Hello!
Long time lurker (about a year now), first time poster.
About me: Former chemical engineer from Texas looking for a career change after 6 years in the industry. I was a mediocre student with a B average GPA so I decided to use the “academic fresh start program” available in texas - AKA any coursework completed 10 years prior is no long counted in your GPA when applying to graduate programs (within Texas only of course).
I quit work May 2015 and enrolled as a student full time a public uni and retook EVERYTHING - gen chem 1/2, ochem 1/2, bio 1/2, biochem 1/2, physics 1/2, cal 1/2, statistics etc and all the labs. So far I have a 4.0. I plan on finishing up my second degree in biochemistry and then applying in the summer of 2018. I will also be applying to DO schools, as retaking all of these courses has raised my GPA considerably due to grade replacement.
So I did a search on this forum (and the “other” forum), and I have seen only a few posts about the Texas Academic Fresh start program. The 2 or 3 posts from those that have actually completed the Fresh Start program have all been successful obtaining interviews. I am curious if anyone else has any input on this program. Even if you didn’t use the Texas Academic Fresh start program, if you’ve completed a second degree I’d like to hear what your experience were.
Personally, while completing this second degree I have experienced the following:
- once you are away from school for an extended period of time, you forget how draining studying can be. It is physically tiring to study for many hours a day. Sometimes I day dream about going back to work. I easily spend more time studying per week as a student than I did working as a full time plant engineer, hah!
- Getting an A average is a ton of work. I underestimated it. It’s easy to say, “i’ll take ochem and get an A.” That sentence alone is several HUNDRED hours of work. The difference between an A and a B is huge. It’s not double the work, it’s QUADRUPLE the work.
- Before coming back to school, I underestimated the competition. These students are young, but they are also hungry, hard working, and we are all fighting for the same A in the class. Especially as a Biochem major, every student is either premed, pre-dent or pre-pharmacy. Getting a B average a chemical engineer will get you plenty of job offers, getting a B average as a premed will get you zero interviews.
- I had a lot of doubt about quitting my nice paying job and going back to school, but I’ve really enjoyed it. Working as a scribe in the ER, shadowing doctors, even late-night studying has been an overall great experience.
cheers!