Yesterday I met with Dean of Admission at UCONN Medical School – I am a 27 years old female, non traditional applicant with an AS in Computer Science(completed in a Community College), working full time in a Software Development company. I just started my Bachelors in a 4 years university.
The Dean basically told me that it would be better to go fulltime (of course) and that the admission committee is really concerned with the amount of classes we took/semester – So he told me that I should either go part time at my job or do EXTREMELY Well at MCAT and so on. Reassuring me of course that a lot of different backgrounds, age etc…are accepted each year
He turned me OFF so much with that statement about course load!!! 
if it is not showing hard work to have a full time job, volunteer in an hospital and finding the strength to go to school at night I don’t know what COURAGE is then!!! 
Please guys tell me that you manage to get into medical school taking 2 classes/semester and working full time.
I feel totally lost and desperate about my dream to go to Medical school.
Notice that he offered you alternatives, including doing really well on MCAT–which is doable. I think as nontraditionals we sometimes set out to do EVERYTHING EXACTLY RIGHT, and the Dean was doing his job to tell you what everything exactly right consists of. People DO get into med school taking two courses at once (I’ll let you know next year if it works for me). You can’t do EVERYTHING EXACTLY RIGHT. Just do everything as well as you possibly can. If you have great letters from faculty who think you’re a smart cookie, do well on MCAT, and keep up with your work and volunteering responsibilities, you’ll go a long way towards reassuring the admissions committee that you can handle the academic load of taking all that med school basic science at once. That’s all they really want to know.
Breathe. Set up the best pre-med program you can for yourself. Resolve to be excellent, not perfect. You’ll only make yourself crazy.
Oh, and welcome to the OldPreMeds!
Relax, the Dean was just being brutally honest and yes some schools do look at course load why? because in medical school you are taking a boat load of them. That said many non-trads have become MS1’s and did not go FT to school due to jobs so it can be done. The Dean did state that if you rock the MCAT then things such as did she/he go PT will be a moot point. You have to realize that every school is somewhat different in how they screen folks so do not despair. The only bad thing is that like MaryR says this is their game and you have to play by their rules which sometimes seem odd to us. Do your best kick arse on the McAT and you will be fine.
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Yesterday I met with Dean of Admission at UCONN Medical School – I am a 27 years old female, non traditional applicant with an AS in Computer Science(completed in a Community College), working full time in a Software Development company. I just started my Bachelors in a 4 years university.
The Dean basically told me that it would be better to go fulltime (of course) and that the admission committee is really concerned with the amount of classes we took/semester – So he told me that I should either go part time at my job or do EXTREMELY Well at MCAT and so on. Reassuring me of course that a lot of different backgrounds, age etc…are accepted each year
He turned me OFF so much with that statement about course load!!!
Please guys tell me that you manage to get into medical school taking 2 classes/semester and working full time.
I feel totally lost and desperate about my dream to go to Medical school.
Hey there,
UCONN is a really nice school where I think they do value people with diverse backgrounds. It sounds to me like what the dean was trying to tell you was that the admissions committee wants to make sure that the students it admits can handle a full academic load. That’s a fair concern for them to have, and it’s one that prospective applicants should have of themselves as well.
It isn’t the same to have a part-time job (or even a full time job) and take two classes as it is to have no job and take a fulltime load of daytime classes. There’s just a difference in focus there. School isn’t just about the time you put into it. By the way, I’ve been in both situations, and I did my pre-med stuff the drawn-out way, by working part time and taking classes part time. It is certainly possible to succeed either way. But you do have to find a way to show that you can be totally immersed in school, not just partially immersed in it, since that’s the reality of med school. Different people do this in different ways. For example, some people have previous degrees where they attended school full time. For you, if it means really acing the MCAT, then go for it!
I think the dean was trying to help you, is all I’m saying, and I hope you can see the positive in that. There are multiple options for you here. I think where the courage really comes in is in taking the advice you get from different sources and then doing whatever you need to to put yourself at an advantage.
Good luck!
Hi there,
You HAVE to do what you have to do. If you don’t have the luxury of leaving your job and attending school on a full-time basis, then take the classes as you can and do well. The emphasis here is to DO well in your coursework. You have a family and you have to work. Your journey into medicine and medical school is going to have to include your family and employement unless you inherit a fortune or win the lottery.
There are literally thousands of ways to get into medical school. Working full-time and going to school part time apply to many of them. Your job and your coursework is the equivalent of attending school full-time and you may have to point this out to an interviewer or two along the way. In fact, many students are taking this route so it isn’t that unique.
Do what you have to do to support your family and pursue your dreams. Do not try to to place all of your eggs in “one basket” in the sense that you and your family suffers too much financially because you are trying to support them and attend class full-time. There are plenty of medical schools out there that are going to accept you with good grades done on a part-time basis. Sure it would be “better” and quicker if you could attend school on a full-time basis but you may not have that option at this point. Do what you can when you can and at a pace that does not send you and your family into a huge amount of debt or suffering. You are only 27 years old and you have plenty of time to get everything done so take your time. You may also find that by taking your coursework part-time and doing well, you may end up with a scholarship that will enable you to go full-time for a semester or two later on. Things do change.
If given a choice between a full-time student who has not done well and a part-time student who has done well with a job, my vote is for the part-time student. By just having the job on top of school adds enough pressure without having to worry about finances. Take your courses at your own pace, do very well, study for MCAT when you have completed the required courses and apply. While this might not be the ideal circumstances to “show the admissions committee”, they are the only circumstances that you have. You just have to play the hand that you are dealt and this one is very doable. Good luck!
Natalie 
I talked to that same dean and he gave me the same advice - but I was just trying to get into their postbac program. After being rejected, I took his advice and quit my job, went back to school (UCONN main campus) and received all ‘A’s with the exception of one B+ in genchem. I reapplied to the postbac program. After all, what commitment, what determination, look just how, at my age, I could “handle the course load”. The comment I remember during my interview was, "we would like to have seen an A in genchem’ - I did not get into the program that time either. I continued on despite them, and I’m now in my first year of med school in sunny Fl and loving it - do what you have to do, and at 27, you have plenty of time - now I, as an old f_rt, did not!! HA!
Hello There!
I personally feel that my work experience will defiinately help me as far as adcoms are concerned. I work virtually full time as well as go to school full time and, it actually helps with time management issues etc. However, since I do have bills to pay, if I had to drop the classes to a part-time level, believe me I would. It’s not easy trying to pursue a careeer in medicine, raise a family, take care of yourself but, it can be done…many people on this list are a testament of that hard work and dedication so, do what you have to do and, never lose sight of your objective!! Happy holodays to you and your family!
>Yesterday I met with Dean of Admission at UCONN Medical
>School
I took one course (General Chemistry) my first academic year; I was still workind during most of it. In the following summer, I took Physics I & II compressed into a 10 week summer program. The next academic year I took two course (Orgo & Bio) without working.
MCAT: 33.
End result: Two DO interviews, two DO acceptances. One MD interview coming up in February. Interestingly enough, one of my undergraduate majors was also C.S.
Don’t be discouraged, but as an applicant who will be pushing that magic number of “30” when you submit your apps, I’d make sure that 25% of the schools I applied to were DO schools.
I think the Dean was trying to be helpful, but gave advice probably a little more leaning toward traditional applicants. However, as has been pointed out above - all med schools seek some sort of assurance that you can handle the academic rigors of medical school. If you cannot, then to give you a seat is a waste of valuable time & resources.
That said, there’s more than one way to skin this cat & what one program poo-poos upon may be held in high esteem by others. Now, there is no practical way for you to determine all of the in’s & out’s of several programs & have any hope of meeting all of their expectations. What you can do is to balance your personal & professional obligations in such a manner as to ensure that you are able to perform at your academic best AND maintain a roof over your head & eat too.
If you peruse these forums, you will see many of us had to do the PT school/FT work route. It is do-able, very do-able. So, see his advice for what it is - well-intended & probably most applicable to UConn & not broadly applicable to all other programs.
Once you are in med school & have been there long enough to learn the game, you will see that this “art of balance” I frequently refer to in my posts is simply an extension/adaptation of regular old life skills. And, this same skill-set will serve you very well in medical school, residency & beyond. Personally, I think these life skills are what makes nontrads successful in such lofty endeavors & makes us a valuable asset to mix into a classroom full of youngsters.
Don’t worry about what he said. I did exactly what you are doing and I got accepted easily. Just be sure you keep you GPA up! As for the MCAT, I didn’t smoke it, but that didn’t prevent me from getting interviews. In my case, I had a 3.9 GPA, and a 28 on the MCAT. I worked full time, volunteered, spent time with the kids, etc. It IS hard juggling all those things, and if I would have gone full time, I would have killed myself! 
However, I went at the pace that worked for me. Some semesters I took more than 2 classes, but most of them only 2 per semester.
I went on 8 interviews for med schools (and turned down the invitation for several others). No med school interviewer ever indicated anything negative because of not taking classes full time. Most of them were impressed with taking what I took while working full time and still managing to keep GPA up.
So, the moral of the story is…follow your gut. Don’t worry what the Dean told you. His advice is coming from within the box of the traditional applicant. Good luck! 