New to Old Pre Meds-Introduction

Hello everyone!


I am new to this forum so I wanted to say hi and tell my story so that is over and done with.


I am 28 years old and work as an ER nurse. I was someone who had the childhood dream of being a doctor. Being the first person in my family to graduate high school, I didn’t have a lot of guidance.


Not having the confidence that I could make my dream come true right out of college, I went in undecided and started taking business classes at the recommendation of a lot of family because it would “make money”.


Business classes were incredibly boring and not being interested, effort was not strong and GPA suffered. After earning an associate’s, I switched to fitness management, as I loved fitness and wanted to own and run my own gym. My love of improving others health forced into the wrong outlet.


Had great grades in my fitness classes and graduated. Worked in the industry for a few years and was largely unfulfilled. I went back for an accelerated second bachelor’s in nursing as a way to “do more”.


I’ve been an ER nurse for 2 years and although I enjoy it, I am still wondering “what if” and still have the desire to do more. I want to become a doctor and make my dream come true. I now have the confidence to make it happen.


I am single, no kids and feel I have a golden opportunity to give this 100% and never have to wonder what could have been. I’ve always been altruistic and want to make a difference in as many lives as possible by being a doctor.


Long story over…


I had a 3.46 cGPA after an associate’s and 2 bachelor’s degrees. This involved 4 C’s (mostly in business classes from the beginning), 2 D’s (one class was retaken and earned an A), 1 F (retaken with a W, retaken again and A), and 3 W.


Anyway, strong upward trend on my grades and for my nursing degree I was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau, the national nursing honor society.


I will not allow my past academic mistakes to derail my dream. I am taking an Intro to Biology class starting next week at Northwestern, followed by an Intro Algebra (mine is >5 years old) as I apply to the Northwestern Post Bacc Pre Med program.


I have not done the AMCAS or AACOMAS GPA calculators. It’s not easy with having 228 attempted hours in 7 years worth of college. I know it will be slightly lower on AMCAS.


Willing to go DO, as DO sounds like an interesting approach.


If anyone has any questions or ideas, feel free to express them. I am trying to cover all my bases and make this happen. This site has been an amazing base of information.

Hi!


Glad to hear your story. I think you’ll find a lot of people here are just like you. A lot of us are career changers, a lot of us have bad grades. Personally, my record includes one class that I F’d twice and W’d once, and there were a lot more Fs and Ws besides. Right now I’m working on a PhD in a program I never thought would consider me when I first found it three years ago. My usual mantra is that just about any person can get into medical school if they’re willing to invest the time and money. If you’re at the start of your journey and lack any particularly damning items on your application (eg, academic dismissal), that’s really your first step. Medical school can be hard timewise for us who didn’t have the foresight or ability to go straight from undergraduate. It’s not just the time and expense of getting to medical school, but the four years and expense of medical school itself, and then the years internship and residency afterwards. You may have a singular goal of performing brain surgery on pediatric cancer patients, but then do the math and realize you’ll be making mortgage-sized student loan payments into your 60s or beyond to get there.


What you need to do is figure out:

  • Where are you now in terms of qualifications and abilities?
  • Where do you need to get (qualifications and abilities) in order to have a reasonable chance of acceptance?
  • What options do you have to make that journey?
  • What will the investment be given those options?
  • All things considered, does it remain worthwhile?


I'm at a similar point in my life, at 28 years old. As I mentioned, I'm a PhD student (details in my sig). I can give you the details of how I got where I am now if you wish, though I don't want to steal your thunder. I don't expect to be through medical school until my late 30s, won't be through residency until sometime in my 40s. Moreover, student loans will go until my 60s. I'll still be paying back my loans when my as-of-yet unconceived children are in college. The whole picture can be a bit shocking when you step back and consider everything. However, you obviously wouldn't be here if you weren't seriously considering trying. So have at it!
  • Fedaykin Said:
Hi!

Glad to hear your story. I think you'll find a lot of people here are just like you. A lot of us are career changers, a lot of us have bad grades. Personally, my record includes one class that I F'd twice and W'd once, and there were a lot more Fs and Ws besides. Right now I'm working on a PhD in a program I never thought would consider me when I first found it three years ago. My usual mantra is that just about any person can get into medical school if they're willing to invest the time and money. If you're at the start of your journey and lack any particularly damning items on your application (eg, academic dismissal), that's really your first step. Medical school can be hard timewise for us who didn't have the foresight or ability to go straight from undergraduate. It's not just the time and expense of getting to medical school, but the four years and expense of medical school itself, and then the years internship and residency afterwards. You may have a singular goal of performing brain surgery on pediatric cancer patients, but then do the math and realize you'll be making mortgage-sized student loan payments into your 60s or beyond to get there.

What you need to do is figure out:

  • Where are you now in terms of qualifications and abilities?
  • Where do you need to get (qualifications and abilities) in order to have a reasonable chance of acceptance?
  • What options do you have to make that journey?
  • What will the investment be given those options?
  • All things considered, does it remain worthwhile?


I'm at a similar point in my life, at 28 years old. As I mentioned, I'm a PhD student (details in my sig). I can give you the details of how I got where I am now if you wish, though I don't want to steal your thunder. I don't expect to be through medical school until my late 30s, won't be through residency until sometime in my 40s. Moreover, student loans will go until my 60s. I'll still be paying back my loans when my as-of-yet unconceived children are in college. The whole picture can be a bit shocking when you step back and consider everything. However, you obviously wouldn't be here if you weren't seriously considering trying. So have at it!



As of right now I feel I am a pretty decent candidate. As long as I do well on my pre med classes and perform well on the MCAT, I am hopeful I will get in somewhere. I have read many success stories about people in worse situations than myself.

I have thought of the many years I will sacrifice and the money I will spend and I still want to make this happen. It will all be worth it one day.

I agree, thinking of the long term student loan debt is shocking, to say the least. An investment in yourself is a good investment imo. From PhD to MD? Quite a journey. I wish you luck, keep your eyes on the prize!
  • irishrn2doc Said:
As of right now I feel I am a pretty decent candidate. As long as I do well on my pre med classes and perform well on the MCAT, I am hopeful I will get in somewhere. I have read many success stories about people in worse situations than myself.



One thing to think about. Look at your message above because I'd like to highlight some things you said.

  • "I am a pretty decent candidate"
  • "I am hopeful I will get in somewhere"
  • "worse situations than myself"


You aren't talking yourself down, which is good. Many people have/had that problem at first, myself included. But you aren't selling yourself either. I know, I know... here you're talking to peers, not to ADCOMs, so does it really matter? Yes. You don't sound sullen but not particularly confident either. IMO, your goal (and the goal of every pre-med) shouldn't be to be a decent candidate. It should be an awesome candidate. Lots of qualified applicants to MD/DO programs don't get in. And there's a growing problem of MD/DOs not finding residencies.

Think about it: you're on an ADCOM, and this guy's application comes to your for an initial review. GPA is middle of the pack. MCAT is above the mean but not crazy. Statement talks about a drive to help people who are suffering. Other credentials show some volunteer work and you spent a year on your church's board. None of that is bad, but here's the thing- lots of applicants apply with qualifications like those. Your goal is not to be in the pack but to stand out from it. A typical school has thousands of applicants and a hundred(ish) acceptances.

So yes, you should do well in your pre-med classes and on the MCAT. But IMO, that's not an achievement so much as it is an assumption. Unless you're a cGPA 4.0 student- and you're not- your GPA probably isn't going to be your ticket to an acceptance. Something else has to be, and you need to determine what that is. When your application lands in front of someone whose opinion of it will determine your future, what's going to get that reviewer excited to send your application to the full committee or talk to you in an interview? What's going to make you unique? What will set you apart from the pack? Those are the big questions that you should be considering. You're at the beginning of the journey, not the end. An application isn't a form, it's a story. What's the theme of yours going to be?
  • Fedaykin Said:
What's going to make you unique? What will set you apart from the pack? Those are the big questions that you should be considering..............An application isn't a form, it's a story. What's the theme of yours going to be?



This is an excellent comment!

I'll add a little to this. If you're from a racial group represented (White) or over represented (Indian) in Medicine, you'll really need to do a LOT to stand out from your "crowd".

Excellent information everyone! I definitely need to think about how I will articulate my story and make myself stand out.


This is why I joined this forum. Sharing information and critiquing each other is wonderful. I have browsed this site for a while and it is top notch.


I will continue to share and add information when and where I can. It’s very early for me. My intro bio class was cancelled this week due to -15 weather with -50 wind chill. Gotta love Chicago!



  • Fedaykin Said:
When your application lands in front of someone whose opinion of it will determine your future, what's going to get that reviewer excited to send your application to the full committee or talk to you in an interview? What's going to make you unique? What will set you apart from the pack? Those are the big questions that you should be considering. You're at the beginning of the journey, not the end. An application isn't a form, it's a story. What's the theme of yours going to be?



Wow! Super motivational as I move into my second semester as a post-bacc premed. I got chills reading this. Thank you!

And to the OP, I definitely can relate to your feelings about what kind of candidate you will be for medical school. I met with my advisor today and so many times I caught myself trying to justify ancient bad grades. She reminded me to have confidence, that I have come a long way even if it doesn't feel like it. I I often tell myself that when I see my doctor I don't want him or her to be timid and do a "decent" job with my care. I want them to be confident and compassionate.

With that said, good luck and I sure hope the Midwest warms up. We are freezing over here in Ohio as well

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Hi, I was reading your comments and I am a nurse graduate who wants to become a physician. I have many specialties I think I would like but for now I would like to specialize in surgery. I decided to enter nursing school because I did not think I would be accepted into the program. I have completed all of my pre-req except for organic chemistry lab 1&2 which I plan to finish by may 2015. I am very new to the application process as well as the "standing-out " portion of it; in your opinion, do you think I should get a Bachelor’s degree in Biology to make me a competitive candidate. I have over 1000 hours of clinical experience from nursing school, 100 hours of volunteer work, graduated as an honors Scholar (GPA: 3.57) and have earned 2 decent scholarships. I am afraid that this will not be enough.