Hello everyone.
My name is Travis and Im 28 years old. Im not married and i have no children.
I graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2005 with a degree in fine arts and my concentration was in figurative sculpture. I now live in Austin, TX after a brief stint in LA. I work at an art musuem that is affiliated with the university of Texas.
Ive only recently decided to persue a degree in medicine in the last few months. I began to think about common threads I found throughout my life. I wanted to attain something great, to help others, and a demanding personal challenge. After bouncing ideas back and forth with my sister, who is a nurse at an oncology clinic in Austin, I decided to go for it. So here I am.
oops. I meant to post a few questions in my original post.
I had thought that beginning this journey at 28 would be a pipe dream, but after reading varias posts i realize that it isnt the case.
Yet, how will already having a degree hinder or help me? My current plan is to take what will be essentially 2 years of science and mathematics in order to then take the MCAT. I will be attending classes at a community college. However, I am part of an education benefits program that allows me to take 1 free course per semester at the University of Texas. So the idea is to utilize both to take care of the science and math needed.
Are there any suggestions as to why this may be frowned upon?
Hey Travis,
I’m in a similar boat, with the exception of the no spouse or children part; I’m married with two little boys. But educationally we’re similar in that we both have Bachelor’s in degrees that have nothing to do with science and we’re both 28! It’s funny how 28 seems young and then you start realizing you want to become a doctor and all of a sudden you feel so old!
I actually started off as a science major early on and took most of my med school prerequisites at a community college. I received all A’s in them, so I thought I would be in good shape, but in reading many admissions catalogs for med schools, it seems to be the general consensus that four-year colleges or a university would be preferred over a community college for science coursework. That, combined with the fact that my courses were taken almost a 10 years ago, has brought me to the realization that my best best is a post-bac premedical program. Not only do they offer the science courses you need in a structuered manner, the provide you with the crucial advising of a pre-medical advisor or committee, letters of recommendation, and sometimes resources for valuable extracurricular activities that med schools practically require these days. So my recommendation to you would be to do something at a four-year college or university (maybe the place that you can do some for free). My opinion is that it is hard enough to get accepted into medical school even with a perfect application, so I don’t want to take any chances with hoping they’ll overlook something they specifically mention not being thrilled with.
Hope this helps a little and hope I didn’t bum you out. I know I was bummed to find out that they didn’t think too highly off community college!
Then it seems that postbac work at a CC isn’t a good option. That’s dissapointing because I was hoping to curb some of the cost of this endeavor.
I can relate, Travis, though I’m an old lady of 40! 
I would prefer to take prereqs at a community college in NJ. I think I’d get a better education than at the small state university in PA. Of course, it would be cheaper as well. However, it is better to take them at a four-year institution for sure.
DO schools are more open to the CC classes, but even that’s not the case across the board. You would need to contact individual schools if you are interested in becoming a DO.
Star