Devry University

Nontraditional Premed Discussion
1

Hi Everyone-


i am 29 and i am in an accredited Biomedical Engineering program at Devry University and I am exploring the possibility of applying for medical school when I finish my degree. My question is do you think that medical schools will accept this degree and the science credits that they offer; or do you think that I have to go to a traditional college to do the science courses? I know that some medical schools can be sticklers.


thanks a lot for any info

2

First,


Welcome! you might find “Richards rules” worth a look (particularly the discussion of “hoops”) http://www.oldpremeds.org/fusionbb/showtopic.php?t…


The short answer is this… check and see how many of the DeVry credits transfer back to a traditional brick and mortar school (the platform from which medical school is reached)


Richard

3

Devry owns ROSS medical school in the Caribbean.



4

It’s been a few years since my days as an academic counselor for an undergraduate school, but I do remember the following:

  1. The Devry system is regionally-accredited; so a bachelor’s degree from Devry will meet all US medical schools’ degree requirement.

  2. Devry only offers biomedical engineering technology–the educational level between a biomedcial technician and a biomedical engineer. Devry is not ABET-accredited to offer biomedical engineering.

  3. Because Devry is regionally-accredited, your Devry course work can be used to satisfy medical school prerequisites as long as you took the right courses at Devry. From what I remember for the degree requirements for Devry’s biomedical engineering technology program, the math, English, physics, and, possibly, the anatomy and physiology courses can be used to satisfy some medical school prerequisites. You would still need to take a few more courses to satisfy all the medical school prerequisites–notably organic chemistry. You will need to take these courses at another regionally-accredited college or university.
5

DeVry credits may meet some prerequisites but you will need to put together a very impressive application in other areas in order to be competitive, as it is seen as more of a “trade school” than a “regular” four-year university. Just keep in mind that your competition for admission will be applicants from top-notch schools (as well as ordinary schools); rightly or wrongly, your good grades may not be regarded as highly as someone else’s, and so other aspects of your app (e.g. MCAT) will need to be stellar. Good luck!


Mary

6

Thank you for the advice. I am taking the biomed engineering at the Georgia campus which is the only campus right now that is accredited to offer the biomed engineering degree. Thank you all for the advice, i will take it all into consideration, maybe I can take the credits that I already have and transfer to a traditional program.

7

okay, I take that back you are right about the BET…it is Bioengineering technology…I think that I will mull over this and see what the options are. Thanks again

8

As someone who has a DeVry degree (one of the first classes where they could grant one) and is in the middle of the second year of medical school, perhaps I can comment.


For the Texas TMDSAS schools and for the AACOMAS schools, the DeVry bachelor’s was valid. However, I did have to make up the courses I didn’t take, like chem/orgo chem/bio/A&P. My physics was good (even though it was over 20 years old) and the bachelor’s was good (even though it was over 20 years old).


Having said that, I had to overcome the ‘trade school’ reputation both in my prior career and to get into med. school. Due to financial and time constraints, I took my prereqs at a community college and by the grace of God alone I was selected to the wait list and then admitted to a D.O. school in the south. I never bothered to apply to allopathic schools as I wanted to be a D.O.


I made straight A’s in the CC courses and the chemistry and orgo chem were accelerated. In other words, we did a year of chemistry in 1 semester and a year of orgo chem in one semester. I took A&P I over a long summer, and the rest were normal length semesters. But it was a community college. My MCAT score wasn’t distinguishing either. Literally, if you look at the facts and my file, I should not be in medical school. Again, I credit God with me being here and am very grateful to be enrolled.


Now, if I had had unlimited time and resources I’d have —

  1. gone to a local university and had them evaluate my degree and go for a microbiology degree with a genetics minor.

  2. taken a whole lot of histo/micro/anatomy along with my prereqs

  3. kicked the MCAT

  4. then applied.


    The way things worked out with 20/20 hindsight – I could have taken my prereqs at a 4 year power university that was local and shaken some of the DeVry stigma by performing well.


    Hope this helps. If you have specific questions, feel free to PM me.



9

thank you so much for the insight about Devry OMTDave. I did a little survey of my own and did find that Devry still has the stigma of “trade” school. I mean it’s really good if you want to be a computer major, so I guess you are all right about that. So, I have made a decision…guys tell me if you think that I am going in the right direction. I have done some research and I am going to apply to Mercer University and see which of my credits will transfer, luckily I have not done a lot of classes as yet. Mercer has pre professional courses as well as many other majors. So I am thinking of doing a biology major and a spanish minor. Mercer University has a medical school and if you are in the pre-med program and pull really good grades they put you on the priority list for med school…of course doing welll on the MCAT’s too. I want to stay in Georgia being that my family is here so I figure that doing the undergrad at Mercer could make it a little easier to transition to the med school since I can communicate with both the undergrad counselors and the med school counselors. Mercer, I think at present is only accepting apps to the medical school from Georgia residents, so that also lessens the competition that I would have applying to other schools that are open to all states. I won’t put all my eggs in one basket though, I do still plan on applying to other med schools. So what do you think about that plan? i was thinking to apply for the summer session of 2008.

10

Hi determination101,


Sounds like a really good plan. I think that doing anything that points in a forward direction is a good choice.


Kris