I started college off as a pre-med student…then switched to a major in psychology and now I’m finishing up my clinical license in social work. I will need to go back and take some of my science classes that I never took as an undergrad (i.e., Org. Chem, physics) and I may need to retake biology and general chem since it has been so long…any ideas from those of you who have done this on how to finance the pre-med course work?
Any other advice you think might be helpful for someone just starting out on the journey to medical school as a non-traditional student?
Any and all advice on this topic is welcomed and appreciated!
For a clinical social worker the clear solution would be to do part-time therapy that would be arranged around school hours, then take 1-2 courses a semester as you find out how much you can do at one time. You could do that as a private practitioner but the ideal would be as a contractor for someone else–e.g., for a school, a social service agency, a university health service, etc. This would certainly be helpful for your application to med school as well.
Other advice:
–don’t rush (you’re not as old as you think you are)
–good grades give you choices; better to take more time to get good grades than to take less time but then have fewer choices.
–follow what you love, and do so ferociously (you’ll be more happy and the med schools will be more impressed, and you might follow what you love to some other surprising destination, which leads me to:)
–contemplate alternatives (don’t do this if something else will make you just as happy)
joe
I haven’t yet made it. But as far as financing your prereqs… I don’t know how many educational options you have where you live, but if you can get a job at a university you may be able to get a great discount on tuition. It might be something to look into… post-baccs can be very expensive, and university employee discounts can be very sweet.
good luck!