One post-bac semester behind - now looking at 2nd

Nontraditional Premed Discussion
1

Hi





I’m non-traditional at age 50; holder of B.Sc Math (GPA 3.65) dating 25 years.





Six months ago I had questions.





And now, six months later, I am beginning to get answers.





What has happened, then, over these six months:



  • Countless visits to this site have allowed me to glean a wealth of information
  • I have contacted several med schools
  • Structured a 2-year 'post-bac' plan of sorts
  • Applied and been accepted at a local university
  • Completed one semester of Gen.Chem/Gen.Bio/Phys-Mechanics/Cal
  • The transcript currently reads GPA 4.2, having scored 90% or better in each of the 4 courses
  • Have volunteered 100 hours at the triage area of a local hospital
  • Now getting ready for the second semester





I appologize for tooting my horn - but I really have busted my butt. I wanted the grades, worked hard

for them, and am quite proud.



The addition of these elements to my resumé represent the first concrete evidence, after years of

wondering, that this project may make sense after all!



The challenge lying ahead is to demonstrate consistency in academic ability, and to continue adding

positive elements to my resumé.





Here's a question relating to my second semester.

Ideally, I was hoping to continue with 4 courses: Gen.Chem/Gen.Bio/Phys-Waves/Cal.

The Bio course available at my university has no lab component - and won't cut it.

So I have postponed it and plan to take the 2nd Bio from a different school in the summer; now I have a

load of 3 courses, and am desperately looking to add a 4th one.

What would you all consider? A humanities? CPR training? A medical Ethics course? ???



All your feedback is greatly appreciated!



Ron
2

The medical ethics sounds more interesting to me…moreso than CPR but just take whatever you would enjoy.

3

Congratulations on your strong start! I agree that a course in Medical Ethics would be interesting. Some other course you may want to consider include Genetics or Anatomy and Physiology. I took both of these courses and found them helpful in my preparation for the MCAT. I know that they are not “required” for MCAT preparation, but I believe that the more “background” courses you have taken, the better you will be able to apply your critical thinking skills to the MCAT questions.
Best of luck in the 2nd semester!
Lu

4

A course in a foreign language would help, too, if you haven’t already had one (especially in Spanish)

5

Congratulations Ron on a first semester well done! I don’t have any advice for the fourth course, but I just wanted to give you a “way to go!” cheer. My first pre-med coursework semester will start in May – I hope to do as well. I’m setting up my life now to give it all come June.
Just a quick question - were you pretty confident beforehand that you could handle a full load of science coursework? I’m asking because I was an undergrad and grad in the humanities, and though I have evidence that I can do well in the sciences, I’ve never actually studied ONLY science full-time for an entire semester, let alone the coming next five years. In theory, it all sounds fine, but just curious what will happen once it hits. : )
Again congrats on a superb semester!
Jeremy

6

Hi!





Many thanks for the kind replies. I’m still working on that choice of a 4th course.





To Planetron -





In all honesty, I had done this course-load in my college years, some 30 years ago. So that did instill a certain confidence in me. But also, I had this certain ‘have got no choice but to ace this load’ feeling. Thirdly, I was dreading the possibility that my grey matter might not at all be able to tackle the daily/weekly exercises, lab reports, quizes & tests. Fourthly, I also was very concerned about being shunned by my younger counterparts.





To sum it up: I felt I could do well, but real scared it might simply not work out at all.





So approaching my classes, I put all chances on my side:



  • a few weeks before the start, I took out all my old texts and read and read and read; all I could.
  • at school, I read ahead of the profs lecture material - always;
  • for the physics professor whose teaching style did not work with me, I went to the net; borrowed additional text book;
  • the Chem. and Calc. professors who showed empathy, I made sure I became friends with; they were looking for 'informal feedback' from me, I wanted their support; I think biologists call this mutualistic commensalism!
  • I approached the very brightest of students; and it worked out well; we could cross check our assignements before handing them in; that made a huge difference in (re)learning; that's how I remastered FBDs in Physics! This upcomming semester, I'm actually partnering for lab-work with one of the students I met last semester.



Concluding, I'm absolutely thrilled and exhilerated. If you're scared enough to kick *a**, but not scared so much that you're paralyzed, I believe you should do fine. After all, Planetron, you do have a higher degree. Go for it!



Ron
7

Hey Ron, thanks for the practical advice! - very helpful to have these suggestions as I prepare for the semester(s) to come. I’m writing them down! : )
As nebulous as your background in science had become, from 30 years prior, it was still something. I hope it serves you some as you plough through. I will be starting with a big fat zero in science background (with the exception of a bio and chem course), but no worries, I’m ready for it. I’m most trying to address how not to burn out. One thing I know about myself, as experienced in my masters program, is somewhere around the fourth week of the second semester, I start feeling restless for something else than studying 24/7. yah, I know, not something to have for a med student. So I’m thinking about how to tackle that B4 it actually happens. Hope to Keep the entire experience as fresh and exciting as the first day of class on the first semester of the year.
Thanks again and good luck on finding a fourth course!
Jeremy

8

I second the Spanish. Or, how about sign language?

9

Sign language is a good class to take, but Spanish is more useful. Your chances of interacting with someone who speaks Spanish vs. someone who uses ASL (typical sign language course taught) is greater. There are approx. 500k users of ASL in the USA and Canada (a la Gallaudet study), but around 28 million people speak Spanish in America (www.neh.gov).
Don’t get me wrong, I took both ASL and Spanish and enjoyed them both, but even in my allied health career of speech-language pathology, Spanish is much more useful. I rarely come across someone who has a hearing loss and signs ASL.
But, do what interests you!

10

If you are applying to allopathic medical schools, you might want to use that extra class to satisfy one of the extra requirements of some of the schools you are interested in. For instance, OHSU requires a course in genetics, U of Hawaii requires microbiology (I believe), U of Illinois Chicago requires three courses in social/behavioral science, and many schools require or at least strongly recommend statistics. I wish I had checked on that before I had applied!

11

Quote:

If you are applying to allopathic medical schools, you might want to use that extra class to satisfy one of the extra requirements of some of the schools you are interested in. For instance, OHSU requires a course in genetics, U of Hawaii requires microbiology (I believe), U of Illinois Chicago requires three courses in social/behavioral science, and many schools require or at least strongly recommend statistics. I wish I had checked on that before I had applied!

This is an excellent point. Contact the schools in which you’re interested in applying (or visit their websites) and find out what their pre-reqs are. Many schools have unique requirements.
Larry