I am a bit of a late bloomer. I have to admit I’ve done things backwards, get a job and career, then consider what I want to be when I grow up! It really wasn’t much of a decision because I have known in my heart what I want to do since I was a small kid.
My questions are: I am 29 years old going to be too late to start from gound zero? And, if I want to take some general ed classes at community college, and transfer to a 4 year school after getting back into the swing of things will this be a huge negative?
I am looking forward to this new challenge in my life. However I don’t want to jump in blindly. Any advice is welcome, thanks.
I do, believe it or not, understand your concern. However I am a year into my prereques and have just turned 40.
After owning an Insurance agency for the last decade or more, and working for the last 20 years in that direction, I decided to return to school and persue my passion (having disposed of the morbid poverty of my childhood and set my family up financially. You could have heard a pen drop when I anounced the news.
I have sence lost about twenty pounds, my hair has returned to it’s original color and the wrinkles have left my face. Once again I feel like waking up in the morning and am excited about my life’s work. The only thing that makes me any happier is being with my children (10 year old twin boys)who are as excited as me.
Sure there are going to be adjustments with any decission of such magnetude, but I feel they are going to be worth it in the long run.
Good luck making the decission that you feel most comfortable with, I know I have!
Steven0808
It’s fine to take general ed classes at the community college. Work with the advisors there and at the university you plan to attend to make sure the credits will transfer and will count towards your degree (unless you already have a degree). Try to take at least some of your med school prereqs at the university if you can; some med schools prefer that.
Starting slow is a GOOD idea and strongly recommended.
I agree with Denise. If you don’t already have a degree, I see no problem with taking some general ed classes at a community college. However, I STRONGLY encourage you to make sure that these classes will transfer to whatever four year school you are considering applying to. I have talked to too many people who did an associates degree at a CC, thinking that they would then only have two more years at a university to get their degree, who found out that they would still have 3+ years at a university because very few of their classes transferred. Or - their classes transferred as general credit, but the university wouldn’t give them credit for those classes toward classes actually required for the degree. This has gotten better over the last few years, but it is still a concern.
Another option is to take classes at a branch campus of a university. Many times, they offer only lower level classes at the branch, and then you have to transfer to the main campus.
Planning is crucial. Go talk to people. LOTS of people. Don’t take the advice of one counselor as gospel. While there are many great counselors/advisors out there at colleges, there are also many who don’t have a clue. Take the time to investigate what you need to do and the ways that you can do it before jumping in. It will save you a lot of grief in the long run.
This is a great resource, there are some excellent websites geared toward pre-meds, and there are also some good books with advice on how to get into medical school.
Good luck!
Amy