Hello everyone! I am so glad I came across this website. It’s nice to know there are people out there that struggle with the same issues that I do.
I have worked in the medical field for over 11 years, but sadly none of it has been clinical. I’ve always been either in billing or registration, but have always wanted to be a Pediatrician ever since high school. Unfortunately, I never pursued my dreams and instead I dropped out of high school my senior year and went to work. I have worked in the emergency room doing registration for over 10 years now and I have come to the conclusion that I’m in the right setting just not the right career.
A co-worker of mine is a premed student and has shined a bright light over the process of becoming a doctor. The process does sound difficult and challenging, but not out of my reach. She has inspired me a great deal and has been my rock when I doubt myself. So, I have decided that I am going to follow my dreams and start the road to becoming a Doctor!
Now, I have read most of the posts on here about age. My friend that is premed is 20 years old and has 2 years left of premed. My age discouraged me up until I found this website. I felt that I was too old to begin this journey, but now this does not bother me and I using my experience as my advantage.
I guess my main question would be; can I still go to medical school without a high school diploma? I read on other blogs that the premed courses I take are what med schools look at not high school courses or even ask for proof of high school graduation? It’s been over 10 years since I was in high school and I’ve started taking classes at my community college, but do I or should I get my GED?
- aspiring.doc29 Said:
Hello everyone! I am so glad I came across this website. It's nice to know there are people out there that struggle with the same issues that I do.
I have worked in the medical field for over 11 years, but sadly none of it has been clinical. I've always been either in billing or registration, but have always wanted to be a Pediatrician ever since high school. Unfortunately, I never pursued my dreams and instead I dropped out of high school my senior year and went to work. I have worked in the emergency room doing registration for over 10 years now and I have come to the conclusion that I'm in the right setting just not the right career.
A co-worker of mine is a premed student and has shined a bright light over the process of becoming a doctor. The process does sound difficult and challenging, but not out of my reach. She has inspired me a great deal and has been my rock when I doubt myself. So, I have decided that I am going to follow my dreams and start the road to becoming a Doctor!
Now, I have read most of the posts on here about age. My friend that is premed is 20 years old and has 2 years left of premed. My age discouraged me up until I found this website. I felt that I was too old to begin this journey, but now this does not bother me and I using my experience as my advantage.
I guess my main question would be; can I still go to medical school without a high school diploma? I read on other blogs that the premed courses I take are what med schools look at not high school courses or even ask for proof of high school graduation? It's been over 10 years since I was in high school and I've started taking classes at my community college, but do I or should I get my GED?
I have worked in the medical field for over 11 years, but sadly none of it has been clinical. I've always been either in billing or registration, but have always wanted to be a Pediatrician ever since high school. Unfortunately, I never pursued my dreams and instead I dropped out of high school my senior year and went to work. I have worked in the emergency room doing registration for over 10 years now and I have come to the conclusion that I'm in the right setting just not the right career.
A co-worker of mine is a premed student and has shined a bright light over the process of becoming a doctor. The process does sound difficult and challenging, but not out of my reach. She has inspired me a great deal and has been my rock when I doubt myself. So, I have decided that I am going to follow my dreams and start the road to becoming a Doctor!
Now, I have read most of the posts on here about age. My friend that is premed is 20 years old and has 2 years left of premed. My age discouraged me up until I found this website. I felt that I was too old to begin this journey, but now this does not bother me and I using my experience as my advantage.
I guess my main question would be; can I still go to medical school without a high school diploma? I read on other blogs that the premed courses I take are what med schools look at not high school courses or even ask for proof of high school graduation? It's been over 10 years since I was in high school and I've started taking classes at my community college, but do I or should I get my GED?
Hello and welcome to OPM, aspiring.doc29! Your story is nearly identical to mine only replace the 11 years of medical billing/registration work with military service. I was exactly 29 when I started undergrad and 33 when I graduated. Due to life circumstances, I had a second (8-year) delay between completing undergrad and applying to med school. I am 42 and I'll be starting med school in about a month. So to address your concerns, yes it is entirely possible for you to do this regardless of your age or your past. As far as high school - you are correct that it is mostly irrelevant especially for med school. If you're not applying to undergrad straight from high school, you will likely need a minimum of 24 semester hours (36 quarter hours) of college course work that are transferrable to a Bachelors (i.e. 4-yr) program at the undergrad school(s) you are applying to. Doing well in the CC classes you are now taking and on the SAT/ACT should be all you need. As for med school pre-reqs, try to take these at a 4-yr college if you can. You are also correct that this is what the med schools will be focusing on. Don't forget that performing well on the MCAT when the time comes is also of key importance to med school admissions.
I’m under the impression that most, if not all med schools pretty much require a bachelor’s degree and it will be the exceedingly rare applicant that can matriculate without one. I’ve not heard of med schools specifically requiring a H.S. diploma/GED, but that may be implied in the bachelor’s degree requirement.
I can’t say this for a fact though. Anyone know for sure?
Thank you so much for your input! Congrats on your acceptance in to med school and good luck!!
- MikeC Said:
I'm under the impression that most, if not all med schools pretty much require a bachelor's degree and it will be the exceedingly rare applicant that can matriculate without one. I've not heard of med schools specifically requiring a H.S. diploma/GED, but that may be implied in the bachelor's degree requirement.
I can't say this for a fact though. Anyone know for sure?
I can't say this for a fact though. Anyone know for sure?
You are correct that all US and Canadian medical schools require a bachelor's (i.e. undergrad) degree. It's the undergrad school that will usually require a HS diploma or GED, not the med school. Undergrad schools will usually waive the requirement to furnish HS transcripts as part of their application process after completing ~24 semester hours and doing well on the SAT/ACT. Once the OP completes these 24 hours/SAT, the OP can apply to matriculate as an undergraduate in a bachelor's program. Once the bachelor's program is completed and MCAT taken, the med school application process can begin. (NOTE: Although med schools will let you apply after earning only 90 semester hours of undergraduate course work including pre-reqs and/or before taking the MCAT, you still must complete your bachelor's degree before matriculating into a med school and must still take the MCAT before your med school applications can be considered for admission.) I think that is what I was originally trying to say. I wasn't implying that the OP could apply directly to med school after 24 CC credits, I was stating the OP could apply directly to an undergrad progam (a necessity for future med schools) after the 24+ CC credits are completed with passing grades.
Exception: there are a handful of US & Canadian medical schools that offer Early Assurance Programs which are essentially 6-yr combined BS/MD programs in which applicants are selected directly from high school. This is how medical education works in many places overseas. This, however, has nothing to do with my earlier post.
Ah! That’s what I get for not reading carefully. Thanks for the clarification.
Mike
- aspiring.doc29 Said:
Hello everyone! I am so glad I came across this website. It's nice to know there are people out there that struggle with the same issues that I do.
I have worked in the medical field for over 11 years, but sadly none of it has been clinical. I've always been either in billing or registration, but have always wanted to be a Pediatrician ever since high school. Unfortunately, I never pursued my dreams and instead I dropped out of high school my senior year and went to work. I have worked in the emergency room doing registration for over 10 years now and I have come to the conclusion that I'm in the right setting just not the right career.
A co-worker of mine is a premed student and has shined a bright light over the process of becoming a doctor. The process does sound difficult and challenging, but not out of my reach. She has inspired me a great deal and has been my rock when I doubt myself. So, I have decided that I am going to follow my dreams and start the road to becoming a Doctor!
Now, I have read most of the posts on here about age. My friend that is premed is 20 years old and has 2 years left of premed. My age discouraged me up until I found this website. I felt that I was too old to begin this journey, but now this does not bother me and I using my experience as my advantage.
I guess my main question would be; can I still go to medical school without a high school diploma? I read on other blogs that the premed courses I take are what med schools look at not high school courses or even ask for proof of high school graduation? It's been over 10 years since I was in high school and I've started taking classes at my community college, but do I or should I get my GED?
I have worked in the medical field for over 11 years, but sadly none of it has been clinical. I've always been either in billing or registration, but have always wanted to be a Pediatrician ever since high school. Unfortunately, I never pursued my dreams and instead I dropped out of high school my senior year and went to work. I have worked in the emergency room doing registration for over 10 years now and I have come to the conclusion that I'm in the right setting just not the right career.
A co-worker of mine is a premed student and has shined a bright light over the process of becoming a doctor. The process does sound difficult and challenging, but not out of my reach. She has inspired me a great deal and has been my rock when I doubt myself. So, I have decided that I am going to follow my dreams and start the road to becoming a Doctor!
Now, I have read most of the posts on here about age. My friend that is premed is 20 years old and has 2 years left of premed. My age discouraged me up until I found this website. I felt that I was too old to begin this journey, but now this does not bother me and I using my experience as my advantage.
I guess my main question would be; can I still go to medical school without a high school diploma? I read on other blogs that the premed courses I take are what med schools look at not high school courses or even ask for proof of high school graduation? It's been over 10 years since I was in high school and I've started taking classes at my community college, but do I or should I get my GED?
1. You are not too old...if you look through the threads, you are probably one of the "youngsters" here on this forum.
2. If you've been doing well so far in your CC classes and haven't taken any previous college classes, you are starting way ahead of many on this forum who are battling past mistakes when they went to school as a traditional student, but didn't do well.
3. How did you get into the CC without a high school degree/GED? If you didn't need it to get into your HS degree, but got into school and get yourself your associates before transferring to a 4-yr, you might not have to worry about the HS diploma. I would check with you CC advisor, they can give you more information. I actually think that a AA is so much better than a HS diploma because unfortunately many, many students that receive a HS diploma don't deserve it and were pretty much just pushed through the school years.
An AA is much hard to just push through, and if you do really well...that is what universities will be concentrating on.
Worse comes to worse, just take the GED if it is required at that time...you should be able to ace it with no problem if you were able to do well and get an AA from a community college.
Good luck!