What are my chances? From Art school to Medical School

[rangoon1984]

Hi All,

I am wanting to go to medical school. I am currently taking the pre reqs at a community college (since my bach degree wasn't in the sciences I am lacking in that area). I'm currently 28 years old and living in Chicago. I am working in the commercial industry as a media/web manager.

I got my bachelors degree in film and video (at a liberal arts college, graduated in 2006) and finished with a 3.59. I transferred from another college where I had a 3.63 average (2 semesters). I also did some community college summer courses and got all A's (4.0).

I plan on kicking ass in all my sciences at community college (I've been doing well so far, I'm really shooting to keep at least a 3.8 GPA in my sciences, preferably a 4.0), and when it comes time for the MCAT's I'm going to take the Kaplan course and do as well as I can on those, obviously. I'm also setting up volunteer work at Northwestern Hospital. If I do well on the MCATs and do well in my CC science courses, will I be able to make the cut for medical school? It would be a real kick in the gut to go through 2 years of pre reqs and drop 2k on a MCAT course to be denied. Is there anything that I'm currently doing that I could be doing better?

I keep hearing that where you got your undergrad (or what you got your undergrad in) doesn't matter, but I'm kind of skeptical.

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[Goro]

I think the stigma against CC courses is more imagined than real. If you take your coursework all at once,and do not parcel them out, you can show AdComs that you can handle a difficult course load. And, of course, rock the MCAT.

Your background will definitely make you an interesting candidate!

Hi All,

I am wanting to go to medical school. I am currently taking the pre reqs at a community college (since my bach degree wasn't in the sciences I am lacking in that area). I'm currently 28 years old and living in Chicago. I am working in the commercial industry as a media/web manager.

I got my bachelors degree in film and video (at a liberal arts college, graduated in 2006) and finished with a 3.59. I transferred from another college where I had a 3.63 average (2 semesters). I also did some community college summer courses and got all A's (4.0).

I plan on kicking ass in all my sciences at community college (I've been doing well so far, I'm really shooting to keep at least a 3.8 GPA in my sciences, preferably a 4.0), and when it comes time for the MCAT's I'm going to take the Kaplan course and do as well as I can on those, obviously. I'm also setting up volunteer work at Northwestern Hospital. If I do well on the MCATs and do well in my CC science courses, will I be able to make the cut for medical school? It would be a real kick in the gut to go through 2 years of pre reqs and drop 2k on a MCAT course to be denied. Is there anything that I'm currently doing that I could be doing better?

I keep hearing that where you got your undergrad (or what you got your undergrad in) doesn't matter, but I'm kind of skeptical.

 

[rangoon1984]

I think the stigma against CC courses is more imagined than real. If you take your coursework all at once,and do not parcel them out, you can show AdComs that you can handle a difficult course load. And, of course, rock the MCAT.

Your background will definitely make you an interesting candidate!

I currently work 50hrs a week at my job, so taking on more than 2 heavy science classes at once is difficult (I literally don't have time for much more than 2 classes at once...each class is 3.5 hours twice a week so I can only take them after work). Do you think it will look bad if I spread them out with my job?

 

[Goro]

As long as you don't dspread them out over several years. I remember a guy who did that and got low wait-listed because we didn't believe that he could handle a medical course load all at once. But if you can handle 1-2 courses/semerster (including summers) then that's a lot better than one course/year for 8 years, which is what this guy did.

I currently work 50hrs a week at my job, so taking on more than 2 heavy science classes at once is difficult (I literally don't have time for much more than 2 classes at once...each class is 3.5 hours twice a week so I can only take them after work). Do you think it will look bad if I spread them out with my job?

 

[alexrgross]

Fairly good chances here, if the partial prediction you make comes true. The art background sounds really fun and should come across in you interviews and 2ndary. Well, keep up us posted in the long term.

 

[rangoon1984]

I should also add my current ECs:,.. Intend on doing clinical/Non clinical volunteering as well as shadowing:

Interned at a post sound studio for 75 hours

Interned at a commercial edit house for 120 hours

Currently working for trade at a yoga studio for 150 hours

Part of an artists collective that produces and edits short films since 2011

Worked on 12 films in film school, 7 post grad and 3 spots in the commercial industry