First Semester in Post Bacc - OK if not full-time?

[Doctoscope]

I've recently started a career change/transcript repair post-bacc, and I'm only enrolled in 3 classes currently: Anatomy (4), Gen Bio 1 (5), and Gen Psych (3), for a total of 10 units. The bio class is at UCLA, and since it's a quarter system, it's reduced to like 3.3 units. I'd like to start off slowly to make sure this is 100% what I want to dedicate myself to, and leave time to volunteer extensively, and shadow. This won't be a problem, right? I'll definitely go full-time if I'm 100% sure I want to go down this path (medicine or not, towards healthcare in general).

Am I being too neurotic before even fully committing myself to this? Thanks,

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[Bonne Nuit]

I've recently started a career change/transcript repair post-bacc, and I'm only enrolled in 3 classes currently: Anatomy (4), Gen Bio 1 (5), and Gen Psych (3), for a total of 10 units. The bio class is at UCLA, and since it's a quarter system, it's reduced to like 3.3 units. I'd like to start off slowly to make sure this is 100% what I want to dedicate myself to, and leave time to volunteer extensively, and shadow. This won't be a problem, right? I'll definitely go full-time if I'm 100% sure I want to go down this path (medicine or not, towards healthcare in general).

Am I being too neurotic before even fully committing myself to this? Thanks,

It's not going to be an issue, especially if you transition to full time next quarter. Are you working right now? If you're even asked about it (which I doubt you will be), you can just say that you wanted a lighter courseload for a brief time period as you transitioned from your career back into the classroom.

 

[Doctoscope]

It's not going to be an issue, especially if you transition to full time next quarter. Are you working right now? If you're even asked about it (which I doubt you will be), you can just say that you wanted a lighter courseload for a brief time period as you transitioned from your career back into the classroom.

I'm working only like 6-9 hours a week tutoring currently. Scaled it back massively to make room for classes and volunteering.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

I'm working only like 6-9 hours a week tutoring currently. Scaled it back massively to make room for classes and volunteering.

There you go. Totally reasonable to have a lighter courseload while you find your bearings with your post bac, which is truly a huge life change. Nobody will care. Go forth with confidence and crush your classes.

 

[Select All That Apply]

@DoctoOcto You're doing yourself a disservice. I don't know if you are on a time frame, what your monetary constraints are like, or your performance before deciding to do a post-bac. But this isn't the best way to utilize a DIY post-bac. Just because you can blow off money in order to make yourself feel like you're getting closer to a goal doesn't always mean that you are necessarily getting closer to the goal.

1. What is the purpose of your post-bac?
2. If you were an adcom member how would you evaluate your own post-bac?
3. If you were an adcom member would you admit yourself to medical school? Why?
4. If you were going to waste money on taking more classes, what would convince yourself as an adcom that you hold sufficient academic merit to be considered for admission into a medical school?

 

[Doctoscope]

@DoctoOcto You're doing yourself a disservice. I don't know if you are on a time frame, what your monetary constraints are like, or your performance before deciding to do a post-bac. But this isn't the best way to utilize a DIY post-bac. Just because you can blow off money in order to make yourself feel like you're getting closer to a goal doesn't always mean that you are necessarily getting closer to the goal.

1. What is the purpose of your post-bac?
2. If you were an adcom member how would you evaluate your own post-bac?
3. If you were an adcom member would you admit yourself to medical school? Why?
4. If you were going to waste money on taking more classes, what would convince yourself as an adcom that you hold sufficient academic merit to be considered for admission into a medical school?

What's your reasoning for saying that?

 

[Select All That Apply]

@DoctoOcto Figure it out. If you come to the answer yourself, it will be more meaningful then whatever I blatantly tell you.

 

[Doctoscope]

@DoctoOcto Figure it out.

So I ask you for a genuine reason as to why you said the things you did, because I was curious, and your response is "figure it out?" Why did you answer the question in the first place then, if you're not gonna offer any actual answers?

 

[Select All That Apply]

@DoctoOcto You caught me, I'm a huge troll. You should take ten credits or possibly less in order to figure out how you feel about being a pre-med. What negative ramifications could there be when you're exploring how you feel about your own future of being a pre-med? **** what other people think, you do you. Good thing you avoided remotely spending a single second on my first post, can you imagine wasting precious personal resources on thinking about any of those questions? Ridiculous. Any answer that's not direct advice on a future outcome is completely disingenuous.

 

[Doctoscope]

@DoctoOcto You caught me, I'm a huge troll. You should take ten credits or possibly less in order to figure out how you feel about being a pre-med. What negative ramifications could there be when you're exploring how you feel about your own future of being a pre-med? **** what other people think, you do you. Good thing you avoided remotely spending a single second on my first post, can you imagine wasting precious personal resources on thinking about any of those questions? Ridiculous. Any answer that's not direct advice on a future outcome is completely disingenuous.

That went from 0-10 real quick there, buddy. Good luck with everything lol.

 

[Doctoscope]

There you go. Totally reasonable to have a lighter courseload while you find your bearings with your post bac, which is truly a huge life change. Nobody will care. Go forth with confidence and crush your classes.

Thanks for the advice. I can't exactly fit any more science classes due to them filling up so fast, so I figured the only way to bring myself up to full-time is take some humanities class, but it felt like what's the point.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

Thanks for the advice. I can't exactly fit any more science classes due to them filling up so fast, so I figured the only way to bring myself up to full-time is take some humanities class, but it felt like what's the point.

Yeah, post bac gets expensive if you start taking courses beyond what is strictly required for medical school. Be sure to purchase an MSAR subscription if you continue so you’re sure you’re meeting your target schools’ coursework requirements.