I started at university way back in 2000. At the time I had a lot of family problems going on that were incredibly distracting. I bounced around for a few years, eventually becoming ineligible in 2005 to enroll due to academic performance. I decided to quit school and went into a trade program in 2006 and was subsequently hired by BNSF Railway as a conductor.
In 2010 I got married and with the support of my wife decided it was time to go back to school. I started at square one and from the spring of 2011 until graduation in 2015 I earned 132 credit hours at a 4.0 GPA and a degree in mechanical engineering. I graduated summa cum laude. I went on to work for two of the most well known engineering firms in the country.
All of my issues revolved around problems with my father. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1999. By 2014 his condition had deteriorated significantly and my mother could no longer take care of him alone. My wife and I decided to move my parents in with us so that I could do most of the care-taking. It was at this point that a light bulb went off and I discovered my insatiable desire to be a physician. In late 2018 I left my job to take care of my father as he needed round the clock care. At this time I began a post-bacc as well. I earned another 35 credit hours at a 4.0 GPA.
I am scheduled to take the MCAT on June 27 and will be preparing as much as possible until that point. I am aiming for a 510+. I have roughly 125 hours of shadowing several different physicians and about 30 hours of research from a poster presentation for the Small World Initiative. I have no clinical experience to speak of. I have some accolades from engineering school. I was the vice president of one engineering honor society and treasurer of another. I have quite a bit of volunteering ranging from coaching and mentoring to working at a homeless shelter. What shot do I have? I continually go back and forth and discount myself for lacking clinical experience but with two children it is very hard to find time. I also worry with my terrible run of grades from 2000-2005 I will get immediately overlooked. Thoughts? Comments? Bueller…Bueller?