Well I took the plunge and am ready to go for the fall term with Chemistry I & lab, Physics I & lab & Calc I. I am thinking of adding Bio I & lab but I don’t want to get too carried away with such a course load that I will cripple my study time for each subject, so I will probably forego the Bio I until spring or summer.
This is exciting & nerve wracking at the same time, but it is so awesome to be working toward my goal.
The long journey begins with the first steps, right?
Thanks for letting me share this here.
-Justin
Hey Justin!
I also just registered for the Fall. I am taking Bio I and Chem I this Fall. I plan to take Bio II and Chem II in the Spring, Physics I & II in the Summer, and Org Chem in Fall 2008. Then I will start studying for the MCATs for Spring 2009. I’m 25, work full-time, and am married with 2 kids (age 5 and 3). I am very apprehensive but excited at the same time. It’s a pretty big leap! I was one of those pre-med students who got discouraged the first year, and decided to take the easy way out, and choose another career. I just completed my BBA in Management & Organizational Behavior with a 3.51 GPA. After working full-time, going to school full-time, and being a part-time mom and wife for the past two years, I figure, if I can handle this, I can handle ANYTHING!! (or so I keep telling myself so I won’t give up on my dream of med school)… 
Good Luck!
Naureen
Awesome to see fellow BBA graduates in here! I’m 26 myself and have a BBA as well as an MBA and am now going for the coveted M.D. ! let’s keep encouraging each other and we’ll all make it through this… someone has to want a doctor who can keep his finances in check and deliver a sound powerpoint!!! haha 
Congrats to both of you on registration for the fall.
Hi Naureen,
I’m very happy that you’ve mapped out your courses like you have! I’m 26 myself and closing my family business in order to go after this medical degree. The undergrad degree that I’m going after is Biomedical Sciences, really because I’m trying to minimize my time in my undergrad program and because it has a ton of prereq’s for med school. I’m trying to figure out now if I can live on financial aid or if I need to find a job that can give me a solid part time income.
I’ll tell ya, it’s a pretty scary proposition, but I think that I really need to go after this full time and guns a blazin’ in order to achieve my goal.
I’m sure my excitement will turn into stress in about 5 weeks once the fall term starts and I’ll be complaining about Chemistry & Physics on here
We really ought to try to keep up on here and map our progress. You’ve inspired me Naureen, I’m going to go home tonight and create a critical path towards my bachelor’s.
All my best to you guys,
Justin
so where are you in your med school journey, miller? are you already doing pre-reqs or have you just begun?
finances are really scary…i’m not sure if i should quit my job and do it full-time, too, or not…i’m doing my pre-reqs at a community college, and i know those aren’t looked at very highly, but, it’s cheap, and if i don’t pass the MCATS, then at least i won’t be crying that i spent a ton of money on pre-reqs for nothing…i’ll also be expected to get straight A’s i’m sure…it’s a lot of pressure, and now that family members know that this is what i’m trying to do, i feel pressure that “ok, i’m really doing this, and if i fail, everyone will be talking about it”…it’s motivating but stressful at the same time!
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finances are really scary....i'm not sure if i should quit my job and do it full-time, too, or not....i'm doing my pre-reqs at a community college, and i know those aren't looked at very highly, but, it's cheap, and if i don't pass the MCATS, then at least i won't be crying that i spent a ton of money on pre-reqs for nothing......i'll also be expected to get straight A's i'm sure.....it's a lot of pressure, and now that family members know that this is what i'm trying to do, i feel pressure that "ok, i'm really doing this, and if i fail, everyone will be talking about it"....it's motivating but stressful at the same time!
Naureen,
The argument over whether or not CC courses carry as much weight as the Univ. level ones or not seems to be one that will be debated ad nauseum.
I would take my pre-reqs at the CC level if I could, but unfortunately, I screwed around my first two years at the University level (I do have my AA degree) not knowing what I wanted to do, getting discouraged and not giving much effort to anything, so my University GPA has to be pulled up immediately be retaking the courses there. My overall GPA isn't bad, it's my University GPA that has to be pulled up. If I were in your shoes, I'd probably do what you are doing, so long as you can get those A's.
As to the pressure of friends/family, try to use that as motivation, in a good way. I have told few people about my ambitions because I'm just not in the mood to explain myself to people who want to say "how do you think you're going to pull this off?" You'll find that people tend to be inherently negative when it comes to lofty goals, and there will be no shortage of those around you who say you can't do it. Well, as the saying goes: "can't never could and won't never will." Start hanging around with motivated people at the college level, that's how I had to get through my first two years; a total change of attitude and people who were like-minded and driven. I began noticing that there were so many people around me just there to pass time, screw around and delay their entrance into reality. These people also seemed to thrive on negativity. You'll see that at the University level to a much higher degree than the CC level. You can't fall into that trap, stay motivated and keep your eye on the prize.
My biggest issue will be taking it one term at a time and not focusing too much on the bigger picture, because that can be very depressing to think, "ughhh...I have X more terms or I have X years left before I get my degree." That's a sure-fire recipe for disaster and I tend to let myself swing towards that from time-to-time.
Quitting your job can be a very scary thing, I'm going through it right now. Trying to go through the steps to shut my business down and explain to my clients that there's something much more important to me than doing what I do. I have rent, car payments, health insurance payments and frankly, no idea right now how I'm going to pay it all. I may end up with a part time job doing something like bartending or whatever, just to help supplement my financial aid. As to what you should do, I would tell you that if you can find a way, go full-time. It will increase your focus and drive like nothing else. You'll feel like you're knocking out huge chunks of the "weed out" courses and getting closer to the "real deal," not to mention your study quality goes up tenfold when you don't have to worry about squeezing studying in with being at work. I don't think I need to tell you that the expectation for you to do exceptionally well in your courses is paramount, especially at the CC level.
Just to let you know, I know two excellent physicians who have both graduated within the last 10 years who both took their pre-reqs at the CC level without so much as a second glance from the admissions boards to med school.
-Justin
this inspired me today, and i wrote it on my Expo board at work…i stole it from “crooz” on these forums…
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it doesn't matter how fast you get somewhere if you're not happy once you get there. Take your time, do it right, and do it for you.
i must say that this new journey towards medicine is really distracting, and i can’t concentrate at work anymore cuz i’m too into reading these forums, etc…unfortunately, my company paid for my undergrad degree, so, i’m stuck here for another year, unless they fire me (then i wouldn’t have to pay them back)…
should i try to get myself fired???
I doubt you could spin that in a positive way on your medical school applications. 
Tim
why would they care about a corporate job which isn’t helping me get experience in healthcare?? i mean, i’ve never been fired in my life, but, at this point, i’m thinking “what am i doing here…i want to be a doctor…not working in the corporate world EVER again, so, what’s the point?” i just want to go at pre-med full force…
this is my dilemma
It is possible that if you get fired for willful suckage, you will still have to repay your tuition benefit. You also can’t get an LOR from your supervisor which may look funny. It’s only a year; suck it up, sock some money in the bank, and get enough work done that you don’t feel like you’re stealing from the people.
honestly, i agree with you, samenewme, but, since i work for the company that fired my husband, my husband keeps telling me to just “get the h#*@ out of there” haha…i guess he’s biased…yeah, i would rather stick it out for the next year and then quit, with my dignity intact
Ah.
That does make it harder. I went through the same thing although I must admit my director at my final job was very nice about letting me take classes and I couldn’t quit because I didn’t have any financial backup. It was hard making myself get something useful done every day, because my heart was just not in it. But it worked out in the end and now I hardly remember the time when I had a real job.
I think that it would speak more of your commitment to stay the year than to try to get yourself fired. What are your plans for the next year? When are you applying for medical school…as long as you are not starting this fall, you might as well finish your one year. Make every minute that you are not working, working towards your goal of medicine. Take night classes if you are able. If you finished all of your classes, just get some volunteering time and work up those ECs.
Kris
hey justin! just wanted to update on my schedule…i realized taking chem 1 and physics at the same time was going to be overkill since i work full-time…classes would be 4 nights a week from Sept - Dec!! i wouldn’t want my GPA to suffer, so, i’m doing the following now
Fall 07
Chemistry I
Spring 08
Chemistry II
Summer 08
Biology I (i only need 1 semester since i took Cell Bio many years ago, and don’t want to suffer through it again!)
Fall 08 (quit job)
Physics I
Org Chem I
Spring 09
Physics II
Org Chem II
Summer 09
Apply through AMCAS
Take MCATS
worst case scenario, i extend my classes through 09 and apply in '10…i hope i don’t have to, tho!
Good luck!
Hey Noor, how many years ago did you take cell bio? Because if it’s more than 7 years, you may run into concerns from some med schools who want prereqs to be relatively recent. You’ll need to check with each individual school you’re considering, because they all differ and as far as I’ve been able to tell from conversations here on the forums, it’ll be hard to find out that information from the MSAR or their websites… good luck! That looks like a very reasonable schedule.
Mary
Hi Mary!
You know, after I posted that, I realized that my Cell Biology didn’t have a lab!! So, I’m going to have to take Bio II anyway! Thanks for giving me a heads up, anyhow!! I really appreciate it!
Good luck Noor, it sounds like you have a good plan!
Mary, congratulations on finishing your test! You mentioned that some schools will not accept pre-reqs older than 7 years. My Bio courses and my organic chemistry courses are within the last year but physics and gen chem are REALLY old (greater than 10 years).
to anyone that can help: Do you recall any particular schools that definitely will not take older pre-reqs?
Thanks!
Snowgirl, I’m not sure how many use a hard-and-fast rule about it; I think they consider it kind of case-by-case. Most of them probably prefer recent coursework - but if, say, you nail the PS section of your MCAT, they may be more flexible.
This brings up a good point…
So, does that mean I will not even include my Cell Biology (I got a C) to AMCAS that I took in 1999, since it will be over 7 years when I apply in 2009? I thought they want all courses taken, no matter when they were taken??