Help! Comforting words and good advice sought

Ok, so here is the skinny!
13 years ago i graduated from Columbia University with a BA in Biology. Fufilled all my premed requierments…but tried to make it as a rockstar.
Along the way, i earned a Masters in Economics and Statistics…(no one wants to be introduced to your girlfriend’s parents as an aspiring rockstar.)
For the last five years i have been working at consumer reports magazine as a statistician, telling people what toasters to buy and what cars are safest. A pretty comfortable gig… very flexible hours. (this will be important later). I have been working my way up the ladder, and recently i was offered a position as a VP for a bank selling people creditcards. The only reason i would take the job is more money.
But at the end of the day, where does that really leave you? Is this how i want to make my mark on the world? Will i go home at night and be happy? I have bounced around the idea of going to medical school since my undergrad and i have always found reasons not to go… fear at being old, being broke again, not wanting to back to school … all of which are stupid reasons.
So my questions are to anyone else who was once premed and then returned to it years later …
1. my GPA undergrad was um, not so good, since i majored in pot smoking and guitar playing. However, some of my grad school grades were pretty good… will i need to take more courses either to raise my GPA or to prove i can still do biology?
2. Ok, so excuse my lack of modesty, but i really am a great test taker. If i know that i can blast the Mcats (I took them cold in college on a dare and scored in the 86th percentile), so if i can get in the 98th percentile on my MCATS do i need to take the courses?
3. How much has biology changed since 1991?
4. Will i need to volunteer?
5. If i need to do postbacc stuff, does it matter what school, since i did it once already?
6. I have collaborated on a bunch of papers, some published some not, all in biomedical fields. How can i leverage this to my advantage?
7.Should i keep my current cushy job?
thanks so much, NotRockStar
PS. Yes, i dont capitalize i’s.

Hey Rock,
Depending on your grades and the schools that you apply to, you are probably going to have to repeat those pesky pre-med classes because most schools will not take pre-med grades that are over 10 years old.
It doesn’t matter where you do the post bacc “thing” as long as you do well. Keeping your cushy job while you take the classes is a great idea. You are going to need to stockpile some money to live on while you are doing medical school.
Rocking on the MCAT is not a bad idea but an outstanding MCAT grade will not erase a poor GPA. Do be aware that some schools will hold your poor undergrad showing against you even if you get steller grades at the post bacc level. Try to avoid these schools.
Make your life as simple as possible in preparation for medical school. (This was easy for me because I didn’t have a mortgage, husband or major credit card debt). Since I had been a very poor graduate student, living on the meager housing allowance that you get from medical school loans was OK, otherwise, you need to have some money to support a higher standard of living.
Get your GPA undercontrol. Find out if you need to re-take the pre-med classes and hit the MCAT with your best shot. Yes, you are going to have to do some shadowing and some volunteer work.
Good luck and welcome to the group!
Natalie

Quote:

1. my GPA undergrad was um, not so good, since i majored in pot smoking and guitar playing. However, some of my grad school grades were pretty good… will i need to take more courses either to raise my GPA or to prove i can still do biology?
2. Ok, so excuse my lack of modesty, but i really am a great test taker. If i know that i can blast the Mcats (I took them cold in college on a dare and scored in the 86th percentile), so if i can get in the 98th percentile on my MCATS do i need to take the courses?
3. How much has biology changed since 1991?
4. Will i need to volunteer?
5. If i need to do postbacc stuff, does it matter what school, since i did it once already?
6. I have collaborated on a bunch of papers, some published some not, all in biomedical fields. How can i leverage this to my advantage?
7.Should i keep my current cushy job?


Hi…
Succinctly,
1. Probably. As Natalie mentioned, many schools won’t accept coursework older than ~7-10 years old. And many schools indicate “recent academic work is strongly encouraged.”
2. If your gpa was,“um, not so good” then schools will want to know that you can take science classes and do well. And they want to know that you can do well by taking more than just one class at a time. They are interested in if you can carry a full load and do well.
3. Biology since 1991? I think you can be sure that it has changed a lot.
4. Unequivocally yes.
5. No. Just do very well - keep your grades up.
6. I’m not sure “leverage” is the goal you are after, but you will be able to tell medical schools about this in your AMCAS application.
7. Only if you can do well in school and manage the job.
Cheers,
Judy

RockStar, welcome!
One thing to consider: get/keep the cushy job and dip your toe in the water by taking ONE pre-med class (probably GenChem I). See what you think. Is it something you’ll want to spend more time with? Does it make you want to run screaming from the room? You can get a bit of a feel for whether your inclination to pursue a career in medicine is based on a deep desire vs. job ennui by seeing how you handle that course.
THEN if you find yourself all fired up about medicine, you can plan ahead and figure out how to do at least one full-time semester. That’s going to be tough with a full-time job but maybe if it’s flexible enough… keep in mind, though, that you’ll have to get excellent grades in these prerequisite classes, preferably all As if you are trying to impress upon folks that you’ve reformed your studying ways since your first pass through undergrad classes.
You’ll need to do some sort of volunteering or other work that gives you some clinical exposure - this is “reality testing,” schools want to know that you’ve actually seen/done something that gives you a notion of what medicine is like. If you search through the threads for discussions about volunteer work you’ll find a LOT of suggestions for what sorts of opportunities to pursue.
To be honest, I think you have a lot of interesting stuff in your life story that will make a pretty cool personal statement when the time comes to apply. Add to that good recent grades and MCATs, and I think you’ll do well.

Quote:

Do be aware that some schools will hold your poor undergrad showing against you even if you get steller grades at the post bacc level. Try to avoid these schools.


Natalie,
Which schools do you know of that people this Rock and I with poor UG and very good Grad GPAs should avoid?

You’ve gotten great advice already. Just wanted to say hello! I’m a fellow Columbia grad/musican/pre-med. Feel free to PM me. Am just starting a postbacc at our alma mater. Good luck!

Halcyon, glad to see you getting started. That’s great. Rockstar, welcome–and best wishes for this new adventure.
Has biology changed since 1991?
Oh my god, yes.
More importantly, you have changed since 1991. And I hope that you might use this as an opportunity to delve into topics of interest to you, to find more of what is beautiful about science and the natural world.
Good luck.
joe