don’t know what your financial situation is), and to wholly immerse yourself in rigorous science coursework. Kudos to you for having the courage to follow your dream.
If your heart is really in this career switch (and you can only know that for sure after experiencing medicine firsthand, which I presume you’ve done) you’ll know it’s the right thing to do; it will be worth all of the hard work in the end if it’s really what you want. Send me an email or call me if you want to discuss this further.
Cheers,
Liza
Congratulations on your acceptance! I’m only slightly ahead of you, so I don’t have the hindsight you’re looking for, but I will say I felt a mixture of exhilaration and fear at this time last year. I was leaving a fun, challenging, but comfortable career for an entirely new field and it’s a big risk professionally, financially and emotionally.
When I look back to August, I can’t believe how much I’ve learned, and these are just the post-bac classes. I’m proud of myself for succeeding at this, and seizing a lot of opportunities. If you’re like me, things will feel off-kilter for awhile, it might feel like a loss of identity to leave your job and acid-base equilibria might make you cry in frustration (what? no. Totally didn’t happen to me), but it will feel 100% worth it when you remind yourself what you’re working toward.
And so to that end, I offer a little advice - get into shadowing, clinical volunteer and anything else that reminds you why you’re working hard.