Need Suggestions

  • TicDocDoh Said:
Were any of them ≥ age 40 when they matriculated?



I know for sure the IU graduate was over 40 but now that you ask, I think the other 2 were in their 30's. Not sure about the Harvard OPM member.

That said, a Harvard MD/PhD graduate told me earlier this year that there was a person over 40 in his med school class in the 2000's.

I think your app is going to need a lot of work.


I’m not exactly sure how bad you stink at math, the MCAT is not math, but I can’t imagine being absolutely terrible at math and doing well on the MCAT. Have you taken gen chem yet? Can you easily do things like titration calculations? rate law equations?


Asians being an underrepresented minority in med school are like people with dark hair being an underrepresented minority in Asia. I’m pretty sure 1/2 my Ochem class is Asian.


If your disability was/is mental what has changed?Med schools are going to want to see stable candidates probably more than any other type of school. You are going to be put in an extremely intense environment for years and you really can’t break down.


I think if you need significant help to get A’s part time in community college you will probably not finish medical school and should consider a different career or at least have a very strong backup plan.









Well, we are moving to Michigan. Not sure where yet, possibly Grand Haven or Traverse City. I’m considering either the DO program through MSU at Traverse City (new campus) or becoming a nurse and eventually becoming a CRNA. I was considering of going into the natural side of things, but there aren’t any ND schools in Michigan.

  • TicDocDoh Said:
  • Karrah Said:
I really stink in math and some of the heavy math related sciences. I plan to get a tutor and take those classes at a community college instead.



Be careful with this strategy, Karrah! This could be a deal-breaker. There are many reasons people on this site take courses @ a CC instead of at a 4-yr university: financial reasons, no open enrollment @ the 4-yr, no 4-yr near their home, juggling school w/ an unyielding work schedule, etc. This is a very risky move for these people, no matter how valid or compelling their rationale. However, each of these reasons can all be reasonably explained in a personal statement and/or in an interview. Taking courses @ a CC just because the classes are "easier" is not as valid a reason to avoid taking them at a 4-yr. There would be no way to put a positive spin on this in a personal statement or interview.



Hi TicDocDoh, I'm not sure I understand what the problem is with going to CC. I'm planning on taking organic chem there (as a refresher, especially since I may need to retake it because of a crappy GPA when I finished my bachelor's) but it's stricly because of time constraints and money. Is this really a no-no for my med school application?? Thanks for your feedback!
  • Karrah Said:
Well, we are moving to Michigan. Not sure where yet, possibly Grand Haven or Traverse City. I'm considering either the DO program through MSU at Traverse City (new campus) or becoming a nurse and eventually becoming a CRNA. I was considering of going into the natural side of things, but there aren't any ND schools in Michigan.



Karrah,

Traverse City is supposed to be beautiful & Munson Medical Center is a great hospital.

First, I recommend figuring out what you would like to do with your life before setting down any one of these commitment-heavy paths. Naturopaths are not licensed clinicians in the same sense that physicians and advanced practice nurses are. You'd be extremely limited in where you could work/scope of practice. You cannot practice anesthesiology with an ND. If anesthesiology is really what you want to do, forget about ND.

CRNA would be a far superior choice if you're unsure if medical school is right for you at this time in your life. If you become a CRNA through MSU's MSN program, you'll be taking some of your classes (medical gross anatomy, clinical neuroscience) right alongside the medical students. Some of the MSN-specific courses (physiology) @ CON (College Of Nursing) are taught by the same faculty that teach medical school courses. This should give you some feel for what medical student life is like should you decide to go the DO route later down the road.

If you do decide to go the medical route through MSU-COM (College of Osteopathic Medicine), you won't be in Traverse City for your pre-clinical (first 2) years though. Most of the class (60%) are at the MSU campus in East Lansing (the CRNA program is in East Lansing also). The remainder of the class is split between Detroit Medical Center (with the Wayne State MDs) & Macomb University Center. After completing the 'school part' of medical school and taking COMLEX Step 1, you can request to do your clinicals (the 'medical part' of medical school) at MSU's base hospital in Traverse City (with the MSU-CHM [College of Human Medicine] MDs) for your last 2 years.

Either way, I recommend not applying until you've been in the state for a year so you can qualify for in-state tuition. OOS tuition is very expensive and you want to avoid paying it if you can. Hope this was helpful info.
  • jjjordy Said:
Hi TicDocDoh, I'm not sure I understand what the problem is with going to CC. I'm planning on taking organic chem there (as a refresher, especially since I may need to retake it because of a crappy GPA when I finished my bachelor's) but it's stricly because of time constraints and money. Is this really a no-no for my med school application?? Thanks for your feedback!



Hi jjjordy,

The problem is one of perception by adcoms, not necessarily one of academic equivalence. Fair or not, grad school adcoms (med school adcoms in particular) tend to view community college courses as intended for "pre-bacc" students trying to be competitive for undergraduate (baccalaureate) admissions, not for "post-bac" students trying to be competitive for graduate admissions (masters, doctoral).

Many medical schools, including my own, say they will consider CC coursework if the applicant's baccalaureate degree-granting institution recognizes the CC course as being equivalent to its own and accepts them as transfer credit. This is largely because the traditional students have "upped their game" by taking CC courses while still in high school to be competitive for Early Assurance Programs (6-yr combined BS/MD). Alternatively, some college students take these courses to get ahead during the summer if their home institution doesn't offer the same course(s) during the summer term.

It gets tricky for non-trads because most of us have already graduated from college and our original degree-granting institutions would have no reason to accept these CC courses as transfer credits once our degrees are already in-hand. Med schools would see returning to an associates-level degree-granting institution as a step back instead of a step forward.

Is their argument rational? I would say no, but it depends on a lot of variables. I was a TA in college for one of my OChem professors. He taught the same class at a local CC on the side (Grossmont College to be exact if any of you are familiar with San Diego, CA) using the exact same textbooks, the exact same syllabus, the exact same lab exercises, and the exact same exams/quizzes he gave to his BA/BS students. But this is not always going to be the case everywhere and med schools know this.

Do I personally know of someone who got into med school taking their pre-reqs at a CC? Yes. But everyone's circumstances are different. He had a previous doctoral degree (JD) from law school so he proved he could do well in a professional, doctoral-level grad program. I'm not sure how much of a role (if any) his law degree played in overlooking the fact his pre-reqs were taken at a CC. YMMV.

If you do take your pre-reqs at a CC, you should be prepared to ace them and be able to give a rational explanation, just like you did here, when you write your personal statement and/or secondary applications. So to answer your question, it's not a deal-breaker per se, but it does make the application process a little rougher than it already is.

Not to derail this thread, but I’m actually taking my pre-reqs at the Grossmont Cuyamaca CC District. Would you care to name this prof? I’ve not taken OChem yet, but did finish Gen Chem I last sem and definitely had to put in some work for the grade. Just curious if this is the same prof.

Hi Dullhead,


It was Dr. Tom Olmstead, PhD. I don’t know if he would still be teaching there. This was 13 years ago (1998). He taught the same class at the University of San Diego (USD). He also taught GChem at both schools in addition to OChem.

Thanks for that. I see the name at GCCCD, so he’s still teaching at Grossmont. I took GChem I at Cuyamaca with another instructor, but may end up taking other courses at Grossmont over the next 2 years. Interesting info - thanks again.

  • pathdr2b Said:
  • TicDocDoh Said:
Were any of them ≥ age 40 when they matriculated?



I know for sure the IU graduate was over 40 but now that you ask, I think the other 2 were in their 30's. Not sure about the Harvard OPM member.

That said, a Harvard MD/PhD graduate told me earlier this year that there was a person over 40 in his med school class in the 2000's.



I thought of 2 more: Presse & jmdmd.