Working Full-time and need a plan to go back for Medicine

[mbash23]

So here is my story. I recently graduated with a degree in Management Information Systems (MIS) I currently work for a tech company and make a decent salary. (work-full time)

Need to go back to get my pre-reqs and this is what I have so far.

Bio 1 and 2: Community College, Made a (B) in both
Chem 1 and 2: Community College, (C) in chem1, and (B) in chem2

Overall Undergrad GPA in MIS = 3.3

Currently 24yrs old and giving myself 2 years to get everything done. such as MCAT, Volunteering on weekends and going back to school.

I know it will be grueling and hard but I've pretty much made up my mind but my biggest issue is that I do not know where to start. I also cannot quit my job because I have to pay bills etc. so therefore I can only take the night classes offered at community college because the university does not offer them. also it is much cheaper.

Will this stigma of taking classes at community college really hinder my chances of getting in?
When should I start preparing for my MCAT? and what is the BEST way?

Any advice is appreciated from you guys! thanks!

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[Eccesignum]

The MSAR, available on the AAMC site, lists all US MD schools gives a ton of details about them, including average stats, deadlines, and whether they accept community college credit. There are schools that don't accept CC credit, so it's up to you not to waste money applying to those particular schools. For DO the information is less centralized, but again it's just up to you to research schools you're interested in and make sure they accept those credits before you blow time and money on their applications. Overall though, plenty of people who've done CC credit focus their application correctly and do just fine. Just make sure you take classes with labs for those classes you're expected to have labs for.

This said, getting Bs and Cs is not going to cut it, especially with a cGPA that's already lower than the average applicant's. One does not simply walk into medical school Mordor. Your pre-requisites need to be solid As, with maybe a B or two. Keep in mind admissions isn't just a check whether or not you passed the pre-reqs. Academically, it's about assessing the applicant to see whether they can perform well in a rigorous, sustained academic situation. So far two Bs and a C aren't going to inspire much confidence. Consider yourself as already having used your gimme Bs -- from here out it has to be As and nothing less. Based on where your GPA is I'd even consider retaking that Chem I.

MCAT prep for most people begins a few months before the exam, by getting one or two sets of well-known MCAT prep books and being disciplined about setting a study schedule. If you search SDN you can find some nice examples of study schedules folks have used. Some people also do classes, online or in person, whether you do that is up to your study preference and your finances.

Right now, though, the MCAT is down the road. I would put all your effort into your classes right now; the better you do at solidly learning the material in class the less time you'll spend frantically trying to re-learn it before the MCAT.

 

[Blanky]

I have to agree that the CC stigma is not going to be nearly as punishing as the poor grades.

 

[mbash23]

The MSAR, available on the AAMC site, lists all US MD schools gives a ton of details about them, including average stats, deadlines, and whether they accept community college credit. There are schools that don't accept CC credit, so it's up to you not to waste money applying to those particular schools. For DO the information is less centralized, but again it's just up to you to research schools you're interested in and make sure they accept those credits before you blow time and money on their applications. Overall though, plenty of people who've done CC credit focus their application correctly and do just fine. Just make sure you take classes with labs for those classes you're expected to have labs for.

This said, getting Bs and Cs is not going to cut it, especially with a cGPA that's already lower than the average applicant's. One does not simply walk into medical school Mordor. Your pre-requisites need to be solid As, with maybe a B or two. Keep in mind admissions isn't just a check whether or not you passed the pre-reqs. Academically, it's about assessing the applicant to see whether they can perform well in a rigorous, sustained academic situation. So far two Bs and a C aren't going to inspire much confidence. Consider yourself as already having used your gimme Bs -- from here out it has to be As and nothing less. Based on where your GPA is I'd even consider retaking that Chem I.

MCAT prep for most people begins a few months before the exam, by getting one or two sets of well-known MCAT prep books and being disciplined about setting a study schedule. If you search SDN you can find some nice examples of study schedules folks have used. Some people also do classes, online or in person, whether you do that is up to your study preference and your finances.

Right now, though, the MCAT is down the road. I would put all your effort into your classes right now; the better you do at solidly learning the material in class the less time you'll spend frantically trying to re-learn it before the MCAT.

I appreciate the feedback big time. But now I met with an advisor and he suggested that I take more than 1 class at a time because it shows that I have more of a workload. Note that I work full-time and will be volunteering on weekends. what is your take on this? Or am I just being too technical right now?

The MSAR, available on the AAMC site, lists all US MD schools gives a ton of details about them, including average stats, deadlines, and whether they accept community college credit. There are schools that don't accept CC credit, so it's up to you not to waste money applying to those particular schools. For DO the information is less centralized, but again it's just up to you to research schools you're interested in and make sure they accept those credits before you blow time and money on their applications. Overall though, plenty of people who've done CC credit focus their application correctly and do just fine. Just make sure you take classes with labs for those classes you're expected to have labs for.

This said, getting Bs and Cs is not going to cut it, especially with a cGPA that's already lower than the average applicant's. One does not simply walk into medical school Mordor. Your pre-requisites need to be solid As, with maybe a B or two. Keep in mind admissions isn't just a check whether or not you passed the pre-reqs. Academically, it's about assessing the applicant to see whether they can perform well in a rigorous, sustained academic situation. So far two Bs and a C aren't going to inspire much confidence. Consider yourself as already having used your gimme Bs -- from here out it has to be As and nothing less. Based on where your GPA is I'd even consider retaking that Chem I.

MCAT prep for most people begins a few months before the exam, by getting one or two sets of well-known MCAT prep books and being disciplined about setting a study schedule. If you search SDN you can find some nice examples of study schedules folks have used. Some people also do classes, online or in person, whether you do that is up to your study preference and your finances.

Right now, though, the MCAT is down the road. I would put all your effort into your classes right now; the better you do at solidly learning the material in class the less time you'll spend frantically trying to re-learn it before the MCAT.

 

[Blanky]

Fix the issue causing you to get Bs and Cs in a CC.

 

[Eccesignum]

I appreciate the feedback big time. But now I met with an advisor and he suggested that I take more than 1 class at a time because it shows that I have more of a workload. Note that I work full-time and will be volunteering on weekends. what is your take on this? Or am I just being too technical right now?

As I said before, part of the point of UG is giving admissions committees a means of assessing whether you can perform well in a rigorous, sustained academic situation. Taking on multiple classes at once does help show that.

But the lingering issue, as @Blanky pointed out, is that taking more classes does absolutely zero for you if you're getting Bs and Cs. You need to address whatever is keeping you from performing well before you go any further. Take one class and get an A first. Then if you feel like you've found your best study strategies etc, you can consider taking more at a time.

 

[njtrimed]

I appreciate the feedback big time. But now I met with an advisor and he suggested that I take more than 1 class at a time because it shows that I have more of a workload. Note that I work full-time and will be volunteering on weekends. what is your take on this? Or am I just being too technical right now?

Your adviser is correct that you should be taking on as much as you can handle in order to show that you can juggle quite a bit. But until you can consistently get As, you cannot take that risk. As @Eccesignum pointed out, you really can't afford any more Bs. Once you improve your study habits and your grades improve, you should absolutely try to take on more. One step at a time.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

You're doing poorly in CC and now you have a job, why do you even worry about some stigma when you can't even handle classes at the stigmatized place? Understanding priorities is the first lesson if you even want to try to continue this journey

 

[esob]

Make your grades the priority. There are graveyards filled with the dreams of premeds who worried about volunteering , working, etc rather than MCAT/GPA. Without MCAT/GPA you stand little chance of acceptance. Learn to live like a pauper if you have to but know without MCAT/GPA numbers there is really no point in pursuing the goal of medicine. If you are getting B's and C's in freshman level weeder courses at a CC then most likely one of two things must be true: either you didn't give your courses the attention they needed or you lack the academic skills to be competitive for medical school because those courses would have likely been C's and D's at a 4 year institution. You might need to have a ruthless self-assessment and come to some conclusion about whether you just didn't give those courses the proper respect or if that was truly your best effort.

 

[calivianya]

The disadvantage I see with your job situation is the that (I'm assuming) you work in the daytime.

Surely there are jobs where you can work weekend nights. I worked full time all throughout my premed requirements - carried 16 hours this spring at a locally well-respected state school (biochem, biochem seminar, throwaway chem class, physics 1, physics 1 lab, orgo 2, orgo 2 lab) and made straight As in them, while volunteering one day a week and taking a three days a week MCAT prep class. That load would be totally impossible for somebody doing a M-F 9-5. I worked Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights from 7p-7a (36 hours a week is considered full time at my job), so my week from Sunday night through Thursday morning was free to do school, volunteering, etc.

It is possible to do all of these things and work full time, but not with normal people working hours. Which do you want more: your normal people job, or med school? I think you're going to have to pick one.