After many years of debating, I have finally decided to pursue my passion and take steps to get accepted in to medical school. I have been working in the Nuclear Power Industry for ten years, and while it has been good to me, I can’t imagine doing it for another 30 years. I am a non-traditional student and just turned 30 years old. Medicine was a passion of mine while in school, but I never felt like it was feasible for me at the time. Through maturity, gaining confidence, becoming more passionate about it and realizing that doing what you love in life is very important, I enrolled in classes to complete my science pre-requisites.
I have a couple of questions for you all and would love to hear any opinions or words of advice. I currently have 66 hours and by the time I finish my pre-requisites, I will have a little over 90 hours. At this point I am leaning towards applying to DO schools in the future. It appears that several DO schools allow you to apply with 90 hours. The first question I have is does it look bad to apply with only 90 hours, assuming my GPA and MCAT are both good? Would it be best to finish a BA or BS prior to applying for the first time? What science pre-reqs are generally considered adequate to take the MCAT and have the best chance?
I have plans to start volunteering and shawdowing at the local hospital, once I get back in to the groove of studying. Thanks for any input.
You should definitely finish your BA/BS prior to matriculating. Schools will show requirements that you can get in without a degree, but there are very few, if any, that are accepted to med school that don’t have a bachelor’s degree.
I had one MD school tell me that they don’t list a bachelor’s degree as a requirement for entry, but that 100% of those accepted have a bachelor’s degree. So, interpret that as you may.
I think generally the 90 hour requirement is so people finishing their junior year of college can apply, with the expectation that they’ll finish their degree prior to matriculation.