Hello All!
I am new here on OPM, but have been lurking around the posts for sometime now. I’m looking for a little direction from people who have come from a BA or BS unrelated to pre-med and gone on to pursue medicine.
I graduated December 2010 with a BA in exercise science from a smaller liberal arts school. Long story short, I took up exercise science because when I was a freshman (in no way ready to decide what I want to do the rest of my life) and always had pre-med with a bio degree in the back of my head. I finished out with the BA and a 3.3 GPA. (A side note, I followed pre-physical therapy coursework to fill some electives, but have never seen physical therapy as a career choice). I have taken a year of physics, semester of calculus, year of gen chemistry, and a semester of bio.
So as of now I am 23 and I work as an exercise specialist at a local fitness center. I love working with people, but I feel like I’m not putting my education to work or reaching my potential. So, I started looking into taking the med school requirements and pursuing what I was interested in back in high school. This is where I ran into some problems. I looked at post-bac programs, but the closest program is about 15 hours a way and relocating right now is not an option at least right now. So I am considering going back to school full- time and in 2yrs getting the pre-med requirements and fulfilling the rest of a bio degree. The problem for me, or at least I am told, is getting financial aid. I have received ZERO aid in loans either federal or private, because I received enough scholarships and made enough money working to fill the rest of the gaps. I was told by my school’s financial aid office that because I already have my BA I would not be eligible for financial aid. They said coming back for a bio degree was not pursuing a second degree, but pursuing a second major for my previously earned degree. So according to them I am ineligible for federal aid and very limited in my private loan eligibility. Is this true? I have been looking around, but seem to find different answers wherever I look. Again I have NEVER received aid federal or private. Any insight on people who have done this would be greatly appreciated.
I would like to start as soon as I can because at this point in my life I am debt free and my obligations are limited. I also feel if I don’t follow my passions now it will be an even more complicated process years down the road.
I have some experience in the medical field through PT shadowing and working at a hospital for 2.5 years. I’m hoping to start shadowing a few doctors in the next couple weeks here and get some more volunteering under my belt. I also interned and was involved in research, but it was exercise physiology research.
Unless it’s to fill a personal ambition, you probably do not need an additional degree; nor do you need to complete a formal post-bacc. If the gen chem is still fresh (or you feel you can refresh yourself with a review workbook), you can probably start in with organic chem and biology. The biology coursework needs to be the “science major” level, or whatever it’s called at your school, so if your first semester was not this level, it won’t count. Consider repeating any of the gen chem or physics coursework if you did not do well. That will get you the minimum coursework covered on the MCAT. Take a few upper level sciences, such as micro, genetics, biochem, cell biology, to round out and prove that you can hold your own with advanced science.
It’s imperative that you do well academically and on the MCAT. Also don’t underestimate the weight your LORs and personal statement carry – these make the difference when ADCOMs are trying to decide between candidates with equal academic performance.
Regarding financial aid, until you get into medical school you’ll have to go the private route. As unfair as it seems, there are no subsidized loans for post-bacc students. It’s likely you will have to have a co-signer too. Don’t let that discourage you. Despite the gloomy economic picture there are still reputable lenders willing to loan money and not gouge you; you’ll just have to ferret them out. Start with your bank.
Your plan to get the shadowing and volunteering underway sooner than later is good. Start before you get so busy that you don’t get anything out of it.
On a personal note and to answer your request for similar situations, I had a non-science degree (graphic design) and completely unrelated professional background. I went the DIY post-bacc route; did not pursue a second degree and was accepted to a US allopathic school on the first try. I had to come up with the post-bacc money, but took out loans once in med school, which I was then able to consolidate at a very low interest rate…paying those off quickly now.
Hope that helps. Good luck and keep us posted.
Another option for paying for the courses is to find a job with a company that will pay for further education…I am paying for most of my post-bacc prereqs (informal route) with employer benefits (I work for a hospital…good pay and reasonable benefits), but I am also going slowly and taking only one course per semester so that I can continue working full-time as well. I am also taking the somewhat less optimal (by some standards) option of taking my remaining pre-reqs online with on-campus labs; there are many who view this as a red flag for admissions, but my school does not differentiate between their online and brick and mortar courses on the transcript (I think I’m safe). Good luck!
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Not necessarily true. You can borrow up to a certain amount in federal loans (I believe the amount is somewhere around $12,500) to take courses that are required for admission into a professional program such as medical, law, dental and veterinary school. The caveat is that there is a 12 month clock on these funds and it's very difficult to complete all of the pre-med coursework in one year. I financed my post-bacc this way - I paid for the first quarter on my own and then was able to get the rest of my courses completed within the 12 month window.
I also don't think that it's true that you are ineligible for federal loans if you declare a second degree unless they have changed that rule recently. I know several people who were able to get at least some financial aid that way. There are some limitations on number of total credit hours and total dollar amount you can borrow for undergraduate coursework. It's possible that you aren't eligible because you took too many undergrad hours, but I would dig deeper into it.
I would seek the opinion of another financial aid professional and I would also start digging around on the government loan website. All of their eligibility requirements are on their somewhere - they are just a pain in the butt to find.
I’d fill out the FAFSA and put the school you are interested in going to that’s near you and see what comes back. Until you get an award letter, you really don’t know for sure.